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Trapped in the wrong body, a self-doubting engineer must find friends among hungry monsters and stop a growing evil before impending war consumes the galaxy.

New chapters! (29/11/2014)
On Dreamwidth: Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18

On LiveJournal: Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18

keaalu

( For the fourth time in as many minutes, Blink wondered if she kept deconstructing ~Venture~, like this, could she make her way clean out from her cabin, through the wall? )

keaalu

( Skydash had stood in the garage doorway for a very long time, watching as the port quietened down in the deepening gloom. Passengers dwindled, vehicles parked up, lights came on. Cleaning crews came out to sweep the runways. Trucks serviced and refuelled the fog-lifters. She’d watched for most of the afternoon to see Blink coming round the corner from the security wing, distressed but safe – but nothing. Maybe she was lost, maybe her travelcard had run out of credit. Maybe it was as simple as choosing to walk home... Maybe something horrible had happened. )

keaalu

( When Blink next remembered opening her eyes, it was to find watery morning sunlight spilling through the small windows in the huge garage doors, and she realised it was morning. How had that happened? She didn’t even remember going to sleep. At some point in the night, Skydash had put her to bed, tucking the blankets carefully around her, although she had no idea at what time her frazzled brain had finally decided to offline. )

keaalu

( Blink lost track of the precise point at which staring at a dark ceiling segued into staring at dark trees, but she did finally manage to inch her way into dreamland. Not that her dreamscape was any better than the ceiling – she stood alone in a thick, misty forest of identical trees, thigh-deep snow covering the ground. The chill penetrated deep into her unprotected skin; her limbs looked like they were carved of marble, white and waxy and stiff with cold. )

xx,xxx out of 50,000 (to be updated later)

(Two whole posts! I have a lot more written, but nowhere near postable.)

keaalu

( Unwilling to entertain any more unwanted and unwelcome company, Blink spent much of the remainder of the journey in her cabin, asleep, emerging only briefly to eat or bathe. She saw Lunete only a few times more, briefly, in the galley, but even she seemed somewhat subdued. Whether it was out of regret for involving Kainda, or just plain loss of interest, Lunete didn’t volunteer, and Blink didn’t ask, but she was relieved to be getting some privacy. )

xx,xxx out of 50,000 (to be updated later)

(A portion of this was written waaaay back in March. The remainder is new, from NaNoWriMo)

keaalu

( Skydash heard them coming long before the door to the hold actually opened – ample time to get the ‘Stupid Automaton’ guise in place. After an inward groan and a tiny curse at her absent friend (and why in goodness name had she ~encouraged~ Blink to get to know this nosey femme?), she shuffled backwards into a stiff, formal position against the wall, set her arms tidily down at her sides, and deactivated her optics, resolutely facing the far wall. )

36,758 out of 50,000

keaalu

( The next few days became something of a slow, unwelcome game of cat and mouse, with Blink in the role of the reluctant mouse and Lunete the pursuing predator. Blink still wasn’t wholly sure what made her so twitchy about the whole situation. )

32,423 out of 50,000

(This should have been posted back on Sunday, but I only got as far as coding things.)

keaalu

( Down in the hold, temporarily camping out in Skydash’s ‘room’, Blink sat back in the middle of the same loose spool of cable, a hard-backed paper journal open on her lap, chewing the well-loved end of a plastic pen. “Hm?” She sounded distracted, and didn’t look up at Skydash's comment. )

27,317 out of 50,000

keaalu

( The first time the sedatives wore off and Blink stirred out of hibernation, she was surprised – but not THAT surprised – to find that a whole day had passed. For a while, she felt stuck halfway between being fully asleep and fully awake, not able to nudge her way back into either state, able to do nothing but stare at the wall, listening to the pleasant soporific white noise of the ship’s engines. )

25,457 out of 50,000

keaalu

( Getting through the small hatch in her friend’s flank was a whole lot easier, without the hideous blue cardboard suit making Blink’s movements stiff. The short hop into orbit didn’t need intensive life support – Skydash was more than capable of keeping her passenger warm and supplied with plenty of oxygen. )

23,485 out of 50,000

keaalu

( She could no longer hear the powerful thrum of her friend’s engines, when Blink finally stirred out of her deep, drugged slumber, some days later. For several muggy seconds, she wondered if something had gone wrong… then noticed the pale daylight, streaming in through the little window by her chin. They’d landed. )

21690 out of 50,000

keaalu

( ~We need to talk.~ The words Blink had been expecting, and dreading. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry. ''I know.'' It took more effort than she’d expected to force out the little shred of speech. ''Now?'' )

19,299 out of 50,000

keaalu

( It ultimately took the manufacturing bay close to four days to finish building Blink’s life-support suit. Rendered in a tough, dark blue fabric, the Institute computers somehow succeeded in making it look even more uncomfortable that it had looked on Skydash’s datasheet. It looked rather more like it had been sewn from sheets of blue cardboard, even after a good washing. )

17,532 out of 50,000

keaalu

( That evening, the little group all settled out on the Institute pavement to eat supper and enjoy the stars. It was obvious to everyone from Blink’s continued lack of appetite that she still wasn’t comfortable. Her friends had been ‘coaching’ her on how to behave 'properly' all afternoon, and her patience had started to wear thin. )

14,617 out of 50,000

keaalu

( With a little assistance from the Interface, Rae finally tracked the two fessine down to one of the bathrooms. Blink sat hunched in the chair Aspazija had parked in front of one of the big mirrors, glowering at her reflection, while the taller fessine carefully combed through her damp hair. )

12,973 out of 50,000

keaalu

( Speaking to the bits did Skydash a world of good. She emerged from the atrium with her wings perked, looking distinctly less exhausted than she had been. ''Thank you, Bee,'' she murmured, giving Blink’s shoulder a little squeeze in passing. ''I really needed that.'' )

11,105 out of 50,000

keaalu

( Skydash was already awake when Blink finally grunted and rolled off her pile of cushions in the Institute window early the next morning. The big femme sat at the front edge of the Institute pavement, legs folded underneath her, face lifted to the rising sun. )

9296 out of 50,000

keaalu

( Skydash looked out on the slowly deepening evening sky. ''I think I'd like to sit outside. Enjoy the stars without having to worry if I'm going to fly into one. Are you coming?'' )

6847 out of 50,000

keaalu

( The grass-covered roof had finally dried out – well, mostly – by the time Blink had emerged to wait for her friend’s arrival, after a small eternity of soaping to scrub the last of the ground-in dirt from her fingers and the engine grease from her hair. )

4877 out of 50,000

keaalu

Written today: 2065
Posted Words : 1810/50,000
Unposted Words: 255
Prompt: Colours (not used yet)

( Sprawled out on a huge, squashy cushion just inside the Institute’s massive front windows, Rae stretched his legs out in front of him and wiggled his long, clawed toes in the pool of sunlight, relishing the heat of the noontime sun slanting down through the window and against his dark skin. )

1810 ♥ 50,000

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