How The Stars Configure
Chapter 1 - Aliens
It has been an hour now since she left the safety of her shuttle. Space loomed all around her, and she tried not to look up into the vast blackness, lest she feels disoriented. The gravity boots made sure that she would stay planted on the surface of the large asteroid that she had landed on, but the fact remains that space is infinite, and the idea that she might accidentally float out among the stars and planets without means of sustaining life terrified her more than words could say. Still, she pressed on, determined to seek what the sensors had picked up.
'Movement 100 meters ahead', the automated voice chimed. The visor on her helmet doubled as a display, informing her on the status of her apparatus. Oxygen tanks are good to go for another three hours or more, radiation in the area was at a tolerable level. She tapped at the portable console on her left arm, checking on the status of her ship. Still there, just as she had left it. 'Just checking', she thinks, continuing onward towards what appeared to be a deep crevasse.
'Movement 5 meters ahead,' the computer says. She stopped and looked around, unable to see anything, the shadows on the ground thick and black. "Filters," she commanded. The visor changed colours, scanning the immediate vicinity. The sophisticated device flickered. UV scans, nothing. Infra-red, nothing. 'Thermal anomaly detected.' Cross hairs appeared, directing her focus onto the ground.
"Magnify." A zoom screen took up half her vision, and she saw it. She squinted and moved closer, slowly lowering herself onto one knee. "Lights." The mounted light on her helmet flickered on. There on the ground just before the edge, what looked like insects crawled around, leaving little tracks in the dust. She checked to make sure that all data streams were recording, determined to have proof of what she encountered.
There were three of them, no smaller than the palm of her hand. They reminded her of silverfish that she sometimes found in the corners of her father's file cabinets. But these were bigger, and they seemed to have multiple sets of eyes. Excited with her discovery, she took a deep breath and slowly reached out, hoping for a better look, or, if she were lucky, to have one as a specimen. They sensed her approach and slowly skittered away, determined to escape. She inched closer, one foot in front of the other, almost catching one when suddenly from the edge of the drop, a flurry of tentacles whipped up and grabbed her, lifting her up and dragging her down over the ledge. One smacked her on the head, killing the lights, plunging her into a world of darkness. A scream gurgled in her throat, piercing her ears as it reverberated inside the confines of her helmet.
Blackness surrounded her, pain wrapping around her torso, and before she was done releasing all the fury from her lungs, she was slammed into the ground. She tried to move her arm, hoping that she could shoot her way out of her current predicament, but more pressure held her down. She laid there, spread eagle in the dark, hearing nothing but herself breathing hard. The sensors went wild, sensing massive heat signatures everywhere. The grip on her tightened, and tried as she might, she could not escape. A sharp pain shot through her left shoulder, and she could feel something piercing her flesh. 'Suit breach detected', the warning flashed.
Time to panic. "Mayday, mayday, mayday, send the fire, target lock on my location!" A risky move, but options seemed thin. A warning appeared before her. 'Close proximity detonation - high probability of critical damage. Confirm launch?'Dammit, of all the times. She rasped a confirmation response, when she felt something loom above her, obscuring her view of the stars above.
'Missile two minutes inbound. Standby.'
With nothing left to do, she laid there. The display screen went haywire as the her instruments detected fluctuations all around.
'Thermal anomaly in immediate proximity. Minimal luminance detected. Oxygen supply depleting.' She prayed to all the Gods that she'd survive, despite feeling the air slowly leak out of her suit, the unseen threat slowly approaching. Teeth loomed in the dark, attached to what looked like a scolex. A sense of dread coiled tight inside her stomach and threatened to burst out of her throat. 'I'm going to be sucked dry by an alien, oh my God'. The countdown to detonation was still 1 minute and 50 seconds away. 'How has it been only 10 seconds?!' A flood of emotions overwhelmed her, and tears flooded her vision as she started to hyperventilate. 'Fucking asthma better not start shit right now', she thought, her breath slowly fogging up her field of vision.
Suddenly, there seemed to be a blue glow, the entity slowly lighting up with bioluminescence; it reminded her of a tardigrade, but with scales that vary in size and texture, and what appeared to be… vines? The scanner in her helm fluttered with the changing variables, the magnifying screen showing textures of the creature in great detail. The scales pulsed with light, a pale haze of soft light in the darkness of the crevasse, illuminating its long form, its precious bundle of young swarming on its back. It seemed to be looking at her as though assessing the level of threat. She remained deathly still, nothing but the sound of her anxious breathing in the dark. The creature's vine tightened around her torso, sending what she was sure to be a thorn cutting deeper into her flesh; she could not help it and screamed as the pain lashed through her shoulder and neck. It stared at her with its hundreds of black orbs before slowly shifted around, sensing oncoming danger. The tiny ones must have sensed it too, chittering about restlessly.
'Missile inbound; 30 seconds to reach minimum safe distance.' Abruptly, the pressure loosened, and she jerked as the creature released her, vines clutched close to its form. She sat up, palm up, aiming the inbuilt firearm at the creature. It seemed to shiver as it cowered from her, the way you'd imagine a dog or a cat would when frightened. 20 seconds left, and the vines reached back, shielding its brood from death as it approached in the form of a rocket propelled explosive device. Suddenly, it didn't look quite as menacing as when it did before. The many eyes seemed expressive, full of fear, pleading to her, almost. A maternal sympathy swelled within her, and immediately, she knew that she couldn't let it happen.
"ABORT! Deactivate now, scram, scram the missile!" She could see it now, a bright flare bearing straight down on her location. She craned upwards, breath caught in her throat, her vision locked onto it. The timer froze at 13 seconds left. The rocket device let out puffs of steam as it maneuvered itself into a slow descent, landing weightlessly sideways before going completely dark. She dragged herself upright and towards it, double checking that it had deactivated, a heavy sigh escaping her. Immediately, pain stung her where the thorn had ripped. It felt like a deep cut, and she was willing to bet that it went to the bone.
Groaning, she picked the ordinance up, its weight familiar in her hand. It was 12 inches of steel, guided by a targeting system that she had programmed from scratch, packed with a small nuclear based explosive. It would have left a crater of around 100 meters directly where she stood. The warning of less than 10 minutes of oxygen remaining made her somewhat regretful preventing it from exploding onto her. She fell to her knees, lightheaded. Pressure inside seemed to be going as well. She frantically reached into her hip pouch for a patch, slapping it blindly over where the damage was, stinging her already sore injury. A wet sensation rubbed her skin wrong under the exo-suit. Hopefully the bleed clots soon. Hopefully, it didn't hit an artery, or a vein. Tears fell from her eyes and onto her cheeks, stinging hot. 'Fuck,' she thought. 'That's gonna need stitches, I guaran-damn-tee it.'
The alien in the corner pulsed and glowed again, this time in pinks and purples. The vines (or tentacles? She was still unsure) waved about joyfully, it seemed. The small critters seemed to have calmed down. It approached her, and she remained still, tentative. The long appendages sprawled above and around her, a membrane slowly manifesting between them. It seemed to swathe her protectively. A sudden gust beneath the scolex-like appendage on its visage sent the fine space dust gently billowing.
'Atmospheric pressure detected; 20 percent oxygen, 70 percent nitrogen…' One of the offspring it carried fell to the ground and moved towards her, small tentacles waving in the air, assessing her presence. "No freaking way." A tap on her console, and her tanks replenished. '6 hours oxygen remaining.' She scoffed in disbelief. She stood up as soon as she was able, making sure to make no sudden movements. The lights in the membrane flickered, greens and yellows, blue and pinks. A vine from above unfurled, snaking towards her injury, seeking access beneath the haphazard patch. A cool and numbing sensation flooded the area. "This is way too cool." She was practically grinning from ear to ear now. The pressure reading finally evened out, the tear in her suit patched strong enough to hold pressure. Aloe-like blue substance covered the damage entirely. She rolled her shoulder cautiously, checking if it would tear, but was delighted when it didn't. The pain, too, had lessened, though she could still sense the injury if she pulled her skin too tight.
She hesitated for a moment before reaching up to lift her visor. A gentle hiss blew onto her tear stained cheeks, and she took a deep breath, one after another. Her mind grappled with the significance of the situation. There she was, on a rock floating in space, face to face with this fantastical beast, breathing without the sealed pressure within her suit. She looked around with a child-like wonder that she hadn't felt in a long time. "Thanks for not killing me." She spoke to it, uncaring if it knew what words meant. The lights above flickered, and for a moment, she thought of fairies and how they must have twinkled just like that. Communication need not have words, she knew. Crouching down, she observed the youngling at her feet, pulsating with a faint shimmer around the edges. Such wonders, they were, living beings that thrived in the coldness of space.
A deep rumble beneath her feet shook the ground. The canopy above her flinched, and the creature once again looked agitated. It looked at her and shuddered, as though a sudden smell of fear permeated the air. Winds rushed all around her. Automatically, her visor fastened, sealing her in. Through the flurry of fine dust, she saw the alien being burrow down into a rock tunnel. 'Was that an earthquake?' She looked up and decided that it was time to seek higher ground. A tap or two on the console, and she ascended in the weightless dark. She could see rocks tumbling down the rock face, signs of more seismic activity. As she crested the horizon, she gasped at the scenery as it unfurled before her. Smoke, fire. And yes, immediate danger.
He couldn't remember what it was that was said or done that triggered his rage. All he remembered was the sound of Recoome cackling, and the next thing he knew was that he had shoved his superior officer into an escape pod and launched it, determined to give him the thrashing that he'll never forget. Within the confined space of a pod made for one, it was a struggle to pull punches, but pull them he did, regardless. The big brute was trapped there with him, coughing up blood, blindly clawing at the insolent Saiyan who dared to lay hands on him. With nothing but pure rage to propel him, he landed a flurry of punches and kicks in quick succession.
It turns out that being stuck in a vehicle the size of a broom closet with a bigger, angrier, possibly stronger opponent wasn't the brightest of plans. After a while of grappling about, he felt hands around his throat, a knee smashing into his stomach, the impact rattling his spine and whitening his vision. Refusing to acquiesce to defeat, he clawed at Recoome's face, thumbs digging into the soft spots where the eyes were.
Time seemed to slow down, and he was beginning to regret having bum rushed his opponent into a fight. But his heart could not let it go, not after cruelty poured so easily into him. For years, he had endured them and their jabs, obeying their commands to kill, to maim, to destroy. This time, however, whatever it was, it was the final twisting of the screw, and the tension inside him snapped. He knew that it was a suicide mission to have attacked a member of the Ginyu force, but everything inside him screamed for a taste of vengeance, consequences be damned. He poured all his might into sinking his thumbs into his opponent's eye sockets, his hands trembling. The pressure around his throat tightened in response. Struggling to draw breath, his eyes darted around, hoping to focus on anything but the feeling of suffocation that threatened to consume him whole.
The navigation console to his left stated their destination: The Cold Domain. He knew they would never allow him to live if they reached the intended destination. Willing his legs to move, he kicked the flight computer, once, twice, thrice until it broke apart. The screen flickered, and their steady glide gave way to a shudder.
"You shouldn't have done that, you dirty ape! I'mma fuck you up for real this time!," Recoome bellowed, the sound of panic in his voice plainly evident.
"Bring it, you filthy degenerate!" He was never one to back down from a fight, even when he knew he had very little chance of winning. The strong grip around him now crushed his windpipe, and no breath could be drawn. All he could feel were his thumbs digging into soft tissue, and with a pop, he heard Recoome scream in agony. He smiled at the small victory, but that smile did not last as he looked out the porthole and saw the ground rapidly approaching. Before he could brace for impact, the world crashed in on him, and all that was left was the sound of the machinery labouring through broken components. Nothing seemed to move in the dark for a good while, but Recoome slowly roused, groaning in pain as he tried to untangle himself from the mess of wires, tubes, and Vegeta's limbs.
It was now or never. Summoning all his might, Vegeta channeled all his strength that it may form a layer of plasma around him, trapping as much air as he could before kicking once more at the pod hatch. Cold hard vacuum surrounded him as he clawed his way out, and he saw in the distance in the direction from which he came, five more pods approaching. Unclipping his scouter from his belt, he hastily equipped it, fingers shakily tapping on the prompts. Two energy signatures that were familiar to him were in two of the pods, Nappa and Raditz. Relief was short lived when the scouter detected three other Elites. Jiece, Burter, and Guldo.
He clenched his fists as the pods landed. His sensitive ears picking up sounds behind him, of Recoome crawling out of the crashed pod that was now ablaze. No doubt the oxygen tank had ruptured, as had the fuel line. The agonies that he suffered over the past 15 years felt fresh on his mind, and without looking, he pointed at the wreckage, letting loose a beam of energy. The explosion behind him ruffled his hair slightly.
He readied himself for another fight, fists raised in a defensive stance. The first pod to land opened, but before he could say or do anything, Jiece rushed out of the pod towards him with a kick to the head. He tries to block, but Burta loomed before him, his unnatural speed giving him an advantage. He didn't see the next blow coming, the taste of coppery liquid suddenly filling his mouth and coated his teeth. A blast from Raditz caught Jiece's attention, and off he went to dispatch his opponent, leaving Vegeta to fend against Burta. He readied a blast of energy, but before he could move to smash it through Burta's helmet and into his face, he found himself unable to move. The three of them stood frozen, straining against the invisible force that held them.
Guldo, that loathsome cretin, this was his doing, no doubt. Strain as they might, it was no use. Vegeta could see the look on Guldo's face, amused that he was now unable to defend himself. The rage that moved him seemingly dissolved and gave way to anguish. He wanted so much to wipe the look off of the bastard's face, but try as he might, he knew it was futile. He struggled for breath, and he focused on maintaining the field of energy and the layer of air around him. He cursed his rash decision of not grabbing a helmet, noting that the air around him seemed to grow thinner.
"You're gonna regret this insubordination, monkey," Burta spat at him before throwing his head back, laughing. The next thing he felt were the cracking of bones, his arm now hanging limply by his side. A scream rang out, his own, no doubt. Behind the blue colossus, he could see Nappa's bleeding face, and Raditz… with Jiece's fist punching through his armor, only to withdraw with a handful of intestines. Raditz's eyes were wide open, teeth gritting against the pain.
"We'll make you watch as we finally exterminate the last of your race," Burta gloated, "and once it's just you, when you finally know what it feels like to be the last of your kind, we're taking you back to Lord Frieza. He'll want to discipline you personally." With that, he turned to face the two bigger Saiyans. Vegeta could only watch as they both readied the killing blow; Jiece's bloodied fist raised, Burta's salivating leer, Guldo holding his breath in anticipation of the slaughter. Despair felt so cold, he thought, unable to look away. Unable to do anything.
Before they could bring their fists down, a sudden explosion where Guldo stood rocked them. The two elites turned, startled. The cloud of smoke lingered, and from it, Guldo's form slowly emerged.
"There's… a hole… in my stomach…" Guldo rasped, his eyes wide in disbelief. He looked at his comrades, at Vegeta, and slumped forward. Jiece and Burta looked equally perturbed, unable to comprehend what it was that transpired. As far as they could tell, none of the Saiyans had moved. They looked around frantically, searching for the hidden threat. Jiece tapped the prompts on his scouter and surveyed the area, and in the dark where the boulders laid scattered on the elevated plane, he found something.
Jiece scoffed in disbelief. "Their fighting power is barely readable." The two Elites exchanged looks. With a flash, Burta had gone, pursuing the unseen threat.
"Looks like I'll be taking care of the three of you by myself," said Jiece. "Three injured Saiyans seem hardly a challenge." Those words once again inflamed the rage within Vegeta. He did not let the silence between them linger for too long before launching himself forward, left arm ready with another energy blast.
She kept herself hidden in the shadows between the massive boulders that scattered next to the open field where the aliens were engaged in battle. She recognized the space crafts that they arrived in, as well as the uniforms. They seemed to be divided, three of them wearing white and purple armor, obviously higher ranking than the other three, who were clad in black and blue. 'Cold Imperial Elites, no doubt,' she thought to herself. Strangely, the three in black seemed frozen, unable to move. She watched in horror as the blue alien broke an arm, and she could see the humanoid alien's face contorted in agony, his scream unheard in the cold vacuum. The red alien with a head of shocking white hair was busy beating on the other two petrified aliens, driving his fist through the torso of the one with the shaggy mane. It churned her stomach how casually they inflicted violence onto others.
The shorter one, green and grotesque, must be cause of their paralysis, she concluded. How and why was still a mystery to her, but from what she gathered throughout the years, the Elite soldiers who worked for the Cold Imperial Army were highly skilled and absolutely lethal. She was sure that they would kill the others if she did nothing. 'Enemy of the enemy, right?' she thought. Looking at the device in hand, she felt compelled to act. A quick reprogramming and the click of a button, the ordinance once again took flight. She peered cautiously from behind the boulder and held her breath as it swiftly cut through the darkness before landing on its intended target, the explosion rumbling beneath her feet and washing over her in a bright light. She closed her eyes, seeing red.
When she looked once more, the green one staggered, a cavity where his stomach should be, before slumping forward. She looked on, fascinated, horrified, and terrified. 'Oh Gods, what have I done?' she thought. The other elites seemed shocked. Her breath hitched in her chest as she saw that they had sensed her. She turned to run, but before she could take five steps, the blue alien appeared before her. She skidded to a stop, panicked. Up close, he looked even more terrifying. His sclera completely red, pupils green and constricted, his snarl revealing black gums and sharp teeth. There was an odious look about him, and the way he stared her down filled her with a great fear, one that she never thought she would ever experience. Death, it seemed, had finally come for her.
The alien spoke to her in a language she could not understand. It walked up to her and grabbed her by neck, lifting her up and bringing her closer to his face that he could inspect her, red eyes probing through the screen and into her own. There was no time to think. With the flick of her wrist, she procured a plasma blade, aimed it towards his ribs, and with all her might, plunged it as deep as she was able, the hydraulics on her suit hissing as it propelled the blade deeper. Surprised, he dropped her and staggered backwards. She held onto the handle, pulling the blade out, ready for another strike.
He was too fast, however; before she could move to deliver a second blow, he came at her with a vicious hook punch, cracking the visor on her helmet. A blow to the stomach sent her crashing onto the boulder behind her. Agony consumed her and she felt her lungs heaved against the shocking pain. Once more, a warning flashed red. 'Suit breach detected' as the hissing on the side of her helmet slowly leaked precious oxygen. She slumped forward, face-planting into the dust, her blade left forgotten on the ground. She felt him nudge her with his foot, turning her over. He spoke once more in that alien tongue, and though she could not understand a single word, she knew that he meant to kill her. He lifted his foot and stomped hard onto her stomach. She screamed, the impact jarring her severely. Another warning. 'CRITICAL DAMAGE - STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED.' Once more, she found herself looking up at the stars, at the mercy of an alien being, the difference being that this one would spare her no mercy. Once more, tears fell from her eyes.
Defeat, it seemed, was inevitable. He lifted his foot once more, ready to deliver the killing blow, when something caught his eye. He looked up and was consumed in a ball of molten lightening before being thrown off to the side. She dared not move for what felt like forever. It wasn't until a figure in the peripheral caught her attention; it was the humanoid alien with the broken arm. With great effort, she stood up. She looked to her right, and saw that the hostile blue alien sprawled on the ground, knocked out. She looked for the red alien, finding him on the field, also knocked out. 'Time to make an exit,' she thought. She looked at her injured savior, grateful. Behind him, his two comrades staggered towards her, both injured. She motioned for them to follow her.
It took a little over five minutes of flight before they reached her ship, the thrusters on her exo-suit struggling to maintain propulsion due to the damage. She felt pain everywhere, and the panic from watching her oxygen meter slowly run low only added to her distress. She kept looking back, worried that the hostiles might pursue them, but all she saw were the three strangers, all of them looking poorly. Only when her ship was within reach did she allow herself to feel relief. The airlock doors slid open, and she stepped in. Turning around, she beckoned them in, eager to leave this cursed place. The did not hesitate, following her in. The field of energy around them seemed to wither, and along with, she assumed, their air supply, judging from the tinge of blue on their lips.
She pressed the button to close the door, but before it could shut completely, the blue alien appeared before her, prying the doors open. He looked absolutely murderous, the skin on his face singed in places, black flesh peeking beneath the charred skin, his eyes bugged out and staring directly at her. She shrieked and jumped back. Her new comrades tried procuring more of the molten lightening, but in their depleted state, the energy merely crackled around them. The one with his guts hanging fell to his knees, seemingly spent.
There was no option left. Scrolling through her arm console frantically, she looked for the one weapon that she knew would cause maximum damage, despite the injury that she knew she would sustain. 'It's now or never,' she thought. She flicked her wrist, and in her right hand, it appeared. She held her palm up towards his face and screamed as it fired, the shot of concentrated plasma knocking him back. The doors closed and seal shut, pressurizing the airlock. The massive heat that it generated burned through the suit, searing her skin.
There was nothing but pain, she thought. She could see nothing, feel nothing else. She could not take her mind off the burning sensation that overwhelmed her, the blast from the plasma canon no doubt leaving her hand with significant burns. 'This is what I get for cheaping out on the insulation,' a distant thought chimed. How she wished she could surrender to it, but the ship's alarm rang, signaling the presence of incoming hostile ships.
"The Cold Imperial Warships must be near. We need to leave." She looked up at the shorter of the three, startled. By sheer will and with the help of excess adrenaline, she stood up and made her way to the flight deck. The burning flesh in her hand barely registered as she readied the ship for take off. Before long, they were aloft and travelling at top speed, the resulting thrust pressing them firmly back onto their seats. She flicked a switch to activate the Gravity Correction, and the pressure from the forward thrust reduced, allowing her to throttle just a little faster.
The radar display showed the pursuing vessel slowly being left behind in the distance, but before they could get far enough away to lose them completely, another vessel appeared to the left. A quick maneuver right, and another one appeared dead ahead. She continued to evade them as they continued to appear on radar like a slow infestation that just won't quit. Even though the last of the enemy ship to appear had been as close as 500 meters, she was able to out pace them, and after a good ten minutes of clear sailing at the maximum speed that she could survive, they came upon a solar system with a bright white star at the center and a total of 23 planets in its orbit. Deftly, her fingers hovered over the hologram in front of her, plotting her next move. Swiftly, she maneuvered the ship down onto one of the smaller gas giants, hovering just beneath the cloud surface, out of visual range for any approaching ships. They waited in silence for a while, and not a few minutes later, they reappeared on radar once more.
"We're being tracked. Something on you is giving away our location." She turned to look at them to figure out where the tracking device might be. She pointed at the scouters they wore. "I'm betting you it's those devices. If I had to guess, it's the power source. Most likely purple matter fission, easily traced if you know the wavelength frequency." She unfastened her harness and stood, holding her hand out to them. "Give them to me. I have to encapsulate them, that'll block the signal that they're tracing." They hesitated, exchanging looks.
"That, or we all die. They're honing in on us with great precision, and we have less than 5 minutes before they get a lock on us. I don't think I have it in me to pilot at that speed again when they do. Unless one of you can operate this ship." She looked around, hopeful but exasperated, eyes wide and red, face pale and clammy.
The one seated next to her, the flamed hair one, nodded to the other two before handing her his scouter. The bald one tossed her his as well before reaching over to his comrade in the next seat, now almost-unconscious, his head lolling forward slightly. She procured a box from with a tap and the flick of her wrist, swiftly tossing the three devices in. As soon as the latch closed and locked, she tapped the button on top, and with an almost imperceptible flash of light, the box disappeared, and a small capsule materialized in its place. She turned to the radar display, hopeful, not daring to breathe. She kept staring as she saw them continue to search, directionless. When the ships slowly dispersed, flying past them, circling, she let out a sigh. Soon enough, the entire fleet pulled away, disappearing one by one from screen, until none were left.
Suddenly, pain didn't seem as far away as it had been a moment ago, and she clenched her teeth, letting out an involuntary groan. The adrenaline had finally worn out, and she could feel her bruising flesh under the suit, the slickness on her shoulder and down her chest and back, the burning sensation that engulfed her right hand completely.
"I'm going to the infirmary. You're welcome to come with." That was all she said before turning on her heel and heading out. The two aliens looked at their unconscious comrade and without exchanging a single word, stood up to drag him along before following her down the corridor.
End Chapter 1
Author's Note
Bulma's exo-suit is modelled after the Goliath powered armor that the Martian Marine Corps use in the show The Expanse, so if you're trying to picture how her exo-suit looks like, it's something like that, but with an arm device that stores items (much like an inventory) via capsule technology.
'[Time] to minimum safe distance' is the automatic warning given in Aliens before the whole place explodes, and I'll never forget how clinical yet significant it sounded. The timer counted down, but Ripley persisted in her search for Newt, and that will always be one of the more badass films in history, hands down!
"I have a hole in my stomach" (as uttered by Guldo in this chapter) is the line from 'Death Becomes Her' that Helen screams as she emerges from the water fountain after being shot by Madeline with Ernest's shotgun, and I thought it appropriate in this context for some reason. It just strikes me as funny, but also grim.
I hope this first chapter wasn't too long. I think 5k+ words is a good length for a chapter, don't you think? Looking forward to hearing what you guys think so far.