Xenophobia - Chapter 21

    Darrian stared blearily at the screen of his datapad.
    He felt his vision fade in and out briefly, but he shook it off and continued lethargically flipping through the Consortium archives.
    Ever since the old judge had excused the councilors earlier in the cycle, Darrian had been holed up in his office. He'd considered returning home but something was eating away in him anytime he thought about the humans or the contradictory things that the old judge had said.
    Now, instead of being home, he sat in his darkened office flipping through archives older than his grandparents.
    His first attempts had been to start looking at information on the Guillae. It turned up unfruitful. The Guillae were the first race he'd ever encountered in the Consortium databases that simply didn't have information.
    No tendencies. No home planet. Nothing.
    So he started looking for anything related to the Guillae. Floramorphs. Spores. Plant people. ealliuG. By the time the double suns, Jurra and Nurra, had set on the horizon he was manually browsing through archive tags on a wild hunt to find anything that might lead him to more information.
    He hadn't found it.
    Now, deep into the evening of the cycle, he was still mindlessly scrolling through archive tags several hundred rotations old, but no longer with any vigor.
    That was when a message flashed on the right side of his screen.
    Meet us in the conference room.
    "Us?" he asked out loud.
    The message information was blank. It didn't show any sending or receiving information and Darrian had no clue as to who could be asking for him.
    If not for pure curiosity, he might have stayed in his office.

    When Darrian arrived at the conference room, he found the door shut and the display panel flashing a red "locked" symbol.
    To his surprise, however, the door 'wooshed' open of its own accord after a moment or two of standing in front of it. The 'locked' status on the door panel never changed.
    Inside, the room was dark, but he could make out a faint blue glow on the far end of the room.
    "Hello?" he asked in utter confusion.
    "In here." he heard A'alan't 32 say softly.
    Darrian stepped inside only to have the door close very suddenly behind him. He glanced back in surprise, but turned his attention towards the far end of the darkened conference room.
    There, seated at the table, were A'alan't 32, Ferris, and Illiquina.
    A'alan't 32's blue, nearly holographic body was giving off the glow he had seen.
    "Please. Sit down." Illiquina said softly.
    It was at that moment that it struck him how rarely he heard Illiquina voice any opinion recently and Darrian was shocked for a brief moment to hear her voice. She had almost become a part of the furniture for the last cycles since everything started happening and it was odd to hear her speak.
    Considering this, he settled down next to the rest of them, eyeing her suspiciously.
    "Well this is...odd." Darrian observed.
    "We knew you were in your office." A'alan't 32 offered.
    "And I had a feeling you'd come if we were just cryptic enough." explained Ferris.
    Darrian stared at them for a long moment, trying to decide if he was more annoyed or confused by this strange meeting.
    "Fantastic." he said dryly. "But what's with the cloak and dagger routine?"
    "Well..." began Illiquina.
    "Something's going on." said Ferris with a look of tired annoyance that Darrian felt matched his own.
    "Right." agreed Illiquina.
    A'alan't 32 looked at them both before shaking her head.
    "They mean with the old judge. And the Guillae." She offered. "Something's not quite right."
    "Yea." Darrian agreed slowly. "Something did feel off. But...what are we supposed to do about it?"
    "Lemme ask you this." prefaced A'alan't 32. "What have you been doing all day since you were dismissed?"
    Darrian thought back to his endless scrolling and searching along with his failure to turn up anything of worth.
    "I was looking for answers as to why the old judge seemed to care so much about the Guillae."
    The others all nodded in agreement.
    "Us too." confirmed Ferris.
    "I didn't find anything though." said Darrian with a half hearted shrug.
    "We didn't either." A'alan't 32 said. "But I think I know why."
    "Oh?"
    "What would you say if I told you that the database for the Guillae and for the old judge had been altered?" asked Illiquina.


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Xenophobia - Chapter 20

    The room sat in extended silence. A number of the other ambassadors exchanged confused and concerned glances. The old judge seemed oblivious, or at the very least as if he was ignoring the obvious surprise his comment had rendered.
    "I don't understand." Ugul finally said slowly. "Why would we be worried about the Guillae?"
    "Why wouldn't we be?" retorted the old judge as if he were educating a child; just a hint of condescension. "It's good to know and understand any rogue element within the stars."
    "This council is meant to monitor and review information on the humans." Darrian said shortly.
    "You're not wrong." the old judge agreed.
    "Then, to reiterate Ugul's point." said A'alan't 32. "Why would we be concerned about the Guillae?"
    "The Guillae are a rogue element." the old judge responded in that same condescending tone. "We need to understand them in the rare instance that we ever have to encounter them again."
    "But this is about-" started Ugul again before being cut off by the old judge.
    "The humans. I know." the old judge snapped.
    Ugul looked shocked having been cut off by the old judge, as did a few others. He wasn't some child. He was an ambassador of the Jigger species. He wasn't the smartest or most outspoken of the council, but he was hardly out of line to question the old judge on this apparently unspoken motivation.
    "Then why aren't we more concerned about the humans?" demanded Ferris.
    "The humans are dead." the old judge stated with a level of cold detachment Darrian could only imagine was possible for a robot. "We need to use the time we have to learn what we can."
    "They're not dead-!" Ugul started to bellow.
    "They're dead. The Tulgucks have already entered the galaxy. The Gorderians haven't even mobilized yet and there's nothing the humans have in their arsenal that will stop them."
    "There has to be something." muttered Ugul in distress.
    "They DO have nuclear capabilities." offered Ferris.
    "Capabilities pointed at each other and low in yield." he retorted flatly before adding, "It doesn't matter."
    "Then why are we bothering?" demanded Darrian. "Why are we sitting here discussing politics about a species that you've already decided is dead before they even take the hit?"
    "Because, again, we can learn more about the Guillae and how they interact with an oxygen-based, high water life form."
    Darrian could feel the questions swimming, but didn't voice them. Why? Why do we care? Why does it matter? What good does it do?
    "It's clear that we cannot progress any further today." the old judge said with cold sternness. "We can reconvene at a later time. You're all dismissed."
    Darrian looked around the table but none of the judges moved. Even Cagool, who had finally stopped shaking from his exchange with Jin'thun earlier, sat in silence.
    The old judge glowered at them.
    "Ambassadors." he said with a mechanical sigh. "If this really bothers you all so deeply, I'll explain further."
    "Please do." responded A'alan't 32 matching his own low, stern tone.
    "Fine. I'm going to offer a guess: when I first mentioned the Guillae some cycles back, what was the first thing you after the initial meeting? I presume you went and tried to investigate them, did you not?"
    There were a few assorted nods and muttered agreements.
    "And what did you find?"
    There was silence. Darrian knew that he personally hadn't found anything in the Consortium databases, but that A'alan't 32 and the Bivvie databases had been chock full of information on the Guillae. They locked eyes, but it wasn't A'alan't 32 who spoke up.
    "Nothing." offered Cagool.
    "I didn't find anything either." said Ferris.
    "Me either." agreed Ugul.
    "We don't know anything about the Guillae." said the old judge flatly. "In the short time the Consortium and the Guillae interacted, we never had a peaceful interaction short of the strained meetings that led to the Guillae and Consortium agreeing to stay out of each others' way."
    "We need to learn as much as we can so we can add it to the limited cache we know about them. They've always seemed to be an extremely hostile species that is simply bent on taking over any water based planet that they can land a spore on. It's almost as if they're driven by a hunger that we don't rightly understand."
    Darrian looked across the table to A'alan't 32 for confirmation of what she'd told him before and stared in shock. The Bivvie, who's transparent, seemingly holographic body always flickered between so many emotions and ages, seemed almost stable. The differences were minor at best. Almost solid. And all of them showed a glare of anger at the old judge.
    For just a brief moment, A'alan't 32 glanced in Darrian's direction, perhaps sensing that he had been staring at her for too long. Without a word, she simply shaked her head.
    "Now. That is all." the old judge said finally. "Take the rest of the cycle off. I will see you on the next."
    The other ambassadors got up with little murmurs and mutters, but no one said anything against the old judge. Darrian didn't know what to feel. He trusted A'alan't 32's information and the data gathered by the Bivvie, but he couldn't understand what was happening. Did the Consortium really not have access to any of the information on the Guillae, leading them to believe this was some conquering race? Or were they intentionally misleading the species of the Consortium?
    As Darrian sat there trying to understand his own thoughts, he watched A'alan't 32 storm out of the conference room. For the first time ever, her shape appeared to be almost solid.

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Xenophobia - Chapter 15

   "I...I don't understand." stammered Cherryl from her place at the table. "How can they have found a G-Guillae?"
    "I concur." agreed the old judge. "The Guillae vacated that planet dozens of rotations ago."
    "Indeed they did." confirmed Harris. "But all the same, the humans have recovered one."
    "Alive or dead?" asked Darrian in utter confusion.
    "Are you kidding me?" snapped Cagool. "That thing has been there for who knows how many rotations. Alone. Under the ground from how it sounds. Why would you think it's alive?"
    Harris cast a sidelong glance at Cagool before responding. "It's certainly dead."
    "W-well that's good news." said Cherryl looking notably relieved.
    "No. It's not." said Harris and the old judge seemingly simultaneously.
    "It's not?"
    "No." confirmed the old judge.
    Cherryl looked like she had more to ask, but quickly reconsidered as the old judge and Harris turned their attention back to each other.
    "Sir. Is it normal for Guillae to leave one of theirs behind like this?"
    The old judge shook his head.
    "I'm not completely sure. It's been an exceptionally long time since the Consortium had any interaction with the Guillae. Likewise, as a general rule we never authorize colonization of old Guillae planets. Researchers rarely favor such locations either."
    "So this could be a norm?" questioned Harris.
    "We simply don't know."
    "Why are we even discussing this?" groaned Cagool. "Who really cares?"
    The old judge flashed Cagool a threatening glance before responding.
    "Do you know anything about the Guillae, Cagool?" he said.
    "Nothing more than you've told us before. Plant people. Like to eat planets. That sort of thing."
    "I also mentioned that they travel together in a great cluster. A spore." explained the old judge. "Because of this, or maybe it's the other way around, the Guillae have a number of innate capabilities."
    "Capabilities?" questioned Darrian.
    "Well, for one, the Guillae are linked to one another. Each Guillae is connected to all of the others. Think of it almost like a hive mind, not unlike insects..."
    "Or a flora-network." added A'alan't 32. "Like roots or a forest."
    "Precisely." agreed the old judge. "It functions even across deep space."
    "While creepy to think about, I ask again, who cares?" said Cagool. "It's dead."
    "That brings us nicely to their other capability. Just one Guillae can repopulate an entire planet. One. Dead. Guillae."
    "You can't be serious!"
    "No. He's right." confirmed A'alan't 32. "I've been studying them on my down time. Not unlike some plants, Guillae essentially convert to giant seed spores upon death. Their only purpose is to sprout when exposed to water."
    The old judge nodded in agreement before turning his attention back to Harris.
    "Thank you, Harris." he said with a nod. "Is there anything else?"
    "Uhm...no, Sir."
    As the old judge reached down to turn off the holographic imager, Harris spoke up.
    "Actually, a moment, Sir."
    "Harris?"
    "Should we...do something about this?"
    "No."
    There was excitement and confusion as whispers littered the table.
    "Of course, Sir."
    "Keep us up to date when the Guillae spores."
    "I will."
    With that, Harris terminated the transmission and the old judge sighed. Darrian found the action peculiar for a robot. But with the number of other peculiar learned programming the old judge had demonstrated, this was hardly the strangest.
    "So we're not doing anything about this?" asked A'alan't 32.
    "We must maintain the quarantine." said the old judge. "We would need to discuss the matter with the Consortium before we could take any true action."
    "But what if they accidentally spawn more Guillae. More live Guillae?" demanded Darrian.
    "When the humans do, we will wait and watch to see what happens. This could prove to be an exciting learning opportunity."

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Xenophobia - Chapter 13

    The awkward silence drew out for several long moments. The majority of the Consortium stared at Jin'thun and the other two Gorderian representatives as if they might spontaneously combust. They stared right back.
    "What?" Jin'thun finally growled, his expression unable to hide his annoyance at being the sudden center of attention.
    "W-w-well... It's just..." stuttered Cherryl.
    Jin'thun locked eyes with her. Despite the fact Darrian didn't think he was actually trying to be intimidating, Cherryl let out a little squeak and stopped talking.
    "It's just...with the way things are happening..." Illiquina tried to continue for her.
    "Where do your allegiances lie, Jin'thun?" asked the old judge, clearly growing annoyed with the Consortium's attempt at tact.
    The Gorderian glowered at the robot and Darrian felt his throat tightening with fear that they had been right. But, as they watched, Jin'thun's expression softened and he sighed heavily.
    "What do you mean by that?" inquired Jin'thun with the softest tone Darrian had ever heard from the ambassador.
    "Will you, and by extent the Gorderians, be joining the Tulgucks in the slaughter of the human species?"
    The room grew incredibly still as everyone waited on bated breath for his response. At the same time, Jin'thun seemed to return the glances, silently weighing his options.
    "I don't know." he finally stated.
    "Well, that's better than a yes..." whispered Ferris.
    "Is it?" asked Jin'thun. "I simply recognize that it's not my place to make a decision that would slaughter an entire species. Or condemn my own to exile from Consortium."
    "Unlike some." grumbled A'alan't 32.
    "You're not wrong." agreed Jin'thun begrudgingly.
    "So you're considering it then?" asked Darrian.
    "I'm considering all of my options, Merrenian."
    "The humans are monstrous. Terrifying." stated Ugul. "But you can't just kill them all."
    "Again." Jin'thun said with just a hint of anger. "It's not my place to decide. After this meeting, I will contact my homeworld and we will discuss the implications of all possible actions."
    "As it is, I can't deny the possible threat that the humans present." he continued. "But, it's hard to deny that the more we have watched them, the more promise I've seen from the oxygen breathers."
    "May I suggest something then?" asked the old judge.
    Jin'thun looked at the robot expectantly.
    "You say you would like to discuss all possible options?" the old judge continued.
    "Yes..." Jin'thun responded with a questioning look.
    "What might those options be?"
    Baffled whispers could be heard around the table. Many of the ambassadors looked just as surprised and confused by the question as Darrian was.
    "Is this some kind of a trick?" asked Jin'thun with a threatening growl.
    "No trick." said the old judge. "I simply want to know what you consider as options."
    Jin'thun watched the old judge carefully, seemingly still not sure what the robot was getting at. Finally he answered.
    "We will discuss whether we should join the Tulgucks in their attack on the human population, and thereby lose our standing with the Consortium, or if we shall remain neutral."
    "May I suggest a third option then?" asked the old judge.
    "You may..."
    "It's well known that the Gorderians and the Tulgucks are the only two species within the Consortium that maintain a regular Armada force. You're both young, new to the Consortium, and clinging to your old ways."
    Darrian noticed several of the ambassadors quietly agreeing.
    "As a general policy, the Consortium maintains a regular species-based security force to help maintain order within respective planets. But, as you likely know, those forces are little to nothing compared to the might of either the Tulguck or the Gorderian armadas."
    "While this might be considered an oversight, it is quite rare that we ever need such a force. It's even more rare that such an event might come from one of our own."
    "Where are you going with this?" asked Jin'thun thoughtfully.
    "Jin'thun. Your species is the only other member of the Consortium with a military force that might be able to stop the Tulgucks from committing a horrible atrocity. Will you ask your homeworld to about utilizing your armada in aid of the humans?"
    The Gorderians looked just as surprised as the rest of the ambassadors. None of them would have ever considered suggesting Consortium races wage war on each other. Or, if the thought crossed their minds, it would have been gone just as quickly and certainly never said out loud.
    "Are you serious?" asked Jin'thun quietly.
    "As serious as an impending genocide." the old judge answered back, seemingly nonplussed.
    "Defend the humans?" Jin'thun growled and then repeated. "Defend the humans...?"
    "Yes." the old judge agreed.
    The Gorderian furrowed and glared at the robot. His fur bristled and claws dug deeply into the table. Darrian felt himself tensing as he waited for the impending explosion.
    But it never came.
    Instead, once more, Jin'thun let out a heavy sigh and stood.
    "Will you consider this third option?" asked the old judge again.
    "I will." agreed Jin'thun to the Consortium's surprise. "I make no promises. But I will present the proposition to my homeworld."
    "We will have a great deal to talk about." he said as he made his way towards the meeting room door.
    The room was silent as he went. Just as he reached the door, the old judge spoke once more.
    "Thank you." he said softly.
    "Don't thank me yet, robot." Jin'thun said. "And judge?"
    "Yes?"
    "You do know that, even if we were to respond, the Tulguck Armada has already mobilized. The humans may already be dead by the time we could even reach their solar system."
    "Then I hope the Gorderians will be willing to take such a risk."
    Jin'thun stared quietly at the old judge for a long time before finally closing the door behind him.

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Xenophobia - Chapter 6

   Despite the aggression that was briefly displayed that evening in the Consortium, the Tulgucks and Gorderians did honor the decision of the council. Actions were quickly arranged to set up a full time analytics team that could both monitor the state of the planet as well as study the population of AV32784 further. There was a bit of scrambling to figure out a system of semi-permanent air purifiers to deal with the oxygen atmosphere, but all in all, things were set up without a hitch.
    The first forty solar cycles after the analytics team arrived were relatively unexciting. Aside from facts and complaints about the flora and fauna on the planet, the council was provided little more than a few interesting tidbits of astronomical data.
    It would seem that the planet was known as "Earth" or "Terra" depending on what the analytics team found. Likewise, the planet's solar cycles were known as "days" as were their solar rotations known as "years". Both were drastically shorter than Merrinians'. Initial guesses were that the planet ran something in the range of one hundred times faster than their own.
    Darrian figured it would be the last he'd be hearing from that hellish wasteland for a while.
    He was wrong.
    It was on cycle Forty One after the analytics team arrival when the first priority message was delivered to the council chambers.

    With a heavy sigh, Darrian made his way out of his office and back down the hall towards the meeting room. Ferris and Cherryl were already waiting in front of the door, rapidly talking with each other.
    Ferris, who had not been present at the Consortium meeting, had been brought into the fold to assist Darrian with the council details. Cherryl, on the other hand, was the ambassador for the Celestial Commissionary in that sector and was the main liaison between the analytics team and Merrinian.
    "Dare I ask?" Darrian questioned Cherryl as he approached.
    "Don't bother. She won't tell us anything before the meeting." Ferris grumbled and gave Cherryl a nasty look.
    "I-I can't." She stammered in her normal soft tone. "You'll know soon enough though."
    Darrian motioned towards the door and they both filed into the meeting room. He followed quickly after them and the three of them settled into their spots around the table. The old judge was already at the front of the room and a number of others had already taken their places. The council was primarily Merrinian with a handful of alternate species from the Consortium on hand to represent their individual interests.
    Once everyone was at the table, the door sealed with a soft hiss and the old judge spoke up.
    "Alright everyone. As you were aware, the analytics team that we recently stationed at AV32784 was sent there with specific instructions to monitor the population for any changes that might effect the global community."
    "When last we discussed this planet, the "human" population had demonstrated a capability for space travel, but had only shown an interest in a few lunar excursions and utilizing orbital technologies. That has changed."
    "Changed?" asked Juag-e, the lone Tulguck emissary. "That quickly? We only just got there."
    "Correct." agreed the judge with a nod. "Just like everything else on this planet, it seems that minds change quickly as well."
    The judge reached down and clicked a few buttons on his datapad. The room darkened and the holographic imager lit up to reveal the soft featured face of a human. For a minute, Darrian wondered if somehow a human had somehow discovered the analytics team and sent the message, but his fears were abated when Harris's snarky voice came out of the creature. However, there was no sarcasm or attitude in his voice this time.
    "The humans have initiated a program to reach and colonize their closest planet. Much like their 'race to the moon', the species has begun a seeming competition to send colonists to the fourth planet in their solar system. It would seem that dissatisfaction at one of the current organizations "NASA" has instigated a sudden boom of interest by a secondary organization to try and accomplish this task. While their technologies are still very limited, further initiatives may allow for or prompt research into deep space travel. The first ships are said to leave within three to six cycles. Please advise. Over."
     The imager went black once again and everyone sat in silence for a minute. Finally, it was Ferris who broke the quiet.
    "Sound like we sent a team at just the right time."
    "Yes." agreed the judge with a nod. "It would seem so."
    "Did they really say three to six cycles? Do we even have time to respond?" asked Ugul, the massive Jigger who sat at the end of the table.
    "N-not really." said Cherryl with a shake of her head.
    "Do we have any data on the planet they're trying to colonize?" asked Illiquina, the Cadrax of the group.
    "Quite a bit actually." responded Cherryl quickly. "It's a deserted planet and hasn't had life for quite sometime. It was originally home to the Guillae but according to Harris's reports, the humans like to refer to it as 'Mars'."

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(Hello Lovelies. So, you may have noticed that we have yet more Xenophobia! While, I know that it's October and I had talked about started Spookytober, I want to keep the ball rolling for as long as I can. Xenophobia continues to be very well received and, unlike some projects, it's flowing smoothly without trouble. I want to keep producing as long as I can and, should my attention drop off a bit, then I will switch over to Spookytober. I hope you enjoyed and check back again for the next Chapter! Ta!)

Xenophobia - Chapter 2

    Darrian couldn't believe the number of people before him. He couldn't think of anytime he'd ever seen so many different souls in the counsel chambers, particularly of so many different species from around the galaxy.
    While the initial discussion about the "humans" and their planet had surprised him, it was how the Galactic Consortium responded that made him realize something was truly amiss. At any given time, the Consortium could take as long as one tenth solar cycles to arrange and host a hearing regarding a new space faring species. This new one was arranged within five rotations.
    Now, standing at the precipice of the room, he felt himself go numb with shock by the size of the turnout with such little warning.
    He could see ambassadors for the Gorderians and Tulguks already waiting at the counsel tables while a massive Jigger was doing what he could to get settled. A small group of Urreaneans and Kaeel were floating several feet off the ground, discussing something in the back corner of the room. The old judge and several other Merrinians were trying to help a gaggle of Yool, Bivvie, and Cadrax to their own seats. And those were just the species Darrian could readily recognize.
    "Alright, alright!" the judge called angrily, his robotic voicebox amplifying tenfold over the rabble. "Let's get this meeting underway. I know we're missing some people but we've waited long enough."
    The next fifteen minutes was a barely contained riot of activity as everyone did what they could to get to their assigned seats. Darrian was jostled several times before he could get settled and even got accidentally slimed by a passing Yool.
    "We're here to discuss the potential of quarantine for planet AV32784 along with reports of a species that might be acquiring space faring technology kno..."
    "EXCUSE ME!" yelled a creature at the far end of the table. Darrian didn't recognize the species but he thought it might but an Olgan?
    Ambassador Uu'lassna of Planet Olanta 23 has the floor spoke a robotic voice that Darrian had never heard in the regular counsel meetings.
    "Yes, Uu'lassna?" asked the judge, looking quite displeased to be interrupted.
    "We seem to have a mismatch in data. You're claiming that this species is developing space faring technologies, yet they don't seem like they're capable of flipping a switch."
    A confused babble of discussion and questions broke out around the table.
    "I'm not sure I understand Uu'lassna. Our Merrinian analyst team has clearly identified space faring technologies." the judge said, looking perplexed.
    Uu'lassna tapped a few buttons on the console nearest to him and the holographic imager gave birth to an image of scales and feathers and claws and teeth. A massive beast not greatly dissimilar to a carnivorous lizard species in the Ijulen system, but drastically larger and more terrifying looking. It stood on two legs and was in the process of tearing apart another scaled creature limb from limb in a horrific display of savage violence.
    "These images were captured just after you sent out the announcement about this planet. These beasts might look terrifying, but I doubt they can fly."
    The judge said nothing initially but instead responded with a secondary image of his own. This time of a primitive looking urban area made of stone and metal with mechanized transports zipping about on roadways. A number of bipedal creatures, strangely smooth and weak looking, lacking any obvious natural decoration or defenses, meandered about the sides of the roads.
    "These were also captured during that time period." the judge said with annoyance. "Now tell me, what kind of imaging technology was utilized?"
    "Lightcore telescopic lenses, of course." Uu'lassna said with a colorful photochromatic display under his mouth. Not readily knowing the species, Darrian could only presume this was some kind of show of pride.
    A number of the other ambassadors trying to contain their snickers.
    "Ambassador. Your planet is 67,000 light cycle from AV32784. While LTL scopes might be useful for something relatively nearby your planet, you are viewing images that are 67,000 cycles old! Even worse, the solar rotation is drastically intensified for that planet, so the images in question are something in the range of 67,000,000 rotations old!"
    The judge was clearly livid at being interrupted, particularly with such an impudent mistake. The other ambassadors couldn't contain themselves any longer and began to openly laugh. Uu'lassna sunk back and turned several shades of blue.
    "Now, before I continue, does anyone else have anymore terrible lizards that they want to show us or can we get back to the topic at hand?"
    Darrian resisted the urge to request more pictures.
    "Good." he growled out. "Let's begin..."

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Writing Inspiration - 01.28.16

Write a story where Humans are considered the invading

aliens of another planet and not the other way around.

Writing Inspiration - 09.21.15

"A species of shark has not only gained the ability 

to fly but to live indefinitely out of the water."