1 - Darren Grey - Focus
"A laser is a focused beam of light," Jake read. "The stimulated emission of electromagnetic..."
His gaze wandered out the window to the endless stars. Somewhere out there was a laser firing, searing through the hull of a pirate craft. But three other pirates were encroaching, and the hunter could see now that it had all been a trap. He fired his thrusters, weighing up the risk of--
"Jake, are you paying attention?"
"Uh, yes miss, sorry miss!"
Jake turned back to the screen, but cast one last look at the stars. One day it would be him out there...
***************************************************************************************
2 - Luniticisi - Breath
Her ship came to a complete stand still.
Engines down, weapons offline.
Nothing could save her now.
Every inch of her being screamed "Escape pod!"
But she was too proud and far too stubborn to act on her emotions.
"If this is how I go, then so be it!"
Her aggressors bared down on her.
Her breath now shortened, staining every panel with frost, pictures from the past reclaiming the windows, crude finger paintings once scribed in breath now seemingly mocking her.
The last reminiscence of her soul, her imagination written in breath, her last memory... a phallus* and balls.
***************************************************************************************
3 - el_tel - Where I Wanna Be
After hiking to the top of the hill, Laura sat in the cool grass and looked across the valley. Beyond the distant mountains, the moon could be seen rising against a backdrop of stars.
Laura became aware of a soft pulsing, gradually getting louder.
She opened her eyes.
With the wisps of her imagination floating away into hazy memory, Laura rose from the sleep-couch and began donning her spacesuit, in preparation for the day's shift.
For a space-born like her, getting a permit to go planet-side for real was pretty much impossible, and would forever be the stuff of dreams.
***************************************************************************************
4 - Darkoba - Ancient Prophecies (99 words, MS Word count and finger pointy at screen count)
The history scholar lifted off in his Sidewinder, on the next leg of his exploratory sabbatical trip. Destination, New Lave.
He'd seen old Lave, Diso and Riedquat on his travels. It was amazing how much of it had come true over the last couple of thousand years.
Mankind's rapid expansion through space. Wars, alliances, trading, Galcop and piracy.
Mankind was still in turbulence, with Empire, Federation, various Independents and Alliances and, yes, piracy was still rife. And now, alien life had been found.
Who could have imagined that the ancient predictions of the Prophet Bra-ben, would be so accurate?
***************************************************************************************
5 - Cathy - Breathless
The dying ship speaks: "Oxygen level critical." He slides down a bulkhead. The wrench slips from his grasp. His eyes mist. His limbs are lead.
Then he sees her: his truest love... before he lost her. Skin glistening, eyelashes soft.
He hears her... "Hello, my love."
"You died."
"That was so long ago," she whispers. His lungs ache.
He feels her... gentle fingertips inside his gloves; soothing palms against his chest. Where his lips thin to blue, hers are full and red. Where his breath fails, hers is sweet, catching his last.
"Come home."
So he does as she says.
***************************************************************************************
6 - Variform - Danny, Lost
All was well when Danny left the station. He had stocked up on the essentials. Food, reading material, music and some star maps of which one had been quite expensive.
But now he could not remember the name of that station. It was getting too blurry. When was the last time he had seen a living soul?
It was lonely out here, his books all finished. The music started to flow together. And last night he found himself slamming his forehead into the kitchen cabinet over and over.
'Am I going insane?', he thought.
Danny was never heard of again.
***************************************************************************************
7 - Psykokow - Treasure Hunt
Planet Imagi was rumoured to be deep in the fringes of the dark systems.
‘If yee can find it.... yee will haff all yer dreams.. come .. true..’
Said the guy in the bar with almost as little hair as he had teeth. I sipped my drink taking in his tale and paying the 50 credits for the map.. the nice guy at the market had told me to come meet this ‘Frank’ and that he could give me a map to untold treasures.
‘Remember you must close thee eyes when nearby.. only then can you meet the Imagi Nation’
***************************************************************************************
8 - Bikky - Thirty Pence Performing In Da Purrb
Go Shawty
It's your birthday
We gonna party like it's yo birthday
We gonna sip evil like it's yo birthday
And we gonna use imagination
Cos it's NOT your birthday
You'll find me in the purrb,
Thargoid is the name,
Elite Dangerous is the game,
You'll find me in the purrb
Shootin down kow,
You know how,
You’ll find me in the purrb,
Tradin high rates,
Stuff taken from Pi-rates
My flow, My show, brought me the dough
That bought me fancy things,
My Crib, My ship, My Jewels, Look fools
You’ll find me in the purrb…….
Smootching with Cathy.
***************************************************************************************
9 - Frank - Prayer Books and Packed Wallets
"Us humans sure have vivid imaginations." McKay thought as he approached the Cathedral Planet's docking bay doors. It was neither a cathedral nor a planet. The station surface was packed with Norman arches, flying buttresses, and iridescent stained-glass spires. Planted within this crazy mixture of structures were large communication dishes.
Everything was finished with Rococo-style decorations. Gargoyles choking in the vacuum of space. The irony of this massive edifice was the science-based technology required to build this floating wedding cake.
The HoloVid Clergy were reasonable customers. But they could afford to be. All that money! All for an imaginary being.
***************************************************************************************
10 - Mushashi - The Artist
From the right distance, the devastation looks suitably picturesque. The smoke lies like a vast steel-gray eiderdown, gently billowed and softened by the miles, over the planet that now lies forever beyond purpose.
Jagged spires of tormented metal claw despairingly into the burning sky, black on red - the frozen death throes of a majestic leviathan in a blood-frothed sea.
The client is most satisfied with my latest delivery; his gratitude more valuable, in certain ways, than credits. Personally, I just feel that it is slovenly - degrading, even - to carry out this job without using imagination to create the best aesthetics.
***************************************************************************************
11 - W4rskull - Moreys Dirty Thoughts
Morey was looking at the droid malfunctioning in front of him.
"Bzzzz, crackle, syntax error, cant compute......" it melted down
with a POFF. Sexdroids, some were called. They were very good looking and had big equipment.
Suddenly a hot good looking girl approached one.
"Hello woman, would you like a bit of steel" and it touched the girls tush.
She approached elegantly, grabbed its steel and disappeared into one of the rooms.
Morey moaned.
Sex was easy when no feelings were involved. Easy come and go.
He imagined he could be that droid for one night.
One night of pleasure.
***************************************************************************************
12 - DaddyHoggy - No longer a game
Torpal needed a steady hand and a lot of luck. The dragon was mean looking and if it turned nasty, very little would save him. The dragon turned, opened its huge maw and Torpal’s world was filled with blinding red light, an ear-splitting scream...
Reality crashed back in. He looked around. The blaze of Red Alert lights filled the mess. The wail of sirens. “Thargoids!” screamed the Comms. The ship pitched violently. Torpal stumbled, fell backwards, dice tumbling loose from his hand as the figure of the dragon and his paladin bounced across the tabletop map and into the air.
***************************************************************************************
13 - Scorpio - Cold Fear (101 words. MS word says 106 because of spaces in punctuation - Finger pointy count says 101)
Commander Lawless hung upside down from the ceiling of the refrigerated hull.
Agent Dax pushed the frozen carcasses of Lavian cattle aside to make room for the little stainless steel table.
' Let's talk about some of your associates, Commander,' the agent said amiably, placing a Gladestone bag on the table.
' How is Commander Lee Jericho?. '
Lawless's freezing lips split open as he forced his swelling tongue out, flickering it snakelike in the agent's face.
Dax pulled a large corkscrew from the bag.
Lawless's smile disapeared.
' What are you going to do to me?,' he croaked.
' Use your imagination,' replied the agent.
***************************************************************************************
14 - Ian Phillips - Initiation
It was a classic interior.
Soft lighting, pastel pink drapes hanging artfully along walls and over doorways.
Plush couches, occupied by women arranged in inviting poses, clad only with sheer veils.
A private booth with an antique wooden table in which to discuss the evenings pleasures, beforehand.
Your friends hustle the newest pirate gang member into the booth.
"It is an unusual request I have to admit, but we have been able to accommodate your wishes".
"That's wonderful"
“Here you are lad, the key to your room and remember to use your…..imagination”
Laughing you leave him, bewildered and unsure, behind.
***************************************************************************************
15 - Gimi - No Escape
“The Cobra twisted and turned, but the Asp just wouldn't let go. He dreaded the inevitable.
The hull screamed as another volley of laser fire depleted his aft shields completely.
In desperation he flipped the Cobra around and went head on, but only managed lose the last remainders of the forward shields.
There was no escape, death was ineluctable.
He despaired, gave up, slowed down and waited. The Asp manoeuvred into position, seconds felt like centuries. Finally his view filled with bright light and then nothing.”
He put down his stylus and wondered why all his heroes had to die.
***************************************************************************************
16 - Variform - Deep Fall (93 Words - MS word shows 95 due to punctuation, finger pointy count give 93.)
Deep Fall
There was blood on the kitchen cabinet and droplets had floated around, creating red dots on all surfaces.
“So where is he?', Rick asked. “It is not a big ship...”
“No signs of a struggle, she wasn't boarded”, said König, “What was she doing this far out?”
“We have to find a body or we cannot salvage her, keep looking!”
Just a few minutes later Ulrich found what was left of someone.
Rick: “ Void Syndrome then, König?”
“Rick, man! I just don't understand where the head is...”
They never found it.
***************************************************************************************
17 - Variform - Cursed (98 Words - MS word shows 98, as does the finger pointy counter)
It was still a good salvage fee for a ship that small, but König was ready to tow her and give her a kick into the local star by the time the negotiation had finished.
The salvage yard owner was a small man with greedy little eyes and oily hair. And all the time they were dealing this fat red cat had stared at the kitchen cuboard.
Rick had cleaned the kitchenette of course. But the elephant in the room was the size of a man's head.
Why does that cat keep staring at the trash disposer now?
***************************************************************************************
18 - Luniticisi - No way home
"Sorry Mr Jarvis, but our insurance policy clearly states, we don't cover acts of Thargoids" the man sat opposite Jim Jarvis said condescendingly.
"There's nothing we can do" he continued with a wry smile on his face.
"It's company policy" Jim wasn't listening.
The callousness of the man was only equaled by the rage building within.
"ENOUGH!" Jim launched himself across the table, grabbing the nearest object.
He attacked unremittingly, with all his rage until the lamp in his hands was bloodied and bent.
Jim looked up...
"Mr Jarvis? did you hear me? I said there's nothing we can do."
"A laser is a focused beam of light," Jake read. "The stimulated emission of electromagnetic..."
His gaze wandered out the window to the endless stars. Somewhere out there was a laser firing, searing through the hull of a pirate craft. But three other pirates were encroaching, and the hunter could see now that it had all been a trap. He fired his thrusters, weighing up the risk of--
"Jake, are you paying attention?"
"Uh, yes miss, sorry miss!"
Jake turned back to the screen, but cast one last look at the stars. One day it would be him out there...
***************************************************************************************
2 - Luniticisi - Breath
Her ship came to a complete stand still.
Engines down, weapons offline.
Nothing could save her now.
Every inch of her being screamed "Escape pod!"
But she was too proud and far too stubborn to act on her emotions.
"If this is how I go, then so be it!"
Her aggressors bared down on her.
Her breath now shortened, staining every panel with frost, pictures from the past reclaiming the windows, crude finger paintings once scribed in breath now seemingly mocking her.
The last reminiscence of her soul, her imagination written in breath, her last memory... a phallus* and balls.
***************************************************************************************
3 - el_tel - Where I Wanna Be
After hiking to the top of the hill, Laura sat in the cool grass and looked across the valley. Beyond the distant mountains, the moon could be seen rising against a backdrop of stars.
Laura became aware of a soft pulsing, gradually getting louder.
She opened her eyes.
With the wisps of her imagination floating away into hazy memory, Laura rose from the sleep-couch and began donning her spacesuit, in preparation for the day's shift.
For a space-born like her, getting a permit to go planet-side for real was pretty much impossible, and would forever be the stuff of dreams.
***************************************************************************************
4 - Darkoba - Ancient Prophecies (99 words, MS Word count and finger pointy at screen count)
The history scholar lifted off in his Sidewinder, on the next leg of his exploratory sabbatical trip. Destination, New Lave.
He'd seen old Lave, Diso and Riedquat on his travels. It was amazing how much of it had come true over the last couple of thousand years.
Mankind's rapid expansion through space. Wars, alliances, trading, Galcop and piracy.
Mankind was still in turbulence, with Empire, Federation, various Independents and Alliances and, yes, piracy was still rife. And now, alien life had been found.
Who could have imagined that the ancient predictions of the Prophet Bra-ben, would be so accurate?
***************************************************************************************
5 - Cathy - Breathless
The dying ship speaks: "Oxygen level critical." He slides down a bulkhead. The wrench slips from his grasp. His eyes mist. His limbs are lead.
Then he sees her: his truest love... before he lost her. Skin glistening, eyelashes soft.
He hears her... "Hello, my love."
"You died."
"That was so long ago," she whispers. His lungs ache.
He feels her... gentle fingertips inside his gloves; soothing palms against his chest. Where his lips thin to blue, hers are full and red. Where his breath fails, hers is sweet, catching his last.
"Come home."
So he does as she says.
***************************************************************************************
6 - Variform - Danny, Lost
All was well when Danny left the station. He had stocked up on the essentials. Food, reading material, music and some star maps of which one had been quite expensive.
But now he could not remember the name of that station. It was getting too blurry. When was the last time he had seen a living soul?
It was lonely out here, his books all finished. The music started to flow together. And last night he found himself slamming his forehead into the kitchen cabinet over and over.
'Am I going insane?', he thought.
Danny was never heard of again.
***************************************************************************************
7 - Psykokow - Treasure Hunt
Planet Imagi was rumoured to be deep in the fringes of the dark systems.
‘If yee can find it.... yee will haff all yer dreams.. come .. true..’
Said the guy in the bar with almost as little hair as he had teeth. I sipped my drink taking in his tale and paying the 50 credits for the map.. the nice guy at the market had told me to come meet this ‘Frank’ and that he could give me a map to untold treasures.
‘Remember you must close thee eyes when nearby.. only then can you meet the Imagi Nation’
***************************************************************************************
8 - Bikky - Thirty Pence Performing In Da Purrb
Go Shawty
It's your birthday
We gonna party like it's yo birthday
We gonna sip evil like it's yo birthday
And we gonna use imagination
Cos it's NOT your birthday
You'll find me in the purrb,
Thargoid is the name,
Elite Dangerous is the game,
You'll find me in the purrb
Shootin down kow,
You know how,
You’ll find me in the purrb,
Tradin high rates,
Stuff taken from Pi-rates
My flow, My show, brought me the dough
That bought me fancy things,
My Crib, My ship, My Jewels, Look fools
You’ll find me in the purrb…….
Smootching with Cathy.
***************************************************************************************
9 - Frank - Prayer Books and Packed Wallets
"Us humans sure have vivid imaginations." McKay thought as he approached the Cathedral Planet's docking bay doors. It was neither a cathedral nor a planet. The station surface was packed with Norman arches, flying buttresses, and iridescent stained-glass spires. Planted within this crazy mixture of structures were large communication dishes.
Everything was finished with Rococo-style decorations. Gargoyles choking in the vacuum of space. The irony of this massive edifice was the science-based technology required to build this floating wedding cake.
The HoloVid Clergy were reasonable customers. But they could afford to be. All that money! All for an imaginary being.
***************************************************************************************
10 - Mushashi - The Artist
From the right distance, the devastation looks suitably picturesque. The smoke lies like a vast steel-gray eiderdown, gently billowed and softened by the miles, over the planet that now lies forever beyond purpose.
Jagged spires of tormented metal claw despairingly into the burning sky, black on red - the frozen death throes of a majestic leviathan in a blood-frothed sea.
The client is most satisfied with my latest delivery; his gratitude more valuable, in certain ways, than credits. Personally, I just feel that it is slovenly - degrading, even - to carry out this job without using imagination to create the best aesthetics.
***************************************************************************************
11 - W4rskull - Moreys Dirty Thoughts
Morey was looking at the droid malfunctioning in front of him.
"Bzzzz, crackle, syntax error, cant compute......" it melted down
with a POFF. Sexdroids, some were called. They were very good looking and had big equipment.
Suddenly a hot good looking girl approached one.
"Hello woman, would you like a bit of steel" and it touched the girls tush.
She approached elegantly, grabbed its steel and disappeared into one of the rooms.
Morey moaned.
Sex was easy when no feelings were involved. Easy come and go.
He imagined he could be that droid for one night.
One night of pleasure.
***************************************************************************************
12 - DaddyHoggy - No longer a game
Torpal needed a steady hand and a lot of luck. The dragon was mean looking and if it turned nasty, very little would save him. The dragon turned, opened its huge maw and Torpal’s world was filled with blinding red light, an ear-splitting scream...
Reality crashed back in. He looked around. The blaze of Red Alert lights filled the mess. The wail of sirens. “Thargoids!” screamed the Comms. The ship pitched violently. Torpal stumbled, fell backwards, dice tumbling loose from his hand as the figure of the dragon and his paladin bounced across the tabletop map and into the air.
***************************************************************************************
13 - Scorpio - Cold Fear (101 words. MS word says 106 because of spaces in punctuation - Finger pointy count says 101)
Commander Lawless hung upside down from the ceiling of the refrigerated hull.
Agent Dax pushed the frozen carcasses of Lavian cattle aside to make room for the little stainless steel table.
' Let's talk about some of your associates, Commander,' the agent said amiably, placing a Gladestone bag on the table.
' How is Commander Lee Jericho?. '
Lawless's freezing lips split open as he forced his swelling tongue out, flickering it snakelike in the agent's face.
Dax pulled a large corkscrew from the bag.
Lawless's smile disapeared.
' What are you going to do to me?,' he croaked.
' Use your imagination,' replied the agent.
***************************************************************************************
14 - Ian Phillips - Initiation
It was a classic interior.
Soft lighting, pastel pink drapes hanging artfully along walls and over doorways.
Plush couches, occupied by women arranged in inviting poses, clad only with sheer veils.
A private booth with an antique wooden table in which to discuss the evenings pleasures, beforehand.
Your friends hustle the newest pirate gang member into the booth.
"It is an unusual request I have to admit, but we have been able to accommodate your wishes".
"That's wonderful"
“Here you are lad, the key to your room and remember to use your…..imagination”
Laughing you leave him, bewildered and unsure, behind.
***************************************************************************************
15 - Gimi - No Escape
“The Cobra twisted and turned, but the Asp just wouldn't let go. He dreaded the inevitable.
The hull screamed as another volley of laser fire depleted his aft shields completely.
In desperation he flipped the Cobra around and went head on, but only managed lose the last remainders of the forward shields.
There was no escape, death was ineluctable.
He despaired, gave up, slowed down and waited. The Asp manoeuvred into position, seconds felt like centuries. Finally his view filled with bright light and then nothing.”
He put down his stylus and wondered why all his heroes had to die.
***************************************************************************************
16 - Variform - Deep Fall (93 Words - MS word shows 95 due to punctuation, finger pointy count give 93.)
Deep Fall
There was blood on the kitchen cabinet and droplets had floated around, creating red dots on all surfaces.
“So where is he?', Rick asked. “It is not a big ship...”
“No signs of a struggle, she wasn't boarded”, said König, “What was she doing this far out?”
“We have to find a body or we cannot salvage her, keep looking!”
Just a few minutes later Ulrich found what was left of someone.
Rick: “ Void Syndrome then, König?”
“Rick, man! I just don't understand where the head is...”
They never found it.
***************************************************************************************
17 - Variform - Cursed (98 Words - MS word shows 98, as does the finger pointy counter)
It was still a good salvage fee for a ship that small, but König was ready to tow her and give her a kick into the local star by the time the negotiation had finished.
The salvage yard owner was a small man with greedy little eyes and oily hair. And all the time they were dealing this fat red cat had stared at the kitchen cuboard.
Rick had cleaned the kitchenette of course. But the elephant in the room was the size of a man's head.
Why does that cat keep staring at the trash disposer now?
***************************************************************************************
18 - Luniticisi - No way home
"Sorry Mr Jarvis, but our insurance policy clearly states, we don't cover acts of Thargoids" the man sat opposite Jim Jarvis said condescendingly.
"There's nothing we can do" he continued with a wry smile on his face.
"It's company policy" Jim wasn't listening.
The callousness of the man was only equaled by the rage building within.
"ENOUGH!" Jim launched himself across the table, grabbing the nearest object.
He attacked unremittingly, with all his rage until the lamp in his hands was bloodied and bent.
Jim looked up...
"Mr Jarvis? did you hear me? I said there's nothing we can do."
