This idea comes from my editor, the amazing Sasha Vorun, of Ninestar Press. It’s as canon as you want it to be. I’ve always daydreamed about the being who commissioned the singular Lucidity and what that person had in mind. It was always meant to be a sort of ‘I have too much money and like things my way’ ship, but how, then does it end up at a shipyard in the middle of the Alliance?

This piece is short, like all the micro fiction I’m putting up here on the blog. But it’s also a story about a cute little acorn ship for a very eccentric Keft, and maybe also a bit about Salesblob’s extended family.

(Salesblob gets fan mail. I love you people)

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“Okay but what about green? Have you considered polka dots?” Vas E’Nud, a Keft gatoi in a blue and red polka dotted dress, crouched down to inspect the underside of the silver acorn shaped ship that had just been delivered. Zie’d ordered it over a year ago, from a specialty manufacturer on the other side of the Alliance. Same style as most Keft ships, of course, one didn’t want to stand out too much, but with some very significant upgrades.

A man of nondescript bipedal origin scratched the side of his calf and frowned. He let the spray gun in his hand fall to his side. “I have four color options, friend. Green, black, and two shades of something called ‘pomegranate.’ If you want anything else you have to special order it.”

“Oh I will.” Zie waved the man off and stood. The interior was set–that was all factory install. Where the standard Keft ship was mostly cargo hold, Vas had expanded the galley and added a game room. The ‘stem’ portion of the ship had been ballooned as well, giving more of a vestibule appearance to the cockpit, which could now easily seat four in the plush chairs zie’d had installed. Each of the five sleeping quarters had their own small universal lavatory that would service anything from a gelatinous zooplankton to a Mmnnuggl.

And carpet. Oh, the carpet. Deep, plush, and a different color for every room. Vas loved carpet. Digging your bare toes into those springy fibers felt like a moss that wasn’t crawling with bugs. The walls were all painted, too, some even with paneling. The interior was perfect.

Which was why the exterior was such an issue.

Vas paced around the ship, sitting on its own in the center of zir private docking port the largest of Keft’s orbital stations. Zir grandfather owned this station and three others and Vas could berth the ship wherever zie wanted, but this port had the best view of the wasteland planet of Keft. Vas had never visited but had seen plenty of photos. The ship–zie really needed to name it–felt like a gift to zir ancestral homeward. Something beautiful to look at, in the sight of something so ugly.

“Something shimmery,” Vas muttered to zirself. “Not too bright, but it should catch the light. Maybe I could highlight the fins–why is this here!?” Zie punched a small indent where a laser port fanned from the biometal. “I didn’t order weapons! What a waste, and what a ruin of lines. What am I going to shoot at? Keft planetary flotsam?”

Zie kicked the side of the ship for good measure, which only succeeded in hurting zir toe. “Quirky Quells Custom Shipyard,” Vas spat into zir communicator. “And I want to speak to Quell, not a sales rep.”

The pocket comm pinged a moment later, and a yellow blob of semi-viscous goo appeared on the screen. A singular stalk rose from the center of the blob, one eyeball rolling in circles on the tip. “Vasssssss,” Quell greeted. “Problemssss?”

“Weapons?” Vas asked, and flashed the comm at the ship. “I didn’t ask for that.”

“Stannnndard. Jus donnn arm.”

“But they ruin the lines of the ship, Quell!”

The yellow goo rippled and then spat a… piece of itself, into the air. The goopy tear landed back on the mass and reabsorbed. Quell was the best ship designer in the Alliance, no question, and it was a credit to his business that he didn’t mind taking commissions from such a far border world as Keft. But Vas wanted the ship zie wanted, and zie wanted it done right.

“Wwwwwwant refund?” Quell blubbered.

Vas gave a much belabored sigh and shook zir head. “No. I want my ship. Scrap this thing. I don’t care where it goes or what you do with it. Don’t even bother stripping it down. I want a whole new shell and I don’t want to reuse anything from this trash. This time, we’re going to go over every inch in detail. This time, we’re going to do it right.”

 

~~

Hey readers! Did you know you can subscribe to this blog? Don’t miss out on review Sunday and Ardulum Wednesday ever again! Look on the right sidebar for the grey box that says ‘Get my blog posts via email,’ enter your email, and hit subscribe. It’s that easy! (if you can’t see it, just scroll down a bit.)

For the true Ardulum nerds out there, here is the annotated timeline my editor and I finally settled on for meshing book two’s timelines with book three’s. You can still see some of our notes. I know some inconsistencies came up, but wow. Don’t run more than two calendars in the same series. It will only bite you in the ass later.

 

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Timeline

November 18^th, 2060 – Crippling war ends, book one ends

December 2^nd, 2060 – Systems still cleaning up post Crippling war, book two starts

Between August and December (late) 2060 – intention to travel to Xinar announced (Yorden), more ships from Alliance arrive (late December), Mmnnuggls overthrow government and Ekimet and Miketh taken prisoners (around December 12-14th), flare culls begin (mid-December),

December 5^th, 2060 – Ttynn arrives to Risalian space to attempt negotiations (going to have to explain this as an early first contact so that Yorden is not in it)

December 12^th, 2060 –Charted Systems invited to join Alliance fleet near Risal (explained as unknown why Risalians are trying to talk to the Alliance, will have to explain in Risalian chapter), Neek, Emn, Nick arrive on Keft, Yorden’s timeline in book three starts

December 13^th, 2060 – Neek and crew trade Mmnnuggl pod for Lucidity (in theory they could arrive on Ardulum on this same day, assuming linear timeline), Yorden gets Neek’s old pod

December 14^th, 2060 – Rallying still happening with growing armada near Risal, Yorden discusses xylan weaponry with Mmnnuggls, discovers Neek is alive

December 15^th, 2060 – Yorden’s communication to Neek’s parents, planet Neek begins to pull away from Systems. Yorden negotiates with the Risalians

December 16^th, 2060 – second call to Charted Systems to join the armada, crew still not on Ardulum via nonlinear timeline, on suggested linear timeline, Ardulum could move to Eie on this day

December 17^th, 2060 – High Priest kills Neek president

December 18^th, 2060 – Neek officially withdraws from the Charted Systems

December 19^th, 2060 – Neek wormhole collapsed by Neek people (aided by Ekimet and Miketh), crew arrival on Ardulum (non-linear time here)

December 20^th, 2060 – Charted System ships start getting tesseract generators, second day on Ardulum (nonlinear time)

January 1^st, 2061 – Ekimet still preparing Neek for war

January 1^st, 2016 – Militia training, laser additions to Charted System ships

January 5^th, 2061 – testing completed on xylan ships

January 8^th, 2061 – Charted System ships final count, ships still being outfitted with xylans. Ardulum moves to Eie? Suggest moving back

January 12^th, 2061 – armada moves to Neek space, initial battle, given one week to comply. Ardulum moves to Eie on nonlinear timeline

January 18^th, 2061 – Ardulum has been at Eie for one week now (a week is unlikely to be seven days). Palace reconstruction underway in book three. Tentative negotiation reached with Eieans and Ardulans

January 19^th, 2061 – Mmnnuggls start burning Neek forests

January 24^th, 2061 – Atalant hears the cries of the burning andal and Ardulum consents to let Atalant return to Neek

January 25^th, 2061 –

January 26^th, 2061 – Atalant returns to Neek, Yorden contacts her, most of end of book 3 happens this day or the next

January 27^th, 2061 – final battle begins pre-dawn on this day. at some point in the battle the day rolls over to here (Ch18, bk3), Ardulum returns to Neek

January 2^th, 2061 –

January 30^th, 2061 – end of book 3

 

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Old blog post that is a bit more personal, on why Neek has such a shitty relationship with religion.

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Religion in Ardulum

J.S. Fields

 

Anyone who thinks that science fiction lacks higher themes has something to sell you, or has clearly never read science fiction. Although the Ardulum series addressed a number of current issues—gender, land use, genetic engineering, etc.—the most overarching theme for me, at least when writing it, was religion.

 

I was brought up in a religious family. The exact flavor of the religion doesn’t really matter, as it followed the basic formula of weekly (sometimes more) dragging to a service when I would have much rather been sleeping than sitting through some old guy (they were always men) talking about books I didn’t care about.

 

The funny thing is, though I hated the services, I lovedthe religion itself. I was active in my community. I headed youth programs in high school. I prayed, and did things ‘right,’ and really felt like I had a place at the table in this religion.

 

I came out my freshman year of college.

 

It never occurred to me that who I loved would conflict withwhat I loved. Imagine my surprise when, that first summer back from college, I was invite to our religious leader’s home (let’s call him Mr. B.) for dinner. I’d often had dinner with Mr. B. and his family, and I had often babysat his son. Mr. B was our youth director, and I looked up to him as leader, and a mentor, and someone I respected.

 

Imagine my surprise then, when the topic of discussion over pizza spun to verses in scripture that dealt with homosexuality. It took me probably ten minutes to realize what was happening, because I trusted these people so much, and I had given so much to this institution, and to have the person I admired more than perhaps any other sitting across from me at a table, calmly discussing how this one thing about me basically negated everything I’d ever done with my life… it broke me.

 

I never did find all the pieces.

 

When the first Ardulum book begins, we meet Neek, a bitter exile from her homeworld for her rejection of the Ardulan religion. She’s lost her parents, her family, her culture, because she said no to a religion that hurt her, and her world. Her rage, and her pain, and her sadness all came from that one moment with Mr. B, and knowing that I could never go back to a service, even those important holiday ones with my family. It came from knowing that I’d lost a world, too, and like Neek, I could choose to go back, but if I did, I’d die. Neek would be shot. I’d probably have killed myself.

 

But the Ardulum series is about a lot more than hurt. In book two, in particular, and parts of book three, you can see Neek’s (now Atalant’s) hope that maybe there is a way back. Because something you held so dear for so long can’t be just left behind. You can bury it, and pretend it doesn’t exist, but those things that truly matter—they’ll always be a part of you. Atalant’s hope is realized in Emn, and finally, in her own metamorphosis, where she realizes that there isn’t just one way to be a part of Ardulum, or her people, but that to do things differently, sometimes you have to take charge.

 

I don’t have the powers of Emn or any of Atalant’s awesome ships. I definitely don’t have a sentient, moving planet at my disposal, but I did find my way back to the religion I loved, if not the institution. I wanted that sense of yearning for community to drive Neek/Atalant the same way it drove me, because I think most of us search for some sense of belonging, whether through religion, sports, academic pursuits, or any number of other social group activities.

 

I know, too, that my experience isn’t unique, especially among those in the queer community. I really hope that Neek’s journey, and the home she eventually finds, gives hope to readers who may still be in exile, or who can’t leave a problematic group. Ardulum is a fun, queer little space opera, but it’s a statement, too—a strong one—about the dangers, and truths, of religion, and those who choose to challenge it.

 

In the words of Atalant: I hope one day we can meet in the stars, as equals.

 

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Another old blog post from a blog tour. If you ever wanted an Ardulum soundtrack, here you go!

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Playlist for the Ardulum series

J.S. Fields

 

I can’t listen to music as I write, but I do often ‘songfic’ my characters in my head when listening to music while exercising (yes yes, I once wrote fanfic and maybe….maybe a songfic or two. Don’t you dare google). Below are the ‘soundtracks’ to each book (in rough order within the book, if applicable), with a short bit of explanation.

 

First Don

 Alice [Extended Version] by Avril Lavigne: This is Neek’s theme. It doesn’t hold to one particular part of the book, but rather I feel like it walks the reader through the entire story. Neek starts out disoriented with the arrival of Emn but gradually gains confidence and courage, and finally finds herself in a place she never imagined.

 

Me and the Majorby Belle & Sebastian: This song is first act Nicholas to a T. He’s joined the crew of the Pledgebut they are nothinglike he expected. Yorden is grumpy and overbearing and Neek is crass. Nicholas feels a huge generational divide but he remains spunky and upbeat… and he can still get his hits in, too.

 

Innocence by Avril Lavigne: This is child Emn’s theme, and the song reminds me of the scene in the docking bay when Neek and Emn are playing ‘duck,’ with Emn in that twirly yellow dress. It’s a very sweet scene that really shows Emn’s youth and Neek’s conflict between her terror at what Emn represents, and her desire to slide back into the mythos of her own youth.

 

A Rush of Blood to the Headby Coldplay: Disenfranchised and looking for a way to find purpose, this is Yorden’s theme. He’s seen too many wars, too many utopian governments, to buy into the Risalian bullshit peace, but he knows better than to just start a war. But, if the opportunity to flip the establishment presented itself…

 

When You’re Goneby Avril Lavigne: everything about this song is the first book. In particular though, I often think of Neek visiting Emn’s cocoon in the docking bay of the Pledge, missing her and wondering just what’s on the other side of the sticky material. I think on some level Neek knows what to expect when Emn emerges, and that terrifies her, because feeling protective of a kid is one thing, but adult Emn will be an entirely different, and terrifying, affair.

 

Second Don

Armsby Christina Perri: if someone were going to make a music video of Second Don, this would be the song. It encompasses the whole feeling of book two on both sides, as Atalant and Emn run towards each other, just to fall away again. They come together in the end (and finally kiss), and the end of this song brings that feeling of YESSS to the forefront.

 

Some Nightsby Fun.: oh first act Neek. So much denial. So many holy books to read. Every times she goes into that cockpit she might as well be going to war. Neek is at her lowest point in these first few chapters, and even though she has two people who deeply care for her, she can’t reconcile the Ardulum of her childhood with the Ardulan woman who wants nothing more than to be with her

 

Walking With A Ghostby Tegan & Sara: Yorden and Atalant have had a long and sometimes complicated friendship. As Yorden comes to grips first with Atalant’s death and then the possibility that she might be alive, he has to do some interesting mental gymnastics. This song reminds me when he finally goes into Atalant’s old room on the Mmnnuggl pod and realizes who used to occupy it.

 

Citizen of the Planet by Alanis Morissette: this song always makes me think of Emn when she arrives to Ardulum. She’s disoriented but sohopeful that she’s finally found her home. She finally gets to see people that look like her, makes ‘friends,’ and really blossoms into an independent person. For this one, perfect moment she has solid confidence and the tone of this song really brings forth that ‘head held high, this is my planet,’ attitude.

 

Radioactiveby Imagine Dragons: Third act Nicholas is pretty badass, and I always hear this song when he bursts through the crowd of Ardulans to make a path for Atalant so she can get to the dais, and save Emn. Nicholas probably makes the biggest evolution in terms of character during the trilogy, though he’s often in the background. He deserves a very I DID A THING! song

 

Viva La Vidaby Coldplay: I really have no rationale for this, but every time I hear this song, I think of Arik and his big aspirations that just crumbled along with the Eld Palace.

 

 Third Don

Distance by Christina Perri: this Emn’s theme for the first act of book three. Emn and Atalant are together, but there’s just no time for romance. Emn feels at a distance, too, from all of Atalant’s commitments and their reversed roles. There’s so much building under the surface for Emn in this book. She so desperately wants Atalant to just say she loves her, to reaffirm that there is a place for Emn on Ardulum, but is too afraid to say those big words, too.

 

Running Scared (Radio Edit)by Eldar Nigar: if the sex scene had a music track, this would be it

 

Sons and Daughters by The Decemberists: this is Yorden’s theme for book three. He’s not going to let a little Nugel kidnapping stop him. With Salice in tow, he’s perfectly capable of starting over, through violence or otherwise.

 

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Hey readers! Did you know you can subscribe to this blog? Don’t miss out on review Sunday and Ardulum Wednesday ever again! Look on the right sidebar for the grey box that says ‘Get my blog posts via email,’ enter your email, and hit subscribe. It’s that easy! (if you can’t see it, just scroll down a bit.)