WRITING PROMPTS - PAGE 3
 (artist: Kyle Brown)
"Disembarking, we continued searching in the growing darkness. The tracks ran off into the distance. We knew that if we didn't find something soon we'd have to return to the station empty-handed, and that was something neither of us wanted to do. But the dark insisted." (extended caption by Edward Brewster)
|
 (artist: David Demaret)
"We were out working a telcom array when the attack began. Saw a Kelmari Dreadnought jump in at close range--cruised right by. I almost crapped my suit--pretty sure Johnston did. Poor kid. It was his first day on the job. Hell of an introduction, you know?"
|
 ("Teleport" by J.C. Park)
"It took two months shy of a century to get the other portal in place on Alpha Centauri. A lot of people didn't think we could do it. I know I didn't. We’d never been that far out, and there were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. But the crazy bastards made it. And I gotta admit… When that portal powered up, and the first ship came through, I felt… I felt proud. The human race had just gone interstellar. Things were about to change."
|
 (artist: Zee Durrani)
"I remember when they first arrived, back In 2076, a migrant fleet of refugees jumping in at close orbit. They gave the world quite a scare. Turned out, they were just looking for sanctuary."
|
 (artist: Jamshed Jurabaev)
"We heard they were building a stronghold up in the Arctic and knew it was our only shot. Took us almost four months to get there--lost a few along the way--but the rumors were true. The council nations had somehow managed to setup a high-security, virus-free safe-zone near the pole. All survivors welcome."
|
 ("First Flight" by Pat Presley)
“Yeah… I served on the APHELION. Remember the first time I saw her, too. She was docked at Sinconus, about to depart on a twelve-month mission out on the Fringe. I was fresh out of Basic, another dumb rook thinking he could change the verse. I had no idea what I was in for. A standard year on the Fringe knocked the green right out of me. I had it all wrong. You can’t change the universe, not really. The verse changes you. We're just along for the ride.”
|
 (artist: Andree Wallin)
"We met on the terrace after dinner--shared a few drinks with the others. Starlight Sonata was playing in the background, and the sun was setting behind Hyperion Bay. It was our first night on the town in our new bodies. We were so excited we didn't know where to begin."
|
 (artist: Alex Ichim)
"My drill master told me a full metal jacket was what old-timers used to call the metal casing around a bullet's soft core. Well, there ain't nothing soft in this jacket, trust me. Leading a pack of FMJs into battle ain't exactly for the timid."
|
 (artist: Unknown)
"When Brisben told me pathogen levels were dropping, I ran up to the Observation Deck to check the readings myself. It was true; levels were the lowest they’d been since the Migration. If the trend continued, we might be able to return within the next couple decades. Crazy. I honestly didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime, but it looked like we’d done it—reversed the spread. Now all we had to do was figure out who poisoned the planet in the first place."
|
(“Homecoming” by Marek Okon)
|
“I saw the look in her eyes and knew it’d be a hard transition. That was my fault. She’d been pampered her whole life. Her mother warned me not to spoil her. Grace always was the voice of reason—still can’t believe she’s gone. Anyway…an interstellar fleet’s a tough place for a single parent to raise a kid. I had them drop us off on Pharris-3. Not nearly as adventurous as system hopping, but it’s quiet, stable, a good place to start over.”
|
(artist: Tarik Keskin)
|
|
"Ceti-3 was my first terraforming mission. Came out with the advanced party to make sure the facility was up to spec and our hab had everything we needed. The automated units rarely miss a step when constructing these installations, but sometimes they overlook the little things—creature comforts that make you a little less homesick. Anyway… Now I can’t wait for the others to arrive. Debin and Yola are nice, but all they ever do is stare out the main view. Don’t know why. There’s not much to see, not yet."
|