#sf

Doctor Anderson woke up to her phone pinging. Careful not to disturb her husband she checked it, and saw that it was a new supernova. She slipped out of bed and went to the kitchen, where she logged into the observation database.

Almost at once she could see something wrong. The report only came from the visible light observatories. None of the radio telescopes - not even the wide-field one - had reported anything.

By morning it was clear that this was not any sort of object that was normally her field of interest. It was, however, not one she was going to stop studying. For starters, it was clearly inside the solar system - well inside the orbit of Jupiter. For another, it was accelerating - at about 1.5G if the repeat observations were correct. It was also getting brighter - a lot brighter, almost as if it were getting bigger.

Her husband found her staring at her laptop in the morning, a half-empty and stone cold cup of tea next to her.

"We have to get the kids up for school."
Without looking up "Can you? I've got something here" she replied.
He looked over her shoulder. "Um, that's not an FRB. Or a supernova," he paused, clearly doing maths in his head "That's a powered trajectory."
"Yep. It's not heading for us, we don't think. It looks like it is planning a slingshot."
"So how come you're heading it up?"
"I spotted the anomalous behaviour first."
"And by anomalous, that it was accelerating."
"And getting brighter. We're re-pointing a couple of the orbital scopes."
"I'll get the kids ready."
"Thanks - you're a wonder."

By the time breakfast was over, she was able to show her family a picture - a flower-shaped object, with a dark core, and fourteen bright petals around it. She printed three of them off, so that the kids and her teacher husband could take them with them.

"Our initial estimate is that it is about two hundred metres across. And it is holding a constant 1.5g acceleration. That is an insane amount of energy."

By tea time, there had been no response to radio transmissions, and there had been no change in the trajectory. The following morning brought a dramatic change, though. Overnight the acceleration had changed to a deceleration.

"It will stop just inside the Mars orbit around about midnight tomorrow. We've got a good look at it now, though."

The petals now appeared bluish, and the dark core now appeared to be a grey colour.

The following night, after getting the family up, all four of them clustered around the laptop watching the feeds from the telescopes as the craft finally slowed to a constant velocity. As they watched, the petals suddenly folded back. A few minutes passed - a sudden burst of violet light - and it was gone.

"Mummy where is it?" the youngest asked.
"I don't know, sweety. I just don't know."
"Did it explode?"
"There's no sign of debris, so no" It had vanished completely..
"Maybe they were recharging their engine."
"Maybe. Maybe."

#SF #SFF #microfiction #microfic #tootfic

Chimera Flight were halfway to their fighters when Ava's headset chimed.
"Ava, go."
"Acting Flight Leader, you're being reassigned. Please return to ops."
"Hitomi! Estelle! Back to ops. We've got a new assignment."
Shaking her head, Ava led the others back to the ops room.
The commander was waiting for them.

"Chimera Flight? We have a new assignment for you. Your fighters are being reprogrammed as we talk."
"What's the mission, Sir?"
"One you'll like, I'm sure. We have coordinates for Tannis' bird. Your job will be to fly into that airspace and jettison some cargo pods."
Hitomi excitedly broke in "Supplies for Tannis! You want us to do a supply run for her!"
"Correct. We want you to drop two pods each, they'll have parachutes and beacons, so you don't have to get too close and give them an excuse to get alarmed."
Ava nodded, "Right sir. "
"I want you in and out, fast. As tempting as it might be, no loitering."
All three pilots responded "Sir!"
"Right then, get in the air. Dismissed!"

They jogged back to their aerospace fighters as the cargo pods were being fitted, the ground crews getting clear as they reached them.

Getting their clearances, Chimera flight took off, and vanished into jump.

#CerianAndVaranWar #IAmWriting #tootfic #SF #SFF #SciFi #MilSF

Part of the on-going https://rdmasters.lympago.com/p/cerian-and-varan-war-story-in.html

‘Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days’ Explores the Grimness of Revelation Space

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days (2003) by Alastair Reynolds collects two novellas set in the Revelation Space universe. Each story is has its own identity, yet they share elements in common that bind them together well. Short, sharp, and at times brutal Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days captures the reader’s attention and never lets go.

When Richard Swift receives an offer from an old friend to explore an alien artefact on the edge of human space he knows he should turn it down. But Richard can never rejct such a challenge. On the barren planet of Golgotha the blood spire defies all attempts at understanding its mysteries. Or the reason it exists at all. As Richard and his team work their way through the spire the mystery not only deepens but becomes more dangerous.

On the isolated ocean world of Turquoise, Naqi works studying the Pattern Jugglers. Naqi hopes to become part of the Moat project when two things happen. A lighthugger is approaching and her sister Mina dies. For the two years it takes the lighthugger to arrive Naqi continues her work but always in her thoughts is the memory of her sister. When the lighthugger arrives Naqi is given the job of escorting around the Moat. Naqi has her suspicions about the Ultra crew but the truth is not what she expects.

The stories of Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days are not closely related in plot or characters. However, they share the unifying theme of deception and betrayal. Reynolds uses this theme to tell personal stories set against the background of greater events. And he tells them well.

Like all of Reynolds stories Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is full of technical marvels and wonderful ideas. However, this isn’t what makes his stories great. It is the characters and their hold on the reader that makes Reynolds’ stories so good. This collection is no exception.

In Diamond Dogs the protagonist, Richard Swift, is portrayed as a bored dilettante, at first. First impressions can be decieving, though. It becomes quickly apparent that Richard has hidden depths and talents. Reynolds writes his characters with a level of reality that makes their actions, whether logical or illogical, feel real. It’s Reynolds grasp that people, no matter their motivations, cannot be fully understood that puts his stories on a level beyond the ordinary.

Alastair Reynolds

Turquoise Days is no different. Naqi is a character full of regret over the death of her sister. Like many people that blame themselves for such things her grief colours her actions in both obvious and subtle ways. Whether Naqi realises this or not.

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days has Reynolds’ trademark action. Intense and violent, often in surprising ways, each story uses this to drive the plot without wallowing. Reynolds’ action is vivid and engaing but used to colour events but is not the focus.

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days offers an excellent introduction into Reynold’s Revelation Space universe for the uninitiated and a deeper look for existing fans. These stories are dark and unsettling but entertain as well. Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a treat all readers whether an SF fan or not.

#AlastairReynolds #BookReview #DiamondDogs #SF #TurquoiseDays