Back at it.

So I should be graduating in a few weeks from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Professional Writing from the Gaylord College of Journalism. Professional writing is about writing well enough to make money and be successful. I really want to do that. I want to be able to pay my bills by writing. So I intend to do that. So I am back at it now and here we go.

The idea for my novel came from these blogs. I plan on finishing it then going back to the John Croft series. John and his dead daughter, Marie, were headed to Mexico, New York. There he will be confronted with the dangers of what will happen if the Elder Gods and their forces take over the planet.

So look forward to this next installment and then also keep an eye out for a copy of my final semester novel to be published also on the Kindle and Nook.

will be back soon.

I have decided to keep up my flow of imagination I am going to start writing 100 word clips again. I look forward to getting back to it and hope you all will enjoy reading it all.

6/25/11: Mexico, New York

In upstate New York there is a small town. John Croft will go there to save a boy from nightmares. While John believes he can save the town, Marie knows its is too late.

When John croft arrived in Mexico, New York he was already too late. They expected him and had set a trap to finally do away with him after what he did in New York City. But the acolytes of the dark forces had failed to take into account the return of his dead daughter. Mexico, New York had been dominated by the acolytes of the old gods in one long, hot summer. The citizens of the quiet Upstate New York town didn’t know what had hit them when the hotter than Normal summer came to an end and by Christmas beneath the quiet façade of the town was a sinister and sadistic secret that had affected and changed everyone. This town of less than two thousand people was never going to be the same.

6/24/11: Grays

Every thing the Grays told us was forgotten. Lost in a filing cabinet somewhere in the Arizona desert. The information was copied and transferred to dark rooms in obscure hallways in nameless buildings. It remained forgotten until the Elance showed us images of them. The Elance ambassadors told us the aliens we called the Grays were once our most trusted servants. Their loyalty to us was endless, which was what brought them to Earth. They were fleeing from the Scholars before coming to Earth. Somewhere in their computer system they found a clue to our whereabouts and set course while trying to avoid further Scholar contact.

6/23/11: GOM

The Galactic Occupancy of Man was the supreme rule throughout the galaxy for over fifteen millennia. The GOM was controlled and operated by the alien race known as Humans. Throughout its reign it was both benevolent and malevolent. It ruled through a representative republic and also a tyrannical dictatorship. It allowed free ice cream on Sundays and also bring your kids to work day (no matter how dangerous your job was). The GOM ran the gambit of good and evil but one fact remained true: It united the galaxy. Sometimes the galaxy and all its aliens loved the GOM, other times the galaxy all hated and reviled them.

The Galactic Occupancy of Man was able to maintain its hold (sometimes strangling) on the galaxy because of elite agents like Markus Strauss and Penelope Sinclair.

6/22/2011: Marie's Experience after death

In the darkness we huddled. It squeezed around us like a smothering blanket. Through the inkiness we felt the things that wanted us to stay. They pressed the darkness against us and we cried in terror. None of us knew our names. We were featureless and lost. But then it called to me and I knew my name once again. Marie.

I felt the darkness give way and I was being pulled away from the others. They reached for me but they had nothing which to grab me. I screamed that I would be back for them. I told them I would rescue them.

Their cries faded away as the light of this world beckoned to me.

But I would not get away that easy. The monsters that dwelt in the darkness howled in protest of my escape. They lashed out at me and I felt their icy grip and searing gazes as I drifted away from their realm.

There was nothing after death. No names. No shapes. Only darkness. Those I was sent back to help you fight have already won the war. We must find a way to stop them from taking our world as they have so many other worlds.

6/21/2011: Mark Strauss

Red was actually Mark Strauss. He was the most elite agent for the Galactic Occupancy of Man until he was wounded during a mission against the Proletariat Conglomerate. The Proletariat had stolen the plans for a weapon system that was capable destroying entire solar systems and Mark, along with Penelope, was assigned to getting it back or destroying the Proletariats. He destroyed the Proletariats and the plans along with them but was mortally wounded. Penelope managed to get Mark back to GOM medical techs who used an experimental treatment of placing his body in stasis and transferring his mind into a cloned canine. When Mark came to the first question he had for Penelope was what kind of dog was he. She told him a mutt with red fur. His nickname of Red was born then.

6/20/2011: Penelope and Red

Penelope and Red are adventurers. They always end up in some sort of trouble and its never their own fault. As an Ex-spy for the Galactic Occupancy of Man and its constituents she has seen wide swaths of galaxy with her former partner who was put into the body of a dog after their last mission for the GOM went horribly wrong.

“Nah, I’ll make sure you get to ride with me. In the seat right next to me. Besides, you did help me save the world didn’t you?” Penelope walked away from the shimmering integrity field. The small red dog followed her across the transport shuttle bay. Penelope smiled at the sound of the dogs nails on the metal surface.

“We need to cut your nails so we can do that during the flight.”

“Ugh, I would rather ride in the carrier in the belly of the ship.”

Penelope watched the ramp into the transport lower as a line of people approached the ship. They weren’t actually people, Penelope thought to herself. Well, they were people, but they were aliens from across the galaxy. Come to this world to help reestablish civilization after Penelope and her little red dog destroyed it all.

6/19/2011: Betic Clayton

I failed to write my blog for 76 days. I am going to start doing it again so here we go. Oh yea, Happy Birthday to me.

Betic Clayton did not know what his heritage was or what his ultimate responsibility would be when he grew up. He grew up in a fort that was manned by old soldiers who fought falling asleep at evening watch.

Betic always wanted something bigger than serving the inn patrons and cleaning up after them all. Vera “the Dragon” raised him. She was a large, boisterous woman who owned the inn where he worked. He was brought to her as a baby and he was never told anything about his real parents. He has asked but Vera told him something different each time.

Betic’s father was actually a very powerful knight for the King of Triton. His father was the leader of the Pendants nineteen years ago. When his father returned to the court of the Triton King he was in love with Betic’s mother. three years after the Pendant war, Betic’s mother became pregnant. Then the assassinations began.

Zealots of the Passion were coming out of hiding and killing the Pendants and those who were to inherit the title of Pendant.

5/10/11: Apologies

Okay, so I dropped the ball much of the month of April but I am hoping to get back to writing again for this blog.
And it's not as if I just stopped. I wrote during that time. Just not for here.

I have a short story on Kindle. Here is the link. It's about John Croft.
http://amzn.com/B004YQVFLY Here is the cover art for it. Made it myself.



Okay well. Not much else. Expect a few other stories up on Kindle soon.

4/4/11 Marie's visits

More on John Croft. Does it sound like I'm bored with him? I'm not.

John Croft’s daughter, Marie, died when she was 7 years old. During the Nightmare Cometh short story she returns. She was able to re enter this world by hitching a ride on the activities of demons and other supernatural events. The first time he experiences this is when he sees the bum on the street. The next time is when he awakens to the sound of his voice mail and sees the bum in the bathroom mirror. The next time is when he sees her in the car wreck. Then also right before he is alone on the street. He hears her laughter as he is in the nightmare of the empty street. When Mariana showed him her fingers. When he saw the bum in the street on his way to peters. When he drinks the water in Peters office.

4/3/11 Crap I forgot to write today

Holy cow, I think I forgot to write something on the 3rd. Hmmm.. Well it was bound to happen. I do have to say though that classes have definitely kept me super busy writing this semester. I have come up with some stuff that I would never have considered writing before this semester and one of them I am definitely going to be putting on the Kindle soon.

While this semester has been the busiest so far, It has been the most productive. It has made me think about how I write and shaped my writing habits.

Gotta go.

4/2/11 Ideas from movies i watch

So I watched "Gangs of New York" and came up with this. Ties into the John Croft storyline but way before Mr. Croft was even born.

The Civil War Draft riots in New York City were caused by the forced draft but it had a dark, sinister cause also. Cults worshipping dark forces had the city on edge. They had infiltrated both the rich and the poor. They had their influences in politics and in slums. The dark forces had an environment that was perfect for their manipulation. Big names in history had no real connection to these dark forces but people working for or with them did. William “Boss” Tweed did not know that his undersecretary was a worshipper of the dark forces. The bloodshed of the civil war and the riots fed many dark creatures.

4/1/11 John Croft's Reputation

Not really sure where I came up with his name but it helped create what he became.

John Croft’s reputation preceded him and it usually made every circumstance worse. When he fought the Disciples of Yog-Taraoth they had an entire army of Ghasts to protect their worship site. It was overkill to protect a circle of stone in the middle of the countryside thirty miles from the nearest town. When he investigated the disappearances of a town’s children a flock of dagon’s were brought in to deal with him. Both times he overcame them but it was by sheer luck. He went from talking about nightmares with patients to hunting down dimensional monsters and stopping the invasion of this universe by evil and chaos.

3/31/11 John Croft and his dead daughter

Oh, John Croft, you filled my days with misery but I really like your story.

John tried hard to walk as fast as he could to Peter’s office. But he continually looked up at the windows above him.

As he passed an alley he briefly looked in. He stopped dead in his tracks.

The homeless man stood in the alley. His dirty army coat was wide open in the front and long tentacles writhed from under it. A large fang filled mouth split his torso from beltline to neck. The man’s head lay limp to one side. He mouthed words but the voice that came forth was Marie’s.

“Daddy, keep going. You must stop him. He sees you.”

The homeless man leapt from the alley. The maul of fangs chomped hungrily for John.

John stumbled back from the alley and into the street.

When the homeless man hit the sunlight he vanished.

John stood in the street. His arms shielded his face as he braced for the attack.

A car screeched to a halt inches from John.

“Get out the way, dumbass,” the driver yelled.

John slowly lowered his arms.

A police officer on the sidewalk grabbed John and pulled him out of the street.

“What do ya’ think you’re doin’?” the officer asked.

“Uh, I don’t know.” John stared down the alley.

“How ‘bout you get movin’ and stay out of the street.”

John nodded and continued on his way.

As he turned the corner of Peter’s block he noticed someone leaving Peter’s building. It was Marianna.

She looked around as she walked down the sidewalk. She wore a gray woman’s business suit and her hair was down. She disappeared around the far corner of the block.

John ran to the end of the block.

Marianna was nowhere to be seen.

John went to the door of Peter’s building and pushed the intercom button for his office.

He waited for Peter to respond.

“Who is it?” Peter answered.

“It’s John. Open the door.”

“John? What the hell…”

Static interrupted Peter.

Marie’s voice emerged from the intercom.

“Daddy? You need to stop him. He sees you and wants to come.”

Fear sent John staggering away from the intercom.

The door buzzed.

John threw open the door and ran inside.

3/30/11 John Croft and his dead daughter

More of John Croft.

The bar was busy for early evening. Its open sign blinked at all who walked past it. It beckoned to them.

John stood across the street and watched as New Yorkers could not resist the neon’s sign draw. They went into the bar through the padded red door with its silver buttons and small diamond-shaped window. The bar was the same sanctuary where John had spent years drinking his marriage, career and the life of his daughter away.

He tried to tell himself he didn’t want to go in but he really wanted it more than anything. He was jealous of those people who wandered into the gaping hole that was hidden by the red door. He swore he could feel the cool metal handle of the door in his hand. He swore he smelled the stale alcohol on the damp air of the dark bar.

He felt his foot leave the curb and step into the street. He had given in to the neon sign’s siren call.

A loud crash shattered John’s yearning.

Startled, John jumped out of the street.

People ran to the intersection up the block.

“Somebody call an ambulance.”

John followed a group of people up the street.

As he approached the intersection he recognized the intersection as the one where Marie was killed.

A cement truck had plowed into a car that had failed to stop at the sign. The front of the car was crushed. The people in the car were not moving.

John’s breath caught in his throat as he stood back from the gathering crowd. Somewhere in the crowd of people a young girl laughed.

He saw himself sitting in the driver seat of the car. Next to him sat Marie, her face bloody.

“Marie!” He yelled.

Somebody in the crowd turned back to him.

“You know them?”

John looked at the person and then to the wreck. Marie was gone.

“No. Sorry,” John said.

John and the others watched as an ambulance and cops showed up. A fire crew used the jaws-of-life to remove the young couple from the car. As they put the woman on the stretcher John had to look twice. Somewhere in the crowd the young girl laughed and clapped.

Marie looked back at him from the stretcher. Her eyes unblinking, lifeless.

“Daddy,” he heard her whisper.

“Marie?”

John tried to push through the crowd.

“Watch it, dude,” Someone said as he was forced back.

John followed the stretcher. He jumped to see over the crowd of people. As they loaded the stretcher into the ambulance he saw the injured woman again.

“What the hell is going on,” John asked out loud.

“Another accident,” the woman in front of him said. “There’s one at least once a week. Stupid drunk people don’t stop at this sign and pow they get hit by the traffic that doesn’t have to stop. A few years ago a little girl was killed.”

John looked over at the lady. She didn’t look back at him as she watched the ambulance drive off. John noticed her skin was gray and mottled with pox marks and scars. Her hair parted on the side of her head. A bulge emerged and it opened. A dark, inhuman eye stared back at him.

3/28/11 OMG class assignments

The consume my life right now.

John Croft lives in a land of nightmares. As an unlicensed psychiatrist he has helped others deal with their recurring nightmares when legitimate colleagues are unable to make progress with their patients. When he begins to see the nightmares described by many of the patients in his daily life he begins to question his own sanity.

OUTLINE:

John Croft meets his ex-wife, Shelby, at a diner for lunch. They meet every March 3^rd to celebrate the birthday of their daughter, Marie. Marie was killed five years ago when John and Marie were in a car accident. The accident was John’s fault. He was an alcoholic and had an addiction to Vicodin and was intoxicated at the time of the accident. Shelby meets with him begrudgingly and tells him at this last meeting it will be their last.

3/27/11 More class assignments

More Jack Fargone and the Idiots

HUAN
If you send it we won’t have anything to use against the Captain and he’ll have no reason to tell us where Jenni is.
JACK
Huan is right. We need use it.
DEAN
I am obligated to send this to the agency. I have a duty, I am sorry.
Huan pulls out his datapad.
JACK
Dean, please reconsider.
Huan’s datapad illuminates his face.
DEAN
Friends, I am sorry.
INT. TRANSPORT BAY
Dean’s ship sits in the transport bay.
Jack and Huan exit it.
JACK
What the hell? Why won’t he help us.
HUAN
Let’s go back to the room.
DEAN
I am bound by regulations.
Huan sees a group of security personnel coming into the transport bay.
HUAN
It’s fine.
(Beat)
Jack, let’s go.
Jack looks back at Huan.
JACK
(to Huan)
What?
(to Dean)
Rethink this.
Huan grabs Jack’s elbow and pulls Jack with him. The security personnel pay no attention to Jack and Huan.
SECURITY
Deanionionasad. The Captain wants us to escort you to him.
INT. SHIP CORRIDOR
Huan leads Jack through the corridor.
JACK
What are you doing?
HUAN
Those guys were not going to help us.
(Beat)
Besides, we don’t need Dean.
JACK
We need to convince him.
HUAN
No we don’t. But now we need to do what we need to do.
INT. JACK AND HUAN’S ROOM
Huan pulls out his data pad.
DEAN
Here.
Jack looks at the data pad.
JACK
Awesome, Huan.
HUAN
I know.
JACK
I am going to see the Captain.
The door chime buzzes.
HUAN
Who is that?
JACK
Don’t know.
Jack goes to the door.
JACK
Security?
HUAN
Only one way to find out.
Jack signals for the door to open.
Emma stands on the other side of the door.
EMMA
We need to talk.
Jack lets Emma in.
JACK
What is it?
EMMA
First and fore most he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
JACK
What?
EMMA
He merely told me because he cares about me.
JACK
What are you talking about Emma?
Emma sits at the small table.
EMMA
Jenni is still alive. She’s being held somewhere on this ship and . . .
JACK
What? Where?
EMMA
I don’t know. He doesn’t know.
Emma’s eyes water.
EMMA
He said he was asked to look at some medical records. They were human. And they were female. But there was something wrong with them.
JACK
Was she hurt?
EMMA
No. He didn’t think so.
JACK
We need to see him. We need to talk to Dr. Tino. If he still has the data maybe Huan can find something.
EMMA
I can take you to him.

3/26/11 Jack Fargone

This is some of the screenplay for class.

INT. DEAN’S SHIP
Dean, Jack and Huan fly back to the Command ship. They sit cramped in the small craft.
DEAN
We need to transmit this information about the primitives to my agency. They will take action against the Captain of this fleet.
JACK
What will they do?
DEAN
Fleet operations will cease. The Captain’s hyperspace rights will be revoked.
HUAN
Why, if you have so much power, is the Captain not afraid of you?
DEAN
Not sure. The IDIOTS fleets have a lot of power in the galaxy. They think they can do whatever they want to make money.
A red light illuminates the dashboard in front of Dean.
JACK
What’s that light?
DEAN
It’s a transmission. Keep quiet.
Dean waves a hand over the light.
TRANSMISSION (O.S.)
Conservationist Deanionasad? The Captain wants to see you. As soon as you return to the ship.
DEAN
Tell the Captain I would like to see him also.
TRANSMISSION (O.S.)
Command out.
Dean smiles.
DEAN
I’ll confront the Captain with this information and he’ll have to admit to it all. I will then send it to the agency.
JACK
You really think this is how we should go about this?
DEAN
How else?
JACK
We should us to find out where Jenni is?
DEAN
I can’t do that. I must get this to my agency. It is my duty.

3/25/11 Achilles the Retriever

When you have suffered enough in hell, would you be surprised to see a dog who was meant to bring you out of it.

About every other day I am lucky enough to provide a service to individuals in need. I help these people get out of a horrible situation that they have put themselves into. About every other day I travel down to hell and retrieve an individual who God has felt served his or her time and I get to give them a second chance.

Actually, Hell isn’t really down. Sometimes it’s sideways or diagonal or even up. It’s all perspective I guess. Not really sure why it changes locations. The others in my line of business haven’t been able to tell me and I haven’t really spent that much time on trying to decipher the secrets of the universe since my death.

On April 5, 1999 I failed to look both ways when I was crossing the street and a car hit me. The driver of the car wasn’t kind enough to stop and see if I needed help but truthfully how many drivers stop when they hit a dog.

3/24/11 Prometheus

We must defend against the aliens within, not without.

The Prometheus project was a defensive satellite system the Collective developed from technology left behind by the Scholars and technology scavenged from the Grays. The Prometheus was designed to provide a defense in case of alien invasion of earth. It wasn’t meant to prevent invasion, the military space fleets in the system were meant to do that. The Prometheus was intended to help fight aliens if they gained a foothold or invaded earth. There were a few times when Prometheus was targeted against human threats but to use it would have forced the Collective to stop what it was doing and reconsider sharing all it had learned from its years of research and collection.

3/23/11 Pendant Saga opening

The opening to my fantasy series.

The small vessels were not big enough to sail all the way from the Zealots homeland. The boats had no sails and were using manpower to get to their destination. The means by which they arrived in this region of the world was not possible on land in this area of the world. The Zealots of the Passion kept their robes tight around their bodies and when the Iiona’s crewmember saw them from the crow’s nest he was shocked and bewildered.

“Boats!”

The crewman on deck looked up at the vantage point on the top of the mast. They all turned to where the man the crow’s nest pointed.

Off in the distance was a line of boats. Small, almost imperceptible.

3/29/11 John Croft and his dead daughter

So I was trying to figure out what I wrote for the 29th and then I realized what it was. I worked on my Horror short story all night long. Here is a tad bit of it. I plan on making it into a Kindle property. Enjoy.

John Croft ran in between the diner tables after Shelby. He did not want to lose the last connection to his daughter. He caught up to his ex-wife before she made it to the door of the diner where they met every year on their daughter’s birthday. He grabbed her above the elbow. She turned to look at him with her tear filled green eyes.

John sensed the nervous glances of the nearby patrons. He knew he looked like crap. That was the first thing Shelby said. His brown hair was not brushed. His face had five days worth of stubble. But he didn’t care. He didn’t want to lose her.

“Shelby, wait. Let’s talk about this,” John said.

“Don’t, John!” Shelby pulled her arm free from John’s grasp. She straightened the sleeve of her gray business jacket and shook her head at John. She walked out the diner.

John saw his reflection in the mirror behind the counter. He looked crazy. He looked around at the patron’s who avoided eye contact with him. John pursued his ex-wife out into the busy New York sidewalk.

“Shelby, wait.” Annoyance and anger caused his voice to get louder. John felt he was on the verge of yelling.

Shelby turned and looked at him with pleading eyes. Her shiny, red hair glistened in the late morning sunshine.

“I can’t do this anymore.” Shelby moved with the traffic of the sidewalk away from John. The other pedestrians brushed against her. John wanted to rescue her from the stream of people keeping her from him. But he knew she didn’t want his rescue. She didn’t want anything to do with him.

“Whenever I see you, I see Marie, and it breaks my heart,” Shelby said. “I need to heal and seeing you every year on her birthday is not helping me.”

Shelby wore her favorite gray business suit. The same suit John hated. John began to think she had planned this.

“I need this.” John pleaded with her.

“I’m sorry.” Shelby continued away from him.

John’s cell phone rang. He furiously dug it out of the inner pocket of his corduroy jacket.

“Shelby, wait!” John looked at his phone. When he looked back up Shelby had disappeared into the crowd of people on the sidewalk.

3/22/11 Jack Fargone

Jack Fargone reworking

Jack Fargone always wanted to live an extraordinary life. Unfortunately he was born on Earth in the early twenty-first century and little would happen. That is until the IDIOTS fleet came into his 9-planet system and destroyed it. The fleet needed fuel to get to their next destination and they converted every planet into said fuel. Fortunately for Jack and 87 other people were rescued. Why he was chosen was just luck. There were 7 billion people on the planet and the IDIOTS chose 87 healthy individuals. It could have been any 87 people with good health but he was one of them and it would change his life and the lives of the other survivors forever.

3/21/11 Pendant Series

Fantasy series I have been working on forever.

The ancient texts told us nothing. We searched them day and night, night and day and found nothing that could guide us in the upcoming battle. We lost all our hope until a pendant was found. A pendant with an eagle embossed on it. In the eagle’s claws was a snake. The snake was biting the eagle and the eagle in turn was biting the snake. It was this pendant that gave us hope again. The Pendants had been lost for two hundred years and the Passion and its minions had dominated those two hundred years. They had infiltrated every edifice of the governments and waged war on those who would not be infiltrated. The Passion and its zealots had their time and the Pendants had returned.

3/20/11 Class Assignment night again

DEAN
What happen? Are there any rescue efforts being made?
CAPTAIN
No efforts are being made because there inhabitants are all dead.
The display changes again. A very large group of the primitive aliens are huddled in a village that is made up of hides and bones on the edge of an arctic coast.

DEAN
What about those?
CAPTAIN
Who?
The Captain turns back to the display.
There a lot of the aliens, all watching the skies and waves of the frigid ocean.
CAPTAIN (CONT’D)
Turn off that display, Ionas.
DEAN
We have to rescue them!
CAPTAIN
Conservationist Deanionionasad, we have already taken on the 87 humans. We cannot rescue any others. Not this time. Besides, these aliens are too primitive to provide anything meaningful to the galaxy. Science officer, retrieve the probes.
DEAN
Wait. Pull up that last probe display.
Ionas, the epitome of what a nerd would look like as an alien, looks over at the Captain.
CAPTAIN
Do it.
The main display shows the arctic village. It is destroyed. There is no sign of the villagers.

3/19/11 Class Assignment night

INT. SHIP CORRIDOR.
Jack sneaks around the corner. He almost runs into a group of Calphalons as they enter the corridor. They are tall, fat aliens with four mouths with thick lips on wide faces. They have bull frog faces.
Jack rushes back around the corner. He watches as the group goes the other direction.
JACK
Huan, can you hear me?
HUAN (O.S.)
Yea. The earpiece is working.
JACK
I found their room. What do I need to do?
HUAN (O.S.)
Go up to the door switch and run your hand over it.
JACK
I can’t open it.
HUAN
No, but I can.
INT. CORRIDOR
Jack sneaks around the corner. He walks to the door. He swipes his hand over the door switch.
JACK
Nothing happen, Huan.
HUAN (O.S.)
Do it again.
JACK
Better work this time.
Two aliens walk by Jack. They look at him suspiciously.
HUAN
It will.
Jack swipes his hand over the switch.
The door swooshes open.

3/18/11 The Collective

Ugh, March is almost over. Here you go.

Why did the Collective approach Ensign Est?

Ensign Est was the only person to see the Null Weapon technology. They wanted the technology in their possession to prevent two things: The technology falling into the wrong hands and preventing the Anuras and other Ambassador races from destroying anyone with the technology. The Collective wanted to make sure Ensign Est was either isolated so they could get the technology or killed before the Anuras got a hold of him in a populated area.

Why did the Collective believe they could trust Est?

The retrieval mission was not Est’s first mission. He had served for five years aboard the Aegis and was their only Intelligence soldier for at least half that time.

3/17/11 Unicorn Ranch 1

Ensign Est arrives at Unicorn Ranch.

The shuttle bumped up against the air lock and Ensign Est felt the grav-locks activate and stop the shuttle from bouncing off the side of the station. Ensign Est had arrived at a location that was not supposed to exist. Unicorn Ranch was the most secret of secret locations. It was where all prospective members of the Collective came to depart for Collective headquarters.

Est unbuckled his safety harness and waited for the red light above the air lock to turn green before he stood. There was no one else on the transport with Est. The light switched to green and Est stood.

Est adjusted his eye patch and grabbed his duffle bag from under his seat.

3/16/11 Unicorn Ranch

The Collective wasn't going to be part of the Scholars and Others stories but they some how made it into the setting.

Unicorn Ranch. When Ensign Est heard the name of his next destination he couldn’t help but laugh. The admin officer he stood in front of didn’t think it was funny. But that officer had to tell a lot of soldiers that was their destination. The Unicorn Ranch was the secret location of pickup point for the intelligence agency known as the Collective. The Collective wanted Est in its ranks to help them determine what was in the satellite and how that knowledge could be interpreted. Unicorn Ranch was located in a mining system and was such a random location that when the transport arrived Est had no real reason to tell them where he was going.

3/15/11 Ensign Est Promotion 1

After the events of the satellite retrieval, Ensign Est gets a promotion but lost an eye.

Ensign Est adjusted his eye patch. The complexity of the human eye made it impossible to replicate as they could other body organs. Any attempt to replicate the eye had been unsuccessful and further attempts were avoided because it was more cost effective to develop organs that worked and created revenue.

Est adjusted his eye patch and waited impatiently. It was how he knew he had waited too long. It was a strange tick he thought but it helped him gauge how long he had been waiting when he wasn’t wearing a watch. The hallway outside the commander’s office was busy.

Soldiers rushed past him going about their business. He had no idea why he was here.

3/14/11 Empirical Frontier of Man

The Empirical Frontier of Man is the setting for a lot of my sci fi stories lately. Don't know how I feel about the name of it.

The Empirical Frontier of Man has dominated much of the galaxy for over millennia. It was the last of the Prey race empires that was still intact after the Great Hunt was finished. The Empirical Frontier held out till the dark times that resulted in the destruction of much of the universe. The Empirical Frontier of Man spread so far and wide the majority of alien races that existed were within its rule. The Emperor, located in the Terra Primus, was merely a figure head. He did not hold power except to indoctrinate the lost races back into the fold of mankind. Mankind did not only include humans.

3/13/11 Disciples of the Purple Architects

The idea of a the purple architects came from my fiance. I have actually developed it into a story that is becoming rather interesting.

The disciples of the purple architects was one of the hardest to join. They gave their entrie lives over to the pursuit of deciphering the ancient texts left by those reclusive monks known as the Architects. To become welcomed in the ranks of the disciples one had to go through a series of arduous tasks that tested their intelligence, willpower, and endurance. Their strength, wisdom and cunning was all measured and weighed against other disciples who had already attained the rank of devote. During the Empirical war of aggression the disciples were actually called upon to provide elite warriors that could go behind enemy lines and sacrifice their lives for the greater good of the Empirical Frontier of Man.

3/12/11 Bel Shavo Immortality

Immortality is something I hope the human race attains. Here is how they do it in one of my stories.

Bel Shavo’s Immortality: Humans were made Immortal by the Bal Shavo. They manipulated our genetics and made us undying and unaging. We could be ripped apart by outside forces and die that way but we could not die from disease or old age. Our bodies are able to overcome any and all diseases. Our bodies are able to stave off all infections therefore injuries are overcome by natural healing and infections are not a worry. But not everyone is able to do this. The genetic mutation does not get passed on to everyone. There are individuals born who live normal life spans.

3/11/11 Ensign Est

More on Ensign Est

Ensign Est joined the military to become his own person. All of his brothers and sisters became involved in business and he did not want to follow that route. His parents supported his plans. He wanted to become an Officer. He wanted to stay in the military until he could retire and get full pension. In the Empirical Frontier of Man, when you serve in the armed forces you are taken care of the rest of your life. Any and all that your family needs or wants it provided. While this sounds like a good thing you must consider that Mankind has always been at war somewhere in the universe and surviving to retire in from the EFAF is a rare thing.

3/10/11: Ensign Est

I know I wrote on the 10th but I don't remember what it was. I believe it was about Ensign Est again. I actually started working on a book cover for of him. I'll post the picture of it. It is still very rough. Here is what I wrote. (I think)

William Est was a soldier in the Empirical Frontier Army. He was an Intelligence Analyst. His first assignment was to the scout vessel Solace. He was responsible for the retrieval of the satellite that possessed the Null Energy weapon technology. His entire career he has been called a Spook. He originally wanted to be Criminal Investigations Division but was sent to Intelligence training because no CID units were available. He was the only member of his family to join the Empirical Frontier Armed Forces. He was the youngest of six children. His parents ran a business on a station that orbited a gas giant. He was top of his class at Intelligence school and top of his class in Basic Training also.

3/9/11 Null Weapons

“They would have created a Null weapon,” Est said.

“Yes, and the Anuras could not allow a null weapon to exist. It would have ripped the fabric of the galaxy apart. Not to mention given the pirate an advantage,”

“So why did he do it then,” Commander Wise asked.

“Ghella did not get accepted to be in Intelligence because he was crazy but because Robert Ghella died on Trian VI. Recent investigation of mass graves identified him. He died with his family. Your Ghella was a pirate. His illegal download of the information to his unsecured data pad activated the self-destruct. He probably thought you were on to him.”

Est couldn’t believe it. He stopped listening. All he could hear were the engines. The sad, mournful thrumming of the engines filled his ears.

3/8/11 the Plan

The plan had been called ‘hair-brained’ and Ensign Est called crazy for coming up with it. The crew of the Solace was relying on the plan of a 20-year-old intelligence soldier.

The plan relied on calculations and projections on where an 18-year-old satellite would be located. Est dared not tell everyone he was guessing on some of it.

But this type of mission was for what the Solace was designed. To jump into a hostile system and within a minute spool up their jump engines and get the hell out.

Two seconds and the ship would be in the targeting arrays of all the pirate vessels. Two seconds would decide whether the plan Ensign Est came up with would cost everyone his or her life.

3/7/11 Ensign Est 2

Additions to the short story for Scifi writing

The satellite collected information on the pirate activities in the system. It was constructed from Pakam reverse engineered technology and was designed to avoid detection. When it was deployed it was done so not knowing where exactly it would travel in the system.

When Ensign Est told the Commander of the plan, the Commander laughed and told him no. Then the Collective came aboard and didn’t laugh when Est told them he had an Intel satellite in that system. They had every intention of getting to the system before the Anuras but when they arrived they realized they were too late. The Anuras had destroyed every pirate ship and pirate colony.

Before deploying to the system the Commander made it clear that if the Anuras had made it to the system before them, the mission would not become a rescue mission. No pirates were to be rescued.

3/6/11 too much writing

so you are just going to have to trust me when I tell you I did write on the 6th but it was all for class. I worked on my script for film writing. It is Jack and the IDIOTS. Here is a snippet from it.

INT. GREAT HALL
The Great Hall bustles with excitement. Row after row of bleacher line the walls up to the ceilings. The room drums with anticipation as the middle of the hall is suddenly illuminated with realistic holograms. Three aliens stand in the middle of the room on the stage area.
One alien is a big four armed, four legged cat like creature. His body is covered in tattoos and markings. He growls and slams his fists against his bare muscular chest.
The alien across from the cat like alien is a blob of a creature. It whips tendrils and globs of goo out.
Jack and Huan take a break from cheering and look at each other. They both shrug.
JACK
Kick it’s amorphous ass!
HUAN
Turn that kitty into litter!
They watch as the referee alien moves between the waiting fighters. The Referee is very boring. He looks like a purple human with tall rabbit ears.
REFEREE
Ladies and Gentlemen and those in between, are you ready for Universal Fighters Competition to begin?
The crowded room erupts in cheers.
REFEREE
I can’t hear you!
The referee cups a hand to his ear.
REFEREE
I can’t hear you!
The crowd erupts louder.
REFEREE
In the red corner we have five time UFC champion and reigning Universal fighter belt holder, Yinlu of the Diion system.
The cat fighter jumps up and down. The crowd goes crazy for him.
REFEREE
In the blue corner we have Epsilon Chi Tau Omega of the . . . some where in space.
The crowd doesn’t go nearly as crazy as for Yinlu.
REFEREE
Okay. Let’s get it on!
The referee signals for both the fighters to come to the center of the stage.
REFEREE
Okay, this is going to be a clean fight. No cheap shots, sucker punches or disintegrations. Are you ready?
The cat-like fighter nods. The blob still whips his tendrils around.
REFEREE
Ready! Fight!
The referee backs away in a quick leap.
The cat fighter takes a defensive martial arts stance. He prepares for whatever the blob is prepared to throw.
The blob continues to flail its slimy tendrils around. The crowd yells for blood.
In a flash the blob completely covers the cat fighter. In a mess of blood and melted flesh and bone the cat fighter is dissolved inside the blob.
The crowd falls silent.
The blob expels the UFC champion belt. It clanks on the floor of the Great Hall.
The crowd goes freaking crazy.
REFEREE
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the winner: Epsilon Chi Tau Omega!
Jack and Huan stand stunned.