Short Fiction

When does an outlaw become a hero? When the law is written and upheld by those who serve themselves and not the people it is written for. In my Coffee with David blog, I discussed my exploration into the Space Western. This blog is dedicated to the first short story that I have been working on in that subgenre. I have the story idea and have begun to plot it. The only thing I am missing right now is the title. This is unusual for me as I normally come up with the title first and the story pours from that fountain.

Here is the rough story idea: Herne travels to a planet where a friend has settled after the Great War in a peaceful valley raising livestock and a family. Herne is in need of rest from his travels and he is on the run from bounty hunters from his own world—who are out to chase down the Voyageurs (a bread of renegade scouts/rangers). When he arrives at the town nearest his friend’s homestead, Herne can smell trouble. He finds the homestead raided and burned, his friend killed with his wife, their livestock gone, their children missing—perhaps wandering the wilderness on their own, if they managed to escape at all —and enough evidence to point to the warriors of the planet’s indigenous race being responsible for the slaughter. Herne realizes that what he sees is not a true picture and sets off to find his friend’s children and determined to make the real murderers face justice, even if that is a plasma bolt from his gun.

I plan to have this story ready for submission in the spring. If, as the concept looks large, it doesn’t work as a short story—it may turn into a novel.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.