No Way Back – Chapter 24

Here’s the next chapter!  I’m glad to have it here because now I can get to writing the interesting parts!  I don’t have any cute little quips today, so here it goes.

Chapter 24

“Every time you’ve asked me what I was doing on that ship, Commander, I told you the same thing.” Chi’bi sat across the desk from Grai’gahrd as she spoke. She hated saying the same thing to people, an irritation that was only made worse by repeatedly answering the question to the same person. “The Au’sharh picked us up during a recon mission. They held us separately, then told me if I complied with finding new ‘Bot pilots that we’d all be free to go. I had just finished turning in my trainee and…” Her cool blue eyes dropped to the floor as her ears fall back to her hair. Remembering the last few hours before her pick-up always made her more sad than the whole of the mission. She blinked and wiped the developing tears from her eyes before looking at Mergrayne and continuing. “They lied to me. They said that Djarn would be safe. That he’d be waiting for me. He wasn’t. So, I broke into a comms center and sent out a distress call.”

The commander’s head rested on his paws that formed the top of the triangle that his elbows made with the desk. He’d heard the same story from her several times. Identical, in fact, in every detail. This time, though, he no longer doubted her sincerity. He’d been waiting for her to send out a communication from the ship back to the Au’Sharh to report any further intel gained. But it never came. What had come was her request to have a private conference with him where she explained that the human was not a normal human. He was, instead, a part of the illegal slaving of unaffiliated races for combat reasons. It seemed impossible. A human was not capable of operating these machines! But here he had evidence that they not only could but had the ability to best his own pilots. This was disturbing news, indeed. “Alright, Lieutenant. I believe you.”

Chi’bi blinked. “You doubted me?”

No Way Back – Chapter 23

This is normally where I go “YAY!” because I posted a chapter.   However, if you’ve been reading this, then you’ll already expect it, so I’ll skip it this time. 

Z.z.z.z.z.z.z

Chapter 23

After a long breakfast in which Dharcia went over, for a second time, the numerous different species and Ter’link commented about what made them each attractive, we begin taking a more job-oriented tour of the ship. Since we’re already in the mess hall, we start with basic maintenance of the replicators and the components that allow for an easy transition between the usual “day” configuration and a more active “night” setup. The replicators didn’t seem to be too much more than basic circuitry until Ter’l opened the actual generation chamber. Thousands of tiny adjusters and what amounted to atom cannons that would have required a microscope to build filled the unit and I quickly suggested that it wasn’t something I should be doing since I didn’t have the most stable hands. The machines for the room changes, though, were quite literally magnetic levitation tracks that the tables and other furnishings followed just under the floor. The maintenance would have involved a few years worth of study into the physics of the system. Knowing that I don’t have that much time to my name convinces me that I should look elsewhere.

The Commons was the next location. There, Dharcia makes a point of offering counseling as an option. I politely decline and explain that I wouldn’t have any idea where to start with that. Being the only member of my race on-board, my insights might not be what would be best for everyone. Afterwords, Ter’link and Dharcia begin pointing to different options. Landscaping. Water quality maintenance. Structural inspections. Custodial. Security. None of these are things mentioned make me feel important or overly needed, but I do decide to consider doing security since it would aide in learning the other species as well as introduce myself more effectively and in a less fearful light. As we walk along the main pathway I start to take notice of the crew alternately staring or hiding their gazes, and being able to approach them would make it easier for me teach them about myself and my race. At least that’s how I see it.

No Way Back – Chapter 22 – Only a week behind…

I have to admit, this chapter was roughly finished as of last week.  The problem was that I wasn’t sure if I was happy with it.  I’ll be honest, I’m still not 100% sure of it.  It feels rather unneeded.  At least a part of it anyways.  After re-reading it, I felt it was decent enough to post, but it might not be there in the finished work.  If it is, it’ll probably be heavily modified.  

In any case, here’s the chapter.  Hopefully the next one will be up soon.  I’ve already got it figured, it’s just a matter of writing it.

Chapter 22

 Sleep gets easier when you start learning how time has changed. It’s been seven ship-days since my little mishap in the mess hall and I can finally sleep through a night. Granted, that’s with a midnight wake-up call so I can stretch my legs and keep myself from waking far too early or sleeping too late, but I can finally do the overnight thing without feeling too awkward about it. It’s different than at home, and not just for the obvious reasons. The ship, as long as we’re moving, is always vibrating. When you stand, you typically don’t feel it unless you focus on it. When you’re laying in bed, though, there isn’t much more to think about. The bed padding itself took the longest time to get used to. Or, more appropriately, adjust to me. When I first got my room, it was too soft. Then, the night of the incident, it was too hard. Now it’s about right so sleep is much easier. The lighting never feels quite right, but I’ve given up trying to fix it for now. The hardest thing to adjust to, though, is the thin and not-quite-soundproof walls. It was a shock when I had someone at my door because I was speaking too loudly. Or the complaints about when I fell out of the bed the first night. That took some getting used to.

Today, though, will be different. I’m not longer in Commander Grai’gahrd’s “crash-course” in the UFO officer’s school of conduct. He said it was for me to learn the proper way to behave, but I think he was just trying to keep me from wandering again. Eventually, though, I understood enough to not need his heavy indoctrination and, as of yesterday, he said I was now free to go as was needed but would need to pick up a classification for myself. And soon. As I pull on another clean uniform and fresh underthings, the conversation we had before I returned to my quarters the night before begins to run through my head.

No Way Back – Chapter 21

As you see, I’m moving along with my writing!  I could have had this posted last night, but I decided to give the writing a day to settle, and also so I would have a fresh look at the work today.  It looks good, so here it is!

Chapter 21

I’ve been living among these aliens now for the past few days now. Not what I’d consider days, but ship-days. I’m still adjusting to ship-time, and it’s almost impossible without the benefit of the sun to track time for myself. The portals in my berth are set to simulate sunrise and sunset, day and night, but outside of that room all I have is the chronodisplays throughout the ship. I feel tired when it’s only barely half-way through the day. I wake up when the majority of the crew is setting up for their version of overnight watch. It’s going to take a while to adjust to that.

My eyes flash open as my body tells me it’s time to be awake. I slowly sit and look at the display portals to find that it’s now considered night for the majority of the crew. With a groan, I flop back into the slightly too-hard padding. My eyes now wide open in the barely-lit room, I can make out the polishing trace in the ceiling where the buffer must have waited an extra moment. I sit up again, swinging my legs around and off of the bed. “No use trying to sleep,” I tell myself as I stand.

No Way Back – Chapter 20

Woo-hoo!  It seems like I’m back!  Yay! 

It’s very exciting to be able to write again.  To be honest, this would have been done monday, but I wound up witt a really nasty ear problem that I had to deal with before I could do anything else.  But, it’s done!  It’s postable!  And, it’s right here!

Chapter 20

The ship’s tour has been over now for the past hour or so. It’s much easier to register time when there are chronodisplays all over the ship. Granted, the time is translated into a form that I can understand, however the Organization’s day lasts an additional ten and a half hours from what I’m used to, but only in space. Once the ship lands all times would become relevant to the planet we were on and are simply be coordinated to times on the ship. So far, though, there was no immediate correlation to Earth time, so there was no way for me to know just how long I’ve been in space.

We find ourselves sitting in Dharcia’s quarters while we wait for the message to her datapad with my own billet. It had taken nearly a half-hour to enter her room as it was since there was no back-door for security entrances and I could not yet be seen by the general populous. Now that we were in the room, the skunk-like girl across from me in her bed had become an insatiable question box. She wanted to know everything that she could and was recording our conversation for her own notes and documentation. She started with the basics: my age, my “rank in social standards,” even what my name meant. I answered every question as honestly as I could, but there are just some questions that I can’t answer. One such question was “What exactly is the make-up of your planet’s atmosphere?” I know that our air has hydrogen and oxygen and other things, but she seemed discouraged that I couldn’t list off everything.

No Way Back – Chapter 19 (And it’s about bleedin’ time)

I have been stuck with writing blocks, unhelpful work schedules, and much, much more now for far too long.  Now that it’s cleared out, I can’t wait go get writing again!  And, to prove it, guess what?  I finished up Chapter 19!  WOOT!

Chapter 19

For what Dharcia lacked in social skills during the tour of the ship, she made up for it in knowledge of the workings of the vessel and the interconnected activities of the races on-board. There was absolutely no small talk. There was no questions or banter like I’d have liked. Instead, it was purely educational, much to my chagrin.

The first thing I learned was to not be too close to her tail. She let slide the first time I stepped on it but threatened me with severe pain if I did it again. I took to walking just off to one side to prevent the mishap and it wasn’t an issue again. The second thing I learned was that she hadn’t quite forgiven me for my accidental faux pas but was more interested in learning how I reacted to things and what I knew to let it stop her. I think the fact that she outright told me so was the easiest way to learn that. From there, it was on to actually walking the ship. For all the size that the ship had, the corridors were barely wide enough to handle three people walking along them, and that depended on the race of the occupants. For myself and those about my size it was comfortable enough, but the larger aliens obviously would have needed more room.

Block Broken!

The good news is that I’m no longer having issues with the writer’s block!  Apparently my short writing dealt with whatever issue I was having.  Interestingly enough, the few people who’ve looked it over seem to love it!  I’ll admit that it’s very, very adult, but I decided to let people determine whether or not they want to read it on their own. I’ve been told that the writing is very good on it, so if you can stomach some heavy risque’ writing then hop on over to my DeviantArt page and click on “The Dream-Stalker.”  I can’t honestly say that I enjoyed writing it, but I feel a whole lot better afterwards. 

The bad news is that my writing time isn’t being cooperative.  Simply put, my time to actually write has been lacking.  I managed to almost double what writing I already had on Ch. 19, including adjustments and corrections, but I still have more to go.  I simply ran out of time to complete it. 

All in all, I think I’m back on track again.  That’s good because I’m tired of not posting.  🙂  I suppose I could post what I have, but I think I prefer completing the chapters first, just in case there’s a change afterwards. 

Hopefully the next post will start with “Chapter 19.”

Here’s Hoping

I’m sure that a few of you have noticed that I’m still behind on my chapters.  I’ve been trying to deal with this writer’s block in any way possible so that I can post up the next few chapters.  The truth is that I’m not entirely sure what has been causing the block so I haven’t been able to just pin-point an issue and deal with it. 

I did notice the other day that my writer’s block actually hit me after I’d had a particularly screwed-up dream.  I’m not going to go into any real detail because I am slightly embarassed by the dream itself.  I have, however, done a few things to help myself get past it.  So, here’s the plan.  I’ve completed the task of pushing away from my screwy dream.  I plan to get to work on Chapter 19 here in a short time.  I have the story-line currently running in my head but am just not able to write it out yet due to other issues.  Hopefully, by the end of the night I’ll have the next chapter ready to go.  I’ll be trying to break down my chapter into split-postings but will have the entire chapter available for the impatient on the chapters page. 

So, as the title says, Here’s Hoping.

*EDIT!*  I figured out how to use the “More” tag!  WOOT!  So, instead of breaking it up, I’ll just use that!  🙂

I Need a Block-Breaker… (RANT)

So, does anyone personally know Mario or happen to know where I can find an Arkanoid?  Seriously, I hate feeling like I can sit at a computer and type for hours on end and not have written anything.  For some reason I’m not getting any word-flow for anything and I hate it.  I’m not sure what’s killing my creative side at the moment.  I can’t seem to pin-point it.  I mean, I slept well.  I held my lovely Kikat which usually makes me feel better.  I actually have eaten well in the past few days and have gotten in some good excercise and sun.  Maybe I over-ran myself today and that’s kicking my butt. 

Anyways, if anyone’s willing to throw me a suggestion to kill my writer’s block, hey, I’m all ears…

Another Delay? Of Course!

Well, it’s been about three weeks since I’ve posted a chapter.  It’s not that I don’t have anything written, I just been so busy with other things that a realistic posting right this moment isn’t possible.  Not to mention that I’ve not written enough to actually post.  If I thought I had half a chapter, hell a third of a chapter, I’d post it as a partial and see how well it’s taken, but I just don’t have it right now.  Some personal things have gotten in the way of it.  But fear not, the few loyal readers I have, I have not forgotten and I have not given up.  As soon as I have it ready, it’ll be up!

I may also be trying something a bit different with new chapters, especially the longer ones.  I’m considering breaking them up a little bit, but I’ve not fully decided.   Thoughts?