Short Stories From 2018

By Stephen Brandon

These stories are purely the work of what Holly would refer to as my Muse. My Muse must have lost its mind because of the different topics it guided me to in writing. Some will leave you wondering what's next, others will make you think I've also lost my mind. 'Ha Ha Ho Ho He He, they're coming to get me, Ha Ha!' If that is the case this may be my last published work. Enjoy it!
Maybe I'll write a short short short story here:
The sun went down. The sun came up the next morning. Those that didn't heed the warning of their parents about going out in the dark, missed the dawning of a new day.
I don't know where that came from, but it may deserve a Darwin award like my Muse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Brandon
• Release date: Jan 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463195956

Stephen Brandon

I've loved westerns and science fiction since I picked up my first book at the public library. I've been writing on my computer for years. I never planned on any of my stories being published, just to be read by myself, family, and friends. The base journal is on forty spreadsheets with links to about a thousand files of short one day paragraphs plus other stories. {My claim to fame, written by someone else. Thanks.} "As an earthbound retiree, Stephen writes mostly science fiction and short stories. He is a voracious reader and has written for a few years, publishing his stories on Smashwords."

Book preview

Some Stories written in 2018

Published by Stephen Brandon at Smashwords

Copyright 2018 Stephen Brandon

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Author's Note

This book is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, incidents, and dialogue are from the authors imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or other persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Real and fictional locations are used for background only.

NOTICE: This collection of stories runs the gambit from what one would consider a 'flash fiction' to 'novella'. Choose your reading fun!

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Short Stories Main Table of Contents ~(ToC)~

The Traveler

Little Wolf

Riot Control Company

Intruder Alert

The Soldier

The Curiosity

The Last Defenders

Wobbling Earth

The Cylinder Ship

Acknowledgments

About Stephen Brandon

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The Traveler

The Traveler Table of Contents

Roman Invasion

The Wasp

Lunge

Orders

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Roman Invasion

Square, form up, yelled someone in the rear. This hill we must take is haunted. Remember to aim high, because your spears and swords will be pulled down as you advance. The druids cannot stand against us even with their magic.

Lunge watched the wall solders around him as they advanced. Many were casting looks left and right, like he was.

They could see the painted druids hiding behind the stones at the top of the hill. There was one that was throwing stuff in a small fire. It made flashes of colored light and smoke.

The weather was miserable because it had rained yesterday, and the mud had not dried.

Lightning flashed in the sky. Lunge, a farmers son, realized that it was going to rain again. He hoped that they'd be done before it started.

Suddenly lightning flashed from the sky into the shaman's fire.

Lunge remembered one of his fathers cows that had been struck by lightning. The fire from the sky had roasted the shoulders and blown the belly open. He felt the spear in his hand grow hot as fire jumped from the ground to its point.

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The Wasp

Captain, incoming communications.

Well, Tislam.

Damn it Leroy, you know I prefer Bull.

And how many time do I have to remind you that when we're on patrol, you call me Leroy, not Mythes or captain.

Yes Sir. It starts out with a change of commander and chain of command. There are over a dozen attached files. I hope they aren't changing our uniforms again. The last changes almost wrecked the printer.

Bull, transfer the ones I need to act on as soon as you read them. Send the others to Andrew and Joseph.

Yes Sir.

Leroy heard Joseph cursing all the way from the engine room. Those assholes ordered immediate weapons and propulsion system signature modifications. Leroy, we're going to have to find somewhere safe to hide for several weeks while I tear down the engine.

Joe, I'll get Andrew on it right away. Then we'll all start on it.

The rouge asteroid Andrew found in deep space was perfect, except for its magnetic properties.

Five weeks later Joe reported the engine modifications were complete and verified. The weapons were also ready, but he recommended they leave the asteroids magnetic field before testing.

Andrew, can you feel the drag on the ship controls.

Yea Joe, what's causing it?

Propulsion gages show irregular magnetic fields on the hull. They are interfering with the gravity drive.

Can you degauss the hull, or should I activate the magnetic shields?

Degaussing probably won't work until we're out of the asteroids magnetic field. Activating the shields will probably tear portions off of the hull. All I can suggest is increasing the drive power and hope we don't blow out the drive modulators.

OK, increasing drive power to thirty percent. Andrew, I need you to track our trajectory and the trajectory of the asteroid.

"Wilco Leroy, activating weapons tracking system to keep an eye on that asteroid.

Son of … Leroy the asteroid is now showing atmosphere and life signs.

Andrew that's impossible. It's a dead rock.

Atmosphere dissipating, life signs fading Captain. Bull, check your screen. Mine is indicating a life sign in the cargo bay.

Andrew what happened, my instruments show we now have only ten meters altitude.

That's right Leroy. Suggest you go to full power before we crash.

Cut the weapons tracking system. The shit didn't start until you turned it on.

Weapons systems off. Distance to asteroid now half a million kilometers and rising, reduce power.

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do!

Joe, cut power to the drives, they're not responding to my controls!

All breakers pulled Leroy. Drive field dissipating.

Everyone listen up. We may have an intruder in the cargo bay. My instruments indicate our velocity at sixty percent the speed of light. Navigation, verify velocity and direction.

Leroy, velocity verified, direction galactic north. No stars between us and the edge of the galaxy. We're screwed unless Joe can get the propulsion back on. Even under full power it'll take months to stop. You know the FTL drive won't initiate without a background gravity field. We're really screwed!

Bull, I need you to check the cargo bay. That life sign is still there. Take a weapon.

OK Andrew, why don't you come along. It might be an alien.

You and your aliens. Maybe I should delete the science fiction library files.

Yea Andrew, maybe you smuggled your girlfriend aboard. Oh, I forget, she dumped you didn't she?

I'll be down there in a minute, just to watch your ass pucker up if it's a real alien, or your girlfriend.

Leroy, hull degaussed. I'll reset the propulsion breakers as soon as I finish diagnostics.

Good job Joe. Everyone else is freaking out. Any idea what happened?

No comment. I'll let you know in a few hours.

Leroy, we have a problem. The cargo bay is over pressurized.

That's impossible.

Andrew said that there was an atmosphere on the asteroid. I think we'd better go out the airlock and bleed the excess off through the cargo personnel lock, and then run an atmosphere check to see what kind of gases we have.

Do it.

"Bull to Leroy, cargo bay air pressure was one bar. We bled it down to point seven and analyzed the gas. It is the standard mix although the oxygen was only twenty-one percent. Moisture content in the air was over eighty percent. Opening inner lock now.

Leroy, we got another problem. The life form is a man with what I would consider primitive weapons. Andrew stunned him, so we need to get the brig cleaned out quick.

I'll get on it. Give me ten, then bring him in.

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Lunge

Lunge saw two strange figures come out of a door in the wall. As he pulled his sword, one of them pointed his arm at him.

Lunge woke up in a cage. His clothes and weapons were gone. Yelling in rage, he pounded on the bars.

Shortly a man in strange clothing walked in and started yelling back at him. Unsure what to do, Lunge asked, Ego esse ubi?

The strange man pressed some colored spots on the wall, then turned and started talking in his