Lucas Cats

by on November 28, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The indigenous civilization on San Lucas was several thousand years old when we colonized their world. One of the major population centers was on the cusp of an industrial revolution that probably would have made them the dominant planetary culture in a few decades. We could have detected that from planetary orbit. They were centuries into a cultural revolution similar to our own Enlightenment period that had sparked numerous small revolutions and civil wars as the unity of the old empire failed. Numerous younger colonial realms were already on the rise after winning their own freedom, and the empire itself was devolving into a serious civil war between those supporting the old regime and something our historians compared to Earth’s Young Turk movements. It was one of those Young Turks who was saved by that human veterinarian and later initiated the first major Contact between our races.

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First, Second, and Third Thanksgiving

by on November 27, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Yes…three of them.

Thursday was the normal First Thanksgiving for me, with my Mom’s family coming down from up North to eat with the whole clan. But the southern parts of the clan couldn’t make it out on Thanksgiving day due to being on call.

So Second Thanksgiving was arranged on Friday so we could eat again with the southern branch, leftovers of the Thursday meal that were just as good, and filling, as they were the first time.

Then there was my Dad’s family having Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, so I went there as well.

I feel stuffed, plucked, and ready to serve right now.

But I’m also about as happy as a satisfied Hobbit…

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Tarian ap Seren

by on November 26, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

Tarian was the commander of an orbital station over Arnami Prime when I first met him. I didn’t expect to see him again, at least not anytime soon. So it was a bit of a surprise when I found him at the head of an Arnam fleet. Well, technically he found me, but who’s counting? For a man who never thought of himself as a warrior, Tarian became the mother of all headaches for the Shang. And you know what else? I think he’s an example of just how all that Albion engineering is starting to break down after over two millennia. He didn’t go back to his little pond after War’s End. He’s still one of the mildest-mannered people I’ve ever known. He’s still got all the control they built into him. But I think the Albion would be worried about all the control over the controls he achieved after twenty years of War. He can start a fight now. That alone would scare the Albion spitless, but it’s not the only change. The War forged him into a far more implacable foe than the Shang ever wanted to see. I can’t help but think that was one of the better-earned and well-deserved changes The War brought about.

High rez version available for free on Patreon

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Lucas Cats

by on November 25, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

People ask how we could have lived on a world with a major indigenous civilization in the middle of multiple major wars and never realized it. The answer is simple. We settled the coastal regions and did not enter the jungles in large numbers. Their largest and most powerful civilizations were in the deepest parts of the rainforests or jungles and they didn’t go to the coasts. There was water there, and everybody knows that no self-respecting cat wants to be anywhere near water if they can help it. Also, they weren’t exactly an industrial society. There were no train tracks or factory plumes for us to detect while flying overhead. They weren’t noble savages or anything like that, though. They had complex societies complete with large cities, small villages, several major religions, numerous international borders, and large standing armies. They’re actually more like us than the Peloran or Arnam. There’s a reason for that.

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Black Friday Cowboy Style

by on November 24, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Everybody loves a good Black Friday sale, including my humble self. It’s the start of the Christmas season, a time for fighting over cheap TVs and shopping until you drop from sheer exhaustion. Mmmm…on second thought, maybe Black Friday should be enjoyed at home in front of a computer, where you can be safe from the other denizens of this world. If you agree with me on that, well I have a Black Friday deal for you.

Captain Jack of Hart Squadron, Republic of Texas Marine Corps Fighter Attack Wing 112, the Cowboys, is a man who puts his dashing sense of style on display for everyone to see. One of his many mottos is, “The better you look, the better people will think of you.” Now you too can be like Jack, or one of the more respectable Cowboys if you prefer, with this new shirt sporting the fantastic new insignia (drawn by the talented Matt Maeda) of the Jack of Harts VMFA-112.

Serious note: The Jack of Harts VMFA-112 is named in honor of the real life Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112, the Cowboys, veterans of World War II and conflicts through to the modern day. Because of these aviators, and everyone else who has served, I am free to bring my dreams to life. I will never forget.

Jack of Harts VMFA-112 Shirt

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