State

Five short works of science-fiction:

• Shoulders of Giants: With a Comet Grijalva predicted to exterminate humanity, Commander Matej Tomasch and Flight Engineer Nathan Roberts decide to remain aboard the International Space Station to document the apocalypse. When the comet breaks up, filling their flight path with debris, how will they cope with being the only ones still at risk? (2,315 words)

• Pig Boy: Billy has spent his entire life being told he should be grateful Mr Samuels rescued him from the wastes. And for all his life, he has done the worst jobs without complaint. But how will he cope with the death of his only friend? (1,692 words)

• Crest of a Wave: Captain Isamir Yarkis, viewed by his peers as the last remnant of a more violent age, serves out his commission delivering supplies to obscure research colonies. Discovering his destination destroyed by seismic activity and a mysterious artefact drifting through the system, his gut tells him there is a connection. But, even if there is, was the artefact the cause or did it try to save the colonists? (5,476 words)

• Fair Shares: Scout Harrin Beckles recovers consciousness deep in enemy territory with a serious bullet wound and a patchy memory. Piecing together the past, he realises the enemy might not be the only people with reason to want him dead. With minimal supplies, he can either make for home or pursue vengeance, but who can he trust? (2,283 words)

• State: Ben Gately’s mother has refused all contact since Ben and his Dad fled the aftermath of a brutal coup in the United Kingdom for the USA. Two decades later, she summons him to her deathbed. With the USA regarding the Communal Polity of Britain as an enemy state, Ben is terrified the even considering her request will make him seem a political radical, but does he have the will to let her die alone? (12,868 words)