Short Note...

I need to focus on the novel and not the short stories for a while. I will still add two or three stories a week to the blog. That is the plan anyway. I need to find a way to make this hobby pay, even if a little bit.

I'm having computer problems, money problems and personal problems all at the same time. That stinks, but that is life. I found out for real today that rubbing two nickels doesn't actually do anything. 
It's harder to write when your hungry, good thing I have editing to do.

It's a pretty sad day when you're wishing for a Ramen Noodle fairy to drop out of the sky. I'll get through it, that is what us humans do, we just keep on keeping on. We are a very stubborn species and that is probably drove us out of the caves.

Oasis: Part Five

Link to Part One

 

Oasis

Part Five

“Teacher Pak” The youngest student asked as they sat in a circle facing each other in in the plaza “Why do people fight?”

The bald man in the robe spread his arm. “People are human. Humans fight. As I have told you before, we are all people. These so-called tribes are all artificial designations. Families and people who love each other fight too, the people on this planet have family squabbles.”

“But what of the outsiders?”

The teacher nodded his head and cupped his hands together. “Those are invaders. They are not family with this world. They are part of humanity, but these are not good people.”

People in fact had gone into hiding. Besides the soldiers, pirates and the concentrations of 'tribes' outside of the city proper, the streets were abandoned. No shops had opened, no vendors could be seen as the patrols ignored the teacher and his students.

They could also see the Air Knights had set up camp across the lakes. Trying to get between the two sides had been their objective and they had accomplished that much. The question was, what could be done now. How could peace be furthered.

The space vessels hovering over the city were meant to intimidate and they did that job very well, the occasional shuttle between them and the council building was also noted throughout the day. Teacher Pak had no idea how long they might have to stay there. He knew the students would be thirsty and hungry and tired when nightfall came around.

Across the lake Administrator Brahma and some of his ablest squadron leaders of the Aerial Knights and the Colonel in charge of the ground forces kept watch on the city and the ships above it. They had sent their messages and all they could do now was wait for an answer. No answer would also be an answer, a bad one.

The stories and rumors were spreading. The Airship Vagabond dirigibles continued to move over the city freely. Brahma wondered if they were being a bit foolish to tempt the pirates. he thought it was only a matter of time until the pirates made their position clear, by show rather than by words.

“Administrator!” Young Hando shouted running up to the elderly man, he was holding one of the small flimsy news-screens. He took it from the youngster and held it close to his face. The headlines announced that the council would begin a broadcast soon, that it would be viewable everywhere on Oasis.

The Administrator handed the flimsy back to the boy and nodded. Clearly the ball was in the court of these space pirates. He seriously doubted the Space League would intervene. Once the pirates showed any control of the world and its populace they might just be recognized as the true rulers.

The space pirates clearly held an advantage in firepower and technology. Once they made their demands the game would be afoot. What percentage of the people of Oasis would welcome the promises of water and settlements? If that number were too high, a fight against the pirates would be futile. If it were low enough, they might succeed quickly in evicting these outsiders.

They had returned to the factory. Jake was insistent that they would need weapons this time. The pirates had weapons, the Authority soldiers had weapons and so did most of the others. Certainly the Airship Vagabonds would mostly stay out of the fight, but they were still hovering around. Not many of them had stayed passed the mountains where it would be safer.

Bolt, Jake, Lily, Tulip watched the manufacturing device as it worked. In less than twenty minutes a rifle was produced. Jake took it into his hands, it was well-balanced. He brought the scope to his eye and he could see through the wall to the outside of the building.

“Nice!” he said, then “What about ammunition?”

Bolt held out a hand and in it was a bunch of small cone-shaped projectiles. “It's laser will accelerate one of these to the speed of sound, the effective range is only 400 meters or so.” he explained “I'm not as good as my dad, this thing is still a little rough around the edges. It'll work but I can't promise how long that would last.”

The small cone-shaped projectile were usually ceramic, but in a pinch you could use a light-weight metal or even steel.

“I hope we never need to use it.” Tulip said, looking concerned.

“Whatever it takes to save our dads.” Lily said, smiling at Bolt. Jake felt left out for a moment, his dad was in the airship taking care of his younger brother and sister. Those dirigibles would be sitting ducks if the pirates decided to take them down. It's not like his father wasn't in some danger, but he wasn't sitting on a bomb surrounded by armed gunmen.

“There has to be a way to deactivate those explosives.” Jake said.

Bolt shook his head. “We don't even know what kind of explosives they're using.”

“What did that girl Ria say? What are the Aerial Knights planning?” Lily asked. Jake shook his head and shrugged.

“Whatever they thought they would accomplish with their attack went out the window when they discovered who the enemy was.” he said. He leaned the gun against the wall and turned on the flat-screen monitor.

“Matt Dillinger should be doing his broadcast soon. I guess we'll know more about what's going on, although most of what he says might be lies.” Jake said as the video feed started.

The space pirate was now wearing a suit. His short beard trimmed and his long blond locks still tied in a ponytail behind his head. He certainly didn't look like a space pirate. He was standing in the middle of the chamber floor but it was darkened. You could almost see the council in the shadow.

“Hello, citizens of Oasis.” he said in a surprisingly smooth voice “My name is Matt Dillinger. Let me explain why I am here and how this benefits all of you. Once I have said my piece, I will show you that  I am a man of my word.”

“Oasis is a desert planet. There are only two sources of real water on the whole planet, if you don't include the micro-frost on the southern pole. The lakes of the oasis that this world was named for and the wells on the plateau controlled by the Aerial Knights. Yes, they have been holding out from the rest of you while sharing your goods.”

Jake had a bad feeling about this.

The man continued. “The rest of the planet outside this little valley controlled by the council which calls itself the Authority, is lifeless. Many of your people refuse to submit and live in this city, you drive in your caravans, motor bikes, airships and the like. You know. You know this world was meant to be lived on, it was meant to be a real developed colony.”

“Instead this little group of people have determined to keep this planet a poor backwater world that doesn't even get proper notice by the Star League. The Star League doesn't think this planet deserves to be treated like anything more than it is. They see no potential because of the way things are here.”

“So, instead of doing nothing like this council wishes, the people should want more. Imagine Oasis as a green world, all that land waiting to be settled would be very valuable. Imagine lakes, reservoirs and cities all over the world. That is what a real world looks like. Your council wants to keep power over you, it wants things to stay as they are. They govern like a greedy cabal. They want to keep the pie small because it's theirs, instead of growing the pie for everyone.”

“A wealthy, thriving, green Oasis would need a real government that actually represents the people who live here, instead of one dictated by the so-called 'Tribes'. The Star League is never going to treat Oasis as an equal among the settled worlds. It is time for Oasis to embrace change. That is what I offer, I want to bring water, wealth and equality to your world.”

“So. Look at a globe of the world.” he said as a holographic appeared in front of him. “Look at all this empty land waiting to be used. By you. This is your future. You should have a say in it, don't let a council chosen by group membership to decide your future. Oasis has been restricted from growth by a cabal for far too long, so stand up for yourselves.”

Then the lights of the chamber brightened just a bit.

“The council members are alive and well. The businessmen and women and others who hold power in their positions are also fine. Nobody has been harmed. Nobody will be harmed. Once the voting is over, they will be allowed to go.” Matt Dillinger said with a grim smile. “The vote will meet Star League standards, it will be considered binding by the civilized galaxy. I'll give more details later.”

Then it went blank. Jake was dumbfounded. The others were quiet. He imagined that everyone who had seen it was having the same reaction.

“A lot of people are going to fall for that.” Bolt whispered. Lily and Tulip nodded.

“You can't fight popular opinion with a gun.” Lily told Jake. He lifted the gun and strapped it over his back. “I'll be back later.” he said as he left them stunned.

Jake walked through the nearest alley between a pub and a stationary shop and then walked until he reached the plaza. The Authority soldiers he passed ignored him as he walked up to the balding man in robes surrounded by students who were sitting and talking.

“You are from the Solon, right?” Jake asked the man. The man stood and gave Jake a curt bow and held out a hand. “I am teacher Pak, these are my students. How may I help you?”

“My name is Jake. I assume you heard the broadcast?”

The man nodded.

“What did you think about it?” he asked the academic.

“We were just discussing this very topic, Jake. Please join us in the circle.”

They made room for him and he sat, he laid the rifle on the ground in front of him.

“A lot of what this man, Matt Dillinger, said was true.” Teacher Pak said with a nod “Of course the old saying, even the devil can quite scripture, comes into play. Many of the promises and statements he made are absolutely good things for this world. But at what price?”

These were the same thoughts that Jake had been having. It was troubling. Just because the council might be wrong, doesn't make the pirates the good guys. These pirates were just doing what pirates always did, they were taking advantage of a situation. Instead of dealing in outlawed goods or stealing ships and cargo, they were offering the people of Oasis what they should have already had.

Teacher Pak saw the look on his face and nodded. “They are offering to sell us what is already ours, but at a hefty price.”

Jake shook his head. “Would the Star League really allow a government run by pirates to become full members?”

“They have their own goals and biases. Do you suppose there aren't many worlds that would want a piece of this action? Oasis would not be the first world to be divided up by other worlds if this is what they plan.” Teacher Pak told them. “Once the profits were made, the wealth looted, the pirates could scram and let a 'true' government take over. With immigrants outnumber us, that government could easily be one hostile to our interests.”

“I remember some Earth history. I read about how foreign powers controlled China for decades until the Boxer Rebellion. Is this what we might be seeing? Are the pirates being backed by other worlds or even the Star League?” Jake asked.

“Sounds possible.” one of the students said.

“I don't think the pirates would have done this without a lot of support.” the female student amongst the boys said. “They've never acted this way before. History is a good guide, after all.”

Teacher Pak spoke up again. “These invaders wish to be seen as benevolent. That is likely to be a thin veneer if it is up to them. If there are foreign powers controlling them, then this wish to be seen as benevolent could be a weakness. Mahatma Ghandi knew the British well, he knew that a peaceful protest would have more impact on them than armed rebellion. If they had been Mongols, Ghandi would have raised an army.”

History is a good guide to the future, as well as a good teacher. Learn from the past, learn from mistakes. The British had responded to violence by the Indians with cruel repression, but they responded much better to peaceful protests. This would likely not have worked with other invaders, one just had to know their enemy.

Jake stood up, pulled the rifle strap over his shoulder and started walking south. He crossed the dirt berm that divided the two lakes. He could see the ground soldiers of the Air Knights watching him like a hawk. As soon as he crossed he was blocked by two armed sentries.

“Who are you? What do you want?” They asked.

“I want to see the Administrator. Administrator Brahma.”

“Why would he want to see you?” they demanded.

“Tell him that Jake, the boy who flew to the plateau, wants to see him urgently.” he replied.

One of the pair turned and jogged away, the other glared at him and the gun strapped to his back.

Soon he was escorted to the encampment where Brahma was huddled around a low table with other older people. It occurred to Jake he had seen few older people on the plateau, but these must be in charge.

“Jake, what have you come to say?” Brahma asked.

He hesitated a moment. “I think you should withdraw. For the moment, anyway. Let this play out as peacefully as it can. You must have seen the broadcast.”

Brahma nodded. “Many will think that the pirate has a good point. They will think we have been keeping too many secrets to be the good guys. Although we are fellow citizens of Oasis, we have been too aloof for our own good.”

Jake nodded. “Fighting them right now would be seen as confirmation of everything he said. We both know they aren't the good guys, even if they are saying a lot of the right things. The Air Knights just cannot take the lead role in opposition. Too many people in the other tribes do not trust you any more than they trust these pirates.”

Brahma saw the point clearly enough. Others around the table were nodding. “The Authority soldiers and the pirates have not touched those Solon students for good reason. They cannot show their true nature at this point. Until they do, anyone who stands up to stop them will be seen as the bad guys.”

Jake took the rifle off his back and handed it to one of his escorts. “I won't be needing that.”

As he was leaving Ria came up to him. “We keep meeting, Jake. I suppose you have some kind of plan. You were the one who got into the council chamber when our forces couldn't.”

Jake smiled. “Not really a plan. We just have to play this right.”

“The leader of the caravans, Riders and Vagabonds were all invited to meet with Dillinger.” Bolt informed him as he returned to the factory building. Jake crossed his arms, “The Vagabonds don't have a leader.”

Bolt and Lily exchanged a glance. Then Lily carefully said “It's your dad.”

Jake sat on the floor. “What is he thinking?”

Bolt dropped down next to him. “Obviously he is going to offer to share the wealth. Probably offer them huge tracts of territory for their support.”

“What about the agrarians, merchants and others?” Jake asked.

“Different meetings.” Bolt said. “He is going to try and turn them against their own council representatives. Say they were mismanaging the world and corrupt. I can see that one coming a mile away.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Tulip asked “People are going to see the council as crooks. If the choice is between one band of crooks keeping us from developing and one band of pirates who offer everything people want...?”

Bolt nodded. “Some choice.”

Jake slapped the floor. “Good idea.”

They all looked at him like he was crazy. “What's a good idea?” Lily asked.

“There needs to be a different choice!” Jake told them. “Give me a computer with a keyboard. Lily, can you make something to eat? I have some thinking to do.”

He took the money he had gotten from Evander and gave it to Lily. “Some shops are actually opening.”

Bolt placed a screen and a keyboard in front of Jake and backed up. “Are you going to be causing trouble?”

“I hope so.” Jake said with a smile.


Part Six

--------------------

I don't make any money from writing, so any donation to the tip jar helps a whole lot.

Indie author....

Another independent author Jack A. Langedijk released his novel "Because". You can sign up to his email blast, (he promises no other spam) you will be entered to win $25.

Enter the Contest Here

I like supporting indie authors and I hope others will too.

Link to the Amazon page.

All In One Spot

I put the first seven chapters of Lonely Space in one location on Wattpad to make it easier to read. I don't use the Wattpad account much, but it's as good a place as any to park a 7-part story.

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/47015192-lonely-space

By the way, the title doesn't seem to grab attention. I was trying to think of some alternative names for the story.

6,000 Years to New Utopia

Long Voyage to New Utopia

Voyage of the Salutem Novis: Book One - Revolting Robots

I don't know. I'll have to give a lot to this I guess. Eventually it will be published.
------------------------

As always I don't make any money doing this. (I wish I did!) Just bear with me. I will get Oasis: Part Five done soon.

Been busy...

I've been busy. I have submitted a few stories to paying sites (this one is not, lol) and have been working a little on my novels. (I go back and forth on those, it's slow).

I haven't had a lot of time to devote to writing, believe me - I wish I did. I would love nothing more than to be one of those people who could write full-time. I will have Oasis: Part Five posted soon enough! Promise!

Another thing is it's HOT here. I hate that.

Here is an unfinished story I was writing a long time ago. I only wrote two parts although my outline called for 10. It started off very lightly and would get darker and darker as it went on. In the final chapter I was going to have the main character involved in a real war and losing her powers.

The unfinished and abandoned story....

Force Girl

Part One

“Mom!” the girl in the passenger side of the sedan yelled. Her mother was praying, and normally you did not bother mother when she prayed but Tara was scared. They were blocked in by cars on both sides and behind them as far as they could see was a sea of vehicles trapped and all jammed together. In front of them was a crashed car with an engine fire, the driver was unconscious but not far away was a tractor trailer fuel tanker, it blocked the whole side of the highway.

The accident had happened during rush hour and the traffic jam probably went back for miles. The leaking gasoline from the tankers trailer was moving towards the car. Tara wanted out, all mom was doing was praying. Her mom had frozen like a deer in headlights.

Tara was scared to death, her heart was beating so hard and fast it seemed to want to pop out like an alien escaping. Then all of a sudden there was silence, then while she could still see the tanker through the windshield and her mom next to her there was no sound.

Then there were symbols and numbers moving across her field of vision no matter where she was looking. She felt different. What was happening.

Initializing... loading... then a lot of stuff she couldn't understand, just a jumble of words and numbers but she understood, sort of. She looked at her fingertips, this is where her power was located. The thing in her brain was letting her know that her forcefield generators were active. Her fingertips. She could see in her mind what she had to do. What she could do.

Tara climbed into the backseat and looked for a way to... disguise herself. All she saw was her little brothers football helmet and uniform and it kind of stank. It needed to be washed but he had left it in the car. Just this time, that was a good thing.

She donned the pads, jersey and helmet and unrolled the window, which her mother had told her not to do. As if keeping the windows closed was going to save them when 4,000 gallons of gasoline went up in an inferno.

Her mom called out her name, told her to get back into the car.

“Mom! Trust me! I know what to do!” she answered climbing from the rear passenger window to the top of the car and then to the hood. Standing on the hood she held out her hands and hoped this wasn't all just her imagination. Maybe the situation had made her crazy.

She held out her hand at the tanker trailer where gasoline was spilling from a gash and imagined it being pinched closed and willed her newfound power to make it happen. It worked, gasoline was no longer pouring across the concrete surface of the highway. She also knew emergency vehicles were far behind them through the traffic jam although she bet more were on the way from the other direction.

But she could use her power to carry the crashed car and its injured passenger to the emergency vehicles, she somehow knew that she could also fly. She had no way to explain this except that it felt like a program had been loaded in her brain and it just worked. Only she could see the forcefield bubbles that formed around the vehicle and herself, but they were very real.

There she was in her ridiculous costume in the air, in front of her and a dozen feet away was the car, flying over the hundreds of trapped cars below. She could hear people yelling and see them pointing to her, some held phones. Her identity safe because of her little brothers stupid white helmet with the peeling lighting bolt sticker on it.

Finally she sat the vehicle on the ground, paramedics and firefighters got out of their vehicles and rushed to the man, they called for the jaws of life. She told them to “stand back” and they did, then she used her powers to pinch off the crumpled door to expose the man being trapped because the steering column had been pushed into him.

The paramedics brought a stretcher and stood nearby and then she used her power again to push the steering column away from the man by several inches. He was free. He was on the wheeled stretcher, a gurney, and being wheeled toward where an air ambulance was hovering but lowering.

A cop walked up to her from the crowd of amazed onlookers and asked “What's your name?”

She couldn't think of what to say, not her real name for sure. “Force Girl” she answered and formed a bubble around herself and lifted off the ground, moving back towards mom. Instead she moved off to the side into some tall weeds and took off the football gear before rushing back to the car. Workers had arrived and started directing traffic, just one lane over the highway shoulder but it was a start.

“What happened? What did … how did... how?” her mom stammered in awe, as they finally got moving again.

“I'm not sure. Suddenly I just knew I could do that. I have no idea either.” Tara answered but she knew they were in her fingertips. Tiny, microscopic forcefield generators. It wasn't natural and it definitely wasn't normal. She was also aware of one more thing.

“I'm really starving” she said

“We just ate a big meal” her mother answered

Then Tara figured it out. “It's powered by me, I need fuel. I am worn out because I need more gas.”

…

After eating several cheeseburgers her mother couldn't help but shake her head. “I do not see where a little, skinny girl like you is putting it”

“I flew! I have super-powers” she said after looking around to make sure no-one else could hear. “If I have enough fuel I can do it again, it is the coolest thing that ever happened to me!”

“What are we going to tell your father and brother?” her mother asked, Tara put the empty soda cup-her third refill- back down.

“We have to tell them the truth, but nobody else. Nobody else must ever know who Force Girl is”

Her mother furrowed her brow “Force Girl? Really? Like some comic book character?”

They broke the news to dad and Jeffery at dinner. The TV was still re-airing the camera footage with fuzzy close-ups.

“My football uniform is famous” Jeffery said

“You can't tell anyone anything” his mother told him

“I know” he said quietly.

Dad had been quiet. “I guess we have to tell Tara the truth too, honey”

“Yes, I suppose”

Tara was still eating but stopped for this.

“You are adopted, as you suspected” he told her, she wasn't surprised. They were all blond and she wasn't. “You were found in the parking lot of a science lab that had exploded into flames. You had metal fragments in your fingertips and one tiny one in your brain. The doctors said they were better just left alone, since they didn't seem to hurt or cause problems.”

They were all silent a moment.

“I was a science experiment?” she asked looking at her hands again.

They hadn't known that until now.

“The best thing to do is lie low and not use your powers for a while” he told her “My company has tools, I will make you a real super-suit if you behave”

She was definitely interested in that. “Okay, I won't use my powers unless it is absolutely necessary”

“Good girl” he told her.

…

The next day she walked to school with Audrey, like always. Audrey was a bit nerdy with the glasses and everything but she was nice.

“I can't believe this Force Girl thing” Audrey said, Tara had hoped to avoid the subject but it seemed to be the biggest story on Earth at the time. “How cool is that? A real super-hero and it's a girl”.

“Yes. I saw it on TV too” Tara said.

Audrey was gushing though. “I'm going to start a fan club. I mean this was her first appearance and it was here in our city of all places. We definitely need a real fan club based here.”

“Right” Tara said, knowing that Audrey would make sure they were all in this club together. Sure enough Tom and Roberto were joining up too. Just great.

…

A few days later her father brought her to the garage. There he opened a box and pulled out a white and gold and blue uniform. It had a little skirt at the mid-section, just in case she was confused for another super hero, she thought sarcastically.

“This is made from a new micro-filament fabric. It is fireproof, waterproof and can control your body temperature to keep you from freezing or burning up.”

She was very impressed. “That is amazing. That means I can fly really high”

Her dad gave her a stern look. She added “I'll be very very careful, I promise not hit an airplane... or satellite”

“Tara!”

“Just kidding about the satellite” she told him.

Then he pulled out a helmet. “This has night-vision, infra-red, it can zoom in, has built in range finder for whatever object you are looking at, speed and altitude indicator and you can even record what you see and send it back to my computer. We can communicate real-time using cellular systems or wi-fi connections”

“Dad” she said taking it into her hands, it didn't feel too heavy “That is amazing, how did you do this?”

He smiled “My company is a defense contractor, we get some amazing stuff”

She was a bit overwhelmed. “I have to learn use this stuff”

“Tomorrow is Saturday” he told her “we can do some testing tonight and tomorrow night”

She felt tears of gratitude. “Thanks, dad, you are so cool”

“I know” he said.

…

She found that switching between the heads-up display on the helmet with her eyes almost as easy as using the forcefield bubble to fly. She knew to spread the forcefield going down onto as wide an area as possible, not only straight down. This gave her more speed and maneuverability and a few nights of flying in the dark gave her confidence she could this.

The built-in GPS and mapping system in the helmet let her know where she was and what was around her. Then on Sunday she took off just after dark for a couple hours of flying before bedtime. She picked up a distress call, an airliner had completely lost power and was losing altitude quickly.

She flew as fast as she could and was able to find the plane falling toward the ground and put a forcefield bubble around it. She guided the plane toward the airport, following instructions from the tower to the confused pilot. The radar operators thought that control had returned but the pilot didn't know what they were talking about.

Emergency vehicles followed the aircraft as it sat onto the tarmac without rolling. Cameras caught Force Girl looking at the plane as emergency slides erupted from the doors and people started getting out. After seeing this, she flew home. Hungry again.

…

“Did you see that video of Force Girl saving the plane last night?” Audrey said as they walked to school the next morning “They were showing it live and everything”

“That really was awesome” Tom said “I guess that means it wasn't just one time, she really is here to stay”

“Ohmygawd” Audrey said “Our fan club signed up a thousand members last night after that happened”

“My dad's aunt was on that plane” Roberto said, he hadn't said a word before. “It's like a miracle”

“She had a new costume” Tom said “None of the channels got a clear look at it though”

“Since she's local, I wonder if there is a chance she will find the fan club?” Audrey wondered out loud “wouldn't it be cool if she contacted us? Gave us an exclusive or something?”

Tara agreed, that would definitely be cool.

Part Two

 ...

Mom worries a lot. Even though the forcefield is amazing and protective when I am inside of its bubble she is worried. I don't even thinking crashing into a mountain would hurt me when I am protected by my forcefield.

It has gotten stronger but I also have better control if it. I can make it do some weird things, I can make boulders dance in the air like a ballet.

...

Audrey was now the coolest girl on Earth, officially. Everyone in town and maybe the planet was talking about how this girl received a letter from Force Girl. Delivered in person, in public. It was a simple statement of principle and she answered a few questions the fan-club had posted. Oh, and she gave them the status of being her official fan-club.

Tara still kicked herself over it. “Why, oh why did I do something like that?”

Meanwhile Audrey was being interviewed by television channels from around the world and saying she would post messages from Force Girl on her website when she got them. Tara figured that it was important to “be in touch” with the world. Force Girl would not be Batman, and this would allow her to deflect attention from her real identity. After all, Force Girl now officially likes raspberries, coffee cakes and lime sherbet. Blech.

“So, she definitely is not me” Tara could say believably.

Audrey, the nerd, was now popular in school. Tara, Audrey, Roberto and Tom were laughing about this a lot. The “cool girls” now treated her like one of them sometimes, instead of turning up their noses at her when they went by. The fame would wear off, probably rather quickly, but it was still funny.

Tara was doing some research online during social studies class when she saw the headlines about two children missing in the Grand Canyon. Apparently the girl, who was about 5, had dropped her Coping Connie doll from the viewing platform during the day, and sneaked out from the RV park to retrieve it. Her brother, 6, went with her.

That was sometime last night. These kids had been missing for close to 12 hours already. She wanted to get home, get changed and go look for those kids. Meanwhile she pored over online maps and learned as much as she could about the Grand Canyon. You never know, this might be material for a school project someday.

She told the others she would be getting picked up, so she would not be walking with them. What she really did was to fly home, risky but she decided it was worth it. Tara did not know exactly how fast she could get to the Grand Canyon but it didn't look far on maps. She updated the map tool on the helmet her father made while she changed into the uniform of Force Girl.

Her family had other ideas. It was supposed to be a “family day”, something they had planned for weeks. Well, talked about for weeks at any rate. Catch an early movie and have dinner together at a restaurant, a real one that would not have ketchup packets. Her parents would not like it if she took off and missed this.

They had been very clear on stuff like this. “There are billions of people on this planet. You cannot save them all, that would be impossible. You must let yourself come first sometimes.”

Alright. She packed her uniform and helmet in the trunk of the car. Movie and dinner went agonizingly slow. Afterwards though, she had her father open the trunk in the restaurant parking lot and told them she would be home a bit late.

Breaking the sound barrier was something she had done before but it still startled her a little bit every time. She was using the night-vision on the helmet and its GPS to find the canyon. Not too far from the RV Park she went down to see what she could do.

Tara was a bit put off by the size and complexity of the Grand Canyon. It would take forever to search by foot, and you would be able to miss two kids very easily from a helicopter or airplane. But if you have a forcefield bubble you can fly five feet off the ground at whatever speed you like. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for, but she would know when sees it.

The temperature had fallen pretty low. The desert ground does not retain heat because there was not enough moisture. Tara, though, was perfectly comfortable because of the special uniform her father had made for her. When she thought about it, she'd be mostly useless without the tools her father had given her.

Suddenly she realized she hadn't touched her math and geography homework. Sometimes being a superhero was a pain. There was no way tell she was going to tell the teachers “Sorry, I was too busy looking for missing kids in the Grand Canyon”.

There were mountain lions and coyotes in the canyon. She hoped the kids hadn't run across any of those. She adjusted her night-vision and soon had a mixture of night-vision and infra-red being shown to her. Maybe this is how an alien would see, she thought to herself.

After about two hours she was appreciating just how large the Grand Canyon was, if she couldn't fly she'd probably be lost for good. Her helmet told her it would be dropping towards freezing soon, although it wouldn't reach it. It was still far too cold for a couple of small children, tired and probably very thirsty and hungry.

Tara was also feeling hungry. This was the longest she had used her powers at one time. She knew her energy level was draining. This could go really wrong, she was starting to think. Then something caught her attention. Some small cave opening, one of many she had seen, was showing an elevated temperature.

She floated toward it. Hopefully it wasn't just an animal den.

Inside were two small children hanging on to each other. She pulled them out with a forcefield and then pulled them into her own bubble. Then she flew toward the RV Park, which was also the center of the rescue efforts.

As soon as she landed people were running from all directions. Flashlight, cameras, and then a sobbing woman embraced the children. A groggy looking reporter and camera man wanted to ask her questions, the mother was thanking her. All Tara wanted to do was get out of there and find something to eat.

She flew away from the Grand Canyon but had to set down near the Arizona-California border in a place called Needles. There she found most of the places closed but a couple of fast food joints were still running their drive through. There were no other customers at the McBurger so she flew through the drive through, counting the emergency money the super suit had included.

“I'll take 6 bacon cheeseburgers and a large chocolate shake, please” she ordered.

The girl who opened the little window was pretty surprised to see Force Girl floating on the other side, holding out the money. The girl took a picture with her phone before handing out the food, and Tara wondered how many people on the internet would see it before she even got home.

Tara's bedroom was upstairs and it had a tiny balcony. This is where she landed, the balcony door was unlocked. So tired, she took off the helmet and fell into the bed. In an hour she was still hungry and went downstairs to get some food.

“Mom!” she said, surprised to see her mother still up.

“Do you know how worried we get?” she asked “That helmet can be used to send us a message you know”

Tara had forgotten to stay in touch. It was one of the rules that came with the suit and helmet and she had broken it. “I'm sorry mom. I should have been in contact the whole time.” Not just when I run out of energy in the desert with hungry mountain lions running around.

“I should ground you” she said “Maybe if we don't let you play super hero for a few days, you will follow the rules and do your homework”

Tara had also totally forgotten about the homework. In the end she stayed up most of the night finishing them and barely had any sleep when Audrey was at the door.

“You look beat” her friend told her, and added hopefully “Studying late?”

“Finishing my homework, I had forgotten about it” Tara said, and it was true as far as it went.

“Did you see the news? Force Girl rescued those lost kids last night!” she said excitedly “I know she can't save everyone, but I was hoping she would show up for that one and she did”

“Cool. I'm really glad too” Tara said with an absent-minded. She was dreading falling asleep in class.

….........

After napping through social studies and science classes, she felt more normal. It was on the way home she started getting a weird feeling. She pulled a candy bar from a pocket and took a big bite just in case her energy level was low again.

“Did you see the news?” Roberto asked them, looking at his phone “There was a bank robbery but the bad guys are holed up with hostages!”

“When did that happen?” Tom asked

“Before noon” came the answer. Then as he passed around the phone, Tara was already dreading it but there was a picture of the bank from the air. That's the bank mom was going to, today.

“Oh no” Tara said “My mom might be in there”

“We have to go” Audrey said “We can't just go home now”

…......

By the time they arrived the whole area was blocked off. The police were everywhere. They got close enough to overhear a reporter telling the camera “This was a brazen armed robbery, and even though negotiations continue, these guys are seemingly ready to fight a real war.”

She could see right through the dark glass on the bank and even from that distance, she knew her mom well and she was sitting on the floor with other hostages.

Tara slipped away from her friends and ran into a nearby alley and took flight all the way home to put on her costume. Doing that in broad daylight was a risk but she didn't want to waste time with anything else.

She arrived and landed between the police and the bank itself. She could hear the crowd chatter pick up with her arrival. She walked toward the bank where a floor ceiling glass panel had been destroyed and walked right on in. The gunmen were shocked for a moment and she used this time to secretly throw a shield between the bad guys and the hostages lined up on the floor against one wall.

“My name is Force Girl.” Tara said, of course they already knew this. “You might as well throw the weapons down and surrender to the police outside.”

One of the gunmen, she noted there were three of them, pointed his weapon at the hostages and walked toward them. He stopped just before the end of his gun touched the invisible shield. He would probably be hit by his own ricochet if he fired, the idiot.

“No! We came here for the money and we ain't leaving without it!” the arab man said, meanwhile his African-American and Hispanic partners were backing off and looking doubtful. Then he turned and aimed his gun at his partners. “What are you two doing? Get the money!”

Tara did not want to drop the shield protecting her mother and the other hostages nor the one she used to protect herself. There was no way she could throw up another shield to protect the other two bank robbers. She was also starting to feel a little tired, using her powers burned a massive number of calories, after all. She had to think of something.

So she moved the shield protecting the hostages toward the gunman who was now aiming his weapon at Tara. She knew her shield was strong enough to stop a bullet, so it didn't bother her. Without the man knowing it, she had wrapped the shield all the way around him. The two accomplices looked like they wanted to get out of there, so she gave them the opportunity.

“You two!” she said “Get out of here! Now!”

Then man yelled “Don't listen to her! I'll shoot you guys too!”

He turned but his hand could no longer be extended, she tightened the shield and the man looked very alarmed. Now his arm was against his chest and the gun was aimed at his chin.“What's going on?”

The accomplices scrammed, running straight into the arms of the waiting police.

“Give it up!” Tara told him “Drop the gun already!”

She looked at her mother and the other hostages. “You guys are safe now, you can go!”

The line of hostages, a few elderly, rushed to stand up and get out of there. Tara walked up to the man who was still struggling in the shield.

“I can tighten it enough to squash you like a bug. You'd be nothing but liquid.” She told him, not knowing if that was technically true. Maybe if she had eaten recently and wasn't tired.

“I give up!” he said and sagged inside of the shield. He dropped the gun, she opened a hole barely big enough to leave it on the floor. Tara left him in the bubble shield and lifted him up and carried him outside in front of the bank where she put him down into the hands of several police officers.

The crowd cheered and she waved before flying home as quick as she could. She dressed back in the same clothes she had on before and rushed to the bank.

“Where were you? You missed everything! Your mom is okay!”

“I was over there!” Tara said pointing across the parking lot. “Better view of my mom!”

They bought the story, it was a relief. When she got him her mother and father were home and they embraced her tightly.

“I am so hungry!” she told them.

-------------

I might never actually write the rest of it. It's not really the kind of story I usually write, more spacey science fiction. I always appreciate anyone who buys my ebook (sidebar), although it doesn't sell much. If $2.99 seems too much, you can make a smaller contribution through the donate button on the sidebar.

Reviews: Recently Read

Recently I have been reading some more of the free science fiction that can be found on Amazon and other places. I will share some of the thoughts I had about them, although I will say they are all worth reading.

Sands of Osiris (Aegis Colony book one) - FREE

A very good space opera series opener. I will have to caution you that it is not for younger readers since there a couple of graphic sexual scenes, which seemed pretty pointless from my POV. The first one was unnecessarily graphic to the point that I almost stopped reading. But overall the story is worth reading.

Mutation Z: The Ebola Zombies

The first of a series , as usual. More of a novella.  The main character seemed to take everything a bit too much in stride. The story seemed a little disjointed but that could be explained by the character: a young nurse who still acted a bit childish, IMO.

The idea of someone purposefully infecting a volunteer nurse (or more than one) with the virus is a bit preposterous when there are literally thousands of locals who could be used as guinea pigs.

Overall though, you will want to know what happens next.

Oasis: Part Four

 See Part One

I might have rushed this part a bit. If you find a mistake, I'll fix it. There will be a part five at the very least but I need to put some extra thought into that one. Loose ends need to be tied. I would love to write full time but nobody buys books or donates to a noob like me.

 Oasis:

Part Four

A bald man in a bright white robe walked through a garden on a flat stone path, one could see orange hills rise in the distance. Several young men and a young woman followed him, they wore yellow robes and carried tablets. He led them up the hill to a large gazebo-like structure where they sat on its floor in the shade.

“Teacher. I heard there is a war coming.” one of the students said “Do you think people will kill each other?”

The teacher lowered his head solemnly. “It is a regrettable thing that from time to time humans go to war with each other. I hadn't meant to discuss current events with you today, class, but I suppose we can use it for out purposes. Who can tell me about the Star League?”

Two of the students raised their hands and he chose the farthest one. “An organization founded upon the principle of peace between inhabited worlds. More than three hundred member-planets and...”

The teacher waved his hand. “Yes, yes. We know the textbook definition already. We know what it was supposed to be, in theory. What is it now?”

Another student answered this question. “A debating club where nothing really gets done.”

The teacher nodded “That is definitely a lot closer to the truth than some magnanimous organization bent on peace and prosperity. They don't seem to pay much attention to this planet, I suppose it is because there are no resources here for them to exploit.”

The teacher continued “Occasionally some ruthless tyrant does things so horrible that they become a pariah world. Once in a while they step on too many toes and threaten too many worlds prosperity and the Star League takes military action. They don't do this to help anyone who is oppressed by that tyrant, but sometimes they end up getting to vote for the next one.”

The students were taking notes but one of them chuckled. The girl student looked more serious “Is there anything we can do to stop Oasis from getting its own tyrant?”

“Do? The Solon hasn't paid much mind to Oasis City affairs in a long time. We are educators first and foremost. Would you have me march to the center of the city and take on the soldiers.” The teacher asked them, he was asking. “What do you suppose we could do about the situation?”

She put her tablet down and thought for a moment. “Every other tribe is involved whether they know it or not. This will effect the Solon, of course we should have a say in it. Peace should be our say.”

The teacher waved a hand. “We do not use the word tribe to describe people here. There is no real division between this people and those people. All lives matter. Remember that, no-one should be put above any other. Lindia was correct, though. The Solon should be seen and heard in the present situation.”

The soldiers would be coming any second. Jake dragged Ria into the middle of a copse of trees since she didn't seem to want to get up. Or because he was hovering right over her.

“What are you doing, Jake?” she asked. He paused and looked down at her.

“So you do know my name!”

She shook her head. “I mean why are you dragging me around like you're a cave man?”

Jake sat beside her and pushed her to the ground in the dense weeds as the sounds of boots became louder and louder. Bolt covered his head with his hands, his face was turning red. The soldiers milled about before the sound of an explosion got their attention and they ran off again.

Jake could breathe again. Then something hit him in the side of the head and he saw stars.

“Get off me!” Ria told him and gave him another shove.

“Ria, your people on the plateau. They have communications with the Star League don't they.” Bolt asked, scooting forward to them carefully. “We need to have a message sent immediately.”

“What kind of message?” she asked and pushed herself onto her feet. Then she stretched and bent while holding her side. “Ouch” was all she said. She reached toward her ear but her communicator was missing.

“The council is being held hostage by a space pirate. Matt Dillinger.” Jake told her. She looked at him like he had lost his marbles.

“Why in wonder would a space pirate be doing that?”

“Power and wealth. Imagine if he had a planet of his own as a base of operations and look at all the empty land on Oasis he could sell for settlements. Once it's green.” Bolt said.

Ria crossed her arms. “First, that's insane. Second, my dragon is wrecked. Third, we need to get out of here before the soldiers come back.”

Jake and Bolt led Ria through the dark alleys of the city and into Mr. Tinkers factory. Lily and Tulip were surprised to see Ria joining them.

“Did you see my father?” Lily asked.

“No. I saw a group of hostages, though. The whole council is chained.” Jake explained. “They just sat there like they were sitting on primed grenades.”

“My dad.” Lily muttered and she and Tulip were hugging and crying again. Ria shook her at this scene and walked over to the aerial vehicle Jake and Bolt had made.

“If this thing can get us back to the plateau, we can send that message to the Star League. Then they can't pretend they don't know what's happening here.” she told them.

“This is urgent.” Jake told her “We saw the nomads and the riders outside of the city. I think they know what is happening somehow. Maybe they're involved.”

“What your saying is that the caravans and the riders are massing outside of Oasis City.” Ria asked, almost snorting with a laugh. “Hopefully the cavers stay away, unless they learned to wear clothes. It sounds like a convention.”

Bolt had been looking outside and came back in. “Sounds like the fighting has died down. Seems like the Air Knights are south of the city. With the caravans are to the east and the riders are to the west, I have no idea what's going on right now.”

Ria shrugged. “If it's quiet maybe we can leave now.”

“The airships” Bolt said “I saw them coming back from the mountains. Dozens of them.”

Jake was alarmed by this. “Dad wouldn't come back, he wouldn't put Jato and Tawni in danger!”

“It's a real convention.” Ria said, but she seemed concerned about something too. “I wonder why the fighting has stopped. Was there a stalemate?”

Bolt shrugged. “It's not like I read minds.”

Bolt hit the switch on his wrist bracelet and the roof began to part again. They could see stars and a few wispy clouds. Then Jake, Bolt and Ria headed toward the aerial vehicle. Lily walked after them and put a hand on Jake's shoulder. “This is too dangerous. All three of you don't need to go.”

Jake thought about it. Lily was probably right. There was little doubt in his mind that Ria could fly this thing by herself. “I need to tell them what I saw.”

Bolt and Tulip were looking up. “Uh-oh” the girl said.

Jake looked up as well. Red streaks were quickly growing. Ships were entering the atmosphere of Oasis. “I bet those are pirate vessels! We need to hurry.”

Ria, Jake and Bolt climbed onto the aerial vehicle and lifted up quickly. Bolt had the roof closing before Jake put on the forward thrust. He aimed the vehicle south but he kept the altitude low enough to keep the anti-aerial weapons from locking on. Between the Merchant Association and the old church they flew and in front of them was the open plaza overlooking the lakes.

Jake looked down. He could see soldiers on one side and Air Knight “Marines” on the other, a crowd had gathered since the shooting stopped. Between them were people dressed in clean robes, sitting on the ground in circles. Jake didn't know what they were doing but his mind had figured out that the academics of the Solon had joined in.

“Anyone missing?” he heard Ria say sarcastically over the radio in his ear.

Soon enough they reached the plateau and landed in the field by its edge. Jake quickly looked back at the city and the sight of several ships in the sky on approach made his stomach ache.

“We have to go!” Ria said throwing the helmet on the ground. “Before they jam all the communications systems!”

The three of them ran towards the empty barracks before making a right toward another building. Inside of this one they found some older people studying maps and video feeds. Ria ignored them and ran past to a second room where a communications set-up was waiting. A man was fiddling with it, Jake hoped they weren't too late.

Ria grabbed the mans shoulders. “Uncle Alto, we need to send a message to the Star League!”

He nodded. “I know, the coup...”

She shook her head. “Pirates. Matt Dillinger has taken the council and others hostage in the council building. He has bribed some soldiers to join him, but his reinforcements have arrived!”

Jake stepped forward. “You need to send the message to them, on an open frequency, all of the frequencies, make it so they cannot pretend they hadn't heard.”

Ria's Uncle Alto turned some dials and hit some switches. “Don't usually broadcast on all frequencies, since we're usually kind of secretive...” he mumbled. Ria rolled her eyes and tried to smile.

“They can't broadcast all the frequencies.” The man said “They didn't bring enough vessels to cover everywhere. We're not stupid, us Air Knights. We have transmitters on the far side of the planet too.”

“Uncle Alto!” Ria said in a loud whisper “How about just do it without telling all our secrets?”

Soon enough Alto turned on a microphone. “This is Oasis, Pirate Matt Dillinger has taken our governing council as hostages with the intent to profit from selling parts off with terra-forming. The Star League must intervene to stop this tyrannical transgression against a sovereign world and a member in the League. I request that all vessels picking up my message to rebroadcast on all open frequencies. I repeat....”

Jake was breathing easier. If the message made it out, then the Star League would have to do something eventually. In the meantime they would still have to deal with Dillinger and his pirate troops. About now those soldiers who accepted bribes, the ones not dead, were regretting their decisions. They probably had no idea that Dillinger would have lied to them. Of course he would have no intention of keeping those promises, he was a pirate for crying out loud.

Ria, Bolt and Jake went back to the field. They watched as several ships descended upon Oasis City and hovered over it. It seemed like a whole different era had just begun for this planet. Oasis had nothing that could fight off these vessels. Until and unless the Star League decided to intervene, their world was now under occupation.

---------------------

Link to Part Five

Short Story: Mind Prisoner

Mind Prisoner

The detective pulled on the shackle, dragging the milnarian into the compartment after him and pushing him into a seat. The minarian hadn't said anything since detective Rick Patton had confirmed his identity and slapped the shackles to his hands. Then all the way to the space port the alien just ignored him and watched the scenery of Altos VI slip by.

Patton usually enjoyed suspects who knew when to shut up but something about a quiet milnarian bothered him. Their species were not well known yet, they sort of showed up one day and blended into the metropolitan nature of the Star League. Their presence usually just generated a shrug.

Vaguely their green faces looked humanoid but the green antenna above their brows put them into a category with few of the known species. Unlike the varron, who are pale green, the dark green complexion of the milnarian species was a bit different. They weren't known to talk much and many people assumed they were able to communicate with each other telepathically. Or at least by touching their antenna.

They acted normal enough though. They drove vehicles, worked at shops and wrote novels just like any other species. There was also a percentage that became criminals, or were criminals before they arrived, since nobody knew where their home world was.

“Ja'vess, you don't have to stay silent. It means you don't have to talk about the crime you were arrested for.” Patton told his prisoner who was again staring at the shackles on his wrists.

“Yeah boss” it replied, finally. It's voice seemed to come from far away, like down a long tunnel with a badly tuned video player at the end.

“What would your parents think of you being a thief anyway?” He asked the alien.

The alien looked askance with its dark eyes getting glassy. The detective suddenly felt bad for asking and pulled out a cube. A holographic novel hovered above it, he had been reading this when he was sent to catch the thief. He suddenly realized that the action-adventure tome had been written by a milnarian.

“This author, Ki'vann, is one of yours. He didn't become a criminal, there are choices in life. You could have done so much better with yourself.” he showed the novel to the alien, who nodded as if he appreciated the talk.

“I gits it, boss” it said, again sounding like a recording from some old movie or vid program. It was weird but what can you do. The detective also noticed that he had never really heard a milnarian speaking standard before. On television they usually spoke their own language with subtitles or translators.

Ja'vess probably learned standard from watching old films and vids. That would explain why he talked like that.

“You'll get a fair shake in court. Just tell them you'll reform yourself and straighten up your act. A guy like you, gotta be a good model for the kids. Do you have kids.” The detective asked.

Ja'vess looked right at him and answered “I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies!”

Detective Patton was taken aback by this but the alien went back to studying the shackles as if nothing had happened. Patton looked around the compartment but there were only a few other people around and nobody was paying any attention to them.

“I'll just deliver you to the authorities on Marco-S and everything should go smoothly.” he told the alien who was paying no attention to him. Then he pulled out a different restraint and magna-locked Ja'vess to the seat. Now he had something else to stare at while the detective tried to take a nap.

As soon as the detective closed his eyes, Ja'vess looked right at his face. His mental muscles worked overtime, peeling the topmost layer from the active mind of the detective. A western film starring himself was playing in his head, move that over carefully. Ja'vess wanted to go deep and find the unconscious mind of this human. A bit father a memory of a human female submerged in bubbly water and laughing, then she stood up.

Ja'vess nearly retched and pushed the image away. Hopefully he wouldn't vomit onto the human an wake him up. All he needed were some autonomous motor functions and some muscle control, the human might not even know what was going on. It would be better if he stayed asleep. Ja'vess used another feeler to calm the mind and keep out any signal about what was going on elsewhere.

The human was chasing someone, they were both riding on the backs of beasts, firing primitive weapons at each other. It was a dream, this running battle had to be kept going as long as possible. It seemed odd but these violent images were calming to this human.

The hand flexed. Ah, now he was getting somewhere. Soon he had the arm moving sideways from the elbow, it sort of slapped Ja'vess across the chest. He needed some better control, this would take a little more time.

Suddenly Ja'vess had the image of a boy climbing out of bed, wearing pajamas and running outside yelling for his father. When the boy reached the exterior of the dwelling, the sight of the vehicle reaching into the sky was heart-wrenching. It was a sad memory from the detectives past. The human sniffled and a tear was welling in the corner of one of his eyes, Ja'vess pushed the memory away.

Now the hand was more controllable. He was able to get it to disable the magna-lock. Ja'vess breathed easier and could move a bit more in his seat, but he was still shackled to the detective. He would need to get the detective to punch in the proper code to unlock the shackle. Once that was done he could try to hide on the ship or take the detectives weapon and...

Another memory. This time he was running laps in some kind of orbital gym because the running track was perpendicular to the floor. The track must have had a different gravity than the rest of the gym, where people were pulling gravity weights or using machines to work muscles. Above them was a big swimming pool, but the water did not fall, this was intriguing to Ja'vess. His own people had never used technology in that way before, for comfort or leisure and such.

The young detective put on a burst of speed and caught up with a female in tight coverings, Ja'vess tried not to think about that earlier image. Keep it covered! She was happy to see the guy, then Ja'vess realizes it was the same female.

She must have been his mate or was still his mate, Ja'vess reasoned. He must have a lot of feelings for this female, a lot of loyalty was felt in the dream. Although Ja'vess also felt something else from the human, sadness and regrets, when he looked at the girl.

Must change the memory. Finally something useful. A recent memory, the detective was punching a code into the shackles. Perfect. Now Ja'vess simply needed to have the detectives hands punch it into the keypad since it was DNA-locked. He got the hand to the control pad and punched in a couple of the numbers but something happened.

It was a new memory. The detective, Rick Patton, was at a funeral. A large framed portrait of the woman was next to the wooden box. She looked a bit older, small wrinkles by her eyes but the same twinkle in them still sparked for the picture. Ja'vess realized this must be a funeral rite. The detective had recently lost his mate. Ja'vess felt the sadness wash over him, the grief was becoming his own. He had to escape from these memories.

“Let's go” the detective said yanking on the shackle. Ja'vess opened his eyes and kicked himself mentally, he had fallen asleep. They had arrived at Marco-S where the authorities on this world had issued a warrant for his arrest for theft. Ja'vess hoped he had an easier time getting to the core of the judge's mind than he had with the detective.

------------------

I'll try to have another OASIS instalment soon. In the meantime, remember the tip jar... not that anyone ever does.