“It’s not getting any better,” Efi said, offhand, to Mavra’s gene-mother. “I’m no terraformer, but I know the theory at least. We’ve got sandstorms and the climate’s heated up. It’s shifted, but not in the right direction.” She added, “You know, the last ship brought in pallets of tile.”

Mavra’s gene-mother raised an eyebrow.

“Ceramic tile, fused-glass and mosaic-work in slabs, the sort of thing you line a fountain with.”

There was water, far below them; the Dome settlement sat atop one of the major aquifers on the planet.

***

Update: Shipwright, Captain, Figurehead is now a completed novella, currently with the second set of readers. This week’s excerpt is the opening lines of “In the Breath of the Groves and the Brightness of the Stars,” a short story set in the Ship’s Heart universe.

Weekend Writing Warriors offers a selection of eight-sentence excerpts from many different writers. For the full selection, see here.