Okay gentlemen, since another fellow wanted to post his writing in here, I will too. Before we start, I'd like to state that these are edited a little bit for safety reasons. Most, if not all of my writings contain content that wouldn't be allowed here. So, assuming you like my writing, and if you want to know what the non-safe bits are about, just PM me and we can talk about it more. So, I'll start off with my most recently finished piece. Siren in the Dark [spoiler]Davidson sat amidst a group of people, all sitting down in a cramped elevator. He, like all the others were staring out the window as the orbital elevator traveled downwards towards the icy world below them. The window was made for the sole purpose of showing newcomers the world they were landing on to work. It wasn't for the purpose to break people's wills or anything. In fact, it was the opposite. Through the large viewport, and between breaks in enormous, blue-green tinged clouds, sat the world known as Tarkaven. Specifically speaking, it wasn't quite a world all on its own. Hanging in the sky, like an immense Christmas ornament, sat the gas giant Tarkaven orbited, Genlaic. It glowed a beautiful orange and red in the sky, and its massive ice rings dominated the view. And beyond that, was the lonely old blue star they orbited, putting out dim rays of light, which bounced off of Genlaic, providing Tarkaven with much needed light. Below on Tarkaven, the landscape began to form as the orbital elevator continued its descent. Everything glittered like crystals across the landscape, and small greenish-blue forests stood out against the vast ice plains that made up over 70% of the planet. Tarkaven was known as one of the most beautiful worlds known to man, and, sitting in his seat, Davidson could see why. The light of the dim blue star, combined with the view of Genlaic in the sky, and the icy world that lay below, was something else. Far off in the distance, Davidson could make out one of the galaxies own great phenomenon's Tarkaven was extremely cold, so far away from its sad little star. But it was rich with oxygen. So rich, in fact, that for a time, Humanity had all of its eyes on this world. Humans felt energized here, and the slightly lower gravity helped immensely as well. But, there was a hidden trump card. The plant life, and it seemed, the oceans, hundreds of miles below frozen ice, released a unique compound into the air during certain seasons, which if breathed in enough, was lethal to humans. But, it also had a very, very special effect on this world. When in great quantities and cloud forms, the particles rubbed together and great static electricity was generated, resulting in huge, planet wide thunderstorms. When the electricity traveled through these particles, it melted them, nearly instantly. But, due to the brief nature of the lightening, and how extremely cold Tarkaven was, the heat died out in only a few milliseconds, and the path of the water vapor the lightening had taken and created, froze. Frozen lightening as they called it, arced out in great strikes miles long across the alien sky, and then shattered into ice, falling to the world below. It was such a beautiful event. A great blue flash of light, and in the instant that followed, a mile long, arcing column of deep blue-green ice formed, and then collapsed, falling to pieces on the world below. And right now, a few hundred kilometers away, was one of these brilliant storms. Davidson and the others watched, in awed silence, at the beautiful event before them. It couldn't be described in words. He doubted, that even one of Earth's ancient artists or painters could find the right way to express what was happening before their very eyes. And, finally, as the elevator descended below the clouds, the huge viewing window went a shade of black, and the face of a man appeared, greeting everyone in the elevator. He was a middle aged man, wearing an ancient miner's hat and headlight, and wore protective goggles over his eyes. He smiled as he watched the crew before speaking. "Hello everyone! I am your caretaker and guide, Mr. Devski. I am the A.I. that oversees this operation and am responsible for all occupants on this facility. As we descend, are there any questions?" A man in the elevator raised his hand. A tough looking man, well built like a rock, but short for a standard Human, practically grunted out, "The company say's I'm employed for a five year contract. S' that true?" The A.I. nodded. "That is correct. All of you should have been aware of this when you signed up. If any of you are having second doubts or thoughts, now would be the time to speak up." The crowd in the elevator stayed silent. "Now then, I would like to lay out some guidelines before we continue further. Today, we will not be doing any work. I will go with you through the procedures for mining equipment, and get you acquainted with your new home for the next five years." The crowd in the elevator began talking to one another, and the burly man, although looking intimidating, motioned over to Davidson with a great smile over his features, tugging on his long braided beard. "Oy' then, what're ye' here for? Ye don't look like the mining type." Davidson smiled back. "I came here for my wife and kids. We need the money. This job pays well. So I took it. Little bit long on the shifts though right? My little girl and boy will be five years older when I get back." The great man laughed, nodding his head. "Aye, I know yer type. Name's Brendus. You stick wit' me friend, n' I'll show ya to yer feet." Davidson simply nodded. "So, what are you here for?" Brendus smiled. "Been doin' this all me life. Aye, saw the pay and signed up. 'S a mighty fine world, no?" "It's beautiful. I don't know why they never colonized." The AI suddenly spoke through the crowd, drawing the attention of everyone. "Mr. Davidson, I believe this world was a case of disappointment and, technical problems. The first settlers that landed here failed to detect the particles in the atmosphere because they landed during the long winter. Come springtime a few years later, they all died save for a few. Interest quickly died out in the world, and the colony was left to ruin. Eventually, the current corporation you are now employed to, bought the mining rights for this world." Brendus spoke up with a great chuckle. "Aye, I'm no expert on things, but ye think 'S world be bad for business, no?" "On the contrary Mr. Brendus, it is quite lucrative. Far below the ice in the oceans, lies great mineral wealth in the sea. Much of the ocean floor below is kept warm by volcanic vents, which produce a near endless supply of geo-thermal power and rich soil. Likewise, the oxygen rich ice of this world is crucial for space stations and arid worlds that need water." Brendus nodded, stroking his beard once more. The A.I., Devski, started taking more questions from other people, while Davidson and Brendus simply remained quiet, listening. Day 2 Davidson steadied himself as he used his energy lance to cut through the ice, which was carefully marked out in a grid pattern, as Brendus was working on the great grappler which he used to pull the ice block free, and then load onto an automated platform which would travel back to base to offload the ice onto the orbital elevator. The job was hard work, lasting from sunrise until sunset. But it was at the very least, a beautiful world to work on. The frozen world had a stark beauty to it, perfectly clean. The first day had been hard as well, as the bases A.I. had shown everybody the ropes. But the hardest was the suits. Everyone had to get the hang of huge, bulky mining suits, which insulated and protected them from the extreme temperatures of Tarkaven, as well as being able to operate in dual environments. Brendus had been assigned to ice work up on the surface while more experienced workmen took a several mile long trip through ice to the ocean below, to operate on the machinery down there. Brendus was, by most standards, a professional in his line of work, but chose to stick with Davidson instead, insisting that he work the ice fields with him. Brendus was right as well, and the work was back breaking. But what Davidson didn't like the most, was what was required to operate the suits. Rather than breath oxygen, everyone who donned a suit and went outside, had a liquid injected into their lungs, allowing them to breathe water instead of pure air. It was actually cheaper, and easier to use this method than take air and filter it for particles from Tarkaven. And, it had more uses as well. The water of Tarkaven was oxygen rich as well, and had less particles to remove, but above all, provided a safety feature to the suits. Although they were very, very heavily armoured, in case of rupture, the water that their suits were filled with from head to toe was injected with a chemical, that when it came into contact with cold, cryogenically froze the occupant.[/spoiler]