Mediation isn't court, but the consequence could be as binding if the negotiations went south. Brad's choice of who he sees personally is on the line and it could come down to fancy lawyering by his friend Lance or show one of the smarter attendees at the mediation is their daughter Jenny.

Hope's Light

Chapter 26

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Twenty-Six - Threats

Cassiel was helping Turiel to his feet when Krux’s military force finally swarmed the cavern, his soldiers bursting through the steel doors or clambering over the broken stones of the walls. Seeing three angels as the only ones moving, they didn’t know what to do. Deciding it was safer to simply leave us alone, they spread out to check the numerous cultists unconscious or dead splayed messily across the cracked tiles.

It was 3:00 AM, and the Thief…opened the large, ornate door. That was it. He couldn’t believe it. If his trusted Agent of so many years hadn’t been the one to tell him, he wouldn’t have. They had met earlier that day, in the busy food court of the local mall, the smell of bad Chinese food heavy in the air, stale, tinny pop music playing from some hidden speaker above their heads.

Cameron is back in command and it might be going easier than she expected - even with some tiny bumps along the way. Easy can become difficult in a flash and that might just happen with her ships smuggling client. She may have a vision after all these weeks away from the Exhibit Housing, question is was it purposely planted in her?

"What are– what you doing up?" he asked her, trying to sound casual, but failing.
He sounded nervous, gave off guilty vibes.

"I had to pee," she said. "What else would I be doing up?"
She gave him a suspicious look. "What are you doing up?"

"Nothing, nothing," he answered, a little too quickly.
"Just couldn't sleep. That's all. Heheh."

"Wait, wait!" he called. "Where are you going?
You're not mad at me about this stupid Fit-4-U crap, are you? Come on!"

Hope's Light

Chapter 23

by Erisian

Book 6

Chapter Twenty-Three - Taijitu

In the coldest of air we gathered at the top of the Spires. Out of the rock face a matching henge to its counterpart at the embassy in Dis had long ago been excavated, though this one was not currently pockmarked from the insult of repeated energy blasts, having been resurfaced after its own checkered history. Twitch and Horatio stood at my side, while Vance, leaning on a short-yet-distinguished onyx cane and shivering underneath the thickest of silver-furred coats, had been busy examining all the sigils and workings carved into the stones - ensuring that each was still properly aligned.

What do you do when you think your girlfriend is cheating on you? Crossdress and take her on a date to find out, obviously.

Chapter 17 – Epilogue

I didn’t recognise the place. I mean they’d had a chance to clean up, sure, but what they’d achieved was close to miraculous.

Someone had carried me to a bed after Stuart had delivered us back to the barracks. Someone had done the same for all of slayer squad and Laurel, and we’d all slept through the next twenty-four hours.

Which meant when we woke it was to a very different world.

First, he shrank. Not dramatically so – this wasn’t like Honey I Shrunk the Kids or Alice in Wonderland or anything. He was very far from Dwarf height, either. At most, he lost a foot and change in stature, enough so that his eye line was now below the picture mounted on the wall in front of him, whereas just moments before he could look directly at it without having to crane his neck back.

Cameron has feet in both worlds and continues to navigate what she ultimately wants next. Revelations about the transplant and not being able to return to her former self exactly as she was are news she wasn't expecting. And the question of Garrett may finally be put to rest...

Chapter 16

I opened my eyes to see Mark gazing down at me. The expression on his face made me feel all soft and squooshy.

Was that a word? I was going to make it a word. Squooshy. The way you feel when someone you like looks at you like that.

“Hello handsome. What time is it.”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Right on time. What do you have to say to me?”

“Well, your instincts were right for one thing.”

“What?”

Margaritas, Beaches, and Bikinis
by
Rebecca Anna Coleman
Chapter 4: I hope I don't hear Banjos

At three o' clock the next morning I found myself putting the twinkling lights of Benton behind me. Roughly five hundred or so miles of open road lay between me and Orange Beach. Or so Google Maps told me. For the trip that morning I decided to go all out. At first I was going to wear a pair of tan cargo shorts, a loose fitting cotton t shirt, and a pair of flip-flops. Then I decided, in a fit of madness that it was time to embrace being Rebecca and stop hiding her.

Naomi snuffed out her cigarette. She rarely took more than a few drags from one. She just liked holding it. And it allowed her to take breaks outside. She still had a few minutes on her break and she wasn’t going to waste a second of it even if it was a hot, sticky summer night.

The mediation looms, but Brad is that moth drawn to the flame that Sara is. There's worry she could fade away though, to make things easier on him. And Jenny is a concern to all, though she has some lessons for her dad to learn and maybe has a surprise planned for him.

Chapter 15

With all the equipment through for out camp, we made a habit of keeping the main portal closed, but with the smaller one generated by the dagger open so we could maintain communications with home. I called for the main portal to be opened so I could evacuate non-combatants, only to discover it wouldn’t let us through.

Cameron is thrust back into the role of "Captain" and it's not a role she's interested in assuming as quickly as she's required to take it on. It's yet another transformation, not a physical one, but a mental shift that will challenge her perception of self as a woman now. Adding to her troubles the Planetary Guild has some hoops for her and those held captive to jump through. She'll be told the true nature of the Exhibit Housing facility and it will shake her to her core. She'll wrestle with whether she should telling the others, but one slip on a small ship could jeopardize her command.

WARNING: The true nature of the Exhibit Housing is revealed in this chapter and it might be a bit disturbing to read. I can assure you the contents of this chapter do not dwell on that disclosure much and are only included to explain the 'why' humans were being held - which in the scope of the story is necessary. I tried very hard to not make this uglier than necessary. Can you skip this chapter and pick up knowing what's going on in the next one and not miss much? Eh, maybe, maybe not. There are pieces of the puzzle in every chapter and why they were held is a piece that gives their captivity scope - it isn't the story though. Please consider this warning as I do not EVER want to purposely cause anyone distress while trying to entertain. Thank you - Rachel M. Moore

A night of passion shared, a want to bask in that with her this morning, but had Sara left? There are storm clouds brewing and a threat is leveled - one direct and one veiled.

This one's not for the faint of heart. Over the course of the story there will be death, suicide attempts, a fair amount of physical and mental abuse, some egregious torture and a hefty dollop of foul language, but hopefully a happy ending. Actually, the last bit's a given since it's me doing the writing, but between here and the end is a rocky road, so please if any of the above is likely to be triggering for you, please, please think twice about reading.

Laura recalls some of her experiences in this chapter, and quite graphically. I’ve marked them in red in case you prefer to skip.