space-opera

2 SECONDSHe was on her in an instant to brace her against the wall. She kicked and clawed at her unseen attacker, skin and irises ablaze in caustic gold. She fired anew, and the point-blank shot broke through his defenses, grazing his hip. He ignored the harsh sting to bring his Daemon up between them.1 SECOND

From up here, the city below looked calm. Peaceful. Serene.It was a lie. Mia could feel the lie in her bones, in the foreboding creeping along the fine hairs on her skin. But mostly she could feel it in her head, where preparations were underway across Romane to meet the coming chaos.

There's not a hell of a lot of difference between bravery and stupidity." - Commander Boaz Aurigae

Thing to know about the Reaches....It__ always trying to kill you. Even the empty places between the stars."Asher Corsair, Allies and Enemies: Rogues

Any Earth Alliance military personnel who, whether through affirmative acts or by inaction, assist these seditionists are guilty of treason and will be held accountable. To all present military personnel: you have five minutes to respond accordingly.__he chuckled. __et more than one scuffle just broke out on board those ships.___ny second thoughts?__er head shook tersely. __e__e all traitors now.___t__ not traitorous to want to be free.

Crushed sandstone sifted through Caleb__ fingers, insubstantial as dust. A breeze caught the debris mid-fall and spirited it away before it could join the ashes blanketing the ground. He stopped in the middle of what had once been a street, his arms pulled in at his sides, his fists balled in barely restrained fury.

She climbed into the shuttle and got in his personal space. __ho are you working for?__he man spat in her face.She rolled her eyes and wiped the spittle off her cheek. Then she punched him square across the jaw before grabbing him by the throat. __HO are you working for?

In that moment, she hated his quiet patient tone, hated the stench of the incense, and hated the beauteous pity painted on the faces of the women on the walls. Their expressions contained serene understanding; their eyes seemed able to peer into her soul. She found their forgiveness suffocating. And above all, she hated the tiny niggling thing in her that wanted to know more.

People feared what they did not understand, and they without a doubt did not understand her. Those who believed they did least of all. She was something new.

He pointed to the burning building as sirens heralded the approach of emergency personnel. __his is your job__his is your life. Blood and death and pain and vengeance and justice. And sometimes it sucks, but it__ worth it.__aleb sighed, but not in resignation. __ know this is the job, and it is worth it. But I refuse to believe it__ my life. Not only and not forever.__amuel pinched the bridge of his nose and waved dismissively with his other hand. __***ing romantic.

How long you been in the infantry, sir? Anything under ten miles counts as 'almost there'.

There were things she wanted to say, but they were all jumbled up in her head and if she tried they__ come out backwards and mixed up and wrong. There were things she needed to say, but she was hanging on by a fraying thread and feared if she tried the thread would break, sending her plummeting alone into the abysm.There were things she would have to say, but they should wait for later. After.

Chaos that closely resembled panic awaited. Shuttles raced to the presumed safety of the planet below while fighters crisscrossed the perimeter of the station. Platoon-sized formations of frigates and several cruisers formed up and accelerated away. To where the approaching attackers were located?She didn__ give a damn what her mother said in public. This was a bona fide insurrection.

She placed a hand on his arm. __t__ not our fault, not truly. It__ theirs. The killers. They__e the ones who____et down!_ Caleb collided with her back, sending her crashing to the floor hard enough to knock the air from her chest. The windows shattered and the sounds of a city overtaken by chaos rushed in.

Caleb reached up and slid the tie out of her hair to let it fall free. __ou were crazy to do it. But I love you because you__e wild and fearless, not in spite of it, and I know the price.__e sensed her cringe against him. __hich is?___t random and unexpected times, you terrify the life out of me.

The universe is not ordered, and it will not become so simply because one wishes it. The universe is chaos made manifest. The military does a fine job of creating an illusion of structure, of dependable rules to provide an answer for every situation. __ut it is only an illusion, one which on its best days holds the chaos at bay.

Lieutenant Mortas is the black sheep of the family--I thought you knew that.

The alien reached out her hands to hold Alex__ tightly. __lease. Some of what I want to express, it may be difficult to locate the right words.___f course.__ure alabaster eyes stared back at her. __hild, there is a hole in your mind.