Hugh J. O'Donnell

She heard the soft, hissing tick of clockwork somewhere close by. The sound faded in and out as though someone was holding a watch close to her ear, then removing it.
She dismissed the distraction. Doctor Syncopal would make his move soon.
She felt a prick on the back of her neck. She slapped at the irritant, and the tiny machine, a replica of a mosquito in gears and cogs, tumbled into her hand. The glass bulb at the back was half-full.
So it was poison then, the coward. She reached for her auto-pistol. It was time for the showdown.

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When the nebula giants found the strange, dense orb drifting through their patch of space, they all passed it around and debated what it could be. Asteroids didn’t have those blinking lights, and comets weren’t so regularly shaped.
One suggested it might be some machine to explore the stars. They even tried to plot out where it had come from. The other giants laughed at their foolish notions. Everyone knew that rocky planets were much too hot and close to their stars to support life.
They came to no conclusion, and finally left the space probe to continue its journey.

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It was the perfect Homestead World, a rarity in the reachable galaxy. The sky was more mauve than blue, but the atmosphere was fresh and breathable. The Sun gave just right levels of heat and light. Even the gravity was perfect.
The residents of an overcrowded Earth, hungry for adventure and opportunities in “the New West,” came in droves.
The frenzied land grab only picked up speed when they found signs of prior habitation, fueled by tall tales of lost alien technology and ancient ruins.
The nomadic aliens were unhappy to find their home infested with humans when they returned.

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The king saw threats everywhere, bordered on all sides by greedy neighbors. To protect himself, he ordered that a grand fortress be built.
The construction project took most of his life, and nearly bankrupted the national treasury, but as he sat behind his thick stone walls, he deemed it a worthy expense for true security.
Now that he was safe, he sent messengers to his neighboring kingdoms and told them exactly what he thought of them. He knew that their armies couldn’t breach his castle.
When the drought came, his cisterns failed. He had nobody to turn to for help.

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The Sapphire resonated in the dragon’s presence. It leaped out of the adventurer’s hand and spun in the air. She smelled sea air as it transformed into a floating orb of blue water.
The creature nodded. Its expression was unreadable. “Yes, this is a part of my essence. Wherever did you find it?”
She smiled. “That’s my little secret. I’ll let you in, for the right price.”
She attempted to pull the gem back, but her hand passed right through it. Suddenly, the dragon’s coils were all around her.
“You may want to rethink your negotiation tactics,” the dragon said.

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