Science Fiction & Fantasy
by R.S.A. Garcia
“Quarter-march, west-north-west,” came their voice through the Kinnec.
“Acknowledged,” the other two shells replied.
Metal clacked against stone as the scouting party made their way over the rocky terrain until a half-crumbled hillside came into view above them. Freshly fallen boulders lay cracked and scattered on the flats below a large irregular hole. The hole was dark, the opening blackened and fused from heat.
A recon drone unwrapped itself from the diplomat’s shell.
“Unnecessary,” Brother-Adita said. “Shell destroyed. Only core remains.”
“Origin uncertain. Caution warranted.”
“Core dormant.”
“Caution warranted,” the Admiral’s sibling said, using four of the shell’s eight limbs to move aside inconvenient boulders. “Proceed, Sister-Marcus.”
away because of construction so use caution. megan, back to you. if you work for the city, you have the day off if you like it or not thanks to furloughs. linda so has what you need to know when you are headed out this morning. good morning. reporter: if you have business to get done in the city today, you ll want to listen up. almost all city buildings and the services they provide will be closed, including city hall. today is the first of five mandatory furlough days for baltimore. a sign on 83 has been reminding drivers all week, all city services will be closed except for police, fire, emergency responders, as well as trash and recycling collection. city buildings and customer service agencies will not be open. the furlough is all part of a plan to close a $55 million budget gap. mayor dixon says it s necessary to avoid laying off 400 workers. it s really a matter of cutting back and adjusting budgets while we ride through this. hopefully it will be ending sooner