Author: Derin

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> By the next morning, the squid tentacles in the trough had dissolved completely and the trough contained a long layer of transparent gelatin-like substance that was safe to eat and fairly full of energy. Harlan cut it into blocks for storage and easy transport on the … Continue reading 2: Hello, void

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Explaining to Smon that she wants her to come on a small walk to see many people isn’t difficult. Smon dashes into her egg and returns almost immediately with a small bundle of silk containing… objects of some kind, Tyk supposes. She can’t see inside. She … Continue reading 10: Redstone River Hive

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> Here’s some friendly life advice for you: don’t ever go to space. I mean, I guess if you’re an astronaut or whatever, and spend years training to leave the prison of Earth’s gravity and behold the universe, more power to you. But otherwise, don’t go. I … Continue reading Charlie MacNamara, Intrepid Explorer 1: Building a Sanctuary

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next “Claws,” Smon corrects. “Arms, claws.” Tyk considers this information. She has seen Smon put food in her mouth with said ‘claws’, but for a creature without mandibles, that would be expected. No; that’s not the problem with Smon’s assertion. The problem with Smon’s assertion is the … Continue reading 9: Jaws and Arms

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> The ship proximity alarm went off. Something was approaching. We’d been expecting it for days. At least I figured it was days. Tension had long ago fucked up my sleep cycle. If it was the military, we’d have no hope against them. We’d have no choice … Continue reading 23: Execution

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Such a journey, with such company, is not a quick or easy thing to arrange. The hive isn’t going to simply send two children off towards the Northeast and pray for the best. There’s a whole caravan to arrange, of escorts and guards and scouts and … Continue reading 8: Men, Women, Stars

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> Follow my logic. We had two systems of superlightspeed travel at our disposal. Neither could be used until we’d finished dealing with the shielding issue, but that was fine. Blue dashing we used quite often, to outrun things; it gave us little bursts of distance, and … Continue reading 22: Plans

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Different hives construct their hiveheart differently, but the Redstone River Hive’s heart is fairly average, so far as Tyk is aware. It’s made up of fourteen people, which is a little on the low side for its size but not markedly so, and the membership are … Continue reading 7: The Hiveheart

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> The first thing I figured I should do was find out how far away from home I was. This turned out to be a lot harder than you’d think. For one thing, the map was pretty zoomed out, and I hadn’t been intending to film it … Continue reading 21: Anticipation

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next For several seconds, nobody moves. “Oh, come on!” Tyk ducks around her mother and heads for the egg. “She’s not going to hurt you. She’s just a baby. See?” She marches right up to Smon before her mother can grab her and sticks her head between … Continue reading 6: A Destiny Forged