Stuart Templeton

The Old Barrows

2021-11-12T16:00:00+00:00

“The steel beast stalked the abandoned streets of the Old Barrows, its malfunctioning telemetry beacons echoing from crumbling structure to structure. Fresh silicon, its only ravenous desire, rogue drone signals its singular focus,” he said, leaning into the lone glow of the data cube.

“Oh my gosh! What happens next?!” a tiny synthetic voice exclaimed, her excitement muffled by an equally tiny articulated alloy hand.

The Octavius Trap

2021-09-08T16:00:00+00:00

The savanna vegetation rippled in the warm eastern winds, dancing in the valley under the morning sun, warm and inviting. Neither awake, nor asleep. Not inert, but not alive.

“No,” she said. “The pond. The reflection. Something is wrong, prepare to abort surface operations.”

Patiently, it sat. Still hungry.

The Seat of Teles

2021-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

The city sat in silence, hidden and entombed by the crumbling society that once walked its streets. The faint cry of a lone beacon surged through the aether, unanswered and unheard, the hum of its power core dimming with each revolution.

Amalga-X

2021-09-01T16:00:00+00:00

The ground shook with a low rumble as the debris cloud rolled through the towers of the flight deck. Distant screams drowned in the deafening crackle of the creature’s electric breath.

Amalga-X had awakened. The evacuation was too late.

Amalis IV

2021-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

The island sat in the center of a sea of sulfur, a vast, barren rock, cresting the waves, the putrid smell of decay permeating the heavy air. Rusted piles of crumpled automatons littered the horizon, punctuating the charred remains of the ancient city’s structure.

“We found it, “ she noted into the journal unit. “Looking for the source now.”

The Whispering Delve

2021-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

Spores danced in the cold cavern air, sparkling in the moon light, humming softly as they fell, like a delicate whisper in the dark. The xenospeleologists tapped nervously on the imaging readout unit mounted on his exo-suit.

“XSP WARNING: Resonant Mapping Interference Detected,” the unit barked.

A Cloud of Light

2021-08-20T16:00:00+00:00

He peered from behind the monolithic sandstone pillars, past the blinding, golden dunes, to the ceremonial grid. He squinted, barely able to make out the shimmering humanoid form emerging from the cloud of light.

“We have another entry, “ a voice crackled through the atmospheric static. “Prepare to engage on my mark.”

Through the Horizon

2021-08-18T16:00:00+00:00

The replication algorithm of the gravity-well bifurcation protection system failed, sending ultra high frequency scan-lines tearing through the test pylon. “Damn, “ blurted Dr. Lett, “I thought for sure this would be our ticket home!”

The Celestial Dance

2021-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

We always thought the invasion would be a sentient, malevolent force that sought to eradicate us. We never considered that we would be inconsequential, irrelevant to the spores in the gray, deuterium heavy cloud through which our orbit delicately danced.

Phase 2 Activity

2021-08-11T16:00:00+00:00

The light from the orbital sensor array flickered across his face as he reached for the ship-wide broadcast button. “Soil and water data are now within tolerance. Surface Cultivation Team, you are clear for Phase 2 activity.”