Here is a science fiction story I wrote several years ago. As a screenplay, it won an award at a Beaumont, Texas writer’s contest. Hope you like it!
Aboard the Space Station O.R.I.O.N., Andre Tourve pulled to a sitting position in the narrow bunk that served as his bed. It was time to get up, but he felt drained and sluggish. He hadn’t slept well since boarding the floating weather station. The bed was too small and breathing in the artificial atmosphere gave him a constant headache just above his right eye.
He shook his head wondering how he had ever agreed to leave N.A.S.A. and come aboard this bucket? He already missed lounging on New Smyrna Beach while gazing at the blue, blue of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
Andre wandered toward a small niche, he could barely squeeze into, that served as a lavatory consisting of a sink, a toilet and a shower with a minute area of small space to hold it all together. He examined his face in the wedge of glass-covered aluminum that someone thought to call a mirror. Noting the dark circles under his bloodshot blue eyes and the disheveled state of his dark hair, he racked his fingers through to smooth the spiked ends into submission. Then he dunked his face into the sink filled with tepid water. A few minutes later, dressed and ready for duty, he strode into the narrow corridor.
A few minutes later, carrying two cups of coffee and two bagels with cream cheese packets, Andre ducked into the control tower where a giant supercomputer occupied half the room. At the bottom of a wall-sized monitor were the embossed initials O.R.I.O.N..
The only other person in the room was a petite brunette who sat in front of a keyboard and scope. A microphone headset looped around one ear. Her fingers flew as she typed.
Andre stopped behind Rahil. For a moment, he stood gazing over her shoulder.
She gave no indication that she noticed him until he set one of the bagels with cream cheese and a coffee on the console beside her. Glancing up, she gave him a quick smile.
Still, Andre spoke first, “I thought you could use this.”
Rahil’s gaze shot toward an empty mug shoved to the side. She spoke with a clipped, Russian accent to his American one. “I already had coffee, Andre, but thank you for thinking of me.” She gave him a shy smile.
He slid snugly into the chair beside her. “What about breakfast?”
One corner of her lips turned up in a wry grin. “There is no time, dorogoi. Today we launch the Orbital Network.” She turned to give him a teasing smile. “I know you know that, Andre.”
A sarcastic laugh burst from his throat. “Yeah, today we get to act like gods.”
Her quizzical brown eyes switched to an expression of childlike joy. “It is so exciting, do you not think so, Andre?”
He shrugged in mock indifference and answered with barely concealed sarcasm. “How can it be anything other than glorious.”
Andre leaned toward the console fiddling with a wire that hung loose beneath. “Hey, who’s the hack that put this thing together?”
Rahil giggled and gave his shoulder a nudge. I believe the hack is you, Master Electrician Tourve.”
Andre grinned smugly. “I believe you’re right.”
He rested his hand on the console near Rahil’s. Their fingers barely touched.
For a moment, he allowed himself to gaze into her eyes as he ran his finger down the side of hers. The soft brown of her eyes seemed to melt in his direction. He knew his eyes spoke the same language, but neither had dared to speak the words out loud.
Rahil gave him a startled look, as if his touch was an electric shock that ran straight through her. She drew in a deep breath and pulled her hand away as she turned her attention toward the scope directly in front of her.
It read: June 1, 2050 below a single blip that blinked across the screen.
Copyright by Ledia Runnels 2012
(Continued… http://creativemusingsoflediar.com/2012/04/24/o-r-i-o-n-s-quest-part-two/)
Enjoy!
Synopsis:
Fantasy Action Adventure set in feudal Japan.
During a time of civil war, Karasu Hinata is born the son of a powerful warlord. When he is still a child, his family castle is taken by a rival clan. His father and mother are murdered right before his eyes.
Barely escaping with his life, he is spirited away by the king of the tengu. The shape-shifting raven leads him to the hidden mountain retreat of a sect of mystic warriors. Mountain priests who practice the magic of Shugendo.
Ten years have passed. The time has come for Karasu to leave the mystic’s protective lair and face his demons in the world beyond. But the fiend that haunts his nightmares is also the one that shattered his life. More than a bad dream, it wants him dead.
In Legend of the Tengu Prince, nothing is as it seems. Shape-shifting creatures, both good and evil, populate the magical world of feudal Japan. And a young man will pay the ultimate price for a deadly rival spawned in the mists time. This riveting first volume of a epic fantasy adventure will leave you stunned and begging for more.
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