August 2023 – Page 12 – Deep Sky Anchor

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 16: The Great Red Spot

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“…the octopus empire has had dealings with them before. Hundreds of years before otters and cats were even uplifted. The octopus empire is ancient.”

The spiny wedge of an alien sail station loomed ahead on the Jolly Barracuda’s viewscreen. Every otter on the bridge grew deathly still looking at it. Bewhiskered faces with oval noses and serious expressions stared straight at the behemoth in front of them. Then, one by one, they turned to look at their captain.

Shifting uncomfortably under the combined gaze and the weighty Jovian gravity, Captain Cod eventually signed, “It’s big, isn’t it?” Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 16: The Great Red Spot”

Sugar Salad and the Monkees

I dreamed I was hanging out with Micky Dolenz. And what does my unconscious brain think I should do while hanging out with Micky Dolenz? Well, we were trying to train my dog to correctly identify which Monkee is singing lead when listening to a Monkees song. Continue reading “Sugar Salad and the Monkees”

The Elephant Bride’s Bouquet

by Mary E. Lowd

A Deep Sky Anchor Original, August 2023

“There were strict rules about harvesting the plants in the arboretum, and no matter how much she’d always wanted to curl her trunk around the stems of the flowers and snap off pretty buds, she had never dared break the rules.”

Jeko lifted her trunk and trumpeted along with the latest Star-Shaker song which she’d turned up to completely fill her small room aboard Crossroads Station. Her trunk swayed along with the beat, and the reptilian pop-star’s lilting, raspy voice was loud enough that Jeko didn’t have to feel embarrassed about her own brassy tones. The elephantine alien never sang in front of other people, but she loved to sing when she was alone. Especially when she was happy. Continue reading “The Elephant Bride’s Bouquet”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 15: Earth

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly. If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“It was a Sheltie convention, a giant meet-and-greet for all the pointy nosed, bushy-maned Shetland Sheepdogs in New LA.”

Two days ago, Trudith was a dog on the up and up. Her alpha was the only honest politician, and she was his right hand dog. Today, she was a dog back to her old tricks; trailing, eavesdropping, spying, and — kind of — kidnapping.

Trudith didn’t want to be the old dog who couldn’t learn new tricks, so she put her all into doing things differently this time. She didn’t break into Senator Morrison’s lavish estate; she didn’t contrive for him to “lose” his phone; and she certainly didn’t corner one of his lackeys in a back alley and offer to rough him up either more or less depending on the quality of his information. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 15: Earth”