Day: December 19, 2012

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 18: Crewing the Spaceways

~ jllegend ~ Leave a comment

This is the 18th in a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing from 2nd December 2012 until the 1st December 2013. It’s intent is to keep me writing throughout the year, and not just in November. you can find out more about the challenge here.

Crewing the Spaceways, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 19th December 2012

Word count: 773

Theme: sci fi, star ship, memoirs of a space pirate, the small details, exploring a point, understanding

The story:

“Right, you take the left bank of the cooling systems, I’ll take the right,” the engineer, Chief Rawlings said to his young apprentice.

“What I don’t understand,” the apprentice, John Bernard started.

“What you don’t understand could fill a billion volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannia,and still need an extra forest for more paper,” the engineer said snappily.

“I’m sorry I said anything,” John said, feeling embarrassed. It was his first day on the job, and only his third hour into the shift, and Captain Arsené Frassin had already called duty stations to alert, there was something going on, not that anyone would tell John what. ‘For a pirate ship, sorry privateer ship, they were as tight lipped as any military star ship,’ he thought to himself.

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Short Story: You Choose.

~ jllegend ~ Leave a comment

This was originally part of my daily challenge initiative, however I really enjoyed writing it, and didn’t want to try and cut it down to just a thousand words. So bonus day today, two fics. Though I’ve not written the replacement Daily Flash Fic, so I need to get on that right away.

You Choose, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 19th December 2012

Word count: 1,563

Theme: decision, god, alien, travel, choice, saviour, apocalypse, the one

The story:

You choose.

“Excuse me?” Roman was wondering where that thought came from.

You choose. It was a voice in his head, almost like that internal voice that tempered or tempted him daily, but it was somehow different.

“Choose what?” Roman figured there was no harm in letting it play out. Maybe his brain needed to tell him something.

You choose.

Roman gave up, and went back to sleep. He woke up late the next morning, panicked momentarily about the time until he realised it was Sunday.

You choose.

He shook his head in the vain attempt at dislodging the unwelcome thought that kept repeating. He went to get the newspaper from the door. Did hits usual, sorted himself toast and jam, and a pot of tea.

He sat there reading the paper doing his best to ignore that voice in his head, that repeated every time he read a bad news story. It went silent for the football results, and then he came to an article about a particular vicious incident at a game. A player had headbutted a member of the opposing team, but the referee never saw it, so it was on report.

You choose.

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