Science Fiction: Welcome to my Worlds

Darin had always liked Cesily and she looked so miserable and lonely that he wanted nothing more than to hug her close and tell her that everything would be all right. But he knew it wouldn’t. In the tests he’d been given he’d always scored at the bottom in precognition but right now something was screaming in his brain that they had maybe a fractional chance to live through the next ten minutes. He grabbed Cesily’s arm and dragged her under a natural stone arch where there was a fallen stone slab miraculously clear of ice. “Put them on now!” It came out too harsh and she gave him a hurt look. He would have to explain later.

The skates were too small but he strapped them on tight to his boots and waited impatiently while Cesily fumbled with hers. Skating in a grav-and-a-half on uneven ground was the height of stupidity, even if you were born here. Take a spill and the damage could be severe. But he’d been a kid once too and you had to do something for entertainment on Targus.

A screeching roar split the air overhead, and in its wake Darin could hear a faint challenging roar from the hill cat along with the ringing in his ears. Glinting golden in the setting rays of the sun, a squat starship flew over the arch toward the Cliffside dwelling of his family. A faintly green beam fanned out covering the