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Chills and goose bumps mano chills and goose bumps.<br>Who will be the pilots/scout, etc. I'm hanging on the edge of my seat here! <p></p><i></i>

I've known who the scout is going to be for quite some time, and have already discussed the part with him. When you see who it is, I don't think you're going to be terribly surprised. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>

Still making progress. Now that I got over the hurdle of kicking Bug out the DTM, it's been a little easier to write. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>

OK! Next chapter is up, folks, hope you enjoy it. As you might have gathered from Bug and Red's conversation near the end of this but, Bug's homeworld is, shall we say, <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>extremely</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> hostile to life. Yes, these storms are ripped straight out of Dune. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> I recently just finished all six of the Dune books, and I've been taking a little inspiration from them. (The last two of the Dune books weren't too good, though, IMO. Herbert shoulda stopped at God Emperor and called it good.)<br><br>This chapter also marks my slow transition to Open Source software. I grabbed <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.openoffice.org">OpenOffice</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> a few weeks ago and have been toying around with it. I must say, the OO word processor is a dandy replacement for MS Word! <br><br>I had to jiggle the controls a bit to get it to do the find-and-replace I do to insert EZcode formatting for italics and bold when I post these, but it does the task well. Not quite as foolproof as MS Word, as I can't seem to get it replace all instances at once in a single go, but it works well enough not to be a huge bother. I'm certainly going to keep on using OO, that's for sure, and I recommend it for anyone looking for nice word processor but who doesn't want to shell out the money for MSOffice.<br><br>Again, it isn't quite as polished as MSWord (I like how MSWord's spellcheck shows the questionable word in its sentence context, whereas OO doesn't do that), but it's also very <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>clean</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. There's not a hojillion buttons and toolbars to mess around with like in Word, which is nice.<br><br>As always, ask away if you've got questions. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br> <p></p><i></i>

Bumpsky!

(Sweet TITTIES this is good stuff!)

I really hope you all are enjoying "Memory" and "Discovery".

Memory really was the hardest thing I've ever written. For almost a decade I've spun Desecration as a fairly typical Hero's Journey.

There's a problem with those Journeys. They're damned boring, mechanically speaking. If the reader expects things to turn out all right, there's a lot of suspense that gets shoved to the wayside. I can make as many cliffhangers as I want, but just like the old radio serials, you always know the hero is going to turn out all right.

That's why it took me three freaking years since the last update. Feeding your own beloved characters into the meat-grinder is a hell of a decision to make. I made the decision to break from the typical Journey and it's unbelievably liberating as a writer.

Of course, what I find scary is that this decision has been lurking since the very first chapter of Desecration...and even as far back as Dismay and Due Process. A few months ago I re-read everything, including the notes I'd never published, and found that I'd left myself a giant escape clause with which I could club the reader emotionally.

It took me a while to decide to leap onto that escape clause and hang on for all it's worth. Just to be clear, that escape clause was indeed: "What if Dath had lied to Bug during their chat in the Hive-Mind? Was she really that ruthless? That skilled?"

She was. Now you know why, thanks to "Discovery".

What can change the nature of a sentient? Regret.

I never used to understand why authors would talk about killing off major characters that way. And you're right, it's not real suspense if you know your buds are going to be OK.

damn Bug.. Your writing gets better and better. Ready for more.

I agree. Definitely an edge of my pants bit of reading!

(Yes, edge of my pants is better than edge of my seat!)

STILL awesome to read, Bug.

I've gone back and re-read your work twice now, and each time I'm still impressed.

...and eager to see the next installment!

Woohoo! Reading now.

I have to say... you had me hooked from the beginning, but now you've set the hook deeper, and you're slowly bringing me in.

I love it!

Thanks for the nice comments, Asha. I'm pretty happy that I'm gonna be able to finish it.

Great Music choices for the latest chapter Bug. You can feel the tension during the battles.

I wanted to do MORE music for each little bit, but figured I shouldn't go completely crazy.

That said, I'm really happy with how "Human Noise//Ayla's Theme" works out in the story. I'd originally assigned Temujin the song "Dragon Punch" by Tettix, but once I got him worked into Dath's view, it didn't fit. I needed something that screamed "WHOOP-ASS", and Ayla certainly brings that.

We've heard pretty much everyone's themes... except for Bug's. Rest assured, it'll come. I'm pleased with the idea that despite Bug's Theme not having any lyrics, it still conveys exactly what's going on.