Newer York, 8 Tammuz 2541 AS Captain Hannah bat Chaya of Alexei Leonov allowed herself to be ushered into Briefing One, willing herself to present a confidence she did not feel. She was the proverbial bearer of bad tidings, and dreaded facing the representatives of the TCTO she knew would
Once again, this is shorter than usual, and maybe I should have simply called it 58 Part 2. Newer York, 8 Tammuz 2541 AS Singer felt hairs standing up on the back of her neck as she realized what was appearing on screen. Knowing as she did that Georgette had
It may not surprise you all to learn that writing a funeral eulogy takes a lot out of you. But I'll be officiating my first funeral today, and while doing it off the cuff would have been on brand for this family, I decided I needed to know
Okay, folks, this is shorter than usual, and (spoilers) ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. It's really only about half the chapter as it should be, but there's a bunch of stuff going on right now. It was important to me, though, to get something
I had today set aside for writing a chapter. I spent it driving back into Wisconsin after spending Thanksgiving with family, there, as one of those family members has had a health crisis. There may yet be a chapter this week; just not on its usual schedule.
Between having a cold and having some other things I needed to knock off my TODO list this weekend, a chapter did not get written this week. That said, I have some stuff to say! 6 November marked two years of posting this story (almost) every week. This is a
Newer York, 8 Tammuz 2541 AS While everybody seemed to be in agreement that they should continue as they had planned, nobody really seemed to know how to move matters forward. Worse, Singer found she was having a harder time than usual keeping other people's emotions out of
Newer York, 8 Tammuz 2541 AS The next morning was much like the morning two days ago when they'd first traveled to Government Center, except that there was no new report to occupy their minds on the ride. Also, of course, Alexander was with them, this time, zir
Newer York, 8 Tammuz 2541 AS Singer had briefly considered staying to see all the crew processed, but several factors made her reconsider. For one, she did not want to give any impression of distrust between herself and the local authorities. For another, the point of having Alexander come over
Newer York, Botanical Gardens; then Boarding Lounge 42, Aft Docks; 7-8 Tammuz 2541 AS The time spent in the gardens had been as restorative as the museum had been disturbing. Singer was aware that it had not been anyone's intention—least of all Ellison, who had proposed the
Newer York, The Starfall Museum, 7 Tammuz 2541 AS The Starfall Museum proved to be like the administration building, a structure within the core. This was explained easily enough when Ellison, who of course knew the place well, pointed out it predated the buildout of the rings. "They started
Newer York, 7 Tammuz 2541 AS With everything that had happened in the last two days, and everything still waiting to be discussed, Singer had not expected to sleep soundly. That she fell asleep quickly did not surprise her—she'd been exhausted, without doubt. That she stayed asleep
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, 7 Tammuz 2541 AS The rest of dinner was not nearly so fraught with personal revelations. The fact that there were no fewer than four trained diplomats at the table, combined with the collective good will of the entire group, served to move the conversation out of what
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, 6-7 Tammuz 2541 AS Wayra Cadotte was not really much for social occasions, and current events had required them to spend a lot more time around people and not doing their job than they were comfortable with. They were fairly itching for time alone that was not also
Things Fall Apart
I'm not always sure how much I should write about the process of writing this series. I love reading other authors when they write about writing, but I wrestle with how much I should do it. But, here, I'm going to do it, and show you
Things Fall Apart
This chapter is double-length. I considered breaking it up, but hey, I skipped last week, so you get one big chapter to make up for it! Newer York, en route to Briefing One; 6 Tammuz 2541 AS, midday The ride to Briefing One began much as the ride to the
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, Ellis Ring, TCTO Embassy; 6 Tammuz 2541 AS, morning Singer had been concerned that anxiety over the coming day might keep her from sleeping well, but exhaustion won that battle handily. It had been a long, emotionally draining day, after all, and she had not slept well on
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, Ellis Ring, Embassy of the Tau Ceti Treaty Organization, 5-6 Tammuz 2541 Rachel had found Singer and Cadotte still sitting on the veranda, and looked to Singer's eye like she might simply join them on the bench and let dinner wait. Truth told, Singer was more
Things Fall Apart
I had not originally planned to honor my impending natal anniversary by skipping this week, but this weekend was ultimately full of other rabbit holes, and the coming week is going to have various things that eat my brain and/or time. I don't completely rule out a
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, Ellis Ring, Embassy of the Tau Ceti Treaty Organization, 5 Tammuz 2541, late afternoon The briefing went even more poorly than Singer had feared. At first it hadn't been so bad. The parlor was as comfortable as the name made it sound, with well-upholstered furniture and
Things Fall Apart
Zephyr, in wide orbit of TRAPPIST-1, 1.9 megaseconds out from Gliese-581. Lieutenant Commander Robin Alexander was...not bored. Not quite bored. Ze understood entirely why ze was on the ship, minding the store while the captain played diplomat, and also why Singer had chosen whom she had to accompany
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, Forward Docks, 5 Tammuz 2541, mid-afternoon Singer allowed the ambassador to take her arm and guide her, like they were two long-lost friends, and tried not to let her discomfort show. Despite having her shields up, Ellison's volatile emotional mix was as readable to Singer as
Things Fall Apart
Newer York, Forward Docks, 5 Tammuz 2541, mid-afternoon They walked in silence, the Governor and the Admiral, side by side, for quite some time. They hadn't discussed it ahead of time. It just happened that they each had a lot to think about, even from so brief a
Things Fall Apart
It was great when it all began...
