Tristan MacFallan - 13

So that's it, we're out on our ear. No more community and its people to protect us. They'd always been suspicious of us, and my elevated status seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back.  After walking all day and avoiding the mobs that roam the landscape looking for easy pickings, I've managed to secure a little shanty with more holes and spiders than shelter. My wife is disconsolate, basically given up the will to want to live. Is it possible to have pre-natal depression? I have no idea. But I'm thinking she is the one who now doesn't want to bring a child into this world.

Chief Rita Songworth - 13

I no longer take much notice of the people outside the training area that is sectioned off for the aircrew and soldiers who will soon board the ES Siren. At least we're getting fed and keep warm. The training is just something else to take my mind off all the shit that's happening in the world and my parents dire situation. If I could take them with me I would, but only the fittest and most skilled are welcomed aboard the Siren. And my parents and weak and sick, made ill by pollutants and the stress of survival. I can only hope to make them proud.

Alex Tariel-20

On the shuttle. I think I want to throw up—I’m sure it’s nerves. The planet is a long way down, from up here the oceans still look blue. Someone is talking about how there used to be whales in them as big as a bus, now it’s just squids. Apparently they are tasty—guess I’ll never get to find out. On the shuttle we were each given a handbook on Solitaire including a brief run down on what is edible and poisonous. The book is made from hemp paper. I think I had paper books as a kid for coloring or something. Amazing. And everyone on the ship got one.

Corporal Sienna Jade-20

They started loading the ships today. Is it possible to get claustrophobic on such a giant ship? I’ll be trapped in it for a year. 12 months without seeing the sky or feeling rain or having fresh food. What if we run out of food? The three of them are big blots in the sky. I never wanted to leave Earth and now it’s going to happen. I don’t know what is going to be worse: dying in space or arriving and dying of starvation. Some of the women are joking about how they’ll get their pick of men...how they’ll be able to extract all kinds of favors for sex. I feel like I’m not ready for this. I’m not made of the right stuff. I’m not of course as I was shoved into the program because I was a problem not because I have whatever they were looking for. Tomorrow is my last day on Earth. One way ticked, no swapsies.

Chief Rita Songworth - 12

I've always felt privileged at being one of the lucky ones to start a new life, yet all around me even the most malnourished 'outsiders' are giving us and the rest of the crew pitying looks. I've heard the gossip. Many people don't think we'll even make it halfway to the new world of Solitaire. Many others imagine the whole idea is make-believe, a way for the elite and the government to get rid of a whole lot of prisoners and people from a world already overcrowded.

Alex Tariel-19

New uniform today, yellow and black, and everything is stamped with my number. I feel like I no longer have a name as it’s all 1789 do this, sign this, line up, sit down, eat, sleep. I’m sure it’s a last minute test to see who can follow orders. I did yet another aptitude test today. This time they made us hand write everything. I’m pretty sure Janet’s chickens could’ve done a better job.

Tristan MacFallan - 12

One of the members of the community recognized me today. I'd seen him watching me too many times not to know something was up. Of course now the whole damn community knows who I am it's elevated myself and my wife in their eyes. I'm back to being a celebrity of sorts, but I can't help but hate being in the limelight, with everyone's focus on us. I can't shake the feeling it's not going to do us any good, not long term.

Corporal Sienna Jade-19

More on the job training. Medicals on all the prisoners. I have seen more naked guys today than I have in my entire life. Most of them are young and fit (I do not know how I got assigned to the male prison but it is not all bad), I suspect the government really is planning on running them into the ground which is really sad. In their black and yellow uniforms they look like bees. LOL. Anyway I need to spend some quality time alone after all that flesh on display ;)

Alex Tariel-18

I’ve been told sirens used to sing men to their deaths. Great. I was transferred to the holding ground for cons getting on the ships. People are picketing against us going, saying we don’t deserve it because we are criminals. That’s probably true. But there’s nothing on the planet except a small research base, everything has to be built. It will be hard. And if we all die the government has lost nothing. We’re expendable. It’s a weird mix of excitement and terror. I wonder how the scientists and civilians feel?

Corporal Sienna Jade-18

Everyone on base had to sit through a lecture on how to keep your dick in your pants. No frat. (Seriously has this guy ever been on a deployment? Sex happens, sometimes it’s just nice to remind yourself that you survived while the person who had been next to you is mush). Anyway things calmed down after that. Prisoners are going to start arriving next week. That should up the tension again.

Alex Tariel-17

Finally got the news. I’m in. My number is 1789. The doctors have started me on the meds for chem-lung so that it will be gone before I travel. I really struggled to be calm when told. I wanted to hug the guy. Even now...I’m going to leaving Earth! It doesn’t seem real. I guess it won’t until I’m on the ship. I’m on Siren. I hope that’s a good thing, apparently the ships are named after mythological creatures.

Corporal Sienna Jade-17

Knocked back a guy who wanted a date and he got shitty with me. He thinks there should be a ballot and that the lucky winners get to choose a woman of their choice. It had better not come to that. I don't know if I'm even ready to date or trust a man. I know they aren't all dicks, but I hated feeling that vulnerable.

Alex Tariel-16

Not heard anything for weeks. There’s only a couple of months until the ships leave. If I haven’t made the cut...I don’t even want to think about it. They want people with construction experience and I have twenty years, but most of the prisoners getting offered places are in their twenties. What are they looking for? Experience or young blood to do the hard work? Keep getting reminded about that, the recruiters keep reinforcing that there will be a lot of hard labor involved. What do they think most of us have been doing all of our lives?

Corporal Sienna Jade-16

Oh dear God. As part of our practical training we had to go to a slum hospital. They have out-dated machines and are running on donations. They thought we were the answer to their prayers. I was lucky not to get real sick as a kid. These people have illnesses that can easily be treated, there are drugs for chem-lung, antibiotics for infection but they can’t afford it. Some people had maggots on their wounds to remove the rotting tissue. Maggots—that’s just so last millennia. That’s what I have to look forward to unless the research base has found a way to synth antibiotics from natural plants on Solitaire. We did what we could. Handed out drugs where we could. Apparently the Army medical branch does his on a regular basis as goodwill. You know what would be better? Letting people access medical care—apparently that hasn’t been the case in over 200 years. I forgot how lucky I was to be in the Army. Glad I didn’t get out.

Chief Rita Songworth - 11

So Zane put forward a proposal to me today. He'll look out for me if we share a bed. It's selfish to admit I felt some relief at the idea as I've heard the men will greatly outnumber the women. That's like putting gas near a hot flame. Despite my rank, I can't see me being safe from men who aren't getting their quota of sex. But with Zane as my lover and protector, I'd be strictly out-of-bounds. I know it's worth thinking about at the very least.

Alex Tariel-15

Right, second interview and a far more detailed medical and psych evaluation. I didn’t dare admit that I stole water just to get here. I’m beginning to feel I might pull this off. I hate farming so much. I miss the heights and I miss building stuff.

Tristan MacFallan - 11

I found a small community today. They've let us in, for now. But I can't help but feel we're outsiders and that any little so called transgression will see us kicked out for good. In the meantime I've been relegated to the worst possible jobs, like burying the sewerage and killing and plucking the half-starved poultry whose egg-laying days are too few and far between. But my wife and I are safe enough here and I'll do whatever I can to stay for as long as we can.

Corporal Sienna Jade-15

So far I’m acing the tests. This is good as the more I pass the more training opens up—they aren’t training everyone to be doctors, they are being selective. What’s interesting is that even the officers who are doctors (they must have been tower educated to get into officer training—that or their family saved up of they aced some aptitude test) aren’t sneering at us. It’s like they want us to learn. It’s odd. The medical branch of the Army is totally different to the Infantry where background pegs you in place forever. Maybe going to Solitaire will let the old class boundaries fall. Or maybe I’ve drunk too much beer tonight. Beer...I’m going to miss you. And chocolate—not that I can afford it but I’ve tried it a couple of times and it was good. (Also better than sex—well sex with Lt Zane anyway).

Chief Rita Songworth - 10

The visit to my parents has left me feeling flat. I can't muster any enthusiasm for the journey ahead, at least not right now. Not while I imagine my parents left alone to die, and my mother probably the last to go. Who will look after her? Who will bury her? It doesn't bear thinking about. Grief is my middle name and I can only hope my guilt at leaving my mom and dad behind will fade the farther away we get.

Alex Tariel-14

Recruiter came through the prison and gave a speech to some of us about Solitaire. Most didn’t care. I didn’t realize so many people were against the idea of a new planet. I mean we should be looking after this one first, but hell this is a new opportunity. This is what I got arrested for. I stuck my name on his list, but there's a long way to go yet.

Tristan MacFallan - 10

I think my wife blames me for present situation. Yeah, I hated the towers, but there I wasn't stupid enough to want to try and live in the real world while supporting a family. Hell, I'm not sure yet where my wife will even have our baby. The hospitals are full, the care factor of the few remaining doctors and nurses, almost zero. Everyone seems despondent now and ready to give in to their fates. Though I've heard the people supposedly lucky enough to board the Earth Ships that are heading toward Solitaire and its Colony, Unity, seem to revel in their newfound hope. Huh. Good luck to them. I have my doubts living on an inhospitable rock could be any better than Earth - if they even make the journey.

Corporal Sienna Jade-14

Honestly that man is like a dead fish sewn inside a pocket. Would you believe that Lt Zane is on the trip? What are the odds? I don’t know if he requested to go or if he was told he was going, but I saw him on base today. I nearly died. The horror of that night came back and I started having trouble breathing it was as if he had his hands on my throat again.

Chief Rita Songworth - 9

I visited my parents today, a bittersweet experience and one that I'm almost glad not to repeat. My father hasn't got long left on this world and my mother - I think her heart will break long before her spirit. She asked me not to visit them again, she doesn't want my memories of them to be blighted by seeing them sick. When she gave me a precious, hand-knitted blanket to take with me as something to remember them by, I had to choke back my tears. My parents are everything to me, but I know that by staying on Earth I might well be signing my death warrant right along with theirs.

Alex Tariel-13

Sentenced today to five years on the farms. Can’t get the news so I have no idea what is happening with the ships. Check up on admittance to the prison has confirmed chem-lung. Without meds I’ll be dead in a few years. They don’t treat prisoners. I’m pretty screwed.

Tristand MacFallan - 9

We've been out of the towers for a week now and already my wife seems  listless and disinterested in the world that's dying around us. I don't blame her, of course I don't, but our child is growing inside her and is the one spark in the hell that has become our lives.
I've heard there are some groups forming their own villages, self sufficient and sustainable - though how this is possible with our parched world, I have no idea. I can only hope it's true, and only hope one of them will accept us into the fold.

Corporal Sienna Jade-13

Since that news came out I have turned down two offers of marriage. Not all women are being as choosy as there has already been a couple of wedding. I guess if you don’t find someone now your chances get slimmer as the good ones get snapped up. After Lt Zane I vowed no more officers and no more Army guys. Maybe I’ll meet a nice civilian on board, or maybe I’ll just keep to myself and devote all my time to study. Me, Sienna from the slums a fully qualified doctor! Dr. Jade has a nice ring to it—better than some cheap ass wedding ring.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #7

Now what do I do? They want me to meet the expedition’s Chief Scientific Officer – in person. But I can’t, I just can’t! There’s no way in hell I can get out of the Tower without a bodyguard.

I need to think about this. There must be something I can do. Hang on … I guess we could do it via vid screen. If Father finds out, he’ll be furious, but that won’t be the worst part. He’ll see to it I never set foot outside again.

On the other hand, it’s reasonable risk. I’ve chatted with other researchers on the vid before and Father couldn’t be bothered to ask who they were. If I ask Doctor Schmidt for the questions in advance, I can keep it short.  Yes! And I’ll say he’s in Europe so I have to stay up 'til the early hours because of the time difference.

When I weigh it all up, logically and calmly – yes, I’m going to do it!

God, I’m so scared, so excited!

Alex Tariel-12

Stealing water was not as hard as I’d thought it would be—getting away with it was (not that I’d planned to). Shit I can’t believe I deliberately got arrested. What if I don’t get put on a ship and I have to work on one of the prison farms? Oh yeah and guess where that food goes—to the nice folk in the towers. Prisoners are cheap labor. No wonder they’re always arresting people for minor shit. Have to wait for sentencing and then play it by ear. Not that my life was great before but I had a decent job. I hope I haven't fucked myself over.

Corporal Sienna Jade-12

Not a rumor. Women are going to outnumbered 4:1 on the first voyage. Apparently it’s going to be better on the second voyage (I love how they are planning a second trip even though we haven’t left yet and we could all die of starvation once we get there). In the meantime what are all those horny prisoners going to do, each other? Or do they plan on working them until they drop? I hope not, that’s just so wrong. I don’t have a good feeling about this at all.

Alex Tariel-11

Okay today is the day. Water shortage again for those of us not in the towers. The plan is simple. Steal water, get arrested, get put on one those ships bound for Solitaire. If I don’t do it today I’ll back out. I’m thirty seven in a few weeks. Life expectancy here is fifty. I’ve probably already got chem-lung—that’s what kills most construction workers.

Cover Reveal!

We have three gorgeous covers to share!

Yours to Uncover by Mel Teshco 

Is she willing to sacrifice everything to keep her secret and her lover safe?

It's the year 2202. Earth is grossly overpopulated and seriously polluted. Rita Songworth has spent half her twenty-two years trying to escape the dying planet. It's taken the last five of those years to realize making it in the hard-ass infantry is her only way out, via space transporter Earth Ship Siren.

But the journey to Unity, the new colony, isn't easy. Rita has to resist an attraction to hard, brutish prisoner, Tristan MacFallan, whose masterful hands create more than the beautiful art he's been assigned to make. His forbidden touch affects her profoundly and he sees things in her no man ever has before. But obeying Kane, her ex-lover and malicious lieutenant, who is appointed to keeping the prisoners under guard, comes at a high price. Is she willing to sacrifice everything to keep her secret and her lover safe?

Yours to Command by Shona Husk

He would do anything to protect her, if only she'd let him.

 

Corporal Sienna Jade wasn't given a choice about joining the mission to Unity. Seen as a troublemaker after reporting an assault by a senior officer, the army wanted her gone. Sienna resents the army for assigning her to Earth Ship Siren, and suspects the fleet's Unity mission will fail. But others would do anything to escape Earth ...

 

Alex Tariel knew his only chance to get a place on ES Siren was as a prisoner, so he stole water rations. As a former construction foreman, his skills make him a valuable prisoner on board, but still a prisoner unable to control his own life. Instead of keeping his head down, he gets involved in the fights set up for gambling privilege tokens, the only currency aboard ship among the prisoners.

Getting patched up by Corporal Jade might be the best thing that's happened to Alex on the trip so far, but becoming her ship husband puts him between her and the lieutenant who tried to kill her for kicks on Earth. While Sienna tries to keep control of her feelings for Alex, Alex would do anything to protect her, if only she'd let him.

As ES Siren faces its first crisis, a little trust and love goes a long way.

 

Yours to Desire by Denise Rossetti 

A man more potent than any drug.

 

It's 2202 and on board ES Siren, the brilliant Doctor Lily Kwan has worked in secret to develop an antidote for the aphrodisiac rape drug, sexmeth.

She'd be overjoyed if it wasn't for an embarrassing problem: the antidote has no effect on her extraordinary reaction to Connor Madison, the Siren's tough quartermaster. Scientifically, it should be impossible, but the man's a raging fever in her blood. If a single dark glance sets Lily on fire, a kiss might kill her dead – but what a way to go!

A former gang rat from the slums of a dying world, Con came up the hard way, so when geeky Doctor Kwan tops his hit list of possible drug runners, nothing's going to save her—not her family's money, nor her clever mind.

Not even the smile in her eyes.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #6

My hands are shaking so much I can hardly type. I’ve done the research, found out everything I can about Unity colony and Solitaire. Oh my god, a whole new world – literally! The scientific reports are brief and contain only minimal data, mainly about climate and geology. There were blurry images of trees and grasses, but all so strange. I'm dying to know more, to touch, to test.

I stayed up almost ‘til dawn. In fact, the maid caught me asleep with my head on the desk. Thank god the poor woman’s illiterate or she might have reported back to Father about what was on my screen.

No question that I’m perfectly qualified for the post. Today I’m going to build a new firewall. Once that’s in place, I’m going to fill in those forms and send them. 

I won’t change my mind. I acknowledge my fear, honestly I do, but I intend to do this.

Corporal Sienna Jade-11

While there are plenty of Army women joining this trip I have heard an unsettling rumor that most of the prisoners they are sending (to do the hard labor of setting up is the governments excuse—more like empty the prisons) are men. Am I the only one who sees this is a problem for a new colony? Makes me think this whole thing is a sham of epic proportions.

Chief Rita Songworth - 8

I'm so glad I decided to try out for a position on the ES Siren. We mightn't get much, but we're fed, given clean clothes and a shower once a day. That's a hell of a lot more than what I've seen everyday civilians get. Guess this is my new family now. I can only hope my parents are still proud of me. I'm going to go and see them on my next training day off. Especially now that everything seems to be in place for us to leave any day now. It might be my very last chance.

Alex Tariel-10

Was working up today, way up above the smog line. At least if I fell from there I'd be dead, no medical bills. But while I was up there I realized two things. Those bastards in the towers have more space for one family than the whole house I share with Janet’s kids, her sister and kids, the Browns and Higgs families. I have the attic because I don't have kids. As long as I don't stand up it's fine. It’s a ridiculous waste of space in the towers. Two I want off Earth. If I can’t do it honestly then I’ll do something dumb. I don't know what yet. But I've got to do something to get on one of those ships.

Tristan MacFallan - 8

Guess I should thank my lucky stars I didn't end up in prison, or worse hung by the 'lawmen' under the control of the people from the towers after being accused of stealing. Ha. What a set up. And even though my wife knows I was framed - no pun intended - she's still blaming me to some extent. She loved living in the towers, away from all the crap that reminds her how close to starvation and chem-lung we are. Now I just have to find us some shelter and do whatever needs to be done to protect our unborn child.

Corporal Sienna Jade-10

Joy. There is a bug that dissolves flesh on Solitaire. Yuk, yuk, yuk. Also no vertebrates, although apparently some of the guinea pigs the first scientists took escaped and are now happily living wild. They are also twice the size of normal guinea pigs. Apparently regular guinea pigs are good eating according to some of the guys on base. When you live in the slums you get used to not asking what meat you’re eating, could be anything from flavored soy, to flavored lab meat to some unfortunate bird. At least in the Army it’s either real (stretched thin with veg) or they just admit straight up that it’s soyroom (the Army’s favorite protein). I hate soyroom. It doesn't matter how it's cooked it's still just wrong.

Chief Rita Songworth - 8

We trained with the electro-whips today--no use having guns when one bullet could destroy the whole ship. So much voltage in one handy little unit, I feel like a cowgirl about to lasso a bad guy. But it's serious stuff. The whips could be the difference between life and death, I'm determined to master handling it.

Alex Tariel-9

Janet and her hubby were arrested for stealing. They had been helping themselves to some of the food they delivered to the towers. I suspected but since I never asked I could honestly tell the cops I had no idea where the chooks (or the other meat) came from. One of the kids hid a few chicks...guess when they get a bit bigger we’ll have eggs again, until then it’s another mouth to feed. Janet’s sister is now looking after her kids. Janet’s sister has also put the word on me again—not going to happen. If I can’t afford a condom, I’m not having sex. No kid should be born into this. Apparently that makes me an ass. I suggested that was a place I could stick it and she threw a saucepan at me. She’s just stressed now we have two less adult wages coming into the house. Rent will be tight.

Tristan MacFallan - 7

Well I was right, our so called 'good fortune' at being given some rooms at the towers, wasn't ever going to last long. I was accused of stealing a priceless sculpture from the knob head who was formerly my employer and biggest fan. Odd though how much I wanted to leave, and now I'm scared shitless at what my wife and I will face out there in the big wide world. All alone again. I'm the provider...but what the hell can I find with drought, famine and overpopulation. Not to mention the pollution that's choking the air.

Corporal Sienna Jade-9

Errr I might have been hasty about the medical training. They colony they are setting up isn’t going to try and meet current tech standards (the distance will make repairs and spares too hard to source) so we are going back to basics. That means learning how to diagnose and treat without the fancy equipment we’re used to having access too. I want to cry.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #5

They’re sending another convict fleet to Unity colony! I could hardly believe it, but the ships were there, on tonight’s newscast, three of them – Siren, Sprite and Sphinx. You could see the shuttles zipping back and forth in the loading bays and the stars wheeling behind. According to the newscaster, it’s almost entirely prisoners and military personnel, but there will be a small group of scientists. 

I can hardly breathe, my hands are shaking. I wonder if— No, no, it’s stupid. 

But I have a doctorate in xeno-botany and another in biochemistry. No one can say I’m wouldn’t be useful on a largely unexplored world like Solitaire. Have to get more information.

Oh god, escape!

Chief Rita Songworth - 7

With all this training I wish we could just leave already. I've had little to no time to spend with my family and I've begun to get used to the idea of being on my own. Still, beneath my self-assurance I'm nervous about having no one to protect me, no on there for the unconditional love that we humans take for granted. Zane's persistence is really wearing me down.

Alex Tariel-8

Well not everyone is happy about the ships heading off to Solitaire to colonize the planet. People are calling it a suicide mission, that it’s a hoax and the government is trying to empty out the prisons. That got my attention. Word is prisoners are being cherry picked for their skills. I don’t think I’ve ever had a cherry—bet they are good though.

Tristan MacFallan - 6

Today I was asked to paint my employer with his three underpaid and undernourished prostitutes. He thought he was a king sticking his dick into the girls who pretended to love his prowess in bed. Truth be told he spent more time demanding they stick their tongue in one another's pussies than he did giving them any pleasure himself.
He kept throwing me high and mighty glances, as though imagining I was turned on by the girls who I had no doubt were underage. I was sickened. Yes I love sex, probably more than I should, but not like that. It was little better than rape.
I can't stay here much longer.

Corporal Sienna Jade-8

Best news ever—being a medic I am automatically getting extra training. While I’ll be looking after prisoners for the duration of the trip (what’s becoming known as stitches and suppositories), on Solitaire I’ll be part of the new medical facilities and they are training up as many people as possible. 15,000 people are going on this trip. I hope they are packing lots of food otherwise we’ll all be eating rocks when we arrive...if we arrive.

Chief Rita Songworth - 6

Zane introduced himself to me today. I can't help but feel flattered. He's above me in the ranks and everyone seems a little in awe of him, even a little afraid. I'm not sure what everyone is afraid of - he's only ever been nice to me. But maybe that's because he's attracted to me. In this world, finding someone to watch your back isn't to be scoffed at...of course, now I'm wondering if he's the man for the job.

Tristan MacFallan - 5

Well I've caved in. I can't let my wife and unborn child starve. We're now living in one of the towers, in utter luxury compared to what we'd been reduced to outside the walls. My wife couldn't be happier. Me? I feel sick at even being here. I've sold my soul to the bastard who uses me only to satisfy his artistic side. Deep down I can't help but question how long it will last before we're thrown into the street once again, where we come from. In some ways I wish it would come sooner rather than later.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #4

The riots are terrible. Eighteen killed downtown, in a protest at the office of the Water Board. There wasn't anything about it on the regular channels, of course. Father and his cronies in the other Families control the news, but there are still a few rogue newscasters out there. They're so brave. I'm such a coward, such a spoiled brat. 

No, no, on reflection, that's not quite right. What I am is an incredible waste.

I need to think about this.

Corporal Sienna Jade-7

Packed and ready. I'm trying to be excited about this new and permanent posting. People around me range from envious to pitying. I'm not sure which is worse. At least Lt Zane will be Earth side and I will be elsewhere.

Alex Tariel-7

Ships have names: Earth Ship Siren, Sphinx and Sprite. They could’ve picked some more sensible names. Lots of scientists and smart people are getting on board. Military is also involved. I knew I should’ve enlisted before I got too old. Missed out now by a couple of years.

Chief Rita Songworth - 5

I knew training would be rigorous but I'm determined to better myself and chase a better life, if not for myself, then for my parents and their belief in me. Still, I never in a million years expected to be elevated as quickly as I have through the ranks. Chief Songworth...who would ever have believed it? One things for sure, I'm never going to take things for granted.

Corporal Sienna Jade-6

I’m going to Solitaire! More likely I’ll die on the way or discover the government has been lying about the viability of the research base. But there is no way I’m going to be at the mercy of some rich tower prick again. I don’t care if my sister says it’s a sweet deal, he could cast her off at any moment and flick her back onto the streets. So anyway I get transferred to the Earth Ship base in the next week or so and start doing some basic training about the new planet.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #3

Father doesn't like me watching the newscasts. In fact, he's forbidden it.

Honestly, for such an intelligent man, he can be remarkably stupid. It's not logical to boast about his brilliant daughter and her two doctorates to his Tower elite cronies and then turn around and treat me like a sulky child in private.

As if he could stop me accessing whatever information I need! Huh!

Tristan MacFallan - 4

I'm seriously worried about my wife, Katrina. We estimate her at now being five months pregnant and yet she's losing weight fast. I'm doing all I can to provide for her and our unborn baby, but it doesn't seem to be near enough. I'm tempted to accept the position offered to me by the senior member of the elite Zane's, but the thought of working under such a self-gratuitous man sickens me right to the marrow. There's always a catch when accepting work at the towers and I don't want to sell my soul to the selfish bastards who turn their backs on the rest of mankind. Seriously though, I'm fast running out of options.

Alex Tariel-6

15,000 people are going to Research Base Unity. And the first voyage isn’t going to be full of those with more money than callouses. Nope the governments are treating this as an opportunity to expand the base and get some labor going to set up a town and farms. I envy the lucky bastards on those ships. I'd give anything to get off this rock.

Chief Rita Songworth - 4

I made it! All that rigorous physical and mental testing and I passed the first phase of being a soldier. Top of the class in fact. Huh, who'd have thought. I have a few days rest, but most of us have forgotten what rest means. It'll take me four hours good solid walking to see my parents, but it just might be my last opportunity to see them one last time.
Can't believe it might be a goodbye.

Corporal Sienna Jade-5

I have a day until I either have to sign the papers that put me on the Earth Ship or sign the papers that release me from the Army. If I get out I will have to find another job. Nothing pays as well. I might be able to get a job at a hospital, the general hospitals are always looking for staff (all the best ones go to the hospitals in the towers where they can earn serious money—of course all the doctors are tower born and bred), but I’m an infantry medic not a nurse or anything. I should’ve done more training. Shit. Who’d have thought one man could screw me over so bad? I need to speak to my sister...I already know what my mother will say—I should’ve become his mistress.

Tristan MacFallan - 3

I abandoned my artwork today. There is no longer any point imagining I can paint for the rich while all around me people are dying from starvation and chem-lung. The last straw was when my wife had to run for her life when some women who'd once been her friends broke into our house to take what supplies we had. I wasn't there to protect her. I was too busy trying to earn some measly rations with my art. I'll find another way to make ends meet. I don't have a choice

Alex Tariel-5

No rice or corn this week at the shops. The communal veggie patch is going well since Janet managed to get some chickens—no one in the house asked where they’d come from. Same way no one asks how her husband managed to give us a feed of alligator steaks. It had been so long since I’d had a chunk of real meat, not the overpriced, tasteless lab protein meat-like crap.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #2

It's actually a lovely day today. If I crane my head so I can stare up, above even the top floor of the Tower, the sky is blue. So pretty. It's only when you look down that you see the ugliness, the smog masking the endless conurbation that is the North East. From this high, I can see a big brown blob in the far distance. Guess it's the sludgy remains of the Lakes.

I know how lucky I am. I KNOW! I've been given everything Father's filthy money can buy - good food, clean air, a rigorous scientific education. On the other hand, truisms are called that for a reason. This one's a humdinger: There's a price, there's always a price. 

Not sure how much longer I can go on paying it.

Corporal Sienna Jade-4

Uh...when I was told I could stay in the Army this was not what I expected. I have to join the Earth Ship program going to freaking Solitaire. A planet in the middle of fuck-knows-where a year away from Earth traveling at who-knows how fast assuming we don’t die in space. Maybe I should get out. I have a week to decide.

Chief Rita Songworth - 3

So after months of living like dogs, my parents tell me they want me to apply for a position on one of the air carriers that are headed to a new world. Solitaire. It sounds so exotic and wonderful, but I'm betting it'll be hardcore living and nothing as beautiful as Earth once was. I argued that I wanted to stay with them, but we all know if chem-lung doesn't get us all--sooner rather than later--then starvation or even murder at the hands of once respectable people turned desperate, just might. I'm still fit and healthy, and being a soldier just might be the one guarantee that sees me taken away from the nightmare that is my life. But leaving behind my parents...my heart aches just at the thought. Guess I'd better not count my chickens before they hatch. I mightn't even be accepted into the ranks of those lucky enough to go.

Alex Tariel-4

Simms took his life rather leave his wife and kids in medical debt. We did a collection at work to pay for the funeral. We build the damn towers but can't get inside. We risk our lives and breathe in the polluted air while the rich sit inside. It’s not right…but without a better education, the kind that the rich kids get there’s nothing else to do. Trapped. I will never have kids and bring them into this mess.

Doctor Lily Kwan - Personal Log #1

Keeping this log constitutes a risk, but it's a pretty conservative one, I think - and oh, God, I need to express myself somehow! I've triple encrypted everything, hidden it in a tiny corner of one of Father's servers. His IT guys might be good, but I'm better. Have been since I was a kid. Anyway, it's worth it. If I can't lay my thoughts out in a logical order I really think I might go mad.

Without Mama, it's been so much harder to maintain my balance with Father, to be who I really am. It's only four months since she died and I know she had a good end, as comfortable as Father's physicians could make her. They were so incredibly scared, all of them. Well, who wouldn't be, with the bodyguards watching every procedure, their faces like stone?

Eighty stories up in the Kwan Family Tower, everything's pain free. If Mama had been down there, in the sprawling slums, she would have died by inches, screaming. I wonder if I'd have had the guts to put her out of her misery? People do that these days. They call it mercy and the authorities - such as they are - turn a blind eye.

Up here, it's all so damn clean, so quiet, so calm. I hate it.

No, I HATE it!

Corporal Sienna Jade-3

So I’m allowed to stay in—yay—another five years of a guaranteed pay check and food. Seriously that’s the only reason why anyone would do it. No...I take that back I do like being in the Army and I love that I have gotten a bit of travel in even if it was just to blow shit up. Getting involved with an officer while deployed in China was dumb. I accept that. But him losing the plot because I re-enlisted for another 5 years instead of becoming his mistress is on him. I still have the bruises on my neck. I hope he gets a butt ugly scar on his eyebrow—nah he parents will probably pay for plastic surgery.

Tristan MacFallan - 2

My wife told me she was pregnant today. Not because we'd ever in a million years have been able to afford a test in a hospital, but because her reliable period was seven weeks overdue and her nausea she'd been suffering from is apparently morning sickness. At first I was almost as ill. Another mouth to feed. Another person to look after. One more human being to be subjected to an Earth no one should be part of. But the selfish part of me is starting to obsess over the little unborn child who will be a part of me and my wife.

Alex Tariel-3

Simms fell today. Safety equipment is out of date and the company wouldn’t fix it. Now they won’t pay Simms medicals either. Typical. What are going to do? refuse to go up? There's plenty of others who'd be willing to take the risk. Do the wealthy realise how much blood goes into their towers? I doubt it. They're so insulated from the real world. I hear it's possible to spend your entire life in one from birth to death and never once have to breath unfiltered air.

Chief Rita Songworth - 2

As if this day couldn't get any worse, we finally get the storm we've been praying for only to have the pummeling rain wash away the topsoil along with all the vegetable seedlings we'd been coaxing into life. The same vegetable seedlings that cost my father his last jacket--literally the clothes off his back. Worse still, we don't have a house to call our own anymore and have been living in an old ramshackle shed that barely keeps out the weather. We can't keep on going like this.

Corporal Sienna Jade-2

Okay calmer today. Still livid and if I see Lieutenant Zane again I will kick him in the nuts so hard he’ll be wearing them for earrings. No, better not otherwise I will be kicked out. That’s not going to happen apparently but I don’t get to walk away from this even though it was self-defence. I should have known it was too good to be true, moneyed officers are not interested in women from the slums except for one reason.

Tristan MacFallan - 1

I sat outside the air-cleansed towers today, painting the buildings for one of the greedy elite who live inside them, safe from the ugliness that have overtaken the real world. While so many starved people shuffle past, casting me disgusted looks, I realize I've never hated one of my paintings more. Except this one piece of art will guarantee clean drinking water for a week and enough vegetables to keep my family fed for a month.

Alex Tariel-2

Well those of us with half a brain had suspected for years that it was only a matter of time until the governments wanted to settle Solitaire. I thought it was years away, but apparently not. Six months we’re being told until the three ships will be ready. No doubt they will be filled with the rich who are sick of the smog spoiling their views. the rest of us will just keep on going using crappy masks and knowing it's only a matter of time until we get chem-lung.

Chief Rita Songworth - 1

My parents had no choice but to give up their real estate business months ago, but we clung onto our own home for as long as we could before we had to flee. We're thankful now that we've still got each other. The looting is getting out of control. No one is safe. I can't see that Earth will come back from the brink now. Greed and politics rule this world over harmony and preservation of the planet.

Corporal Sienna Jade-1

I just can’t even put into words the anger right now. He assaulted me and yet I am the one being branded a trouble maker. It just goes to show that if you have money and connections anything can be swept under the rug. FFS. If I get booted out of the Army because of him...I just...grrrr. I still have the bruises on my neck but that's not enough evidence.

Alex Tariel-1

Water shortage, again. News is full of the Unity Research Base, again. The billions of dollars that have been put into reaching that planet and then setting up a base is staggering. Might have been better if they’d spent it on fixing up the place where everyone lives.

Deal Announcement

We are very excited to bring you the ES Siren series.

So far there are going to be six books, and while we will post covers and blurbs this blog will be more of a character diary as they prepare to leave Earth and start the 12 month voyage to the planet Solitaire.

Over the coming months you'll get to meet the heroes and heroines of the stories. Some are military, some are civilian and some are prisoner sent to do the hard labor required when setting up a new colony.

We hope you'll join us for the adventure!