Derin Edala

42: Thin river thinking

“Yes! Of course I am scared! The situation is scary! You should be scared of us, Tyk.”

“Well, I’m not. I think maybe you should be a little bit less scared of you.”

“You’r...

6: Repeat Offenders

“Kerlin, you’re not going to fucking believe this.”

Kerlin squinted at Yinna. Things had been quiet in the brief period since the aljik had left. She’d finally shed her last skin and ...

Wandering Star 41: Some Reservations

Their conversation for the rest of the trip is fairly light, upbeat, and focused on the task at hand, careful not to mention death or grief or hives or burrows. When their hunger is sated and they ...

5: A big enough arrow

Sil froze in panic as the emergency alerts blared, but it didn’t matter; his crew knew what to do. By the time he’d gotten his bearings and verified that being thrown into the wall by the impac...

Wandering Star 40: Sleepland Scavenging

Tyk, Tama, and Sakeya all step forward, but there’s not a lot that they can do without knowing what’s going on. They watch on helplessly as Kana falls to the ground and all the sky people start...

Wandering Star 39: Rest and Relaxation

The Hiveless think that Tyk is one of them. And for a moment, she considers the option of letting them continue to think that. They certainly seem inclined to help her, and that could change if the...

4: Yet more qu... look, there's a lot going on

The ship, fortunately, mostly ran itself. The nest… well, it was holding together for the moment, even with an incompetent Queen like myself. It was a job I still had no idea how to do, and the d...

Wandering Star 38: Surrounded

Before Tyk can respond to the threat, Smon is dashing out of the shelter, magic light pouring from her wrist, killing tool in hand. She raises the tool toward the Hiveless woman, who immediately st...

3: Even more questions

Queen Tatik glared down at her sister, arms raised threateningly. The rogue Princess had clearly been through a lot, and the scuffs and scars on her body were unsettling. Several of her old gems we...

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Wandering Star 37: The Slog

At first, they try to push on, but as the rain gets heavier and heavier, they quickly realise that there’s nothing to do but rest. There’s no sense endangering themselves or the slapdash cart b...

2: More questions

I gathered the War Council. Although without the captain, and with the fact that we probably weren’t at war for the moment since Tatik had what she wanted and had no reason to expect aggression f...

Wandering Star 36: Wheel Work

After a couple more days of travel, the river starts to bend East, and the pair are forced to finally leave it. They’re somewhat off the trade route now, which curves slightly West away from the ...

1: Questions

Hello, Void.

My garden is so small now! I guess this is what happens when you don’t take care of them. I cannot fit inside their vessel this time; there wasn’t one big enough to give them...

Wandering Star 35: The Price of Metal

The caution is probably unnecessary, but they wait until it’s well and truly dark before moving. The pair carefully forage what they think they can get away with, reinflate the farm’s balloons ...

21: Fair Trade

It still hurts to breathe, of course. I try to ignore that. But the only other thing to focus on is the inherent helplessness of being inside a spacecraft performing such a critical manoeuvre, and ...

Wandering Star 34: Chained and Unchained

It’s nearing morning on their second day of travel when they see the boat crossing in the distance, which leaves the pair with a difficult travel choice to make. Neither wants to hide out and fal...

20: In Motion

I’d never been inside a spaceship that was actually in good condition before. It was a novel experience.

Admittedly the random corpses, splintered machinery and shreds of ketestri tentacle ...

Wandering Star 33: Dead Girl Walking

Tyk looks about for somewhere to hide, even though it’s far too late, but before she can do anything, he’s close enough for her to hear his very familiar wing hum. “Kesan!” she calls out in...

19: Pilot Program

“A trained engineer would be able to give a better assessment,” Kit explained, “but the Captain and some atil looked over the ship and it’s in remarkably good condition. It’s a – ” he...

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Wandering Star 32: The Value of Life

“We have that on pretty good record,” Tyk says, puzzled. “There were fourteen survivors, and if Myn and Haidn are dead…”

But Smon is shaking her head. “Fourteen of us were contact...

18: Investigation

The thing about humans is that they need to sleep a lot. That made it very easy to wait until Charlie was asleep and then, very carefully and quietly, head off to my mission.

There wasn’t r...

Wandering Star 31: River Run

Tyk doesn’t think. She just jumps into the water.

This is a mistake.

She’s significantly lighter than the object she’s looking for, and the current drags at her body, pulling her ...

17: A Game of Truth

I needed immediate medical attention. Our darling captain needed it more. But neither of us would be getting it right now, because first I had to convince everyone not to kill her, including hersel...

Wandering Star 30: Frayed Trust

As soon as the puller yells the warning, the lurch stops. The boat still wavers a little on the rapid river water, but doesn’t tip or wash away – it seems that the tethers are holding. For a mo...

16: Fight For Flight

Most of the nest had taken defensive positions underground, and the few atil that were aboveground were on lookout at the shore, hiding themselves under little mounds of sand with their eyes on the...

Wandering Star 29: Crossing the River

Getting a caravan across the Redstone River is no easy feat. Even here, at one of the best crossing places, the river is wide and the waters near the middle are rapid and unreliable. Tyk will happi...

15: Time to Move

Careful to stay far away enough to avoid being bitten, I looked up at the fruits on Morlin’s tree. They were vaguely luminous in the rapidly fading daylight, casting a slight red glow through the...

Wandering Star 28: A Map of a Prayer

Bette and her children spend their first night in the Green Hills Hive inside the hive itself, in one of the spare residential burrows, but the rest of the group decide to stay in the trader burrow...