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A Writer's Dozen - Trial
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forest dagger glass
bus transporter gravity chrome
napkin tool quality continuum
It would be a lie to say that Donovan was beginning to get used to the frantic pace they were going at for the last twenty minutes, though his insides stopped rattling around his gut and he started to suspect that not every organ returned to its original place. The back went numb altogether and he could not feel his arms for the last five minutes. The creature he was riding, one resembling a crossover between a giraffe and a red horn but covered in scales, showed no sign of fatigue.
Okay, guess I'll give it a go. Sorry its a bit long. Couldn't sleep and got carried away. forest dagger glass
bus transporter
napkin tool quality continuum
It would be a lie to say that Donovan was beginning to get used to the frantic pace they were going at for the last twenty minutes, though his insides stopped rattling around his gut and he started to suspect that not every organ returned to its original place. The back went numb altogether and he could not feel his arms for the last five minutes. The creature he was riding, one resembling a crossover between a giraffe and a red horn but covered in scales, showed no sign of fatigue.
Donovan rode for what felt like twenty minutes. The creature came to a sudden halt at the edge of a marshy outcropping. It reared back violently, and it was all he could do to hold on to its scaly hide. "Woah, woah there." The creature gave no indication it understood or was comforted. It continued to buck and whinny, its cry a cross between a bull and an injured feline. Donovan held on as best he could, but soon found the laws of gravity in this world were firmly in place. He landed with a firm thud. Dazed, he could just barely make out the sound of clapping. "Bout' time you made it." said a voice.
Mod
bus
napkin tool quality continuum
Still aching and disoriented, Donovan turned around to see Kirkilas smirking at him. The woman was irritating in the best possible circumstances, but as things stood right now Donovan found her downright unbearable.
"Give me a break", he grunted. "I'm lucky to be alive. The Exarchs saw through my cover story faster than anticipated. I couldn't reach the transporter anymore, so I had to come up with... another way to reach you". Donovan gave the beast a look that was half grateful, half murderous.
Kirkilas' smirk grew even wider. "So, did you get it? Or was this whole mission a bust?" She knew, of course, the answer already. Donovan really didn't like her, but for now he would have to swallow his distaste. Without Kirkilas, he wouldn't have a chance to leave this planet intact.
Mod
bus
napkin tool quality continuum
"So did he get it?" voice of the auxiliary commander Sikes remained calm for the time being. He was staring at the chrome-tinted sky, the very same sky that he hated so much during the first six months since his arrival to this post.
He turned around and flared "I dare you to repeat that you do not know!", lieutenant winced. Sikes thought he was beginning to get rather good at it! Barking orders, glaring at his underlings and appearing overall menacing came with the job. A job he was supposed to be good at, yet there they were...
"The artifact is not in its chamber anymore and the thief has managed to get away, yet here you stand before me, claiming none of perimeter alarms went off?!" He tuned out the groveling of the lieutenant, he wasn't interested in any of the excuses and there was nothing they could've told him he didn't already know. The artifact was missing, though apparently it never left the base. The encryption was unbreakable, had the artifact been carried past the fence surrounding the outpost he would know. And what would constitute a much bigger problem, "They" would know.
He shuddered, masking it as a sign of outrage, being aware of the six pair of eyes staring earnestly at him. As luck would have it, they belonged to three different bipeds, which was exactly the way he wanted to keep it for now. He met the masters only once. Staring into the void of those six alien eyes, during the briefing on the importance of the safety of the said artifact, added plenty of grey to his hair.
"Lock down the base and get me the tracker."
forest dagger glass bus
napkin
Commander Sikes whirled back towards the command centre, striding officiously across the landing bay, as Lieutenant Greene scrambled to inform the security corps of the lockdown before any mission crews had chance to leave. True to his name, he lacked the experience and gravitas that the rest of the officer class shared, but nepotism is a powerful tool in times of political turmoil.
"Lucky you weren't here when it happened," Kirkilas said with a wry grin as soon as the others were out of earshot. "They'd have pinned it on you in a heartbeat. They might still. Awfully convenient alibi you have there, kid." She waited expectantly to see whether her prodding got a rise out of her old friend this time, but Donovan could only sigh as they watched the base spring to action around them.
"So this is it," she laughed, "This is our end. Slaughtered by the masters for losing their precious artifact." Her voice betrayed her and cracked on the final word, unnerved by Donovan's uncharacteristic silence. Then they both stood, contemplative, as the gravity of the situation dawned upon them.
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Using this post to keep track of the story's progress:
It would be a lie to say that Donovan was beginning to get used to the frantic pace they were going at for the last twenty minutes, though his insides stopped rattling around his gut and he started to suspect that not every organ returned to its original place. The back went numb altogether and he could not feel his arms for the last five minutes. The creature he was riding, one resembling a crossover between a giraffe and a red horn but covered in scales, showed no sign of fatigue.
Donovan rode for what felt like twenty minutes. The creature came to a sudden halt at the edge of a marshy outcropping. It reared back violently, and it was all he could do to hold on to its scaly hide. "Woah, woah there." The creature gave no indication it understood or was comforted. It continued to buck and whinny, its cry a cross between a bull and an injured feline. Donovan held on as best he could, but soon found the laws of gravity in this world were firmly in place. He landed with a firm thud. Dazed, he could just barely make out the sound of clapping. "Bout' time you made it." said a voice.
Still aching and disoriented, Donovan turned around to see Kirkilas smirking at him. The woman was irritating in the best possible circumstances, but as things stood right now Donovan found her downright unbearable.
"Give me a break", he grunted. "I'm lucky to be alive. The Exarchs saw through my cover story faster than anticipated. I couldn't reach the transporter anymore, so I had to come up with... another way to reach you". Donovan gave the beast a look that was half grateful, half murderous.
Kirkilas' smirk grew even wider. "So, did you get it? Or was this whole mission a bust?" She knew, of course, the answer already. Donovan really didn't like her, but for now he would have to swallow his distaste. Without Kirkilas, he wouldn't have a chance to leave this planet intact.
"So did he get it?" voice of the auxiliary commander Sikes remained calm for the time being. He was staring at the chrome-tinted sky, the very same sky that he hated so much during the first six months since his arrival to this post.
He turned around and flared "I dare you to repeat that you do not know!", lieutenant winced. Sikes thought he was beginning to get rather good at it! Barking orders, glaring at his underlings and appearing overall menacing came with the job. A job he was supposed to be good at, yet there they were...
"The artifact is not in its chamber anymore and the thief has managed to get away, yet here you stand before me, claiming none of perimeter alarms went off?!" He tuned out the groveling of the lieutenant, he wasn't interested in any of the excuses and there was nothing they could've told him he didn't already know. The artifact was missing, though apparently it never left the base. The encryption was unbreakable, had the artifact been carried past the fence surrounding the outpost he would know. And what would constitute a much bigger problem, "They" would know.
He shuddered, masking it as a sign of outrage, being aware of the six pair of eyes staring earnestly at him. As luck would have it, they belonged to three different bipeds, which was exactly the way he wanted to keep it for now. He met the masters only once. Staring into the void of those six alien eyes, during the briefing on the importance of the safety of the said artifact, added plenty of grey to his hair.
"Lock down the base and get me the tracker."
Commander Sikes whirled back towards the command centre, striding officiously across the landing bay, as Lieutenant Greene scrambled to inform the security corps of the lockdown before any mission crews had chance to leave. True to his name, he lacked the experience and gravitas that the rest of the officer class shared, but nepotism is a powerful tool in times of political turmoil.
"Lucky you weren't here when it happened," Kirkilas said with a wry grin as soon as the others were out of earshot. "They'd have pinned it on you in a heartbeat. They might still. Awfully convenient alibi you have there, kid." She waited expectantly to see whether her prodding got a rise out of her old friend this time, but Donovan could only sigh as they watched the base spring to action around them.
"So this is it," she laughed, "This is our end. Slaughtered by the masters for losing their precious artifact." Her voice betrayed her and cracked on the final word, unnerved by Donovan's uncharacteristic silence. Then they both stood, contemplative, as the gravity of the situation dawned upon them.
Words in play:
forest dagger glass
giraffebus
transporter gravity chromenapkin
toolquality continuum