Patin

In this first issue of Tales from TOMORROW you will enjoy two original Science Fiction short stories (a total of 11,000 words) by John R. Patin:

Passengers - 4,100 words
     Humanity had just built its first starship, but it seems version 1.0 always has a few bugs.
          *** and ***
Aid Station - 6,900 words
     When a retreating mankind dug in on the strategic world they named Blackrock, most were little interested in the discovery that someone had been there before them; someone who had blasted the wretched place into an airless cinder in an ancient war. Humanity had its own war to fight against the implacable NeDan and it looked like the outpost on Blackrock was about to become an Alamo. The past would have to wait. Or would it?

An excerpt follows...
     With each blast a man died, his passing marked by a fleeting ripple of pressure and sound echoing down from the levels above. Hand-to-hand combat with an eight-limbed monster is normally a losing proposition, but you can come out even if you do it with a short-fused satchel charge strapped to your back. That equation worked out poorly, however, when your Enemy bred his assault troops in vats and cared not for their loss as long as victory was achieved. The tactic was working. Having reached a furious crescendo, the explosions were coming less frequently now. The desperate battle was almost over.

From the opening of 'Aid Station'. Did the past hold the key to mankind's future?