Amalgam Universe

A 2141-post collection

Challenge #03283-BONUS009: Breaking it Down

"I was there, in the midst of the firefight, that damn song on full-blast but it kept me pissed, hate that song now. Most of my closest friends are dead. My lover... they're gone, too. Yeah, I could've gotten an arm that looks real, skin that looks real, and not look like a patchwork doll, but I didn't want it. I can't... I don't want to forget that war, brief as it was. Even if their screams call out every night. I was one of the unlucky ones. I lived. I miss my friends....."

A soldier talking to their therapist who was helping them deal with the massive amounts of PTSD after the fight against Those Bastards.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03196-h287-not-singing-with-them -- Anon Guest

[AN: Content warning for the horrors of war]

Lem had been on Evac patrol when Those Bastards turned everything to shit. First order of business was always to protect the civilians. Riko had launched with the cargo bay open and activated the Hungry Caterpillar as the doors eased closed, desperate people clinging to the exterior.

Lem remembered one throwing their baby into the Caterpillar's horrifying maw. Then making a religious gesture and taking a literal leap of faith. The Caterpillar was busy, and didn't prioritise anyone.

Lem remembered the sound as that parental bounced. So many were falling, but that one had been hir lover.

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Challenge #03282-BONUS008: Inherited Anxiety

A man from Pax Humanis was on leave after a very long, very bloody, mission. On a station grabbing a drink, they meet a young Havenworlder who has a serious self-esteem issue. They're heard stating over and over that they cannot do things simply because they are a Havenworlder and, as such, they are weak. Frowning and wanting to do terrible things to whomever put such thoughts into a kid's head, they push back that instinct and go to the young Havenworlder

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Challenge #03281-BONUS007: Editing the First Draft

The creation of the Mycojelly Dogs is patented and sold as a therapy / safety device for Bad Luckers, and to people of Pax Humanis working on controlling episodes of explosive temper. Each "animal" carefully created and programmed for each person's special needs. And the Time is just rolling in by the centuries!

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03192-h283-a-bad-luckers-best-friend -- Anon Guest

TM&TT was a corporation almost fully funded by the CRC. There was a life cycle with the circulating funds,

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Challenge #03280-BONUS006: I Can See Your Homeworld From Here

A Human had far more time than they could count, they found a planet rich with resources that was a Havenworld and yet, it was completely uninhabited, no cogniscent life anywhere. A planet which they quickly had placed under their name. Colonists from Deregulations moved in, one would think this would end up a Deregulation world, the CEO's from the local ones certainly TRIED to get them to become a part of it, but this human, after sitting and listening to the

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Challenge #03279-BONUS005: A Hard Lesson

The CRC allows the citizenry or a former Deregger colony to decide the fate of the CEO that had ruled over them with an iron fist. What punishment does he get? HE gets to be the one to shovel manure from the barns, haul it, and spread it on the fields all day. Though, at least, HE gets to get regular breaks, fresh water, and time to eat, and his quarters were softer than what he used to let them have. --

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Challenge #03278-BONUS004: Meditative Downtime Activities

A ship of Havenworlders was out on the rim doing planet surveys. It's been stressful as they wait for repair parts to come in due to damage from raiders, fortunately their human chased the raiders off, and the human brings out a big stack of paper books with black and white images and a large box of colored pencils. They smile at their friends and say. "Here, one of my favorite ways to relax, de-stress, and clear my mind. I have enough

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Challenge #03276-BONUS002: Guilty of Air Pollution

A human knomira is burning a ton of incense in their room to "purify the air of toxins" because "bad smells carry miasma and miasma is illness!" They learn why that is NOT allowed aboard ships, or enclosed spaces like space stations. -- Anon Guest

Some people should never be trusted with a Travel Multipass. Even if they did have the finances to get one. Dumei was one of them. Worse, they were one of those people who thought 'extra perks' meant

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Challenge #03275-BONUS001: Just Make it Go Away

Your ignorance is not as good as my scientific studies. You screaming that 'you're offended', is not a valid argument for this discussion. If you want to argue against these protocols, which are meant to protect yours and others' lives, have actual facts on your side. -- Anon Guest

They had asked for help against the endemic pandemic. Then they refused that help on moral, legal, and religious grounds. Deregger CEOs. They wanted all of the advantages and none of the work.

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Challenge #03273-H364: A Nice Warm Cuppa

They would sit as a human brushed their fur and ranted about a bad day. They sat as other humans quietly held their hands, sometimes rubbing their furry arms. This was normal for the life of a companion. If you didn't like being touched constantly, then working with humans was not for you. But they, sometimes had bad days, too, and needed someone to rant to.

But, sometimes, THEY needed someone to hold, to rant to, to cry to, about their problems.

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Challenge #03272-H363: Friendly Locals, Nice Scenery...

You know, I really hate people. They’re selfish, Ignorant, loud-obnoxious pricks, with basically no redeeming quality what so ever. I mean really look at all they achieved, genocide, global warming, reality tv. It’s just a never ending parade of failures and f#%* ups. They are without question, a complete write off a species, & HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CARE ABOUT THEM -- Anon Guest

An alien was living in Lower Widdlington. All the conspiracists, true believers, and people constantly

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Challenge #03269-H360: Adopted by Potatoes

Their species is feline-like in origin. Several orphaned Skitty kittens start following them around, refusing to let the person out of their sight, getting distressed when the person is difficult for them to get to. -- Anon Guest

It was quite a thing to discover that one had been adopted by a small swarm of blobby potatoes. That was what Human Zeng would call them, but they were clearly Skittens. Skitty[1] kittens. They had also, very clearly, adopted Hurrasha as their

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Challenge #03268-H359: Unexpected Kindness

They had managed to turn their hobby into quite the lucrative business. Setting up in one of the busiest Alliance stations, their business, a confectionery shop specializing in homemade candies using recipes from Earth before the Shattering, was especially popular with families. And now, of course, was their favorite past time with all the extra Time they had after paying their bills, though they always made sure to set some aside in savings, shopping! It seemed like every day a new package

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Challenge #03267-H358: On-Site Training Incident

They were not exactly soft-spoken, though their tones were often soft and polite. But there was a reason for that. When speaking in their normal tones, their voice carried! In their normal talking tone, they were loud, so it was not unusual to hear them actively modulate down to a softer tone to try to reign that in.

But this idiot was NOT listening to them. They kept doing stupid crud that was going to get them hurt, if not worse. Finally,

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Challenge #03264-H355: Slowly Approaching Fine

After the investigation, the Havenworlders were carefully lead out by a team of therapists, but they found the human couldn't move, or rather, wouldn't. Sobbing bitterly, all she could do was sit there, shaking. In many ways, this had been far more traumatic for her than any of her charges. It was decided to carry her, gently, to a quiet place. The therapists had a lot of work ahead of them to deal with the trauma. In this case, the Havenworlders were

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Challenge #03263-H354: A Debt of Life

A few years after the first encounter, the humans return to Lilli Station, they come in large, new, ships. They do not dock but, instead, make contact. They offer to reinforce the station to protect the inhabitants. To assign humans to guard the cogniscents there. The inhabitants of this station helped them, saved them, in their hour of desperate need, and, despite the gift given, never asked for anything in return. The humans were grateful to the ones that saved them. And

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