A Shout Out To Some Awesome Folks

It's Valentine's Day (puke) and I wanted to share the love and give a shout out to some very awesome people.

Samantha Redstreake Geary, and the Composers for Relief: Support the Philippines project that not only created an amazing music album, but also a companion ebook, Beyond the Binding that is now available: 

- Worldwide through Amazon

- Smashwords 

  
- Goodreads


(More links coming soon)

DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude will be celebrating his one year anniversary of the Blog Blitz team. Please check it out if you haven't already. The team blitzes random bloggers, and what better way to brighten someone else's day than to blast them with over 100 positive comments!

I also want to give a shout out to Roland Yeomans at Writing in the Crosshairs. Roland is a supportive blogger and prolific writer. He's written dozens of books that are fast paced, action packed, and wonderfully written. I love the imagery and imagination in his books that give Roland a writing style all his own. You can check out Roland's books on Amazon. 

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend everyone. 

As for me, I'll just be watching my back . . .

FOLLOW FEST

Welcome to Mellisa Maygrove's Follow Fest.

This platform building opportunity is for writers who want to meet other writers, have a few drinks, socialize, and stalk each other. If you'd like to know more about the Follow Fest (there's still time to sign up), click on the Follow Fest badge over on my left sidebar.

<======  (; 

If you don't know Melissa, (who is fabulous by the way) please check out her blog site. She's a wonderful blogging friend who's always giving back to the writing community. She shares tips about blogging and social media, and has a Monday feature called Grammar Police Monday which is really great and helpful.  

Below is my Follow Fest Answer Sheet. 

Nice to meet you.  

Now I'm off to read yours!

****

Name: Pen name is Elise Fallson 

Fiction or nonfiction? 

Fiction

What genres do you write? 

Mostly YA/ NA fantasy and paranormal. 

Are you published? 

Only in my dreams. *don't wake me up*

Do you do anything in addition to writing? 

Yes, rewriting.

But,  I also beta read when I can, and enjoy spotlighting blogging buddies, cover reveals, releases, etc.  

Where can people connect with you?

• Right here! Welcome to my humble blog Elise Fallson: elisefallson.blogspot.com
• I'm sometimes on Twitter @elisefallson, 
• And Goodreads, Google+, and YouTube all under the name Elise Fallson. 

My online avatars

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

I'm an expat living in France and would love to join an on-line writer's group but don't know where to start. Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated! 

****

Thank you Melissa for hosting this Follow Fest, can't wait to check out new fellow writers!

WIP IT GOOD!

DL Hammons at Crusing Altitude 2.0 and I welcome you to WIP IT GOOD a bloghop intended to spotlight your [W]ork [I]n [P]rogress. 

I'm actually working on three projects that are in different stages of the writing process. The first one, is an epic fantasy that's still incubating. I want to keep this one all to myself for now. The second, is starting to crawl on all fours, but already has so much potential it makes me want to scream about it from the top of the blogosphere. But alas, this one is still top secret.  (; So that leaves me with my final project to share with you guys today. 

WIP Title: The Falling Witch

Word Count: current: 110,571: projected ~85-90,000. 

I know what you're thinking, that's a lot of words to slauter. Luckily for me, I know which ones to murder. Muwahahah.

Genre: N/A Paranormal/Romance

How long you've been working on manuscript: Too frickin long, which for me means 3.5 years.

Elevator pitch line (if you came across an agent in an elevator, what couple of lines would you use to summarize your book): 

Ok, so if I came across an agent in the elevator I'd say: 

"Represent me or I'll stab you in the eye with my click pen."   *clicks twice for effect.*   

How's that? You don't look convinced. Am I giving away too much? I've been told I have a tendancy towards melodrama. . . 

Fine. Then how about this (the super short version):

Twenty-three year old Edessa Scottwood would do anything to find her mother's killer, even if that means becoming a powerful witch and falling in love with the wrong vampire. 

Brief synopsis (250 words or less)

Ok, I suck at writing synopses so here's a brief blurb/description that I was still rewriting this morning! ugggg.....

Under the influence of an evil spell, twenty-three year old Edessa Scottwood had parts of her memory erased. Gone were questions about the mysterious Anchor Protein her mother was working on or the contact who tried to retrieve the protein after her mother was murdered. The spell had Edessa convinced suicide was her last option. She found herself at the edge of a cliff, and jumped. But instead of meeting death, someone or something saved her.  

In a secluded safe-house, Edessa’s estranged aunt reveals the truth about her lineage—Edessa is a witch like all the women in her family before her. With help from her aunt’s coven and a vampire named Ayden, Edessa will unlock her hidden powers and retrieve lost memories. She realizes the only way to get revenge for what happened to her mother is to uncover the importance of the Anchor protein and its connection to a warrior-like witch who is being hunted by a secretive group of vampires. Edessa will do whatever it takes to find the Anchor Protein before it gets into the wrong hands, even if that means traveling across the world with Ayden, a vampire with dark secrets of his own. Many lives depend on Edessa’s success—witches, vampires, and possibly the whole human race. 

Beta reader? Yes! This wip is currently going through a few more targeted rewrites but I'll be looking for one courageous Beta reader willing to suffer read through my ms sometime near the end of July.  

Thanks to everyone sharing with us today and for stopping by and showing support! DL and I are looking forward to reading all about your projects. 

Oh, and one more thing . . . because it's been a while since my last Friday crackmeupology, I decided to post this--

Have a great weekend everyone!

:D

Get Healthy Bloghop

Good Health: The slowest way to die

I want to thank Stephen Tremp, L. Diane Wolfe, Michael Di Gesu, and Alex Cavanaguh for hosting this blogfest. Eating healthy and trying to live a  healthy lifestyle is something I feel very strongly about and I wish more people would take their health and diet more seriously. Most of what I'm going to say are things that people reading this blog already know, which is why I'll try to keep this short because YOU know what's good for you and what isn't. But what baffles me is despite this knowledge, many people still choose to eat foods that are destructive to their health and the environment. Why? Why do that to yourself? Is it a false sense of security in modern technology that makes you think if you get sick, there's a pill you can swallow that'll make everything all better? You have to know that in the long term this is crazy thinking. Right? On top of that, a lot of people who don't value their health are folks I know, they are people I care about, people I consider my friends, it may even be you and you know what? I'd like you to stick around for as long as possible and in the best possible condition. Seriously.

I grew up on a western diet, and having lived in the States for almost twenty years (I now live in France), I'm convinced that the western diet promotes obesety, lifestyle diseases, and puts the planet at risk. One of the problems is that people on a western diet eat too many animal products (by a factor of 10) and don't eat enough plants. Plus, they eat far too many calories than necessary, and most of these calories are absorbed from foods that promote diseases instead of preventing disease. While I'm mostly concerned about people living in the States, the trend is spreading world-wide and is showing up here in France. 

Bottom line, if you want to live longer, in a healthy body, and in a healthier environment, your eating habits must change. And for change to happen, you must make life changing decisions. Getting on a diet is not going to cut it because diets don't work. If you're serious about improving your health and leaving behind a postive impact, you must be willing to change your behavior and your philophy about food. I've made a lot of changes to my eating habits since moving to France. I buy organic (about 80-90% of everything I buy is organic), we have a vegetable garden, I don't own a microwave and haven't used one in over a decade (shocking I know, but you can survive without one).  I cook our meals and have reduced our consumption of red meat. Plus, we don't eat meat at night. Another important thing is EXERCISE. I just recently started exercising six days a week. Anyway, I'm not going to detail all the aspects of my eating habits because it's not perfect and I'm not perfect however, I will leave you with this one piece of  advice for those willing to change their eating habits and get healthy:

INVEST IN A SIMPLE STEAM COOKER

My steamer and cast iron skillet. 

It doesn't have to be fancy with a lot of buttons that'll eventually break down. Simple is best. A steam cooker is easy and versitile. I  make soups in it, cook vegetables in it, and use it to reheat the occasional dish. This is a picture of mine and I use it practically every daily. For cooking vegetables, all you do is put about 1/4 water in the bottom, place your vegetables in the basket on top, cover, and steam cook your food for a few minutes. Vegetables taste different when they are steamed--they taste good, they taste like vegetables! <===this is a good thing! 

Your health is important people. 

You are important. 

Get healthy.

3Ups Bloghop: Krystal Jane

Click HERE for the complete bloghop list. 

As part of Randi Lee's 3Ups bloghop, I have the pleasure of spotlighting writer and blogger Krystal Jane at The Narcissistic Rose: Writer of the Fantastical, Supernatural and Magical. If you don't know Krystal or Randi, please head on over to their blogs. They are both really nice and great bloggers to get to know. 

I recently met Krystal, but after reading some of her posts, and interacting with her a few times, it's clear I'll be stalking keeping a close eye on her blog.  Krystal's posts are well constructed, and articulate, and I think she has what it takes to become a successful writer. 

First, she's a determined and motivated individual. That quality jumps right off the page and it's those kinds of writers that are going to be successful. 

Another quality I like about Krystal is she's honest about her writing. We all go through our little successes and failures along the road to publication and Krystal isn't afraid to talk about what worked and what didn't work for. The writing community is about sharing and helping each other out and Krystal gets that. :)

I also think it's great that she's willing to experiment with her writing. I wish more writers were like that. In some of her more recent posts, she talks about an experiment she did involving the dreaded query process. She also talked about the breakthrough she had when she her main character convinced her to change POV in her story. What I'm trying to point out here is that experimenting, taking risks, and moving outside our comfort zones, will help us grow and develop as writers, and I think Krystal already knows that. 

I'm happy to have gotten the chance to get to know Krystal better and I want to thank Randi for putting together and hosting this special bloghop. You ladies both rock! Oh, and I can't leave without mentioning one more thing. Krystal has a cat named Hamlet, and that, my friends is purrrr awesome.   (= 

Just A Click Away: The Big Reveal

Thanks to Goth Mom, Mina Lobo and David Macaulay for co-hosting The Big Reveal, a hop-within-a-hop. Today we're revealing our themes for the A-Z Challenge. To find out what everyone else is revealing, click here. wow, that kinda sounds kinky. 

My theme this year: 

The A-Z of 'OLOGIES

For the month of April, I want to celebrate all those crazy people who research the most interesting, bizarre, and obscure things in this world.  Did you know there is a science of stupidity? People actually study stupidity. I'm thinking these researchers are geniuses. Looking at how the world is turning out, they'll always have an endless supply of material to pull from. Just turn on the TV and you'll see what I mean. :p Anyway, this field of study is called . . . _ology. Ha! You'll have to come back in April to find out! Plus, I'll be keeping my posts pretty short this year, I'm talking Matthew MacNish A-Z 2012 short. (; 

Ok, I guess I better go sign up for this bloghop now. I did everything backwards today. *checks shirt*

Top Ten Movie Blogfest

Welcome to Alex Cavanaugh's Top Ten Movie Countdown! Today participants list their favorite movies of all time. This was a hard list to come up with because it often changes. But right now, here are my top 10:

E.T.

This was the first movie to make me cry and the first to get me thinking about extra-terrestrial life and the cosmos.

Fantasia

This Walt Disney production came out in 1940 and required over one thousand artists and technicians to bring to life approximately five hundred characters. Aesthetically speaking, this movie is a feast for the eyes and concert for the ears. The fantastical theme and concept behind Fantasia created a motion picture event that was avant-garde at the time. It pushed the limits of animation and sound production, and was the first feature length animated movie to match animation to classical music in such an extraordinary way.  It changed the way animators applied music to their projects, but unfortunately, the movie got mixed reviews when it came out. Many critics though it pretentious and with WWII underway, along with the tense political climate, many people didn't respond favorably to the movie. 

Years later, Fantasia was re-released and I watched it for the first time in the early 80's. I was young at the time, but it instantly transported me to a world of Sugar Plum faries, dancing mushrooms, cupids, centaurs, evil spirits, pegasi and dancing hippos. I fell in love with all the characters with one exception, the part featuring Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice. I'm not sure why, but I never really liked that segment and always wanted to skip it to see the rest of the movie. Sorry Mickey. Nonetheless, the movie has received many accolades and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." (wikipedia) 

As for me, Fantasia has left a life long impression that I cannot clearly explain, nor do I really want to.   

My Fair Lady

This is the one movie/musical that stands apart from my usual taste in films. It has a lot of sentimental value to me and even though I doubt it would be considered PC to today's standards, I still enjoy the story, the music, and humor. And, I'm not ashamed to say I can sing along to every song and still get a kick out of lines like: 

"Come on Dover, move yer bloomin' arse!"

♫"Women are irrational, that's all there is to that. Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags!"♫

"You oughta be stuffed with nails, you ought!"

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

I remember being blown away when I first saw this movie. What really impressed me was the cinematography and martial arts scenes. Watching Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi sword fight was simply AMAZING. Want to know what else is amazing? Watching Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi fight with lightsabers: 

Princess Bride

Make me laugh, that's all I ask.

This comedy had it all, action, humor, wit, and romance. And to think neither Cary or Mandy had ever had any prior experience sword fighting, yet with a lot of training and determination, managed to pull off some of the best sword fighting caught on screen. "Chapeau."   

IV: A New Hope (1977), 

V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), 

VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).

Three. Epic. Movies. 

The other three made after Return of the Jedi (which I refuse to even name), can be listed under Star Crap. I'm not going to drone on about this series, I'm sure they will be on several lists today. 

Avengers

Loki: "Enough! You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by . . . "

The Hulk: 

*smash, smash, smash, smash, Loki like rag doll* 

"Puny god." 

I really don't need to add anything more to this either because: 

Avengers = Awesome. 

How To Train Your Dragon

I loved everything about this movie from the story, the animation, to the movie score. Normally, I don't like watching movies over and over again (I'm the same way with books) however, I've watched this film several times and never get tired of it. The movie also contains my all time favorite scene of any movie, the part where Hiccup touches Toothless for the first time. That scene was so well done, down to Hiccup's reaction just after making contact. It was perfect and gives me the warm fuzzies every single time. Plus, there were some great lines in the movie too:  

"Excuse me, barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fish-bone!"

Thanks for hosting this fun movie blogfest Alex, off to see what everyone else has on their list! 

(:  

A-Z Challenge: Why You Should Join, What to Expect & How to Survive

This is my second year participating in the A-Z Challenge. I had such a blast last year that not only am I back for more, but I'm also part of the Ninja Minions team who will be helping Alex J. Cavanaugh, one of the many awesome co-hosts this year. Anyway, I'd like to give you some reasons why you should join the A-Z challenge (if you haven't already). But I'd also like to share some of the mistakes I made last year so hopefully you can avoid them and make your own. :P 

For those who may not know, the A-Z Challenge is the brainchild of blogger/writer Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. It is a yearly blogging challenge where participants commit to posting six days a week during the month of April (Sunday's are off days). Participants are free to blog about what ever they choose however, there is one rule to follow. During the challenge, each day will correspond to a different letter in the alphabet starting with A on April 1st, all the way to Z on April 30th. Topics posted need only to begin with the corresponding letter. For more information and where to sign up, go to the official A-Z webpage HERE.

Why you should join the A-Z Challenge:

• Build your platform and fan base. This is particularly important for people like writers, artists, performers, etc.

• Get/maintain a certain amount of exposure. Important for new bloggers but also for those who have been around a few years.

• Networking. Via the challenge you will meet other bloggers in your area of interest. Remember, the people you meet today, could very well be the people you network with tomorrow. 

• Personal challenge. It's not always easy posting six days a week, but in the end, it's a great feeling knowing you can do it.

• The challenge sparks new ideas and gets your creative mind into high gear. Several writers have gone on to publish their A-Z posts into book form. 

• Visiting other blogs will give you ideas on how to improve your own site and blog design.

• Meet people, build/strengthen friendships. This is by far the best part of the challenge in my opinion. Last year during A-Z I met people from all over the world, several of which I now consider to be my good friends. There's something special and enriching about having the power to exchange dialogue with people in different countries and foraging real friendships. 

What to Expect:

• Late nights, red eyes. It's a given. :P

• Followers. During the challenge you will get an influx of visitors and new followers to your blog. :D  Don't hesitate to follow back blogs that fit your general interest. 

• Comments. This can be quite simple. When someone takes the time to leave you a comment, return the courtesy by commenting on their blog. You also have the option of e-mailing them (if they're not a noreply-commenter), but remember, the idea behind this blog challenge is not only daily posting, it's also visiting other blog sites. 

• Captcha. Please consider disabling word verification if you have it turned on, or at least turn it off during the challenge. Word verification is a pain in the rear when you're trying to comment on lots of blogs. It slows down the whole commenting process when you're having to retype the screwed up letters and out of focus numbers three times because you can't, for the life of you, make them out. If you don't know how to disable word verification, Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic has a step by step pictorial tutorial on how to do it HERE. 

• May downtime. There tends to be a slight dip in blogging activity in May after the challenge. Many bloggers are exhausted and need time to recharge. But things usually pick right back up in June and July.

How to Survive: drink lots of caffeine :P

• START NOW. Especially new bloggers, start writing your posts today! Last year I had nothing prewritten and having to write my posts on the fly was CRAZY. Not impossible mind you, but not the easiest way to do things. Anyway, I learned my lesson and have already pre-written about a dozen posts, which is great because it frees up time for me to visit other blogs.

• Have a theme. Of course you don't have to have a theme. Some people are great at writing random posts on the fly. But if you're not one of those people, then think of a theme and stick to it. Having a theme last year is about the only thing I did right. It kept me from wasting even more time trying to figure out what the hell to write that day. 

• Keep posts SHORT. Last year, my blog posts averaged 420 words and in my opinion, that's too long. Some were even over 700 words. Remember, not only will you have to write these posts, but the thousand + people signed up will be visiting and commenting on blogs. If your posts are too long, say over 250 words, many people will end up skimming them. Best to keep posts short and sweet. 

• Don't play hard to find. Make sure the link to your blog site is available in your profile. Some people even add their blog address at the end of their comments to make them easier to find. 

• Be nice. If you can't be nice, move onto another blog. The comment box is not the place to be an asshat.

• And last but not least: HAVE FUN! Think of this as a month long block party packed with talented, creative, kindhearted, and knowledgeable folks all just wanting to hang out and meet other bloggers like yourself.     

Ready to sign up now? Good, now go HERE.

****

Now for those of you who have already signed up for the A-Z Challenge, *chest bump :P* Mina Lobo at Some Dark Romantic is co-hosting a special bloghop called The Big Reveal. On March 31st, people signed up will reveal their theme for the A-Z Challenge. So go check it out if you've got an A-Z theme brewing. (; 

  

Love . . . The Second Time Around Bloghop

This is a bloghop so please click HERE 
to read the other entries. (:

The Love…The Second Time Around Celebration dovetails with the theme of JL Campbell's soon-to-be-released novel, Retribution. I'm helping her celebrate by submitting a story of people taking another shot at a relationship. There will be voting and prizes, and there is still time to submit, so go HERE for more information. 

(The following is my flash fiction piece that takes place on an alternate Earth. I also have to admit that I exceeded the 500 word count limit and understand if this disqualifies me. I didn't have the time to edit out 100+ words but still hope you enjoy the entry nonetheless.)

****

"Eighty-four days," she said with her back still turned to him. "That is how long you have been gone. I didn't think you would ever return."

He closed the heavy wooden door to their bedchamber before speaking. "I'm sorry my love, but it was necessary. I was furious at you and afraid I would destroy the entire castle. I needed time away to think."

"Where did you go?" she prodded.

"To Sherwood for advice." 

"Sherwood!" Heat rose into her cheeks as she spun to look at him for the first time in weeks. "You spent all that time with Robyn Hode and his Merry Men doing . . . I don't even want to imagine what, while I sat here all alone, waiting for you and wondering if you'd ever come back to me?”

“I didn't leave you alone, Guinevere. I made sure Sir Lancelot stayed to keep you safe.” 

“Well Sir Lancelot proved to be a very kind and gentile knight with an enormous heart, more than I can say for his King.”

“Do you still not understand the gravity of the situation? What you did has damaged my reputation and caused tremendous confusion.”

"Oh Arthur, you are so melodramatic. It's just a sword and I'm sure Merlin can fix it.” 

“It’s not just a sword,” he growled. It's Excalibur, and Excalibur is not supposed to be pink!” He slid the weapon from its sheath to demonstrate his point. Not that he needed to. The bright pink glow that engulfed their bedchamber was a painful reminder of a spell gone wrong. Ashamed, Guinevere turned her gaze away from the sword, but the pink glow cast its light onto everything she laid her eyes on. "Tell me how can I possibly be taken seriously by any man, if I am to charge into battle wielding this?”

Guinevere fought the tears that threatened to flee down her face. “I don't know what went wrong,” she admitted. “I followed Merlin's instructions perfectly and then asked the question word for word of what you loved most in the world. The spell was supposed to make the sword reflect your true desires."

"So that explains your odd question that nigh."

"Yes, but that . . . " Guinevere said, gesturing to a weapon that had now lost all prestige and dignity, "was not the surprise I had intended. In my mind, the spell was supposed to garnish the hilt or engrave words of wisdom into the blade. I wanted to make it truly unique to where no man could ever refute the true ownership of the sword."

Shaking his head, King Arthur slid the sword back in its sheath and the room regained its normal color. "Do you know what I thought of when you asked that question?" he said. Guinevere eyes widened. She turned to Arthur and shook her head. "I thought of you the night of my birthday. You surprised me with that little pink, lace-up French corset." Guinevere cupped her hand over her mouth but couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her throat. "I guess I should be grateful the whole damn thing didn't turn into a giant undergarment."

Laughter erupted from both Guinevere and Arthur and they drank in the sound with relief and healing. She ran into his arms and he received her delicate frame with a feeling of joy he hadn't felt in eighty-four days.

Looking up at her King Guinevere said, “Let’s go to Merlin right now, I’m sure he can fix Excalibur.”

King Arthur smiled as he traced the contour of her nose and lips with his finger. "Do you still have that corset?" he asked.

Guinevere bit her lower lip and said, "I do."

"Then I think Merlin can wait until tomorrow."

(;

IWSG

Lately, I've been insecure about a lot of things . . . one of them is that I'm afraid I've written a manuscript 15 years too late. When it's all said and done, I'll have something that no one is going to want to touch because the paranormal genre is saturated and I haven't brought anything new or ground breaking to the table. So, there you have it . . . I'm insecure . . . or maybe I'm just now facing the facts and not liking what I see. And yet, there are couple people who believe in my ms and honestly, that scares me a bit. I don't want to disappoint them . . . I wish I could feel the same way they do. Why can't I?  

Overcoming Adversity

Today, I'm happy to participate in the "Overcoming Adversity" Bloghop, hosted by writer and blogging friend, Nick Wilford. Nick has asked us to write a piece that revolves around the theme, overcoming adversity. The entries will be compiled into an anthology with all proceeds going to his stepson's college fund. Nick's stepson, Andrew, has cerebral palsy and hopes to attend a specialist college in Scotland, but reaching this dream has been difficult. It is through actions like this that Nick and his family hope to generate awareness and get Andrew the education he needs. We truly hope they achieve their goal.  

I decided to write a flash fiction piece that's a smidgen over 500 words, sorry Nick (;  Not sure why, but this is a character I often find myself writing about. Anyway, hope you enjoy. (: 

****
The Final Test

Krato stood at the pinnacle of a skyscraper that dominated the skyline of a densely populated city. Night had fallen and his eyes scanned the swirl of color in the streets below. Krato had been sent to this planet before though under different circumstances. Tonight however, felt different and his uneasiness usually presaged adversity. Sensing a presence behind him, Krato steadied himself.

“Are you aware this is your final test?” the Perion Commander asked as he stepped out from the shadows.

Krato kept his eyes on the nightlife below, he knew better than to look directly at his Commander. Ten years in the forging camps had taught him many things about pain, suffering, and proper procedure.

“Yes Commander, I am aware,” Krato replied.

“And are you also aware that should you fail, you will be deported to IO66?” the Commander said. Krato clenched his teeth but held his stance. IO66 was a drilling colony on planet Denobola, roughly 3 galactic years away from Krato’s former home planet. Only trainees labeled as unworthy were sent to IO66, and they never returned.

  

“Commander, failing is not an option,” Krato stated. He had spent a decade weaponizing his body with the conviction that all the sacrifices he made would culminate into this one defining moment. At last, Krato would gain access to the Universal Guard with rank, respect, and power.    

“Good. Everything you see in this city, the infrastructure, the landscape, the inhabitants, all of it, I want destroyed," the Commander ordered.

For the first time in ten years, Krato hesitated. “Commander, you want me to extinguish thousands of innocent lives?”

“You will obey me or face deportation!”

Over the past decade, Krato had traveled to planets throughout the universe and taken the lives of many. Never did he experience doubt for all his targets had committed themselves to evil and destruction. This however, was different. These humans were innocent. Doubt suddenly consumed him as he tried to sort through the confusion of conflicting emotions.

“As your Commander, I order you to destroy the entire city!”

Krato’s body tensed and his mind warred against his Commander’s orders. This was not right; Krato was opposing the code and everything he was trained to do. Krato smacked the back of his left hand with his right, causing a small patch of skin to become transparent. Beneath the epidermis, a diamond shaped touchpad appeared. Against everything he knew to be true and just in the universe, Krato entered in the destruction codes. Both his hands charge until the power of the stars could be felt at his fingertips.  This is wrong. The words boomeranged through his mind, but still he continued as ordered. He raised his arms out toward the city. Plasma filaments began to spark in jagged arcs from his hands, but when the moment arrived to amplify the energy and release it onto the city, he simply could not do it. He lowered his arms and his hands went cold.

“Commander, I cannot do this and I understand the consequences of my actions.”

“You cannot or will not?” the Commander probed.

“I will not and now I have failed. Take me to IO66.”  

“No Krato, you have passed.”