By David C. Daoust Suzanne Otomo was on a Holostage of her own- flipping through the available feeds. Each, thanks to the small camera built into her agents’ armor. Her agents rarely knew when, exactly, she was going to be present– which she liked, kept her employees on their toes. They were less likely…
By David C. Daoust Suzanne Otomo moved swiftly through the many corridors that led from Dakota’s lab, all the way to the central command center of the Red Faction ship. It was methodically designed, unlike any ship she had seen anywhere else in the Onion. It was well organized, and efficient, to a degree…
By David C. Daoust Dakota had a pretty solid hunch that Suzanne was having a hard time comprehending what she was saying. Dakota, however, was not kidding when she told Suzanne she may actually be mad. Having someone there, to bounce her ideas off, was as important to Dakota, as it was to Suzanne…
By David C. Daoust Suzanne found herself back in the lab, back in one of those conversations. By ‘one of those’, she means a conversation that really only ever makes sense to Dakota. The good doctor had just spent the past half hour telling Suzanne, how she has interacted with the past. Mind boggling…
By David C. Daoust Suzanne Otomo pushed her face down into the bunched-up pillow as she shifted her body around into a new position on the long mattress. She’d managed to secure herself the most comfortable mattress she could find. And why shouldn’t she? Without her, the ‘bots’ would’ve drained days ago, their leaders would…
By David C. Daoust Dakota’s stomach rumbled. She’d been scouting through the city-station far longer than she had intended, found herself regretting that she told Vincent she’d eat later. She could be munching on something right then and there– if she hadn’t been so absorbed with her breakthrough earlier. Fact was, she really wasn’t too…
By David C. Daoust It was as though the molecules suddenly flared, pulsing with an unknown eerie light; Kind of a pea green, if Dakota had to guess. The surrounding negative space- a dull purple. Sparking green lightning shot throughout at steady intervals. Colors aside, she couldn’t really see, exactly, what it was she was…
By David C. Daoust “…so, I’m happy you feel like talking, Dakota,” Suzanne began sharply, partially to try and snap Dakota back into reality, partially at the sheer frustration of listening to nonsense for the past half hour, “but how am I supposed to make sense of any of that?” “Hmm?” Dakota asked as she…
By David C. Daoust She sat in the rafters, above the mess below. She was crouched in the shadows; the pit in her stomach, that grumbled her hunger, could only be matched by the void in her chest. The void was formed of the loss of everyone she knew, the loss of Dakota. Suzanne Otomo…
By David C. Daoust Suzanne was surrounded by the open void of space, at least, that’s how it appeared. She was in reality standing on her holostage as a series of red fighters bombed her ships shields; the small controller in her hand gave her command over one of the many turrets built into the…
By David C. Daoust Suzanne had begun her exercise regiment when she was very young. Younger even than her peers, that she would eventually train with. At least that’s what her father claimed. He joked often how many times she would mimic his movements, even as a toddler, as he practiced his own exercises. Exercises…
By David C. Daoust Dakota could tell as soon as Suzanne entered the small cluster of rooms, that made up Dakota’s chambers, that it was the actual woman and not her holographic projection that Dakota had become accustomed to witnessing the past few days. The biggest giveaway was the strong smell of familiar perfume that…
By David C. Daoust Despite an almost relentlessly bad day, Craiden was holding himself together. From waking up with a hangover, to not taking his meds, to having the APC he was in suddenly crushed by his own cohort Vincent… Then being dragged into the very belly of the ship of those he hated, just…
<<<<Ug! You know, I swore I wouldn’t just casually throw out political jargon without being real clear about each piece, but then last week I was like blah, blah, comie, blah, blah, fascist…It came out in a jumble, lets see if I can straighten it out without making a bigger mess. (1.) Dakota called the…
By David C. Daoust One of the first things the Ark Ships manipulated, when they seized control of humanity, was humanities need to separate and divide. Humans divided themselves into families, into communities, into nations, and ultimately, into separate races. As machines, the Ark Ships could never understand these concepts, not truly. All the AI’s…
By David C. Daoust Suzanne was in two places at once, one was the small holo-stage in the back of the room, which depicted the white lab her agents on the barracks ship had taken but moments before, and the other was the command center that oversaw all her operations throughout the Neo Vir’ees system….
By David C. Daoust Suzanne sat perfectly still, eyes squeezed shut, her brow furrowed as her fingers pinched the arch of her nose. She sat behind her desk, having just finished yet another conference with whatever random executive she had to deal with. She’d already put it out of her mind. The headaches were more…
By David C. Daoust The Ark Age was remembered in a far greater light than what was the reality of the time. Looking back, the people of the Second Sun believed it was a time of harmony and peace, a time of artist, philosophers, and designers, living freely amongst the stars. An age of enlightenment;…
By David C. Daoust Vincent had witnessed firsthand just how indestructible the body he currently inhabited was, having personally launched the small stunt-bot through the air, smashed it through brick walls, and pummeled it into the asphalt, all in an attempt to get the small bot to leave him be. Now it was his turn…
By David C. Daoust The room changed suddenly. ‘Changed’ was the only way Dakota could explain the difference. It was the same white lab she’d been working in for the past two days, the same white lab that matched every other lab she’d ever worked in, though when the men burst into the room, firing…
By David C. Daoust This was not the first time Suzanne and Dakota had gotten into a fight about something, nor was it the first time one of them had told the other what they really thought. In fact, this was usually how it went, the one who was in the wrong got an ear…
By David C. Daoust Margo was used to being ignored, she got used to it a long time ago. Despite the fact she wasn’t actually a twelve year old, she was often treated as such. Sometimes in a good way, other times, not so much. She assumed it was better than being treated as an…
By David C. Daoust Life was weird sometimes, Colin guessed as the private security clumped him in with the small blond and tiny bot. Colin tried to convince the large group of men that had taken them all into custody, that he was just an innocent bystander, a passerby, in the wrong place at the…