New Standalone Book Available!

I apologize for not posting this earlier, as this is usually one of the first places I post stuff of this nature.

However, I have a new book available! The title, Rebellion. Simple, huh? You can check out and buy the book at your favorite online bookstore. There is also a paperback on Amazon if you prefer that format.

This one I've been working off and on for several years. The first story or Episode in this one is a short story I wrote back in 2009 or so. So officially, it has been in the works for around 10 years. I ended up making a book out of it, because the magazine I submitted it to didn't take it, the main reason? It sounded to them like the beginning of a novel instead of a short story. That got my wheels to thinking and so I wrote more episodes to it. At first, I wrote around five episodes, then it stalled for many reasons. Last year, I picked it back up again and completed it. 

Monkey Madness

I've not kept up this blog as originally planned, due to an increase in working in my wife's house cleaning business and probably over extending myself. Seems any time I plan to do extra writing, the work load increases giving me less time for writing. Good for paying the bills. Bad for getting much writing done. I'll keep working on it. Stay tuned.

Until then, I'm treating you to a special story. Back in 2007, I participated in a contest at Ray Gun Revival Magazine (no longer in operation). It had to be under 500 words and deal with "space monkeys." I entered the following story, and ended up winning 3rd place. It also appeared in a special edition of the Ray Gun Radio podcast which is still available.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the story!

------------------------------------

I told headquarters their idea proved they had developed a case of monkey madness. Never give a monkey a man's job. But did they listen? No. They trained and installed monkeys through the whole fleet. And now I'm sitting up in bed, a monkey holding a ray gun to my head.

"We're taking over the ship," the leader signed to me. "You've been holding out on us, and we want our due." He bared his teeth. "Are you going to hand it over willingly, or shall we take it by force, Captain?"

I signed back, "How about a third option? You would get a lot further if you simply did your jobs."

Hoots and howls arose among the group of monkeys filling my quarters. The leader stayed focused on me and smiled one of those cheesy monkey grins I'd seen on old TV shows. "We put up with those jobs so we could take over. Stupid humans didn't see this coming." He raised his head upward in a victory howl.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You pulled one over on us." Actually I hadn't been totally blind to the possibility. "I'll need to give the order."

He swung his limp hand at the com panel. "Remember, we have a ray gun trained on you. One false word . . ."

I paged the kitchen. "Release the bananas."

"Aye, Sir," crackled back over the com.

"Truth be told, I have a few in my quarters." I pointed at a locked storage door.

He nodded and jumped up and down. I opened the door and passed the bananas out. Hoots and monkey calls rang through the room. Soon they crammed the well preserved yellow delicacies into their mouths. Smacking noise vibrated through the room. Ten seconds ticked by before they all dropped dead in quick succession.

Food remains one of the most powerful weapons. In this case, the poisoned banana.

A call rang through the com. "Engineering, Sir. The monkeys are all dead, but we have a problem."

"Yes?"

"The navigation controls have been set to fly us into the nearest star."

"Unset it then." I felt impatient despite myself.

"Can't. The master controls are in a room so small, only a monkey could access them. We would have to tear through the anti-matter bulkheads to override and change course."

I pounded my fist on the desk. Blasted monkeys! I told headquarters the idea reeked. Especially monkeys designing ships, much less operating them. They've made monkeys of us all.

Starry the Space-Hippie Spy - Chapter 1: Far Out, Man

For the free monthly serial fiction for 2014, I decided to revive a planned series I had intended to do some years ago. I'd written only this introductory story and never came back to it. The premise is a husband and wife spy team go on missions for the system government, Plenary Organization of Planets (POoP) under the cover that he is a comedian. A bit of James Bond, comedy, detective, and space opera. What more could you want? Sit back and enjoy the ride.

_________________

"Time for our next mission." Starry Skyward held his wrist-vid up.

Tramal arched her bald head closer to listen. "About time. We'll dock with the Armageddon soon."

Her scent rose from sweat beading on her neck. He didn't know why, but it always smelled sweet to him. His attention drifted to the beauty of her translucent skin and the gentle pulses of her spine-ridges through her thin blouse. "I'm feeling a little hot. Are you hot?"

She cracked a smile. "Aren't I always?"

Dolan cleared his throat. "Mind if I join the party?"

Starry jumped and looked at his wrist-vid. He felt his cheeks flush. Dolan's chubby face, surrounded by a thin film of sandy hair, filled the screen.

"Sorry, Boss." Starry cleared his throat. "What's up?"

"Explosions, that's what."

Starry glanced at Tramal. "You suspect the Armageddon will be next?"

"Yes. The Planetary Intelligence Tribunal believes the Armageddon is the next target of the terrorists."

Starry twisted his mouth. "Inside job?"

"We believe so. Most likely one of the groups out to destroy the Plenary Organization of Planets."

"It's easy to gin up support against POoP, but dang hard to find anyone for it."

Dolan frowned. "Starry, do you know how many of those jokes I've heard? We get those comments all the time from the public, I don't need my agents shoving it in my face too."

"Sorry, Sir. But they should have considered that when they named the organization. I do stand-up for a living you know, can't help it."

"You're an agent for a living, the stand-up is your cover. Keep it straight." Dolan narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, Sir."

Tramal sighed. "Can we get back to the mission, guys?"

"My wife's right, let's flush the POoP and get back to the mission."

Dolan rolled his eyes. "We believe one rebel integrates himself into the crew and gains access to sensitive engine areas. He disables the fusion containment collective, allowing the fusion process to burn out of control and destroy the ship. They all have the marks of an inside job, which is disturbing."

"I'll say," Starry said. "Your filtering of recruits leaves something to be desired."

Dolan leaned over his desk. "Leave the recruiting process to others. Your mission is to find this saboteur before he blows up another ship. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir," they both said.

"Good. Make contact once you're off the ship. Transmission ended." The screen blanked out.

Tramal placed a hand on his knee. "Why do you antagonize him?"

"You're touching me. Read my mind why don't you?"

"I can only get impressions of intentions that way. I know you're enjoying his reactions, but why is my question."

Leave it to a Hilmosian to make that distinction. "It's an Academy thing. You would've had to have been there to appreciate it."

Her face color flowed from pale gold to a light blue—her business mode. "We'll be docking within two minutes, and we still need to plan our strategy."

Starry craned his neck to the port window. He could see the Armageddon's polished hull glancing beams of sunlight into space. A thin body running through a hollow tube rotated on a magnetic track. Two engines flared from the outer hull and one from the back of the main body. "Well, I suggest we go in, track down the bad guy, and take him or her out."

"What kind of plan is that? Do I always have to come up with the plans?"

He smiled. "Why do you think we make such a good team? You plan, I execute."

"Yeah. Right."

The ship docked. Air locks locked. Soon they entered the receiving hall of the Armageddon. The Captain and officers awaited them amidst metal so clean Starry could see his reflection waver as it followed them. Echoes of his and Tramal's boots reverberated through the high-ceilinged room, leaving the impression of a sparse life aboard the starship.

The Captain stretched out a hand. "Welcome aboard. I'm Captain Raleigh." He nodded to the man next to him. "This is Commander Speller, my second-in-command. He oversees the operational administration of the ship."

The Commander frowned, as if he would rather they weren't there, but nodded.

Starry nodded back. "Looks like you could use some laughs on this ship."

The captain chuckled and slapped the stoic Commander on the back. "Yes, we could use some laughs. We've been through a lot the last several months heightened by the fear of blowing-up at any moment. I can't wait to hear your routine."

Tramal reached out a hand to the Commander. "Do you think the saboteur is here?"

The Commander hesitated, then shook her hand. "No ma'am, I'm sure he isn't."

"Commander, show these people to their quarters."

He saluted. "Aye, Captain." Then he turned and proceeded down the hall. "Follow me."

__________

"You can put the luggage over there." Tramal pointed to a corner.

Three ensigns dragged the suitcases into the room and dropped them in a pile. The last one, huffing and sweating. "You have a lot of luggage, Ma'am."

Starry cupped his palm to one side of his mouth. "Guess you've never been married before, have you?"

"No, Sir."

"While single, you are a pack rat, but once you are married, you become a pack mule."

"Good one, Sir." He exited the room.

"I would say pretty lame. I hope you have better stuff tonight."

"Hey, I can't give my best stuff away before the show."

Her lips turned up. "Oh, the responses I could say to that. You're wide open."

Starry checked his zipper then pointed a finger at her. "Be nice."

She pulled out a small rectangular device from a suitcase. "Have I ever been any other way?" Before he could answer, she pushed a button and screaming hard rock music blasted through the room. She rotated around, bopping to the beat, and then sauntered to a spot next to a mirror on the wall. The unit had uncovered an eavesdropping portal. She slid out the back of the unit a nearly transparent film and stuck it over the wall where a bare pinprick could be seen.

The film replaced themselves with pre-recorded images of them sleeping, chatting, taking baths and the like. Computer scans would integrate the images with the current room layout whenever they were in the room.

She continued scanning while Starry finished unpacking until she had found them all. Then she shut the music off; they could talk freely.

Starry sat in a chair by the table and ordered a glass of tea from the computer. "Specify kind," the computer responded.

"Chamomile, iced, no sugar."

"Thank you, your beverage will arrive in one minute and ten seconds."

"Computers leave out all the mystery."

"Speaking of mystery, I didn't detect any attempts to deceive from the Captain."

"And the Commander?"

"He didn't like us here...I felt he hid something. He's one to watch."

"Bring up his service record."

Tramal tapped on her wrist-vid. "Says he's been with the ship for five years now."

Starry scratched his head. "Can't be him then. Who has signed on recently?"

"The Chief Engineer and an Ensign assigned to navigation."

"Either of them previously assigned to the Bolgart?" Starry waited patiently while she searched. The Bolgart had been the last of five ships to go down.

"Hum, yes. The Chief Engineer. His name is Chris Stanson."

"Bingo!" This could prove to be an easy assignment. "Let me see his photo."

She held her wrist-vid to his eyes. "Why don't we go eat in the mess hall. Maybe we'll spot him."

The door light lit up and beeped. "Right after I've had my tea, Babe. Have a seat."

__________

Chatter filled the mess hall: a long narrow room full of tables and chairs bolted to the floor met a counter dividing the dining area from the kitchen. Metal covered every inch, giving the room an impersonal feel. Nevertheless, people clustered around tables offset the Spartan atmosphere.

Starry and Tramal filled their trays with the day's special. To his pleasure, Starry discovered the chief engineer at a table by himself. He pointed at him for Tramal to follow.

"Is this seat taken?" Starry put his hand on its back and waited for Chris to respond.

"Go ahead, I just sat down myself." He didn't bother to raise his head.

"Thanks. My name's Starry, by the way, and this is my wife, Tramal." They sat their food down and pulled themselves up to the table.

"Oh, the funny guy, right?" He glanced up at Starry and then checked out Tramal. "You're a Hilmosian, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. And you're an Earthling, aren't you?" She held out her hand.

"Yes. Obviously." Instead of shaking hands, he dropped his gaze down to his plate. He hadn't taken a bite but seemed to be playing with his food.

"Hey, there's something in your ear." Starry reached over and pulled a coin from it and tacked a tracking device onto the back of his ear. "Now you're rich. Don't spend it all in one place." He tossed the coin onto the table. It rolled until it fell to a circling stop.

"Cute trick, but old."

Starry shrugged his shoulders and examined Chris's meal. "Yum, smells good. What is it?"

Chris put some on his fork, raised it to his nose, and sniffed. "Seaweed salad with the 'house' dressing. Looked better at the counter."

"Wow, brings back memories. I grew up on seaweed salad. Botanically grown on the ship, right?"

"He grew up on a space ship." Tramal stuffed a forkful of fish into her mouth.

"Here, you can have it. I'm not hungry."

"Thanks!" Starry dragged the plate to himself and filled his mouth with the salty leaves. "Pretty good. My mom cooked it better, but still, pretty good."

"I don't suppose you've heard any recent news about the Bolgart have you?" Tramal paused for a moment, awaiting his response.

"Me? No. Why would I have any news?" Chris's eyes darted around and then he focused on his hands.

"Mess halls are where we get our news. Kind of grass roots level, you know."

"Why not news-vids?"

"They only tell you what POoP wants you to hear. You get the real low down here."

"Or a lot of bloated opinion." He rose from the table. "Sorry to leave you, but I have duties to attend to. Hope your show goes well."

Starry swallowed a mouthful of seaweed. "You aren't attending?"

"Sorry, I have station duty tonight. I'll have to catch a different show. Now, if you'll pardon me..." He nodded and stepped through the hall and out the door.

"Well, I don't have to be a Hilmosian to read his body language. You see how he reacted when you brought up the topic?"

She nodded. "What I'm more worried about is tonight while you're doing the show would be a perfect time for him to set off the reactors."

"At least it means I could go out with a bang."

Tramal rubbed her forehead.

He shrugged. "Okay, during the act, why don't you track him and keep an eye on him. If he starts messing with the reactors, take him out."

"That'll go over good: 'But Captain, your engineer worked on the engines so I took him out.'"

Starry winked at her. "Just don't blow our cover."

"But you said I plan, you execute. What happened to that?"

"Well, you know. I've got a show people are dying to hear."

She groaned. "Just finish your seaweed before I cram it down your throat."

__________

A crowd filled the rec-room. Starry noticed the Captain and Commander, grim as ever, at a front table. He spotted Tramal slipping out the back door. He knew she could handle herself, but he worried anyway. He sucked in a deep breath as a man on the narrow stage introduced him.

"And now, here he is, Starry the Space Hippie!"

He bounded onto the stage and waited for the clapping to die down. "I grew up with some groovy parents. Dad would always say, 'Yeah man, we're really far out now!'

"We traveled on several space ships, wherever we could hitch a ride. I had free love and free trouble . . ."

__________

Starry entered their room after the show. Tramal sat at the table staring into her wrist-vid.

"Well, the show's over and I'm still alive. How did it go?"

She sighed. "He worked on the thrust engines all night. Never came close to the fusion reactors. Then his shift ended and he left to get some zees." She held her wrist-vid for him to see. "Right now, he's in his quarters."

"I'll bet he is the one, though. He's just playing his hand carefully. We might have aroused his something's-not-right radar at supper." Starry stretched and yawned. "I'm ready for dreamland."

"Not without me you don't." She stood up and grabbed him around the waist, then pulled his lips into hers for a few seconds.

Starry reveled in the familiar warmth and love. They broke for air. "I hoped I would meet you in my dreams."

"Who said I was talking about dreams?" She kissed him as they fell onto the bed.

__________

"Take your hands off those controls or we'll fire!"

Starry shook his head. Chills raced across his body. As his eyes focused, the engine room filled his vision. His hands rested on the fusion reactor control panel.

"What the . . .?" He examined himself. Not one piece of clothing covered his body. "What am I doing here?"

"That's what we want to know. Step away or we fire."

Starry glanced around. Several guards with Erupter-class ray-rifles surrounded him. He backed away and held his hands up. "I don't suppose anyone has a spare set of clothes?"

"Mind telling us, funny guy, why you're in the engine room initiating a containment field shutdown?"

Starry shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. If I had planned this, do you think I would 'sneak' in naked? Give me a little more credit."

Chris entered the room and stopped when he saw Starry. First his face fell, but then his jaw firmed and his eyes narrowed. "So, you're the one who killed all my friends. You no account, son of . . ." He shot towards Starry.

Several of the guards grabbed him but not before Starry ducked a swinging fist. They pulled Chris back.

"Seriously, I didn't do it." Starry felt desperation take over. He couldn't be locked up while the real killer still roamed the ship. But how did he get here? Why was he shutting down the containment field? He didn't even know how to shut down a containment field.

"You lying dog!" Chris struggled to free himself from the guard's grip. "You're caught in the act."

"He's right," the head-guard said. He motioned with his rifle. "Time to lock you up. We already have guards going to arrest your wife and accomplice. We tracked her studying the engine room layout last night. Obviously you two are a team. A team that will now be out of business, thankfully."

Starry slumped. "Can I at least get some clothes from my room? I'm a little cold." Goosebumps covered his arms. "Not to mention some of these guards seem to be staring a little too longingly at me."

The head-guard shook his head. "Always the comedian to the end, eh? Now you can entertain the executioner." He examined Starry with a grimace. "But first, we'll drop by your room to cover up this sorry excuse for a body."

Several rifles followed Starry as he exited the room. He hoped none of the guards carried enough resentment to take it out on him. They would probably get no more than a slap on the hand for killing the "saboteur."

But, more disturbing, Chris didn't act like someone who had blown-up the Bogart much less planned to take out the Armageddon. Either he had pegged the wrong man or Chris put on a good act. If an act, they would all die soon. If they thought they had caught the real criminal, he could finish the job unhindered.

__________

The door to Starry's quarters slid open. The leader pointed to two of his three men. "You two, guard the door."

"Ay, Sir," they said in unison and took up positions on either side.

He shoved Starry into his room, ray-rifle still trained on his head. "Get on your clothes and don't go slow. We'll start going through your luggage while we wait." The door closed behind them.

"Sure, why not. Just don't open the green one over there." Starry pointed at the pile. "It's my wife's and she doesn't like people going through her stuff."

The two men exchanged grins and chuckled. "Why don't we start with that one?"

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Starry opened his suitcase and grabbed the filter nose-plugs.

"Where's the latch on this one?" One of the men had it in the air, rotating it to get a better view.

"See the hole by the latch? Stick your finger in and it'll open right up." Starry shoved the plugs firmly in.

"Oh, I see it." He stuck his finger in the hole. A gas shot into their faces and they collapsed onto the floor in a twisted pile of bodies.

"Cool, works every time." He reached down to straighten the men out. "You can come out now, Babe."

A larger suitcase unlatched and opened. Tramal stretched. "Thank goodness, my joints ached in there. The computer warned of a forced entry and I—" She stopped upon spotting him naked. "Who was she?"

"No one. I woke up at the controls of the fusion reactor, in the process of shutting down the containment field. One minute I'm going to sleep in your arms, next I'm standing naked in front of several armed guards. Like I sleep-walked or something."

"Really?" She put her chin in her right hand. "It wasn't meant for you. Don't you see, the rebels use mind control to explode the ships. They must have meant to control someone who wouldn't arouse suspicions. Like one of the crew who works here."

Starry scratched his head. "And somehow I ended up with it by accident. But how? The members of the crew I had contact with were the Captain, the Commander, and Chris, the Chief Engineer."

Tramal's eyes widened. "The salad. The cook prepared it for the chief engineer, but you ate it instead. There had to be Delirium in the dressing."

"Delirium? You're saying I'm crazy?" Starry began undressing the two guards.

"Well, I'm not saying you're not crazy, but no, not in this instance. Delirium is a chemical used to control people. By coding the chemical signatures, it creates the pathways in the brain's subconscious to carry out commands at a pre-determined time."

"How come you know so much about this? You haven't used it on me, have you?" Starry pulled the guard's pants around his own waist and buckled the belt.

She winked at him. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm not telling."

"Tramal!"

"Don't you think we had better focus on the task at hand? If I heard correctly, we have two guards outside our door, two asleep in here, and a scant few minutes to clear our names." She tucked the guard's uniform-shirt into her pants.

Starry jerked his shoes on harder than needed. "Yeah, right. Ignore the issue. Meanwhile, why don't you send those guys back an hour in time while I create the masks."

She pulled what appeared to be a flashlight from her suitcase. "One hour it is," she said as she dialed it in. Then she put the unit on the forehead, back, and sides of each head. A red light glowed while on one spot, and she moved it to the next location when it turned green. "The last hour of their lives never existed. No tattle-telling for them."

Starry unwrapped a sheet of mask paper and laid it over the head-guard's face. He shined the red activating-light onto the paper and it molded into a perfect replica. He peeled the mask off and carefully placed it onto his own face. "Did you get the recording of the head-guard while you were in the suitcase?"

"Yeah, here." She held her wrist-vid close to his mask and tapped on the screen a few times. "There, say something."

"Do you ever go out with other men?"

"Perfect, you sound just like him. And no, I don't. Nor do I stalk the ship at night, naked, scaring everyone." She accepted the mask from him and placed it securely onto her face.

"You should try it sometime. A real hoot." He chuckled. "Here, put this cap on."

"Thanks. Tie those two up and I'll prepare our alibi."

"Oh? What alibi?"

She lifted a vial into view. "Delirium, of course."

"I knew you were using that!"

"Every good undercover agent has to use all tools at their disposal." She put a drop into a small box and held it to her wrist-vid. "But no, I've not used this on you. This stuff cost too much."

"Oh, so now I'm not worth it, is that it?"

She put the box on the table and tapped her screen. "Now, Dear, you're worth it." She grabbed his face with her free hand and shook it back and forth. "But I don't need it to control you." The box beeped.

Starry twisted his mouth into a frown. "I give up."

Tramel smirked. "See?"

Starry shook his head. "So, what did you program the Delirium to do?"

"Once injected, it directs the person to go straight to a computer and download all information he or she knows about the sabotage plans via voice recording and send it to headquarters."

He took the injector from her, filled with the drop. "Just as good as a confession."

"But make sure we get it into the person who put the chemical into the dressing, or we'll be sending a worthless confession to headquarters."

"The guards are tied, gagged, and under the covers. They won't have a clue when they wake up."

She shoved the cap well down her head. "So, they're undercover guards."

"Hey, I was going to say that."

"I know. You're way too predictable." She pecked his cheek.

Starry sighed and slid his cap into place. "Let's go."

The door slid open and they stepped through. Starry faced the guards. "We've had a change of plans. We have bound them and put them on the beds. They're confined to quarters. Don't let anyone in or out with a rank lower than mine."

"Aye, Sir."

Starry and Tramal marched to the kitchen.

__________

Starry slipped through the open doors into the Mess Hall. Several people milled around; various groups of crew members sat at tables eating. He glanced at Tramal. "How are we going to know who the culprit is?"

"Deductive reasoning, my dear Starry." She winked.

Nothing to do but take the direct approach. He moved to the order counter. A young man approached them.

"Where's the head-cook, Scrub?"

"Just a second, I'll get her." He scurried to the back.

Five seconds passed before she came out with the young man on her heals. "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"What's in your house salad-dressing?"

The cook's brow wrinkled. "Well, the usual. Oil, salt, pepper, oregano, a little lemon spice."

"Any 'secret' ingredients?"

She cocked an eye at him. "Planning on starting a competing brand, are we, Jarrel?"

"No. I can taste something, but I can't put my finger on it. I can't sleep thinking about it."

"Poor baby." She patted Starry's cheek. "Guess you aren't going to get much sleep for a while, are you?"

This trail led to a brick wall, but she ranked as the most likely suspect. He would have to take the risk, their window would soon close. He waved her closer. "I'll let you in on my secret."

She leaned over and Starry reached for her shoulder as he drew near to her ear, palming the injector.

Doubt flooded over him. He couldn't inject her. "Psssst, it's a secret: I can't tell you," he whispered in her ear.

She pulled back with her hands on her hips, a frown on her face.

"Guard Jarrel!" a commanding voice rang out. The Mess Hall buzz abruptly died.

It took Starry a moment before he responded, forgetting he wore Jarrel's face and clothes. The Captain and the Commander approached him. Starry stood straight and saluted. "Yes, Sir."

"I don't recall receiving any reports on the status of the two who were arrested? Why are you in the Mess Hall getting something to eat?" The Captain asked.

"I wasn't, Sir. I was . . . investigating."

"Investigating what?"

"My house dressing," the head-cook said.

The Commander's face reddened.

The Captain's eyes narrowed and his face grew stern. "Let's go to the holding cell where the captives are, Guard. You'll give your report to us there."

"But Sir, I had a valid reason for wanting to know about the salad dressing."

"Out with it then."

Starry felt the eyes in the room staring at him. "It's classified, could you two come in close?"

The Commander grunted and frowned, but drew in with the Captain. Starry put his right hand on the Commander's neck and shot the chemical into him. He flinched as if a fly had landed on his neck, but said nothing.

"I have reason to believe the house dressing was spiked with a chemical."

The Commander gritted his teeth. "We've caught the ones who are exploding ships all over the fleet, and you're investigating chemicals in a house dressing? Your orders are to take care of the criminals we did catch. Move it!"

"Yes, Sir."

The Captain and Commander followed behind Starry and Tramal in silence. A few seconds ticked by as they turned down one hall, and then another.

"Stop," the Captain said.

Starry turned back and saw the Commander approaching a com console. The chemical had taken effect. But what would he say?

"Patch through to headquarters and send the following message. This is Commander Arnold, second-in-command of the starship Armeggedon currently assigned to the Corona Cluster. Concerning the sabotage of several vessels of our fleet, I do not know who has conducted these operations."

Starry shook his head. They were dead meat now. Do we gas the Captain and the Commander and tie them up too? He glanced at Tramal and her eyes told him she didn't have any idea how they would get out of this either.

"However," the Commander continued, "I do have knowledge of the method employed. Coded Delirium is injected into the food of someone assigned to engineering. The code activates the victim at a specified time to shut down the fusion containment field, creating a breach and subsequent explosion of the ship."

The Captain's eyes were as big as golf balls and his mouth hung open. Starry gave Tramal the thumbs up sign.

"Additionally, I had been drugged, most likely at the Academy, so I would add Delirium to the house dressing of the chief engineer's salad to disable the fusion containment field."

Starry's mouth fell open. He saw Tramal's face light up. "Jackpot."

"Jackpot, indeed." The Captain whirled around. I'm sorry Guard Jarrel. You were on the money with this one. You'll be getting a huge promotion out of this. I would never have guessed. But how did you get him to confess?"

"Found some of his Delirium, and re-coded it to use against him. I knew I had to be sneaky about it as long as he ranked me."

"I'm highly impressed with your work. Obviously our comedian guest was a victim of this drug instead of the culprit. We're lucky he ended up with it instead of someone from engineering. We wouldn't have had a chance."

"Right, Sir." They both saluted. "With your permission, I'll take Commander Arnold into custody until we can determine if he is safe, and I'll free the two we have in custody. We'll also need to initiate scans on all food supplies for Delirium."

"Yes, yes, by all means. Carry on." The Captain turned and left.

Starry wrapped hand restraints around the Commander's wrists and headed toward the holding cells with his new prisoner.

"How did you know the Commander did it and not the cook?" Tramal asked after they had deposited the Commander in his cell and headed back to their room.

"Elementary, my dear Tramal. Body language. The cook told me she didn't do it, but the Commander did. Knowing he oversaw the administration of the ship, including food supplies, and you had sensed he hid something, his reaction to me said, 'I'm guilty' as if he had it written on his forehead."

"If you're so good at reading body language, what am I saying now?" She glanced up with soft, longing eyes.

"Hum, you're sweating, so you body says you want to get out of these disguises as soon as possible and into my arms."

She laughed. "I guess you can read body language."

Starry commanded the guards at their door to leave. Then, giving the bound guards in their room a little more gas and memory wipe, they pulled them into the hall and left them there.

__________

The overhead vid-screen came to life as the transport shuttle pulled away from the star cruiser. The news flashed on and who else did Starry see but Guard Jarrel being interviewed. He tapped Tramal on the shoulder and pointed at the screen.

"I hear you're getting a big promotion for this amazing piece of detective work." The reporter thrust the mic into Jarrel's face.

"Huh, yeah. Promotion, I'm being told."

"What evidence first tipped you off?"

"Huh, that's...classified. Sorry."

"Can you tell us anything about how you saved the fleet from certain annihilation?"

"Well, huh, it's all so fuzzy. Like some surreal dream. But I can say my mind is working all the time, even when I'm asleep. I get a lot done when I'm asleep." He stared at the floor. "Apparently."

"There you have it folks, people like him make heroism seem so easy. Back to you, Henry."

A beep from their wrist-vid interrupted their entertainment.

"Yes, Sir. Starry and Tramal here." Starry held up his hand so Tramal could see.

"Congratulations." Dolan's face focused on the screen. "You not only kept the Armageddon from blowing up, but found out the source of the problem. We're testing everyone, including myself, for the presence of Delirium and counter-acting it if found. All the students at the Academy who had been drugged had one teacher in common. Professor Quin. Evidence uncovered in his quarters links the Professor to the rebels. He masterminded this whole operation. We owe you two a big debt."

"Cool, we can retire." Starry showed his best poker face.

"Who said anything about money. We'll pay you with excessive praise. Your wage will remain the same."

"That's gratitude for you." Starry frowned.

Dolan smiled. "I thought the son of space-hippies wouldn't be so hung up on money. All you need is love, right?"

"Love, yes. Love for Tramal. Love for food. Love for gadgets. Yes, gotta have love."

Tramal broke in. "Yep, all you need is love, doesn't say what you love though, does it." She laughed

"And a little Delirium of my own would be nice too." He grinned at Tramal. Her laughing died off.

Monthly Free Fiction Upgrade!

I recently discussed my 2014 goals, which included my goal to continue writing one free story here each month. 12 stories costing you nothing more than the time to read them. What a deal, right?

I've decided to upgrade that goal. (A little Cyberman terminology for you.) I've decided to do a 12 episode serial for the year.  Each month will deliver a new chapter in the . . .

Well, I haven't figured it out quite yet. I'm leaning toward a space opera, maybe superhero in space, or some kind of space cop series. Maybe some kind of mixture of it all. Hopefully have the first one out later this week.

Be sure to subscribe (links in top right of website) if you wish to follow the story.

Until then, keep reading!

So be watching for it. If any of my readers has a preference on what kind of tale to tell, speak up soon!

Virtual Game is Here!

Book 3 of The Virtual Chronicles is available: Virtual Game!

Just when Jeremy, Mickey, and Bridget think the worst is behind them, a new threat to Zori and the entire virtual world arises. Not from a distant planet, but from Earth.

When ESEL, a mysterious, Earth-based military organization, threatens not just Zori but the entire virtual world, Jeremy, Mickey, and Bridget's virtual superpowers are compromised. Natalie gains superhuman powers, pitting the trio against each other. Even the Overlords can't stop ESEL from gaining control of the Virtual Machine.

Will the four superheroes in this space opera style science fiction adventure be able to navigate the twists and turns thrown at them by ESEL and their own emotions to defeat ESEL's plot? Like books one and two, this middle grade/young adult focused novel is accessible for adults who enjoy fun, mystery, suspense, and an exciting superhero, space opera romp.

Jump aboard and say with Mickey, "Let's do this!"

Currently available in print and ebooks at Amazon and Smashwords. Visit the book's webpage for direct links and to read a sample. Other outlets soon to follow.

Free on Kindle!

Virtual Hero, my collection of four superhero, space opera short stories set in the Virtual Chronicles universe, is now available for free on Amazon Kindle!

The collection has been free for some months on other sites, but I'd been waiting for Amazon to price match. They finally did so within the last few days. So if you've been saying, "I want it--oh do I want it--but I'll wait for it to be free on Amazon first," well, your wait is over.

Go to Amazon to download your copy today.

Micro-Fiction: Slimdown Tantrum

Decided to write a "micro-fiction" story.  While there's no set definition for the term, in my experience it is a story of around 300 words or less. I've done a 100 word micro-fiction back in 2008, still on the web at the Resident Aliens blog, called, "The Battle." Flash fiction is usually defined as being 1000 words or less, by comparison.

To title my micro-fiction and use it as a prompt, I visited Foxnews.com again to find the words of the title, "Slimdown Tantrum." As I write these words, I've not even started thinking much about what the story is about. No idea at this point. The trick is to tell a whole story with scene setting, character development, and a beginning, middle, and end plot within 300 words. What follows is my attempt. We'll see how I fared. At the end, I'll relate any relevant info about the process once done.

-----------------------

"Thank you for flying Angel Flights." The perky stewardess tugged her miniskirt uniform down. "We handle the space race so you don't have to." She plastered on a smile. "We'll arrive at Moonbase Gama in five hours. "

Her smile morphed into a sympathetic frown. "Unfortunately, slimdown is in effect to escape Earth's gravity. Did anyone bring any unchecked luggage?"

The nine passengers glanced at each other. No one spoke up.

The stewardess bit her lip. "If not, someone will have to take another flight.  Who will volunteer?"

Several stared at a man in a black business suit and dark glasses. His frowned. "I'll lose millions if I miss my meeting."

A lady in a knee-length skirt held her daughter's hand. "We're attending a funeral."

Each passenger gave excuses to stay.

"What about you, sir?" The stewardess pointed at a man in the back.

His eyebrow twitched. "I need to go. Meeting someone."

"We'll throw in first-class treatment if you wait."

He jumped from his seat, whipping out a small pistol. "I'm not getting off." He pointed the gun at the lady and her daughter. "You two, bye bye."

They stared at him a moment before sliding into the walkway.

A shot rang through the cabin. The attacker collapsed to the floor.

The business-suited man, a gun in his hand, flipped out a badge. "Space Marshall. Sorry, but we had to flush him out. He's wanted for treason."

The stewardess sucked in a deep breath. "Against Earth?"

"No." He pulled a necklace off the corpse. The human image faded into a cross between an octopus and a hamster. "Mars." He replaced the necklace and pulled out a pen. "I need you to all look this way."

----------------------------

Spent about 10 minutes figuring out what to write. Another 50 minutes writing it. Ended up around 360 words. I then spent 25 minutes editing it until I got it down to 296 words, an 18% reduction. Not the greatest story in the world, but fun. Hope you enjoyed it as well as taking a peak into my process writing it.

Final score: 296 word micro-fiction written and edited in 1.5 hours.

The Eternal Clock

The ticking of the clock reminded me of my own mortality. I glanced out the window of my quarters. Starlight streaked by as we traveled at light speed four. The vacuum of space a few feet away, held at bay by inches of metal and transparent stealium, served to remind me of the truth as well.

"Captain," sounded over the comm.

"Go ahead."

"We're picking up a ship on long-range sensors on an intercept course."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who is it?"

"Unknown."

"How long till they reach us?"

"About one hour. Forty-five minutes until we're in communication range."

I thought for three seconds. "Keep me posted if they change course. Captain out."

"Aye, sir."

I rocked back in my chair. Would this be a first encounter or and old friend? Or worse, an old enemy?

"Captain Bay," my own voice call from behind me.

I spun around. Another me, with more gray and wrinkles, stood before me. Different outfit. Same face.

I rose to my feet. "I'd ask who you are, but I think I already know what you'll say. Questions are, how, why, and do I believe you?"

The corners of his mouth turned up. He raised a finger, then walked to the cabin door and locked it. "It might not go over well if I'm found here by your crew."

I noticed the balding spot on the back of his head. I filtered my fingers through mine, pausing at the top of my head. "Let me guess. You're me from the future."

He nodded. "Yes. We need to discuss the approaching ship."

I grinned. "Nice hologram of me. Who's behind this? Is this Dan?"

He clenched his jaw. "Listen. I returned to warn you about that ship. It is a new species. Very hostile. I waited too long to respond. Only a few of us escaped. We've been hostile since then. If you respond first, take out their weapons, you'll have the upper hand."

I rubbed my jaw. "Let's assume you are who you say you are. Did you try to communicate with them?"

"Yes, but the translator didn't recognize their language. While we tried to understand, they fired."

I paced the floor, then turned to face him. "Okay. We'll know soon if your telling the truth. What does this species look like?"

"Small, furry heads. No neck to speak of. Four arms with six fingers on each. Fur all over. Oh yeah, and two big black eyes."

I nodded. "If that's what greets me, I'll know you're from the future. Then I'll shoot first, ask questions later."

He smiled. "Good. Now I'll be able to sleep at night." He held his wrist up, punched a few buttons, and then vanished.

I breathed deep. "So I'll be able to time travel one day. Interesting." But his warning gave me more prep time. I could have missiles loaded and ready to fire before they arrived. Just in case. I reached over to signal Lieutenant Reece in munitions.

"Captain Bay," my voice echoed in the cabin again.

I turned my head to see myself. "Forget something?"

He waved his hands. "Don't attack them. That didn't work. Their shielding is much stronger than ours. We barely made a dent before their weapons ripped our ship apart."

I feared asking this question. "That's twice now you've made it through the destruction of your...I mean, my ship. I thought a captain was supposed to go down with his ship."

"The crew has this mutinous plan to save their captain upon destruction of the ship. Watch out for the doctor's hypo-spray." He winked.

I leaned back. "So now what?"

He stared out the view port. "We must be trespassing in their space. Would be best to turn and run."

I smiled. "Sounds logical, but maybe you don't want me to see them and learn you're lying."

He turned and met my eyes. "You can wait until you see them, but by then it'll be too late. Your call, but I'd rather not have to make another trip back to convince you again."

I ran options through my brain. "Are you able to translate their language in your time?"

"Yes."

"Then you translate for us now."

He shook his head. "You're crew would know I'm not you. Too much age difference."

"I'll tell them I grayed my hair and plucked out some in the back."

"They'll buy that?"

"Probably not."

He pointed at me. "Try running. If that doesn't work, I'll be back."

"I'll give it due consideration." If he was me, he knew that meant I'd do it.

He let out a breath. "Thank you." He pecked away on his "watch" and vanished.

I waited five minutes. He didn't return. Must have worked. I reached for the comm to call helm.

"Captain Bay, it didn't work. Their ships are much faster than ours. They caught up and destroyed us."

I stood and stepped toward him. "So fighting doesn't work. Running doesn't work. What's left?"

He rubbed his forehead. "Not much. Who knew polluting the timeline was so hard. It's like God's going to have this turn out the same no matter what."

"I have an idea."

His eyes jerked open as my decision became his future.

I swung my fist hard upon his left temple. The spot I always protected in my boxing days. He collapsed like a sack of sand onto the floor. I slipped his time-watch off and stored it in my vault.

I dragged him into the captain's personal shuttle connected to the captain's quarters, programmed the greeting, "This is Ambassador Bay, I come in peace to make friends," to broadcast in all languages in the database. Surely if they've gotten around, they'd recognize one of them. I set the autopilot on a countdown, and exited the shuttle.

I hit the comm button. "Ensign Jones, I'm sending my shuttle to the oncoming ship as a decoy. As soon as it departs, turn the ship around and leave the system at full speed."

"Acknowledged, sir."

Docking clamps clunked open. Thrusters fired. Through the window, the wing-tipped craft glided away.

I saluted. "Good luck in retirement, Ambassador Bay." Sending someone who knew the alien's language in a non-threatening ship provided the best opportunity of first contact. Meanwhile, when my turn came to go back in time, I'd pass. The timeline was effectively polluted.

The ticking of the clock reminded me of my own mortality. And an eternity that would not be denied. No matter how hard we sought to change it.

The Call of Nature

Since a lot of my early short stories/flash fictions were on sites that are no longer active, I thought I would post them here. This story was my first accepted story, back around May of 2006, and was published in Raygun Revival on February 2007. I've also included in my anthology, Ethereal Worlds. Enjoy.
~~ R. L. Copple

---

The metal hanger, which housed the Z-14X prototype space plane, shined in the moonlight just beyond the barbed-wired fence. The moonlight reminded John of the sun. He couldn't wait to see it against the blackness of space.

The security fence gloated, "Just try to get through," but it hadn't counted on someone who could simply fly over. It hadn't counted on—Moth Man.

The only real ability John possessed: he could fly using the soft wings on his back. That and the fact if someone ate him, they would die of toxic poison. "A lot of good that would do me. Why couldn't a radioactive spider have bitten me? Why a moth?" he had often wondered.

Yet now the wings came in handy. He lifted himself into the air. Wind flowed through his hair as he bounced though the cool night over the compound. Soon he sank to the ground beside the hanger.

John peered into the window and saw the craft bathed in dim moonlight:  a black shell, adorned by four wings well back on the craft, spread out in an "X" pattern. Just as his web research had revealed. Touted as the first plane to fly successfully out of earth's gravity and into space, it looked the part.

A growl sounded. He swung around to see a German Shepherd baring its teeth. He froze. I could probably fly away before he reached me. He prepared to launch.

"Freeze!" A uniformed man swung around the corner, brandishing a rifle pointed straight at John. He froze again.

I might be able to escape the dog, but not the bullet. "Sorry, can you tell me how to get to the Hilton? I seem to be lost."

He didn't buy it. "Up against the wall, hands high." The dog threatened with a low rumbling growl.

John complied, what else could he do? As he followed the officer's orders, his black and gold tiger-moth wings came into view.

"What the…" The officer moved closer and felt the wings. He rubbed the wing dust off his hands with a grimace and then patted John down for weapons.

John saw his opportunity. He swung his wings hard, hitting the officer in the head. The hit and wing dust disoriented him. John's fist landed a hit squarely on the back of his neck. The guard dropped unconscious. John launched himself into the air before the dog could reach him. The Shepherd's snapping jaws just missed John's dangling foot.

The barking dog now broadcasted the fact that an intruder had penetrated the compound. John no longer had time for subtleties. Landing on the roof, he kicked in the skylight.  It shattered open, and he winged his way inside.

Now, where did they store the plutonium fuel rods? John swung around and spotted them, in a box labeled as such along the wall. He grabbed a handful and flew to the cockpit. Once inside, he inserted all but two fuel rods into the power receptors and initiated the injection process.

By now, several guards filed in the door, guns encircled the ship. The engines had power, so John increased the throttle. The plane lurched forwards. Gunfire echoed in the hanger. Warning shots, hoping it would scare John into stopping no doubt. They didn't want to riddle their craft with holes. Not until they had no other recourse.

Doing a standard take-off would take too long. John thought about going right to the nuclear escape engines. Such force, designed for airborne ignition, could tear it and him apart from a near-dead stop. He had only one viable course of action.

He braced himself, then hit the ignition switch. The Gs slammed him into the seat. He struggled to maintain consciousness. The metal groaned under the strain. The plane shot forward and ploughed through the hanger doors. Scraping metal sounds echoed through the cockpit. It bounced along the ground. A fence raced toward the plane. John pulled back on the stick, already speeding past 200 knots. The prototype shot upward. The Gs squished him as if a giant hand pushed on his head.

As the plane cleared the buildings and the land quickly receded, John cut the ignition and switched to standard fuel. His field of vision returned and his face reshaped to its rounded state like a baby fresh out of the womb.

John glanced at the escape-engine fuel gauge. The stunt had expended a third of what he needed to escape earth's gravity. He inserted the other two rods. The solar panels should keep life support going as long as needed. John didn't expect to return anyway.

John released manual control to the computer. The escape engines fired. Again he sank into the seat. The craft angled higher. The blue sky receded. The stars brightened, looking like white sand dusting a black void. The horizon shifted to a curved surface rimmed with the sun's golden silhouette.

Suddenly, a ray of sunlight broke over the earth's rim, bathing John in awe. Its beauty filled his mind. The light entranced John; its song called to him.

Time suspended, the shinning light against the blackness of space filled all desire. Before, John had flown as high as his wings would let him but the sun remained out of reach. Now, he could soar until he soaked in all of its beautiful light.

John pulled a disk from his pocket and held it before his eyes. He had pre-programmed the flight path:  a one-way trip to the sun. His gaze moved back to the enveloping fireball. He could hold back no longer. John slid the disk into the ship's computer. It responded with beeps and a message reading, "program accepted." The engines adjusted the trajectory.

Did John know it would kill Him? Yes. But he didn't care. He could not rest until he took in all the glorious radiance his body could endure.

"Why couldn't I have been bit by a radioactive spider instead?"

---

Check out Ethereal Worlds for more short stories.

Power Hungry: A Virtual Chronicles Short Story

This short story is set to happen shortly after the events in Hero Game. This story does not appear in any of the books.

---

Bridget snapped her eyes open. She'd almost fallen asleep. She peered across their bedroom and examined her brother, Jeremy. The moonlight filtering through the blinds gave enough light to illuminate his face. Yes, he had fallen sleep, and yes, he didn't have his mask on.

He'd declared tonight a night off from virtual superhero patrolling. Saving people seemed minor in comparison to saving two planets. Besides, Jeremy said we made only a small dint in the number of crimes around the globe. Earth would get along without them for one night.

Jeremy may have seen this as an opportunity to relax, but that made it a prime chance for her to do her own thing without worrying about Jeremy or Mickey looking over her shoulder. Being nine, they tended to treat her like a kid. She would show them.

She slid her mask from under her pillow and pulled it over her head. She glanced at Jeremy to make sure he hadn't woken up, then pulled her covers over head, just in case he got up in the middle of the night.

"Suit, appear as Comet Girl," she whispered. Darkness overtook her for a couple of seconds before the control room on Titan materialized. Banks of screens, five rows high and twenty across, flashed images of live TV news feeds from across Earth.

She skipped to the control panel extending along the width of the screens and seated herself. She wiggled her fingers over the buttons in anticipation. "First, I want to see what new superhero I can use." She pushed a button and the screen in front of her lost its feed and a computer desktop appeared.

"Computer, display superhero list for Bridget Goodhue."

A list scrolled up the screen and stopped. Bridget slid her finger down them as she read. "Buggy." No, she'd tried that one before. Being a superhero gnat had limited advantages. "Duster." Being able to turn into dust and reform was cool, but got old real quick. Throwing dust in people's eyes was the worst she could do. How lame was that.

She scanned further down. Most of the options she'd seen before. They're weren't many choices. None of them had guns, rays, or such. Comet Girl came the closest to having any kind of real crime-fighting power.

She flopped back in her seat and crossed her arms. "No fair." What she needed was access to the programing and add in some features, but she didn't know anything about programing. Especially in Zorian.

She sat up. "Robert. He's a help robot. Maybe he. . . " She leaped from her seat and sped out of the room, down the stainless steel hallway, and into the bay. She picked an Eagle-class ship and entered. She stopped in the middle of the ship's control room. "Help!"

A door slid open and Robert rolled out of his bay. Flashing lights dotted his metallic chest. Accordion arms extended claws into the air. The glass bulb atop him sparked with electricity as he talked. "Robert is here to help. State your question."

"Can you access the programing of my superheroes?"

The flashing buttons sped up for a couple of seconds. "Affirmative."

"Can you add a feature to one of my superheroes?"

"Negative. I'm not programmed to build virtual features."

Bridget stomped her right foot. "How can I get more powers then? This sucks."

Robert retracted his claws back into his body. "Transfer."

Bridget met Robert's globe. "Transfer? What do you mean?"

"Move established superheroes from one account to yours."

"Move!" She smiled. "You mean, I can transfer Astro Man to my list?"

"Affirmative."

She clapped. "Then do it. Move Jeremy's superhero to my account."

A claw extended and touched his bulb, ever so slightly tilted. Lights flashed. He pulled his claw back in and straightened up. "Files are moved to Bridget Goodhue's account successfully."

"That's more like it." She closed her eyes. "Suit, appear here as Astro Man." Light dimmed to black and back again. Except now she stood taller. "Thank you, Robert. You can return to your bay."

She gasped. Her voice. It sounded like Jeremy's. She raced to the sleeping quarter and found a mirror in the bathroom. She swallowed. She looked exactly like her brother. "I'm a boy!" Her hand brushed against something on her side. "A boy with a raygun!" She slid it out and examined it. A sleek barrel widened to cover a stock. A cutaway section on the back held several buttons, with tiny code written under them.

How am I supposed to know what these do? Bridget holstered the gun. "Looks like I need a crash course on Astro Man's gun." She sped out of the ship, noticing how stronger her muscles pushed against the floor and longer her leaps. She returned to the control room and settled down into a chair to review Astro Man's bio and weapons specs. Minutes ticked by as she attempted to memorize the button codes.

She pulled the gun out and stared at the buttons. "BL for blinding light. R for ray gun. G for gravity ray. Not hard."

"Hey, Bucko! I see you couldn't stay away either."

Bridget jerked out of her chair. She spun around, her heart racing. "Mickey?"

Mickey, suited up as Blue Nova, frowned. "What's the matter, Bucko? You're as jumpy as Bridget? And what's with the formality?"

Bridget sucked in a deep breath. Did she tell him the truth? She didn't want to get caught. "Huh. . .you surprised me is all. Mick. I was. . .focused."

Mickey glanced at the screen. "On Astro Man's info? You know that superhero inside and out. He's your favorite."

Bridget shut the screen down before Mickey could notice it was under her account. "It had been a while since I looked at it. You never know if you've missed some little detail that. . . ," How would Jeremy say it? ". . .you've overlooked before."

Mickey slapped Jeremy on the back. "Always studying the instructions. I think you're addicted to them." He laughed.

Bridget feigned a half-smile.

A beeping penetrated the room. Bridget found the monitor whose light was flashing. "There." The news cast covered a mine opening that had collapsed in India. A group of miners, trapped inside, struggled to live.

Mickey glanced at Bridget. "We'd better act. What's the plan?"

"The. . .the. . .the plan? Uh, what do you think?"

Mickey focused on Bridget. "Bucko, you're always barking out orders."

Bridget shrugged. "I know. How rude of me. I think it's time to not hog all the authority around here. Suggestions?"

Mickey shook his head. "Sometimes you surprise me, Bucko. My suggestion would be Astro Man uses his gravity ray to lift the rocks up. I'll zoom in as Blue Nova and carry them out in less than a minute."

Bridget smiled. "Good idea." At least she'd identified the gravity ray. This sounded simple enough. "Let's go."

She entered the coordinates. "Suit, appear at coordinates as Astro Man." The control room faded to be replaced by the bustle of emergency workers scurrying to remove rocks from the opening.

One man noticed them, pointed and began chattering in his native language. Some men clustered around a table looked up, then headed their direction.

Mickey glanced at Bridget, as if expecting her to do something. He faced the men. "Any of you speak English?"

Two men raised their hands. One of them stepped forward. "We know who you are. Are you here to help?"

Bridget nodded, realizing she needed to take charge like Jeremy would. "Yes. Have everyone stand back from the opening. We'll take it from there."

The man nodded and communicated her message to the others. Men barked orders and the workers around the opening cleared away.

Bridget grinned. Seeing everyone obey her as the authority sent a surge of energy through her. Have ray gun, will save the world!

She turned to see Mickey staring at her with a frown. "Anytime you're ready, Astro Man. I'm sure those men don't mind waiting a few more minutes while you bask in your glory."

"Oh, yes. Of course." She forced the grin off her face as she pulled the raygun out. She pushed the button labeled "G" and pointed it at the rocks.

Mickey zipped next to the rocks. "I'm in position."

Bridget pulled the trigger. A blue ray erupted from the barrel and hit the pile of rocks. They quivered for a moment, then collapsed. More of the entrance crumbled down and onto Mickey. Mickey fell unconscious onto the ground as a pile of rocks pinned him onto the dirt.

Bridget gasped and let up on the trigger. Gravity ray meant more gravity. She'd not read how to reverse it. She ran over to where Mickey lay. What do I do now?

"I thought you know what you doing!" the Indian man shouted at her.

She raised her visor to wipe tears away. "I did too."

"What you plan to do about this? Fix it or get out of the way."

"Maybe I can help."

Bridget knew that voice. Jeremy, dressed in blue jeans, sneakers, and a tee-shirt, stood before her. "Uh oh."

"You better believe this is uh oh. Now, give me that gun." Jeremy held out his hand. Bridget placed the gun in his palm. Jeremy hit a button on the gun and pointed it at Mickey. "First, we need to kill Blue Nova."

The Indian man jumped in front of him. "Who are you? You can't kill Blue Nova!"

Jeremy sighed. "I'm not really killing him. He'll reappear in a few seconds if I shoot him."

The Indian man focused on Bridget. "Is this true?"

Bridget nodded. "Yep."

The man moved out of the way. "I hope you know what you doing."

Jeremy pointed and pulled the trigger. Mickey's body vanished in the flash of a red ray.

Bridget stood. "How did you know?"

"You never sleep with covers pulled over your head. Not to mention all my superheros are gone. That's why I had to come here as myself."

Bridget widened her eyes. "But I thought I only moved Astro Man over. Robert must have misunderstood me."

Jeremy cracked a smile. "So that's how you did it. Smart, Sis. Though I'll have to have a talk with Robert about authorization protocols."

Blue Nova appeared beside them. "Bucko and Bucko? What's going on?"

Jeremy laughed. "You think that's strange. I've been having a conversation with myself." He punched a button and moved a slider bar at the top, then handed the gun back to Bridget. "I don't need to attract attention to myself. You'll have to do the honors."

Bridget received the gun and stepped back.

"That's good. Now aim and keep the trigger pulled until Blue Nova can get everyone out."

Mickey backed away from the entrance. Bridget shot the gun. A green ray, wider in radius, engulfed the entrance. The rocks rose into the air. Bridget kept the ray aimed on the rocks.

Mickey disappeared, then reappeared every two to three seconds carrying a miner. Medical personnel scurried to attend to them. Once Mickey indicated everyone was out, and the entrance was clear, Jeremy told Bridget how to lower the rocks safely.

Once done, they hurried behind some trees and returned to the control room. Bridget hung her head in preparation for the rant.

Jeremy sat and crossed his arms. "Why, Sis?"

"I don't know." She huffed. Yes she did. "Just, everyone treats me like a kid."

Mickey laughed. "You are a kid."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Am not!"

Mickey pointed at her. "Case closed."

Bridget huffed. "I wanted a superhero with punch, like Astro Man. Do you know how much stronger you are than any of mine?"

Jeremy run a hand through his hair. "Sis, you'll have superheroes with more punch eventually. But you may not be ready for them. Do you think you were ready to be Astro Man today?"

She bowed her head. "No."

"You'll be ready in time. Meanwhile, you're an important part of our team."

Mickey nodded. "You've saved my butt a few times."

Bridget smiled. "I have to admit, Comet Girl is easier to control. I just think what I want the dust to do, and it does it. No buttons and dials to figure out."

Jeremy rose from his seat. "Now that we've got that settled, I want my superheroes back. Time to pay Robert a little visit."

Bridget smiled. "Suit, appear as Comet Girl."

---

Read more about Mind Game and Hero Game, along with sample chapters and where they can be purchased.

A Dose of Virtual Reality

A bell rang through the classroom. The black-haired teacher stood from her desk and straightened her snug, blue dress. "Today class, we will study the female anatomy."

Mickey stopped thumping his pencil against his desk and sat up. About time. Maybe we'll get to see some pictures.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Mickey frowned. Probably nothing. Surely the authorities could handle it. Not like he could be everywhere at once. Well, almost, but not quite.

The teacher pulled down a graphic of the female reproductive organs. "First, we will go over the names of the parts."

Mickey sighed. What if it was something? What if Blue Nova could make a difference? Mickey rubbed his forehead before slipping his hand into the air.

"Okay, class. Repeat after me. Urethra."

"Urethra," the students echoed back like robots.

Mickey waved his hand. Did this woman think she was teaching kids instead of teens?

The teacher breathed in to say the next part when she turned her head. "Mickey, do you have a question?"

"Yes, ma'am. Can I be excused to visit the restroom?"

Snickers echoed across the classroom. Robert said, "I think he's scared of girls."

Laughter erupted across the classroom. Mickey's face grew hot.

The teacher snapped her pointer stick across her desk. The laughter died as fast as it erupted. "Class, that is quite enough." She frowned at Mickey. "You're excused. Don't be gone long or I'll send someone to check on you."

Mickey hopped up from his seat and headed to the door. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you." As soon as the door closed behind him, he raced to the bathroom, entered a stall, and seated himself on the toilet. He pulled his mask from his pocket and pulled it over his head.

"Hero game time!" He snuggled his body against the side wall and hoped he didn't fall over while out. "Suit, appear here as Blue Nova."

The stall faded out and then back in, except he now stood over himself, apparently asleep on the toilet. "Blue Nova to the rescue. Fast as light and just as bright!"

Blue Nova sped out of the stall, bathroom, and the school doors in less than a second. He zipped along the roads until he arrived at a row of flashing patrol car lights around an office. A group of officers huddled behind one car while individual ones pointed pistols at the office over the hoods of their vehicles.

Mickey stopped beside the group of officers. They jumped upon noticing him. He forgot from their perspective, he had appeared out of thin air. "Sorry, officers. Didn't mean to frighten you."

One of them gritted his teeth. "Get out of here, son. This is no place for you to play."

Play? Really? "What seems to be the problem, officer?" He'd always wanted to say that.

"You're becoming the problem. Do I need to escort you away?"

Mickey put his hands on his hips. "Officer, I'm Blue Nova."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Mickey's face fell. "You mean, you haven't heard of me? Fast as light and just as bright?"

The officer pointed at one of his men. The man reached out to grab Mickey. Mickey flashed around him to his back.

The man grabbed thin air. "What. . .  Where did he go?"

A man holding a gun to a young girl's head appeared at an open window of the office building. "You have one minute left, officers, to give me passage out of here, or the girl gets it."

Mickey smiled. "So that's the problem. I can take care of this guy."

The head officer pointed at him. "Don't you dare do anything. This is a delicate situation. We're trained for this. Now leave or I'll have you in jail."

This guy didn't understand what he could do. He'd have to prove it. "Just watch, sir. I'm faster than a speeding bullet too." Mickey cupped a hand around his mouth and yelled, "You might as well go ahead and shoot her. We're taking you down."

The officer's face turned beat red and he ground his teeth together. "You idiot! You don't know what you're doing."

The man poked his head out the window of the office building. "Have it your way, officers. I have plenty of hostages to go through." He ducked back in and the beginning sound of a gunshot hit Mickey's ears.

Mickey raced for the door. From his perspective, every movement slowed to a bare crawl as he fled through the door of the office. He saw the girl on her knees, hands tied behind her back. The man who had talked with the officers stood over her, a gun pointed at the back of her head about four feet away. A bullet inched its way toward the back of her skull.

Sweet. I'll just knock the bullet up toward the ceiling. Don't want to put my hand in front of it. He sped to her, stopping as the bullet neared her neck. He only had one shot at this. He swung his hand underneath the bullet to meet it about an inch from her neck.

He didn't connect in the middle of the flying metal, but only nicked it, causing it to wobble up toward the top of her skull. "Blast it all!" He only had one option left.

Mickey snagged the base of the bullet with his right hand, clamped down as hard as he could, and braced his right arm with his left. Then he pulled as hard as he could.

The bullet neared her skin. Mickey yelled as he pulled back, throwing his body into it. He could feel the bullet slipping from his fingers. I can't let it go! Mickey bore down and grunted. He could feel the edge of the bullet moving across his fingertips. No! It escaped his grasp.

Mickey watched as the projectile pierced her skin. Blood slowly shot out, though he knew in normal speed it was spewing. The bullet stopped moving. It didn't go into the head. He must have slowed it down enough it didn't totally penetrate!

As the girl's head reacted to the impact, Mickey raced to each of the armed men, pulled the gun from their hands, and gave them a blow to the back of their heads, collapsing them onto the floor in slow-mo. He threw the weapons out the window, then scooped the young girl into his arms and fled out of the office building.

He exited speed mode by a waiting ambulance. "She needs attention. A bullet is lodged in her skull."

The medics jumped into action. Mickey laid her on a rolling bed and they examined the wound.

"Is she going to be okay?"

One of the medics glanced over his shoulders. "Won't know for sure until we get some x-rays, but from the looks of it, the worst it might have done is fracture her skull."

The other medic shook his head. "But she must have one hard head to stop a bullet like that. Never seen the likes of it before. By all rights she should be dead."

Mickey's gut churned. A hand rested on his shoulder.

The head officer stood beside him. "Sorry, Blue Nova. I guess I was wrong about you. You did know what you were doing."

Mickey stared at the young girl as her eyes blinked open. "No, sir. I didn't."

"I'd like to get your real name, to give you a commendation."

Mickey realized he had been holding his breath. He sucked in air. "Exit, suit." The business district faded away to be replaced by the bathroom stall.

"Mick. Are you in here?" Robert's voice sounded as stall doors opened and shut.

Mickey yanked his mask off and stuffed it into his pocket. The stall door opened and Robert stood before him. Mickey sat up.

Robert put a hand over his mouth and tried to hold back a laugh, without much success. "I see your problem, dim wit. It helps if you take your pants off first."

Mickey knew he'd never hear the end of this. "Not enough sleep last night, I'm afraid." He yawned. "I must have fell asleep."

"Whatever. But the teacher sent me in here to get you. Are you going to come peaceably like or not?"

Mickey stood up. "Let's go."

"By the way, you missed all the cool pictures."

Mickey figured he toyed with him, but it peeved him off anyway to think it might be true. He followed Robert back to the classroom and settled into his seat.

The teacher stared at Mickey for a moment before continuing. "Now class, we will have a pop quiz over the parts of the reproductive system.

Mickey grimaced. A piercing pain grew in his bladder. She would never believe him now. He lifted his hand.

-----------------

With Mickey's body safely in bed, he virtually sat in the control room at the Titan base as Vulture, watching blankly the bank of monitors displaying TV feeds from all over Earth.

"Hey, Mick." Jeremy as Astro Man sat in a seat next to him. "How goes it? What adventures are on tap for tonight's hero game?"

Mickey jerked his head around. "Those are real people, Bucko. Not some non-existent video game characters who will never care."

Jeremy backed away. "Hey. I know that more than anyone. What gives?"

Mickey returned to staring at the monitors. "Let's just say, I realized our 'game' isn't one to the people we're saving. We shouldn't treat it that way either."

Jeremy nodded. "I agree. But what brought about this realization?"

Mickey moistened his lips. "Knowing I can fail."

Jeremy patted Mickey on the shoulder. "Welcome to reality, Mick."

---

Read more about Mind Game and Hero Game, along with sample chapters and where they can be purchased.

Successful Plot Holes

One of the interesting facets of books and movies are how easy it is to write into your story gaping plot holes, to forget well-known facts, or to become inconsistent with what has gone before. Usually books and scripts will get line edits and copy edits, but often not content edits.

Yet despite these plot holes, violations of nature, and the laws of physics, some of these book and movies go on to great success and acclaim. So much so, I'm beginning to think I should purposefully write plot holes into my stories just to increase their chances of success!

By way of example, and I could chose many, let me take the movie, Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams and released in 2009. According to the stats, it received an 8 out of 10 rating. It had an estimated budget of $140,000,000 and grossed in the USA alone $257,704,099. By all rights, a successful movie venture for the studio, which is why two sequels are already in the works.

And yet, the movie was filled with problems from a content point of view. To give you a taste, we'll deal with the primary threat/conflict premise.

The "bad guy" has plans to destroy the Federation, one planet at a time. We'll give them the inter-parallel world travel through a created black hole of some kind. While that would be more akin to a worm hole, black holes are unknown enough that space opera like this can postulate such an affect without breaking believability.

However, the evil plan to destroy the Federation is to hover over a planet, drill a hole into the planet by dropping the drilling platform into the atmosphere, dangling by a big chain, from the ship in orbit. Then once the hole is drilled, drop a substance into it that will create a black hole, breaking apart and sucking the unsuspecting planet into it, effectively eradicating the planet from that universe. Right away we have problems.

1. For a ship to maintain an "orbit" over one spot on the planet, they would need to maintain a speed to match the plant's rotation, which would be not enough speed to maintain an orbit. Instead, they would have to have enough power for the ship to counteract the planet's gravity, while maintaining the correct position. Even if we give them a powerful enough ship to do that, what are the odds they can keep that drill right over the same spot? Would be hard to pull off from that altitude.

2. Related to the above, how precise can a drill hanging by a chain hundreds of feet long into an atmosphere from space possibly be? When you account for wind and other atmospheric turbulence, that platform should be bouncing and swaying like a drunkard at a drinking party. No way would that drill be as still as it was and create such a narrow hole.

3. Dropping the drill into the atmosphere on a long chain would create drag on the platform, and the chain would have been flexed, not a straight down drop, further complicating accuracy of the drilled hole. Likely the drill would not be perpendicular to the planet's surface, and would drill a hole diagonally into it as it shook from the forces being exerted upon it.

4. What is the point of dropping a drilling platform into the atmosphere on a very long chain to drill a hole? The Enterprise itself has drilled holes into planets using phasars on more than one occasion. Surely someone from the same era wouldn't need something so error prone as a huge platform dangling from space to drill a hole. Why have all that technology if you don't use it?

5. Black holes aren't easily controlled. Even if they could be confined within a predefined spherical circumference, the ship had a platform still hanging just over the planet. The black hole yanks on that, and the whole ship gets yanked down with it. By all rights, the first black hole they created to destroy Vulcan should have sucked them into oblivion too. It wouldn't just eat up the planet and leave everything else in orbit alone.

6. Kirk should be dead. He and the other two dive off the ship and fall along the chain, entering the atmosphere, and parachute onto the platform in an attempt to cut off the drill. Problem is, aside from the fact it would have taken them a lot longer to fall, being they are in orbit (hours at least assuming they are not at a full orbital speed), in which their air would have run out, they experience no atmospheric reentry burn. Kirk should be one crispy human falling into the atmosphere at that speed.

7. Here's the big plot hole large enough to fly the Enterprise through. The first planet the bad guy attacks and destroys is Vulcan. This is a race who have had warp drive longer than humans. They have flying ships. Ships with lasers or phasers or at least some kind of cutting tools for research. What's to prevent them from hopping in their ships and shooting that chain to bits, putting the drill out of service? As long as it took too drill, they had the time. Yet they are portrayed as helpless victims hiding in caves as their world collapses around them. This is an ending for the "How It Should Have Ended" crew.

Those touch on just some of the consistency problems and plot holes surrounding the main threat and conflict of the movie. But despite those huge problems, the movie did well. More are on the way.

Did I enjoy it? You bet I did. Why? The characters were done well, the chemistry was there, and it was a fun ride. I'll be there to see the sequels, which I'm sure will still have plot holes. Big ones. But I'll still enjoy them.

What other plot holes did you notice? What other successful movies do you like with big plot holes? Do those ruin a movie or book for you?

Interview with Mickey Linerman from Mind Game

R: Today on Entertainment Tomorrow, we have as our guest Mickey Linerman from the smash hit series, "The Virtual Chronicles." Book 1: Mind Game, book 2: Hero Game, and coming in 2013, book 3: Virtual Game. Mickey, say hi to our audience and say a bit about yourself.

M: Hi, audience. (waves hand) I'm a teen...I mean, young adult of 17 years. I live in a town in Montana, or did. Long story yet to be told. But it's a cool story. Anyway, I like games, so these stories play right into my strength.

R: And that would be...?

M: Why, flying space ships and shooting down the bad guys. What else is there?

R: I see you're a bit single-minded on that subject. But how old were you when this series started?

M: 15. To say the least, I've matured through the experiences.

R: In what way?

M: Well, I don't want to brag, but when you're going through the crazy...uh, excrement I've gone through, and helped to save the world more than once, it grows you up fast.

R: So what would you say is your role in this series?

M: (Laughs) To save Jeremy's butt.

R: Fill us in on who Jeremy is, for those unfamiliar with the books.

M: Oh, sure. Jeremy is my best friend. Most of the story is written from his point of view, but I get a slot here and there. He's a lot more cautious than me, but way too trusting of people sometimes. That's where I have to come in and keep him on his toes.

R: This might be a good time to let people know what the series is about. Give us a quick summary of Mind Game.

M: Summary, okay. Mind Game is about me and Jeremy getting trapped in a virtual reality game that, surprise, surprise, isn't all virtual, but interacts with reality in a galaxy far from Earth. Some dictator uses us and other players from Earth to fight in a real war. We try to escape. Things go horribly wrong. How it ends, you'll have to read to find out. Obviously we survive because there is a book two. Duh. But people do die.

R: And Hero Game?

M: We end up having virtual superhero powers, which is cool. We can change into any number of heroes. We thought we'd be fighting normal Earth crime, but then...don't want to give away too much, but some bad stuff happens because the brother of the bad guy in Mind Game comes looking for revenge on Jeremy and to take over Earth. Again, horrible stuff happens, and how it ends, you'll have to read. Plenty of twists and surprises in both books to keep it interesting.

R: And can you tell us anything about the upcoming book, Virtual Game?

M: Hum, we'll, I can say the threat comes from Earth, one we weren't expecting. I'd say of the three, it has a more ominous feel to it, and there is more conflict between us characters. Plus, we are put in an impossible survival situation. And what happens to us by the end was a surprise. Even for the author.

R: Thanks, Mickey, for being here with us. I look forward to reading your next adventure.

M: Thank you. Hey, is it time to eat that burger you promised?

R: (Clears throat) Sure. Let me sign us off here. Until next time, faithful followers, when we'll be back for another celebrity interview.

M: Wow! You mean I'm a celebrity?

R: (Shush) Goodbye, everyone.

Read more about Mind Game and Hero Game, along with sample chapters and where they can be purchased.

Jennifer Eifrig Interviews Me

Author Jennifer Eifrig has posted an interview of me. She asked some more unique questions than some I've had, and so you get some unique answers than perhaps you've heard from previous interviews with me. I think she did a great job, and am thankful for providing the opportunity.

Check out her interview with me and post comments on her site. You can here as well. Thanks for checking it out.

Hero Game Now in Print!

That's right. The ebook I published a few months back, I've finally come around to getting into print. I've got my copy...how about you?

From the back of the book:

Being virtual superheroes gives Jeremy, Mickey, and Bridget all of the glory with none of the danger. Using Zori's virtual engine, the trio can become any number of superheroes to right the wrongs on Earth.

But Jeremy hadn't counted on Lorian arriving in the Solar System, the brother of the alien Jeremy helped kill to save Zori. With revenge on Lorian's mind and the invasion of Earth in his plans, the super trio find the odds stacked against them. Earth's armies are defenseless before a virtual fleet they can't kill. The three superheroes are all that stand in the way of Lorian enslaving Earth before retaking Zori. It will take more than super powers to save Earth and Zori again.

To read more about it, go to the book's web page.

As of this writing, there are two places you can buy it. Either at CreateSpace or Amazon. It should be appearing at other outlets like Barnes and Noble as time goes by. The ebooks, however, are already available at most places.

If you get a copy and read it, I appreciate any reviews people can offer. Word of mouth is my best advertising. Thank you.

Hero Game Ebook Now Available!

Yes! The sequel to Mind Game is now here. Here's the blurb:

Book 2 of the Virtual Chronicles - Being virtual superheroes gives Jeremy, Mickey, and Bridget all of the glory with none of the danger. Using Zori's virtual engine, the trio can become any number of superheroes to right the wrongs on Earth. But Jeremy hadn't counted on Lorian arriving in the Solar System, the brother of the alien Jeremy helped kill to save Zori. With revenge on Lorian's mind and the invasion of Earth in his plans, the super trio find the odds stacked against them. Earth's armies are defenseless before a virtual fleet they can't kill. The three superheroes are all that stand in the way of Lorian enslaving Earth before retaking Zori. It will take more than super powers to save Earth and Zori again.

The print version will be available in the future. I'll announce it here and on Facebook when it is ready. But it may be a month or so, depending on how sales of the ebook go.

You can buy it on Kindle, Nook, or from Smashwords in any format your reader needs. Go to my published page to get the links.

Be sure to read the first book, Mind Game, if you've not read that one yet. It is an exciting space opera adventure, and leads into this story. If these two books do well, I'll be prompted to write more in this series, as the possibilities are endless.

Operation Christmas Gift by R. L. Copple

Jeremy stared blankly at the video screens stretching across the Titan station's wall as they scanned Earth's video feeds for crimes in progress. Glimpses of Christmas trees flashed across them as the world he called home, almost a billion miles away, prepared for Christmas the next morning.

"BJ, do you think we'll see Santa from here?" Bridget turned to watch Jeremy's eyes.

He barely cracked a smile. That would certainly get his mind off all the events of the past year. "No, Sis, I seriously doubt it." Jeremy met her eyes. Her short, brown hair brushed her shoulders. "Santa operates under the radar."

She huffed. "You make him sound like a bad guy."

"He does break into people's houses."

She slapped his arm. "To give stuff, not take it."

Jeremy felt his gut sink. "Christmas took my life from me. It took our parents from us." A year ago, he had parents, a normal life. All gone now. All because he had received that stupid helmet for Christmas, had put it on, had become involved with another world's battle, had saved them, then had become the hero who saved Earth from the revenge of the Similarians, but only after they killed his parents. A year later, his life turned upside down, the world moved on as if nothing had happened. He played virtual superheroes instead of living a normal life. Another Christmas came, but without the Mind Game this time. But he still had the hero game going.

She slumped in her seat. "I was trying not to think about that."

"Hey, Bucko."

Jeremy swung around to see Mickey stepping up behind him. "Hey, Mick. What took you?"

"Family returned late from a Christmas Eve service. Said I wanted to go to bed right away, like I couldn't wait until tomorrow." He smiled. "But I don't have to."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, you don't have to wait?"

Mickey slapped Jeremy on the back. "Because I have Astro Man right here. Just use that xray beam of yours and I'll know what they are tonight!"

Jeremy shook his head. "Mick, you're crazy."

"Oh, come on. I'm hoping they snagged the latest game--"

Jeremy jumped out of his seat. "What? Another game? Are you crazy?"

Mickey grimaced. "Bucko, what's the deal. It's just a video game."

Jeremy rubbed his forehead. "That's what we thought last year. Just a game. A game that stole my life from me."

Mickey's eyes grew wide. "Ah, of course. Christmas would be triggery for you. I'm sorry."

Jeremy sucked in a deep breath. "Forget it, Mick. It's all I can think about right now."

"What you need is some action. Anything on the vids tonight?"

Jeremy shook his head. "Christmas Eve is pretty quite all over the world it seems."

"Santa," Bridget's voice rang out.

Jeremy spun around to Bridget. "What?"

She pointed at a video screen. "There's Santa. And he's breaking into a house."

Mickey slapped his hands together. "There's our action. Let's take down Santa."

Jeremy held up a hand. "Mick, this is suspicious. Think about it. How would a live camera crew know about a break-in to a home as it happens and be there to record it?"

Mickey shrugged. "Happened to be in the right place at the right time? They've probably called the cops, but are filming it for the drama."

"Maybe." Jeremy stared at it a bit longer. "Aren't there movie plots about Santa stealing things?" Micky stared at him. Jeremy called out, "Computer, find movies where Santa steals." A screen went blank and then a list of titles appeared. The highest rated link read, "The Adventure of the Wrong Santa Claus" in 1914. Related links followed it.

Mickey read the results. "Are you saying the Zorians are behind this? Else I'm not following you. Santa thieves have been around forever."

"Yes...I mean, no. I doubt it is a Zorian. But it still makes me suspicious."

"Okay, so maybe it's a trap. Maybe it's not. And if it's not, guess who loses?"

Jeremy ran his fingers through his hair. "Yes, you're right. But stay together. My gut is saying something is wrong here."

"Agreed," Mickey responded.

Bridget jumped from the chair. "Sure, but we'll be virtual. We can't get hurt."

Jeremy stood. "Then as you say, Mick, let's do this."

Mickey grinned. "This will be good for you. You'll see."

Jeremy entered the coordinates. "Suit, appear as Astro Man."

The room faded and a breeze blew across his chin sticking out from below his helmet. The half-moon cast a dim glow over the residential neighborhood. A street light flickered a few yards to the right. Activity buzzed to his left where a camera crew recorded the house, waiting for the thief to exit. A siren blared in the distance, indicating the police were indeed on their way. Mickey was probably right. They would save someone's Christmas from being stolen and make some kids happy, at least.

Mickey appeared beside him as Blue Nova. Jeremy could barely make out the blue-green suit, blue briefs, and dark blue cape in the moonlight.

Bridget materialized as Rainbow Girl to his left. Her sparkly mask flaring at the end reflected the meager light.

Jeremy caught her eye. "Rainbow Girl?"

She smiled. "You catch 'em. I'm make 'em cooperative."

Jeremy nodded. "Sounds like a plan. You stay out here. Blue Nova and I will grab this guy." He turned toward Mickey. "I'll use my blinding flash on my gun, and while the crew is blinded, race in there and grab him, bring him to Rainbow Girl, and she'll make him giddy with cooperation."

Mickey saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Mick!"

"Lighten up, Bucko. Have a little fun with this. You're way too wound up."

Jeremy pulled his gun out and set it for the light blast. "You should never let your guard down. Assume nothing."

"It's just a lone Santa thief. What could go wrong?"

"I hope your right." Jeremy pointed the gun toward the camera crew. "Hide your eyes. On three. One, two, three!" Jeremy squeezed the trigger and a blast of light lit up the area. The camera crew rubbed their eyes and swore in the quiet neighborhood. Within a second, Mickey flashed back with a squirming man in his arms. Mickey dropped him on the ground.

"What the--" The man stayed on the ground.

Bridget extended her arms and flow of rainbow colors enveloped the man.

Santa's eyes blinked and a grin spread across his face. "So much for my Christmas. But that's okay. I'm happy anyway."

Jeremy pointed to the street. "Go sit on the curb and wait for the police. Give yourself up when they arrive."

"Oh gladly I will. I was so bad to try and steal...you."

Jeremy's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

The back of the news van flung open. A line of soldiers carrying automatic rifles streamed out the door. Jeremy raised his gun to set it for shields, but before he could, a rain of bullets spread over them. He could feel the bullets hitting him. He would have called out to exit the suit, but dying in the virtual body would accomplish the same thing. This did appear to be a trap, but what trap? They would wake up and come back again. Apparently they didn't know much about how virtual bodies worked. But why did the army set this trap?

As life ebbed from the virtual body, he saw Mickey drop out of nova speed and fall to the ground. He hadn't reacted fast enough, despite his super speed. He felt himself falling onto the grass as blackness swept over him.

Jeremy jerked his eyes open. He tried to focus, but the ceiling he saw was not the stucco of his uncle's house at the top of a Montana mountain. Instead, polished metal greeted his eyes. He pushed himself up.

Thick hands wrapped around his arms and another pulled the cowl off his face. "Commander, Operation Christmas Gift has been completed, sir."

Jeremy groaned inwardly. Their bodies had been captured while they were virtual. Two men on either side of him kept a firm grip on his arms, another two stood toward the foot of his bed, rifles aimed at the floor, ready to use. No doubt another two stood behind him.

A higher ranking solider beside his bed examined the cowl. "Very interesting. I'm sure our scientist will have a field day with this."

Jeremy noticed the American flag attached to their uniforms. US military. "Earth's best scientist couldn't figure out how the helmets operated. What makes you think this will be easier?"

A smug smile creased his lips. "We've actually made progress in figuring out some of the Mind Game helmets. But we're missing a point of reference."

Jeremy squinted at him. "What?"

"Point of reference. The helmets, as you know, don't work. And even when they did, the destination was in another galaxy. But with these in hand and the destination being in the same room, they'll be able to trace the energy field being created, and hopefully come up with the remaining pieces of the puzzle."

Jeremy let himself fall back to the cot. The soldier’s hands loosened but remained firm. "No one can use the mask but me. Same with the other mask Mickey and Bridget have. They are programmed to respond only to our voices."

The man shot a stare at Jeremy. "You'll forgive me if I don't trust you."

"Be my guest." Jeremy turned to meet his eyes. "But how did you find us?"

He waved his hand. "Simple deduction. When the superhero appearances began to be reported all over the world, and you're friend and sister's personas helped in defending Earth, it became obvious that the same virtual reality of the Mind Game was at work. From there you were the most logical culprits. We tracked down your locations and set the trap to grab you."

Jeremy stared at the wall. He should have foreseen this possibility. "Why, though? Why revert to kidnapping us?"

The soldier stuffed the cowl into his pocket. "Control, Jeremy Goodhue. The Army likes to have control over situations. And I didn't suspect you'd approve of us gaining that control. But if we can duplicate this technology, our forces would be invincible. We can fight wars on the ground without losing a life. With a legion of virtual Blue Novas to speed in and hit the enemy before they even blink, we could maintain control for decades. Centuries even. Can you imagine the progress? Can you see the peace we could uphold?"

Jeremy knew he didn't want to tell the man anything else. Let him think he could succeed. As soon as the Zorians caught wind of it, they'd shut off the virtual energy going through the wormhole and that would be that. No more superhero days for himself, Mickey, and Bridget. But then again, that didn't sound so bad. He wouldn't mind putting the whole thing behind him, and salvage what he could of his life.

"Peace?" Jeremy breathed deep. "By killing?"

He smiled. "Youthful idealism. I'm afraid the world is a dangerous place. Some people only understand one thing. Brut force."

Jeremy grumbled under his breath, "That's what all bullies think."

"What?" The Commander stared at him for a couple of seconds. Then turned and headed for the door. He paused as he opened it. "By the way. Merry Christmas, Jeremy." He left and shut the door behind him.

Jeremy groaned. "We may have killed Rillian, but his spirit lives on."

___________

The Commander returned to the room after an hour had passed. His face grim, he faced Jeremy lying on the cot. "You were right. We have to use you to get the mask to operate. Come with me." He turned on his heels and headed to the door.

Arms pulled Jeremy off the cot. He stumbled along beside the soldiers as they exited the room and marched down the hall. The Commander stopped in front of a door and pointed at the window.

Jeremy moved to look in, keeping his eyes fixed on the Commander's stoic gaze. He peered in and saw Uncle George sitting on a cot, coveralls and hat as if they'd snatched him while he milked the cows.

"Just want to ensure your cooperation. If you resist or try anything foolish, it won't go well for your uncle, sister, or friend."

Jeremy met his gaze. "We're United States citizens. What about our constitutional rights to due process? You can't threaten us like this."

A smile cracked on his lips. "To the government, the Congress, and the Constitution, we don't exist. You'll have a hard time suing an organization that doesn't exist."

"How do I know you have my sister and friend?"

The Commander nodded down the hall. They stopped at the next two cell doors. Bridget sat on the cot rocking her feet under it. Mickey circled his cot as if deep in thought. "Satisfied?"

Jeremy nodded, and followed the soldiers down the hall, a right turn into another hall, a left, and a few doors on the right, they entered a room. Waist-high tables lined the walls. Chairs sat scattered in front of them, and soldiers worked on different projects. Centrifuges, Bunsen burners, test tubes, microscopes, and various other lab equipment littered the table-tops.

But in the center of the room stood a dentist-like chair fastened with heart monitors, IVs, and a foil ring that swiveled off the top of the chair's back, as if it would fit on someone's head. A moveable light hoovered over the chair. Jeremy guessed the light wasn't to get a better view of one's mouth.

The soldiers jumped to their feet as the Commander strolled to the center of the room. He patted the chair. "Lay down here."

Jeremy didn't see he had any other option. So he crawled into the chair and laid his head against the back. Jeremy watched as the Commander reached onto the table where one soldier stood at attention, and picked up his cowl. He saw Bridget's and Mickey's masks laying beside it.

The Commander held the mask in front of Jeremy. "You will put this on, then appear in this room as one of your characters. If you do not appear here, I will order the termination of one of those we are holding."

Jeremy's jaw dropped. "Murder?" He had to be bluffing.

"Oh, it would be an accident. Your Uncle falls off the mountain. Your sister drowns in a lake. Your friend shows up in an automobile accident while walking home. All after we terminate them and plant the evidence. We could even implicate you in their deaths if we wished. Now you don't want their blood on your hands, do you?"

"Investigators would know they didn't die that way." Jeremy gritted his teeth. "You couldn't get away with such things!"

The Commander stared into Jeremy's eyes. "We have, we are, and we will again. Now are we clear?"

Jeremy bore into the Commander's eyes. If the man was bluffing, he couldn't tell. Nor could he take the chance he wasn't. "You're clear. I'll cooperate."

"Good." He handed Jeremy the cowl.

Jeremy slipped it over his head and leaned back. The ring was snuggled down upon his head. He whispered in hopes they wouldn't pick up they words, but the mask would. "Suit, appear here as Astro Man."

The room dimmed, then reappeared, except he now stood to the side of the chair watching his body breathing in front of him. Feet scurried behind him. "Hand's up!"

Jeremy raised his hands. He saw fingers wrap around his gun and then yank it from its holster. The soldier held the ray gun in his hand. A slight smile spread over the man's lips.

Jeremy nodded at the gun. "Careful with that, dude. Whatever you do, don't pull the trigger."

The Commander jumped to the soldier and pulled it from his hands. He turned it over as he examined it. "Why? What would happen."

Jeremy forced a grin to stay hidden. "Trust me. The last thing you want to do is pull that trigger."

The Commander continued to scan the gun. "Sargent, start the energy trace from the body to the virtual body."

"Sir, yes, sir." Several of the men turned back to their work.

The Commander lifted the gun's barrel and rested it over his extended left arm. He pointed it at the far wall where stood a two-feet thick titanium three by three foot wall. A blackened area covered the center of the metal wall as if lasers had hit it countless times.

"Sir, do you think that is a good idea? We should interrogate the prisoner first to know what it does."

The Commander turned and stared at the officer for a long five seconds before responding. "You're out of line, soldier. This is a ray gun. This dial on top sets the strength. Anyone can see that."

The soldier shrank back to this table. Another officer called out, "Yes, sir. But I saw--"

The Commander ignored the officer and pulled the trigger. The last setting Jeremy had used being the light blast with the camera crew, the room filled with a blinding light. Rifles clattered to the floor as everyone hid from the light.

Jeremy, protected by his helmet's visor, dove to his ray gun falling from the Commander's hand, caught it in midair, spun around, and landed on his back. He flipped the gun to the stun ray before anyone could regain their sight or respond, and spun himself around on the floor, dropping everyone in the room with a series of thuds and clanks.

"Suit, appear here as Inviso Dude." The room darkened and returned with the bluish glow of the invisibility field. He leaped to his feet and grabbed Bridget and Mickey's mask from the table, then scooped up his own body lying in the chair and flopped it over his shoulder. "Man, I've got to lose some weight."

Jeremy stopped by the Commanders unconscious body. "I told you, you didn't want to pull that trigger." He wondered if the Commander had ever read the story of Briar Rabbit. And he thanked God that the Commander was numbered among the men who didn't think they needed to read the instructions.

With the invisibility field cloaking both his virtual and real body, he stepped through the door, down the hallway, and into Mickey's cell. He pulled Mickey's mask from his pocket and threw it onto the cot.

Mickey stopped his pacing and jumped. "What the..." His eyes widened. "Bucko?"

"Put it on, Mick, grab your body once you've gone virtual, and then hold onto me. I'll extend the invisibility shield around you so we can walk through the door."

Mickey flopped onto his cot and yanked the mask on. "Suit, appear here as Blue Nova." Blue Nova materialized beside the cot. He pulled his body onto his shoulder, grabbed hold of Jeremy's arm, and became invisible. Jeremy headed for the wall and they stepped into Bridget's cell.

"Sis, put this on." He threw her mask onto the cot. She smiled and jumped up clapping. She put on the mask and became Comet Girl. Jeremy knelt down and pulled Bridget's limp body onto his other shoulder. "Hold onto me everyone. We have one more person to get. They walked through the next wall and into Uncle George's cell. Uncle George latched onto the chain of people. Jeremy could feel the energy drain on him. "Quick, though this door. I can't hold the field much longer."

Jeremy kept his focus on the energizing the field as they entered the hallway. They released Jeremy, causing Bridget, Uncle George, and Mickey holding his body to become visible again. Jeremy breathed easier.

Mickey glanced down each hallway. "Now how do we get out of here? Wherever here is."

The sound of footsteps sounded down the hallway. Jeremy frowned though no one could see it. "I think they've discovered my breakout. Mickey, give me your body and do a quick recon. Knock out the soldiers coming, and find out where the way out is."

"You're wish is my command." He slipped his body to Jeremy, who piled it on top of his own. Jeremy thanked Holbreth for giving Inviso Dude super human strength.

Mickey sped away into a blur. Jeremy motioned to the rest. "Follow me this way. Comet Girl, scatter some knockout comet dust behind us. Mickey won't be affected by it because he's going too fast."

She nodded. "One dose of sleeping dust, coming up." As Jeremy led Uncle George down the hall away from the coming boots, Bridget extended her hand and scattered dust into the air as she walked backwards.

Sounds of grunts and guns clattering to the floor echoed down the hall. Jeremy doubted they ever saw Blue Nova hit them. Uncle George glanced back. "Is he all right?"

"He's fine. Don't worry about him." Jeremy rounded a corner to find four soldiers pointing rifles at them. Before Bridget could follow him, Jeremy yelled, "Back!" Bullets whizzed harmlessly through him. "Comet Girl, send dust this way."

Bridget stuck her hands around the corner and showered the men with dust. They collapsed onto the floor. Jeremy said, "It's clear." The pair followed him again.

A steel door loomed in front of them. A blue streak stopped in front of Jeremy and Blue Nova appeared. "It must be this way. I checked a few hundred bunk rooms, eating rooms, bathrooms, rec rooms, laboratories, cells, etc., and they were all dead ends."

"Very well." Jeremy stepped through the door and examined the area beyond it. A hanger greeted him dotted with jets. Multiple soldiers worked on the aircraft and guarded the area. A big door that Jeremy bet led outside stood on one side of the massive walls.

Jeremy stepped back into the hallway. "This is certainly the way out. But there are a lot of soldiers on the other side of this door. I'll step you through, Blue Nova, then you can take out as many as possible while I break a hole through this door and we can escape."

Mickey nodded. "Let's do this."

Jeremy held onto Mickey's shoulder until he was through the door, then released him. He watched a moment as Mickey zoomed from person to person, knocking them out with a hit to the head. Jeremy pulled back into the hallway.

"Suit, appear here as Astro Man." The hallway faded to black immediately returned, but seen through the visor of his helmet. "Now I'll use my gravity ray to blow a hole in this door. Stand back, you two." He reached for his gun.

"Halt!" the Commander's voice rang out.

Jeremy jerked his head around. His gut twisted at the sight. The Commander stood, arms crossed, surrounded by ten soldiers pointing rifles at Bridget, himself, and Uncle George.

"Deactivate your virtual personas now, or I'll fire on your uncle." The Commander's eyes bore down upon Jeremy, daring him to disobey.

Jeremy glanced at Uncle George. Uncle George stared at the rifles with wide eyes and backed up against the wall. Jeremy checked on Bridget. She'd closed her eyes and bowed her head as if admitting defeat. He knew there was no way he could pull his gun fast enough to initiate the force field or take any action before they pulled the trigger. And Blue Nova, trapped on the other side of the door, couldn't help either.

"Now, Jeremy!" The Commander lifted his hand to give the order.

Jeremy held up a hand. "Okay, you win." He breathed deep. "Suit--"

A blast of light filled the small hallway. A force knocked Jeremy off his feet. His helmet's visor protected him from the light, but he flew through the air, slammed against the wall and crumbled to the floor. The helmet had protected his head from serious injury, but his body felt like it had been hit with a giant hammer. The force rebounding off the door smashed into Jeremy's body and shoved him ten feet across the hall. Every bone in his body ached, and he could barely move.

"BJ, I mean, Astro Man, are you all right?"

Jeremy felt a hand on his head. He cracked an eye open to see a blurry Comet Girl standing over him. "Was that you?"

"Uh hu. Sorry I couldn't protect you, but I felt keeping a protecting field over Uncle George and our bodies was more important."

Jeremy nodded. "I'll reset myself. Suit, appear here as Astro Man." The room faded and with it, the pain. It reappeared and now he could see clearly and felt strong. He hopped to his feet and examined the pile of unconscious bodies. "Comet Girl sure knows how to pack a punch."

Bridget giggled. Uncle George rubbed her head. "You can say that again."

Jeremy pulled the ray gun from its holster and dialed in the gravity ray. He pointed it at the door and pulled the trigger. It burrowed into the metal, and a red glow spread across the door as the beam dissolved the molecular cohesion, disintegrating a hole into the thick metal.

Blue Nova flashed to a stop in front of Jeremy. "About time. What took ya?"

Jeremy pointed at the pile of men. "Needed to clean up after ourselves."

Mickey smiled and slapped Jeremy on the shoulder. "Way to go, Bucko. That'll teach 'em."

"It wasn't me. Thank Comet Girl here. I was ready to surrender."

Mickey tussled her hair. "I should have known when I heard an explosion in here." He turned back to Jeremy. "But now what?"

"First, let's get out of here. No doubt they have cameras all over this place. We can't discuss plans here. You take yours and Bridget's bodies. I'll take Uncle George's and my body in my ship. Comet Girl can fly. We'll meet again once we are clear of this place and figure out where to go from there."

Mickey nodded. "Sounds good. Let's do this."

Bridget gave a thumbs up. "Yes. Let's."

Uncle George said, "Anything to get out of here."

Mickey picked up his and Bridget's bodies, and Jeremy grabbed his own while Uncle George and Bridget followed him through the doorway. "Watch your step. The edges of the door are still hot."

Once into the hanger, Jeremy called out, "Suit, call ship." A dark jet-like aircraft materialized in the center of the hanger. The wings slicked back and pointed upwards at the tips. The rear tale marked the shape of a V. The glass hatch raised open from the back where the ship's nose narrowed to a point and angled slightly downward. Uncle George crawled into the back seat.

Jeremy settled his body into Uncle George's lap. "Sorry for the tight quarters, Uncle."

"Just get us out of here."

Jeremy saluted. "Sir, yes, sir." Then he hopped into the pilot's seat and lowered the hatch. After firing up the space jet, it rose from the ground. Jeremy aimed the ship's gravity ray and blasted the hanger doors. A red glow spread from the center followed by the disappearing wall. Sunlight poured in as the hole grew. Jeremy shoved the throttle forward. The ship accelerated toward the door and into the air of freedom.

Jeremy engaged the radio in his suit. "Mickey, I'm going to send the government a Christmas present. Give me a minute."

"Gotcha."

Jeremy banked and came back around to the hanger door. He flipped the ship's camera on and filmed the smoke rising from the side of a mountain. As he dove back into the hanger, slowed to a stop, hoovered around, and then blasted back out, he added the following audio narrative:

"Dear Mr. President and members of Congress. What you are seeing here is the secret base of a hidden military unit, or so I've been told. They kidnapped Astro Man, Blue Nova, and Comet Girl in order to steal our power. I was told you do not know of this unit, that it doesn't exist in the books. And they threatened to ignore our constitutional rights upon capturing us. Even threatening to kill innocent civilians if we didn't cooperate. You can see the coordinates displayed on the video of the site's location. I'm sure you'll figure out how to proceed with this information. Thank you."

Jeremy saved the file, then addressed an email to the president, top cabinet members, and key members of congress, attached the video, and hit send. Jeremy couldn't help but grin. Even if some were in on the plot, now that it was exposed it would die a quick death. And if it was truly a hidden organization, investigations and prosecutions were sure to follow.

Jeremy opened up the radio. "Blue Nova and Comet Girl. Operation Christmas Gift has been completed."

"What was the gift?" Mickey responded.

"The gift of truth. When truth is born, its light forces changes. Usually big changes. Just like it did almost two thousand and fifty years ago." Jeremy smiled. "See that plateau I'm headed to?"

"Yes."

"We'll all met there. We can't return to our homes now. We'll have to take our bodies to Titan and figure out a plan of attack from there. We'll discuss the details on the plateau."

"Will do."

Jeremy focused as he angled the ship for a landing. Now he not only had lost his normal life and his parents because of these powers, he'd lost the last semblance of normalcy he had left: a home.

Jeremy felt Uncle George's hand on his shoulder. "Jeremy, you've done good. I'm right proud of ya."

Jeremy smiled. He hadn't lost everything. He still had family and friends. And that mattered more than being normal. Now that was a real Christmas gift.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle. I love you too."

The preceding story comes from the world of Mind Game, and Hero Game, the next novel in the series expected in the Spring of 2012. Click the link to learn more about the series and to discover where you can buy Mind Game for yourself or as a gift. Ebooks in all formats available.