Intention:     To create a clear image in the reader’s mind of what the bridge of the Destiny looks like; to increase understanding of the background plot; plant a hook into the next scene

Genre:     Science Fiction

The bridge was a hum of activity dominated by a forward view screen that had been set to show the soft velvet of space strewn. Mitchell Ogawa bent over his console oblivious to the intriguing sight, while to his right the science officer also ignored the glittering spectacle. Only the captain spared the time to contemplate the screen as she waited expectantly for Liam and Kineu to arrive. Lorok had discovered a small star system that looked too inviting to pass up.  No sign of Nexus but she thought the delay would be worthwhile. Destiny was still in need of repair after their battle with the Rojans, and stocking up on supplies was always a concern now that they were so far from known space.

The lift doors hissed open. Finally, someone had arrived. She swung about in her chair to greet the new arrival, but was halted by the look of horror on Mitchell Ogawa’s face. His rich complexion had paled to grey with shock. To her left, she heard a quick intake of breath from Lorok. Her body completed its revolution, and her eyes recorded what had so shaken her two seasoned officers.

Kineu lay on the floor of the turbo lift. His back was arched in an impossible U, while his fingers spasmed against the grey carpet.  An eerie moaning emerged from his bluing lips.

She leapt up.

“Mr. Ogawa, displace him to Sickbay, at once.” Sinkiewicz’s command cut through the confusion holding Mitchell Ogawa mute at Communications. He pulled himself together, and forced his eyes away from the convulsing figure. His fingers raced over the control panel, transferring the flicker of energy needed to displace Kineu to the waiting doctor.

“Mitchell, you have the bridge. Lorok, join me in Sickbay.” As the lift’s doors closed Mitchell moved from his position at Communications, down the two stairs to the command chair. He practiced the calm expression that usually graced Kineu’s face in troubling situations. Judging from the other officers’ faces he had failed. Five years on Destiny still hadn’t prepared him for the shock of seeing a commanding officer down and writhing.

Intention:    To develop the character, Kineu, through the techniques of introspection, dialogue, action and interaction with other characters.

Genre:    Science Fiction

His breath pooled in his chest, then puffed passed his lips. A meditation stone cooled the palm of his hand. In and out – forget about crystillium thrusters, spatial anomalies, crew squabbles, duty assignments, and Nexus attacks.

Kineu sighed. When he was a boy, his grandfather had told him that meditation was the path to the peace of his ancestors. Too bad his butt hadn’t paid attention to the lesson. He shifted to relieve the cramp and tried to focus. How do you think about nothing and still stay alert? Why couldn’t it be like his dream last night? Kineu tried to dismiss his errant thoughts but it was too late. The images flow, as clear now as they had been upon awaking that morning.

A gleaming white wolf nudges his hand in greeting. Kineu honors its welcome with one of his own, stepping lightly through desert air to sit by a pool of water. Ripples of memory disturb its surface only briefly.  He brushes the thoughts away … brushes the pool

turns his palms skyward

rests them

open

on crossed knees cupping gently the meditation stone

of his father’s father

given to him in ceremony

a seeker

of  light

he opens his heart

to greet his soul …

Into his vision stalks a jaguar. Black muscles ripple past the moon silver wolf. Soft pads whisper near the sinew of the seeker’s shoulder. The jaguar’s tongue laps at the clear water, while yellow eyes

narrow and suspicious

furtively study -in quick fearful glances –

the leather clad Anishnabeg.

Deliberately he remains silent.

Muscles struggle to remain still.

His breath, so regular at first, catches in his throat. The big cat is unexpected…

The cat growls, soft and menacing, in Kineu’s ear. Its breath, hot and sweet, brushes his cheek. Already he can feel his hair stirring in response. He readies himself for the attack, and reaches for a gun he knows isn’t there.

“Brrrrt.”

Kineu’s cellcom chirped. Automatically his hand reached for the device clipped to his belt.

“Sorry for interrupting, Commander.” Mitchell Ogawa’s voice was a cheerful interruption in the silent room. The young officer had been on duty for several hours already, but nothing could put a dent in his enthusiasm.

“Is there a problem, Ensign?” Kineu’s voice rasped uncomfortably in his ears. Their ship, Destiny, hadn’t encountered Nexus since leaving Commonwealth space three years ago but circumstances could change in a hurry.  To date, their explorations had resulted in few friendships and more than a few squirmishes. Folks in this quadrant of space weren’t particularly friendly with strangers

Ogawa understood the first officer’s concern. Even though Destiny had found no sign of the Nexus homeworld, there was always the hope (and the fear) that today would be the day.  “No sign of Nexus sir, but sensors have detected a new star system.  Captain Sinkiewicz wants you on the bridge.” Mitchell’s voice reassured the first officer.

“I’m on my way.” The words were barely out of Kineu’s mouth before the whoosh of the door signaled his exit. He padded quietly down the grey corridor, his body a compact study in muscle. Crewmen stepped from his path, aware of the strength held beneath passive facial muscles. Black heels clipped the carpeted corridor. Spine straight and eyes direct, only his hair proclaimed he wasn’t totally military. It hung straight down his back, held in place by a simple leather knot.

 Even after three years, Danu La Fey thought, Kineu still had the air of a Midewewin… of a freedom fighter. If anyone had asked her four years ago about serving aboard a Commonwealth ship she would have laughed. Now? Well, even Midewewin principles had to give way to practicality. The Nexus was too great an enemy for the Midewewin to fight alone, and the Commonwealth had finally decided that diplomacy wouldn’t end the war. Kineu had agreed to merge the best of his crew from Raven with the best that the Commonwealth had to offer. The result was Destiny and their mission to hunt down the Nexus.  “Hey, have you tried that new virtual reality program I wrote for you?” Her crisp voice cut through Kineu’s preoccupation, while her strides matched his purposeful gait.

Kineu glanced down. Danu, as always, looked frailer than she was. A human might have mistaken her for a blue pixie, but her species was far more ferocious. “Not yet, but I’m hoping that your program will help me with my meditation exercises.” None of his disappointment peeked through the mask he wore for the crew. It was no secret that he was searching for a way to harness the telepathic powers of his people but not even Danu knew how much it meant to him.

He forced a smile and changed the subject. “So, how are you feeling? Is Liam looking after you?”  The first officer made an effort to keep his voice even. Even though Liam Tennyson had proven himself a loyal member of Destiny’s crew, Kineu couldn’t forget that years’ earlier the younger man had almost destroyed the Midewewin council. Maybe Danu’s husband wasn’t the fool he had been, but Kineu still wondered.

“Liam is driving me crazy,” Danu sighed. “Every day he reviews the food groups’ chart and quizzes me on my eating habits. If he isn’t trying to feed me, then he’s questioning my hours in Engineering. If he had his way, I would be lying down in our quarters right now!” Danu’s voice quivered with disgust. Pregnancy had softened her Gael physique but hadn’t touched her temper.

Kineu halted abruptly. Catching her shoulder, he steadied her against a stumble.  “Can you blame him? Not only is the Nexus killing and enslaving most of free space, but they’ve also figured out a way to arrest fetal development. You and Liam are an anomaly. Your baby is actually going to make it to term.”  He softened his voice. “Sure he’s being over zealous but with good reason. Just be patient.”

Lips quirking over her testiness, Danu nodded and resumed walking. “You’re right. I’ve got to remember the big picture. He’s just so annoying at times that I forget.”

Kineu paused at the lift, and raised an eyebrow. “Bridge?”

“No,” she chuckled at the irony, “I’m meeting Liam for breakfast.”

 Kineu stepped onto the waiting platform. The lift silently propelled him towards his destination. For a moment, as the floor moved beneath his feet, Kineu swayed. Vertigo, swift and hushed as death, swirled past his eyes. His black and grey clad shoulder protested his sudden stumble. Fingers splayed against cool metal –

gold eyes wink at him out of the mists

menacing and alien,

he stuggles to stand

to assess the threat, but low growls rumble in his ears

push him further from his objective …

his uniform and the colours of blood and fur

mix,

and gold watches him

–        feral –

fear tastes bitter in his mouth and bile

presses against his teeth …

Intention:     To create a well rounded character through the techniques of description and introspection.

Genre:     Fantasy

She paused for a moment.

The brush balanced precariously in her hand, halted in mid-motion as if a button had been pushed. What could it mean? Her dark eyes sought confirmation of the thought that had skittered through her mind like a sewer rat in pursuit of a rotten morsel.

The only thing looking back at her was her own reflection.

Tiny, almost elfin, features. Black hair tumbling in wild waves to the small of her back. Winged brows framing midnight blue eyes. Red lips. Nothing much to look at, really, she mused. She would never win any beauty contests.

Reessa shrugged. Luckily she wasn’t too worried about winning any contests. She was too busy studying to be a wise woman. Of course, she had a long way to go before she received even her first tattoo. Wise woman training began at thirteen, and continued – well, Reessa wasn’t actually sure when it ended. To be sure, only one woman that she knew had ever covered her entire body with the cobalt markings and even then Greya said that she hadn’t fully attained wisdom. There was still a small circle of flesh coloured flesh on her left shoulder blade.

Time out of time

we spin the wheel of fortune

hoping for a happier fate

than the girls who went before

Focus:      Experimenting with word play, metaphor, and personal point of view

I’m good

until 6:00 p.m.

puttering in creative content-

ment

playing teacher, mother, confidante

and teaching myself

new distractions

I overload my plate

in an orgy of busy-ness

mask my gluttony

with small helpings

of surface chat

…

but evening always

arises

as surely as the battery on my machine of self distraction

flickers and dies

too soon

time to sleep

or not

Focus:     Developing an analogy; contrasting long and short lines to create rhythm and emphasis

I read

about love, heartache, loss

and the teen dreamer in me

recognizes the story

as a reflection of my own

… losing yourself in fantasy

in the Harlequin sensuality

of the rabbit hole

is more seductive than the amber liquid

of adult escapism

yet

underneath it all is recognition of

the cancer

the tumour upon your consciousness

too bad

removing yourself from your imagination

is as difficult

as a divorce from nicotine

Focus: Experimenting with capitals and punctuation to create the visual effect of continuity

a continuous line of thought

surfaces

behind my eyes

and flows easily from my pen

the land speaks

with an intelligence

of many tongues -

it speaks to us

and sometimes

when we are lucky

we listen

Intention:     Experimenting with Incremental Repetition to create rhythm and balance

stories …

            told in fragmented fashion

            teased from the lips of modern man

            and woman

tell …

of overlapping relationships

            nephew to uncle, daughter to mother, child to parent

            younger to elder

            of family-tying-family together

-living threads weaving deeper truths –

now knotted, broken, torn

we patch in haphazard fashion

pull threads together

catch up a stitch

invent material from stories

told…

we are fragmented – all –

some of us from choice

some of us from leaving behind old lives to grow new ones

we dance fearfully, joyfully, passionately the dance of life.

others dance too

dance the pain of life broken

-dance the fragments-

fearfully, joyfully, passionately, uncertainly

their feet echo the beat of almost forgotten drums

hesitating sometimes

then returning

fearfully, joyfully, passionately weaving

living rhythms

Intention:     Exploring the idea of paradox

humanity
so ugly in the safety
of its own circle
seeking control
exerting dominance
toxic insecurity
seeing only the round
perfection
of numbered belief
unaware of the breaks
the silent tones
of non
belief
learn the lesson of the bee
winged impossibility
is it gold and black
or black and gold
does it matter …

Focus:     Point of View (present tense)

- present tense -
wishing for the connection
the golden line
the soft sense of communion
between two opposing views
maybe not in words
but feelings
reaching for clear sight
to look between worlds
inner and outer

breathing in the moment
and releasing possibility

let go the sense of failure
the disconnection
the broken lines of
voided
opportunity

be in the moment
even now