Luther V. Kane

Part III: Discovered

Julia's secret is no longer a secret, but do the prying eyes belong to an ally or an enemy?

The survey mission had been going so well. Namunk had just planned to make a quick sweep by the planet, slingshot around the sun, then hibernate all the way home. Then the alarms went off on approach. Something was wrong, the hull was collapsing. Fast. And if the shell fractured out here in the vacuum of space, it would be all over. But if he ditched his ship in the atmosphere and there was nowhere for him to go he'd be just as gone. He turned the controls and aimed towards the blue orb ahead of him. If he found a suitable shelter, he could wait for a rescue indefinitely.

Uncorking a bottle of wine isn't really that hard. But despite my usual bravado, I was bit nervous. And nervousness gives the faintest air of uncertainty to even the simplest of tasks. One way or another the chianti would wind up opened, so it shouldn't have cause me any anxiety. I should have been concerned about the glasses, and I was, but I was also concerned about everything else because of them. I shook my head as I chuckled to myself. Knowing the perils of the human condition did almost nothing to alleviate them. I finally freed the cork.

Katherine's acquired a magical paintbrush that can make her dreams into reality. She really ought to be more careful with it.