#TimeTravelingGhost EP 8: Post 87: 2025 Arkham

#Wss366 Suit #MastoPrompt Lessen #TimeTravelAuthors 03/31. Author's choice/promo #WordWeavers 31 Share or tell us about a fun scene you recently wrote.

The rest of the trip was awkward. I kept catching Emily glancing at me. Logically, I knew this was a good sign. I had feelings for her, but it didn’t #lessen the feeling that I wanted to escape. Her jealousy of the women in my life before we met raised red flags.

It was more than that, though. There was a sense of dread and panic. I found myself thinking things like, “Been there, done that,” or “It never turns out well.” It frustrated me that I couldn’t pinpoint why I felt that way. Was it an intuition about Emily, or was it something from my past?

Other than that, the trip was fun. It was nice to just enjoy things without worrying about anthropomorphic rabbits, the Illuminati, or other hidden terrors.

When I asked Emily if she enjoyed herself, she said, “I had a swell time.”

The day we arrived back in Arkham, it was sunny. A robin greeted us from a tree near the station. People had smiles on their faces. It was hard to believe that tomorrow someone would discover my mutilated body in Franklin Park.

It was still early, so I pointed out a café. “That’s one of my favorites. I think it’ll #suit you. They make excellent coffee, and the coffee cake is that old-fashioned kind with lots of brown sugar on top. We can go to the park where you can have some.”

“That’s peachy. I’m glad you’re getting your memories back. Is any of it useful?”

“Memory?” I asked.

“The café?

I blinked. “It wasn’t really a memory. Just a feeling.”

It would have been an inconsequential occurrence, soon forgotten, except for the server's greeting upon entering the café: “How was your vacation, Professor Bijou?”

I was stunned. Had she addressed me as Professor Dubois, I would have assumed my makeup was an inadequate disguise. But this woman knew my name.

I ordered two coffees and some pastries, then hurried out. There were people all around, so I didn’t dare talk to Emily until we reached the park.

We found a quiet bench where Emily sat next to me. She materialized, taking a sip of coffee and a bite of cake. Then she asked, “How did you know the way to the park?”

It was the third shock in a row. I answered, “I don’t know. I just did, and I know where the statue and oak are as well.” That was something I hadn’t known before. This wasn’t like returned memory.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri #NMWW #NMPrompts

Six hours after:
Alaine finally put down the book, and looked back at the notes he had been taking.

Starting with Lorn two hundred and sixty odd years ago, there had been a tiny but constant immigration of Scouts to this world. Every ten or twenty years one would simply stay. Up until Joyful Finder's departure and return with her partner, Charlie. Since then, no-one.

But still he had questions. How had Finder of Unnoticed Details known about Lorn during her crash? How had Joyful Finder's hunting bird known how to pull a circuit breaker on an unfamiliar ship?

He wrote up a summary of what he had learned, and forwarded it to both the Captain and Engel. After a moment, he also sent a copy to Dyani.

Then he got up, and went looking for Seeker.

He found her in the number one turret, it had space for two people, but was usually operated remotely from the bridge. Turrets were often targets and crew were harder to replace than equipment.

Seeker had the blast armour open, with the armoured glass exposed. This was used when sighting in targeting cameras, or during weapon tests. Or when a member of the crew wanted to look at open space.

"Alaine, how nice of you to join me. It is a remarkable sight, is it not?" Seeker, as usual, seemed like she had a hidden joke going on.
"Seeker, um, yes, it is. We don't often get to look down on a planet like this."
"But that's not why you are here, is it?"
"No. It was my expression, wasn't it?" He had been trying to work out what things she was picking up on with her "deductions".
"Mostly, yes. You have a question for me?"
"A couple actually. First, though, is the black dress. The Archivist was wearing something similar, as were a few of the Council. What does it mean?"
Seeker's air of humour dropped. "That is a very deep question Mister Haughton." She had never used that name with him before. Had he gone too far? But then she continued "It is a difficult one to answer as well, as what we are does not translate well into Standard. I understand the Scouts usually translate our status as 'Shaman', although that is rather misleading. I suppose you could call us 'conduits'."

Alaine was silent for several minutes. "I think I begin to understand," he said finally, "Although it sounds insane to actually ask it."
Seeker looked back from the view of the planet, and stared at him. "Ask the second question" she commanded.
Alaine gulped, and then pressed on "Seeker, can you read minds and send your thoughts?"

She regarded him steadily for a few moments "Yes. All of our people learn how to shield our minds, but only a few can sense and send. Hence 'conduits'".
"Have you been reading our minds?"
"Not since making myself one of your crew. It is rude to pry into the mind of a friend without permission."

Alaine slumped into the gunner's couch. "So why tell me now?"
"Because you learned enough to ask. That is what I was waiting for."

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

Spading

'Spading is exhausting! Why dont't we just grow herbs with magic?'

'You already know the answer.'

'... Because it requires more Mana than the herbs would produce.'

'Exactly. Now, resume digging.'

#writever #MastoArt #FlashFiction #SmallStory #TootFic #MicroFiction

June and the crew of the Tori had assembled in the meeting room for their daily update.

"Good news and bad news." Bjorn pushed the latest cargo manifest onto the screen. "Good news: We're nearly ready to go. She's filled to the brim with food and fuel." He gently patted the table, then smirked at Rip. "We've also stocked up on mining equipment."

"Mining?" June looked puzzled.

"Yeah, Tori can't have weapons, but she is a registered mining rig." Rip pushed spec sheets onto the screen. "So we have a bunch of asteroid breakers."

June skimmed the sheets. "Those are missiles."

"They usually don't hit as hard." Rip shrugged, then grinned. "Unless you're going after sturdy stuff." They pushed a gold rimmed certificate onto the screen and beamed. "And we have PERMITS!"

June chuckled and turned towards Bjorn. "So then what's the bad news?"

"It's your contract. They won't let us buy you out, and we can't raise the offer anymore without drawing suspicion." A bunch of pictures popped up on the screen. "Those were the contacts. Know any of 'em?"

"Well fuck." June grimaced and highlighted a sleek looking man. "Let me introduce to you all: Alain, my supervisor and a professional nosy bastard. I suspected that he suspected that I was up to something." She looked at Marga. "We spent the last few days throwing smokescreens on the feeds, apparently it wasn't enough." Then panic flooded her face. "If I go back now, they will make me talk."

Captain Konrad was chewing his lower lip and sat in silence for a while. "I'll get us auth for an incursion."

"Incursion?" June looked around the table with a confused face.

Marga sat in her chair with a slight smile on her lips. "I'm going to burn you out of their system."

12/X

#writing #microfiction #smallstories #tootfic #scifi