Write It Forward

Today, I will answer the feedback in my inbox by providing an excerpt of a current work of fiction. A collaborator and I have been working on a science fiction television pilot about a very unique colony of humans far away. I won't reveal the big hook, not yet, but I have been working on a short story within that universe that explores a specific group of military leaders.

They are the Anrisan Air Captains and they are exciting to work with. However, I am not going to stop there, oh no. Today, I am kicking off my Write It Forward campaign. Everyone who reads this and is a writer must continue the cycle by posting an excerpt of one of their current or recent works as well.

Please, comment in my blog with a link to your excerpt, or hit me on twitter @MAWeeden so that your followers can see what you are up to as well. Facebook is an option if you don't have a blog. Instead of excuses, I'd prefer to actually do some reading tonight. :) Enjoy the following excerpt and remember Write It Forward!

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“Just a minute!” Brandyn called out as he rushed toward the door. A quick look through the small square peephole revealed his roommate, Prospect Arin Lushe, leaning on the other side. Brandyn backed away and activated the round dial to the left of the plasiglass doorframe. The door slid noiselessly down into a thin slit in the floor and Arin wasted no time in crossing over it into their room. He looked Brandyn in the eyes as he passed but said nothing.

             

“Nope. I’m not going to ask, Lushe. Not this time.” Brandyn joked.

           

His roommate didn’t reply. It was obvious, however that Arin was barely containing his mirth. Brandyn watched him saunter over to the closet door and began punching an identity code on the square buttons of the lockpad. 

             

Brandyn sighed but allowed a thin smile to show itself on his face. A face he only just remembered was half covered with hygiene gel. His eyes flicked down to the dress white military uniform slacks he was wearing and for a moment he panicked, afraid that in his carelessness some of the gel might have dripped down onto them. It would be nearly impossible to get the gel off the uniform and the material dried before the ceremony began later this morning. Thankfully, a cursory examination proved his fears unfounded.

             

He stepped further into the small training quarters to a set of twin sinks against the back wall. Brandyn looked in the mirror, reached down to reclaim his shaving edge, and resumed preparing himself for graduation. He slid the sharp edge along his jaw line delicately, careful to avoid nicking his cheek.

After today, Prospect Brandyn Teris would be an Anrisan Air Captain; he didn’t want his first battle scar to come via an embarrassing shaving accident.

           

“Hurry up, Teris! We’re going to be late!”

           

 It seemed Lushe finally felt like talking. Brandyn stopped shaving long enough to say “Look who’s talking! Instead of getting ready like your eminent roommate has been all morning, you’ve been off dallying with a nurse from the medical domicile.”

             

Lushe gasped in exaggerated shock as he stuck his head out from the small closet he was rummaging through, “Me? Dallying with a nurse? How dare you impugn my honor! Today is a remarkably solemn day and I would never disgrace myself by engaging in such activ-“

           

“She was a waitress from the meal room then, wasn’t she?” Brandyn interrupted.

            

 Laughter came out of the closet. A moment later so did Lushe carrying his dress uniform unceremoniously in his arms. Brandyn briefly wondered where the man would find time to get into it before they were supposed to report to the Brazen Courtyard. 

“Yes,” Lushe answered dramatically, “But she was so much more than a waitress. More like a deity of desire!”

             

Brandyn rolled his eyes and faced the mirror again. He finished shaving as Lushe prattled on about how this girl was the one he had been searching for but he had no idea how to proceed given that he was leaving the facility tonight. Instead of replying, Brandyn just let him talk knowing that Lushe sometimes accomplished more while he was running his mouth than he might if forced into a proper conversation.

             

Sure enough, by the time Brandyn dried his face from shaving and turned around, his friend was already in the uniform slacks and was pulling the white undershirt over his chiseled torso. He offered Lushe a sympathetic half-grin and then stepped over to the wall to his left and pressed a small blue button on the otherwise smooth white surface. A thin seam suddenly appeared along the wall and a short, flat bed with a dark blue covering emblazoned with the Air Captain Logo – a white Multi Craft silhouette flying through a silver wreath - emerged from the wall. On it was his dress uniform’s shirt and jacket. Both were startlingly white and unadorned. Prospects didn’t earn awards.

          

He examined the shirt carefully before removing it and sliding his right arm into a sleeve. As he started with his left arm he heard Lushe say, “Did that trick actually work; pressing it flat by leaving it in your combo bed?”

             

“Yes, Lushe, it did work. Why do you always doubt my methods?” The question wasn’t entirely serious, but it wasn’t completely in jest either.

            

 “Because I didn’t think of them!” Lushe fired back with a grin and a chuckle, “I’m always number two when compared to you, Brand. You are always one step ahead. First to fly.”

          

  Despite the laughter, he wondered if Lushe actually resented that fact. “First to die.” Brandyn stated automatically before adding with a wink, “Besides you are number one with the ladies, Arin.”

             

“That’s true,” Lushe said with a wide grin, “I deserve a medal for handsomeness. They should call it ‘The Irresistible Star’. Though instead of pinning it on my uniform, they should give me dozens of them to hand out to the ladies I meet.”  

In that moment Brandyn began to doubt his eagerness for it all to end. Arin Lushe might be a bit overbearing at times but Brandyn had become accustomed to having his friend around. For six years they’d been roommates together here at the Vanbourgolie Air Captain Academy. There could not have been two more different men in the entirety of the Corps but somehow that helped them achieve more in the team drills than anyone else. They’d become mild celebrities amongst the other Prospects. It seemed the duo could not be bested at any war game or trial.

“Sure, Lushe, whatever you say.”

Arin went to the sink and began to hastily shave his cheeks as Brandyn lifted his jacket from the bed and examined it carefully. Everything was in place and properly sewn. Nevertheless he meticulously double-checked the decorative buttons and seams. He knew there were no mistakes but it felt good to have a place to expend some nervous energy.

Brandyn had long anticipated this moment. He had expected to feel a sense of completion or fulfillment at accomplishing his lofty goals but now that the time was here he found himself feeling uncertain and a little overwhelmed.  

“Air Captain Brandyn Teris,” He muttered to himself as he pulled the jacket on, zipping it up the front and checking to make sure the short tail in the back wasn’t rumpled. His hands tugged at the bottom to test the jacket’s fit before finally turning to look in the mirror.

Tears threatened to well up in his eyes. Light blue eyes that matched the trim of his otherwise brilliant white jacket and dark brown hair that matched the belt and shoes.  His immaculate posture presented the uniform as proudly as his father once had. Suddenly it was not his reflection staring intently back at him from the mirror but his father’s. Brandyn imagined the lone tear rolling down his smooth cheek was actually traveling his father’s face as he looked on at his son with pride.  

           

 He wiped the tear from his jawbone with his thumb before realizing Lushe was standing next to him, speaking words that echoed his thoughts, “Your father would have been proud, Brand. You are doing more than filling his shoes.” Brandyn felt his roommate’s hand rest on his shoulder as he leaned in close, “You didn't just get yourself through the toughest school in the Free Nations, but me as well. I will never forget that.”

           

 Brandyn turned to face his friend and blinked back a new wave of tears. “I know.”

           

 He felt Lushe grab his hand and shake it gently. When he let go, Lushe smiled as widely as only he could before turning away to finish dressing himself.He felt Lushe grab his hand and shake it gently. When he let go, Lushe smiled as widely as Brandyn had ever witnessed before turning away to finish getting ready. He felt Lushe grab his hand and shake it gently. When he let go, Lushe smiled as widely as Brandyn had ever witnessed before turning away to finish getting ready.

There was nothing left to say. No words could communicate the bond they had forged here and it would have been foolish to try. Instead, Brandyn knew, they would honor each other’s memory by continuing to uphold the standard their new uniforms implied. They would honor their memory and the memory of everyone else who wore the same uniform by serving the people of the Free Nations of Anrisa either through commitment to their duties or, if necessary, self-sacrifice.

“Hey, Brand, have you seen my dress shoes?”

That is, if they made it to graduation on time.

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I truly hope you enjoyed the read! Remember to Write It Forward by posting a link to an excerpt of your own work and then ask your readers to keep it going. Who knows, maybe we'll help someone out of writer's block or connect tomorrow's next famous collaboration. Can't hurt, right?

Just post it.

~Matt