F& GC #26- Villanelle

Don’t judge because you don’t know,

My past is something you will never understand.

I made mistakes but that was long ago.

I’ve lived a life with nothing to show,

I thought by now it would be more grand.

Don’t judge because you don’t know.

Sometimes we change and grow,

And often take a stand.

I made mistakes but that was long ago.

I had nowhere left to go,

And took it by the hand.

Don’t judge because you don’t know.

I sit trembling as though sitting in snow,

And everything is so bland.

I made mistakes but that was long ago.

It’s like life’s dealt me one final blow,

I don’t deserve this reprimand.

Don’t judge because you don’t know,

I made mistakes but that was long ago.

FGC # 21- Noir- Blood Money

BLOOD MONEY

It was a rainy September morning when this dame threw open the door to my office. She stood in the doorway with a frantic look in her eyes. She was dripping on the floor and the white blouse that was now soaked through gave me a good indication of what she may look like without it and she was very attractive.

“I think my husband is having an affair,” she gasped as water sprayed from her luxurious blonde hair when she tossed her head. I groaned inwardly when she said the word husband. It wasn’t the sort of case I usually took on but there was something about this dame that I couldn’t say no to. I motioned to the chair across from me and she took a seat. She took a seat and pulled out a cigarette. I immediately followed suit and lit up one of my own.

“What makes you think that Mrs…” I started.

“Black but please call me Jenny,” she responded through an exhale of smoke.

“Alright then, Jenny, what makes you think that your husband is having an affair,” I queried.

She told me about his late nights, long business trips, the smell of perfume lingering and even a lipstick stain on his collar that she described as a most hideous shade.

I took her details and an upfront deposit to commence my investigation. She rested her hands on my desk and leaned forward giving me even more of a view of what I could already see through her blouse.

“Thank you very much detective. You will be rewarded handsomely if you can help me out,” the words practically purred out of her mouth.

The next few weeks involved me following her husband around. He was a portly balding man that was way beneath the sort of man I thought would have successfully bagged a dame like Jenny. I discovered that he was very focused on work. He was a banker and from the moment he left the home until the moment he got home he worked. When he took a business trip it was work. When he smelt like perfume it was the linger of work colleagues that sprayed it when they were too near. There was not a thing about the man that indicated any unfaithfulness towards Jenny. 

I turned my back on him for only a moment one day and when a gunshot startled me to turn back I was shocked to see him on the ground with a pool of his crimson blood spreading across the pavement. Moments later I found myself being dragged into another detectives office. I had been spotted following the deceased the last few weeks.

The sun had set and the moon was high when I finally let myself into my office to sit back with a glass of scotch. I had barely touched the glass to my lips when my door was flung open.

“He’s dead,” Jenny sobbed as she threw herself into the chair.

“I know. I’m the main suspect,” I growled. “You had me follow him and now they think I murdered the guy.”

“Oh Johnny I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. I couldn’t stay mad at this dame but knew that I would have to find the killer myself. I took Jenny home and she insisted I join her for a nightcap. Never one to say no to a dame, especially one as attractive as Jenny I followed her in. Her definition of nightcap turned out to be very different to the beverage I’d had in mind. After many hours of passion in her bedroom I knew I’d better head home. My mind was reeling with the possible suspects that could have done away with Mr Black. There was the neighbour I’d noticed watching jealously every morning when he left and even more intimidatingly was still awake watching through the curtains when I left.

Name: William Burton

Motive: Wants to bed Jenny.

There was also the colleague that claimed to be his best friend but whenever Mr Blacks back had been turned the daggers came out. The upcoming promotion had only two candidates and with one out of the way the other was sure to get it.

Name: Samuel Davidson

Motive: Wants the promotion.

A number of other possibilities came to mind but with the absence of any gang related activity from the victim and no signs of another woman there was nothing that indicated anyone else could have committed the crime.

The following morning in my office Jenny came in sobbing again.

“Jenny you need to stop coming here they think I am the one that killed your husband,” I told her.

“I know Johnny. I’m dreadfully sorry,” she told me. He perched herself on my desk and let me know that she was interested in a repeat of last night.

“Jenny I can’t I need to find your husband’s killer before they lock me away,” I sighed.

“They think it was me and won’t release his inheritance to me until his killer is caught,” she cried.

“I promise I will find whoever did this,” I told her.

“Run away with me,” she pleaded. After a few hours of passionate convincing I agreed we would run when she received her husbands inheritance. I should have known the only way a man like him could have scored a dame like her was with money. With the $2 million she would receive I didn’t need much convincing. We decided that I would confess to the crime and then she would pay the guards off and we would drive off into the sunset. I picked many flaws in the plan but she appeared to have a way around all of them.

I took home anything that was of value to me and left the office in a state that someone else could take over. I knew I would never work in this business again. I turned myself in and was thrown in a cold dark cell. I waited patiently knowing that as soon as Jenny had the money she would be there. It seemed to take a lifetime before I saw her. When she came to visit me I could hardly contain my enthusuiasm and felt like a young puppy having his master come home.

“Jenny what took so long?” I asked as I took her hands through the bars.

“I’m sorry Johnny,” she whispered. We kissed through the bars.

“Is the deal done?” I asked.

“Of course darling,” she replied pulling me close. Then my heart started aching. I hadn’t realised I’d felt so strongly for her. When she pulled away from me she had a look in her eyes I’d never seen before. The ache immediately became unbearable.

“Jenny?” I asked as I looked down I saw a bloody knife in her hand. “Why?”

“Couldn’t have you taking any of my $2 million dollars,” she smirked. My hand rose the pain in my chest and pulled away covered in blood. I sank to the floor and heard her walk away leaving me on the cold cell floor with my life seeping away.

Challenge- Write a Noir

Word Limit- 2000

Actual word count- 1188

FGC #20- SPACE OPERA- Homeworld

                          HOMEWORLD

“Sir our starboard landing gear hasn’t released,” Captain Marissa Vanson yelled over the alarms that were sounding.

“We’ll need someone to release them manually,” Colonel Liam Hunter yelled back turning to the two crew members that weren’t at a control panel. The two of them simultaneously pointed to themselves and raised their eyebrows. They each tried to convince the other that they should do it and in the end played a quick game of paper scissors rock to decide who the lucky one would be. When Dr Simon Grey’s rock trumped Lt. Rhys Shepard he grinned and leaned back in his chair.

“You will still need to help him,” Colonel Hunter ordered. The siren continued to sound while the two of them raced to lower the landing gear. The ship pitched forward suddenly and Colonel Hunter was thrown off balance. He caught himself with one hand on the back of Marissa’s chair and the other was over the top of her resting on the windshield. He admired the way the flashing red light that accompanied the siren reflected in her glossy black hair. He’d intended to right himself straight away but couldn’t tear himself away from her.

“Sir, are you okay?” asked Marissa’s co-pilot Captain Steve Walker.

“I’m fine,” Liam snapped as he stole one last glance and stood upright.

“Sir the atmosphere on this planet is a lot denser than ours,” Marissa announced. “We are stuck in its gravitational pull.”

The words washed over Liam as he was distracted by her mesmerizing azure gaze.

“Sir, we are being sucked onto the planets surface,” Marissa rephrased in words that her boss might understand. “We need to abandon the mission or we may not be able to take off.”

“Whatever you think is best Captain,” he replied. Marissa gave Walker the signal to start pulling out of the atmosphere but found it impossible to lift the control column.

“It’s too strong sir,” she cried as she took hold of the column with both hands to try and stop the craft nosediving into the surface of the planet. She glanced over to see Walker struggling as well.

“Is that landing gear down yet?” Colonel Hunter yelled. Before there was any chance for them to reply Marissa took over the aircrafts announcement system.

“Attention all crew brace for impact. Repeat. Brace for…” The craft hit the ground with an almighty crash and slid through the open field that they had luckily landed in. The impact threw the crew around. Marissa’s head hit the control panel knocking her out. Hunter was thrown forward landing over the top of Marissa, while Grey and Shepard who had luckily lowered the landing gear were thrown straight through the aircraft landing in a heap near the rest of the crew. The emergency siren continued blaring through the craft until Walker reached over and switched it off.

“Is everyone okay?” Hunter asked as he found his feet. There were a few groans from the rest of the crew except Marissa. He took hold of her shoulders and gently pulled her back. The blood was pouring down her face. “Doctor you need to help her.”

“For the thousandth time I am a doctor in archaeology,” groaned Simon shaking his head but helping him anyway. After checking her over the two of them eased her out of the chair and lay her gently on the ground. Lt Shepard returned with the first aid kit.

“Is she going to be alright?”  Hunter asked.

“I’m not sure,” Simon replied.

“There is so much blood.”

“Head wounds bleed more than others I’m sure it’s just a graze.”

“Guys,” Walker called. “Guys you might want to see this.” Simon looked up to see what had him so panicked.

“Colonel Hunter,” Simon snapped dragging Hunter’s attention away from Marissa and followed where Simon was pointing through the windshield. Coming across the field in front of them was a few hundred soldiers.

“Oh shit,” Hunter grumbled.

“What are our readings for outside the craft?” Simon asked Walker.

“Everything looks normal. Oxygen and CO2 levels are fine. Pressure is a lot lighter than we experienced on the descent and no sign of radiation. This planet is inhabitable for us,” Walker responded.

 “I guess we should go say hello,” Simon announced as he fastened a bandage around Marissa’s head and got to his feet.

Walker opened the door and Simon inhaled deeply as he and Shepard stepped out onto the ramp.

“This air is cleaner than Earth’s,” he announced.

“Earth seems like a lifetime ago for me,” Shepard announced. Their craft had launched from one of six bases set up around the universe. Each one thousands of light-years from Earth and acted as a halfway point for crews sourcing planets further away.  Earth as they had known it had become vastly overpopulated and had depleted all its resources. The search for other inhabitable planets had become a priority.

 “I’ve only been allowed back to Earth twice since my posting to base 4,” Simon admitted. He stepped off the ramp onto the planet’s surprisingly spongy surface. Before he could say a word the leaders of the army were in front of them.

“We come in peace,” Simon announced. Shepard laughed at the all famous movie line but quickly closed his mouth when he saw the planets inhabitants. They were all at least seven feet tall, very broad across the shoulders and arms like small tree trunks. Their skin ranged through many shades of green in the younger soldiers through to shades of grey on the older ones. The soldiers stared blankly at them.

“Does anyone speak English?” Simon asked.

“English,” came a response from one of the younger soldiers. “Language commonly spoken on Earth.  Known to us as the wasteland. Downloading English.”

The language through some sort of technology was downloaded into the entire race.

“You may not inhabit our planet,” one of the other soldiers told them.

“Kill them,” ordered one of the grey soldiers.

“Wait. If we don’t return to base they will send more craft…” Simon started.

“And we will continue to kill them,” the grey soldier replied.

“Please we mean no harm we are just explorers,” Simon said.

“We have heard that before,” the grey one added.

“Please one of our people is injured. We need help. We are on a friendly mission and we don’t want any harm to come to anyone.”

The grey skinned one conversed with the green skinned one that had been speaking to them. The argument went back and forth for some time. One of them wanted to kill the intruders and the other was happy to help them out and send them on their way. Suddenly Walker came racing down the ramp.

“She’s still losing a lot of blood,” he whispered to Simon. Simon turned to the natives of the planet and tried the pleading angle.

“One of our pilots has been severely injured in the landing and if we don’t get help…” he started.

“Fine,” the grey skinned native growled as he turned to the rest of the army. With a few grunts and howl unlike any creature on Earth he gave the order to return home. A few curious onlookers stayed to help out along with the green skinned leader.

“Follow us and we will get your pilot some help,” he told them. Hunter appeared at the door at the top of the ramp with Marissa in his arms. Without a word of warning all the weapons carried by the natives were aimed directly at him.

“You did not say it was a woman,” growled the native.

“We didn’t think it would matter,” Simon explained.

“If anyone should ask she is your prisoner.”

They all nodded and followed the natives away from the spacecraft introducing themselves on the way.

“Our native names would be too difficult for you to pronounce you may call me Shamrock,” the green leader announced. He introduced Lime, Olive and Teal as his closest soldiers. “My father Slate is the King of our land and is very passionate about keeping our planet as unharmed as possible.”

“We understand that and we are not here to cause any harm,” Simon told them.

 Ahead of them were miles of bushland and open plains.

“I don’t think she will make such a journey,” Hunter announced.

“Luckily we are here,” Shamrock told them as he held his hand up in the air. Then a door opened out of nowhere. Those from Earth gasped in shock. They were ushered through the door into what felt like a whole other world. The city was covered by a dome shaped force field. The buildings were mostly green and glittered like emeralds.

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” Hunter joked. The door shut behind them and Hunters first priority was to get Marissa the medical attention she needed. Shamrock led the way and the group split up. Simon was taken by Lime to explore the buildings and history. Olive took Shepard to check out the armoury and training grounds and the Walker was led off to search for anything that would help repair the ship.

As soon as Hunter lay Marissa down on the table in their hospital a bright light appeared over the table and then she disappeared.

“Where did she go?” Hunter demanded clawing at the table.

“Our powers that be work their magic elsewhere. She will be returned to you healed. Now you should come and speak to the king about your planet,” Shamrock told him as he led him away. Hunter was taken to the largest building in the city. They had only just got to the door of the main throne room when Slate’s booming voice cut through the air.

“They brought a female with them on a mission,” he yelled.

“She’s our prisoner,” Hunter lied.

“Then why do you care so much if she lives?” Slate demanded.

“She holds vital information that we need to extract from her,” Hunter added.

****

When Marissa came through she was in a cold dark cell surrounded by moss coloured walls. The throbbing pain in her head made her just want to close her eyes and go back to sleep but she knew she had to find the rest of her crew. She groaned as she sat up and came face to face with a few curious looking purple beings. One of them was extremely close to her. Their craniums were large and not covered by any hair. The main thing that took her attention were the eyes. They were large and brown like a seals and when the creature blinked she noticed they had transparent vertical eyelids much like an alligator. Marissa rubbed her own eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The other creatures made some clicking and chirping sounds and stared at her as though waiting for a response.

“Where am I?” she asked. They stared at her a while longer and then seemed to understand what she had asked.

“This is where we live,” one of them told her. The women told her how they were not considered to amount to anything in their society.

“That’s garbage. You should stand up for yourselves,” she protested.

“That only gets you killed,” explained the one who gave herself the English name of Indigo.

“We don’t have a choice,” added Cerise. “We are merely a vessel to bring the new males into our world and when we are no longer competent breeders we are discarded.”

“What do you mean discarded?” Marissa asked.

“Like rubbish. Then taken to the furnace,” Indigo explained.

“That’s awful,” Marissa cried. She searched the cell for a way out but couldn’t find any exit.

*****

“Where have you taken her?” Hunter demanded. “We have been here over a week now and everything is repaired we are ready to leave.”

“She is still being healed,” Shamrock told him.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Hunter growled. Slate ordered the Earthlings to their temporary quarters. As soon as they were out of earshot he turned to his son.

“You make sure they get off this planet before dawn or I will have them executed. Tell them their woman is dead,” Slate ordered.

“Yes father,” Shamrock nodded as he headed to his own luxurious quarters. He lay down on his bed for a moment and stared at the ceiling. When he knew that his father and the soldiers would be asleep he made his way to the servant’s quarters that had been set up for their guests and opened the door quietly.

“You need to go,” he whispered as he entered the room. The four Earthlings opened were on their feet in seconds.

“What’s going on?” Hunter asked.

“Harbouring a female is punishable by death in our society. So you must leave,” Shamrock explained.

“Where is Marissa?” Hunter asked.

“I’ve been told to evacuate you and tell you that she is dead,” Shamrock stammered.

“And the truth is?” Simon asked.

“She is with the rest of our prisoners,” Shamrock replied staring at the ground. “This way.”

He led the four of them through the castle out through a tunnel at the back of the castle and across the courtyard before taking them through another tunnel in a deep dark corner of the city. The stench from the uncared for prisoners made them gag. Shamrock showed them a tunnel where the cell Marissa was being kept in was. He held Hunter back as the rest of them went ahead.

“You really like your female don’t you?” Shamrock asked. Hunter tried shaking his head to deny it.

“The military would not allow it,” he explained.

“What’s it feel like to like someone like that?” Shamrock pushed. 

“We’ve never been allowed to associate with the females.”

“Everyone experiences it differently but when I look at her everything else goes out of focus. My heart skips a beat and my stomach feels like someone has kicked me in it,” Hunter explained. “But it’s not allowed in my society for one officer to date another.”

The others are waiting patiently for Shamrock to open the cell door. When it swings open they see Marissa on the floor crouched over the body of the emaciated Cerise. Hunter dives forward to hug Marissa.

“Baby I am so happy to see you,” Hunter announced and went in for a kiss. Marissa turned her head to the side.

“You have to go now,” Shamrock ordered. Heavy footsteps could be heard at the top of the tunnel. “We have to go out the back way.”

“We have to take Indigo with us,” Marissa announced.

“That will not go over well,” Shamrock growled.

“If we leave her here she is dead,” Marissa cried. Indigo stood up from the corner she was crouched in. She took hold of Marissas hand.

“You need to get yourself home,” Indigo whispered.

“I’m not leaving you,” Marissa retorted.

“Marissa we have to go now,” Hunter ordered as the footsteps got closer.

“Both of us or none of us,” Marissa growled.

“Fine both,” Hunter grumbled. Shamrock led them to a back exit out of the tunnel. When they reached the surface he raced them through the city to the exit of the dome. Small explosions started going off around them as the soldiers that were chasing them started launching small grenade style weapons at them. One of the spears being thrown pierced Walker through the chest. Marissa tried to run to his aid but another explosion blew his body to pieces.

“Steve,” Marissa cried. Hunter stopped her from lunging forward as another spear whizzed past.

“I must leave you here,” Shamrock announced.

“Thank you,” Hunter replied.

They run for their spacecraft and hear Shamrock holding off the soldiers. They managed to roll through the door with only a few minor injuries and no more loss of life. Marissa set to work on the controls. Lt. Shepard was able to help out a little but he was still only in the early stages of his pilot training. After a few moments they were in the air. The spacecraft rocked around as the planet natives continued to fire at them. Hunter glanced out the window just in time to see Shamrock decapitated execution style.

“Thank you,” he whispered. They ascended outside the planet’s atmosphere and jumped into hyperspace within moments. When Hunter turned from the window to take up his usual gaze on Marissa his vision was blocked by the creature they had rescued.

“What will happen when we arrive at your planet?” Indigo asked.

“We are going to a safe place between your planet and mine. My planet has an issue with accepting those that are different,” Marissa explained.

“Can I stay with you?” Indigo asked.

Marissa could feel herself blushing. She looked over her shoulder and saw Hunter was staring at her. It hadn’t been until he had tried to kiss her in the cell that she realised how big his crush was on her.

“They will probably keep you on base for a little while to make sure that you are not a threat,” Marissa told her.

“I could never be a threat,” Indigo explained. Marissa looked up when a scarlet drip landed on her hand. She expected to find Indigo was bleeding but found her to be crying.

“It’s ok we will make sure that they know that.”

“It’s not that I just wish we could have helped more of my people.”

Shepard put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sure if we speak to the boss he might be able to plan a rescue mission,” he said.

“Don’t make promises we can’t keep,” Hunter cut in.

“We could try,” Marissa growled.

“The last thing we need is a war on our hands,” Hunter snapped.

“Like we haven’t had that before,” Marissa grumbled referring to the excessive amount of planets that had not been happy with them. She turned her attention to the controls and plotted a course for home.

Word Count- 2997

FGC #19 Prose Poem- THE BOAT

The waves hammer the small wooden boat again and again into the rocks. Each crunch of the vessel is simultaneous to the beat of a heart. The ocean is so much to so many. Providing food, entertainment and even safe passage to a new country. Laughter fills the air as a young girl runs down the beach. Her kite flying in the sky with it’s rainbow streamers fluttering in the wind. An onlooker wondered if she knew the colours she flew were the same of those on his pride flag. He closed his eyes and breathed in the unsullied ocean air. Crack! Crack! Crack! The ocean unrelenting. The wood starts to fracture. Waves took it out and then brought it back in slamming it into the rocks. The hull of the boat was compromised and large cracks started to appear. I watched as the small vessel was pulled away again and thought of it as a person. When it was being pulled away it must have seen freedom and escape. Just like the onlooker had felt when they had approved civil unions. Such a joyous occasion, everything he had been fighting for was just within his reach. Crash! The small boat shattered into pieces when a monstrous wave crashed it into the rocks one final time. Exactly how it had felt when the government changed hands and everything was taken away. The same ocean that is so comforting to so many is also devastating to so many others. A small piece of the wooden boat washes up on the shore. The boat that once was resembles his own hope that this world could accept him for who he is. He watches the wood tumble up on the shore. It slides to a stop and rests in the sand. A small hand encircles it and the child giggles. “Daddy, it’s a door to an enchanted kingdom,” the voice cries as she takes hold of his hand. A smile creeps across his face. The very same piece that was my broken hope turns into something magical for his little girl. She is always there to remind him that when everything breaks apart there is always someone or something that will pull it all back together. Rising from the sand he runs headlong into an afternoon of enchantment.

FGC #18- Letter.

My dearest Hope,

I wish this letter to find you in good health and pray that all your wounds have healed. I know you will have many questions for me but they are the same questions I am asking myself. You are my everything and there is nothing I want more than to hold you in my arms forever. However life and the world have conspired against us and I have had to leave you with my sister with promises of returning but deep down I know that kiss on your forehead may be the last one. Please do not ever think that I didn't love you. I am not abandoning you but merely protecting you.

I hope your aunt has kept her promise and you are only reading this after you have turned 18. Hopefully by this age you will have a better understanding of what has happened and will find it within your heart to forgive me. Your father was never a nice man. I know that people always like to blame the other person  when a relationship ends but there was something inhuman about him. He treated me like no man should treat a wife.

Ill also take the time now to let you know you once had a brother. You may have been too young to remember him. Jackson was a beautiful soul. He treasured you and would watch you for hours when all the other boys were playing video games. He tried to defend me from your father one night and copped such a beating his little body couldn't pull through. Any stronger woman would have left then but like a fool I stayed.

It wasn't until a few years later when I came home and you told me that "Daddy, showed me love like he shows you." like it was something to be proud of. Sick to my stomach and racked with guilt I packed you a bag. I am sitting here at my sisters writing this for you knowing that I am about to leave you. If I ran with you he would find us so I need to put a stop to him. With an illegally purchased handgun I am about to head over there. If you are reading this then something happened to me.

Please know I love you more than anything else in the world and I hope these actions have not caused you harm my precious darling.

Love always and forever
Mummy xxx

FGC #16- Rondeau- Too Good to be true

Too Good To Be True To good to be true, that's what I thought, You'd think in my life that lesson would have been taught. But I tempted fate and brought on strife, And wondered where have u been all my life? For someone like you I really could have faught. What a catch I thought I had caught, And how much happiness this could have brought. Chances and risks will alway be rife. Too good to be true. Should have been careful I knew I ought, But this was something that couldn't be bought, Then you said the words that cut like a knife, You simply don't want me in your life, So I say goodbye to all I've sought. Too good to be true.

FGC #15- Hard Sci Fi- Sagittarius

SAGITTARIUS

"What are you doing?" Greyson Walker asked as he put his head far too close to my own for my liking.

"Nothing," I lied as I slammed my laptop shut.

"I saw exactly what you were doing," he sneered.

"Well then what did you bloody ask for?" I snapped.

"To check if you would lie. How am I expected to work with you when I can't even trust you?" he started. I kept my mouth shut and refrained myself from throwing him through the window of our twelfth storey office.

"I know you were looking at naughty sights on company property," he announced. Fellow workers at surrounding cubicles stopped what they were doing to try and have a peek at what I could possibly be looking at. I groaned inwardly when one of them winked at me.

"For every ones information it wasn't one of those sites. I was simply looking at videos of solar flares and their potential effect on a theoretical wormhole," I explained. Our acne prone work experience guy had turned beet red and was trying to hide his face behind the research he was doing into the next lunar eclipse.

Suddenly the room hushed and the excited chatter about me being a closet porn addict died down. Which only meant one thing. The boss was here.

"Walker, Benson my office," he barked. A trip to the office usually only meant one thing: re-assignment. "Now," the boss added as he continued down the hall. I jumped to my feet and followed.

"You are in so much trouble," Greyson taunted.

"You must be as well since you are coming too," I sniped. He didn't utter another word for the rest of the walk down the hallway.

"I've got a new assignment," the boss started before I even shut the door behind me. Luc Dempsey had been in the industry a long time and was not a man to be messed with.

"Yes sir," Greyson and I replied in unison.

"You will be relocated to our facility in the middle of the desert," he started. I could already feel my enthusiasm for a reassignment starting to fade.

"In these dire times it is becoming more necessary to find other inhabitable planets and your focus will be the constellation Sagittarius." I couldn't contain it any longer.

"But sir, they have looked and found nothing remotely inhabitable in that constellation, it's situated in the densest part of the universe it is just so unlikely...."

He held up a finger to shush me.

"I thought you would appreciate this one with your link," he snapped as his gaze drifted to my ankle. Although hidden beneath slacks and never visible in the workplace there was no hiding anything from the boss.

"It's not..." I started.

"Don't make me say it," he warned as he glanced at Greyson who was leeching on every word of the conversation.

“What about Gliese 581g?” I asked.

“What about it?” he asked.

“Isn’t there a team investigating its in-habitability? I’m sure they will find that it is inhabitable and we won't have to worry about finding other planets,” I added.

“Do you honestly think that the powers that be want to stop at one planet? Think how boring life would be with only one flavour of ice cream,” he explained.

“Oh good, use ice cream as a reference to the lactose intolerant one,” I groaned.

"You leave Monday," he said. "I have organised for another colleague to take care of Astro in your absence," he informed me. I shuddered at the thought of my baby in the care of someone he didn't know. There was a knock on the door and without waiting for a response a knock-out blonde entered the room. Her legs seemed to go forever, unlike the mini skirt she had on.

"You wanted to see me sir?" she asked.

"Yes this is Agent Benson, Astros owner. Get acquainted," he ordered.

"Thank you sir," with a wave of his hand we were all dismissed. Numbly I walked back to my desk. I had always known there was the potential to be sent out to the middle of nowhere but it had never actually come up and to have it happen so quickly was a little startling.

"Better get all that porn off your computer before you leave," Greyson laughed.

"Better get that smirk off your face before I throw the computer at your head," I grumbled. The worst part about the situation was that I was being posted to a remote location with Greyson Walker. I would have preferred one of the work experience boys that would hardly use my name without wetting their pants. But for some reason the boss had decided that the one colleague I most hated would accompany me.

"What did the boss mean by your link to it?" he asked.

"I haven't the slightest clue what you are talking about," I lied.

"I was thinking I would come over tonight and get to know Astro before you leave," the leggy blonde said as she approached my desk. I discovered her name was Felicity Blythe.

"Maybe you should bring pyjamas as well so I can get you used to his morning routine," I announced. My words were followed by the clatter of pens, a spilt coffee and even one colleague ending up on the floor.

"Oh that would be wonderful," she cried twirling her hair around her fingers.

When I arrived home that afternoon Astro was practically beside himself with excitement. After a momentary leg hump I sat on the dining room chair and he practically climbed into my lap and started to lick my face. I was both flattered and disgusted by his expression of love for me. I was even less impressed when I found one of my throw cushions had been torn to shreds. How was the poor dear going to cope when I was gone for what could be months. I didn't make it much further than the chair, I just sat there and patted Astro. I didn't realise how much time passed and suddenly there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Felicity standing there. She had a small overnight bag. I’d been unsure if she would take the offer of the overnight stay seriously because of the way our colleagues had reacted.

“I only have the one bed…” I started.

“That’s fine by me,” she replied as she dropped her bag and took my hands in hers. Before I knew it her lips had found mine. I was glad she had picked up on my subtle hints.

“Imagine if the guys found out…”

“I know,” she laughed as she pushed me against the wall. I led her to the bedroom and what followed was one of the most amazing nights of my life. We were lying there afterwards and she sat at my feet and started massaging them.

“Nice tattoo,” she said. I groaned. I’d been meaning to get it removed for a long time. I tried to pull my foot away but she hung onto it.

“It was my mother’s idea,” I explained.

“You don’t get along?” she asked. I shook my head. She crawled up the bed and wrapped her arms around me.

“She wanted me to get into Astrology when all I wanted to do was Astronomy and she was very nasty about letting me know that my life choices were wrong,” I explained.

The following morning I introduced her to Astro and showed her everything that she would need to know while I was gone. She stayed the next two nights and then on Monday morning I had to say goodbye. I’d had the most fantastic couple of days of my life and now I was off into the middle of nowhere for who knows how long to look for something that more than likely didn’t exist. We agreed it would be easier for her to stay in my house since she had been sharing with a friend recently. It would be easier on Astro as well. My suitcase was packed and sitting in the doorway. Felicity looking from me to the suitcase.

“Life’s pretty shit sometimes,” she announced,

“Tell me about it,” I groaned as I headed for the door. Before I got there she caught up for one final kiss. I couldn’t bring myself to it and rested my head on her shoulder. She pulled back and looked at me quizzically. I tried to smile but my throat closed up and tears threatened to spill over. I turned my head but held her hand until I was out the door and our fingers could no longer reach. I could feel her standing in the doorway but didn’t have the strength to look back. I went downstairs to the front of my apartment block and got in the company vehicle that was waiting to take me to the airport. I fell into the back seat and the tears spilled over. I could see the driver looking in the rear view mirror but I didn’t know him and he didn’t need an explanation. I managed to pull myself together as I arrived at our second destination to pick up Greyson. If my chest had once been a star it was threatening to collapse to form a black hole. Part of me wished it could so that the event horizon could suck the rest of me out of this place. I’d never felt so emotional in my whole life and couldn’t understand how someone I had only known such a short time could cause such heartache. I finally found someone who was just right and had to leave her behind.

I could feel Greysons eyes boring into the side of my head like a space probe. I kept my eyes glued to the road ahead. We were seated together on the plane and I still hadn’t even acknowledged his presence. Then we were transferred onto a light aircraft to take us to our final remote destination.

“You know if you can’t even speak to me on the plane things will be very difficult at the new facility,” he announced.

I swallowed hard and tried to think of something witty to say to him but I just found I had to swallow again to get rid of the lump in my throat.

“I..” was all I managed to croak out my dry throat. He tilted his head in concern when he realised that I wasn’t just being a bitch and that something was genuinely up. He reached out he let it hover for a little while above my arm and then let it rest. I placed my hand over his and squeezed it in thanks. Then we hit some turbulence.

“This isn’t on my radar at all,” the pilot yelled. We buckled ourselves in and held tight, the small aircraft felt like it was being thrown around the sky.

“This is a bad sign,” I whined as I clung onto Greysons arm. Finally the craft landed miraculously in one piece but with enough of a jolt that it caused Greysons skull to crack heavily onto mine.

I awoke the next morning; at least I thought it was until they told me it had been days. Greyson popped in to visit raving about all the equipment the facility had and how much it was going to change the world when we discovered what we needed. I was restricted to light duty for a few weeks and then finally allowed to check out the equipment. Greyson was so excited about taking me to the lab.

“You are going to love this,” he exclaimed like a kid that had just found a candy factory. The elevator binged and the doors slid open. In front of me were miles and miles of lab. The walls were silver but made of no material I had ever seen before.

“It’s Nebulargentum,” he said reading my mind. I could feel my mouth dropping involuntarily. “You know what that means?” He led me through the maze of the lab and introduced me to our new boss. I kept scanning the room wondering what wonderful piece of equipment I would be able to work on first. I was shown to a desk with a computer. Great. All these wonderful toys around and all I get to play with is one that has been around for decades. I was introduced to a team of guys all with thick rimmed glasses, acne, plaid shirts and calloused hands from hours of video games or computer programming. One of them nearly choked on his doughnut when he was told I would be joining the team. I stood around the computer that they were all looking intently at. Thankfully it was one of those new age computers that were a glass plane that could be seen from either side. The guy who seemed to be the head of the group was touching the screen and sliding through a number of images of stars and planets I didn’t recognise.

“What is this?” I asked. They laughed at me like I should have known.

“That’s Epsilon Sagittarius,” one of them finally told me.

“No way,” I huffed like someone who had just been introduced to Jesus.

“And these…” the leader said as he flicked through. “Are her planets.”

“But she’s too far away for any of our technology to get this good of pictures,” I protested.

“You haven’t shown her the hanger yet?,” he stated to Greyson.

“What hanger?” I asked.

Greyson rolled his eyes and led me away from the group. He took me up the elevator and we climbed into an extra-terrestrial looking buggy. He took me across the grounds and once we cleared security we were allowed down the elevator. There stood the most magnificent looking spacecraft I had ever seen in my life.

“Are you saying…” I started.

“Yes hyperspace capabilities,” he confirmed.

“Am I in a coma?” I asked touching my throbbing head. He laughed and showed me around the craft. When we came back round the front one of the men who had been looking at the computer screen before was blocking our path to leave. I noticed his name tag said Sankeys.

“You don’t belong here,” Sankeys said.

“Security said it was ok,” I explained.

“No I meant at this facility,” Sankeys growled.

“We have worked just as hard as anyone else that is here…” Greyson started.

“Not you, her,” he pointed at me like I was some sort of diseased creature.

“You would think in all the years of feminist progression…”

“It’s not because you are a woman,” he growled pointing at my ankle. I looked down to see a blue glow through my trousers.

“What is that?” Greyson asked. When we looked again Sankeys had disappeared and the glow died down. I had been too shocked to lift my trousers to see what was actually happening to my tattoo.

We headed back to the office and watched the others work. I noticed as one of them swiped his finger across the screen that he had an arrow tattooed on his finger, the same design as my own Sagittarius Arrow. I looked closely at the other five members of the team and saw one who had it behind his ear, another I could see the faint outline on his bicep, through his white shirt. I figured the rest had it somewhere hidden like me.

“We have thus far found 5 planets around the star,” explained a man with the name tag Masters.

“To my knowledge most of them are gaseous planets,” I piped in.

“Your knowledge would be correct except we have discovered an earth like planet,” Masters added.

“What exactly are we looking for?” I asked.

“Inhabitable planets,” he groaned rolling his eyes like he had already explained it numerous times.

“I know that,” I sighed like a sixteen year old cheerleader. “For who?” He responded with a raised eyebrow. “Are we looking for a planet inhabitable for human beings or are we looking for it to be inhabitable for other life forms.”

“We have yet to see evidence of any other life,” Masters scolded me like I had suggested that we should look for heaven.

“So for us then?” I asked. They didn’t respond to me. “So why are we looking at a sun that is 145 light years away when we could easily make Mars inhabitable with our current technology.”

Still no response.

“Just let it go,” Greyson warned.

“No. I’ve been dragged away from my life for a project that isn’t feasible,” I replied.

“You know we have developed hyperspace travel right?” Masters snapped.

“But why start with somewhere so far?” I asked.

“There are a number of facilities on Earth and each one is focusing on a different constellation,” Greyson explained.

“And what if somebody is already home?” I asked.

“There are no signs…”

“In your eyes. How do you know those gas planets aren’t inhabited by something that we can’t get near enough to see,” I snapped.

“And what sort of being would inhabit a gas planet?” Masters laughed.

“One that you would never want to meet,” I replied. “Besides our technology is likely so vastly inferior to those inhabiting the gas planets that they could be invisible to us until it’s too late.”

“Do you remember what happened to the indigenous people when Cook landed in Australia?” Masters asked.

“I do but you’re no Cook. I’m pretty sure any mission to inhabit would fail,” I grumbled.

“You are not aware of the mission are you?” Masters smiled. I felt my heart sink. What wasn’t I aware of?

“We already know it’s inhabited,” Greyson told me. I felt my eyes open wide and my jaw followed suite.

“Wh-wh-wh..” was all I managed to stutter out. They laughed at me and showed me pictures of a race not too unlike our own. Mixed in were photos of a few centaurs. Then I laughed.

“Now I know you are pulling my leg,” I smiled. Greyson shook his head and pulled me aside. He started to lift his shirt.

“For the last time I’m not interested,” I announced.

“Will you just look,” he ordered. I looked to see the Sagittarius arrow tattooed on his hip.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered.

“Maybe I can help,” came a familiar voice behind me.

“Mum?” I cried as I turned to face the woman that I had so readily cut out of my life. Instead I came face to face with another being. Her features had been re-arranged, but she was one of the most exquisite creatures I had ever seen.

“Mum?” I asked again.

“We’ve been working on a way to get home,” she explained.

“Home?” I whispered. Greyson swiped at the computer screen and it zoomed in on what appeared to be a live feed of the planet that we had been looking at. It was beautiful. Untouched by man. Such natural beauty but still so much more advanced than Earth.

“Why isn’t she freaking out like I did?” Greyson asked. I felt a drip on my hand and looked down to see blood. I brought my hand to my nose to find it flowing like a river. Then I remembered my head injury. This had to be a dream. Mum started humming and it rose in pitch until it was a very high sound. I felt my skin start to constrict around my bones as some of my muscles moved and my body changed shape. This was most definitely the weirdest dream I had ever had.

“Gosh Lorena you are beautiful,” Greyson sighed. I turned to see that his form had also changed, along with that of everyone in the complex. I shut my eyes and opened them trying to wake myself up.

“Come Sagara it’s time for you to take your rightful place as ruler of Saggattarii 3X52Y,” Mum said.

“Sagara?” I asked. She nodded. Then clicked her fingers and the guys grabbed my arms and dragged me to the ship in the hanger. I struggled with all my might, but to no avail. So here I am in a holding cell on a ship travelling through hyperspace to rule a planet I never knew existed. I wonder what awaits me when I arrive.

CHALLENGE- To write a 3500 word Hard Sci- Fi

ACTUAL WORD COUNT- 3481