C James

Of course it's a non cliffhanger! I never use cliffhangers, and this is a Christmas chapter. I'm feeling so christmasy, no doubt aided by the fact I got back from a Christmas party a short while ago. I've always wanted to post a Christmas chapter on Christmas, but due to my glaring inability to estimate the number of chapters, I never could. I abandoned any hope of doing so with Circumnavigation, but them, a few eeeks ago, I was almost at this chapter, so I started looking at the calendar. I saw that I could do it, and so, my most christmasy chapter ever posted on late Christmas Eve. (Arizona time). This and the preceding chapter, Click, are just about double length, a Christmas present from me. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Chapter 106: Christmas at the Farm Author's note: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all, and Happy New Year! Due to a lag in writing on my part due to work, I've run behind again. I sincerely aplogize, but this means a two week gap until the next chapter, instead of the usual one week. This chapter, and especially the preceeding one, have been close to double sized, because I wanted to have the story Christmas and our Christmas on the same day. Anyway, best wishes to one and all

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and now, a very special Christmas chapter, Christmas at the Farm, is up. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all, and Happy New Year! Merry Christmas to all,and to all a good night.

But but but... I never use cliffhangers.

The navy only knows that something on Kookoburra is transmitting on that freq; they don't know what, or why. They think it's Trevor being sloppy. So, they sent of a complaining memo to the customs service. We can expect all to be well, assuming that government bureaucracy functions smoothly, efficiently, and quickly, over the holidays.

All we know for sure is that Basingstoke is landing, and also knows where Kookaburra is. But, what could go wrong?

Trevor sure has had some surprises. But, that final line... it's just a realization of something, and that something, well, it's something that needs realizing, and I think most everyone would agree it;s a good thing. So, it can't possibly be even close to a cliffy. Thanks! And yeah, Lisa just came face to face with the truth, and it hurt. A lot. I very nearly had "the penny drops" as the chapter title, but I don't think it's a widely understood term in the US (Is it? I'd love to here opinions from anyone on this) so I went with "click". So, our intrepid foursome are at last comparing notes, and are looking the right way. I wonder... will it be in time? I'm going to post the next chapter late of Christmas Eve, Arizona time, internet connections permitting. That way, it'll still be Christmas in Australia. But but but... It's not a cliffy!!! I think we all know just what Lisa realized... and that's a good thing, right? And, I'll post late Christmas Eve instead. Wildone!!!!!! There aren't any cliffhangers. The interactions were difficult to write, it's tricky to do scenes with a large group. But it was fun, and probably easier to do during the run up to Christmas than it would have been in, say, July. And Trevor sure did get a surprise. I've been looking forward to that scene ever since he first told Lisa, long ago, "I'm not stupid, Lisa" when she speculated that Jim and Dirk might be a couple. Trevor can be a touch oblivious at times. As for the cliffy accusations, shame on you!!! What overcame Lisa? Look at what was being talked about just beofre it. Basingstoke landing... We have no idea what he's up to, it might not be anythign bad. Maybe he just wants a nice place to spend the holidays? The clock is that one, also called a mariner's clock. It was in the final paragraph of chapter 48, The HAnd of Fate: (the one where Trevor had the uninvited guests, and ended up feeling kinda down and under pressure). She's remembering that bitter chill, and how they'd figured out that the pirates had hit the day they got engaged (lisa was on her way to get engaged, though she didn't know it, when she looked at the clock Trevor ha given her, and felt an icy chill). CJ

Krista, just go look at what Evil Steve hath wrought: he's trying to frame me and set me up for the cliffhanger crown!!

Precisely!! Therefor, we can safely say, with Albert Einstein's blessing, that anyone trying to certainly say that I'm eligible is not referring to reality. I like that!!

It's a conspiracy, I tell ya... they're out to get me!!

But but but... That wasn't a cliffhanger! The chapter ended with Trevor feeling kinda down and under a bit of pressure, but that's not a cliffhanger... Plus, Lugh is right; it wasn't posed in 2011, so it's not eligible. But there aren't any cliffhangers!!!! Actually, none of them did, so they are all unqualified!! Join the bandwagon! Cia for Queen of Cliffhangers!!!

Ooops! I thought "God did not protect him" meant something else (his sexuality) did. I see now it could be read the other way, and he did get ill. Either way, I love it.

Bill, I very much enjoyed this story, and I'm delighted to see it back, Thank you!!!!! One aspect that sticks in my mind though is the reverend Fred Phillips. He didn't get ill. That's slightly incongruous, unless you think about it... and remember just how many big name homophobe "reverends" have been caught with rent boys, etc... Let's just say I'm not surprised in the least that reverend Phillips is immune. Well done!!! And BTW, for anyone wondering about the viability of life surviving a fiery meteorite entry into the atmosphere, that's not far fetched at all, because it is very possible. In fact, a meteorite named Allan Hills 8400, found in Antarctica, is a piece of Mars, and has what some think to be microscopic fossils. There is also a fairly mainstream theory that, due to MArs cooling first, it would have been habitable before Earth was, and thus life might not have arisen on Earth at all, it may have arrived here, in a meteor, just like the organisms in Crash Landing.

Bill, I very much enjoyed this story. Thank you!!!!! One aspect that sticks in my mind though is the reverend Fred Phillips. He didn't get ill. That's incongruous, unless you think about it... and remember just how many big name homophobe "reverends" have been caught with rent boys, etc... Let's just say I'm not surprised in the least that reverend Phillips is immune. Well done!!!

Chapter 105: Click Four hours before dawn, Trevor was alone at the helm as Kookaburra cruised north. The summer air was warm on his mostly bare skin, and absently, he glanced ahead and to starboard, at the distant glow of Kalbarri’s lights. “I bring coffee,” Shane said quietly, padding out into the cockpit, two steaming mugs in hand. Trevor smiled, accepting the welcome brew. “You’re early; we’re over an hour from the approach.” Shane, who like Trevor was wearing just boardshorts in the w

Click is up. And, per our use of Australian Maths for the title numbering, we're at chapter AUD72 I'm pleased to announce that the chapter after this one, the Christmas (in the story) chapter, will, thanks to special efforts by my team, be posted in time for Christmas, which is Sunday and thus a bit early. As for the current chapter, Click, I think it's a fun one in many ways.

Totally agreed! It's high time to break the glass ceiling, and have a female sovereign of the malevolent precipices!! Totally agreed!! I agree so much that I'll even join in a chant of down with C James!!! Yes, Cia is very deserving of the crown... and I think this is her year! Ha! You use clifhangers... evil cliffhangers!!! (Though I don't use them myself, I know 'em when I see 'em!) In the case of a tie vote, the title and crown are shared... both win. So, maybe Mark & Cia could both be the reigning soverign of the malevolent precipices? This could be done... with some careful planning. Yes, shameful what they are trying to do to me, isn't it? And, of course, I'd never do such a thing myself...

Emoe!!! Ummm, I thought you'd come here to defend me??? The pitchfork crowd is indeed gathering.... they're out to frame me, again!!!!

ACK!!!! But Cia, I'm afraid you're mistaken; just do the math: 2010 - 2011 is -1, and 2010 + -1 is 2009, and 2011 - 2009 is, 2, so adding one more would equal three. Therefor, I am ineligible. And Mark... I so wanted you to keep that crown. I think it fit you very well.

I'm hemmed in by the title and past declarations; The story title means a circumnavigation of the Earth. ;-)

But but but... I'm innocent, I tell ya, innocent!!! It's all a conspiracy to frame me... E Tu, Sharon?? DadyDaveK; don't let them mislead you; I never use cliffhangers!! Krista... when I campaigned for you, I was only trying to be helpful . Turtleboy, what did I do wrong? Any string of sequential numbers is, by definition, a row. Is 23, 27, 29, a row? Yep. So, therefor, as long as the years are in numerical order, they are, by definition, in a row, and I am thus ineligible. Okay, everyone, just look at Wildone's first post in the thread... he actually admits to the nefarious practice of google-busting! Shameful!! Sneaky!!! It's no coincidence that if you google "king of evil cliffhangers" from anywhere on the planet, the #1 result is Wildone. He's evil, you know....

Yes, unquestionably, Wildone is the King of Evil Cliffhangers. Just ask google, because Wildone comes up as the #1 result, worldwide, for King of Evil Cliffhangers. Don't beleive me? Try it yourself. google king of evil cliffhangers He's also #3 for King of cliffhangers, though only two wikipedia entries on movie cliffhangers beat him. And yet, he tries to frame poor, innocent me???? And admits to google-busting, no less!!!! For shame!!!! BTW, for those unaware, google-busting is manipulating the results of google's search algorithm to come up with the results you want, for anyone's search. It's sneaky, nefarious, and only a malicious few can pull it off successfully, due to the computer skills needed. So, has Wildone admitted to being a hacker??? Hrmm, he's left us hanging again...

Ahh, methinks you need a dictionary. See? A row is a line of numbers or things. So, 2008, 2009, and 2010 are indeed and unquestionably a row, and thus, I am ineligible for the cliffhanger award. Wildone!!! Don't say that... Were Cia to hear these vile and slanderous allegations, she might believe them... Surely, you aren't serious that anyone has PM'd you with such claims? As if I'd ever do such things...

AAAAAACCCCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wildone... You've accused me of a behind the scenes campaign to help Cia win the award... I'm shocked, appalled, and flummoxed by this grievous libel!!! It is not fair, it is not right, and my good name must be cleared! Also, you imply that I am eligible this year... I'm not! Not only for the obvious reason (that Circumnavigation is entirely cliffhanger-free) but due to being subject to past wins... no one may win any award for three years in a row, and I won in 2007, 2008, and 2010, and am thus ineligible this year. Wildone... I am shocked, appalled, and absolutely stunned that you would do that, and at Christmas, no less? Have you no shame? Have you no sense of the Christmas spirit? How could you do this at Christmas... I can't imagine anything less Christmasy... Oh, the horror... oh, the humanity! Will no one defend me, and help me clear my good name? HElp???

I found a Christmas tree pic, from Australia! I'm also reminded, every time I look at the snow outisde, that Australians often celebrate Christmas with a beach picnic. That sure sounds good right now. And, on an utterly unrelated topic, is anyone else following the Fobos-Grunt mission? The names means "Phobos soil" in Russian, and it's a Russian mission to the largest Martian moon, Phobos, intended to bring a half pound of soil back to earth. Sadly, it won't happen. The probe didn't perform its escape burns after launch in November, and is in low earth orbit. The probe does not respond to commands. The Australians managed to get a ping response and maybe some telemetry frames, but that's it. Even if control is regained, the mission cannot happen; the window for the trans-mars burn is long passed. Fobos Grunt is quite large, and it holds upwards of 13 tons of highly toxic fuel as well (a type of hydrazine, very nasty stuff). If it freezes, that means some could survive reentry. It becomes very likely it would, if the tanks are titanium instead of aluminum as reported. It'll be widely covered in the press, for sure, starting very soon. The perigee is currently 123 miles (198km), too low for a stable orbit (you get a slight amount of drag at that altitude) so the orbit is decaying. Apogee is curently 169 miles (273KM). The apogee is lowering far more per day then the perigee (due to orbital mechanics, a velocity change on one side of an orbit primarily changes the paramiters of the opposite side, which is why you do a burn at perigee to change apogee, and visa versa). Current re-entry projections center on mid January, and Roscosmos said January 12th, plus or minus 7 days. Anyone feel like a pick-a-time pool? My own guess is Jan 6th, 4pm GMT, which is a bit earlier than the expert time frames I've seen. BTW, the one ground station to get any response at all from the spacecraft was an Australian site in Perth. They got a reply ping, plus possible telemetry frames, though that was a couple of weeks ago.