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Headline up front: I am pausing billing for paid subscriptions through the end of the year. You have all been very generously supporting me but life has been much more demanding recently in ways that are mutually exclusive with my writing time. While I fully expect to return to my usual writing cadence, you deserve a billing reprieve for more than just my recent lapse in publishing. So January 1, I will plan to re-activate subscription billing. If any of you would like to unsubscribe, would like a refund, or otherwise would like to take this as an opportunity to reallocate your funds—absolutely no problem. Please reach out to me via email with “REFUND” in the subject line and I will work with you on refunding your subscription, no questions asked.

Here’s what this means for each of my paid publications:

Gibberish – All posts are stopping. The Serial “Before The Maps Are Final” will resume after August, and with it Sandbox Earth Season will finally come to a close. I fully intend to pick up Blackpage Season, but to be honest there’s only one story on my mind to write in the fall and it’s my submission for the Midnight Vault. So I am not going to over promise here, it may be lean times through December, but my intention as of right now is to get back on the horse after this crazy busy August. FFF will not pick up again in August, but if you keep writing stories when we pick up again on the other side of this, I will highlight everyone.

The Peasant Times-Dispatch – The monthly Churchyard post and the monthly Edition will not happen for August. I am hopeful that I can resume in September, but it depends on how I weather this unusual patch of time. Again, I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.

Plain Spoken – I was supposed to post an episode on July 20^th, that hasn’t happened. The August episode won’t happen either. Luckily I am still early into this thing, but this month I can’t commit to it.

I’ll continue to be on Notes, but I can’t justify continuing without pausing billing. Thank you all for your patience, your understanding, and your generosity through this strange time. I promise our regularly scheduled programming will resume as soon as practicable.

God bless you all!

- Scoot

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for bi-weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have two weeks!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 24 July 2026

• Write about a cool rock

• indecipherable creed

• “where did you go”

• A character who wears a lot of pockets

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every other week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Have you heard? The word?
- A Monumental Error
- Revenge

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back in two weeks for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

Read more

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for bi-weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have two weeks!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 10 July 2026

• Write about an unusual bird

• unloving monument

• “there has to be a reason”

• A character celebrating a holiday

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every other week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Boddobing, -bang, -bung
- Who?

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back in two weeks for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for bi-weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have two weeks!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 26 June 2026

• Write about a surprising hidden treasure

• predetermined randomness

• “I will keep going”

• A character from another country

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every other week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- The Keys To The Kingdom
- Sleep | Think
- Final Countdown

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back in two weeks for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

This post is too long for email. For best results, read it on the desktop site, click HERE!

This began as a joke, and turned into a week long odyssey that would not have been possible without you, voters, keeping this story moving. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this fun and special, especially: , , , , , and countless others who participated and I couldn’t name, or who voted invisibly. This was incredibly fun, and a little ridiculous. THANK YOU!

Please enjoy the complete story below, with the poll options, results, links, and my commentary in footnotes.

>The Adventure Begins!1

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

>Open Mailbox

You cast a tentative glance at the house, and briefly consider leaving. But instead, curiosity overwhelms you, and you open the mailbox.

Opening the mailbox reveals a leaflet.

>Take the leaflet

You are determined, and take the leaflet without any hesitation. It is a mass mailer, sealed shut with a sticker. You see that it is addressed ‘To Resident’.

>Read leaflet

The curious white house briefly crosses your mind, but you press forward with the matter at hand: reading the curious leaflet. You open it and find within the following message:2

Subscribe now

A curious message—but what could it mean? You consider your options:

>Examine House

Something in your mind says to leave, but you choose to stay. More curious about the house than the mailbox, you turn your attention towards it and make some observations.

The house is white, but on closer inspection the paint is peeling in parts and it has the patina of age. The front door is boarded up, as you observed earlier—but now you can see the boards look like fresh wood, though the wood of the structure looks much older. Left and right of the door are square windows with thin glass. The grass around the house looks worn down in parts, as though stepped on.3

>Test the boards on the front door

While the windows seemed tempting, and you briefly considered walking around the house, you prefer the direct approach. You walk up the three short steps to the front door.

There are three boards crossing the width of the door, they look and smell like fresh timber. They’ve been nailed into the aging and discolored doorframe. You place a hand on the top board and give it a wiggle—it wiggles more than you expect! You could probably easily pull these boards out from the clearly rotting wood.

You hear the crunch of tires on gravel behind you, and you whirl around: A car has turned down the long driveway, headed right to the house, and right to you!

Whoever it is hasn’t seen you yet, so you must act quickly:

>Run around the back of the house

You panic as the car pulls up. You briefly consider fighting your way inside the house, or even trying to play it totally cool, but you decide it’s safer to hide before they see you.

You run left of the door, or north, and circle around the back of the house. You are out of sight, but not yet hidden. It is darker here, the sun is approaching the western horizon and the house casts a long shadow over the back yard. The car is approaching rapidly.

Your heart racing, you consider your options.

>Look for a better hiding spot

Your curiosity about the approaching car is overruled by your desire to hide! You quickly scan your surroundings, as you hear the sound of tires on gravel approach and stop, followed by the heavy thunk of car doors opening and closing.

Your quick scan reveals three options: A small crawl space under the house, hidden by some wooden lattice. You’d be getting down and dirty with some mud and bugs, but you’d be well hidden from view. The back yard stretches out, and there is a solitary thin tree in some unkempt grass. If you dash, you could get there and with the shadow of the house creeping over the yard, the drivers may not notice you there. Near the tree are some holes dug into the ground. A shovel extends from one of them, and you would definitely be able to crouch and hide behind the small pile of dirt.

You hear voices:

Alright, Sheila, you grab the cans out of the back…

But before you can hear any more, you must make your move:

>Hide in the crawl space

Thinking quickly, and ignoring any discomfort, you quickly stuff yourself into the crawlspace, the nearest hiding spot at hand.

You catch your breath and settle and listen to the interlopers.

You hear some shuffling and walking as they silently work—presumably, getting cans of something out of the back of the car. You hear the hollow wooden clattering of the wooden boards dropping to the ground.

I’m going to have one last look inside, in case the old bast…

the sentence becomes inaudible as the man enters the house.

Stevie! Why’d you open the mailbox?

A muffled shout from inside the house in reply.

Well I didn’t either! Are you sure?

You can hear footsteps echoing through the boards above you, and the man’s voice sounds again as he steps outside.

Think there’s someone else here? We were only gone an hour.

I don’t know, but we better be sure.

You go have a look around. I’ll start pouring this gas and look around inside. Sooner we light this place up the better.

Your heart is pounding in your chest, and you hear the woman’s footsteps crunching through the unkempt grass towards the back of the house.

She stops right where you were standing a moment ago, facing the back yard.

>Search the crawl space

The woman identified as Sheila stands there for a moment, and you suppress the intrusive thought to grab her feet, and choose instead to remain hidden. If their plan is to light the house on fire, you know you can’t stay long—but you need a way to make your escape.

You search the crawl space in case anything is on offer to help you.

In the fading evening light, it is hard to see in the dark of the crawlspace. Yet your eyes catch a glint of metal, which on closer inspection is revealed to be a metal tacklebox.

Stevie, I don’t see anything!

Alright, well, get back here and help me with this. I’ll be happier when we’re back on the road.

Sheila marches back around the house, giving you a moment to consider what to do.

>Carefully open the tacklebox

There is no way the tacklebox was placed here on accident, so you decide to open it and see what is inside.

You hear two sets of footsteps creaking on the boards above you now—if they plan to light the house on fire, it will probably be soon. You know you don’t have much time.

The tacklebox opens easily, and inside is a folded piece of paper, a short dagger with snakes engraved on the handle, an ornately designed lensatic compass with a lotus symbol on the outside, and a thick metal ring with a skull on it.

Alright, stand back Sheila I’m going to light ‘er up.

Your moment might be passing—what do you do?4

>Take the paper and the dagger

You grab the paper and dagger out of the tacklebox, and just as you hear the fwoosh of igniting gasoline, you take the risk and clamber out of the crawl space.

Aren’t they gonna find his body?

They’ll assume he died in the fire—that’s why we poisoned him, remember?

He never did tell us where he…

The sound of the flames overpower the voices, as you make your way to the tall grass behind the tree, and you watch the fire from a hidden spot.

While the pair are distracted and the fire burns, you have a moment to think.

>Inspect the paper

While you watch the house burn, you pull out the piece of paper you grabbed from the tacklebox. You open it, and you find a map, strange symbols and markings, a sequence of numbers.

A short message at the top says: “The Map to Mervin Prangle’s Treasure”

The drawn map you recognize as the place you are now. You can see a marking on an area that you intuit as the white house. You can see some lines pointing east, a sequence of numbers as if they are designed to help navigate.

It is clear that this map is what the two arsonists were looking for: some kind of treasure.

The thought swirls in your mind as the flames engulf the house.5

>Choose to chase treasure!

While it is tempting to want to confront the arsonists, you realize the greater reward is hidden in this map which you have and they don’t. The sun has set, the only light now is the burning house.

In order to chase the treasure, you need to leave!

EAST, you can tell from the map, is roughly the direction of the treasure, but there is a lot of open fields and occasional houses before you get there.

WEST, leads to the road, which would be easy to travel by even at night, but you have to cross the burning house, the arsonists, and their car to get there.

NORTH, there is a village where you might be able to find a place to sleep for the night before continuing in the morning.

SOUTH, there are open fields and then some woods, you heard of a campsite in that area.

With the map and dagger, and resolve in your heart, you are now free to choose the best way to chase the treasure!

>Go EAST

The night is young, your resolve burns hot, and there is no time like the present. You go East!

You crawl away from the burning house, not feeling safe to move until you are sufficiently far away and know you won’t be seen. The yard is big, and slopes gently down hill—you begin to walk softly and soon to run, until you come to the border fence, which you hop over easily. The burning house, the arsonists, all behind you—now you have only one thought: TREASURE!

The fields stretch out in front of you as you go. Few obstacles present themselves besides tall grass. While you start at a run, you quickly realize this is not going to be a short journey, and slow your pace to a gentle walk.

You crest a hill, then descend again into a valley, and soon you begin to come up again. There’s another road! The tall grass begins to thin out, and you hear something moving in the grass.

A snake! A large snake, hard to identify in the dark, appears in front of you. It has noticed you, too, and is clearly upset that you have disturbed it’s otherwise restful night.

It’ll take a bit of ingenuity to get out of this one…

>Brandish The Snake Dagger

The snake lifts its head, threatening to strike. You briefly consider trying to reason with it, hoping it is a Hegelian Sidewinder6 instead of a Popperite Python. Luckily, at the last minute, you remember the dagger with snakes on the handle, and decide maybe it will be good for defending yourself. You grab the dagger and hold it up.

The snake retreats backwards, as though injured or terrified! It wriggles and squirms away, as you hold the dagger out in front of you.

You step forward, and the snake continues retreating, and you begin to walk past it, keeping the dagger facing the snake, until it slithers away, leaving you in peace.

Strange!

Now you have reached the road, which stretches NORTH and SOUTH.

What do you do now?7

>Continue EAST, treasure awaits!

You stand briefly on the road, after your strange encounter with the snake. But, from the raised vantage point, you can smell the sea! The full moon has begun rising ahead of you, and you know it won’t be long now before you arrive at the sea, from whence you can hopefully use the map to close in on Mervin Prangle’s Treasure.

You cross the road and the hill descends again, briefly obscuring the moon and sea. You hear a car drive past on the road behind you, which you ignore. It occurs to you that it is getting very late now. You’ve been up all day, and the excitement of today’s events is starting to take it’s toll.

As you trudge towards the sea, you consider your options.

>Find a safe place to encamp

You come to terms with the fact that you need to sleep. At least you have the map, you know the treasure isn’t going anywhere any time soon. You don’t have anything really for making a camp, and you have your doubts about the safety of just sleeping on the ground with snakes around, although it’s possible you’d get lucky.

The ground is starting to slope now, towards the sea, so you know you are getting closer. You’re on the right track. But—sleep!

As you walk, you scan your surroundings, and you spy a few options.

>Sleep in a tree, looks sturdy

You find a sturdy looking tree, with a good ‘y’ shaped branch that would be as comfortable a sleeping place as any one might find in a tree.

With one hand in your pocket to protect the map, and the dagger secure in your other pocket (there’s a sheath or something I decided so you don’t stab yourself don’t worry about it), you find sleep takes you quickly and easily.

Let’s find out how well you sleep: pick a number! Trust me, what could go wrong?8

>Option 3 - 2.5 hrs sleep

It’s an uncomfortable in the tree branch, but eventually sleep takes you.

You jolt awake, you’re still in the tree. A pigeon, surprised by your sudden movement, flies away from it’s perch on a nearby branch. The moon is higher in the sky now, but it’s still dark. You don’t feel completely rested, especially after that dream! But you do feel more rested than when you arrived.

Oh well. Now what do you do?

>Up and attem, treasure time!
>Should find something to eat first
>Let’s not rush, check the map!

Overwhelmed by options, you tumble out of the tree trying to reach for the map and actively descend the tree at the same time. You land on your back—a rude awakening, especially after a terrible dream. Your stomach grumbles loudly.

You resume your walk east, towards the sea, and you successfully navigate the map and take a look. The map shows a coastline, much like the one you are now approaching. The sequence of numbers look like they would have been useful if you’d taken the compass. It’s hard to decipher exactly where to go, but the lines and symbols do seem to lead to a direction south from where you are.

You are, however, increasingly hungry. And that will cause a problem sooner or later, especially with the highly physical journey you have been on so far.

You make slow progress, and don’t fully understand where to go but you know at least you are directionally correct.

>No but seriously, breakfast time

Your stomach overrules your thinking, you can’t go on without something to eat.

However, you realize you are in the middle of a field, which by now is clearly a cliff overlooking a sandy beach. You see some carved out rocky steps that lead down to the beach. In fact, scanning the coastline, you see a lighthouse, complete with red and white spiraling stripes. The light isn’t on, but—it’s possible there’s something edible there.

You could also look around on these fields before going down. The lighthouse is due north, but the destination might be due south, and maybe there’s another house you’ll encounter up here.

It’s hard to think on an empty stomach—you must do your best.9

>Descend NORTH to the lighthouse!

You decide your best bet is the lighthouse, and you work your way down the rocky steps, which switch back once before you get to the bottom.

You are, finally, on the shore, by the sea. Treasure is close—but nutrition is important. Reluctantly you head NORTH along the shore towards the lighthouse, even though it seems to take you farther away.

This lighthouse looks very run down. Now that you are closer you can see the glass surrounding the lantern room has been shattered and some birds nests—old or new, you can’t say—crowd the area.

The cabin at the base has a rusty metal door, which, though latched, comes open easily, as if held closed only by the desire of whomever closed it.

You open the door, and see a fairly orderly, if long abandoned, living quarters. You begin your search for food.

>Search the Kitchen

While many mysteries introduce themselves here, your stomach reminds you of your mission: food! You begin your search in the most logical place, the kitchen.

You carefully open dusty cabinets and drawers, and find an odd can or two.

Under the sink, strangely, you find a sealed tub which may promise more foodstuffs as well.

You would eat (almost) anything at this point, you consider the possibilities.10

>Eat what’s in the sealed tub

You sensibly opt for what appears to be the safest container. The unlabeled cans could be anything, and opening an ancient, lukewarm can of beans would be…well, it wouldn’t be fun even if you ate well.

You open the tub and find, to your immense surprise, a stack of sealed mason jars. Fruit slices! Peaches, pears, berries! And, what’s more—sealed jars of mixed nuts! Whoever stocked this lighthouse was well prepared.

You eat your fill of both—the cans open with a satisfying pop and you sate your hunger with delicious and nutritious foods. A small feast ensues!

When you are satisfied, you can turn your attention back to the matter at hand: the search for Mervin Prangle’s Treasure.

How exactly, is up to you:

>Climb the lighthouse and scout!

While you are at the light house, you may as well get a lay of the land! You cross through the living quarters, push open a door, and find the long, spiraling staircase that leads to the broken windows at the top of the lighthouse.

The trek is exhausting—it’s a lot of stairs! But when you get there, you admire the full panoramic view.

You see the cliffs behind you, to the west. In front of you, eastward and out to sea, you see the slowly brightening sky of morning. North, the beach stretches out. And south, the beach stretches toward a rocky cluster of outcroppings, which seem like where the map might have been leading you, if memory serves.

What do you decide to do?

>Are there any other hints or clues?

You inspect the lantern room for any hints or clues. Where the break in the glass is, you find the remains of a nest of some kind of seafowl. On the railing along the inside, you see some markings that have no obvious meaning to you. A lotus flower on the south part of the railing, a skull on the east part of the railing, and a snake on the west part of the railing.11

That’s about all you can see. The sky is brighter with every passing moment, dawn approaches! Will you find treasure before the sun has set again?

>Enough flim flammery, lets go SOUTH
>Those symbols sound familiar

After examining the lighthouse, the symbols on the railing sticks in your mind. But your hunger now sated, the sun’s first light cresting the horizon, your thought returns to treasure.

You descend the lighthouse steps, pass through the cabin, exit onto the beach.

You find yourself back on the sand, and you resume your march south.

As you are walking, the early sun warming your face and bathing the beach in a deep orange glow, with the dark blue of night retreating over the cliffs, you remember: the tacklebox in Mervin Prangle’s crawlspace! It had the map, and the snake dagger—but also a compass with a lotus on it, and a ring with a skull! Why were those symbols on the lighthouse? What could it mean?

It’s too late now to go back, you are approaching those rocky outcroppings that strike you as where the map was leading you.

>Inspect the map and vector in

it’s crunch time. The treasure is close. As you walk south along the beach, you retrieve the map from your pocket.

The map, full of lines and markings and strange sets of numbers, is recognizably the coastline. You can see the old white house, and the set of rocky outcroppings. But how can you use it to find the treasure?

As you walk, you glance up, and the rocky outcroppings align just so to form the shape of a snake with an open mouth and two terrible fangs protruding down.

That seems significant! You hold up the map, and there is a dot on it—this must be right where you are standing!

The treasure is close at hand. Where do you go from here?

>Move towards the mouth of the snake

Intuitively you understand that the snake points to the treasure, and you are willing to bet that the mouth of the snake will have some insight to lead you to the treasure.

As you walk carefully forward, trying to preserve the emergent image of the snakes head in the rocky outcropping, you spot two more people wandering on the beach. A man and a woman. The man is wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigarette, carrying a metal detector. The woman is wearing jeans rolled up at the feet, and a jean jacket. She’s carrying her flip flops and walking barefoot in the sand.

You pause—Sheila and Stevie, the arsonists back at the old house, never saw your face. But then, you never saw their faces either. These two people could be merely morning beach travelers. They could also be murderers.

The man spies you first, and gives you a friendly smile and wave. “Mornin!” he says.

You hesitate, before responding:

>”Morning!” (play it cool)

You raise a hand in friendly greeting to the pair. “Good morning!” you reply.

“Nice day today, eh?” the man says.

You nod and smile. They are standing where you wanted to be—the mouth of the snake.

You don’t want to lead them to the treasure, and don’t want to be murdered (if they even are the murderers). And if they are—is there a risk they are about to get to the treasure first?

You need to do something, and quick.

>Be pleasant and keep walking

“It sure is!” you say politely, nodding at both as you pass by.

You glance over your shoulder at them as you walk, and don’t notice anything. dramatic. You pass by a shallow pool, and then dodge quickly behind a rock. If they keep walking—you can quickly resume your search. If they go in front of you…you might have trouble.

You circle around and spy on the pair from cover. You can’t hear them—but they are moving down the ‘mouth’ of the snake-shaped rock outcropping.

>Suspicious—follow them!

The man and woman—maybe murderers, maybe morning people—walk deeper into the mouth of the snake-like outcropping. You can’t hear them talk, if they are talking, so you follow behind them, trying to stay behind rocks and protrusions. They are moving the direction you need to go, so you need to be careful.

Your foot slips, and you step heavily into a tidepool, making a splash.

The man says:

“Oy, Shiela, what was that?”

Now you know—it’s them! The murderers, arsonists, treasure hunters. You slip behind the rock and hope they didn’t notice.

“Pay no mind, Stevie, we’ve got work to do.”

“Can’t work if we’re being followed…”

You hear cautious footsteps heading towards you…

>Stay put and hold your breath
>Get your dagger out

You slowly draw your snake dagger out of it’s sheath and hold it at the ready in front of you. You hold your breath, waiting for the footsteps to emerge, or hopefully turn away. The footsteps get too quiet to hear. You wait, agonizing moments, you watch for Stevie to emerge from behind the rock at any moment.

“AHA!”

He comes up behind you, nearly making you jump out of your skin. He grabs a hold of you and pulls you to your feet and pushes you against a rock.

“What do you think you’re—”

He begins, but then recognition comes over him in waves. First, that you’re the person he just greeted on the path. Second, that he recognizes the snake dagger in your hands.

“Why, you sneaky bugger! Sheila! Found the missing piece! Looks like we’ve got ourselves another treasure hunter! Were you going to stab me with this thing?”

Sheila comes over to where Stevie is accosting you. She’s got the lotus-compass in her hands. Stevie must have the skull ring.

“What was your plan, hm? You think you were going to sneak in on Old Man Prangles Treasure?”

They both seem to wait for an answer.

>”I found this on the beach”12
>”You mean MY treasure?”

Panicked, you struggle to choose a bluff. “I found this on the beach!” you stammer.

“What do you take me for, some fool? We found the crawlspace after the house burned down. You were there, weren’t you? You opened the mailbox. It was you the whole time. You think you can muscle in on Prangle’s treasure?”

You decide to abruptly change tactics. “You mean MY treasure?” you sneer confidently.

“You’re daft!” Stevie says. “Come along, we need the dagger and you need us. We’re getting this treasure.”

He throws you to the sand.

“Don’t try anything, let’s just get the treasure. Maybe we’ll even let you have a piece of it if you’re nice. But you come up swinging, there’ll be hell to pay, you hear?”

Sheila asks a sensible question:

“Why don’t you take the knife?”

“And what? Let him run off, call the police? No—now we have an accomplice. Let’s go!”

Pushing and prodding, they walk towards a hidden entrance to a cave. Your mind is racing…

>Fall down a lot and be difficult

Seeing as you are in a tricky situation, and close enough to your goal that it might be worth it to see how it plays out, you resort to the oldest trick in the book: falling down, being difficult, maximizing the energy they need to spend to contain you. Never have you been clumsier in your life, and while you pay the price in bruises, it seems to be effectively aggravating your kidnappers.

Around a hidden bend in the rocks, you are nudged forward to step over a lip in the rocks, and you quickly behold a cave.

Not just any cave, but the surface of the cave is writhing and squirming with living things—SNAKES!

You remember the strange effect your dagger had on the snake previously, but you wonder if it is wise to reveal your secret.

>Brandish the dagger, clear a path!

You are trapped, nothing for it. Maybe you can pull some switcharoo at the very end, but anyway you mays well do your best.

You pull the snake-handled dagger from it’s sheath, and hold it up, as you did before in the fields. As you get closer to the snakes, they hiss, and scatter—fleeing before the strange power of the snake dagger.

You aren’t entirely sure where you are going, but the snakes clear what appears to be a path, and so you follow it. Wary of the snakes, you glance up where the path is leading, and on a small rocky mound, under a beam of morning light, is a treasure chest.

Stevie and Sheila are following behind you. You are nearly at your quarry, though amid a sea of snakes.13

>Rush to the chest, stranding them!

You see a gap, and you go for it—a leap, a bound, and you’re on the hill, away from the snakes, and away from your captors. Now no longer warded away by the mysterious dagger, the snakes close in around Stevie and Sheila.

Sheila gasps in shock.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she says.

“You’re not getting out of here alive!” Stevie shouts.

The snakes are closing in, and they are mad.14

>Say nothing, focus on the treasure

You turn your back to Sheila and Stevie in their peril, and examine the chest.

It looks otherwise like a normal treasure chest. It has a latch on the front, with snakes inscribed on it, and a long narrow slit where the key-hole should be. There’s a lotus flower on the lid. No sign of the skull, which seems like a strange but welcome omission given their previous appearances together as a trio.

Sheila and Stevie are louder now, the end is near for them. But the treasure is near for you…

>Offer one last chance for mercy15

Your conscience gnaws at you, as if 67% of voters on an online poll were calling on you to do the right thing.

You turn around—the snakes were closing in on Sheila and Stevie.

You say to them: “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can save you from the snakes. But you have to answer for what you did to Mervin Prangle!”

You step towards them with the snake dagger outstretched, to halt the advance of the snakes.

Sheila, standing behind Stevie, begins to nod, but Stevie says,

“You’ll be the one answering for this!”

“I can just let you die by snake bite. Is that what you want?”

Sheila nudges him, and he turns to look at her—she is scared. He sighs.

“No. No I don’t want that.”

“Come on up, then, but you have to promise me you will turn yourselves in. You killed a man, all for this treasure. Is the blood money worth it?”

You step forward and clear the path of snakes, and Stevie and Sheila walk begrudgingly up to the treasure.

>Finally—open the treasure!

The time has come. Flanked on either side by Stevie and Sheila, you behold the treasure chest. You carefully insert the snake dagger, and twist counterclockwise. The circular apparatus turns, and with a sickening k-thunk it unlocks, and the handle of the dagger breaks off.

With determination, you have the heavy wooden lid of the treasure chest open. When it comes to rest, the interior of the cave seems bathed in gold! The solitary light falls right on the opening of the treasure chest, on hundreds of gold coins, each embossed with an image of a skull.

When this adventure began, you were merely curious about an old white house and a mailbox. Now, here you are—beholding wealth unimaginable.

>Consider what the skulls portend16

Far from celebrating this newfound treasure, the prevalence of the skulls on the gold coins gives you a moment of somber pause, rather than celebration. Yes, each coin individually is worth a life altering sum of money, but all of them together represents truly destiny-changing dollars. But the skulls…

Stevie and Sheila seem shocked as well, as they hesitate and gasp at the flinging open of the treasure chest. The objective they were willing to kill for, laid bare for them!

Your snake dagger, now broken, had a magical effect on the snakes. You never got to see what magic came from the lotus compass, nor the skull ring. You wonder, briefly, if that implies anything about these coins. The question remains: what do you want? And how many of these coins makes it worth it?

>One piece, for memory over money
>Ask Stevie and Sheila about the compass and ring (suggested by )17

You grab a coin, and hold it in the light to examine it, and slip it into your pocket. Curiosity gets the better of you, and you have to ask:

“So, you know now the dagger wards away snakes, what did the compass and ring do?”

“The compass helped us find the treasure, not sure what the ring did.” Sheila replied.

“Yeah the ring did bugger all as far as I know. We did get lost a few times on the way, maybe it’s bad luck.” Stevie adds.

“Well,” you say, “After all this, I’ve got all I want, a memento of the journey.”

>blursed super-tie, so we’re going with ’s idea
>We need to escape and they won’t like it!

“You think you’re just gonna waltz out of here?” Stevie says.

You nod, and compulsively take a second coin from the chest.

“Your dagger is busted. The chest is open. There’s still a bunch of snakes in here. There’s two of us. And there’s one of you.”

You suddenly realize you are in a deeper predicament than you realized, and you may have made a mistake in trusting the word of a murderer.

You notice the skull ring is on Stevie’s finger. Is it a trick of the light? Or a by some interior luminance you hadn’t seen before? The eyes seem to flash red18, and then fade again to black.

The cave begins to shake. The snakes, instinctively knowing danger is afoot, scatter. Rocks begin to fall from the roof of the cave—you run.

>Run to the exit!
>Follow the snakes!

You watch where the snakes are going, as the cave rumbles, and follow them—quickly you realize you cannot follow where they are going. Rocks begin to fall from the ceiling. You run to the ledge where you stepped down into the cave, and climb up—you look back in time to see a massive rock fall and strike Stevie in the head with a sickening crunch.

You turn away, and continue fleeing the collapsing cave. You hear a screech cut violently short, as Sheila suffers the same fate. All the rocks in the outcropping are shaking, and begin to tumble. You run out the mouth of the illusory snake, and as the last rocks fall you dive cinematically into the shallow tide, narrowly avoiding the last falling rocks.

…

You emerge from the waves to a cloud of dust, the late morning sun illuminating a sunken depression where the cave and outcroppings used to be. This adventure started with arriving at a field, with a house, and a mail box—and quickly spiraled out of control.

You make a note of the lesson—don’t be curious—and reach into your pocket to thumb the two gold coins you managed to snag from the chest.

The skulls look blankly up at you. You think you, as you turn them in the early sun.

You think you see a glint of red.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS POLL ADVENTURE FUN AND AWESOME. I will finish collecting these installments, and post the full story later tonight. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

THE END?

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AD 2506 Term 3
Mission Briefing: Investigate Star System JUC-5262 for suitability for colonization. Prepare survey results, make formal recommendation.
Ship: JSS Extrapolator, Corvette Class, Hyperdrive mkII
Pilot: Pia Reed
Ground: Virgil Grokovsky
Sensors: Argan Brooks
Specialist: [vacant]

Previously: All hands on deck: a mostly new crew venture into a new system, hoping for a more conventional survey. What could possibly go wrong…

In This Episode: After another survey is interrupted in an unexpected way, the Extrapolator has to make a quick exit.

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INDEX | Mission 1 | <(Mission 8) Previous | Next (Mission 10)>

Emergency

Argan was starting to think the war wasn’t going so well for the Jovian Union, so he returned to the Extrapolator with a heavy heart. His own home system, Tyn’s Star, had been ‘liberated’ by Theyst. His family had sent word for him that they were safe, but his trust in the Union was shaken. He’d taken for granted that Theyst was in some far reach of innerspace, so it came as a shock to realize they were already knocking on the door of the JU—that they were already knocking on his door. He wondered what would happen if the Union lost…would he be considered an agent of the enemy for being in the Surveyor Corps? He hoped there was some time yet to negotiate before the new maps were truly final.

He was grateful to be interrupted by the ship shuddering as it dislodged the drone shuttle from its belly and Virgil headed to the surface of yet another world. Pia stomped past Sensors on the way back to her station. Argan caught her eye, and she stopped. “Anything on the sensors?”

“The gas giant in this system is humming at a surprising frequency, but that’s not exactly earth shattering. How’s Virgil?”

“Mouthy as usual. The man doesn’t know when to stop joking.”

“Maybe he does.” Argan said, surprising himself with the observation. Pia didn’t say anything, but furrowed her brow.

“Anyway after the last mission I wonder if Theyst is moving away from blocking the Jovian Union and moving…in.”

“Yeah, I heard about Tyn’s Star—how are you holding up?”

“I’ll be glad to go home. They managed to get a message out in time to say they were okay but it’s not real until you get there.”

Pia nodded again, her brow betraying her deep thought.

“Better go check in with Virgil. Come on to observation whenever you’ve got sensors under control.”

Argan nodded, listened to the clang clang of Pia’s footsteps down the causeway, looked at the screen brimming with sensors data. He perceived none of these things—he was thinking of home.

Virgil was bad at the art of reporting in. Pia paced up and down the causeway, clattering loudly and muttering to herself. Then she would look at her watch, grab the radio, and say “Ground, this is Extrapolator. Come in ground. What’s your status?”

And Argan was amazed that Virgil had something new to say every time.

“Extrapolator, this is ground. Status is Single and ready to mingle. You? Over.”

After the third affront, Pia exasperatedly sat down in Navigation and found the bodycam feed. Argan had relocated to observation, so had front row seats to the whole ordeal. Through grainy footage, Virgil set up some sensors on the ground, and then began walking towards a deep crater.

Virgil’s shadow stretched out ahead of him on the viewscreen, towards the crater. Slowly, cautiously, he approached. Argan couldn’t tell what drew him to it, and Virgil didn’t report. They watched, rapt, as he took cautious, low gravity steps over the grey landscape.

WAAAP WAAAAP—the hyperspace alarm sounded from sensors, and Argan just about jumped out of his skin. “Not again!” he muttered as he scanned the surroundings.

He panned the view around the ship, searching for signs, engine flares, anything. There! A new constellation of lights that weren’t there before.

“Talk to me, Argan. What are we working with?” Pia asked, her voice strained.

Argan enhanced the view as best as he could. The ships were— he sighed relief. Boxy, utilitarian. “Jovian! These are Jovian ships. We’re okay.”

Pia sighed audibly too. “Keep an eye on them. I don’t want to be in their way, and I don’t want them to mistake us for Theysians.”

Argan nodded even though Pia was in another room. “Got it. I’ll see if I can resolve their trajectory. I wonder what brings them out this way.”

“Wonder about it later, let’s just keep a low profile.”

“Should we tell Virgil?”

“Not unless there’s something to worry about. Man could be shot and make a joke about it.”

Virgil finally reported in. “Extrapolator this is Ground, just a bunch of dead rocks. Sensors seem to confirm what I could have told you from orbit. I’m going to—”

Virgil’s report was interrupted by a sickening noise: WAAAP WAAAAP, Argan’s sensors station reported more hyperspace signatures. “I’m going to check it out,” Argan whispered to Pia, who was trying to listen to Virgil and Argan at the same time.

Argan panned around the field of view in observation. He first checked out the Jovian Union ships, which had moved from their initial point. They were now all slowly turning, coming about in a synchronized maneuver. There were no new ships—what had tripped the hyperspace alarm?

He panned in the direction the JU fleet was turning, and there it was: A Theysian fleet, not just an expedition but a proper fleet, now looming on the other side of the planet Virgil was on. If there was going to be a battle it looked like it was going to happen right over them.

“Pia—we need to get out of here.” Argan said.

Pia was still talking (or arguing) with Virgil, but stopped short. “What did you say?”

“There’s a Theysian fleet now in addition to the Jovian one. We need to go, now.”

Pia was on the radio before Argan finished speaking. “Ground this is Extrapolator, we’ve got a priority one evacuation, need you off the ground in 60 seconds.”

“What? It’ll take me 60 seconds to get back to the shuttle, what’s going on?” Virgil’s departure from radio etiquette betraying what may be a hint of concern.

“JU and Theysian fleets in the system, we’re in the crossfire. I’m going to be changing orbit, get moving.”

“Affirmative,” was all Virgil said, and on the screen you could see that he began to run, as much as ‘running’ was possible on a low atmosphere and low gravity world.

“What are we going to do?” Argan asked.

“You’re going to watch those fleets and tell me when anyone starts firing shots. I’m going to get us into a more elliptical orbit—Virgil returns we can be far away from the action and hit the Emergency Escape.”

Argan sighed a breath of relief. The Emergency Escape was an automatic subroutine that took the ship back to home base on it’s own. It was designed as a last resort, a safety mechanism. This would get them out of trouble faster than they could do on their own. “Good plan,” he said. “I’ll start monitoring.”

It took five excruciating minutes for Virgil to pack up all the equipment, and by then the two fleets were facing each other across the gulf of space.

“Extrapolator this is Ground, I’m in the shuttle.”

“Copy Ground, the shuttle should rendezvous at the apogee, and we can get out of here. It’ll be a little longer, hang in there for us,” Pia replied.

Pia had maneuvered the ship into an elliptical orbit, speeding quickly over the surface at the nearest point and slowly cresting the ellipse around the south pole. This kept them far away from the standoff between the fleets, but still able to monitor. Since it was different from the usual orbit, the drone shuttle would take more time to find the ship, much less dock with it.

Argan found himself holding his breath1.

Pia came into observation behind him. “Virgil’s on his way, nothing now but to wait. Anything happening with the fleets?”

“It’s hard to say. They clearly are aware of each other—I don’t know why this system had to be the one to fight over. Maybe it was an accident,” Argan said.

“Everyone’s trying to snap up as many systems as possible.”

“Well, maybe—” Argan said. As he did, a small puff emanated from one of the larger Theysian ships. Had they been shot?

“What was that?” Pia asked.

“I don’t know. Is that a capital ship? I always figured space battles would be brighter.”

“You watch too many movies,” she quipped.

A moment later, one of the Jovian ships evaporated into a cloud of debris. Immediately, a Jovian ship fired a bright laser, but the Theysian fleet was too far away. Engines flared to life on both sides, and more puffs emerged from the capital ships.

“What was that? Did you see that? A Jovian ship was just obliterated!” Pia shouted.

“I think Theysians are using railguns. That had to have been it. I’ve never seen one in use before.”

“What’s a rail gun?” Pia asked, as a second Jovian ship caught some projectile at a strange angle and began to spin wildly, flinging debris into space.

“They use electromagnets to accelerate some kinetic mass at incredible speeds. They’re effectively throwing rocks at the Union. For all their lasers and shields, there’s not much you can do when a 50 ton rod is flying towards you.”

“Well that debris is about to be a huge problem.” Pia said, running back to the controls of navigation.

“Where’s Virgil?” Argan asked.

Argan greeted Virgil in the shuttle bay. Virgil stepped out and took his helmet off casually. “Heck of a light show going on out there.”

“We’re not out of the woods yet. Get your hyperspace harness, we’re using the Emergency Escape.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Afraid so.”

“Alright out of one pod into another I guess. See you after the jump.” He started taking off his space suit.

Argan rushed back to observation, and started securing himself. “Virgil won’t be a moment,” he told Pia.

Pia was already secured, just waiting for Argan and Virgil to give the all clear. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”

Argan watched from his harness as Pia pressed the Emergency Escape on her console.

Red lights flooded her screen, but he couldn’t see what they said.

“What? What is happening? The Hyperdrive is charged but the Emergency Escape routines are failing.”

“What? What do you mean? How could they fail?”

“Someone had to mess with it! Who would mess with the emergency escape? What is WRONG with this ship!” Pia was furious. She grabbed the controls and fired the thrusters. “At least we can get out of the battle. I guess we can just fly home manually at this point.” She swore under her breath.

Argan turned his attention to the observation screens, where lasers fired intermittently, little puffs of explosions marked the doom of some ship or other. Whoever was winning, he found himself less sure about the Union.

To be continued…

Thank you very much for reading! This is Before The Maps Are Final, a science fiction adventure episodic serial set in the Sandbox Earth Universe. This will be a serial publishing every week, for a tentative total of twelve episodes. Please subscribe to be sure you don’t miss an installment sent directly to your inbox!

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If you enjoyed this episode, please let me know with a like or a comment! If you really liked it, please share it with a friend! For more in the Sandbox Earth Universe, click HERE. You can also check out The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

For a birds eye view of all I have to offer, you can START HERE and navigate to all my fiction.

God bless!

AJPM

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It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for bi-weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have two weeks!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 12 June 2026

• Write about a difficult command

• agile inevitability

• “I have to think”

• A character trying to avoid someone

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every other week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Unequivocal Confusion
✨ - Trinity Sunday Eve
- The Longest Night in my Life

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back in two weeks for another round of prompts!

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Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

This is a little piece of Flash Fiction outside my normal sequence, partly to help me crack a spell of writers block and partly because the idea came to me and I needed to get it out. Expect the serial, Before The Maps Are Final, to resume this week. Thank you for your patience while I get my writing act together!

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Synopsis: An old wizard and his pupil go in search of the legendary Phoenix.

The old wizard liked to tell me stories about the phoenix. Ever since he fell ill, our visits had turned from philosophy to storytelling, from him teaching to me treating. As his illness progressed, he became more and more fixated on the phoenix. Their conversations had evolved before I noticed from ‘fun storytelling’ to ‘planning and preparation’. He was going to find the phoenix, and I was going to help him.

“Is that so?” I had said.

“Yes. Please—do not refuse me this request. The phoenix holds the key to immortality. It burns away all sickness and age and leaves only youthful vigor.”

“Death is a natural part of life, why do you want immortality?”

The old wizard had smiled mirthlessly at that. He said, “I cannot see what lies on the other side of death—life, life! I know life, I want to live. Grant me this—if we fail, we fail daring boldly. I will die having tried. Grant me this!”

After all these years, my heart was moved by this last appeal. How could I refuse? “Very well, teacher. I will help you.”

That was when the plans became real.

I pulled the old wizard on a kind of cart behind me—it was what we had available. He looked back, watching behind us, telling stories all the while. It was easy road at first, but became increasingly difficult as we entered hilly and forested land. He tried to hide his groans at each divot and root the cart passed over, but it became increasingly difficult to hide. The wizard was in pain, and nearing the end.

“You’ve said the phoenix is always flying—how are we supposed to find it, constrained as we are by this cart and my strength.”

“Ah, it flies until the time of regeneration is near. It must needs build a nest, and so must needs remain in one place until the time.”

“What makes you think it is this way?”

“The legends! You haven’t studied the legends as I have. Every 500 years or so, the same tale occurs. These woods—these are the woods! Somewhere in here, it builds it’s nest.”

I shrugged, and pressed on. Even if the old wizard was mad, he wasn’t long for this world. If he was right, he would be restored. It seemed to me, at the very worst I was indulging an old man his last request, there were worse crimes than respect.

As we plunged deeper into the woods, the old wizards stories began to make less and less sense. He began chuckling to himself, stroking his beard, lost in some memory or other. They didn’t make sense to me, but I wasn’t a wizard. Who could say what great thoughts stirred in that great mind of his.

During a moment of rest, I got his attention. “Teacher, we must be getting close now, how will I know which way to go?”

“Listen for the phoenix-song. When the time of regeneration is near,” he chuckled absently, “when it is near, it will sing the sweet song of renewal! And then—then the regeneration will begin.”

I nodded, sighed. If he was wrong, we would be lost for a very long time. I picked up the cart and pressed on.

The sun was falling, and the forest was getting dark. A chill wind blew through the trees, causing them to bend and sway restlessly. The wind carried with it a beautiful, new song unlike any I had ever heard. Could this be the answer? Could this be what the old man had spoken of all these years?

I said nothing—fearing exciting him if he had not heard the song himself. I turned towards the sound, and marched forward.

The song grew steadily louder, like music from a golden flute! An impossible sounding harmony, a complex melody, an entrancing, magical song. There was no hiding it from the old wizard now. He heard, he knew. He cursed me for pulling him backwards on this cart, he asked, “Do you see it? Do you see it, boy? Tell me what you see!”

I told him, “Not yet, not yet teacher.” My muscles ached but the nearness of the goal gave me new energy. Perhaps immortality would be possible for both of us!

A dim light shone through the forest—I followed it nearer and nearer, the phoenix’s song louder and louder. At last I spied it through a clearing. The great phoenix, big as a great eagle, gold and red and fiery orange plumage, glowing with unearthly light. It’s eyes were grey with age, it’s beak hooked but scarred from many battles. It’s nest was wide around it, loose twigs and dry leaves, perfect kindling for the regenerative fire. I stopped where I stood.

“What is it? What is it boy? I don’t hear the song anymore! What do you see?”

The old wizard called impatiently, but I was too entranced to listen.

“Dash it all, boy, turn me around! I must make observations!”

I watched as the phoenix nestled into it’s nest, as though to sleep, and then from it’s beak breathed a gentle flame onto the nest.

It caught slowly at first, and quickly grew in brightness and intensity—the heat hurt took me by surprise and I stepped backwards, such that the old wizard could see the glow on my face.

“Is it happening?” he asked.

The phoenix suddenly caught fire, and it let out an unearthly, terrible, almost human scream. As the fire engulfed it, it screamed louder than it had ever sang, it flapped its wings in agony, blowing burning embers around the forest, catching the underbrush aflame—the fire was spreading.

I watched in horror as the feathers of the phoenix burned away, it’s flesh blackened and bubbled, the fire clinging to it tightly like the jaws of a predator.

The old wizard stopped asking what I saw. He could hear, he knew.

The phoenix collapsed into the nest, it’s screams suddenly silent.

It’s flesh burned away to reveal bones, bones crumbled into ash. The forest began to blaze around us.

A hot gust of wind, and the ashes revealed a surprisingly small egg, glowing ember-red. A flaming branch fell in front of me, breaking the spell.

I turned to the old man: “We have to get out of here.”

He nodded, wringing his hands together. He was quiet now, brows furrowed in fear and worry. I pushed him back the way we came, and prayed we would outrun the flames.

The End

Thank you very much for reading! This is a bit of flash fiction. If you like flash fiction, consider subscribing for Flash Fiction Friday and get prompts in your inbox every other Friday. This was an unplanned story but I figured I had to get it out, take your wins where you can get them. I hope you enjoyed.

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Please consider leaving a like, telling me what you thought in the comments, or sharing this story on Notes. If you would like to read more, please check out my collection of science fiction Sandbox Earth stories, fantasy Blackpage stories, or other kinds of stories in the Exo-Canon.

God bless you!

AJPM

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for bi-weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have two weeks!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 29 May 2026

• Write about a long night

• unequivocal confusion

• “where are you going”

• A character on the phone with someone

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every other week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Returns
- Return
- The District 9 Problem
- Set It And Forget It
✨ - Mother
- Errand of Mercy

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back in two weeks for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for bi-weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have two weeks!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 15 May 2026

• Write about a happy return

• authoritative disparity

• “both good and bad”

• A character who doesn’t know what they want

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every other week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Late
- Wish You Were Here

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back in two weeks for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

AD 2506 Term 2
Mission Briefing: Investigate Star System JUC-5111 for suitability for colonization. Prepare survey results, make formal recommendation.
Ship: JSS Extrapolator, Corvette Class, Hyperdrive mkII
Pilot: Pia Reed (replacing Liza Kantry)
Ground: Virgil Grokovsky1 (replacing Bertram Trodd)
Sensors: Argan Brooks
Specialist: [vacant]

Previously: After another attempted interception, a crewmember rises to the occasion and shares some surprising information.

In This Episode: All hands on deck: a mostly new crew venture into a new system, hoping for a more conventional survey. What could possibly go wrong…

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INDEX | Mission 1 | <(Mission 7) Previous | Next (Mission 9)>

On The Ground

Argan did not want to be a superstitious man but felt like he was being forced into it. He put a lot of effort, between missions, to cultivating a blissful ignorance. He didn’t know what was true and what was not. The latest headline being pitched as an atrocity and broadcast across all wavelengths was ‘the siege of Koslov’. Argan was from Tyn’s Star—couldn’t be farther from the relevant battlefront if he tried. Some pictures of Theysian ships in orbit around Koslov penetrated his bubble, some anecdotes here and there about a heroic civilian defense floated past his ears on the wind. Not enough to latch on to, but enough to notice. The first casualty of war is truth—he figured something about it was true, but wondered how much.

So when Argan returned to the Extrapolator to find their new ground-man was from Koslov—he noticed. Argan was not superstitious. And yet…he couldn’t help but see the presence of Virgil Grokovsky on the ship as evidence of something.

The new pilot was also a stark difference from Liza, whom none but Argan knew or would ever know. Pia Reed was all professionalism; to her, he was Mr. Brooks which felt about as alien as these worlds they orbited.

Before their second jump, the one that would take them into their intended survey target, Pia called a meeting in the mess hall. Argan took the seat where he could thumb the small carving of the winged horseman. Pia was sitting on his left, Virgil took the seat opposite Pia on his right.

“Just wanted to run through the plan before we make the jump,” Pia began. “There’s a lot that’s not ideal,” She linked the fingers in her hands together—a bridge, or perhaps a wall. “The JU is prioritizing military personnel so we’re lucky to have the three of us. Mr. Grokovsky, I understand this is your first tour with the Surveyor Corps—I know they wouldn’t have selected you if you weren’t the right man for the job, so welcome aboard and I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do,” Argan couldn’t help but wonder if that was a threat. “Mr. Brooks, I hear you’ve been a steady hand at Sensors for more than a few tours, you’re the seasoned vet on this ship so if you have anything to say I know we both want to learn from you.”

Argan nodded, more than anything desperately sad that he was a veteran by virtue of being the last one standing. “I understand,” he said.

“Me too,” Virgil echoed.

“The system we’re heading to has three rocky worlds and six small moons around two jovian planets. No indication of atmosphere or not, so we’ll find out when we arrive. We’re short handed so we may need everyone to step up and help out as needed. Mr. Grokovsky, normal protocol says we’re to start at the closest planet to the star and work our way out. I’m willing to break from protocol if you find anything about these planets that piques your curiosity. Mr. Brooks, you are our eyes and ears. If you see anything that suggests the possibility of a Theysian presence, we need to know immediately. I’d rather waste time and keep everyone safe than take needless risks. That goes for you on the ground, Mr. Grokovsky—a sure thing is better than a dangerous risk.”

Virgil and Argan nodded.

“Great. We’ll be jumping in an hour. Make sure your stations are set up and ready to go—let’s run this by the book and there won’t be any issues. Let’s go.” Pia stood while smacking the table top with her open palm, pumping her other fist. Argan couldn’t help but wonder how much of the speech was for her benefit more than his.

While Virgil was on the ground, the Extrapolator held it’s breath. Argan watched and listened for the tell-tale sign of hyperspace or foreign radio chatter. Nothing. The system was quiet.

They’d found a world with an atmosphere, which Virgil immediately identified as the place he’d like to visit first. Argan had figured out how to use the specialist scanner and took some basic composition analysis. Water, a possibly breathable atmosphere—there were worse worlds out there, shoot there were worse worlds in this system. Virgil made his case, Pia assented. The game was on.

Argan didn’t like to listen to the radio anymore, but he could hear that Virgil and Pia were keeping in regular contact and that was enough. The sensors screen was uninteresting. It looked like, at long last, they were going to get an easy run.

He regretted the thought as soon as he had it. Some excitement from Pia’s station caught his attention: “Virgil? Virgil!”

That’s how Argan knew it was serious: she didn’t say ‘Mr. Grokovsky’. He launched out of his seat and down the hall to see what was the matter.

The radio crackled as he arrived: “I’m okay, I’m okay. Sorry for the alarm—I was exploring this cave formation and—well, there’s been some kind of collapse. I’m not hurt, but I’m stuck inside. These rocks are going to take some time to dig out.”

Pia’s arms were crossed, a frown pulling lines across her face. “What were you doing in the cave, Virgil? Don’t answer me—save your breath. We’ll debrief later. How long do you think it would take you to dig out?”

“I don’t know—a couple hours? And that’s only if it’s a pile of gravel, if there’s a boulder I could be stuck for a lot longer.”

Pia caught Argan’s eyes. Argan’s heart sank. “Mr. Brooks, I need you to go down and help extricate Mr. Grokovsky. I know this is above and beyond your job description, but we’re short handed, and I can’t expect you to fly the ship if I were to go down. It’s got to be you. Can you do this?”

Argan’s stomach was twisted in knots. “Yes,” was all he said.

To Virgil, Pia said, “I’m recalling the shuttle and sending Argan down to help you. He’ll be touching down in about an hour, make as much progress as you can and he’ll help you. Your mission is done the second you’re out—get back to the ship. We’ll re-assess.”

“All for little ol’ me? Thanks Argan. Your next microwaved nutrient powder is on me when we’re back in orbit.”

Argan laughed, despite himself.

The journey to the surface in the drone shuttle was worse than any journey Argan had ever taken in space. The shuttle was small, so he felt every bump and jostle. It was closed, except for the airlock portholes, which offered precious little in the way of a view. He had nothing to do except wait for the whole journey down. He couldn’t help but think about that winged horseman that seemed to mark the Extrapolator, like some kind of mascot. He wondered if it was something meaningful to earlier crews, a personal totem or something? He couldn’t help himself—he felt a strange kinship with the symbol, especially as he journeyed to extricate a fallen comrade. Some cavalry I am!

The black of space gave way to a deep blue of atmosphere, and eventually strange and alien trees and clouds heralded his arrival on the ground. He reported in: “Argan here, landing now. Virgil, how can I find you? I’m about to step out into the landing zone.”

“Welcome to my world, Argan! I’ll have passports made up as soon as I can. Let me know when you’re out of the ship, I’ll orient you.”

Argan stepped cautiously out of the airlock, saw some survey equipment set up and whirring peaceably in the shade of some trees.

“I’m out, I see the equipment you set up.”

“See, let the record show even when trapped I was working hard. With the shuttle behind you, look at the weather station. The cave is to the right, not very far, it was down hill. If you reach a stream or some water you’ve gone too far.”

Argan walked tentatively through the alien forest, over the alien ground, under the alien sky. There was something about it, something familiar, and yet wrong. Unbidden he remembered swimming at his grandmother’s lakehouse as a child, watching the ships coming and going from the spaceport in the nearby city.

The sound of falling rocks: Argan turned to look, and there was a pile of rubble on a hillside, freshly turned earth indicating a recent movement of some kind.

“Virgil, I think I found it. Pile of rocks on my left as I’m walking, hard to tell but I could believe this was a cave entrance.”

“That sounds right to me—start digging from the top, that’s what I’m doing. The second I can squeeze through we can get out of here.”

Pia’s voice crackled over the radio: “Be careful you two—if you both get stuck then we’re in a real bind.”

Pia was waiting for them, arms crossed, in the shuttle bay when they docked. Argan was the first to step through.

“How was it?” she asked.

“If I never have to set foot on the ground again I wouldn’t complain, but it wasn’t so bad!” Argan replied.

Virgil followed, and Pia’s face hardened: “What happened down there, Virgil?”

“I was exploring a cave,” he shrugged.

“What good do you suppose that would do?”

“All kinds of good. We learned that the ground isn’t entirely stable in that area. Helpful note for future colonists.”

“If you got hurt—”

“I’d have died and you’d have gone home. I didn’t! Here we are, everything’s fine. A little danger every now and then is part of the job.”

“Play it a little more safe on this next world, alright?”

“You got it, Cap.”

“I’m glad you’re both okay. Go take a break, we’ve got a lot more worlds to look at.”

Argan settled back into his chair at sensors, and hoped and prayed that he would never have to do that again.

To be continued…

Thank you very much for reading! This is Before The Maps Are Final, a science fiction adventure episodic serial set in the Sandbox Earth Universe. This will be a serial publishing every week, for a tentative total of twelve episodes. Please subscribe to be sure you don’t miss an installment sent directly to your inbox!

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If you enjoyed this episode, please let me know with a like or a comment! If you really liked it, please share it with a friend! For more in the Sandbox Earth Universe, click HERE. You can also check out The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

For a birds eye view of all I have to offer, you can START HERE and navigate to all my fiction.

God bless!

AJPM

← Previous | Index | Next →

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have a week!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 8 May 2026

• Write about being late

• belated sincerity

• “I wish you were here”

• A character experiencing brain fog

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent weeks issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

I am so sorry FFF is posting late, everyone! Thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoy these themed prompts!

- Story
✨ - Stillness
- The Case of the Mysterious Typewriter
- On The Horizon
- The Magic Pen

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back next week for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

AD 2506 Term 1
Mission Briefing: Investigate Star System JUC-4624 for suitability for colonization. Prepare survey results, make formal recommendation.
Ship: JSS Extrapolator, Corvette Class, Hyperdrive mkII
Pilot: Liza Kantry
Ground: Bertram Trodd (replacing Sodo Coetzee)
Sensors: Argan Brooks
Specialist: [vacant]

Previously: The ground crew encounter an unexpected danger, and everyone must react quickly.

In This Episode: After another attempted interception, a crewmember rises to the occasion and shares some surprising information.

Subscribe now

INDEX | Mission 1 | <(Mission 6) Previous | Next (Mission 8)>

Intercepted

It was a strange feeling, boarding the Extrapolator with just a crew of three. Argan felt Roman’s absence—like he was whisked away, and no one got to say anything. It had spoiled the months between missions; now to come back and find that the Union had not replaced him was salt in the wound. Liza was agitated, she was holding her hand against herself like she was trying to pin it in place—Argan could see the gears turning in her mind, thinking through every situation, thinking through how to handle it. He didn’t envy her—she took on a lot of responsibility for this ship.

Their new ground-man, Bertie, had all the charisma of a grey wall and had the nervous energy of a man who was kidnapped and forced into service while he was on his way to buy a pack of cigarettes. He kept looking around like he wasn’t sure what was happening. Liza had wheedled him for biographical information before they boarded and it was painful to listen to. Sodo’s absence was felt double for how poor his replacement seemed.

But—such was the time of war. There were no formal announcements but everyone knew the war with Theyst was straining the Union. Trimming down the surveyor crew to three was painful and left very little room for error. News reports contained heroic sounding descriptions of battles which, to Argan, sounded like wishful thinking more than decisive victories. But then again, what did he know about war?

Liza’s voice cracked through his reverie. “Hey, Argan? Bertie’s on his way back from the surface—eyes up.”

“Yes ma’am!” Argan sat up straighter and turned to face her in the doorway. She didn’t smile anymore. At least—she smiled more on the last mission than this one.

“Can you bring him in when he docks? I want to get moving as soon as the shuttle is secure—waiting makes me nervous.”

“You got it.”

Liza walked away without another word. Argan dialed in the sensors—nothing but the interference pattern of the drone shuttle approaching. All was quiet—just how Argan liked it.

Argan left his sensors monitoring to greet Bertie and make sure there were no issues. As the airlock opened, he called on the intercom, “All clear, Cap!”

“Copy.” Liza replied, and Argan felt the gentle acceleration of the ship as she maneuvered out of this planets orbit.

Bertie stumbled in the acceleration as he stepped out of the airlock. “She doesn’t linger, does she?” he said.

Argan smiled, “You get used to it.”

“Didn’t she say she got rotated off the Extrapolator after this?” Bertie asked, placing his helmet in the locker, oblivious to the winged horseman.

“I guess she did. Maybe you won’t have to get used to it after all. How was it down there?”

Bertie shrugged, “Dead rocks. No atmosphere in this system, huh?”

“You win some you lose some. Need help with that?”

“Nah,” Bertie replied.

“Alright. Take a breather, doubt you’ll have long to rest at the rate Cap’s going. We’re making record time.”

Argan turned around, and the alarm sounded from the sensors station. Not again, please God not again.

He rushed to the computer, Liza was already on the intercom. “Talk to me Argan, what alarm is that?”

Argan maneuvered the console expertly to confirm. “Hyperspace signatures. Looks like four of ‘em.”

“Where?”

A moment of calculation. “In front of us—getting a fix on them.”

“How do they do this?” she said, exasperated. “Put ‘em on the map for me Argan, I need to get us out of here.”

Argan almost didn’t notice Bertie walking casually past his station. “Bertie!” he called. “Get on observation, see if you can spot these ships!”

“Me?”

“All hands on deck, you see anyone else around?”

Bertie stomped down the causeway to observation, while Argan tried to fix coordinates for the Theysian ships.

Argan worked quickly, but it wasn’t easy. The sensors equipment showed magnitude but not direction—and while the Extrapolator was cruising the direction was a moving target.

It wasn’t impossible—just needed focus! More data, more coordinates—

“Argan! I need ‘em five minutes ago.”

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it—heading your way!”

A few clicks on his console and he was able to send his data to Liza’s Navigation console.

“Got it,” she said. Argan rushed down the causeway, stood at the door of both Navigation in front and Observation on his left, watching both Liza and Bertie work. Bertie found the Theysian ships and was watching—they were moving to intercept, and quickly.

“There’s no time—they’re matching speed, they’re intercepting,” Liza said.

On Bertie’s Observation screens, Argan saw the Theysian ships matching speed and getting closer. A trio of warning shots thumped the exterior of the ship.

Liza’s hands were shaking. They didn’t have a choice—they couldn’t run.

Liza’s radio crackled to life.

“Unidentified vessel, you are trespassing a Theysian system. Acknowledge.”

“Trespassing?” Liza shouted—not into the radio, Argan was relieved to see— “We were here first you half-wits! This is so stupid.”

“Unidentified vessel, please acknowledge or you will be treated as hostile.”

Bertie walked sheepishly out of observation. “Let me talk to them,” he said with surprising decision.

Liza looked at him, half offended and half confused. “What? No, why?”

“I can call them off. Get us out of here,” he said, plainly as if it were not a time of war.

Liza’s eyes narrowed. “Do it. You’ve got some explaining to do.” She handed him the radio.

He said, “Theysian vessels, this is the Survey Ship Extrapolator, do not fire, repeat, do not fire. I am Bertram Trodd, Citizen of Aristane, Theyst Republic. Theysian ID… One Six Two Zero Six Three Two. We are not a military vessel, we are making exit calculations, do not fire.”

The moment stretched painfully. Argan barely breathed. Liza stared holes into the viewscreen.

The radio crackled to life again. “Survey ship Extrapolator, we acknowledge you have a citizen of Theyst aboard. Make hyperspace exit within two hours or you will be fired upon regardless. Please acknowledge.”

Liza grabbed the radio, “Hyperspace exit in two hours, confirmed, making calculations now.” She slammed the radio down and stood, to face Bertie.

“What the hell is that?”

“I’m from Aristane.”

“The Surveyor Corps was de-Theysianized, why are you still here?”

“Aristane joined the plebiscite late, I probably slipped through. Maybe they didn’t expect me to show up.”

“Why did you show up? Are you aware of the war going on?” Liza was incredulous.

“I, you know, I need the work. Moneys tight and—listen, I don’t know who is going to win. I just need the work. I’m not an agitator I just want to work.”

“You know I have to include this in the debrief.”

Bertie sighed. “Yeah.”

“And they’ll kick you out anyway, right?”

Bertie nodded, forlorn.

“This was stupid of you. But, thanks. I’ve got to make calculations.”

Liza slammed her fist on the doorframe, and the door slid closed. Bertie was suddenly aware of Argan.

“Sorry, I—”

Argan shrugged, “Nothing to apologize for. War is weird. Looks like you’re off the hook for another survey, let’s get to work.”

Argan let Bertie pass him down the hall, and his mind raced. He couldn’t imagine the Extrapolator with anyone but Liza at the helm—next survey both she and Bertie would be gone. It would be like a brand new ship. But only he would remember. Can I look on a ship like the Extrapolator with new eyes? he wondered.

He walked involuntarily into the shuttle bay after Bertie passed it to the mess hall. Argan sat on a bench there and his eyes were drawn to the winged horseman on the locker.

And even if I could look on the ship with new eyes—would I want to?

The winged horseman didn’t answer him, keeping it’s silent vigil, the memory of ships crews long before Argan and long before Liza, a memory impossible to access.

To be continued…

Thank you very much for reading! This is Before The Maps Are Final, a science fiction adventure episodic serial set in the Sandbox Earth Universe. This will be a serial publishing every week, for a tentative total of twelve episodes. Please subscribe to be sure you don’t miss an installment sent directly to your inbox!

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If you enjoyed this episode, please let me know with a like or a comment! If you really liked it, please share it with a friend! For more in the Sandbox Earth Universe, click HERE. You can also check out The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

For a birds eye view of all I have to offer, you can START HERE and navigate to all my fiction.

God bless!

AJPM

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It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have a week!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 1 May 2026

• Write about writing

• unequal kindness

• “I don’t deserve this”

• A character who is window-shopping

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent weeks issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Medicine
- Pizzazz
✨ - Myriad MyriAd

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back next week for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!

Read more

It’s Flash Fiction Friday! Welcome back! Keep scrolling for weekly writing prompts to help you start to write and, maybe, get into a habit of writing.

How To Use The Prompts

A few people asked how to use the prompts, and while FFF has no rules and is meant to inspire more than constrain, I realized some guardrails might help lower the barrier to entry. You can, of course, still use these prompts any way you’d like! But if you need some ideas, I offer the four challenges below to provide a nudge:

EFFFCON FOUR: 🌫NEBULA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts and see if any ideas come to mind, but ignore the prompts when it’s time to write

• Write 250 words or less, of anything, in one sitting

• Publish the story to your newsletter and share the link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON THREE: 🌟NORTH STAR CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick your favorite one. This will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 500 words or less based on this one prompt. Try to do it in one sitting!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON TWO: 🤺ORION CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and pick any two favorites. These will be the seed of your new story.

• Write 800 words or less based on these prompts. Try to do it in one sitting.

• Set the story aside for a day or two, and come back to it to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 800 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

EFFFCON ONE: 💥 SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE

• Read all four prompts, and try to find a way to connect them all. Use all four in your new story.

• Write 1,000 words or less based on these prompts. Take your time—you have a week!

• When you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a day or two, and come back to it when you’re ready to give it some edit and polish. Try to make them the best 1,000 words they can be!

• Publish the story and share a link in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat!

Once you’ve posted your story, sit back and relax! You’ve done it! Check out the other stories in the Gibberish Subscriber Chat and show your comrades at arms some love for their stories too!

Happy writing, Fictioneers!

Prompts for 24 April 2026

• Write about a new medicine

• frenetic exhaustion

• “where did you come from?”

• A character who is not a doctor but asked to help heal someone

Flash Fiction Highlights

Every week I will choose some (or all!) of the stories shared in the Chat to highlight in the subsequent weeks issue of Flash Fiction Friday. Here’s this week’s Flash Fictioneers! First timers are marked with a ✨

- Sculpture
- Their Hero
- True Love

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful fiction!

Want to be featured? Make sure you share your stories in the Flash Fiction Friday chat!

Thank you for checking out these prompts! Come back next week for another round of prompts!

Subscribe now

Ko-Fi Tip-Jar

Interested in seeing my own writing? Check out Sandbox Earth for my sci-fi universe, The Blackpage for my fantasy universe, or The Exo-Canon for everything else!

Thank you and God bless!