While the majority of the site is free, Premium Stories are available to members for a small fee. Premium access can be purchased in increments of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. We'll take a look at each of the stories that can be found in Premium to give you an idea of what is available. Some of our Premium Stories are part of a series. Today we're looking at the Ship Logs of the Santa Claus series by Mann Ramblings.

 

 

 

 

Sergeant Liam Jacks has made a life for himself on the cargo vessel the Santa Claus to escape the memories on civil unrest on Alpha Centauri.

 

Life should be simple enough, but one mysterious passenger can unravel the quiet in ways he hadn't imagined.

 

 

 

Erron Murfin is the newest crew member on board the Santa Claus, piecing his life back together with the help of the crew and the chef, Gamin, a long time family friend.

 

Sometimes starting over is easy. Other times the past and secrets of others make it much more difficult. Erron simply wants to belong. Shouldn't that make it simple?

 

 

 

As the head pilot of the Santa Claus, Priest is a scoundrel, a scammer, and a dreamer. A good time and making money is all he needs, but the ship intersects with a dwarf and a stranger, both with histories that may change Priest's priorities.

 

Will their involvement and the secrets they hold risk themselves, or everyone on board the ship as well?

 

 

Series Excerpt: From The Luxorian Fugitive

 

The cold sweat rolled off Liam Jacks's body as he sat upright in bed, sheets tangled around his legs. His deafening pulse drowned out the soft whirr of the environmental systems and the mechanical hum of the ship's movement. There was a hollow quality to the titanium hull of his private quarters that seemed to amplify the resonance of the dream. The large domineering man quaked like a child, the horror refusing to diminish in his awakened state.

 

Liam looked around his room as his reality began to settle. The room was as dark as expected this far into the planetary cluster in spite of the lack of view ports. The only illumination came from the data screen on the wall, its soft digital green time code the only proof that he was not lost in the abyss. Yes, he was aboard the cargo vessel “The Santa Claus.” Yes, they were on route to Luxorian from Alpha Centuari Prime for a supply delivery and pickup. Yes, he was the security chief of the thirty or so employed on the ship. Yes, the dream was of a harsh memory, but still just a dream.

 

“Mrs. Claus. Status report please.” Liam spoke in quiet shaken tones. Unsteady hands threaded through a tight head of auburn hair. A mature female synthetic voice hummed back in response.

 

“It is 03:17 hours, Sergeant Jacks. We will be docking at Luxorian Spaceport Alpha at approximately 11:15 hours. System sync to the Luxorian environment is in progress and will be complete in 2:25 hours. Is there any thing else I can do for you?”

 

“No.” His reply was brusque, but you couldn't hurt Mrs. Claus' feelings. She was artificial after all. Normally, Liam found his best friend and ship's captain Marc Danverse's penchant for ancient Earth history endearing, hence the ship's name and the computer's voice identity, but tonight there was no comfort in it. It was hard enough to sleep normally when forced to acclimate to a new planet’s environment and timeline every time you came into port. The ship's systems were designed to gradually shift the sleep cycles of everyone on board to match up to active hours for each destination. Not that it mattered this time; the option for rest was as fractured as his self-esteem right now.