“Welcome to Station 427-Beta,” The automated voice chimed as the metal doors retracted. With a forced cheer, it continued, “It will take approximately forty hours for your transport to refuel. We suggest all attendants, crew, and passengers use these hours to maintain their physical fitness as this station marks the halfway point between the Lunar body of Earth and Mars.” A bustle of several dozen bodies groggily stomped...

“Two hundred twelve…two hundred fifteen…two hundred and thirty-two?” The scarlet-headed woman muttered as she made hurried paces down an alley. Apartment complexes pressed tightly to each other emptied out on either side. The woman halted and went to stomp back to see how she could have missed nearly twenty buildings in a five-foot span. Unfortunately, her foot pressed down too hard on her black heels, snapping the suppor...

On a steamy evening in the middle of the village, the doors to the whorehouse swung open. With rosy cheeks and a thick aura of alcohol, a woman stepped inside. Her full, round features jostled with each unsteady step. Patrons, otherwise occupied, all gave the woman a wary glance. At her hips hung both a shield and an axe. “Welcome Lieutenant Maura,” greeted the door escort. Her blonde curls were cut short and a small dres...

I started awake as suddenly as I’d passed out. The realization that I’d passed out made me scream at my body to get up. Even as I tried to push it away, beachside memories floated back to me. Rough fingers kindly stroking my cheek. A soft voice counting as each wave lapped at the shore. Using that lap as a pillow, I teased their counting, “735, 728, 769, 652…”   That’s when the rough fingers moved to tickle my sides. Thei...

“This is awfully familiar,” I sighed as the heavy, steel door slammed shut behind me. A single, barred window let in light from above. Seated on a stool with her legs crossed was Eos. Her soft, pink lips curled into a smile. Fresh bruises courtesy of the guards present even on her face. Silver eyes returned my gaze as I crossed the prison chamber.   I was taken aback that even in this condition, she seemed calm and unfaze...

Hidden amid the squalid nature of the slums, I was taken aback by the lush beauty around me. Atop a three-story building was a glass dome. The evening sunlight poured through thick foliage and I let out a gasp of surprise. Being escorted up a spiral staircase to the rooftop garden had paralyzed me.   First, I marveled at the scale, Trees were plentiful and sat in baskets in the middle of the room. The roof left them plent...

Passing under the great archway, I muttered a small thanks. It was easy to get back into the Imperial section during shift change. Holding a box full of nothing, I prayed my stomach didn’t give me away. Thankfully, as I entered the guard’s view, a woman lost track of her pet.   As politely as possible, the guards began explaining they weren’t going to look for her lost animal. This let my pulled together costume hold up....

White paper wings drifted on a lazy midday breeze across the office. It passed across a basin of water, and between two bottles of wine flanking it. The front dipped once towards a pile of papers on the desk. Then, a second one dropped it amid purple hairs of a detective. Arcavato clicked his tongue in annoyance. This was my sixth perfectly landed airship. Pulling it free of its moorings, Arcavato sighed, “Alright, you wi...

“Amazing,” I muttered to myself. Stretching out to the horizon like a giant black Cobra, the stream of refugees was a marvel to see in the early morning light. Every single one wore black, unsurprising since they were all either Drow slaves or the Dark elves themselves. A soft cry stole my attention away from the sight. Demanding attention as ever was Aires, my white and black pet. Her feline cries became insistent and sh...

A face that had worn a thousand masks and even more appearances yet everyone would know who she was in an instant. Actress, seductress, courtesan, she’d done it all and had more done to her. She didn’t steal every eye in the room, only the ones that mattered. Her soft curves were only highlighted by  the shimmering, black dress that clung to her wide hips as they swayed to the music. More colorfully dressed girl friends a...

Nervous energy rippled through me as I paced the length of my private cell. Dim light filtered from the morning sun. Tipping myself forward I fell onto my palms. Beginning to do push-ups to focus my energy elsewhere but my head. I watched the bottom of my bide rise and fall as I struggled not to think. To lose myself in the rhythm of counting, “One, two, three….” By the time I broke double digits my mind blazed with a sin...

The door handle was at the same time a feat of artistry and a golden warning. Delicately detailed, it was shaped in the image of a goddess holding aloft a plate. Every bit of her gown was shaped to be as functional as it was beautiful. Its unmarred surface in an otherwise dingy, trash-strewn alleyway was an unspoken warning; This is neutral territory. That neutrality was more sacred than High Priestess Renneth’s panties h...