SKaeth self edited Space Cows

[SKaeth]

Link to read: https://skaeth.com/2019/11/14/writer-in-motion-space-cows-2-self-edits/

"This is where you'll be going.? The Whale?s fin indicates the Beacon lighting the screen.
You give a show of attention. You aren?t going, after all?you just got back from a mission.
"We'll need you, Cow."
Good thing Cow faces are naturally docile. You flick your ears instead of giving voice to your frustration, especially when the Whale continues.
"And a Wolf."
Your forestomachs clench at the thought of working with a Wolf.
?Investigate the Beacon and come back.? The Whale?s voice follows you out of Command.
As you head toward the Drop Room, your mind races. The Beacon is some kind of call for help, but from whom, and why? And why is the Whale sending you, instead of a team of Wolves? Wolves are cunning and work well together. Just not so well with others.
A Wolf joins you in the Drop Room, and you stare at the controls rather than look at him. You breathe deep. You?re ready for anything.
Or so you think.
Splash! You flounder in the marsh, a bellow escaping your throat. Beside you, the Wolf struggles, the Matt clamped in his jaws. He goes under, then fights to the surface. Your stomach twists. If you lose the Matt, you?ll never get home.
?Climb on my back,? you grumble.
The Wolf pants harshly as his claws dig into your hide. You try not to flinch. What other tricks might the Wolves play if you act like prey? You don?t want to find out.
The squishy mud of the marsh sucks at all four hooves as you slog on, the Wolf lying on your back. When you finally meet dry land, the Wolf drops to his own feet and shakes himself. You do likewise as you stand back up on two legs. He holds the Matt, but his eyes are wide and ringed with white. Is he? frightened?
?Come on, we need to find the Beacon,? you say.
He shivers, eyes never leaving the marsh. Your nostrils flare as you walk uphill, where you can see and smell more.
?We?re stuck here, you stupid Cow.?
You stop, turning back to him, and wait for the next words to fall from his muzzle, dreading and hating them before they?re even born.
His ears flatten. ?I hung on to it. But the water? Just look! Do you see any lights?? He thrusts the Matt in your face.
Your hooves stamp on the dirt, reassuring yourself that there is something solid in the universe, safe places in this nightmare.
?We can?t get back.? The Wolf?s voice is full of bitterness.
?We?ll figure it out. The Beacon is still out there.?
?They?re not going to send anyone after us. We had the only working Matt.?
You shake your head. You slide backwards on the mud, but continue up the hill.
?We?re stuck here!? he shouts, as if you hadn?t understood.
?I?m still going to do my duty. I may be just a stupid Cow, but I?m not afraid of hard work. I?ll figure out a way home on my own if I have to.?
After all, you were given a mission: investigate the Beacon and come back.
And that's exactly what you intend to do.
Once you?re halfway up the hill, the Wolf appears beside you like a ghost, and you Do. Not. Spook. No, that quick breathing is all exertion. You lumber on to the top.
The Beacon lights the sky above a settlement, crisp against the ocean, with a tall metal fence rusted by the salt air. The gate creaks open to allow you in. Settlers fill the space, their physiology eerily similar to the monsters from the previous planet. You shiver. You can?t help it, even though the Wolf gives you a toothy grin.
?The Wolves are here!? The person who opened the gate flaps hairless arms. ?And they brought?? He furrows his brow, ??food??
?Might as well,? the Wolf says. ?Since I can?t return to my ship.?
The gate clangs shut, displaying a bared-tooth wolf carved on the inside. Terror slams through you, electrifying all your nerves, but you can?t be prey. Not with that look in the Wolf?s eyes.
?But the Beacon!? you shout nonsensically.
?Yes, we lit it as instructed when the water purifier broke. See?? The person leads you to a large rusty machine?a water desalinator.
?We?re supposed to help you.? You stamp, desperate for time. ?At least let me try to fix it.?
?I suppose you can have until evening,? the settlers agree.
You crouch by the machine. The nearby marsh must be fed by freshwater, so there must be a nearby source. Even if not, there are other ways of getting salt out of water. But you?re trapped inside a fence with people and a Wolf all looking at you like dinner. A wire catches your eye. As dusk settles on the settlement, you realize: the desalinator may never work again, but it could power the Matt, now that the sun has dried it.
?Time?s up: the people are hungry, and it?ll take a while to cook you,? the Wolf says.
You finish mashing the new wire with the old to splice it, using the exterior of the Matt to shape it.
The Wolf?s paw lands on your shoulder. ?What are you??
?Not such a stupid Cow.? You keep the Matt well away from him. ?I can go home anytime.?
?Let?s go then!? the Wolf?s eyes gleam.
?You were going to let them eat me!?
?Come on, Cow, it was just a joke.?
?Fine then. I have a joke of my own.?
As he opens his mouth, you press the button, Matt?ing up to the ship.

After your report, the Whale agrees with your assessment, and together you send a message, both to the Wolf on the surface and those on the ship. The Wolf can rejoin his pack? after he turns the Wolf carving into a Cow.

[Grim Dreamer]

Way to put that wolf in his place!

[Thuy]

What can I say? You already know how much I love Space Cows! I'm so impressed at how you nailed every one of your revision goals, and your process was especially fun to read. I enjoyed seeing how you added all the missing pieces of the story first, then proceeded to trim down to only the necessary bits. And it worked out spectacularly! That comeuppance at the end was particularly satisfying. In ya face, Wolf!

[Fabierien]

Woot Woot SPace cows!!! Can we get an animated series ordered?