After a small display of how demis talk to one another, the army gets ready to move out. Not against the NorFeds. Yet.
I’m a little surprised Colour puts up with being bossed around by Aurie. Was she just bored living alone at home? I suppose she’ll tell me at some point.
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Continue reading “Standing to the Colours”Where Miss Jansen once again brushes up against the determination of the imperium to protect itself. In “A Texas Naval Affair,” I have Ryland Rigo tell her boyfriend about the empress, “never challenge her specialness. It won’t end well.” That seems true for Aurie, as well.
A quick march back and the army is ordered to move out at first light.
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Continue reading “Family Colour”Even though she is twice Aurie’s age, Colour is not a professional soldier and like many has a hard time making a distinction between “war” and “killing.” I do not think she regrets what her mother and country did to protect themselves, but I’m sure she wishes there had been another way. General Hartmann? She’s probably gaming in her head how she could have done it better.
I think I’m finished with exposition. If not politics, it’s time for Aurie to start killing people and breaking things. I mean, what else is an army for?
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Continue reading “An Invasion of Coloureds”These next two will wrap up getting Colour Jansen up to speed on things south. I know Aurie could just use overhead imagery to see the old Boston harbor but like any good commander, she prefers personal recon.
Rainy day here, thankfully, so my honey-do list is halved and I have time to write. Daughter #1 will be down for the night from uni for a doctor’s appt tomorrow. Pondering what to make for dinner.
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Continue reading “Colour at Dusk”A little exposition of the imperium. I’m pleased that Colour is clever enough to find her feet so quickly.
Busy, busy in RealLife but I’m trying to keep the signal alive.
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Continue reading “Slow Colour”Vet appt for new puppy, Yuki, this morning. All seems well but he’s a little tired and cranky from a couple of shots. Then I had to repair one of our toilets; normally not a big deal but my left hand is not very functional right now (switd?) due to a ganglion cyst, so I nearly threw my back out contorting myself.
I now think I can turn this into a novel. That means one thing which implies another: a 50,000-word count minimum (currently just over 12k) and I cannot just jettison the reason I started this; that is, Colour. There is precedent in my other works where a demi basically tells a human, “follow me,” and expects it to be done. And here it is again. I have a suspicion this mature lady is about to have her world turned upside down.
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Continue reading “Taking Colour”Busy weekend. Nearly three hours at DayJob (Saturdays are usually only two) followed by putting the shelve together. After Mass and paying bills on Sunday, I had to haul said shelf and copies of my books to the mall… where they are having a car show. And thus no place to park. I cheat and use my wife’s cripple tag which also makes me have to walk less. Consult with the store owner about where to set up, put out books, decide that sucks, re-arrange books, re-consult with owner, and leave. I still had more to do about the house – putting the toilet overhaul off until Tuesday – so no time to write. As I anticipated that I did not feel guilty. But after nothing over the last two days, today’s installment is a little longer.
More politics. It looks like Aurie is winning and it also looks like she nearly blew it by going too far, too fast. Except for the Canadians, who have played nice with them for nearly three generations of the Change, the good folks of the Northern Federation are a socially conservative, quiet lot. Very wary of change.
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Continue reading “Colourful Sunrise”I thought of posting this as an 1100-word bloc, but it breaks nicely with the two women seeing Filk Jansen off before they take a stroll in the wood. That will be the last segment before Aurie is back to the Governing Council for a little hardball.
It’s interesting that when Aurie taunts humans it’s primarily out of fun. Faustina did it because, as one of her relatives later said, “being a jerk is who she is.”
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Continue reading “Exit Nephew of Colour”Apologies for yesterday. I try to stay about 1500 word ahead on these but I do not know if I was exhausted or just had some summer cold. Fortunately off from DayJob, I slept most of the day. I made a steak dinner but was too tired to eat and even didn’t drink any alcohol. Yeah: anyone who knows the slightest bit about me should re-read that: I turned down steak and alcohol.
Back to DayJob for just a little today as I also had to make a doctor’s visit about this ganglion cyst on the underside of my left wrist. Been putting up with it for two months but it started to hurt all the time. Looks like minor surgery in mid-September to excise it.
More importantly, it seems Aurie gets both playful and frisky in the early mornings. Can you imaging her doing this with a legion of 5200 men? Or her current army, four times that size? I bet all those men are in love with her and scared to death of her. Which is a good place to be for General Hartmann.
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Continue reading “Colour of Morning”This is a cheap and dirty way of exposition for an author to tell his readers something: Q&A between characters. Those of y’all who have been following MacCiv for years know all of this but if I turn this into a novella or novel, it is my responsibility to make sure the future reader knows what is going on.
There have been elective monarchies in human history. They tended to fail quickly. Elective within a family is an idea Dr. Jerry Pournelle mooted in his CoDominium future history. Empress Faustina allows many local forms of government, including democracies and republics, but tolerates none of that at a national level. When she is good and ready, she’ll designate an heir.
What if she is hit by lightning or a truck? I do not know. I don’t think there would be a civil war (and if there was, it would be between Laszlo and Aurie; the rest of the family just doesn’t care or want the awful responsibility of running an empire) but I cannot say for certain.
I’m going to write a little more this evening. Three whiskies in hot-head Filk vs. perfectly sober demi-human Aurelia? This will be a hoot. I hope Colour can keep the peace under her roof. See everyone on Monday!
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Continue reading “Questions of Colour”
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