http://slow.writerscafe.org/Gre7g The original writings of author Gre7g Luterman en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1776011584 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15 Theclimber rose higher and the gravity continued to wane.“Ireally wish we had a krakun shuttle,” Youri groaned. “This stupidelevator takes forever!”Kaskashrugged absently without looking up from her phone. Her pink nosetwitched. “In a hurry, Youri? Do you miss.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1423914/ This is an experiment set some twenty years after "Skeleton Crew". I don't know if a complete story will fall out of this effort, but I do have a few ideas I'm excited about. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1423912/ Captain Ateri addressed the crew of the White Flower II once more, but this time from the bridge. His fur was clean and brushed. His mended left arm hung in a cloth sling. “I want to personally thank the crew,” he said, “for pulling together during these last few hours. This cycle&.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361096/ Precisely half an hour passed since the last ship-wide broadcast. Phones everywhere beeped once more, and thousands of eyes glued to their screens.“Crew of the White Flower II,” the commissioner’s image announced in krakun, “you’ve been betrayed by one of your own docto.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361095/ The crowd poured into the market area. Ateri cried out in pain as they passed him roughly overhead, dumping him unceremoniously onto the dais normally reserved for performers. A rioter threw a length of power cable up over the scaffolding that held the spotlights for the stage. A crude loop in the c.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361092/ “We’ve got trouble,” Ateri said as soon as the airlock door opened.A’hee nodded. “Crowds forming on decks seven, nineteen, and twenty-four. I’ve dispatched security to try to break them up, but I’m not optimistic. Reports say they’re pretty agitat.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361090/ Ateri walked Kanti to the airlock. Outside the door, a blocky male with a fiery-red pelt leaned against the wall with arms crossed. Beside him, a pot-bellied male sat with his back against the wall, arms wrapped around his legs and forehead resting on his knees. In the middle of the corridor lay a v.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361088/ Kanti closed the hatch behind him.“Where did we end up?” Tish giggled, still giddy from the adventure. She looked around the wide, clean, and well-lit corridor.“Saina? Is that you?” a voice called.Kanti turned to see an old male standing outside an open door with a middle-age.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361087/ “Where are you taking me?” Tish asked, starting to sound a little concerned.Kanti brought her to a dimly lit and mostly deserted portion of deck 24. “We’re here,” he whispered before unfolding his engineering bag into a vest and putting it on.Tish’s eyes grew wide.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361085/ Aprisma flipped a tile and grinned. “Red two. Perfect!”Veni, Arpa, and his mate, Kerra, groaned in unison.Kerra set her tiles down on the carpet, sitting back in resignation. “We saw the oddest thing on the way here. Security dragged Doctor Hitera off,” she said, taking a sip.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361084/ Kanti stared at the tiles for a moment, trying to recall where he’d seen the seven. He flipped one over. “Red three,” he grumbled. “Not what I need.” He flipped a second tile face down and then drew a third, sighing as he looked at it. “You know that Veni and his .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361082/ Kanti pressed his nose up against the glass. “Is that the commissioner’s shuttle?”Chendra peered into the bridge from the overlook. “It must be. They’re tracking it coming through the gate.”The captain stood at attention, with paws folded behind his back. The firs.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361081/ Ateri stood over Jakari’s shoulder. “Are we going to be okay?”She stared at the screen a long time before shrugging. “It’s not going away, but it’s not an outbreak yet. I still don’t see how Saina could have known anything at all.”“He did. I swea.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361080/ “Reading the news?” Kanti asked as he entered the apartment.“Geordian poetry,” Tish said with a smile.Kanti missed a step. “What?”Tish grinned. “It’s a book about the geordian,” she explained. “In their culture, they write only poetry for t.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361078/ Kanti explored the gate-side decks with Chendra. They shared something spicy, crunchy, and deep fried for lunch. Chendra thought she knew what it was when she picked it out, but then realized it was totally unfamiliar after the first bite.“I haven’t had this kind of meat before.” K.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361076/ Kanti opened the door to Saina’s apartment, and found Tish sitting on the couch, reading her phone.“How did that meeting with Ateri go?”Kanti shrugged, unable to express how traumatic it’d been. “It was… stressful.”Tish scooted over to make room. “Yea.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361073/ Captain Ateri put his paw on Kanti’s upper arm. “I understand that you were Kanti’s best friend. The accident must have been very hard on you. I’m sorry for your loss.”Kanti hung his head and mumbled some thanks. He appreciated the condolences, but wished that everyone .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361070/ Kanti recalled the day that the Captain lost his eye… vividly.Kanti was in his late teens. He showed up for work on time only to find the entire work crew assembled outside the recycler door. He punched his code into his phone but the door didn’t respond.One of the other team members sa.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361068/ “Grabba drink wit’ us?” Arpa asked Kanti.“Oh, I don’t know.” Kanti threw himself into his work, keeping himself busy. But once he finished, he felt grief starting to weigh him down.“C’mon, thereza holy-good venda up ona nineteen tha’ st.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361067/ Kanti returned to Saina’s apartment to find Tish standing at the door.“Oh, hi,” she gasped in surprise. “I was… trying to get up the nerve to ring the bell. I didn’t want to wake you.”He gave her a smile. “What are you doing up so late? Don’t yo.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361066/ Kanti entered the recycler bay to find his (former) workmates assembled in a loose circle around Tish.“No, I understand that there’s an investigation pending,” Tish said into the phone. “For the tenth time, I’m not trying to find out any information about Kanti. I just .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361062/ Charl walked Kanti back to Saina’s apartment only to find Chendra standing in front of the door.“Of all the things I never thought I’d see,” Chendra whispered. Kanti and Charl just grinned. “I thought I’d come by and see if Saina would join me for lunch. Now I can.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361060/ Kanti moped in bed for hours, but the morning’s tragedy refused to fade into a dream. He forced himself to rise and wander the apartment.It was a beautiful place, and only suffered a little neglect. Dust coated the table, perishables in the refrigerator were overdue for recycling, and some clu.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361057/ Captain Ateri closed the door behind him. The lights were dimmed, and Jakari sat on the bed, crunching loudly on snacks. She was completely engrossed in the screen just beyond the foot of the bed, and didn’t look up when he entered the apartment.A female geroo screamed.“You’re not .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361054/ Kanti crashed on Saina’s bed for a couple of hours, but the scent of his dead friend distressed him. Searching the bedroom, he found a clean sheet and replaced the bedding.His dreams were upsetting. In them, he confessed his real identity to Chendra, but instead of falling in love with him, sh.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361053/ The phone rang multiple times. He considered answering it, but couldn’t manage it. Kanti felt bad enough about stealing Saina’s life " he wasn’t ready to start handling his calls too.Eventually, the doorbell rang. He shuffled across the room without thinking and pulled it open. A b.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361052/ Tish drove up in a pickup truck to find Kanti sitting in front of the partially collapsed heap. He had a dazed expression on his face and a phone in his paw.“Are you okay?” she shouted at him. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the body. He managed a weak shrug.Tish grimaced at .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1361051/ The maintenance work on trinity completed on schedule, and Kanti’s air monitor continued to blink blue.He questioned himself over and over. He knew what he heard; no doubt existed in his mind. But if oxygen weren’t in short supply, then why was the commissioner afraid of losing the ship?.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360720/ “Does anyone know what day tomorrow is?” Yargo asked her class. A few cubs looked up, but most continued to draw quietly. “Tomorrow is a very special holiday. It’s called ‘Visitor Day.’ Can anyone tell me why we call it that?”Yargo waited for an answer, but .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360718/ “I didn’t know you still live with your folks,” Saina said, filling two mugs with degreaser from the still. He smiled and shook his head, surprised at his best friend. “You never mentioned them.”Kanti shrugged. “I don’t, anymore. My dad fell off a scaffoldin.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360717/ The room was a mess, with bedding and possessions lumped on the floor " the signs of a perpetually busy pair. But worse than the clutter was the smell. Although not yet offensive, the apartment gained an aroma of neglect and sex. The walls were bare. If there was any food in the cabinets or refriger.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360714/ Kanti stared out the grungy viewing port, waiting. Most of the crew didn’t get excited to see the gate powered up or down, not after seeing it once or twice, at least. But this never got old for Kanti.Besides, the shut-down was in the forefront of his mind, this time. He wondered if he should .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360712/ The morning came, and the air monitor continued to blink blue when Kanti turned it on. He went to work, and soon the drudgery of operating a dozer replaced the fading terror and worry from the night before.“Here you go, Saina,” Tish said, tapping her phone against Kanti’s.“Th.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360711/ Kanti found himself in a tiny airlock. The indicators on the other door all shone blue. He had no idea what lay beyond the portal, but at least it wasn’t vacuum. He punched the button and cycled the lock.Kanti groaned as the sulfur hit his nose. It was a horrible stink " worse even t.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360708/ Kanti checked his phone again. It was still only a little after 0200 hours. He cursed himself for going to bed early. He should have stayed to watch the band. Even if it had made Saina uncomfortable for Kanti to sit there alone while Saina was with a date, he should have stayed up.He close.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360707/ Captain Ateri stood in the airlock, waiting for it to finish cycling the air. He held his nose with one paw and popped his ears. The heat and additional pressure was unpleasant, but it was the high sulfur content of krakun air that he really hated. It burned his remaining eye and overwhelmed his sen.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360703/ The richest geroo lived at the top of the ship, with the fanciest apartments and nicest shops. Kanti had never seen the insides of any of those apartments, but he heard the rumors of their enormous size and luxurious amenities. Could those rumors really be true? Was it even possible that only a few,.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360702/ The six walked down the blue, no-skid deck, past sorted heaps of refuse to the long, constantly-moving conveyor that kept the recycler fed. Normally piled with a careful mix of trash, the conveyor emptied while the workers waited to receive Sep’ho’s body. Recycling bodies on an empt.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360701/ Kanti works in the recycler aboard the White Flower II, and is terrified that anyone will notice him. He has no idea what will happen if anyone should ever learn his secret. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360700/ Kanti works in the recycler aboard the White Flower II, and is terrified that anyone will notice him. He has no idea what will happen if anyone should ever learn his secret. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/Gre7g/1360696/