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A/N: You can now vote for The Whisper of Damkina at Top Web Fiction!

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“Do we know how much of the Vaian Defence Force is still at large?” Sangat asked once they had returned to the station. “This Corona mission is going to be very difficult if they are appearing and shooting at us.”

“A handful of ships maybe,” Oni replied. “Our escort seem to think as much anyway and I guess they’d know.” Read the rest of this entry »

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A/N: You can now vote for The Whisper of Damkina at Top Web Fiction!

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“Attention, Whisper and escort,” came the message from Talis Station. “Please take up a waiting configuration. We have a bit of a situation.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Amanpreet muttered before responding. “Affirmative, Talis Station. What sort of situation?”

“The fight you were just in with the Vaians seems to have triggered some sort of security protocols in the Talis computer. They have an automated defense system that started up when the first laser was fired. It’s not shooting at us because it has us designated as friendly but we think it might fire at anything else that moves.” Read the rest of this entry »

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A/N: MKJK I rephrased your prompt. Hope that’s okay.

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“We’ve just entered that central void in the Spaghetti where our sensors and similar work,” Niobe said. “And our escort and Promise are both hailing us.”

“Put them on screen,” Amanpreet said.

“Okay,” Niobe said. A moment later the escort captain appeared on the screen. Read the rest of this entry »

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Amanpreet took a breath to steady herself. “Can you call our escort and Promise, please, Niobe? We need to discuss what to do.”

“You know the spy is probably on our escort don’t you?” Niobe said. “The captain was the one who picked our route to try and avoid just this.”

“I know,” Amanpreet said. “And hopefully he does as well and has locked down communication.” She frowned to herself. “But let’s check our own communications, just in case. I trust all of you but we do have guests aboard.” Read the rest of this entry »

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The bioforming supplies were delivered early the next morning and Amanpreet and Niobe checked the inventory while Linda cooked them breakfast.

“It looks like everything is here,” Amanpreet said finally. “Let’s get it stowed, eat breakfast, and then set off.” She glanced at Niobe. “Or do you want to stay a few more hours? I know you don’t see your mother as much as you’d like.” Read the rest of this entry »

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By the time Kayla arrived, dinner was nearly ready and wonderful smells were floating into the house from the outdoor kitchen that Niobe’s family used at the hottest times of the year. Amanpreet was sitting at the terminal checking on the order for the bioforming supplies for Talis, so she twisted around in her seat to look at her.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“Without a hitch,” Kayla said. “I have new ID and the Dreamsong is now officially mine.” She flopped down on one of the sofas. “And no one attacked me, which is nice. But what happens now? I hope the wait soon will be over.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Niobe’s mother Linda was one of the chief marine biologists on Cels. She and her team were responsible for monitoring the stability of the bioformed oceans around Western Cels. Indeed when Amanpreet and her crew arrived at Niobe’s family home – a large single story whitewashed house of lovely naturalistic curves and no hard edges which stood on the tropical coast several miles from the nearest city – her mother and two assistants were just making their way up the beach dressed in wetsuits and carrying boxes of samples. Read the rest of this entry »

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Amanpreet had Kayla handle most of the hyperspace navigation for their trip to Cels in order for her to get used to the different feel of the Whisper compared to her smaller ship. She’d even sat in the dome with her on their first jump – ready to take over if she had a problem – but the Vaian girl had done her job with only minor wobbles and by the time they reached Cels she’d even got over that.

As they re-entered normal space and entered orbit around Cels, Kayla climbed down from the dome to join them.

“Well, how’d I do?” she asked eagerly. “I think it went better this time.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Amanpreet was enquiring after the bioforming supplies the Ishtari on Talis had asked her to obtain when Umi called.

“I thought Kayla would like to know the results of the Council of Planet’s deliberations on Vaia,” she said without preamble.

“Yes, I imag–” Amanpreet broke off as Kayla rushed over. “Yes, she definitely does.”

“Have they come to a decision?” Kayla asked. “What are they going to do?”

“A blockade,” Umi said. “As my people suggested. But the Humans and Ishtari insisted that vital food supplies be permitted past the blockade, since Vaia is not yet self-sufficient.” Read the rest of this entry »

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A/N: repost because the original was causing a redirect loop

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“The main thing you need to know about an expedition to a prohibited world is that even on a sanctioned expedition landing is still completely forbidden. Indeed we must take great care to avoid being seen from the surface.”

“I can see why,” Amanpreet said. “From the surface we’d appear to be an unusual astronomical phenomenon if spotted and that could could influence the development of their cultures even without contact. But it won’t be easy especially since you say they are launching their first extra-atmosphere vehicle. How do we observe and avoid being seen?” Read the rest of this entry »