Alpha Centauri

I wake up to the sound of a quiet conversation between Cleve and Cor. It looks like she’s just finished applying some ointment to the bruises on his arms. Right… I passed out while trying to do something about them. Cleve is telling her they should have been treated sooner, but it’s said in an … Read more

When I open my eyes, I find myself alone with just the pain of my leg and my fungicide burns. I’m in a mushroom forest—excuse me, forest—but where are Cleve and Cor? I push myself to seated and realize there’s no sign of the campfire, either. Last thing I knew, I was right next to … Read more

///Although startled, Cleve acts quickly, catching Mariah when he collapses. On the other side of the fire, Corazon leaps to her feet in alarm. “Oh my gosh, is he okay?” She dashes around the fire to help Cleve lay Mariah out on the ground. Cleve’s brow is furrowed in concern. “That’s the leg he got … Read more

It’s the middle of the night before we can take a break. Getting out of the valley was tougher than getting into it. Cleve had promised a robot and some electronic parts in return for the EMP grenade, so we have two robots now, one completely busted because of what I ripped out of it, … Read more

Corazon swiftly leads our way down the hill, fungicide gun on full blast in air-blower mode. I run after her, staying as close as I can to benefit from the clearer air. She skids to a halt before we reach the shack, and I stop abruptly behind her. The second robot just happens to be … Read more

///A beam of light illuminates Cleve before he is fully in position. Tenoch’s EMP grenade is in hand, though. The robot warns him to leave, but he stays still, testing the waters. It rolls forward on its treads, crushing whatever vegetation covers the ground here. “This is your second warning. Again, I am the Morgan … Read more

We reach our destination the next evening. Even from a distance, we can see the miasma fog settled over the little valley. As it drifts, we can sometimes make out the roof of the small hut containing the network node. Way, way off in the distance one of Morgan’s domes lights up the darkening sky, … Read more

I can hear Cleve and Cor, though I can’t see them yet. I stay back, giving them space for their private conversation.  “Hey, hey!” Corazon calls after Cleve. When she’s caught up to him, she asks, “You all right?”  “I’m fine,” Cleve replies, his words short and swift. Corazon reads the unhappiness in his clipped … Read more

It’s a two-day trip to reach the network node, and the first one is a long one. Cleve gets us moving before the suns are up, wanting us to be burning oxygen when the air is clearest. But if we rest mid-morning, we risk miasma drifting in when none of us are alert. So we … Read more

“It’s not like moons here pop in and out of the sky—I assume. Someone here has to know at least for the next week,” Cleve says as we leave Takuto’s bedside. We go to the main scientist around here, Dr. Citali, even though astronomy and meteorology are not her specialties. I start by asking her … Read more

I catch Roze one day when they’re not busy. “Hey, Roze, you have access to the datalinks from the ship. Can you look up Sylvia Stanton for me? That was the dead body in our module.” “You want to pull up information? Yeah, sure, that’s an easy thing.” They roll their chair over to a … Read more

///Before Cleve can head back out into the strange wilderness of this new planet, he needs a working rifle. Roze sits with him in Data Haven’s basic machine shop as he wipes and brushes and scrubs. They advise him to keep the gun coated, and he asks for recommendations on miasma-resistant oil. He’s worried about … Read more