Blasted Futures, Secret Histories (SciFi Smackdown)

The Adventures of Morley and Boots: The crew of the Leapfrog travel randomly about the galaxy in search of unique lifeforms to trap & trade. Intra-galactic poaching is profitable, but risky - like when an Evil Intergalactic Empire accuses you of capturing their Goddess, and you don't even know which critter she is!

End Game: In an alternate near-future Indochina, Imperial France still rules, much to the chagrin of the local Siamese. Ratana's brother is captain of a premiere league football team, and a hero to the Siamese - and when he is booted from the squad to make space for the son of a powerful nobleman, it sets off a chain of events that could result in the toppling of the Empire.

Self-Assembly Required: Human civilization has been almost entirely destroyed by a catastrophic plague of nanites, but one city remains, hidden and protected by Hydra, a team of all-female nano/human hybrids. Is the arrival of a roguish, lone-wolf mercenary a sign that human civilization is recovering, or the event that could destroy the few remaining survivors?

The Woman from Mars: The robotic crew of the Basilisk thought humans were gone, long gone. But when they are sucked back in space and time to Jupiter's moon Europa in 2552, they discover a Viking civilization with the technology to rebuild human civilization - assuming the woman from Mars can complete her mission.

Blasted Futures is a short story collection. All of these works have been written for The Pub's SciFi Smackdown, a contest in which contestants write Science Fiction stories meeting the specifications laid out by the smackdown's host, @ForbiddenPlanet. Check the Media widget in the right-hand column to see the images that the stories are based on!