Day One - "And So It Begins..."

So here we are, another wonderful blog to add to the mountain of the Internet's newfangled society. The idea is that over the next several months, occasionally I'll post a snippet of whatever writing I happen to fancy myself, so that you, the mighty audience, might get a glimpse into my imagination. I warn you, it's a really bizarre place; you never know what you'll find, or who you'll meet, or where you'll wind up. I myself have gotten lost in it so many times I'm not even certain I found my own way back out again.

There'll be action, adventure, romance, destruction, vengeance, and a little zaniness. If you are really interested in the snippets I post, and provided I remember to do so, you'll be able to find most of the full-length versions through Amazon, with handy-dandy links for you to remember.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do writing all of it. To get us started, here's something I've been sitting on for awhile. Nothing major, and definitely not complete.

<Work In Progress>

Title: TBD

Author: MDK

                "You can't?"  Ailee's face fell as she felt a tiny glimmer of hop snuffed out by the strong arm of the corporate machine. "Not even just this once?"

                "I wish I could, Ms. Rayton, but corporate policy dictates that all employees must adhere to their given schedules." The instructor sighed as he saw his student's eyes already starting to tear up. "I did ask the Authoritarian, since he owes me a favor or two, but he said that especially now it was critical that all Daemonians maintain perfect attendance." He tapped at his clipboard before setting it down carefully on her desk.

                Ailee sighed as she glanced over the moving images, absently sliding her nail across the bottom. Kale was a good instructor, and it wasn't that she wanted to miss her required course, really, but this was special. For the first time in almost three hundred years, the three moons were going to align tonight, and the city had already begun preparations for the Triclipse event. It wasn't fair, she thought as she pressed one of the smaller buttons to the right, shifting to a newscast. Turner-Hexton Omni Industries had a reputation for being an extremely strict work environment, and she'd known that long before she'd even thought of applying, but the benefits had always been something of a dream. Full medical on-site, a personal Transport device, a unique apartment in the luxurious Astra Estates including catered meals all day, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. It really had seemed a dream job, and given the choice she probably would have still wound up working for them, but there were times when she wished she could-

                "Ms. Rayton?"

                "Oh! Sorry, Kale. I was just wishing I could've had tonight off."

                "It is a special night, after all, Ms. Rayton. The celebrations will be televised in your workspace so you won't be needing to miss out on any of the excitement." He nodded towards one of the several displays perched in a neat arrangement around Ailee's chair. "The Triclipse is certainly a once in a lifetime event, and TH-Omni encourages our employees to enjoy themselves in their own time. There will be a special After-clipse party in Lounge 3C if you are interested."

                She gave him a half smile as she leaned back in her chair, causing her long green hair to spill over the back as it often did when she tried to calm herself. "That's allright. 'We Are Happiness' after all." Ailee lightly brushed her nail tips against one of the screens as it shifted focus to the sky-lane. Tiny squares and the occasional rectangle continued to flow smoothly in both directions on it, and she nodded at him resignedly. "Suppose I'd best get back to monitoring then."

                Kale gave a little bow before quickly hurrying off. Ailee watched him leave, and then slumped forward onto the hovering plate of a desktop in front of her, her had on her hands as she closed her eyes. That was a bummer. She and her friends had been planning their night activities for months, and now here she couldn't even go. With a sigh, still leaning on her arms, she lazily poked her finger against another display, and waited a few moments until the image of a white-haired young girl with bright pink eyes was staring at her.

                "Ailee! How's it going! Oh wow, you look like someone ran over your dog..."

                Ailee smiled a little at that. "Hey Jinna. How's it going over in R&D tonight?"

                Jinna's eyes grew really wide. "Oh wow! There's a weirdo down here that says he thinks that the event tonight will be more than just a simple planetary alignment. He thinks that there's a chance it could be some kind of major cosmic event involving transdimensional physics! What a dope. Percy thinks that the guys' theories appear to be sound but without any real evidence to support them, what's the point?"

                Ailee chuckled at her friend, wondering if Jinna ever realized how much of what she talked about sailed three feet over Ailee's head. "Sounds like a real winner."

                Jinna nodded, then glanced around before leaning closer. "Yah! What a goofball. Didja get the time off? I talked to Suzette and Rayna already. Suzette's bringing the food, and Rayna's place is all decorated and stuff. It's going to be a blast!"

                The green-haired woman's face fell. Jinna’s voice grew quiet. "You... did get the time off, didn't you?"

                "...I'm sorry, Jinna. I tried. Kale said he talked to the Authoritarian, but I guess Daemonians don't get the night off tonight at all."

                Jinna's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? Awww... I really wanted you to come too."

                "I know, I wanted to, too." Ailee slowly stretched herself out on her seat, adjusting her dark crimson bodysuit carefully. "I'm going to go for a walk here in a bit. I've got about 20 minutes left on my break."

                "Okay... Oh! I know!" Jinna suddenly brightened, and after a few moments something materialized from thin air on Ailees' desk surface.  Curious, she picked it up with her fingertips. It looked like a small black cylinder with a square hole on end, which meant it was a datastore. Ailee gave her friend a quizzical look, and Jinna giggled. "D'you remember when we visited Bistin? The pictures finally got here!"

                "Really!" Ailee grinned at her friend as she tucked the cylinder into one of her numerous pockets. "I'll keep that for later then. I need to get going, my wings are aching to be stretched after sitting all day. I'll talk at you later."

                "Bye bye!"  Jinna's face disappeared as the Turner-Hexton logo replaced it, and Ailee hopped to her feet. Stepping into the long walkway next to the row after row of workspaces, she stretched her arms up, then arched her body back as a pair of large, black and red leathery wings sprouted from it and spread almost the entire width of the walkway. Crouching down she felt a few joints crack, then suddenly Ailee leapt straight up into the air, her wings flapping occasionally, powerfully pushing her lithe form into the required three circles over the work area before she made a bee-line for a large, windowed corridor that was several hundred feet above.

Another advantage for working at Turner-Hexton, especially for a Daemonian: the built-in outlet atriums.