Edmund Latham

Herald of the Stars: Chapter Two

Dragging myself upright, I lean against the battered door, hug my knees and stare at nothing for an indeterminate time.

++Hostile entities approaching. Prepare for combat.++

I panic, my breath coming hard and fast.

++Operator failure detected... Parameters defined... Calculating solution... Overriding safeties... Uploading basic combat routine... Combat stims engaged... Warning, chemical reserves depleted...++

Without thought, I leap to my feet, my heart thudding in my...

Herald of the Stars: Chapter One

I wake in a room full of skeletons, staring through the glass of my sarcophagus. It isn’t the bones, wrecked room, or book-thick dust that surprises me, but that I woke up at all.

The last thing I remember was that I was dead.

I shift a bit, trying to reach the button on the harness holding me upright. A few, awkward shimmies and a jump gets my hand in place and I slam my palm against the big red button.

The harness retracts, slithering across my chest and thighs into the ...