Leon roared in agony as the smell of burnt chlorine filled the small dank room, the electrical system for his chair restraint powering down. "I'll ask once more; where are you from, and why have you come to Rygaard?" The uniformed officer droned on for what could have been the hundredth time. "I am Leon Hakim, warrant officer in the Interstell--" he began before being cut off again "And I keep telling you" the officer spoke, before then switching on the chair again, producing the same sickening scent and sounds "I do not believe you are a time traveler." The officer sighed, "You two" he spoke to the guards behind him without turning around, "Soften up our guest here, until he's ready to talk". Wordlessly, they began to beat the restrained man. The world once again begins to fade in and out, with fog and muted colors, and sounds becoming distant in his mind. Leon thinks he hears a woman talking about trauma, but h

 Hey Y'all, I hope that the new year has been off to a wonderful start, and that we all had a safe and fun holiday, or a quiet and peaceful one. If not, me too. I just wanted to give some insight to what I have been up to this first and auspicious week of 2023-- for those of you who don't know, I am returning to school this year to begin a path into multimedia, which is both exciting and terrifying to me. As part of that, I am exploring that space and trying to learn some basics to where I am not entirely uninformed. To that end, I have been messing around with streaming and editing videos, and have been putting those up on YouTube. This is primarily geared towards gaming, as that has so far proven to have a low-barrier to entry given my familiarity with a lot of things there. To any who'd be interested in that content, the channel can be found here . In the future, I have the idea for additional media projects that'll be rolled out as time goes by and my comfort with p

 Hey Everyone! Happy New Year! I hope that the end of 2022 is much quieter and peaceful than the rest of it has felt. I started this blog earlier, way back in Spring, and I wasn't sure if I was going to keep up with it. I even managed to post a piece one a week for like 3-4 months, which was nuts. I was proud of that, but hoo boy, I do not want to do that again.  Some light housekeeping up front, I did change the title of that Mass Effect essay to remove the "Part 1" of it, as it has become abundantly clear that I think I said everything I wanted to say with regards to that. I have been working on another Game Talk article, but I have no idea when that will be out, but stay tuned. My immediate plans are to hopefully wrap up the Investigation story for Tales From Port Astor, and then move onto my next project for that setting. But, who knows. I have plans, then life gets in the way. Thank you for everyone who has taken the time to read these through the year, and thank you

      Leon awoke in a fog, pierced only by the bleating alarms from the escape pod. The last he could recall was the escape pod [PAINTED] alert going off, and then the bursts began. In a daze, he managed to ignite the door charge, blowing the sealed hatch off, in addition to his eardrums. He slowly began to drag and lift himself out of the crashed pod when an intense pain shocked through him-- a piece of metal from the console was lodged in his abdomen, and had hit the frame of the blown hatch while he exited.     He tumbled out of the pod, and into the small crater of his entry; at first belly-down, to which he mustered what little strength he had left to flip himself. The pain was nothing he had felt in years. Not since he crashed his first suit when he began his test pilot career, but how long ago was that even? He thought about these things as he stared at the snow falling down on him from the very heavens he just fell from.     He began to fade in and out of awareness, half-dreami

      August stumbled into the ruined home, away from the gunfire that was still echoing from the dead forest. He knew that what he was doing was desertion, but that became less and less important as the moments passed. He knew that he was bleeding too heavily, and that it would soon be the end of him.     The air was dry, and he could see the dust begin dancing in the light-- stirred by his arrival. The smell of the old house filled his nose. Along the walls, amber evening light shone on ancient family pictures that still hung on the wall.  August looked upon them, and reflected on his own family. His mother would often tell him and his younger sister of her childhood about a life long since gone, and of the seasons which were extant only in the memories of the last people who knew them.     When the days grew shorter, and shorter, families would gather for holiday celebrations, with some even coming from thousands of miles away. They would share news of their lives, and eat foods spi

 Hey Folks! I hope that we are all having a good wind down in these late Summer days-- the season is nearly over, and we can soon get back to livable weather! I'm currently working on some projects that will be eventually posted up here, but am not sure when. I have amazed myself with begin able to post a new short story or article every week for like four months, but Jesus Christ, is that hard. So, I might take a bit of a break to work on some new stuff, and maybe just dick around for a while. Not forever, but maybe a couple weeks. I just want to say that I have greatly appreciated everyone that has come by and taken a look! The fact that anyone actually takes interest never ceases to boggle my mind in the best way. TL;DR-- New stuff on the way, but maybe in a couple weeks while I recharge. Stay safe, and drink water! Thank You & Very Respectfully, Zachariah

      The pod hissed open, and the cold, dry gas poured out from the capsule into the dark corridor. A lone figure gracelessly fell out onto the floor; dark skin in a pale jumpsuit. He shakily came to his feet, a drowsy fear consumed his expression. When he was put into suspension, it was aboard a state-of-the-art facility, buzzing with activity and experts, not a stripped bare... whatever this was. The dark metal frame frame exposed like bones; piping and electrical running to and from like blood vessels. It was like he had been swallowed whole by some metal monstrosity while he slumbered.     He looked out a nearby porthole, attempting to get some idea of where he had ended up. Outside, he saw a pale world, probably rather cold; seas of white, broken by only mottled greens, grays, and blacks, and a swath of blue-- a small ocean. He did not recognize the planet, and the light refracting off the atmosphere was too bright to allow viewing most of the stars to use as reference. He turned

  Dearest Claudia, It has been so long since I have seen you, too long. I think about our goodbye at the docks at my boarding of the Eastern Gloam to set sail for Indochina. I remember how you wept, and how I did too, as we kissed goodbye. I remember how you worried about what you heard, about how the people there attacked the French, but I told you that it was still worth it. A decision I still stand by, even though it meant being so far from home, and you. But I have joyous news; I will be home soon. Let me tell you of my adventures! The chance to join the university expedition to parts unknown was well worth it, as it has given me so much to share with you. I was hesitant at first, watching Port Astor sink below the horizon, but if I had only known what awaited! The journey was long, and I assisted the professors with planning the route we would take overland once we arrived in that tropical land so far away. It was then, after spending so much time with Professor Garland,

    Mass Effect was an sci-fi action RPG developed in by BioWare and published by Microsoft Game Studios on the Xbox 360, and EA on the PC and PlayStation 3. It's sequel, Mass Effect 2, was released in 2010, and was also developed by BioWare, and published by EA for the PC and Xbox 360, and later ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2011.      When I first played Mass Effect 1, first released on November 20th, 2007, it was a few years past that. The game had come out, received some good attention, but it had just passed me by. It was not until '08 or '09 that I finally could be bothered to pick it up. But when I did, it quickly become my biggest time sink; cruising the Milky Way in the SR1 Normandy with friends and crew alike filled the bulk of my days, such a luxury was for a fourteen-year-old dropout. But those days are ones I look back fondly on, driving around in the Mako, clunky and awkward as it was, or fighting my way through the worlds that were plot critical; saving or d

      Detective Morris was stumped. He had been assigned this case, and he swore it was going to be the end of him. Dozens of murders across the city, and no leads. The victims were either career criminals, or were killed in commission of a crime-- no saints, to be sure; killers in their own right, thieves, and so on, but nothing to deserve what they got. Vigilantism wasn't a new thing in Port Astor, hell, it used to be something it was (in)famous for in the early 1900's, with the likes of the Ghost of Astor, but those were days long gone. The city, and the detective himself, had enough problems right now, and it didn't need some psycho-hero wannabe taking matters into their own hands.     Half the department, let alone his precinct, was on the take to god-knows-who, crime rates only ever seem to go up, capture rates haven't risen since Reagan, and he's continuously expected to do more with less despite the fact that the police budget has ballooned, with the funds g

      The sound of the shot cracked through the white trees, and the Ritter went down with a sudden crash. Its comrades sharply stopped to see where the shot came from.     In the distance, the lithe shooter slid from her position in the tree, landing softly in the dip just below. This had been the second Ritter she had brought down today, but it would be forfeit if they found her; her thoughts recalled fighting Suited targets on Asovel-- one or two were enough to wipe out entire squads of standard infantry. Expert as she was, she would still be no match for an upfront fight against three of them.     She ran down the snow-lined gulley to remain out of sight. In the distance, the sound of the Ritter's rollers crashing through brush, breaking and snapping, with garbled digitized chatter. The sound grew nearer, and without hesitation, she dived into a hollowed tree. The Ritters went off their rollers with a loud clang, their heavy metal stomping subtly shaking the ground beneath. It

      "You're all that's left?" Aqil al-Azazil asked incredulously. The night before, a encampment of mercenaries was before him, but when he emerged from his caravan, all but the scrawny man before him had gone. The Ragged Hounds, the mercenaries in question, were ones he had bought before he left his home far to the east. They were to be his way of restoring his fortune, but now instead, they have only added to his loss by desertion.     Aqil cleared his throat, and addressed the young man in front of him; young, of dark hair, but sunken eyes of someone much, much older.  "I commend you on your loyalty and dedication to your employer, good sir! Surely this speaks much to your integrity of your character" Aqil said in a commanding voice, fit for stage. "Mister, I don't know what those words mean. The old boss just said that you were the boss now" the younger man said. Aqil's eye twitched. "Good sir, may I ask your name?" he asked

Hello Everyone!         I hope everyone is doing well in the interesting times we live in. There's no story in this; just me talking.     I was never one to keep a diary or journal, though my parents did buy me one once upon a time when I was a kid. It was blue, and had an itty-bitty padlock. I never wrote in it. I don't even know why I had it, or why it was bought for me. For a long time, I think the idea of recording my own thoughts for myself was an odd one, but commonly enough seen on shows like Doug on Nickelodeon back in the day. So why am I doing it here? Fuck if I now, I guess I just feel like it? Do I need a reason? I don't know anymore, man. As far as what I am actually doing, I am working on a few projects. The investigation pieces have been fun, just thinking about presenting information outside of traditional storytelling. Not focusing on how it flows, but what the information is actually presenting. I don't know if, or how, it'll go or if it is receive

     With nowhere else to go, Harah begun a cautious walk down the emergency-lit corridor from Port-3. The Roux was gone, and so the only way off Folban Station was to find either another ship, or smaller launch. After the recent events, it was clear that either this station was experiencing the worst ever recorded incident of system control error, or something was very intent on killing him. He had no desire to find out which one.     The sound of his steps echoed dully, then the PA system cracked on: "...twelve-million dead in the Asovel, and the resignation of Frontier Marshall Reidt to his Majesty for the disgraceful defeat at the hands of the genocidal rebels."      "We weren't the only ones" Harah growled back in his mind, recalling what he had seen planet side on Asovel; aftermaths of civilian executions by Imperial forces as retribution for aiding the "rebels". That was one the images that kept him fighting. It was one of the reasons he did w

Note: This is an early work of mine from 2015. I included it to maybe show differences between how I write now versus how I wrote then.  His head pounded as his senses came back to him. Tom lay on a cool, damp cement floor and the scent of rot and sewage permeated all around. He remembered what had happened what seemed like only moments ago. He and his comrades, Raul and Rog, were chasing their quarry; a horrid beast, but with only patches of skin and fur to cover its bare muscle and gore. It led them on a grand chase through the narrow streets illuminated only by the dingy streetlamps which colored it the same as dark urine. As they turned the corner, their prey had seemed to elude them. They cursed and spat in frustration; this wasn’t the first time this had happened. This moment lasted only but a brief second, before the beast announced itself from behind, from behind its pursuers. It flung itself at them, with the hunters only having enough time to gaze in horror in realizatio