Dusk Guard Updates and Other Things of Note · 6:32pm Jun 25th, 2014
Alright! So, a couple of announcements here.
First of all, I'm getting tired of not working on "Beyond the Borderlands" yet, and after playing with my writing schedule, I've come up with a shift to things. From now on, my Saturdays are going to be fanfic days. That means writing, editing, etc. Saturday's, from now on, are my chance to get the last two side stories done as well as get to work on "Beyond" at last. Which means it shouldn't be long before you guys get the final two side stories and I'll be able to start the first chapter of "Beyond" at last. I'm so freaking pumped to do this story! You have—well, actually, I'm pretty sure a bunch of you are as excited to read it as I am to write it. So that's the first bit of news.
The second bit of news is that at long last, there is going to be a group for The Dusk Guard Saga. That's right, a way to easily get the chronological order for all the stories, categorize everything from fan-art to fanfiction (would that be fan-fanfiction?), share extras, and have a forum to discuss all sorts of theories with other fellow DG fans.
Alright! I've had a number of requests for this, and I'm finally getting down to it. But with this comes a requirement: the group needs a banner. A banner that's 1000x250 pixels, to be exact. Now, I'm probably going to commission some artwork before long (after all, I've got more stories coming), but one thought I've had is to make this a bit of a community thing. So, if you want to do something artistic and have a neat idea for a banner (featuring scenes, characters, whatever, as longs as it's PG) from TDGS, then I'd like to see it. What I'd like to do is change the banner once per month, and just sort of rotate through whatever fun fan-made banners come along.
It's a thought anyway. As long as the banners are the right size (1000x250), PG, have the title (The Dusk Guard Saga) somewhere, and are DG related, I think I'm game. What do you guys say? Yay? Nay?
Let's see , other stuff ... Oh yes! This is an interesting article on how a writer's mind reacts to the art of writing. What I found interesting is that I can actually see the stages in my own history, moving from "ideas" to "visual" to "narration" over the last few years. Kind of cool.
And today I'm doing something pretty cool. I'm not going to talk about it yet (I want to wait and see what happens) but rest assured, if the outcome is good, you guys will hear about it.
And just for those of you looking for action, well, here's an excerpt from what I've spent the last month on: your first teasing look at Colony! Unedited, raw, from the first draft file, but hopefully indicative of more of what you'll see from me in the coming months!
The senator made his final words and pushed his chair back from the desk, slapping his files down with a loud smack that the microphone picked up and sent resonating around the room. Apparently they were breaking for lunch early.
“Come, this way,” the senator said to her in heavily accented English. She nodded, turning and scanning the room as she followed him towards the senatorial exit to the chambers. She still hadn’t bothered telling him that she still understood and spoke Spanish and Portuguese both. It never hurt to have someone underestimate your abilities, especially if it made an opponent slip up.
Valasquez was the first to leave the chamber, his swift pace putting him well ahead of the other senators despite his shorter height. Anna adjusted her pace as she caught up to him, her longer legs making it a bit easier for her to keep up with the senator than his aides, half of which seemed to have adopted a sort of shuffle between walking and jogging. Valasquez took a right as the hallway reached the end of the building, following the split towards the skyway that lead to the senator’s offices in the next building over.
Originally, the skybrigde had been built to cross over a street, but in the years since the building’s construction, that street had been torn up and replaced with a garden that senators or their aides could relax in. It certainly made for a decent view, although as they began to cross the glass-enclosed skybridge, she found her eyes drawn down towards the low concrete walls and rows of carefully clipped hedges, checking for prying eyes or individuals attempting to make themselves hidden.
Of course, that’d be a crappy place to ambush us from, she thought as she turned away from the passing garden. In fact, the best way to get someone crossing the skybridge, other than a bomb, would be— Her stride stumbled as she looked up at the roof of the building across the street from the garden, her eyes taking in the abnormally large number of people standing on the edge, the long, narrow objects that they were holding—including the one that was pointed at the skyway.
“Down!” She was moving forward before she’d even finished screaming, throwing two aides out of the way with the augmented power of her suit as the rod the man on the roof was holding let out a puff of smoke. Her outstretched hands met Valasquez’s back as she shoved him to the ground, slamming her knee down and throwing her body over his, her back to the glass wall of the skyway.
The pocket-propelled-grenade slammed into the side of the skyway and detonated, throwing glass across her back and releasing enough of a shockwave to make her body jerk. She could feel stabbing impacts across her back plates and skinsuit as fragments of metal and glass ricocheted off her body. Time seemed to slow as the loud crack of the explosion mixed with the high-pitched tinsel noise of the glass panels breaking apart and then shattering. The glass in front of her spiderwebbed as fragments of metal broke through it like bullets.
Then it was over, and she lifted herself from the ground, her attention shifting down at the senator she’d been hunched over. He looked stunned, dazed from the impact, but aside from a few light cuts on his face he seemed fine.
Her audio filters returned to full volume and she could make out the screams of the wounded around her. A quick look told her what she’d already expected to know. Most of the senator’s aides were already dead or would be soon, their bodies lacerated by the flying glass and the force of the explosion. The far wall of the skybridge was gone, a gaping crescent of twisting metal on the floor marking the place where the grenade had gone off. The glass along the entire side of the skyway had shattered, falling in tiny, sparkling pieces to the garden below or scattered along the inside of the bridge by the blast.
Who the hell didn’t make this stuff bulletproof? Anna thought as she whipped the FOX-9 from its dock and thumbed the safety off. She squeezed the trigger down, feeling a grim sense of satisfaction as the attackers on the roof dove for cover under the hail of her bullets. She’d defied Valasquez’s order to keep her gun unloaded until it was needed, and her instincts had been right. She fired off a second burst of gunfire, watching as the ammo counter in the corner of her vision dropped again.
Her attackers were taking cover now, crouching behind the upper edges of the building and returning sporadic fire that fell wide. They’d adapt quickly though, her weapon was meant for mid and close-range engagements. At ranges longer than a hundred feet, her accuracy was questionable, even with the enhanced strength of her suit to resist the recoil.
A couple of the attackers seemed to have already figured out the same. Anna let out a muffled curse as two of them rose over the edge of the building, RPGs centering on her location.
Get out! her mind screamed as the first of the RPGs let out a puff of smoke. She checked the distance back to the hallway, but she could already see it was too far. With Valasquez slowing her down, she’d never make it in time. She’d live, but he probably wouldn’t. Which left one other, faster, option. Down.
She didn’t have time to be gentle. Valasquez let out a gasp of pain as she ripped him from the ground, her enhanced fingers digging into his bicep as she clutched the man close to her chest and then jumped straight for the side of the skybridge. Safety glass shattered around her as the weakened panes gave way under their impact, and then she was falling, the sharp crack of the other grenade hitting the bridge behind her ringing through her helmet.
She bent her knees as she hit, trying to absorb the impact of the two-story fall as much as possible. Valasquez let out a shriek of pain as he slammed into the dirt, his right leg bent at an unnatural angle alongside him. But he was aware enough to scream. Good enough. She grabbed him once again, ignoring the howl of agony he let out as she began dragging him across the garden, away from the trigger-happy attacker behind them. The second RPG shot by overhead with a faint whoosh of smoke, missing the skybridge and continuing onward in a lazy arc that ended when it slammed into the side of the senate building that had been built across where the old road was.
Alarms were sounding now, and she could hear echoing sounds of gunfire, although she wasn’t sure where they were coming from. Her opponents seemed decently armed, but at the same time they hadn’t shown much professionalism so far.
Ahead of her a waist-high hedge was growing out a concrete box about a foot-and-half tall, and she picked Valasquez up, tossing him over the hedge and ignoring his yell as he landed on the other side of the hedge.
“Quedate aqui!” She said as she jumped over the hedge and pushed him back up against the concrete box. “Quedate abajo!” Stay here. Stay down. That was one priority completed. As long as he stayed down, there was a decent chance he’d survive the next few minutes. Her radio was already picking up lots of activity on various channels used by the senatorial police. Barring a stray accident or a flanking maneuver from the roof of the senatorial building itself, her client was as safe as she could make him. Which meant that her first objective—getting Valasquez out of harm’s way—was completed. Now for step two.
Anna risked a glance over the top of the hedge and suppressed a grimace. The skyway was a twisted mass of metal and burning carpet now; the second grenade had apparently hit it dead in the center. Smoke was beginning to billow out of the framework, dark and hazy, obscuring her view of the roof her assailants were sitting on.
Works for me, she thought with a glance at her ammo counter. There was barely a quarter of the magazine left after her two bursts, but she didn’t dare reload yet. She was only carrying four other magazines, only one of which would be good against decent body-armor. I knew I should have pushed for more bullets, she thought as she darted out from behind the hedge, moving forward towards her attackers. With any luck, there won’t be many of them or they didn’t see me jump—No such luck.
She slid down onto her knees, ignoring the dirt that she was kicking up between her suit plates, and braced herself on a ceramic flowerbox. Across the street opposite the end of the garden, she could see several assailants rappelling down the side of the building, kicking off the ancient brick as they dropped into the street. Several of them had already made it to street level; she could see heads poking above the hedges as her attackers moved up. Now that she could get a good look at them, she could make out the blue bandannas wrapped around their heads.
Great. Local thugs. That at least explained why they had missed. And, she thought as she brought her FOX-9 up and sighted down the barrel, zeroing in on the back of one of the rapellers. They’re dropping in full view of their target.
Het gun let out a short, staccato cough as she tapped the trigger, and one of the attackers let go of his rope with a scream, falling out of sight as she moved to her next target. The FOX-9 barked again, two bullets dropping from the counter this time, and another one of the thugs plummeted down to the pavement.
The last thug twisted on the line, trying to bring the assault rifle slung over his shoulder to bear. In the process, he lost his grip, and dropped out of sight before she could get her shot off. There was a faint crunch from the street as he landed on something.
“Idiota,” she muttered to herself as she ducked back behind the flowerbox. Some of her attackers were returning fire now, and she lifter her gun blindly over the edge of the box and sprayed back the remainder of her magazine, smiling grimly as she heard shouts of surprise and the gunfire stopped.
Definitely amateurs, she thought as the mag popped out of the back of her gun, bouncing off of the flowerbox and landing in the dirt next to her. She pulled her gun back, shoving another magazine into it and cocking it as the counter in the corner of her eye reset. Then she threw herself over the flowerbox, rolling across her back and coming down in a crouch on the far pathway. The gardeners were going to have a fit when they saw what she’d done to their tulips.
Her attackers were close enough that she could get an accurate count now. There were five of them cutting through the garden, each brandishing shiny assault rifles that were far too new and expensive to have been procured by the people holding them. This was a sponsored hit.
She sighted the SMG once more and gave the trigger a quick squeeze, aiming the barrel right through a heavy hedge. Greenery shredded into confetti as the burst of gunfire tore through it. The head behind the hedge dropped from sight, and she twisted to another target, working the trigger like a drummer, with slow, precise taps.
The first two targets went down and didn’t rise, but the other three vanished from sight as they sought cover. Gunfire resumed from the roof, and Anna eased forward, putting herself behind another flowerbox and bracing her elbows on it as she lined up her sights on the roof. She could see muzzle flashes from two guns, both firing in long bursts that were probably as inaccurate as they were—a bullet cracked against the ceramic she was leaning on, and she revised her opinion, noting the muzzle flashes and giving the trigger a quick squeeze.
One of the flashes stopped, followed by the second, and Anna kept her sights glued to the roof. If her attackers were as dumb as she’d made them out to be … A figure, silhouetted by the afternoon sun, rose in a crouch to move back, and her SMG barked again in her hands. The silhouette’s head snapped back and fell out of sight.
There was a burst of pain as something cracked into her upper arm with enough force to snap her gun to one side, and she ducked below the edge of the flowerbox as the remaining attackers opened up on her cover. She could see the long scratches on the composite plate protecting her bicep where the bullet had glanced off of her. Lucky me it didn’t hit head on. Composite plate was tough stuff, but if they had money-guns, there was a chance they were rolling with money-ammunition as well. She tucked her legs and arms in, reducing her profile as the barrage of gunfire continued, chunks of dirt and splintered ceramic raining across her back and sides.
If they’re as dumb as I think they are… The barrage stopped and she smiled as she swung her body back up, squeezing the trigger down even before she’d sighted in on the closest target. The thug went down hard, red welts blossoming across her chest as several of the rounds punched into her.
Two to go. She ducked back below the remains of the flowerbox, dirt spilling over her legs, and began crawling to a new vantage point.
Stupid street trash. Somebody supplies them with some nice guns to take down a public target, and not one of them wears any sort of body armor. She checked the local radio traffic, but the only band that was seeing any sort of activity was the police band. Her suit was picking up the faint, sharp pops of pistol-fire too, although it wasn’t in her immediate area.
Must be a second batch of attackers somewhere else, she thought as she eased her head over another hedge, checking for any sign of the two remaining blue-bandannas. Hopefully the cops here are up to snuff. I’d hate to get fla—
A hedge lit up with muzzle flashes and she threw herself backwards as impacts rang across her chest plating, bullet fragments flying through the air as the rounds deformed against her chest and shoulders. She landed on her back with her thump, letting out a sigh of relief as she glanced down at herself. No obvious wounds.
Well, now I know they aren’t using armor-piercing weapons, she thought as the barrage of fire stopped. They'd learned to fire through the hedges though, that was unfortunate. Still, if they didn’t have armor-piercing rounds.
Anna kicked herself up from the ground and jumped over the bush at a full sprint, the neural suit’s artificial muscles making the four-foot leap with ease. Two hedges lit up with gunfire this time, and she jumped to one side, firing on the go and stitching bullets across the front of one of the hedges. The muzzle-flare stopped, and the second gun appeared to be having trouble adjusting to how fast she was moving. She jumped again, putting the full power of her suit to work, and launched herself high into the air. She got one good look at the open, slack jaw of her last attacker before the FOX-9 roared, and then it was over, the last attacker down. She landed in a crouch nearby, her armored boots digging into the soil.
A quick check showed that her attacker was still breathing, although probably not for long. She pulled the woman’s weapon away anyway, eyeing the gloss to the gunmetal. This thing’s brand-new, probably never even been fired. And it’s a Fulmec 9-1 milspec. Not a cheap gun. She glanced back down at the shuddering woman lying on the ground and shook her head. Somebody definitely supplied these to you. I wonder who? It wasn’t much of a mental leap to take a quick guess.
“Da—“ The woman shuddered as she tried to say something, and Anna leaned in a little closer as the woman clenched and then unclenched her hands, fighting to get the words out. “Da—damn armor.”
“It keeps me alive,” Anna said with a chuckle, only to pause as the woman gave her head a little shake.
“Not … you. Ours. Too—too slow.” She let out another little gasp and then closed her eyes, still shuddering.
Too slow? Anna frowned as she took a look around at the garden. They had armor? The smoke from the skyway was beginning to thin now, the black haze fading as the fire burned itself out. And the pops of gunfire had stopped, replaced by the faint, shrill shriek of alarms.
The police channel was still going wild though, and Anna keyed the channel. Static-riddle voices, speaking rapid-fire Spanish and Portuguese, filled the inside of her helmet. Ann listened to the phrases, sorting through the mélange to pick out the useful data. There was still one attacker somewhere inside the building, and he was—
Adrenaline rushed back into her system as she picked up the words being thrown back and forth, figured out what the last thug had been telling her.
The last attacker was wearing an exoskeleton. And he was at the entrance to the skybridge.
Everyone have a great week!
An action heavy story about polotics and gunfire set somewhere in the future.
There is little to be wrong about such a story.
...
Aaaand I'm hooked. Hopefully i'll be able to come up with some Amazon bucks when you release it.
That is very exciting news!
I'm already on the edge of my seat.
Actually, I just got the Spark of Inspiration. I'll see if I can't put something together for that.
I've seen the term "Recursive Fiction" thrown around in regards to products of the hugely-popular stuff. It certainly sounds fancy enough.
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The idea with this story was: get lots of action scenes. Bombs, explosions, gunfire, chases, everything. Now stick all that in a blender. Turn it on. That's the story.
Now blow the blender up.
It's going to be long (it's 90k+ right now, and I just reached the end of the first part, so I may cut down some of the earlier chapters), but it's going to end with explosions. Lots of them. If this thing isn't at least one-half action scenes, I'm going to be disappointed.
2233964
Glad you like it.
2234020
If all goes well with my other project I sent out today, this one won't just be at Amazon. In fact, if all goes well, the same will go for Dead Silver and maybe even One Drink. And there will be physical copies! Actual physical copies.
I don't want to get ahead of myself though. That's only if things go awesomely.
Well I am looking forward to just about everything you mentioned here, especially Colony. That extract was a marvelous read and I was hooked in seconds. I just hope I will have the means to purchase it when you do release it.
I do have a question now though, have you had much Dusk Guard fanfiction?
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I've had a couple of people ask about it and mention that they're working on something, but haven't had any run by me yet. I've had a few messages asking me questions, but never seen a final product. Still, given the interest, it's only a matter of time.
Though there was the crossover with Arad (which was a collaborative piece, not a fan-piece), which could use a folder.
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Sounds like this group might become quite a quite a fun place to be.
I also hope that little gamble of yours pays off.
This story is relevant to my interests. I'm a bit more than halfway through Dead Silver and I'm enjoying that as well. Good luck with your secret project thingy!