After completing Security Audit and Warrant’s Execution, I turned my attention to the final story of the month for my patrons, a tale of science fiction. Shortly after pulling the results of the genre poll I sat down and came up with the rough idea for all three stories, granted I abandoned the initial idea, but when I was ready to work on the final seed, a previous story of the Drifter’s crew flew into my mind, and competed with a story from Firefly.
While the episode added a lot to my mind, it was the antagonist from Misty Invaders that provided me with the meat and potatoes of this story. From the initial scribblings through the final draft, these antagonists provided me with a wonderful opportunity to explore the depths of Selina’s knowledge and experience with these gaseous beings.
So hop into your favorite chair and hunker down as we witness the latest entry in the life of the Drifter’s crew.
After discovering a derelict ship, Charles, Tia, and Selina don their spacesuits before Lucille docks the Drifter with the dying ship…
When his fingers stopped flying across the keys, the ship’s docking port hatch crept open, stopping halfway. Charles rose, clearing his throat as he looked back at his companions. “Don’t forget how dead our sensors claim this boat is. Before we search for any cargo that could aid us in our journey, we have to check on the crew.”
“Why didn’t we perform a better scan before donning the spacesuits and invading?” Tia asked as she sauntered over to the captain and laid her hand on his suit. “I’m not fond of climbing into all this gear. Next time, how about we don’t dock with a ship unless we have a clear picture of what we’re walking into?”
Charles forced the hatch the rest of the way and ushered Tia and Selina into the apparent derelict. “Something about this boat kept our sensors from getting decent scans. So we cannot assume they have a viable atmosphere. Now we have a lot to do before another vessel stumbles onto us.”
Once inside, Charles forced the outer door closed and slipped between the two women to kneel in front of the controls guarding the inner hatch. A handful of moments later, it effortlessly glided open as he looked back with a lopsided grin. “Remember, the initial task is to locate the crew.”
“That’s terrifying,” Selina said as she lifted her scanner.
Tia snatched the older woman’s arm and twisted the small device towards her. “What’s wrong?”
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