I meant to post something this morning, but got kind of distracted. I'm sure folks have noticed that the byte count for the chapter hasn't moved in ten days or so. I just wanted to let people know that this does not mean that the chapter is stalled. What happened is that a scene got cut out and moved to chapter 4, and I am unwilling to make the byte count on the board subhead go down. The file in the mean time has been growing back up to 150K. So there is progress, it just hasn't been visible to you folks.
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

There are those who think that life is nothing left to chance,
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.
A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive.
"The stars aren't aligned
Or the gods are malign" --
Blame is better to give than receive.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear --
I will choose Free Will.
There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them -- they weren't born in Lotus-land.
All preordained --
A prisoner in chains --
A victim of venomous fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate.
Each of us --
A cell of awareness --
Imperfect and incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet.
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear --
I will choose Free Will.
-- Rush, Free Will
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

I didn't realize that'd let this area slide since August. I'm going to have to catch up a little at a time. Please be patient with me.
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

is anybody else having problems hitting the site that's home to so many good stories? it seems to have gone down for me around 1930 EST or so...-Z, Post-reader at Medium
----
If architects built buildings the way programmers write programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.
-Z, Post-reader at Medium
----
If architects built buildings the way programmers write programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.

Well, with at least most of us having these Veteran tailor tokens, there's unlikely to be a better time for it.
So, here's your chance. Speak up. Submit an idea. Start us on the road to actual uniforms. ^_^
Ja, -n

===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"

That is all.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"

Someone -- Shayne, I think -- was working on assembling character pics into a big team shot some months ago. I was wondering what ever happened to that.
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

A few weeks ago, I was reminded about KG by tjalorak's interest in it, and went back to this story that I started awhile back. I'd appreciate any comments on this little prolouge, and I hope this might spurn me to continue on where I left off in the first chapter...
* * * * *
Gazing at the Cosmos
Prologue Beginning of the End
Chronicled by Dro'gan, called NiteFlier
She rested in the command chair, gazing unseeing at the screens in front of her, and the vast stretches of hyperspace they showed. Her thoughts wandered like a hummingbird, never resting for too long on one subject. Everything from Sana, the new receptionist, to the Deucalion, and how it had finally burned up in Sol's outer atmosphere.
She shivered at the thought of Sol, and its third planet. She hadn't thought she would ever go back to that system, not after joining the GOTT. True, she had visited shortly before that time, to check the accounts, but as always, they were being taken care of.
Nouvlesse. Earthlings. Those born of that repressive society. Oh, to be sure, there were those few who belied their reputation of uncaring. Matt, for instance, and... and... Chevalier...
Dear Chevalier, who stole the Deucalion in an attempt to force the Nouvlesse to accept those they considered 'Common'. Ah, why did Alv choose to take over the Deucalion? What terrible grievance did she hold against not only the Nouvlesse, but all Mankind? Did Dvergr ever truly know her daughter? Did she know what Alv was planning?
She sighed again, such things were beyond her. She was... weary. Yes, that was the word. She remembered the last time she had been this weary. She had chosen to forget. All of her life, everything from the rolling mountains of her birthplace, to her partner, her mirror.
She shifted in her seat, turning just enough to see the childlike countenance of her partner. Her soft teal hair modeled by nanomachines, her eyes almost closed, hands splayed on the console in front of her. She was obviously engaged with Wirbelwind, doing only they knew what.
She was just a bit jealous of her partner. After all, while she could understand Donnersclag, it was entirely different to hold a conversation with him. But her partner, her amazing partner with her 'Particle', could do so much more than she with her 'Power'.
* * * * *
~Another thirty minutes, fifteen seconds to Gate Out. Local time will be 2216.~
~Thank you Wirbelwind. Have you picked up any other anomalies?~
~Negative, all scans since that point have shown nothing.~
~Ah, well. Thank you.~
She closed the link between them, and opened her eyes. It was rather nice, being in hyperspace. She could easily ignore the data she received from outside of the La-Muse, and Wirbelwind would report any problems from within the ship. She looked over at her partner's seat, to see the taller woman watching her.
She smiled, Are you all right, clair?
She frowned when she received no response, then noted the somewhat blank look in her partner's eyes. clair. clair! She sighed and moved closer. clair! Frowning deeper, she drew in a breath. PHDRE!
Her partner started, and nearly fell out of her chair. She stifled a giggle at clair's position, laying halfway over Donner's head, with her rear high in the air. That's not a very elegant position, clair, she said, suppressing her laughter.
Why, O dearest partner mine, did you find it necessary to call me by that name? came the contralto voice from beneath her.
She rolled her eyes, secure in the knowledge that clair couldn't see her. I called out 'clair' three times. And I was not going to try to shake you, not after what happened last time.
Her partner levered herself up, looking her in the eye. That was three decades ago, Lumire. Things change, you know.
Not us.
clair looked at her oddly and she felt her face flush at her outburst.
No, clair agreed. Not us. She sat herself back in her chair, and glanced at the empty bench at the rear of the cabin.
She followed her partner's gaze, and frowned slightly again. Their appointed keeper, the Auditor Armblast, declined to join them on this excursion, and Chief Eclipse allowed it, rather than insisting that he join them as in times previous. Both of them wondered what it might mean.
What were you thinking of? she asked softly. You were so intent, so collected upon one thing...
clair drew in a long, slow breath, then closed her eyes and let it out in a drawn out sigh. How long have we been with the GOTT?
She blinked in confusion. Almost sixty years. Why?
clair sat back in her seat, and brushed her bright red hair out of her eyes. Sixty years... Sixty years doing the same thing. Another slow sigh. I'm tired, Lumi. So tired. As tired as when I chose to forget... But I know now that if I did that again, it wouldn't help. I'd still end up being tired. Tired of the GOTT. Tired of doing what everyone else wants. Tired of not living for myself. She turned her head and smiled. Tired of not living for those I care about.
clair suddenly turned her chair, stood, and began pacing in the small cabin. I remember so much! Designing La-Muse, crafting Donner from bits and pieces. Helping those famine victims in the Orion cluster, and smuggling foodstuffs and other necessities from beneath that damn overlord's nose! She stopped and turned, looking at her partner. Remember when we used to go roof hopping? Just the two of us, exploring a city at night. I... I want to go back to those days. Back to when we didn't know Eclipse. Didn't have our debt to her. She slumped, tirade over.
The younger woman nodded slowly. Why don't we? We can always quit the GOTT. We can go anywhere, from the Core to the Rim. Do anything we want. You know that... She trailed off as she noticed the look on her partner's face.
Its not that simple. You know.
The pair looked at each other. They both nodded in time.
Time to plan.Without a word...

Why does ezBoard log me out at what appears to be completely random intervals --like in between posting a new message and seeing the forum list afterwards?
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

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-- Acyl