Joanna The lead warbeast moved its head back and forth, as if scanning the area, although she knew, from the geometry of its skull, with its eyes looking to the sides like a bird, it was using parallax to make up for its lack of stereo vision. <Word arrives from the hills to the west of Aum,> the golden-eyed beast …

Joanna Joanna switched off the television and considered what she had just seen as she lingered over the last bites of her breakfast. A sip of her treasured instant coffee washed it down as she thought. She had no idea how Benjamin had rigged a TV to pick up Earth broadcasts on Chald, only that the set connected to a …

Roy “Officer Mendez, please don’t misunderstand. You are not being accused by any member of this department.” The detective’s assurance did nothing to ease Roy’s anger. He stood in the lieutenant’s office with arms folded, seething but unsure as to who he should be mad at. He knew the lieutenant would be against suspending him, and these other two wouldn’t …

Beasts The moment it happened, the war beasts of the region knew of the mad creature of the castle’s demise. Its death cry rang out through military frequencies of both sides for miles around. All now recognized the power-vacuum which its death left in the castle’s vicinity. Planning for the realignment of resources on both sides began immediately. The Ilidi …

Jack Jack stood, watching the fallen monster, still wary of any further movement. The rain was now drenching him, and he thought vaguely about needing to find cover against lightning strikes, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the nightmarish thing During the fight, the night had taken on a weird, unreal texture. He felt as if this were a …

Rogan “Armor, Althem!” Rogan demanded as he holstered his handgun. The armor formed rapidly and he grabbed for the swords as soon as they materialized. Jack, who had tried to dash in under the beast’s chest while the flame was turned away from him, dodged aside as it batted at him with a monstrous paw. “Retreat to the keep!” Rogan …

Rogan As the first drops of rain began to fall, Nam sprinted into the firelight and leapt across the fire, yelling, “Yours!” As she rolled, the men turned to face the monstrous form that barreled after her out of the darkness and the strengthening rain. They fired together into a twelve-foot-tall reptilian nightmare. It braked to a halt in the …

Rogan Without a chance to hunt, Rogan reluctantly cooked the dried cod he’d brought in case he was still in the field on Friday. Nam was giving out non-verbal signals of her displeasure as they ate. For her, fish had to be fresh to be fit for human consumption, but fishing was as unlikely that day as hunting. When she …

Ria Nobody would think twice, seeing a girl working her tablet in a coffee shop. Especially not if she dressed the part of an average online gig IT contractor perfectly. She had three dozen windows working, seemingly lost in the world of tagging and managing coding bots and search tools while simultaneously on the lookout for her next gig. Das …

Jack She was wearing the same style of improbable dress as before, a gown of gold brocade like the dress of a medieval princess from a romantic era painting. It belonged in a setting with finery and luxurious furniture. It was utterly at odds with the context of sitting on a rock. Her hair fell in long curls behind her …