A Change In Direction

In the past few weeks, we’ve noticed a few things.

1. The further along we go in this story, the fewer consistent readers we have.

2. Working in the confines of this serial format is becoming more stifling the more we write. We can’t go back and change anything even if an idea comes along that could improve the story as a whole, and we can’t write whatever scene is most fresh in our mind at the time because we have to focus on getting the next chronological scene ready to publish.

3. We’re getting next to no feedback or interaction of any kind on the story in this medium.

Since posting to this blog as we write has become more of a detriment than a benefit to finishing the story, we’ve decided to change our approach. Andrew and I are going to stop posting here for the time being and focus on writing a complete rough draft of Aldaeus. When it’s finished, we’ll edit it together and then we’ll return to our serial format with the finished product – possibly in a different medium, we’ll see. For now, you probably won’t see a lot of us around here, but rest assured that if you’ve enjoyed Aldaeus so far we’re working as hard as we can to make sure that it’s as good as it can be, and when it’s ready we hope you’ll come back and enjoy it some more. Thanks for your patience and understanding, friends. Off we go.

Aldaeus Entry #15: Landfall

The large, gray cylinder of the Rigel III space station loomed in the Gwendolyn’s viewscreen, its exterior lights blinking lazily as it hung suspended in geo-synchronous orbit above the scientific research and mining colony to which it belonged. Sean reached across the dash and grabbed his headset. With a few keystrokes, he opened a channel to the space station.

Aldaeus Entry #14: Reassignment

A blast of warm air buffeted Captain Arnold Reims as he stepped out of the spaceport doors, carrying the flat, dry scent of highly recycled, manufactured atmosphere with it. The dome far above was transparent, allowing the light of Alpha Centauri’s twin suns to light up the glistening metal spires of the New Plymouth business district, the transportation and commerce hub of the colony’s capitol city.

Aldaeus Entry #13: Collision

Almost a year after Aldaeus had braved the Thor Nebular Cluster and its less-than-savory inhabitants, Sean O’Ryan and his crew found themselves having to traverse the same treacherous area of space. Sean had spent the last few days becoming acquainted with the ship and his shipmates. Carson, Johns and Melody he knew, but Shannon and Chris he had just met. It quickly became clear to Sean that Chris had no interest in becoming friends, and it almost seemed like he considered them to be rivals of some sort. Shannon, on the other hand, was friendly and outgoing, always willing to help out and pleasant to talk to. Sean wouldn’t admit it to anyone because it wouldn’t be professional, but he had a bit of a crush on her. He wasn’t alone in that, however. Shannon was one of those girls who is pretty and friendly to everyone, a quality that is often mistaken for being a flirt and results in a large number of admirers.

Aldaeus Entry #12: Fallout

Author’s Note: Thank you to all of our readers for your patience during this longer-than-expected hiatus. Andrew and I are both thrilled to get back to writing for you again, and we hope that you’ll enjoy the rest of the story as it unfolds. Don’t forget to leave all your advice, criticism, and questions in the comments. Happy New Year, and welcome back aboard the Triumph.

UPDATE: Aldaeus Returns

It’s been a while, friends, but the time has come. Things are settling down here in the Newtonsphere, and I’m happy to announce that in two weeks from today, on the 3rd of January, you’ll have a brand new entry of Aldaeus to read. From there, the plan is to keep up with weekly updates straight through to the end of the story, whenever that may be. No more unexpected interruptions and months-long hiatuses. Thanks for you patience and thank you for reading.  Tell your friends, mark your calendars, and we’ll see you back here bright and early next year to carry on the adventure!

Update: Life Changes

Hello, Internet, Andrew here. As some of you may have noticed/gleaned from social media, Tim is in the midst of moving and as such hasn’t had time to work on Aldaeus like he would like to. Because of this, we have made the decision that rather than unbalance the story by my continued posting we will be taking a brief hiatus while he gets settled in his new digs. Hopefully we will resume updating within the next couple of weeks, beginning with entry 12. Thank you for your indulgence and your continued interest in our story, we are super excited for where this is going.

I love you all. Except you. Yes you. You know who you are.

-Andrew Newton

P.S. Tim speaking. Along with all of the moving and job-hunting and such, I’ve been trying to find a way to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve considered using the month to add a huge chunk to Aldaeus, but as many have learned before me it is not advisable to write so much so quickly on a project where quality matters. I still want to write something for NaNo and I haven’t had a chance to write freely on a story that no one but me has to see in far too long, so I’m going to take the rest of the month to write a different story entirely and return to Aldaeus (hopefully refreshed) at the beginning of December. Expect entry #12 on December 6th, and we’ll return to our weekly schedule immediately after that. Thank you so much for your patience, and for all of your kind words and regular visits. You’re a wonderful audience.

– Tim N.

UPDATE: Schedule change

Andrew and I have discovered a bit of a flaw in our posting schedule.  With the current plan, we tend to forget that the deadline is approaching until it’s on top of us because it’s so early on in the week, so we’ve been rushed to polish and post our entries.  In an effort to stave off that stressful tendency, beginning this week we will be posting new entries on Fridays instead.  Thanks for bearing with us, and for reading Aldaeus every week.  It means a lot to us, and we appreciate each one of you.  See you on Friday!

Aldaeus Entry #11: Parlay

On the outer edge of the Thor Nebular Cluster, there is a large asteroid with no official designation. On this asteroid is the largest, most slapdash space station ever constructed. It is made from pieces of various ships as well as geodomes of UPNA, EU and even Japanese designs. The complex covers almost the entire surface of the asteroid and boasts four MarkVII Northwest PowerCorp Dark Matter reactors. At the highest point of the complex is the penthouse suite, home of Ferran Mitchell, the Pirate King of the Thor Nebular Cluster. King Ferran was a large, burly man with thick, strong arms and only one eye. He could have afforded a bionic replacement, but he preferred the classic pirate imagery conjured up by a patch. His long, black hair was curled into tight dreadlocks and his dark skin was criss-crossed with scars from innumerable hand-to-hand fights. Ferran’s left hand was bionic, and he had decided to forgo the plasti-flesh covering, in favor of the more intimidating look of the bare titanium. His deep, smooth, easy-going Jamaican accent contrasted sharply with his rough exterior, producing a strangely disquieting effect. The man himself existed in a complicated middle ground. His moods could swing from homicidal fury to good-natured bonhomie in the blink of an eye. He could stay up for days at a time, overseeing the various operations of the base, but other times he would spend a week lounging in his penthouse accomplishing nothing of consequence. Despite his capricious nature, King Ferran held the respect of his subordinates with a mixture of charisma and terror. The other pirates knew better than to try to cheat the King out of his cut from their spoils, and when the King called on them for help, no one dared to refuse.

Aldaeus Entry #10: Backlash

Caris sat cross-legged on the floor of the bridge, taking in the calm glow of the Earth through the viewport before her.  From the Triumph’s position orbiting the moon, the planet looked like a huge marble of opaque, swirled glass, a fragile work of art made to be looked at from a distance but not touched.  For Caris, it may as well have been.  Born and raised in the People’s Republic of Asia’s colony on Sirius III, she’d never set foot on Earth before, and considering her recent activity with the Alpha Centauri resistance she wasn’t likely to do so anytime soon.  Even being this close was rare, and she savored the opportunity to take in the unique beauty of humanity’s home.  Everyone she knew and loved, every friend and enemy and stranger found their origin in that expanse of dirt and sea and sky.  Its very atoms were rich with history.