Stars Burn Cold
There have been so many, many nightmares, but Terra was the worst. Of all the battlefields, on all the worlds that I had piloted my Questoris Magaera through, the screams had…
True Believers
The throng of prisoners huddled together in the afternoon haze, drenched in sweat and caked with dirt. It had been hours since they were marched to the Imperial camp, but…
A Peaceful Transfer of Power
Eminence Reaves looked out his window at the plaza below, the glasscrete pane reflecting his age-worn, but not unkindly, visage over the assembled. They’d packed in every space at the…
One Last Push
One last push for atonement, one last push for Vostroya, one last push for the Emperor. The smog is thinner than it once was, the manufactories still roar with the strike…
Ashes of the Faithless
More artillery shells screamed in, and their impact was echoed by the cries of the fallen.Sorvane crouched behind the scorched remains of a Predator tank. The vox was full of…
Is Rogal Dorn the One with Wings?
‘Rogal Dorn is absolutely the one with the wings,’ said Dmitri.Howls of protest erupted from Governor Lorenzo and his entourage as though they had been struck by an overseer’s electrolash.…
Never Going Back
Sulun Ro took in the lantern-lit town of Gasakai from his hilltop perch and was content. He had fled, screaming into the void of space after the fire of Horus’…
Fast Fiction XXIII
The Emperor had been interred within the Golden Throne, the Loyalist Legions were battered and leaderless, and the Traitor Legion shad fled into the Eye of Terror after their failed Siege of Terra. But the war was far from over… the years that followed were known as The Scouring.
Fast Fiction XXII
Featured Story The Featured Story is the grand winner of this theme’s contest. They are chosen by a judging panel including Cold Open Stories Creative Director and Community Judges. She Persists Official Selection…
She Persists
Celes’ chipped fingernails dig into her patchwork overalls, bunching the threadwork into small, starchy peaks. ‘Look at me.’Her tired eyes rise.Overseer Stry-C9 glowers back. From their throned console, the adept need…