M.J. Markgraf

Tarnished Chapter 48

“You sure you’re up for this?” John asked. “You could have asked one of your deputies to take on this responsibility instead.”

Blackwood grunted. “I’ll be fine. Are you sure you’re up for a second round?” Wyatt nodded towards John’s arm.

“It should be healed by the time we leave.”

“Fair enough,” the man relented. “Tell me again why you think we should ride out to one of these farms instead of waiting in Ember Creek?”

“If Hensley’s pe...

Tarnished Chapter 47

The old artificer pushed the auto-wagon as fast as it would go which wasn’t very fast on the uneven terrain. The automatons were designed to run on paved streets or packed roads, not rough grassland. The roughness of the return trip was hell on his broken arm, but John simply gritted his teeth and tried to cradle the arm to absorb some of the shocks.

By the time they reached the streets of Ember Creek, he was sweating and dizzy from the pain. John knew that wasn’t a good sign. It me...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 53

With his progress delayed until Lucas finished checking over the code, Alexander wasn’t just going to wait around. He spent that time assisting in the facility repair efforts and preparing for when the Hawks would leave.

That date was coming quicker than he would like and there was still quite a bit of work to do. His main concern was making sure the refueling station stayed on track after they left. Some of those components to ensure that happened were already in the queue for launch...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 52

Alexander sat down at the table a few minutes before the meeting was set to start. With the delivery from Jasper, the defense project wrapping up, and the repairs on the facility well underway, he finally had time to start the project he had been waiting for. It was time to discuss building his first engines, he just had some questions to ask Matthews and his engineers first.

It was too bad his friend Jasper and the Zephyr had left the system a few hours ago. He would have liked to get ...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 51

After completing the last of the tour with his friend, he did just as Jasper suggested. “I need some people willing to unload some supplies from shuttles,” he said as bluntly as possible to Damien.

Over the last few months, Alexander realized the man preferred this approach to him trying to butter him up or small talk in general.

“Why don’t you just add it to the job board like the rest?” the man asked.

“Because it needs to be done as soon as the shuttle lands. I...

Tarnished Chapter 46

John would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he was a little apprehensive about riding this automaton. It wasn’t fear, just a healthy respect for what the construct might be capable of. He had seen more than one accident back in New Gata involving the auto carts. And this thing was running on the soul stone. So there was a lot more energy behind it than a normal automaton, despite Travis’ assurances that it was perfectly safe. The day he completely trusted that scatterbrai...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 50

The Zephyr jumped into Y6X-3H2 alongside one of the Hawks’ gunships. He wondered if Alexander or the locals would ever bother renaming the system as they did the planet. It just felt so impersonal to call it by the scientific designation.

Jasper was a few weeks behind schedule but that couldn’t be helped. Some of that was due to him being delayed leaving the core systems due to additional security thanks to the pirate attacks. And the rest was from him loitering in Varlen until the ...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 49

LOCATION: EDEN’S END

SYSTEM: Y6X-3H2

DATE: 2399

“Test forty-three,” Alexander called out. Everyone in the launcher control room let out a collective groan at that.

Getting the Low Orbit Launcher to even function had taken far longer than it took to install the rest of the orbital railguns around the facility. Had Alexander realized this before they attempted repairs, he would have stripped the entire thing out and started from scratch. That would have been far le...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 48

LOCATION: PETROV STATION

SYSTEM: GLIESE 667

DATE: 2399

Harlow luxuriated in the plush chair as he bit into the ripe apple, savoring the sweet juice as it ran down his throat. The members of the Council sure did know how to live comfortably. He let a little sigh of pleasure escape his lips. “It’s been far too long since I’ve had an apple. Have you ever tasted one, Zhang? And I’m not speaking about the vat-grown shit you spacers call food, but a real planet-side grown ...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 47

Yulia kept shifting her feet nervously as she stood next to Alex. He said her friends from Petrov were coming to visit. She was so happy she didn’t even wonder why they all traveled so far just to see her.

She was startled as a boom shook the air. When she looked up, she could see a glowing trail. Alex had told her what caused them, but she couldn’t recall the reason at the moment. She let go of Alex’s hand and plugged her ears as the booms started to get louder.

“You coul...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 46

By the time Captain Matthews reported to him that Na was in orbit around Eden’s End, Alexander and the engineers had completed the first railgun installation. This was thanks to the additional help from some locals and the simplicity of assembling the unit. He probably could have been halfway complete with the second if he hadn’t stopped to ensure everything was working properly on the first. It was one thing to model something, but he had learned that until you built it, you really could...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 45

I went ahead and changed Damien's attitude toward the guns in the previous chapter. I agree, it didn't make much sense to have someone who was acting as the head of security before Alexander arrived to be against other ways to defend the facility. There was some backstory I was going to write based on that, but that change is pretty inconsequential to the story and I haven't written it yet anyway, so no loss there.

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Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 44

Alexander finished setting up the last plate of armored steel against the backdrop of a rocky outcropping. They were about half a mile from the facility, and nowhere near where any people or mining was taking place.

He quickly crossed the distance that separated the last target from where the gun was situated, to join the twenty-odd people who had come out to see the test. Some of them were Travers people, but it seemed like Damien, Lucas, and Gabriella had heard about the test and want...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 43

It took the Hawk’s engineers less time than he would have imagined to reroute power from a working area to the blast door that led to the Low Orbit Launcher.

Once power was restored, the facility codes worked to bypass the security lockout that had been triggered by some fault in the launcher system.

The thick heavy blast doors gave an audible click and a strobing light along with a siren alerted anyone within the area that they were opening. Alexander watched as the door ponder...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 42

This chapter is dedicated to a depressed robot! Don't forget your towel!

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Alexander found Jasper in the atrium. The large space was much quieter now that most of the people had gone back to their homes or whatever work they did around the facility. From what he could tell, that was mostly farming. He was getting some interest in the work he was offering but it was slow.

“Alexander!” Jasper called as soon as he ...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 41

LOCATION: Y6X-3H2-4

SYSTEM: Y6X-3H2

DATE: 2399

Alexander monitored the printer terminal. It was only one of half a dozen that were constantly in use. It had taken two months, but the manufacturing center was finally back to operating at full capacity.

The room was filled with the mechanical hum of robotic arms zipping through a ballet of welding and assembly work as they built replacement components for the facility. Everything was starting to move in the right directi...

Tarnished Chapter 45

John fought running battle after running battle throughout the night. The Harc’otti were relentless in their attempts to attack the town until suddenly everything was quiet again.

He took the moment of peace to run and rearm. During the fighting he had completely exhausted his rifle ammo, both the gunpowder stuff and the pneuma rounds. He had been forced to switch to his revolvers toward the end, and even that ammo was now running low.

Every round he fired was well spent, but th...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 40

LOCATION: PETROV STATION

SYSTEM: GLIESE 667

DATE: 2398

Mingyu moved with purpose down the corridor, not quite jogging, but close to it. The trial for Kovalenko and Hoffman had been scheduled for the previous week. Then both men suddenly took their own lives on the same night. It was too suspiciously convenient.

Someone had killed the two senior Captains and had the power to make it look like suicide. Knowing that was bad enough. The fact that the only people who knew o...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 39

Alexander arrived outside the doors to the manufacturing hub along with Travers and his men. Jallen had to return to his duty.

He liked Jallen, the man was good with children and seemed to know just what to say to calm Yulia. He wasn’t quite sure about Travers yet. The man had been quiet the entire way and their interaction in the atrium had been brief. He also didn’t know how he was with children as Yulia had promptly fallen asleep after asking Alexander to pick her up and carry he...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 38

I read the feedback and I agreed. So I edited the chapter to reflect a more take-control stance from Alexander. The changes start when he meets with Damien and his people.

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The three of them walked through the first door. Once it was shut behind them, a strong flow of air sucked any dust they might have accumulated into the filter below the grated floor.

“This is the only e...

Tarnished Chapter 44

John did not run into any more Harc’otti as he retrieved his hat from the stable. He did notice that someone had removed the bodies of the warriors he killed though.

That was strange enough that he decided to follow the drag marks.

He stopped before reaching the edge of town. The marks continued into the forest and he wasn’t in any condition to run into more than one or two warriors at the moment.

It made no sense why someone would have dragged these individuals out of t...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 37

“This the room?” Travers asked over the radio.

“Yes,” the field operator aboard the ship replied.

Travers grunted and gave a hand motion to his team. They split up and flanked the door. “Any idea how many we are dealing with?”

“Three to five individuals. The cameras in that area aren’t very clear so that’s the best guess we’re getting from Sam.”

He grunted in annoyance as he poked a hole in a rusting beam nearby with his finger. The Strategic Anal...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 36

Alexander stood in the conference room aboard the Zephyr, watching a live recording of the Talon disgorging drop shuttle after drop shuttle to the surface of Y6X-3H2-4. The Zephyr didn’t have any convenient windows to look out of to see this going on. Even if there were windows on the ship, the space between them was too far apart for you to see anything anyway. Although he could probably enhance his vision in that case.

The operation was taking place during nighttime hours aboard Zep...

Tarnished Chapter 43

Seeing John, the man rushed over to assist.

“Pull the spear out of my arm, I have the room covered.”

“A- Are you sure? Shouldn’t you go to the Doc?”

“I’ll be fine, just do it.”

The man slung his rifle over his shoulder and grabbed the spear tentatively with one hand and John’s arm with the other. He gave John a searching look before sighing quietly and yanking the spear out with one quick pull.

John grunted as the spear came free, but he held th...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 35

LOCATION: Y6X-3H2-4

SYSTEM: Y6X-3H2

DATE: 2398

Martinez sipped his cup of caff, or what passed for caff on Eden’s End. He longed for the real stuff, but no self-respecting Captain came this far outside STO space. And he was glad for that. It's why he packed up his family and came out here in the first place. He was sick of all the bullshit and rules the Solarians and the other core worlders forced on them. All to benefit the rich.

They still had rules out here past t...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 34

LOCATION: ROSS 154

SYSTEM: GANOS

DATE: 2398

Travers made his way down to the briefing room. He knew they had a new contract already but not what it entailed. It wasn’t rare for the Hawks to have contracts close together, but it was pretty rare for them to get back-to-back ones. That meant someone wanted the best and had a ton of money to throw at the problem. Not that he minded, it meant a bigger paycheck.

He was not the first to arrive. Baru was already in his norma...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 33

“Alright, crew! Everything is loaded, it’s time to go. Sierra!”

“Yes, Captain?” his sensor operator turned.

“Notify the station we wish to depart.”

The woman nodded and turned back toward her terminal. He waited for far longer than was normal before clearing his throat. “Is something the matter, Sierra?”

“The station operator is saying there is a hold on our departure. But he couldn’t see a reason for this hold. He is looking into the issue.” Of...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 32

Alexander’s comm beeped. He looked at it and saw it was the boarding message from Jasper. It was finally time to leave Petrov Station. It was about time. He had been receiving daily messages from the Captain, so he knew there was some trouble with station management, specifically Zhang. But the Captain had assured him that was all taken care of and now all of the supplies he had purchased were loaded. The final item to be loaded was his medical capsule because it required special care.

Tarnished Chapter 42

John strolled back into Ember Creek, dragging a pile of weapons on a sheet. He would have carried them across his back but he wanted to be able to discard them in a hurry if he was attacked.

Nobody attacked him and there were no signs that Jacob or his people had been near the accident site.

He didn’t understand why they would just blow up the train and not follow up. The only way it made sense was if they assumed the Harc’otti would push through the town. That seemed like a f...

Blue Star Enterprises Chapter 31

“Jasper, it’s good to see you!” Alexander extended his hand and the Captain shook it.

“You as well, my friend. I see you repaired your robot.”

Alexander made his avatar look chagrined. “An unfortunate necessity that also had something to do with my exile. Please come in and I’ll fill you in on what happened.”

Captain Daniel nodded and entered the apartment. The man paused as his eyes landed on Yulia. The girl, still shy among adults quickly shut the door to t...