Blog Archives
Nanowrimo – FS Vigilance Prologue
Hi Everyone! I’m going to post my Nanowrimo entries on a regular basis as I try to fight my way to 50,000 words in one month. Here’s the start (and you choose the concept, Bill Kahn!):
Prologue
Agent Erica Sampson felt her stomach twist. Although she’d been on plenty of dangerous assignments even to parts of the world where just being a woman put you in jeopardy, meetings made her nervous. The fact that her meeting was in a top secret bunker buried beneath Washington, DC only made it worse. She reminded herself that her invitation was a compliment.
A couple of guards, tough-looking men that stood at attention stiffly enough to proclaim themselves as ex-military, stood in front of what looked to Erica to be a vault door. They checked her badge, before letting her step over to the computerized handprint and retina scanners on the wall next to the door. Something about the men reassured her. Computers could be hacked; humans couldn’t. Or at least, far fewer people could hack them.
She placed her hand against the cool surface of the handprint scanner. Her hand seemed small compared to the large outline. After a second, it beeped, and a blue word displayed over her hand. “Authorized.”
She peered into the retina scanner and saw flashing lights. “Authorized.”
With a metallic clang and a whoosh of air, the door swung partially open. She stepped inside to find herself not in a meeting room, but in something that resembled an airlock or decontamination chamber. She faced another metal door, sealed shut in front of her. After the door behind her closed, the hair on the back of her neck rose slightly.
She was trapped. Read the rest of this entry
Nanowrimo 2014 – What to write?
So, we have only a few days before Nanowrimo, and I feel like I’m a kid who doesn’t know what costume to wear for Halloween. One of the most important things to do before getting started on National Novel Writing Month is to have a good idea on what you want to write. You don’t want to lose momentum on writer’s block with only 30 days to do 50,000 words.
As each day ticks down, I find myself still uncertain. Here’s my logic so far:
- I’ll need to work on Book 3 of the Charming Tales as Jack Heckel, but John Peck, my co-author, agrees that Nanowrimo has been good to me and that I should participate.
- Whatever I write should be something that I already know and love so I don’t have to spend a lot of thought energy on it.
- Therefore, I should do my superhero team that I did last year, or the Crimson Hawks or Krueger.
- I think the mood of Krueger and the Hawks will take away from my ability to focus on Charming.
- In conclusion, I should write Freedom Squad.
- Finally, I can’t think of a plot for Freedom Squad. ACK!
LOL! Having g
one through all of that, I’ll probably write Freedom Squad. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to comment. I don’t mind suggestions. Also, if anyone else is going through a similar issue with decisions, let me know.
Nanowrimo is coming!
Freedom Squad Defiance – Epilogue
Epilogue
Two weeks had passed since Defiance had been turned over to federal authorities. In light of private hearings which had reviewed Freedom Squad’s testimony, the testimony of Carlos Ruiz who had been believed to be Psionicist, the evidence supplied by Agent King and most importantly, a surprise confession from the Ace of Spades, Defiance was being granted a pardon.
However, explaining the existence of the Ace of Spades to the public was considered highly dangerous. Defiance’s role was also going to be difficult to explain. For now, he was forbidden to use his costume and a new identity was being constructed for him. He had also been assigned to work with Agent King.
Stacy King assumed that Defiance was the reason she had blindfolded and taken to a top secret government facility. She wasn’t sure which division of the government wanted to talk to her, but the whole thing had a very CIA feel to it. She passed through what must a have been her twelfth security door and entered a room with smooth black walls. Her escort pulled the door shut behind her.
Light came down from the ceiling panels. There was no smell to the room either, not even the antiseptic of cleaning fluid.
A black table stood in the middle of the room with a single chair pulled up to it. Stacy sat down to face a wall.
She wondered how many people were behind the wall. She felt a touch of dread. What if the Ace of Spades had somehow fooled them all?
“Agent King, in your opinion, has Defiance been completely freed from the Ace of Spades’ influence?” asked an unseen voice.
“Yes,” she answered.
“How did this occur?”
“Rigel, also known as Corinne Dandridge, used her telepathic abilities to remove the Ace’s control.”
There was a pause.
“Could Rigel establish the same level of control in others?”
“I’m uncertain. Based on my assessments of her, she is more of a telekinetic and less of a telepath than the Ace of Spades. Additionally, it wouldn’t fit her psychological profile. She’s the daughter of the hero Orion.”
There was a longer pause.
“Has she made telepathic contact with you in the past, Agent King?”
“Yes. I allowed her to see into my mind so that she could have as much information on the Ace of Spades as possible.”
“Did you also provide her information on Matt Johnson, now known as Velocity?”
“Yes. That was well within my authority.”
Another pause.
“In your opinion, if Rigel and Freedom Squad turned rogue, what checks would we have to control them?”
“I believe that the Ultra Task Force, coupled with the Megalopolis Police’s Renegade program would be able to apprehend Freedom Squad. If our abilities proved insufficient, we would call in other hero teams, such as New Citadel or the Wardens. Arguably, we could request the services of the United Nations’ hero, Defensor. In an extreme situation, Wildside, Inc. has clearance to operate as a government contractor. However, I wish to reiterate that I believe it is unlikely in the extreme that Freedom Squad would go rogue.”
A long pause followed.
“Thank you, Agent King. You are dismissed.”
Stacy King stood up and quietly left the room. As her escorts rejoined her, she told herself that the questions were well within reason. Once she had a new identity for Defiance, the Ultra Task Force should be ready to handle almost anything.
After she had departed, one of the men hidden behind the one-way glass wall spoke, “So, what did you think of her answers regarding Rigel and Freedom Squad?”
“I didn’t like them. The President should have let us seize that alien, Starlight, in the first place, and I certainly don’t like the thought of anyone with the power to alter minds running around. Especially not in charge of a superhero team. I don’t care who her Dad was or what he did.”
“So, have we decided how to solution this?”
“Project Cain.”
“If what we are doing gets out…”
“Sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.”
“Do we have a test subject?”
“Yes.”
“And what are the chances that something can go wrong?”
“Go wrong? Almost zero percent. Remember, the prototypes for this were invented by the CIA. But as a precaution, we need to make sure that this Rigel character never gets close to one of our operatives.”
“Unless…”
“Unless she has to be eliminated.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter 27 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Nothing but Epilogue left after this. Thanks for coming with me on the Nanowrimo journey. I know the writing’s rough, but I hope everyone’s enjoyed. I especially want to thank all the new visitors who’ve come from the various WordPress.com sites. I wish you all the best in your writing. – Harry
Chapter 27
In another section of Ace’s under-mall base, Defiance was struggling to defeat his invisible foes. A metal wrap surrounded him and it was being using to spin him around while thousands of volts of electricity surged through him. He couldn’t keep himself oriented enough to find a way to fight back.
Nightstar watched Defiance spin even as he dodged energy blasts and missiles. Fortunately, he had a psychic sense that made him aware of dangers and tended to have an unnatural luck in these matters.
Coupled with the ability to teleport and lots of combat training, he was still standing.
Velocity had been the first victim of invisible electrical enemies, smashing into an invisible force field at full speed. Nightstar had gotten him out to the parking lot via psychic sword teleport. Solaria had fallen to a sonic blast next, but Nightstar had retrieved her as well. The only other member of his team standing was Defiance.
Read the rest of this entry
Chapter 26 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Chapter 26
“How could you?” shouted Cori’s dad. “You let all those people in the mall die.”
Cori looked around. She was at home in Australia, a place that she hadn’t lived for years, but she was Rigel and in costume. “No, Dad, this isn’t you. I’m in my own mind being attacked.”
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned. A black-gloved fist slammed into her jaw. She fell to the ground with the taste of blood in her mouth.
The Ace of Spades stood over her.
“You think I’m afraid of a fistfight?” she asked him.
“No,” he said, drawing a pistol from his belt, “but you’ll be traumatized by this.” He pointed the gun at her father and fired three times.
Read the rest of this entry
Chapter 25 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Sorry about the delay in posting. I’m getting myself back together after Nano. More on that in an upcoming post.
Chapter 25
“Got him,” she said.
Rigel stood up and went over to the Freedom Squad computer. She closed her eyes, feeling the location and its surroundings. She opened a map site and moved the maps until she was sure that she had the right place.
“He’s there, just outside of town, at that mall,” she said. She that knew he had to know that she had detected him. It all somehow seemed too easy. She didn’t like it.
“That’s the new Appleton Mall,” said Nightstar. “How ironic. We were just there.”
“To be exact,” said Ion, “it’s a coffee shop at the new Appleton Mall. I should have known the Ace needed to stay highly caffeinated.”
Read the rest of this entry
Chapter 24 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Chapter 24
After what felt like an eternity, Cori clambered out of the tube. She wondered if she had briefly drifted off to sleep. As the air hit her, her skin felt slightly sticky. Solaria had been right. A second shower was a requirement after spending time in the healing tubes.
Dr. Lord handed her a warm towel. She wiped off the residue from the tube. Strangely, she felt surprisingly clean afterward. She wondered if she had been wrong about the second shower. When she touched her hair, she decided that Solaria had definitely been right.
Nightstar was gone. She looked around, slightly surprised that he had left.
“Dr. Lord?” she said.
“Cori, call me Jake.”
“Okay, Jake. Where did Nightstar go?”
Read the rest of this entry
Chapter 23 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Chapter 23
Time.
Cori felt as if she were running out of time.
She tried to tell herself that the mayor was the Ace of Spades, and that he had been hiding in front of her eyes. She tried to believe that the Ace felt that by being close to Freedom Squad that they would never suspect him. She tried to believe that it was possible that the Ace hadn’t considered the physical danger posed by walking around next to superheroes.
All she did believe was that somewhere, the Ace of Spades was escaping.
Her communicator buzzed. A text message came from Starlight. “I will be delayed in my return. What is the situation?”
Rigel used her telekinesis to text back. “Fusion defeated. Return to Headquarters when possible.”
She had let her team head back to base. Everyone was hurt, and they needed treatment. Jake Lord had returned to Freedom Squad Headquarters and was ready to help. The Homeland Security Ultra Task Force had people in radiation suits sweeping the area with Geiger counters. Rigel wanted to leave, but someone from Freedom Squad should be present. She was team leader, so she was the choice.
Read the rest of this entry
Chapter 21 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Chapter 21
Ion reminded himself that no matter how fast they were going, Starlight wasn’t going to drop him. The alien robot or person of whatever he was had carried him safely to the wreck on the interstate the night before. Starlight had also carried ambulances.
They were moving faster this time.
Ion activated his communicator. “Rigel, if Starlight and I get there first, should we engage Fusion or wait?”
“He’s at a nuclear reactor. Do everything you can to stop him. There’s no telling what he might do,” she said.
“Understood,” replied Ion. “Starlight, did you hear that?”
“Affirmative,” said Starlight. “I have also spotted our adversary. He is emitting a cloud of intense radiation. I will put you on the ground before I engage.”
Read the rest of this entry
Chapter 20 – Freedom Squad Nanowrimo
Chapter 20
The mayor rubbed his temples. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He was inside Freedom Squad Headquarters in Protector’s room sitting in a chair. Protector was lying in a bed only a few feet from where he was sitting, and Starlight stood over him.
“What just happened?” asked the mayor. “Defiance was about to crush me. Now, I’m here?”
“As mayor of this fine city, you should know that you are in safe hands. The noble heroes of Megalopolis are currently outwitting the foul villains outside,” stated Starlight flatly.
The mayor stared blankly at Starlight.
“Mr. Mayor?”
The mayor stood up. “Starlight, how did I get here and please use standard English?”
“My apologies, sir. Velocity brought you. I am to defend you if the battle goes poorly, however, it appears that Freedom Squad has triumphed.”
“Who is, no, wait, by Velocity are you being scientific or… never mind, I need to make a call. Afterwards, I want a full explanation from Rigel,” he looked over at Protector. “What happened to him?”
“I believe it was the work of a super-villain known as the Ace of Spades.”
“Fine, Starlight, stay here with Protector. I’m going to have a talk with Rigel.”
The mayor stepped out into the hallway and began walking toward the front. As he walked, he typed a single word text into his encrypted phone. “Nuclear.”
Read the rest of this entry
Harry Heckel 