3.28.19 - Bilateral Reconstruction

Tht’s a good name for something sci-fi.

That could be the meds.

Also.

That. Really. Hurt.

That really hurt.

It was worse than the doctor thought. Not just the patella but the ligaments to either side.

I’ll get a phone call tomorrow about the results and recovery.

For now, I’m glad it’s done.

I want to recover.

But I’m scared of how long it could potentially take.

But I want to recover. I want this to be the low point. It gets better from here.

I get better, from here.

““Wants”

I want to write
a story I can be proud of.
I want to write a story that
deserves to be heard.
I want to be
successful.
I want to scream into the void,
and hear a scream back,
for once.
I want you to reach out.

I know you’re out there.
I miss you.”

“I want to find out if I can finish what I start.”

3.28.19 - Progress Update and Excerpt

So… personal progress first: I’m having surgery tomorrow to repair the ruptured patellar tendon in my left (formerly the good) knee.. This is not how I wanted to start my spring break, but I’m trying to look at it positively. At least I’ll have close to ten straight days to recover before I have to go back to work. Hopefully within a few weeks I’ll be cleared for physical therapy and be back in the gym shortly thereafter. It’s not going to be easy, but I know I’m going to be so grateful to be back on track, working on making myself better. The gym has been my outlet for depression over the past few years. And I can’t wait to get back.

But while I’ve been on injured reserve, I finished the third draft of Gravity’s Reach, the first book in this saga I dream of getting published. Draft One came in at around 200,000 words. Draft Two knocked that down to 140,000. Draft Three got me to under the red line of 120,000, which is what I needed to get published. So I’ve gone ahead and done a few housekeeping things like creating actual chapter breaks and a table of contents. Ran spell check a few times (for what small amount of good that does), and now I’m starting Draft Four, in which I hopefully tighten everything together and make it something someone other than myself would want to read.

The good news? I’ve got ten days to dive into it, with nothing but rotating ice packs and strong medications to keep me company. Well, there’s the dog. He’ll be around.

Random wonderings when you’re writing science fiction:

People know that Sol is another name for the Sun, right?

---

Crash pressed against the cold window, took in the soft glow of Earth, and wondered if he would see home again.

How’s that for an opening sentence?

Long excerpt

“Eyes up guys, I don’t think we’re alone.”  Crash said.

They entered a darkened bay full of moving shadows and horrible moans.  Bodies littered the floor.  As the four Rangers approached, groans turned into roars.  Men and women, clad in tattered Carrion overalls, charged.  “They’re unarmed!”  Crash yelled, hesitating to raise his rifle. 

The first worker, with graying hair and cracked skin, reached with gnarled fingers for Crash.  CRACK.  A burst from the corner woke him as the worker’s skull exploded in a bloody mess.  The headless corpse slid to his feet. 

“They don’t want hugs, stupid!”  A voice called from the rafters.  Domino, wearing the majority of a torn EVA suit, held a long rifle.  She squeezed the trigger again, taking out another worker.

The four rangers formed an arc and opened fire.  Bodies piled up to their knees.  After tense silence, Crash lowered his gun.  “Clear.”

“Clear.”  The other three sounded off.

Domino dropped from the crossbeams.  “About time you showed up.  I’ve been stuck up there for days.”

Rhu and Lupien trained rifles on her.  Crash stepped forward.  “I have questions.”

Domino looked at the barrels pointed at her.  “So do I. It’s easier to answer when I don’t have to worry about a bullet.”

Casteel holstered his rifle in the magnetic lock on his back.  “Don’t mean to interrupt, but who the hell are you, lady?”

“I’m here for the same reason you are.”  They followed her gaze to the foreboding structure in the center of the hangar. 

“It can’t be,” gasped Crash.

Excerpt

Twenty minutes later, self-stitched and full of stimulant-subdued rage, Domino redonned the EVA suit.  She strapped a portable med kit to her back and left the bay.  Her sentry had been busy.  A pile of bodies soaked the floor in crimson pools.  The drone was out of ammunition.  She entered the elevator, leaving it behind.

The lift shook to a stop a moment before power died.  Domino looked up to the  shaft access.  “Why can’t things ever be easy?  Just once I’d love to infiltrate a vacation planet, walk in, say hi, get what I need, leave.  Soak vitamin D on a beach, served tea by a waitress wearing nothing but a smile.”

Excerpt

“How many more of those do you have?” Sun asked.

“Four,” he replied.

“Should have let him suffocate a little,” Hoff growled as they ran.

“Primum non nocere,” answered the TK.

“The void that mean?” Chrichton asked. They slowed as Brachium stepped ahead to check the way.

“Ancient medics code: first do no harm.” Sun answered, waiting for the scout’s signal to moved down the maze.

Chrichton frowned, “that doesn’t work in war with an enemy that wants to kill you.”

“Honor is measured in fairness to those that want you dead. Or something like that it…” Crash said.

Hoff laughed, “When did you go all Zen?”

“Helps with jitters in the dark.”

Brachium knelt and whispered, “I love darkness. I can melt in the shadows.”

“You’re part cat,” Hoff joked.

“Gilead-Novartis Predator Pack 3B,” she corrected. “The purr, though, is all me.” She held up a fist. The party sank into the walls.

“You’re not going to mate with me then eat my head, are you?” Crash asked.

“Only one way to find out!”

“I knew it!” Hoff replied. Bright sparks lit up his shoulders and broke the moment.