Derin Edala

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038: NERVES

The crew gather in the medbay once more. Only half of us have done much actual physical labour today, but weariness shows on everyone’s faces. It’s clear that we’re all quite sick of random crises blindsiding us. Adin’s eyes are slightly glassy from whatever painkillers the doctors have given him; Lina’s hands flutter like spooked butterflies. Tinera slumps, sitting on the end of an unoccupied hospital bed, head resting on a stoic-facedDenish’s shoulder, while Tal lingers in the d...

4.84: Trojan

I was folding hospital gowns when Malas came up behind me. “Kayden.”

“Huh?” I quickly caught the stack of gowns I’d pushed over when I jumped and turned around.

“I’ve sent you some introductory materials on human anatomy. Watch and read them. We’ll discuss the contents next week.”

“Ah. Homework. I knew this day would come.”

Malas raised an amused eyebrow. “Believe it or not, human medicine does in fact involve a fair bit of academic study.” 2023-01-16 13:39:07 +0000 UTC View Post

Patreon bonus -- exceprt from one of Aspen's books

From Africa to the Stars – further thoughts on the Exodus Phenomenon by Dr Aspen Greaves

Introduction

Of all the traits almost unique to the human animal, perhaps the most interesting is travel. Of course, we’re not the only species to travel by a long shot; much as birds sing and elephants have language and Arctic pigs use tools and long-toed blood dolphins play, the Earth has been full of migratory animals since before our ancestors crawl...

4.83: The Vessel

“Are you going to eat today or what?” Kylie called from her bed.

“In a bit. I want to finish this notebook.” I was continuing the tedious task of photographing all of Max’s notes, in case the notebooks ended up confiscated or something and actually contained something important. It was taking a really, really long time, and was somehow even more tedious than my apprenticeship. I was trying to be methodical, and not waste time taking pictures of things I already had pictures of...

037: MODIFY

“We’re in space! I’m not cutting a hole in his space suit!”

“He’ll die if you don’t.”

“Aspen, please.” The Friend’s voice is gentle. “This plan isn’t great, but we don’t have time to come up with a better one, and we probably don’t have time to explain.”

Well, if the doctor’s okay with it. I open the shears and put the end to Adin’s elbow, pinching the cloth.

“Only a small hole,” Tinera tells me. “Two to four centimetres should...

4.82: Interrogation

Talbot’s party didn’t run too long, which was good, because we were busy. Kylie had to do homework, and I had to lord over her the fact that I didn’t have any homework.

We’d barely settled in when there was a knock at the door. Kylie leapt up, answered it, and froze. “Can I help you?” she asked testily.

I rushed to join her. Outside were two sekuranti in traditional pink. Not Saina’s bodyguards; strangers. A guy as tall and wide as the door with hands that could prob...

Ask Me Anything 6 -- Cheryl Castor

Has it been hard to unlearn/stop practicing rituals to ward off curses?

Oh, yes. I still carry a few charms around with me.

What is your worst fear?

Well, catching fire again is probably a big one. Or having my curse kill me in some other way.

What is your favorite thing to do with your spell?

I just like to fiddle with stone. I try to carry one with me so I don’t get tempted to idly reshape walls and stuff. 2023-01-08 09:19:36 +0000 UTC View Post

4.81: Catching Up

“Are you ready?” Kylie called to me through my bedcurtains.

“I can’t find my sash,” I replied.

“Your what?”

“My sash. For my robes. I swear I had it when I did laundry.”

“There’s your problem; you’re still doing your own laundry. Clearly you lost it. You know the janitors will do it for you, right?”

“I have not started trusting them more with my stuff, given recent events.”

I couldn’t see Kylie as I dug through my clothes, bu...

036: HEIGHTS

Beyond the little safety wall, we have about two metres of clearance before the solid floor of the javelin shielding’s end cap gives way to the grid of straight bars that supports the electrostatic shield. When hauling a body in a bulky space suit around, that’s not a whole lot of clearance. Adin and I carefully kneel on either side of the body, make sure that our tethers are attached, and make sure that all three tethers we attached to the body are attached. After all this work the last ...

4.80: Impressions

Learning to pick locks probably wasn’t worth my time, I decided, because I almost immediately thought of something better. Before my next shift, I went to the school store and poked around until I found something suitable for my needs – a little tub of quick-drying putty that would solidify after a few minutes’ contact with air. Then, I waited.

The next time Dae-hyun sent me for syringes, I took his key, let myself into the medicine room, and pulled the tub out of my pocket. Even ...

4.79: Found Family

Josh’s party was relaxed a casual in a way that I had not come to expect, from mage parties. It was held in a small classroom, with a cake and some snacks, and a handful of tacky paper decorations half-heartedly scattered around the walls. Most of the dozen or so people present were just wearing their normal everyday robes. It took me a moment to figure out why – this event wasn’t planned by legacy mages. Nobody here cared if using the wrong flower arrangement subtlely declared a blood ...

4.78: The Magic Wall

“Kayden.”

“Hmm?” I looked up from the syringes I was cataloguing at Dae-hyun, one of Malas’ older apprentices. I’d been an apprentice for about two weeks before Malas paired me with Dae-hyun and told me to learn from him. I was still just cleaning and cataloguing stuff, but now with random lectures and pop quizzes throughout the day.

“Come and help me with this patient,” he said.

I perked up. ‘Help with this patient’ usually meant watch whatever Malas or ...

035: MORALE

“Are we sure this’ll work?” Adin asks.

I look down at the hospital bed. The seven of us are crammed into the small medbay, and the bulky space suit on the bed makes it feel even smaller than usual. There’s a body in the suit, one of the dead crew or colonists from one of the freezers. I don’t know who, specifically, it is. I don’t ask.

“It should work,” Denish shrugs. “Can never be sure.”

“We’ve sewn one of the kill switches back into the heart,” Li...

4.77: Power And Portals

Kylie recovered quickly. It seemed like her spell was perfectly content once I was back in range, and she just needed a bit of rest. I… wasn’t so lucky.

Since getting back on campus, I’d been experiencing random bouts of nausea and tingling. They felt like familiarity spell problems, except that they were very, very mild; for the first couple of days I thought they might be my imagination, but after a week with no change, I reported the symptoms to Malas, who put me through just a...

4.76: A Tightening Leash

Two days before the holidays, Jamil asked me to take him back to the lake. We used one of my rock climbing lines to keep him anchored in the water while the tentacles did their work.

“You feel any different?” I asked him after he’d dried off and we were heading back to the main school.

He shook his head. “I don’t.”

That wasn’t surprising, I supposed. I hadn’t felt any different, either.

“You probably think I’m being a coward,” he said, “just sea...

Behind the Keyboard -- The Coven

034: COMORBIDITY

“Dear Lord in heaven,” Tinera mumbles around a mouthful of greenhouse beans, “I forgot what eating real food was like.”

“I didn’t even know you could sautee with moss oil,” Lina says, stabbing a bean with a fork. “But this came out really well.”

“You can sautee with any oil if you’re desperate enough,” Adin says.

Tal grins. “Could you sautee with – ?”

“Any edible oil.”

“Aww.”

I have no idea whether the beans ca...

4.75: Blood And Paper

Clearly the ‘use English for the initiates’ portion of the meeting was over, because Malas spoke in Ido. “The decision to terminate kylie’s contract was sneaky and unlawful in the first place,” he said. “Given the new events that have transpired since the decision was made, I once again urge the Council to reconsider – ”

“If you have an issue of your own to raise, you will bring it through the proper channels, Mr Aksoy,” the Grand Master said firmly, also in Ido. “...

4.74: Uncompromising

Wait, she was accusing Max of what? I opened my mouth to protest, but Hua put a hand on my arm and shook her head, sharply. I stayed quiet.

“Mr Acanthos acted in self defense – ”

“You’re the one who called him a murderer a few minutes ago,” Cheryl said mildly. “Do you think you’re the only person who thinks that? Now, as I said, I don’t have clearance to read the reports and confessions surrounding that incident, so you’re going to have to tell me – ...

033: PREDICAMENT

Four of us – me, the Friend, Lina, and Tal – stroll toward Recreation and Medical Ring 2 at a leisurely pace while Tinera runs off to find the boys. I’m not sure why we need the entire crew for this, but apparently my ignorance on the whole Texan prisoner thing is a big deal for some reason, so whatever.

“So this means I have less work to do, right?” Tal asks.

“Less urgency, certainly,” the Friend says. “We’ll still need a solution, but we have five years of brea...

4.73: Political Assassination

I’d expected some exasperation from the Council. Some comments about the interruptions getting ridiculous. But there was silence, when Malas entered.

I looked back. All nine of them had stood up. Even Alania.

“Kuracar,” the Grand Master said.

“Grand Master,” Malas said.

“Why are you here?”

“I received an anonymous message that my future apprentice was meeting with you. I thought he might need supervision, to be sure he doesn’t get hurt. Agai...