《The Ultimate Quote Book》Quote 32
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"If she's amazing, she won't be easy. If she's easy, then she won't be amazing. If she's worth it, don't give up. If you give up, you're not worthy. Truth is everybody's gonna hurt you. You just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."
~Bob Marley
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- In Serial6 Chapters
Contact First
2039 - Earth A narrow beam energy signal appeared aimed squarely at earth from the TRAPPIST system. The communication consisted of a layered set of repeating data over several thousand wavelengths. Over the next few months scientists discovered that the lower wavelengths carried an encoded numerical language which could then be used to interpret the more complicated messages carried on the higher wavelengths. After half a year of painstaking work the signal was fully decoded. It described a small satellite launched along a precise trajectory towards the fourth planet of our solar system. Included was a package of advanced research that humanity would need to have ready in order to receive the satellite and decelerate it safely. The alien data provided the kick that humanity needed to turn from petty squabbling and unite to explore the final frontier. Major government and corporate leaders worked together to create the framework for the United Federation of Sol. UFS spaceports went from scaffolding to daily launches in every major city around the globe. Ships floated like dandelion seeds, spreading on solar wind to grow into colonies. 2397 - Mars orbit, Egeria Station The command center was a hive of activity as checks were conducted and systems initialized. Scientists flitted by like mayflies as communicators beeped and holoscreens spat out green tinted readouts. Nervous energy was thick in the air as everyone anticipated the culmination of over three hundred years of work. Massive fusion reactors under the planet's surface thrummed with barely restrained power as energy fed into a gleaming metallic maze criss crossing the planet. Metal fingers reached up, overshadowing the mighty olympus mons and trying to grab the stars. All over the solar system, people quickly turned to look as gigantic energy lances shot from the dusty fourth planet. Two years later. The same people that clapped loudly at the successful activation of project Hermes now wait with baited breath. A silver capsule trailing bright photonic sails is captured by a net of grav beams and guided with care bordering on reverence into the station. Holoscreens across the headquarters project an image of the sleek craft settling in the bay. Data connections are established and the holoscreens blink to white. Slowly an image forms on the screen. Across the headquarters people stare in wonder as a wholly alien face stares back. "Contact established. Welcome to the universe."
8 155 - In Serial19 Chapters
Blood of the Sun
This story begins in Hevaria, the land of the sun. Princess Stella Solare is adventuring with her friends in the catacombs of Citta Della, the capital city. She hopes to find something to help her become a knight. However, they find a sealed door. Little do they know that opening it will set in motion the greatest journey of all time. One with love, war and death.
8 166 - In Serial33 Chapters
Beyond Tomorrow
The galactic war has shaken the galaxy since prehistory, but mankind knew nothing of it. Like most of the truths of the universe, it was kept secret. Among the travelers arriving in New Westminster in 1879 is Cylas Renford of Indiana, a man seeking his fortune after trying a long string of trades. His new friend and companion, Morninghawk, warns him of strange occurrences in the wilderness and the myth of a secret people, but Cylas fails to heed the warnings. An innocent walk in the woods and a series of coincidences will bring Cylas face to face with criminals, monsters, startling weapons, the secret people, and will culminate in being propelled Beyond Tomorrow. Written in the tradition of American dime novels of the 19th century and the planetary fantasies of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Beyond Tomorrow is a pulpy first person tale of adventure in a future where the world itself has become an alien place. This LGBTQ adventure has a gay male protagonist and is non-explicit, in keeping with 19th century pulp writing. This work has been broken into sub-chapters for its posting here and will be updated regularly.
8 87 - In Serial25 Chapters
David The Gray Mage
The story of a reincarnated man named David who found himself in a world of magic in the middle of a industrial revolution and a opportunity to learn from the most presitigious academy in his kingdom. The world is very different from what David is used to which makes him question his common sense at almost every turn.
8 58 - In Serial60 Chapters
Rimward Bound
Every citizen of the sky-cities of His Majesty's Star-Empire knows that a ship, both sky- and star-, is more then just a few bits of metal. It is the grand sum of it's hull and the crew that sail it. 'Hulls of battle-steel and men to match!' That's what the Navy's recruitment poster's claim at least. Every sailor knows that there is one more component that the city-bound folk ignore at their own peril: the soul of the ship. That it takes both man and hull to make a true ship, and that neither alone serve well or for long. In 8225 Lord Jeffrye Saltonstall the Fourth, Political Lord of the Surveyor's Corps, demands semi-automated ships to 'reduce the loss of life among our brave crews', manages to convince the other politicians and bureaucrats to fund them, and gets the Office of Ship Construction to sign off on the ships as structurally sound. Dockyard workers shake their heads at the ships, muttering that they are cursed from birth, even as construction drags on. In 8230 the Explorer, first of her class, is launched. She sets out in 8233 to great fanfare on a trip expected to last six months. Neither she nor her twelve-person crew is ever heard from again. By 8235, the remaining seven Explorers are are commissioned. Lord Saltonstall managed to find crews for six of them but at the cost of mass resignations. The Night Horse, last of the Explorer class, sat in reserve as her sister-ships served well enough despite ill luck and misfortune. The Office of Ship Construction quietly issues notice that no more semi-automated ships are to be built and that all active Semi-automated ships are to be quietly retired and broken up for scrap over the next ten years. The Night Horse, sitting in reserve, is missed due to bureaucratic oversight. In 8250 Lord Ayland Wynstryngham the Eighth assumes the office of Political Lord of the Surveyor's Corps. His first act is to issue notice that no ship is to be without crew nor sit in dock or reserve for longer then required for maintenance and upkeep. The Night Horse, all but forgotten, is quietly brought back into active service. Recruiting a crew for her proves another matter entirely. What poor or desperate fool would willingly sign on to crew, much less command, a cursed ship and spend months or years in deep space? Well, you would, of course. Where else is a kid from the gutters going to find that kind of freedom in the service of His Majesty? A [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] 2021. Warnings: Second person is used in this work. Semi-Polished draft: Posted chapters are subject to revision as needed as things progress. Mild Profanity on occasion.
8 57 - In Serial16 Chapters
Alone (Joocie X Laff!)
Requested by MintyAnimalO, full credit to them for the idea!The two kingdoms have been fighting for a couple of decades, and they were planning things. The king of one kingdom decided to do a sneak attack. He met an enemy bodyguard that he for some reason couldn't bring himself to hurt....
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