Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 5: 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.

“Trudith may have been big and tough — covered in sinewy muscles under her smooth black fur from head to paw — but she didn’t like being left alone with a moral quandary.”

“You couldn’t wait?!?” Petra exploded.  “This dumb-as-charcoal dog said, oh yeah, let’s go to the press, and you thought that was a good idea?!”

Alistair’s ears were flat and his brow drawn.  “Are you finished?” he asked.

“Never listen to a dog.”  Petra glared at Trudith.  “Now I’m done.” Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 5: Earth”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 4: Trailside

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.

“Why exactly Captain Cod felt that his ship needed a spy and how he got the idea that the only cat in outer space was the right animal for the job, well, that was anyone’s guess.”

Kipper stared at the ceiling for an hour.  She was so intent, she didn’t notice the swell of current as Trugger, another one of her otter shipmates, swam up to her.  He tapped on her shoulder to get her attention, and when Kipper looked around, the river otter signed, “Didn’t Jenny tell you?  Even though we’re stopped, we won’t be draining the oxo-agua until Trailside clears us for docking.” Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 4: Trailside”

The Seamstress Robot and the Insect Bride

by Mary E. Lowd

A Deep Sky Anchor Original, July 2023

“Am-lei’s mother had, at least, enjoyed the benefit of having beautiful, colorful, butterfly wings that distracted humans from the Kafkaesque qualities of her actual body.”

The Seamstress Robot’s shop was a little hole in the wall in the Merchant’s Quarter of Crossroads Station.  The seamstress robot herself looked a lot like a giant mechanical spider — all spindly silver legs, overly jointed and coming to extremely delicate points, capable of grabbing, manipulating, and piercing fabric.  Also, generating fabric.  The seamstress robot, like an actual spider, could generate silk.  And synthetic cotton.  And synth wool.  And velvet, taffeta, patterned prints, fake leather… just about any material you could imagine could be generated, strand by strand, from the tip of her 3D printer leg. Continue reading “The Seamstress Robot and the Insect Bride”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 3: 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.

“Singing seagulls! Let’s get going. I’ve got to see what kind of a place you cats have whipped up for yourselves here on this red space rock.”

Trudith waited in the outer office of the campaign headquarters.  She expected that when Alistair finished his conversation with the Election Office, he would come out and tell her the plan, but it didn’t work that way.  Instead, Alistair slinked out, his tail dragging almost on the floor.  He was already wearing his jacket as if ready to leave, and he looked completely dispirited.  Trudith knew better than to ask, “What’s the plan?” but, she did ask, “How’d the request for a recount go?” Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 3: Earth”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 2: The Asteroid Belt

by Mary E. Lowd

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

“…since her body couldn’t fly home to her brother, zipping through space on careless wings in the effortless way her imagination could, Kipper had to accept the reality of her situation. She was stuck on this waterlogged bottle of oxo-agua that passed for a spaceship.”

Although it only took Trudith’s message seconds to reach the Deep Sky Anchor station in Earth orbit and would take another ten minutes to cross the space between there and the Jolly Barracuda, Kipper wouldn’t receive it for two weeks.  The Jolly Barracuda flew incommunicado, her flight plans unlogged.  Captain Cod felt it was more piratical that way. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 2: The Asteroid Belt”

Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 1: Earth

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly.  If you’d prefer to read in e-book or paperback form, learn more here.  Or if you want, jump back to book one or skip ahead to the next chapter.

“There wasn’t a glass ceiling keeping them down; no, the ceiling above cats was plenty visible with lovely murals drawn all over it.”

Trudith watched the orange cats nervously.  Although she was larger than them and undeniably stronger, Trudith saw Alistair — a skinny, ginger tabby — as her alpha dog, and Alistair’s sister Petra was a complete wildcard.  Petra wreaked havoc on any sane sense of hierarchy that Trudith could work out.  Yesterday, Petra took orders like the rest of them, but, now, when Alistair needed their support the most, Petra had turned on him. Continue reading “Otters In Space 2 – Chapter 1: Earth”

Otters In Space – Chapter 17: Kipper Chooses Her Home

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1 or return to the previous chapter.

“Alistair sounded like he was going to explain how he’d landed in jail in the first place, but instead ended up grumbling, “Stupid outdated catnip laws.”

Trugger was glad to hear upon Kipper’s return that he didn’t have to say goodbye.  He gave Kipper a big bear hug.  He’d given her hugs before, but they’d all been in an oxo-agua atmosphere which simply isn’t the same.  So, this was Kipper’s first time really being engulfed by the soft but incredibly dense pelt of an otter.   The warmth was there under oxo-agua, but none of the fuzziness, and fuzzy just doesn’t feel the same when wet.

“I knew you were a space pirate at heart,” Trugger told her. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 17: Kipper Chooses Her Home”

Otters In Space – Chapter 16: Kipper in a Different World

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“Then she looked deep in her heart, where she expected to find Siamhalla, the cat utopia she’d sought for so long. But it wasn’t there. She’d found utopia, and it wasn’t for her.”

Boris was left in charge on the bridge, and Captain Cod asked Jenny to come along as a second pair of otterly eyes.  If Josh and Elle hadn’t seemed so cold toward Captain Cod, Kipper would have asked Trugger to join them too.  But, if it got awkward, she didn’t want to watch Trugger, the best friend she had among the otters, be treated cruelly.  Or, perhaps worse, watch him watching these cats be cruel or cutting to his captain.  He was so loyal; he would have to leap to Captain Cod’s defense.  She especially didn’t want to see that. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 16: Kipper in a Different World”

Otters In Space – Chapter 15: Kipper Comes to Siamhalla

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“It takes a particularly quirky and off-kilter group of otters to jump at the chance to escort a broke alley cat across space on her wild goose chase.”

Beating the Manta Ray to Mars was only the first step of Captain Cod’s rapidly unfolding plan.  The next stage involved doctoring the message they’d intercepted from the Manta Ray.  They ran the voice through a simulator and used the simulation program to generate a new message.  The new message said, “Approaching Mars orbit.”

Sure enough, within a few minutes, a signal was broadcast from the ground in response. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 15: Kipper Comes to Siamhalla”

Otters In Space – Chapter 14: Kipper Dreams of Mars

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

“In Kipper’s dreams, the Jolly Barracuda landed on Mars to find Petra already there, dancing with Violet and every cat Kipper had ever seen abused or put down by a dog in her life.”

The evening and night both passed slowly.  At dinner, the crew of the Jolly Barracuda talked about the various mining expeditions or scientific surveys of Mars they’d either been on or known members of.  As far as Kipper could tell, the only otter onboard to have actually put paw to soil on Mars was Boris.  Well, space-suited paw.  Nonetheless, he was clearly proud of the distinction and told the story of his visit in great detail.  The other otters seemed impressed.  Kipper wanted to slug him. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 14: Kipper Dreams of Mars”