May 22, 2012

Journey's End? - Flash Fiction Blogfest


It's the 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest (may21-23) hosted by Cherie Reich to celebrate her third year blogversary. It doubles up as a competition with three winners getting Amazon gift cards.  Open voting on may28.
Check out the linky list of other flash writers here.
A piece of flash 300 words or less beginning with the words Lightning Flashed.

Lightning flashed in the distance. They sans one huddled closer drawing comfort from each other. The swirling black clouds were visible indicating that their journey was at its end. Yet, darkness would arrive before them. The winding road seemingly friendly an hour ago was at its treacherous best. The trees lining both sides were gnarled in places, hideous stumps at others, the roots spreading out onto the pathway like greedy fingers. The leafless branches rustled and bent towards them. This is an illusion. The shaman’s dying warning echoed. Icy hands trailed through their limbs. Fear, the warriors accepted, welcomed, but this unseen entity chilled their hearts, dulled their instincts, made them cower like the villagers they were bound to protect.
Ashan, the self appointed leader, twirled his blood stained scimitar. Basher balked at the other’s impatience, then nudged the unsure group forward. He waited for the one tagging behind. She moved with firm, alert steps belying her tender age. She had impressed Bashir by offering to be the bait. The council had happily agreed.
 He had sworn then to protect her with his life.  
A flash of light revealed the looming grey castle. Thunder made its presence felt. Then. Utter silence. They stopped a few feet away from the gates. Ashan turned to Bashir. “Take the girl and walk ahead. We follow close behind.”
Why single me out? “Come. It’s time.” in the kindest tone he could manage.
One of the gates unbolted, wide enough for a person to pass through.
 He stopped her as she moved forward. “I go first.”
The iron door closed behind them. Bashir rushed back trying in vain to wrench it open.
His reward was bloodied fingers.
Yasmin watched him, the slow hunger now a raging need. The warrior’s blood smelled sweet. A feast tonight.

Wc 300 Exact.
*Love using Asian characters since they are few and far between beyond our shores.

Flash Fiction Blogfest





May 16, 2012

Light Hearted Magick?


She giggled...Neeta struggled to keep a straight face lest they draw attention to themselves.
Zack frowned, his irritation increasing with every passing minute. He could barely wait for the demo session to end.

Cathy, awaiting her turn, tried to catch their attention, her efforts only drawing puzzled looks from the twins seated behind them.
"Is something wrong with your eyes?" one asked 
When she didn’t respond “Trying to seduce my little brother, are we?"
'Little?' sizing up the boy who needed an entire bench to stretch his never ending limbs.
"That must be understatement of the century" with a quiet chuckle.
"Shut up jokers!" the other one hissed,
"I'll turn you both into bats if I get pulled up this time."
They glared at him, about to resort when she giggled again.

Zack got up in a huff only to freeze in place. Her warm hands pulling him back never failed to elicit the familiar response. Small, almost black eyes reprimanded him for breaking their contact abruptly.
Master, who had ignored them all this while was now forced to acknowledge the distraction from the eastern end of the chamber. He was aware of every thought, hushed whispers or otherwise. Faced with no other viable option, squelching the rumours that questioned his authority was a priority.  The first step towards the goal demanded that they be punished.
Pity, the girls were his best friend's nieces. Reluctantly, he called the three of them over.

Zack wasn't sure he could keep himself from casting the 'bent back' hex on the girls, seeing their calm, detached expressions. He didn't want to, not her anyway. He was pleasantly surprised when Master handed them the after session chores.
Planting seeds, magical ones at that was boring but not hard.

The sulking part of him did not share in his relief. This is not we had planned. The reminder was dampener on his spirits. He had volunteered to be the telepathic medium for the girls with an ulterior motive...a desperate need to find a clue, a confirmation of her interest in him. And here they were, digging up the soil with dancing hands, where he could have been plotting his next move with the guys. He didn't find his love for the 'flying ducks' night suit funny, she obviously did.

wc384

Today is  International Flash Fiction Day in the U.K...decided to post my fiction here and not on their site. You can check the other fantastic stories here.

* I got into Pottermore this week...a cute, interactive site. And while I received an Alder-Phoenix...they sorted me into bloody Gryffindor. I wanted to join Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff since we all know enough about the red house. Incidentally, I was put in a red house during my schooling years till 10th grade. I always envied my bro's blue badge.

* My nephews are turning up next week...surprise, as my bro is off to London for two weeks and the elder one has summer vacation till June 13. So June 4 is the only day I will be posting during the first week. I will be using my birthday to thank the bloggers/ettes whose awards I still have to acknowledge and pass on to the rest of you. Do visit the post, as I will be passing on certain awards.


* Any comments on the story welcome, but polite put downs please.
May 14, 2012

My First Loves - For The Blogfest

 First Loves Blogfest hosted by Alex Cavanaugh...


First loves blogfest by songsnwords on GoAnimate


Hi Alex...bloggers, blogettes...welcome to my version of the First Loves Blogfest. You can see and hear the one minute video if you are feeling lazy to read...more or less the same words.

 At 9 years, second year in the new school in Bombay...my first love, you could say, offered me chocolates for his birthday. All I remember is his being tall for our age, with a cute smile and beautiful light brown eyes.
The other real one was an unrequited one at 22 but that's "classified information".

First book I loved was a gift by my dad's cousin, 'Firebird And Other Russian Fairy Tales' printed in what was once U.S.S.R. It has beautiful illustrations and pages with border art, but now kind of brittle to touch.

Let's get this straight...I am saying, the first movie I loved was Jackie Chan's 1978 released Drunken Master with atrocious English dubbing.

First English song l loved was Boney M's Rasputin, and the first band I listened to and liked was Beatles, the song Kansas City.

Glad to have you here and hope everyone who visited enjoyed this rather one sided conversation, hee hee.

May 08, 2012

The Backworlds Book Launch Party

A vision of how humanity might colonize the galaxy some day in the distant future?

The Backworlds is here!


The first story in the Backworlds series by M. Pax. 

 The Backworlds
After the war with Earth, bioengineered humans scatter across the Backworlds.
Competition is fierce and pickings are scant. Scant enough that Craze’s father decides to
hoard his fortune by destroying his son. Cut off from family and friends, with little money,
and even less knowledge of the worlds beyond his own, Craze heads into an uncertain
future. Boarding the transport to Elstwhere, he vows to make his father regret this day.

Available from: Amazon / AmazonUK / Smashwords / Feedbooks
Other links to more outlets can be found at either Wistful Nebulae or MPax
The Backworlds is an ebook and a free read at Smashwords
and Feedbooks as of now.

It’ll take a few weeks to a free read status on Amazon Kindle. It will also be
available on B&N and iTunes. Sign up for M. Pax’s mailing list to be notified the day it
does go free on Amazon, and when the book becomes available at other outlets. You’ll
also receive coupons for discounts on future publications. 

M. Pax’s inspiration comes from the wilds of Oregon, especially the high desert where
she shares her home with two cats and a husband unit. Creative sparks also come from
Pine Mountain Observatory where she spend her summers working as a star guide. She
writes mostly science fiction and fantasy, but confesses to an obsession with Jane Austen.


She blogs at her website, www.mpaxauthor.com and at Wistful Nebulae. You’ll find links
there to connect on Twitter, Goodread, FB and other sites.

The sequel, Stopover at the Backworlds’ Edge, will be released in July 2012. It will be
available in all ebook formats and paperback.
May 06, 2012

Wrong Timing?


After two months, back with my entry for Saturday Centus at Jenny Matlock's blog...any genre, P.G as far as possible, not to exceed 100 words plus the prompt in bold.. Check the other pleasure trips there.

The interview had held a lot of promise, one of the better ones she had given in recent times. Nevertheless, waiting for the elusive call was unnerving. She went about the everyday chores, no longer languorous. The meals were planned,  their calorie content checked, examined her closet, deeming most of the clothes as good enough for office wear. She checked her inbox a dozen times a day. The phone went everywhere she went. Today, at lunch, a beep was heard. She unlocked the screen in nervous excitement. The message read, “It is our pleasure to invite you to Exhale holiday homes, nature awaits.”

my origins

 A nervous hi, takes a seat...
"My origins...from India, so I guess ..." jumps up in alarm as Robyn Engel  from Life By Chocolate, present here on persistent pleading butts in.
"Rek, Rek...%&#$@" does a face-palm, accuses me " You hoodwinked us all this time!! Took you to be a smart, witty woman who knows her ifs and buts..."
I , as usual, burst into tears melting her kind heart. She pats my head (in a petting way) " Come now, here, have a chocolate."
Pouting "Hello, trying to lose weight here."
She mutters" More like losing steam and our audience."
"Alex! Tbone!" she hollers, literally yanking them off their chairs...giving them a 'don't mess with me' look
"Be my guest!" and thunders her way out.
I whimper, still licking a dark bit, "Robyn, Wait!"
Tbone clears his throat, "Look Lady, We don't have all day...220 odd others waiting, so cut the crap!"
In a stronger, cocoa dipped voice, "Written essays and poems in school and college and such...read books too. Summer vacations meant my cousins would hide away their books lest I spent less time with them."
Alex looks at Tbone, a telepathic exchange, 'Next time, our Blogfest is by invitation only!' and emphatic nods.
"My 8th grade(13yrs) English teacher liked my story, especially about a ranch horse...it reminded her of Black beauty...she loved my first line for another one, the one which went,"Under the star lit sky, with only the full moon for company, here I lie in a corner, a street dog."
Looks around for applause, none...stammers on, "But never aspired to be a writer, a published one at that."
Alex ""Finally!"  Tbone "No grovelling for sympathy!"
"Ok." "Written on and off for two decades now, till I joined Twitter in 2009 after my ... hmm...still a very bad word  here 'D'. Met two cool bloggers (now friends) T.S Hendrik and  Aditya, followed their blogs for a year before taking the plunge."
'"Joined some creative blog groups for poets and flash fiction writers, their encouragement helped as did that of my first few followers...then gave into my ambitious, pestering brother's advice and took up writing full time in 2010.""Ok." "Written on and off for two decades now, till I joined Twitter in 2009 after my ... hmm...still a very bad word  here 'D'. Met two cool bloggers (now friends) T.S Hendrik and  Aditya, followed their blogs for a year before taking the plunge."

'"Joined some creative blog groups for poets and flash fiction writers, their encouragement helped as did that of my first few followers...then gave into my ambitious, pestering brother's advice and took up writing full time in 2010."
"Moving out of Mumbai meant I couldn't even get a part-time accountant's job since I never managed to crack my C.A (C.P.A equivalent) final exams. I lick my wounds with the hard fact that in the 90s only 3% of 15,000 students got that elusive title every year, maybe because of fewer job openings then... sigh...but on the flip side, I have a lot of time to read, write, research, submit and get rejected, photograph, fabric paint, mess around with different software applications and blog now."
Alex softly "Lets get back to writing."
"Did I mention I got a commerce degree just because Arts is not a cool career option for the great Indian Middle Class! To cut the long story short...finally found the courage to get around doing what I love and what I think is one of the few things I am good at. So, if my books get printed or not, sell or not....I am and will be an Artist/Writer!!"

 Alternate version

There was a little girl who was a bit different, impulsive, hot tempered, rebellious dreaming false worlds when she should have been studying some more. The daydreams grew larger, more verbose and sometimes silly. As the space between the grey cells shrunk, she took to writing on pieces of paper... some saved, some frittered away carelessly...she never showed them to anyone lest she be mocked at by the uncaring. Then it happened, the stuff that her fears were made of. Unlike other kindred spirits, the more she read others, the less pieces of her own got written till a day when the dreams knew better and took flight to the nether regions of her mind, a self  imposed exile.

Time flew, walked, crawled, the dreams peeked out now and then and verses took shape that were protected fiercely for years and yet the best ones cast one day into the fire of battered self esteem (especially the ones dedicated to her fiancé-husband who broke her spirit)....and then after years of grey bleakness, the tumultuous life led her back to the road she had long ago abandoned, the only one left she could travel through, to save her sanity. The journey was risky, shaky, encouraged by loved ones who had secretly read her amateur works...she trots along enjoying the passing scenery.



And lo behold,
 The Twin, The  Muse Ran Away....
leaving behind a sci fi that is just about a quarter complete, a fantasy barely written, a poetry collection due for e publishing in March with quite a few missing pages, short stories to be drafted and rewritten from scratch.
She filled a complaint with the "Missing Muses Retrieval" writers club in December but yet to hear from them.
Anyone who sees 'Reka Sang' slouching around in the upper decks of cyber space, do cajole her to come back please...as said she is moody and cantankerous, gets offended easily. Will this be enough praise to melt her heart??

Penned bold thoughts /
Heart never speaks of /
Love this muse //
 3-5-3

 This is how the Muse looked when they last met....maybe the lady should check Facebook, for sure she is whiling away time with those mindless games or the news rooms where she is flirting with the big boys.

 The strain of these online searches and researching in her absence simply translates into nothing written in the last 3 months.



Wrtiten for a blogfest

Why this private blog?


Will be adding as and when I write, some may not make it here. The poems and stories still have to go through another round of edit even a rewrite . Someday will write enough to print...atleast before my 45 th bday??

One Can always Write and Hope, can't One?



This  private blog accessible only to beta readers and critiques will contain material for:

1. A. Poetry and Micro fiction collection    free ebook june 2012
20 poems + 30 pieces of fiction
poems
freeverse    12
form            4
haiku            4

Micro
55 words                             5                                                          
69 words                             5
50 words (dribbles)             5                                                                
100 words (Drabbles)         5                                                        
Hint fiction - 25 words        5                                                      
Tweet fiction or 140 Fiction 5                                                    
(140 characters including punctuation marks and spaces between words.)


1.B.     An urban fantasy short story  free ebook aug 2012  around 3000 words                  
 (500 words on paper so far)

2. Poetry Collection           64 Poems  including
(submit  to publishers by dec 2012 ....if rejected by six of them, self publish as Ebook  through Smashwords.com/Amazon in mar 2013)

 Freeverse                            40
Styled poems                       22
 (Japanese forms)
Tanka                                     1
Haiku                                   10
Picture Poem.                         1      (the poem will resemble the image it is based on).


It contains my stories  (will be edited and added)

3. Flash and Micro fiction collection                                                         50 Pieces - 16000 words
( Ebook by self through Smashwords.com/Amazon in jan 2013)

 Flash Fiction - anything between 300words to 1000 words
Micro Fiction - between 10 and 300 words or less than 500 characters
                                                                         done           left
50 words (Dribbles)       10     250w                   -              10
100 words (Drabbles)     10    1000w           5 ready          05                                  
200 words (Droubbles)   10    2000w           3 ready          07                                    
300 words                      05    1500w           3 ready          02                          
500 words                      05     2500w          3 ready          02                              
713 words                      05     3565w          5 ready           -                                  
1000 words                    05     5000w          2 ready          03
                                     50     15835w          


Some of these poems and flash fiction were posted on my regular blog http://www.achronicleofdreams.blogspot.in/ for feedback from blogging friends and now deleted from there...hence may find certain posts with comments

4. Short stories collection (between 1200 to 2800 words)     12-14   around   28000 words i.e 110 pages. (done by jan 2013 for submission)
 Written   Edited   Rewrite                Wip      outline/idea
 3                1        2                          2             10

5. Photo Book Collection of sky and landscape  40 Snaps 
( at lulu 2013)

Taken by
Me  (Rek)                        30
My Brother (Prak)           10


6.A. A Picture Book           >= 10 pages ( Single copy for my nephew Akshay) April 2013

 6.B. A Children Book             25-30 pages ( single copy for my nephew Sidartha) April 2013


7. A Ebook Toon Collection       30 Toons
(for fun)

By finish means...one drafts and one edit by self...read by at least 3 betas, second draft and edit, formatted as per standard and ready for a critique partner to read.

8. A Romantic Novella or Flash novel - Skip A Beat 30000 words written 26500 words so far
( finish by july3-aug2 2012) YA/ young adult and above ie 17 yrs and above.

9. A Realistic Fiction Novella - (my own story) On Domestic Violence  - Scarred 30000-40000 words
(  finish by sept 2012) Adult that is above 21 years

10. A Science Fiction Novel - Stars Apart    80000 words  YA/ young adult and above
( finish by 2014)

11. A Fantasy/Paranormal Novel - Restless    80000 Words  YA/ young adult and above
(  finish by 2013)

12. A Historical Thriller Novella or Flash  Novel  - The Barrier 35000 - 40000 words  MG/YA/middle grade, young adult and above i.e 14 years and above
( finish by 2015)


Printed
 A 55 word story n a for luv anthology
A poetry piece in  Mag
A poetry piece to be published
 A flash fiction in post card shorts.



May 05, 2012

Scarred

Chapter 1 - The Refrain


1
"Thond dhoney, Parsa karney, aangool"*...
The musical notes wafted through, every other morning from the bathroom. Like Beethoven's Concerto...the tempo changed over the next ten minutes reaching a crescendo with the litany of accusations and filthy words directed at her, her extended family, his friends and colleagues. 
 Despite her best efforts, she didn't always succeed in blocking out the stream of words. 'Words' which riled her temper make her scream back her own versions, which was one of the reasons he kept at it...rather enjoyed would be a better word, she had realised a while back . His face that grew ugly and dark while uttering them, his eyes that moved deeper into the sockets leaving most of the whites visible were the cues.
Sometimes, she felt nothing, just a numbed existence...as though an out of body experience or seen through someone else's vision. Often felt like a dead soul trapped in a living body that didn't quite feel alive.
At times, she just to sleep and never wake up to see the morning sun. it hadn't always been like this, not during the one month of official courtship and the first two months of marriage...'window dressing' he had told her later on, blasely at that.


*'Brush teeth, take a leak, bathe'


 Chapter 4


1

Shadows crept across the wall. Lights from the opposite buliding streaming in through the thin  curtains. The night lamp, not to be outdone added to the effects…so quiet, she could hear the heart palpitate against her chest walls.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up the thin brush, mixed the colours on the palette and carefully painted the petals.
‘Bitchy Prostitute’ the voice echoed, stronger than it had all week. She barely manged to pull away the shaking brush. The leaf was now shaded orange.
‘Damn!  Get a grip.’ It kinda looked nice’,  she noted with concentrated effort…autumn leaves on the blouse would stand out indeed. She glanced at the clock on the wall to her right, 12.45 a.m…half an hour more before she tried to sweet talk  the mistress of dreams.
Lost in the swirling colours that came alive in her hands, she barely heard him till he stepped close to her. Laughed at her efforts,”Well, Picasso, get back to bed.”
“ A few minutes more” the timid voice pleaded.
“You know who is up at this time of the night?”
Emboldened “Not that word, I will really leave this time.”
“Really? Poor Mrs Virgin, pity your  face didn’t find any takers in college. We both know, your parents will send you right back.” walking away.
Ignoring the rolling tears, blurred eyes sought the brush… clutching it tightly, in its strength everything faded.


2000 words in paper to be copied...sigh

Epilogue


She paused at the doorstep...looking back at the room  once more. Everything was as she had left it  two months ago....the curtains, the dining table she begged and begged for months and finally got, her favourite couch rich blue with silver trimmings, a favourite with the only three neighbours who passed his test (well most of the time at least).

          The light blue sofa still stood, a mute majestic witness to the torment sessions, mental and emotional, countless endured to the point of a breakdown, the humiliations, the constant put downs that still sent cold shivers down her spine.

         His high pitched voice with a maniac quality echoed in her brain, cold swept all over her, the heart pounding at an inhuman rate...the well recognised  signs of a panic attack. She took deep breathes the way her doctor has taught her, clutched a chair for support and moved to gather her few precious belongings, a culmination of six wasted years.

          Every piece of cloth, a book here, a C.D there, remainders of the few happy moments she had managed to gather and salvage from the wreck that was her marriage. Her bags packed, she glanced at the house for one last time ....

        The house she had tried in vain to make a home but dimly realised now was never hers to begin with. The house now stood for only loss : loss of innocence, loss of her unborn child, loss of hope, loss of dignity, loss of self worth and the greatest loss, one that would haunt her for years to come, loss of the will to live.

       The lift stopped , her and bags deposited to the ground floor, the safety zone...as she turned to hug and wave at her few friends, the only ones that would miss her...never him, never him..

       She saw at last in the afternoon sun....behind her stood the skyscraper tall, looming and lonely ....before her stood her mother and the cab, her ticket to freedom bought at a bitter price.


         She walked with a spring in her step, a tiny smile, a smile none the less that threatened to break out of the gloom, knowing that though the road ahead was not easy, too many battles still to be fought.... He could never hurt her again.....

Stars Apart

I know, its quite boring...but first drafts are always bad, amateurish....

Chapter 1 Banter
1
 The day began on a positive note. Who knew playing a practical joke on cousins could  be fun? Bijoy positively screamed “Tara, you will pay for this” as Banchi’s robotic arms pried  him  away from the mess he called bed. A very painful way to wake up.

Banchi was grandfather’s latest creation based on archaic prototypes from the Motherland infact. It was one of his pet projects... mixing technology old and new to come up with quirky robotons.
A lot of the colonists loved to wish away these remainders of a deplorable past. For them, the robotons and the like stood for everything that had brought them here, hundreds of light years away. It was a constant reminders of the benevolence and mercy of the races inhabiting this part of the Milky Way.
The youngsters at the academy, however, found them interesting and cool experiments.
Father had expressed interest in this fusion technology for both business and practical reasons. He had willing investors interested in what he called the ‘servients’, automated machines that did menial jobs of the homes.
 Father and Uncle were ambitious and pushy, totally unlike grandpa who instilled in us love for the surrounding world and thirst for academic and creative excellence.
 I and my friends had just graduated from the local Academy and still exercising our choices on our future professional and personal. It wasn’t the only one in Gaia, the planet we were granted asylum on 5000 years ago. But it was the one, most aspired to join and few did. The rest studied in finishing schools and relevant job mangers.

2
Many of the students would follow in their parent footsteps be it job or industry. A few of us had been short listed for the five year advanced program. If selected it would mean a journey not just from home but from our star system to another in the constellation of Cygnus.
 I love travelling, the chance to meet different Gaian like species and interacting with them is exciting. The one to one conversation adds much more to the knowledge of our similarities and difference than historical and cultural studies.
The influences that make us can be as varied as the planets and moons we are born in… to the environment we grow up. “Inter planetary species” is the subject that I hope to pursue further and code in my own thoughts and findings. Codes are what books were to first Gaians who were selected to settle on the planet. With Earth and its Moon Chandra having died out, the Mars colony destroyed by nuclear fission and moons Titan and Phoebe overcolonised…the Bhaa granted Solians a reprieve, a chance at redemption. Solians dwell in the Goid Belt in a single Star Sol planetary system between two of the left arms of the galaxy. It is said that there were are six such Solian based colonies in our constellation far away from each other with minimal contact, least we give in to the tendency to destroy ourselves. Why have our ancestors been destroying their planet homes and endangering their lives is an unfathomable riddle?

Chapter 2 New Beginnings
1
 It was a dream come true for the group. The excitement and nervousness in the air was palpable. Being chosen for the planetary Academy was in itself an honor reserved for the best local talent. To be a part of the team of colonists to spend the next 5 years in the principal one, challenging and learning from the best minds of the star systems was a rare privilege.
  Tara and Sofia collapsed into the refreshing pods at the monitoring room, clearly exhausted by the plethora of tests they had gone through. These were just the tip of the iceberg needed for clearance. Bijoy and Stefan weren’t doing too well either, despite the training the boys had to undergo as part of the defense protocols. The last three that completed the group were the freshest, a reflection on their military training.
 The defense protocols were a compulsory system implemented by all the planet and moon bases that were part of the Guardian Domains. It was based on these performances that the Training Centre chose its future fighters from the Academy.
 Despite his failing health, Grandfather insisted on being present for the entire session. No one could deny the respected scientist who had been a skilled fighter pilot in his time. It was a proud moment for him as two of his grandchildren had made the grade. Though he had initially been disappointed that neither Tara nor Bijoy were cut out to be soldier-scholars, he conceded that the accelerated program at the Academy held greater future value.

 Chapter 3Tara
 1
I fell in love with Tirma, the second moon of Shuk at first sight. The other reason why it would always be special was still an unknown, back then. While the spaceship made contact with the docking station for permission, we admired the purple hues on the horizon which we later found out was the permanent feature. Sofia was of the opinion that the unique position of Shuk’s two suns may have something to do with it. I smiled at her efforts to impress Bijoy at every turn.
‘Should I tell her, she didn’t need to try so hard?’
  My mind resumed it original thoughts. ‘Would it be possible for us to explore the landscape?’
Looked like Stefan was thinking the same, for he asked
“Will the Tutors give us permission to move around?”
Dhruv interjected “A better question would be, is the air breathable enough to wander unaided?”
Everyone laughed and Stefan joined in, he had a chilled out persona which helped him make friends easily.
 Despite appearances, Dhruv and he were best friends. This was their way of bonding, as I and Sofia often did over philosophy and music.
 The landing proceeded smoothly despite the tight schedule the hosts had to maintain. The academic year started in three months, giving all the students ample time to acclimaticize and acquaint with others. Father advised us to stick to Gaia like and Gaianoid ones initially especially the Hamsaians and the Domerners. They were our military and technology transfer partners.

 2
 The Academy itself was a beautiful sight, right in the midst of an ocean atop a volcanic hill. It was the principal one and recreated 15000 years ago if I remembered my history lessons correctly. Some of the best galactic leaders, soldiers, inventors, artists and tradesperson were its proud alumni. Its black grey exterior with the violet sky as the backdrop gave it a formidable appearance. Though the architecture gave it a “from the lost pages of time feel”, it was said to be a technical marvel with an modern interiors in an entire wing. The rejuvenation centre was packed with ample refresher pods and body contour shapers; a luxury still, back home.
 We climbed into one of the waiting automated rovers that would drop us at the first of three checkpoints leading to the invisible gates. Each halt would take two days …Each of us students, tutors back from breaks, the peace keepers, even travelling medical crew had to go through BESS. BESS, the biological echo sensory scan identified the different species and enabled the medical crew to sterilize our bodies and identify dangerous pathogen carriers. The peace keepers found it useful to weed out the rogue nation members and dangerous pets snuck in ever so often.
 The system left room for very few errors. Our 30 odd member group was bundled off to the waiting bunkers as the checks were still being conducted on some of the Hamsaians who had arrived earlier.

 “Do the Hamsa Nobles travel separately?” I asked Dhruv
 He was the smartest and being in year 3 – a Triga, the oldest among us.
 “Some do, but most prefer to travel incognito with the ordinary folk.”
“They will be a couple of them in your sessions” added Stefan. “The Baals and Dohatos sound familiar?”
   “Not two of the oldest warrior clans, father has dealings with?”
 “You will find a few of them in each year.” said Stefan
  “The ones being scanned are graduating students back from military training.”
    “Aren’t the fourth years supposed to stay at the Academy preparing for the last term?” asked Robyn the writer.
“The soldiers in training among Hamsa and the Panjas are allowed to leave.”
“Shouldn’t rules be the same for everyone?” I quizzed.
“Being some of the older inhabitants has its advantages”
“They are allowed back only on completing their assignments irrespective of warrior status.” It was not Dhruv or Stefan who had replied but one of the quieter, stiff backed ones, definitely a soldier in training.
  “How would you know?” Bijoy asked for the rest of us.
   “My brother happens to partner two of them, both at the academy and the training centre.”
“At your base?” someone asked
“Which colony are you based in?” I addressed her.
“At the edge of the Zooma belt. Our planet Shina is on a binary star system Rah and Ket” She replied “Your group is from Gaia, isn’t it? Then we are at opposite ends.”

 4
The dark haired soldier responded. “Close to one of the Maara systems, aren’t you?”
‘Far too close, some believe” she replied timidly as if expecting censure for the proximity.
“We cannot choose our neighbors, not yet.” I tried to reassure her.
Sofia and Stefan deftly changed the topic by going back to the Hamsa and the fourth years or Naals.
  
 Chapter 4 The Academy
1
 “Most out of the way, Earthlings, stick to your line”. The voice came from the travel pod hurtling at great speed near us.
 “A race to the sessions with the Gaiains” shouted Stefan into the sound box, totally uncharacteristic of him.
 “Let’s go guys; I don’t want to be late on the first day.” Tara found herself saying the third time in as many years.
 “Don’t understand how the Hamsa can bear to train with cowards!” said the cool voice again.
 “Don’t do it. It is not worth being expelled.” Sofia pleaded
 “They are just baiting us” Tara added “As always.”
“I thought they were allies, why are they so mean to us?” said Zeba, the timid girl.


*Another 8000 too be copied from my  hand written journal
 Based on these 4 500 words flashes written for a blog contest
 Story outline
   FF1
It had been a nerve racking trip in more ways than one. She had just finished her maiden flight, barely getting used to travelling at the speed of light. To the casual observer it would look like a picture that moved slower than a Binga*. Camig‘s description of travelling through space warps had sounded exciting enough back then. It would have been, she observed bemused, far safer and remote, enclosed in the fighter jet ....being trapped in an orb that zoomed along at breathtaking speed was a boggling experience difficult wrapping her mind to...

“Oops, my body is back on the colony taking in artificial air....hope they are monitoring my vital signs”, wouldn’t want to go back to a useless shell as Benen had called it on their first meeting. So much had changed since in the last decade.
He guided her with the expertise that came with centuries of travel this way. He had carefully monitored her progress; the transition of her mind in the plasmic orb had been an excruciating process with side effects. At one point she had wanted to abandon the idea.
Her godfather (she loved to tease as Doc) had persisted with the experiment. She had sensed his obvious disappointment at another failure of the “earthlings” to evolve and adapt.


“Give up Doc; it’s not going to work. And the end result will just be more migraine attacks for me.”
“Nothing works the first time, my child. It was the persistence of your forefathers that finally convinced the ‘Hamsa’ to allow to train alongside them.” He had replied testily.
“And the Triad to give the colonists the mining rights” she had added.
“It would have been better if they hadn’t.” he muttered to himself.
She sensed a chill and tried to cheer him up with a promise of another trial the next week.


Camig had often proclaimed she had special powers; she could calm the most aggressive with just a smile or a few words. Her closest friend, descended from the best of the Hamsa warriors and yet the gentlest, a very rare combination among his kind. The closest to her own species and yet so different. They were biologically similar to them but mentally more “Bhaa”* like. She wished he had been there but at least Benen was.

She felt like a lost child, as she desperately missed holding his cybortic hand. Her thoughts so taken in by the reception on this remote, impenetrable haven, so close to the galaxy’s core.
“We are barbarians to his folks, in love with decaying bodies they discarded like old clothes half a million years ago.”

“The Light” just didn’t realise how many of her kind would jump at the chance if they only knew.
 Benen’s thoughts expressed amusement. He managed to infuriate her even now as her mentor and guide across the desolation and the fires they passed by. As they began to slow down, she looked the landscape, eerily beautiful were the only words suited.
“I wonder which of the hovering orbs the parents are.”
***
FF2
The short stay had been memorable with good and bad moments. The reception had been decidedly cold if not hostile. Benen has known the risk of bringing Tara along, an idea that hadn’t found much favour even with the younger ones. The colonists weren’t trustworthy, given the wanton destruction of their native planets* and their unique ecosystems.

The Triad highly influenced by the “Bhaa” had taken 4000 years to grant Gaia self governance in trading. The past 1000 years had given Benen fresh hope. Had he not belonged to one such race in eons past?
He donned the mantle of a tourist guide and directed her to unrestricted places. He was pleased by her lack of covert interest in the “immortal” life teeming around her, another test cleared.

Benen had plans for this strong, steadily growing group of students, whom he hoped to enlist into the “peace keeping force”, a step in the direction of full fledged orbacy*. Plans which may have to be put on fast track, given the disturbing reports of the patrols. If they were true, he feared for Tara and the others. The visit to the super dome would have to wait.

Tara curiousity reached a peak on the journey back, with Benen “closed door” conversations with the Elite Estel* a few of who accompanied them. His secrecy was not unusual but his encrypted thoughts puzzled her. As they approached the Kilimaro Mountains, a sense of foreboding ate into his soul. The installation wore a deserted look which was normal. Anyone who ventured this far would see some decrepit, long abandoned buildings. But this was silence of a different kind.

They moved past the first check point controlled by BESS* without stopping by as with the other two points of entry. The scan area showed the first signs of a fight and resistance. The Hamsa squad normally stationed here was missing, the place over run by his kind. They were guided to a different wing, the innermost sanctum. Its usage itself raised questions. While the cybortic limbed “Bhaa” scientists initiated the reversal process on Tara, Benen searched for answers.

 Marka his partner, answered tersely, occasionally glancing at the comatose Tara with an unreadable expression. There had been a series of well planned assaults on six such installations in the galaxy. The weapons using Gamma rays seemed like an advanced version of “Hamsa“ projectiles, causing instant death to many of the unprepared security here and elsewhere. Weapons of that kind were banned in their planetary systems. Camig was fighting for his life; his twin sister had succumbed to her injuries barely making it to the inner sanctum. The weapons had only temporarily incapacitated the cybortic orbs enabling them to move Tara and three others to safety.

The “Hamsa” elders were in consultation with their allies, having withdrawn all their able force to their home planets. In an interesting development the Renaissance soldiers had been absenting themselves from joint training.

“They have been revived, all vital statistics are clear.” informed one of the monitoring crew.

 Tara and the others were groggily taking in the strange surroundings, especially the presence of the Benen’s people and the absence of the Hamsa – Camig and Miga in particular.

 “What happened here?” asked Bijoy
“I remember something was amiss at the scan area...” a worried Tara, “...Where are the twins?”
Benen still in travel form rambled on about new security drills while Marka shrugged his shoulders in disdain and walked out.
***
FF3
The two years* had passed by in a flurry of events and actions. few moments of leisure bringing along grief and questions, painful answers and choices. Camig’s mind had drifted in and out of consciousness for the greater part of the first six months. It mechanically processed information, strategising, issuing, and following orders now.

Tara and his Renaissance friends had been kept away out of the loop for too long; it was time to face the truth. Benen and Marka had insisted on being present.

How did one turn away from friends at the academy and training partners, even watch them die by one’s own hands?

How did one convey the proof of their families’ duplicity to someone who was one’s forever?

How did that someone face the fact that their loved ones were traitors who had sold out on their friends?

These thoughts assailed him as Camig joined the Hamsa* and Domern* warriors present at the final meeting. He has chosen neutral grounds, the Academy* branch in the middle of the Shiavona Desert, 300 feet below ground level, accessible only by a hidden side road from the Targe.

Camig was glad he had instead on a “no weapons” check on both sides else a bloodbath would have ensued. And yet by the end of it, there had been a ray of light, a breakthrough. Some of the Hamsa, The Domern and the colonists had formed a truce, a “no strike” on each other’s ground stations in the event of the imminent war. But they refused to extend the courtesy to respective allies, the colonists with very few sympathizers but one powerful ally, being at a slight disadvantage there.

Tara and Bijoy were a different story. The difficult, heartbreaking confrontation was his to face. Their reactions were vastly different.
“You are lying!” Bijoy screamed. “Don’t believe them cousin; our fathers would never betray their friends for profit.”
“They had not just the knowledge of the attacks but have helped the Maara* by diverting vast amounts of Radakillum* ores to them despite a trade ban.” Camig’s uncle Lepes stated.

Tara quiet throughout, asked Benen
“The Maara were defeated, weren’t they? Grandfather said they were no longer a cohesive group or threat.”

“We believe that your grandfather’s death was not natural but by lethal substance untraceable by our bio scans. He must have stumbled upon his sons’ nefarious dealings.” Camig replied without emotion.

“What has the Maara to do with all this?” a worried Stefan.
“Death seeks what the Light possesses” Marka cryptically.
“Why was no action taken, why tell us now? Have you never considered us equal?” an unconvinced Bijoy

“The Triad and the Guardian Domains* need proof. Galactic matters take years even centuries to be sorted.” Lepes replied to Stefan ignoring Bijoy.
“If that was so, the Triad would have never let your families own the mining rights. The Bhaa wouldn’t be seeking the eligible among you for the Elite Estel. The Hamsa wouldn’t have trusted you with their weapons or spaceships. The Domern would not have allowed for exchange of technology.” Camig with barely concealed anger.

“But why war?” Tara asked him, looking at the entire room.
“Look for yourself, 80% of your group seated here is from the academy, barely any high ranking warriors.” answered Lepes

“The rest of the Gaia soldiers have abandoned joint patrols; some flying with Maara flagships, some underground.” informed Camig

“May as well tell her the rest…” Marka
“Your father issued a statement seceding from the Guardian Domains last week” Camig continued.
“Gaia is no longer part of the planetary group?” a shocked Bijoy.

***
FF4
The dust storms had abated, allowing for four months of monitored travel outside. Tara stood lost in clashing thoughts...life had come full circle. The nightmares were back with disturbing frequency, had they something to do with her arrival? The sprightly 150 year old found herself traveling to the "Minara". The dome reminded her of the Itrigs* she has seen of the motherland Earth....a place known through stories, now myths for some. Taking the drop pad to her family's section in the dungeons, the retained memories assailed her. Some of the memories were painful; repressed in her, erased in most of the 333 survivors – a few renaissance folk and other defeated refugees.

It had been 2000* years since anyone in the colony was taunted "earthling" and yet, 200 odd years had been enough to revert back to the status of old. Her family's greed has caused damage lasting millennia, forcing many to choose sides.

******
Bijoy had chosen the easiest way out. A quick painless death triggered by his father’s punishment, reserved for traitors. A rarity, the blast off into space with just an hour’s reserve of breathable gas was a horrifying sight. 

Tara's had been the most difficult to make, choosing to stay back. Sofia, Bijoy's fianc̩e followed her Рthe only family member he had truly cared for. The Espadon River was now controlled and monitored by the Elite Estel. The war broke out while the rest labored to restore the abandoned Domern bases deep in the Assrat Range.
It had seemed surreal in the beginning but soon, the sight at the complexes was stomach churning. As the body pile of soldiers and civilians alike grew bigger, she decided it was time... ask him the last favor. As she left, some colonists pointed their weapons at her, while others looked away guiltily or with hope....she was a traitor to some, the shamed "ethical” but to the rest, the only one of the two Camig and the Hamsa may yield to.

Camig and Stefan may have made the best choice yet, joining the Elite Estel instead of opposing sides on the battlefield. Camig had given her the final gift, protection for as many of the innocent as possible. He still commanded the loyalty of his battalion.

Tara could still hear his soft, assertive voice; his words echoing through her head.
“Gather all those who want no part of the battle, at the mines. Remember, not a single one who has trained with us.”
“We will use the Heirot‘s pass to transport them to the installations for the next seven days.”
“But are the installations safe?”
“Safe enough till the bases are ready.” “Will you be joining them?”
“We have no choice.”
“You still have another choice.” “Come with me.”
“My blood is tainted; enough damage has already been done. They will deem you a traitor too.”
“I am considered one anyway, Miga’s betrayer.”
“Your sister was a fiercely loyal friend, would have never wanted you to stand against the ones you care about.”
“Benen offered us the Gift of Light”
“You are born to it, you should accept it.”
“Meaningless without you.”
“I have already declined the offer.”
“Will you not change your mind?”
“The sins of the fathers visit upon their children. I have to make amends.”
“So be it, our choices.”

******
She had retained the memory as a reminder of lost love, a galactic war.
As she pressed her index finger on her left palm, his final message appeared on the invisible screen. A poignant, ‘stars apart/forever in each other's thoughts’... would her great grand niece’s fate be different?

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