Poppets
The reds weren’t afraid, not exactly, but they were worried. Their ship swam through vasty skies just the same as it always had, but thunderclouds were gathering ahead, and occasionally something would streak past them in the endless night that looked nothing like a star. They wished, for the first time in ages, that they could see the ground.
Plus, it was getting crowded. Were there more of them than yesterday?
Crimson checked the receiver protruding from the stern, and she cleared away the frost that had gathered on the orb. Everything seemed in order.
But the clouds crept closer.
Photo courtesy of the indomitable Lisa Snellings-Clark.
The Two Minutes Project 
May 25, 2008 at 9:11 pm
This one is, so far, my favorite. I am not entirely sure why it is, but there is something about the tone that is gripping. I think it must be the slightly ominous feel about the end there, where you are left wondering whether or not everything else in their voyage goes well.
I also (again) love the name.
May 26, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Lisa Snellings-Clark (who is a brilliant artist and a lovely person) has linked back to this post, and put up a larger version of the image that inspired the story. You can see the image here, and the post here, and I urge you to check out her blog and her studio site. In fact, I think I’ll put up that image and a link in the post proper…
May 28, 2008 at 2:04 pm
This is great!