Menu

Subscribe

Amalgam Universe

A 2280-post collection

Challenge #02015-E191: Party Time on No-Longer-Tranquil VII

On the wall was posted the human regiment’s code of conduct/safety instructions:

  1. Do not subtract from the population.

  2. Do not add to the population (looking at you Jared).

  3. Do not end up in the hospital, the news, or in jail.

  4. If you do end up in jail, establish dominance quickly. -- Anon Guest

It was a set of rules above the airlock door. Entitled, When Visiting. And could be summarised as, "No killin', no thrillin', just chillin'." Which every squad commander reminded them of whenever they were headed down for some R&R. Adding, "And if you must get in trouble, get out of it just as quick. Any bail is coming out of your own paycheque."

General sounds of disappointment followed by one wag saying, "I thought we were being let out to have some fun, Sarge."

"Yeah, we all know about you, Jared. Keep it in your pants." This earned ribald laughter from the squad. "If you can't be good, be careful. And if you can't be careful, then you're paying your own bail. Be told!"

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Continue Reading

Prompts remaining: 38 Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories!

Challenge #02014-E190: We All Fail Sometimes

How do aliens react to sayings such as “to err is human”, “it’s fine, you’re only human” and multitude of others like them? -- Only Human

[AN: I fixed that first saying there. I've never heard it the other way around]

It happened a lot, whenever a non-human was talking to a Human about a survived mistake. "We're only human," the Human would say. And then their brain would catch up with what their mouths had said and they'd amend,

Read more »

Challenge #02013-E189: Order in Court

Not mine, but by randomacts13.

“Humans survived the volatile early years of their species rise through community-bonding. They put the needs of a group of individuals over all else; hunting as a group, eating as a group, raising families as a group, and sometimes dying as a group. This tendency to form strong bonds means that while a human’s signed contract can always be trusted. It also means that a human cannot be trusted to not rip that contract up and

Read more »

Challenge #02012-E188: Human Inhumanity

Spies are sent to earth, disguised as historians, to find earth’s weaknesses and strengths. Know thy enemy and all that, but they who know the past control the future.

To see what these people have done to each other... They are horrified at what they find. -- Anon Guest

So far, Terran colonies were the only civilisations interested in any kind of negotiations with Earth. And even then, those negotiations were lawsuits. Some of the bolder civilisations were starting to wonder

Read more »

Challenge #02011-E187: Wrecked

Seeing as humans as tasked with mainly with protecting and defending a ship, regardless of their occupation and other roles they serve, how do the humans and their crew react when their ship is attacked? And if (when?) they fail?

How do humans cope with loss and failure when their more squishy Havenworlder friends need comforting the most? -- Anon Guest

The Sylph had learned what the Human phrase, "You go ahead, I'll catch up," really meant. And had had to use

Read more »

Challenge #02010-E186: Steep Learning Curve on the Explorer Seventeen

There’s always talk of how humans pack bond to everyone and everything. But that sort of connection, especially with sentiments, needs to be mutual. So how do humans cope with being the only human on a ship? With loneliness?

Who supports the one who’s supposed to do all the supporting? -- Anon Guest.

"We are here because something is happening to the Ship's Human. Grox? You are the one who's been cataloguing symptoms."

"I'm the assigned envoy. I have to

Read more »

Challenge #02009-E185: Barbarian Benevolence

What happened to the human dying the storm in “Challenge #01981-E157: One Educational Day on a Strange New World”? How did their relationship change after? Please write more of this story! It’s so fascinating! -- Anon Guest

[AN: Callback to this one for those who don't want to go hunting]

Stern mum Human Shaz was a fierce guardian. Horx understood that, now. The mother with one chick would protect it from even the mildest of potential hazards. And since Human Shaz's

Read more »

Challenge #02007-E183: Confounding Convergence

'Don't be silly', snapped Mara, 'cows have 6 legs'. (Mara from Feists 'Empire' trilogy, goes with Kevin to Midkemia) -- Anon Guest

[AN: Another book series I will likely forget to find and read. Whoops. I'm still trying to get into GoT...]

Yan stopped cold and stared her fellow human. "We are talking about the same animal, right? Terran origin mammal, about yae tall," she gestured with her hand. "Goes 'moo'. Herbivorous. Four stomachs. Gives milk?"

"Uh. No. I have no idea

Read more »

Challenge #02006-E182: He's a Griefer

“How could you?"

“I trusted you and, and you played me!”

“Like the cheap kazoo you are” -- Anon Guest

Some tasks are harder than others. Some efforts are purely emotional. And by the end of this mission to Zangress Four, Arlo was feeling weak as a kitten despite having all her health stats in peak range. The explorer she'd been hired to escort, Thuxx, had managed to make it through all kinds of potential hazards, including being one of those types

Read more »

Challenge #02005-E181: One Line to Cross

Humans are walking biohazard to everyone and everything. Our saliva can cause several pandemics alone is unchecked. If our gut is punctuated, the bacteria (and acid) inside us will eat us alive, not to mention whoever else may come into contact with it.

What happens when the galactic community first learns about this fact?

What happens when a human is found with an open gut wound that has been left untreated? -- Anon Guest

Humans will risk their lives for the beings

Read more »

Challenge #02004-E180: Nice... Dog?

How do alien ambassadors to earth first react to trying to translate/figure out what is a dog and what isn’t? At this point it’s a minor policy at the embassy to just assume all furred quadrupeds smaller than a horse are dogs. -- Anon Guest

Terra's first unofficial ambassador was the dog. Closely followed by the cat. The cat was simply pest control, but the dog... there are few species of Terran origin that are more versatile. Some Havenworlders

Read more »

Challenge #02003-E179: Sibling Ribaldry

How would aliens react to human-human relationships? Particularly close ones (best friends, romantic partners) where affection is mainly shown through quips and teasing? -- Anon Guest

Humans are pack animals. When enlisting Humans on to your vessel, one may consider the benefits of recruiting Humans who are already deeply bonded with each other. -- Galactic Advice Manual, The Care and Maintenance of Humans.

Humans accustomed to space tended to have monosyllabic names. Many were pronounceable by most Galactics. Such was the case

Read more »

Challenge #02002-E178: Double Scheherazade

Alien crew explores a likely-haunted spaceship wreck they found floating around -- TheDragonsFlame

Afterlives are one of the more complicated cultural complications in Galactic Society. Though citizens are not encouraged to insist on inserting their beliefs into others' heads, the topic of assorted beliefs is not taboo, either. One is expected to not judge, and not be judged in return. For instance: most cultures believe that some form of animated spirit persists after the mortal shell is deceased. Where it goes and

Read more »

Challenge #02001-E177: Ghosts... In... Space!

Alien crew spots ghost ship (not the derelict/abandoned kind, more like the ship itself is one of the ghosts) -- TheDragonsflame

In an infinite universe, all things are possible. The nature of time and events therein is cyclical. Of those tautologies, spaceport stories are made. This one just happens to come with documentation.

They were light years from civilisation, of course and without an accurate means of contacting anyone, of course. Because nothing interesting happens in the middle of civilisation with

Read more »

Challenge #01999-E175: Versatility

If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger hammer. -- Anon Guest

Thackians believed in hammers. Most societies prefer to believe in things which could not be proven to exist or not exist, but Thackians believed in hammers. Most importantly, they believed that there were few problems that the right kind of hammer couldn't solve.

This has caused much confusion amongst others. At least until Linguistics Professor Gorx decided to spend some time with them and analyse their usage and history

Read more »