MEMORY FRAGMENT
Imperial Academy, 35 years ago.
No one knew exactly when the Imperial Academy was created. Depending on who was asked it ranged from the fourth Tamin emperor to fifty years before the empire itself. The only thing on which e...
2023-11-27 21:26:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe streets were as full as before, but the cheer wasn’t there. It wasn’t just a case of the world being at war. With no one firmly in control of the domain, there were no limiting echoes to boost people’s mood, nor did the domain itself fill the city with joy. The overseer could probably d...
2023-11-27 02:17:32 +0000 UTC View PostThreads of void emerged from the Elazni ring only to disappear moments later, leaving Dallion with the impression that the item was mocking him. It seemed that each time he’d look at it, it would reveal its nature just enough for him to notice, though nothing more. It was impossible to determin...
2023-11-26 15:42:47 +0000 UTC View PostSearching through the destroyed city was more cumbersome than one might think. The few sections that had survived the vortex had been emptied by fleeing survivors and then picked clean by scavengers who’d come for a quick profit. The more dedicated ones prospected the walls of the newly created...
2023-11-24 23:49:25 +0000 UTC View PostHello, all!
After some thought, I decided to improve the finale of the series by adding a few tweaks and a new chapter. Here's everything in one big chunk for you to enjoy!
Thank you and be well :D
Lise
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…Eridian Star System, Orion Sector – 632.5 A.E. (Age...
2023-11-24 03:03:12 +0000 UTC View PostA smell of freshness was everywhere around. There was no refined blend of taste and aromas that filled the imperial capital. Wildness was in the air in the very real sense—a wildness that Dallion had forgotten even after spending a short while away. Scarier than that, the further away he got, t...
2023-11-22 14:45:08 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Dallion had agreed to the deal, he’d never thought that the ring was aimed at impressing a potential overseer. For one thing, it was ludicrous to think that Ber—a drunk, leech, and flake—would have anything to do with one. Furthermore, a rind wasn’t something that an overseer, or eve...
2023-11-21 02:56:33 +0000 UTC View Post“Is everything alright, young master?” Taem asked.
Dallion didn’t respond. Ever since returning from the imperial palace he had been sitting in his study, staring at the sky silver box that the duchess had given him. Things hadn’t turned out at all as he expected. With the return of...
2023-11-19 21:38:58 +0000 UTC View PostTauciu System, Resha Colony — 711.5 A.E. (Age of Expansion)
“I’m telling you!” The boy kept on waving his hands in front of my face. One held an old datapad—probably passed down from his grandparents—and the other a highly questionable fruit.
That was o...
2023-11-19 00:34:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe day third-contact occurred, it was only noticed by a human and a battleship, and it was ignored by everyone else. The single millisecond transmission I had made into the heart of the bureaucratic apparatus had created more chaos than both announcements of the contact wars, changing the entire...
2023-11-19 00:28:23 +0000 UTC View Post…Eridian Star System, Orion Sector – 632.5 A.E. (Age of Expansion)
We’re at the Eridian System, Captain. I covered the walls of Gibraltar’s quarters with the messages. With his privacy mode active, there was little else I could do. Considering everything that had h...
2023-11-17 21:33:28 +0000 UTC View PostTauciu System, Resha Colony — 711.5 A.E. (Age of Expansion)
“I’m telling you!” The boy kept on waving his hands in front of my face. One held an old datapad—probably passed down from his grandparents—and the other a highly questionable fruit.
That was o...
2023-11-17 21:32:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe day third-contact occurred, it was only noticed by a human and a battleship, and it was ignored by everyone else. The single millisecond transmission I had made into the heart of the bureaucratic apparatus had created more chaos than both announcements of the contact wars, changing the entire...
2023-11-17 21:31:23 +0000 UTC View Post“Elcy!” Lux’s voice blasted through my ears.
Initially, I expected to find myself back aboard Radiance, heavily restrained. I wasn’t. Dozens of messages had clustered on my helmet’s visor, notifying me that my oxygen level was down to seven percent. Beyond them was nothing but liq...
2023-11-17 01:07:01 +0000 UTC View Post…Eridian Star System, Orion Sector – 632.5 A.E. (Age of Expansion)
We’re at the Eridian System, Captain. I covered the walls of Gibraltar’s quarters with the messages. With his privacy mode active, there was little else I could do. Considering everything that had h...
2023-11-17 01:05:51 +0000 UTC View PostSpending hours on a shuttle with someone tended to give rise to a lot of conversations. Grunts would usually talk about their lives back home. Pilots tended to focus on close calls, veterans on their past or their children, whichever applied. Bavon, in contrast, remained silent. I made a few atte...
2023-11-17 00:49:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Elcy!” Lux’s voice blasted through my ears.
Initially, I expected to find myself back aboard Radiance, heavily restrained. I wasn’t. Dozens of messages had clustered on my helmet’s visor, notifying me that my oxygen level was down to seven percent. Beyond them was nothing but liq...
2023-11-17 00:48:13 +0000 UTC View PostGorgon Empress? Spending years real world time with her, Dallion was pretty sure he was familiar with most of her family history. There didn’t seem to be any love lost between her and her local parents, but they definitely weren’t royalty or even nobility. It was her otherworldy parents that ...
2023-11-17 00:41:21 +0000 UTC View PostIgnoring the pain, Dallion ripped out the tendrils and flew back. In the real world, this would have been the end. Actually, it might have been the end here as well if Euryale was fighting seriously. She had promised not to pull any punches, but if she had let the tendril spike up while in his bo...
2023-11-16 00:57:32 +0000 UTC View PostSpending hours on a shuttle with someone tended to give rise to a lot of conversations. Grunts would usually talk about their lives back home. Pilots tended to focus on close calls, veterans on their past or their children, whichever applied. Bavon, in contrast, remained silent. I made a few atte...
2023-11-15 00:29:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Elcy!” Lux’s voice blasted through my ears.
Initially, I expected to find myself back aboard Radiance, heavily restrained. I wasn’t. Dozens of messages had clustered on my helmet’s visor, notifying me that my oxygen level was down to seven percent. Beyond them was nothing but liq...
2023-11-15 00:26:20 +0000 UTC View PostLux had gotten a different memory fragment after her experience. That was a nice bonus, and it also confirmed that imprinting bypassed the safeguards built into my conscience core. Yet, it wasn’t what I was looking for.
The reason I was doing the unforgivable—meddling in another ship’...
2023-11-15 00:16:05 +0000 UTC View PostSpending hours on a shuttle with someone tended to give rise to a lot of conversations. Grunts would usually talk about their lives back home. Pilots tended to focus on close calls, veterans on their past or their children, whichever applied. Bavon, in contrast, remained silent. I made a few atte...
2023-11-15 00:14:48 +0000 UTC View Post“I appreciate the irony, Doc,” I said, laying on the slab in Radiance’s medbay.
The same equipment that was used to complete my retirement was all around me, only this time, I didn’t see any organic husks other than me lying about.
“These things happen,” Doctor Phelia said...
2023-11-14 01:33:01 +0000 UTC View PostLux had gotten a different memory fragment after her experience. That was a nice bonus, and it also confirmed that imprinting bypassed the safeguards built into my conscience core. Yet, it wasn’t what I was looking for.
The reason I was doing the unforgivable—meddling in another ship’...
2023-11-14 01:32:00 +0000 UTC View PostExplosions lit up the horizon, like small blossoms of dust and fire blooming in the distance, then quickly fading away. It was easy to understand how wartime poets felt on the front. It was no accident that they only described such scenes when their own colonies were destroyed. The horror must ha...
2023-11-12 22:39:24 +0000 UTC View Post“I appreciate the irony, Doc,” I said, laying on the slab in Radiance’s medbay.
The same equipment that was used to complete my retirement was all around me, only this time, I didn’t see any organic husks other than me lying about.
“These things happen,” Doctor Phelia said...
2023-11-12 22:37:54 +0000 UTC View PostLocation Unknown, 0.1 A.E. (Age of Expansion)
The experiment was a success, or so they told me. The event was marked by massive celebrations not only in the research lab, but everywhere in human space. The entire research team, along with Doctor Dise, had been called by ...
2023-11-11 19:43:57 +0000 UTC View PostExplosions lit up the horizon, like small blossoms of dust and fire blooming in the distance, then quickly fading away. It was easy to understand how wartime poets felt on the front. It was no accident that they only described such scenes when their own colonies were destroyed. The horror must ha...
2023-11-11 19:41:56 +0000 UTC View PostEquipment lay scattered at the entry point to the lower dome. All of it, from the cables to the heavy duty comm station, had been left behind; everything but weapons.
“You must have dragged me out in a hurry.” I went closer to examine the cable. It seemed in good enough condition, so I ...
2023-11-09 02:15:13 +0000 UTC View Post