CHAPTER FIVE

"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

-Sherlock Holmes

“And now,” said Scully, leaning back in the captain’s chair. “We wait.”

“That was impressive. I think you might have damaged his hearing, Scully.”

She gave Mulder a ( Read more... )

CHAPTER FOUR

"Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it."
-Christopher Morley

WILD KARRDE GALLEY CORRIDOR
MIDRIM SPACE
November 12, 2019
5:34 A.M

Mara's eyes narrowed, and in one deft twist, the situations were reversed and the strange boy was pinned against the wall.

"I think the question," she spat. "Is who are you?"
( Read more... )

Chapter Three

”If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
--Winston Churchill

STAY AND SAVE MOTEL
HOUSTON, TEXAS
November 12, 2019
4:13 A.M.

Millions of lightyears away, Dana Scully sat up in bed, gasping.

Mulder was awake instantly, his arms curving around her back and steadying her as her hand drifted to her chest.

"You ( Read more... )

CHAPTER TWO

"In dreams begin responsibility."
--William Butler Yeats

THE WILD KARRDE
OUTER RIM SPACE
November 11, 2019
3:34 P.M

"It's not of any make I've ever seen," said Faughn. "Mara?"

Mara Jade said nothing, choosing instead to flip her long, red braid behind her back and squint her eyes out the viewport at the shuttle ( Read more... )

CHAPTER ONE

Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime.
~William Shakespeare

FBI NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
November 10, 2019
5:15 P.M.

This office had more space than the basement had. A large mahogany desk was the focal point, with neat rows of shiny new filing cabinets lining ( Read more... )

Jysella's knees knock against the side of the bathtub as she leans over, resting her head on the plasteel edge. Her arms, clamped tightly around the knees drawn against her chest, are white, and there are small red marks developing on the underside of her legs where the fingernails have clamped into flesh. The air tastes like steam, and the only ( Read more... )

Croatoan - Chapter Two

"Does the air smell funny to you, Mara?"

The oppressive heat made Mara's thin clothes feel like thick, dry blankets that itched against her skin, except in joints and curves, which were damp with sweat and rubbed slightly raw. The air stank of dry, waterless sand mixed with body odor and animal feces that had been ( Read more... )

Croatoan

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

Mara Jade, human female smuggler
Luke Skywalker, human male Jedi master
Gerrick Koor, human male smuggler
Willoughby Darklighter, human male City Administrator
Mark Whitesun, human male mechanic
Isabel Whitesun, human female housewife
Katya Terra, human female Jedi apprentice
Bren ( Read more... )