Time to Orbit: Unknown

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> “Ask me something,” Glath demanded as I paced the edge of the cliff, looking down into the fog below. It had been a few days since our investigation and the shallow bites of the crabs were healing well, but I was never going to forget their … Continue reading 10: Friends and Foes

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next If the hive is working on the assumption of no trade, there are two critical industries likely to suffer more than any other – silk, and blackmoss. Silk is made by spiders high up in the tower, harvested and woven by men, and generally, Redstone River … Continue reading 18: Silk and Stone

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> One day, as Captain Nemo was almost ready to lay her first batch of eggs, an atil on scavenger duty wandered too far from the guards and went missing. She reappeared the next morning, slightly battered but intact, and with a message from the drakes. The … Continue reading 9: Danger above, danger below

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Slowly, haltingly, nervously, and with Tyk’s help, Smon tells her story to the hiveheart. The room is crowded, with Tyk and her two parents and Smon all crammed in with the hiveheart itself, and Smon’s nervousness isn’t helping Tyk feel calm. The hiveheart, by contrast, listen … Continue reading 17: A New Hive

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> “It’s the carbon dioxide,” I lied. “It’ll suffocate us all if we’re not careful.” I pointed at the part of my tangled twig map that, according to Harlen, was supposed to represent the tunnels near the water we’d crossed. Water would seep through the sand and … Continue reading 8: Dream Team

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next “We’ll come with you,” San tells Tyk as the family head out of their residential chamber that morning. “Aren’t you needed in the tunnels?” Tyk asks. “The collapse – ” “It’s mostly handled. And I’m sure that the rest of the girls can handle the dirt … Continue reading 16: Dangers of the Sky

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> It was two days later when I looked up from a complicated pile of twigs to see Ain walking past on his way to the surface. “Hey! Ain!” I jogged over. Ain shrank back at the sight of a human yelling and running toward him. I … Continue reading 7: Best-laid plans

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Tyk doesn’t have time to worry about Smon right now. The hive needs her more. If Smon does anything particularly alarming, the pair guarding her egg will let the hive know; until then, there’s work to be done. Tyk has been in cave-ins before, and knows … Continue reading 15: Pollen Storm

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> We found an unconscious Kerlin not too far from where Kit had dragged me out of the water. He was lying half in the water, but through some miracle, his face wasn’t submerged. I dashed over and put a hand to his side to check if … Continue reading 6: Home

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next “Smon Earth make forty three Javlyn, Smon kind inside, eggs inside, food inside. All go to other suns, other Earths.” “Do all the sentinels have people on them?” Tyk asks. “No. Smon people see no other people. Only Smon people on Smon star.” “People on Tyk … Continue reading 14: Broken Brakes