Welcome to the cereal serial version of Octave of Stars! Episodes will release every Monday and Thursday. If you’re finding this story for the first time, be sure to start at Episode 01 for maximum comprehension, or check out The Index for all available Episodes.
Hello everyone! Thanks for reading this far through the story. If you’ve been here since the beginning, you’re amazing. I wanted to share two quick updates that might be of interest. One is the milestone that the story is a little over halfway through! All the rest of the installments are scheduled and ready to go.
The other is that signed paperback copies of Octave are still available exclusively in the ZMT Bookstore. Not only can you not find them anywhere else, but you can get one today for only $10 USD, shipped. Own your very own copy and read the rest of the story before its released here! Plus you’ll find content not published anywhere else…
I highly recommend you read this on the Substack website or app, as this serial is a multimedia experience. You’ll find many audio embeds below that score the story, and they won’t function as intended in your email client. Only one track can be playing at a time, so when you reach the next one just start it and they won’t overlap. If you like the music you hear, please consider supporting the artists as well.
Octave of Stars Official Theme Song:
Cityfires came out with this little gem recently, and since so much of the rest of the story is already scored by 30XX, this fits in perfectly as the official theme. Enjoy!
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"Hah! Royal flush!" Yin threw his cards down on the table.
Rand shook his head, then set his hand down, face up. "You win."
"Why wouldn't I?" Yin said happily, picking up the handful of coins in the center of the round table.
The Earth Star took a sip of his beer, gone warm by now but still alright. Night had already fallen; the large window at the end of the hallway was dark aside from the few lights he could see at the bottom of the surrounding streets. He had changed out of his battle-worn garb from the previous day into light gray wool trousers and jacket, and a dark gold shirt and vest. His shined leather shoes were on his feet for once, although he felt the odd sense of restlessness which came with that. He wanted to go outside and walk across the lawn barefoot. That always made him feel better.
Yin drained the last of his beer. "Good game, that was fun as always."
"Are you cheating again?" Rand said, his voice low.
Yin stepped back, spreading his hands and pointing his fingers to himself. "Who, me? Couldn't be. Why would you think that?"
"How about the time you hid a little needle in your sleeve and poked holes in the cards you wanted?" He sat back and smirked. "Or when you shaved off little bits of the edges, as we were playing, even though it was a brand-new pack?"
"Don't remember that," Yin said, grinning. "You must have me confused with someone else."
"Yeah, someone else who keeps a whole knife set in their coat."
Yin pulled two such knives out, one of which was curved, the other double-edged. "Hey, gotta be prepared, right?" He hid the sharp things, then buttoned up his black jacket and smoothed down his sleeves. "Alright, I'm gonna go downstairs and check out the party. We don't have to worry about her, she's been asleep for a while now." He gestured to the door behind them.
"I think I'll stay," Rand replied, picking up the book from the table beside him. "Just in case."
"Oh come on, Rand," Yin said, playfully punching his shoulder, then wincing. "How often do we get to live it up like this? There's free food, and booze, and plenty of fine ladies."
"Is that your order of priority?"
"Sure, why not?" He put his radio earpiece in, the cord running down his collar into the pocket of his jacket.
"No thanks," Rand said with finality. "Unless Mr. Frost calls me, I'll be up here." He tapped his own radio, snug in his ear.
"Suit yourself," Yin shrugged and turned toward the elevator. "I'll try and bring back something wrapped in bacon," he called over his shoulder. "I know it's your favorite!"
Yin passed his keycard over the elevator pad, then let go and watched as it zipped back on its cord into his pocket. He was glad he only had to make that mistake once. Inside, he leaned against the wall in a rakish manner in case anyone of the female persuasion needed to join his descent. He was ready, too, as he had scrubbed all that stupid ink off his face and hands, and was looking sharper than usual in his completely black outfit. The elevator ride was so boring, but he didn't have much alternative. There were so many stairs down to the ballroom on the first floor, and he wasn't allowed to rappel down the stairwell on cable hooks while there were normal guests staying. Which was pretty much all the time, so it was just plain boring.
He wished it hadn't been his day off when the enemy Stars had gotten inside the old warehouse they used to always keep subjects in, before they set up the hotel for it. He would have loved to have some action for once, instead of Rand always getting the fun assignments. It was so unfair, he almost kicked the wall of the elevator. Hopefully, he could still find some fun tonight.
The elevator door opened and Yin strode out into the lobby, sure as anything. His fellow employees, both uniformed and not, gave him a discreet nod as he strolled past. The guests looked right past him, which was fine by him. Part of his job was to blend in to the background, so the black suit served double duty for this purpose. A distinguished gentleman in a suit coat and tails led his glamorous lady partner out of the ballroom as Yin entered it. He knew at once he made the right choice to come down.
The band in the corner was in the middle of a jazz era, swing-style song, and it suited his mood just fine. He turned to the left, into the section of the room nearest the bar, ambling past the young, clean-cut CEOs, judging their style and coordination of their outfits. The young ladies accompanying them, he judged according to entirely different criteria. Yin stepped up to the bar and ordered the most expensive bourbon. The fellow behind the counter gave him the total, so Yin pulled open his lapel to show the Frost Enterprises badge pinned there.
Tiějiàng Yin, Senior Security Officer. He was especially proud of how they had managed to get the accent marks on there. It allowed him to make fun of people who pronounced his last name 'Tie-jee-ang' instead of 'Tee-eh-jee-ang.' The marks were right there, come on. Beside the name was a picture of him giving one of his best looks. He called that one 'Shining Fancy'. The bartender didn't seem impressed, but made the drink anyway.
Refreshment in hand, Yin left the bar area and the up-and-comers securing their futures. No one here seemed at all suspicious, everyone was keeping their eyes on their drinks or their conversation partners. Nothing to worry about. Next was the assortment of tables where the older business magnates sat with their wives and for the catered feast. Lots of white-clothed tables were lined up together, boasting all kinds of fine eating. Uniformed attendants stood behind and made sure the flow from the kitchen was maintained.
A heavily made-up lady with a brown nest of hair on her head and a diamond necklace was calling for a waiter as Yin approached. Apparently she needed a knife, so Yin smirked and slipped a chunk of metal out of his sleeve, quickly flattening and honing the edge. He almost rubbed his finger along the keen blade, then remembered it was supposed to be for food, not to mention how suspicious it was.
"Here you are, madam," he said to her, extending the knife. It was short, about the same size as a steak knife, but without a covered handle, just a single piece of metal.
"Oh, thank you young man."
"My pleasure, but be careful," Yin said with a wink. "It's quite sharp." He gave her his sharpest smile as he leaned away from the table and sidled over to the food. The lady examined the odd tool and picked up her fork, then gave a little start as she cut right through the seared steak as though it were a puff pastry.
Yin walked up and down the food line, wanting to find anything remotely Chinese so he could make fun of how unauthentic it was. He had to settle with mostly Italian pastas, steaks, and appetizers. Soon his plate was piled with herbed breads, canapés and slices of meats and cheeses. He glanced around the room to find the prettiest lady to sit next to, and was so distracted he walked right by the tall blonde in the breezy rose dress and her Hispanic companion in the dark gray wool suit. They were staring very pointedly out the window.
She twisted her finger through the stones on her necklace. "You're tellin' me that's got regular beer, tomato juice, and clam juice?"
"I know, it sounds gross, but it's really good. In fact, I'm kinda surprised they even had any."
"That's 'cause it sounds so disgustin' nobody wants it. They'll never hafta worry about runnin' out." She raised her glass of red wine to her mouth with a gloved hand and took a sip.
"I'm surprised you didn't get whiskey for yourself."
"Cain't drink whiskey with a dress like this. This's a red wine dress, for certain."
All clear, said the voice in their heads. The voice that sounded a lot like a certain high school student.
Gayle exhaled, letting go of her necklace. "That'd be Yin," she whispered, keeping her glass close to her face, "Frost's other right-hand man. Guess that makes 'im his left-hand man? Anyhow, he and I've tussled before, so he'll definitely recognize me. Maybe I should stay outside."
I'll keep an eye out for you, Gayle, Azalea's voice said. Lumina, can you give me the other half of the room?
Certainly, dear, one moment. Her accent was even more pronounced through this mode of communication.
Ash was still getting used to the radios. It sounded like they were far away, or on a bad cell phone call, and he had to remember not to ask them to speak up. Right then, both Azalea and Lumina spoke to each of them at the same time, like a big group call, so sometimes he got confused as to who was speaking to whom. But not as to who was speaking. He realized he had ended up with three allies who sounded so completely unlike one another; Gayle with her slow, Southern drawl; Azalea with her rapid youthful speech; and Lumina's quiet, British manner.
"You are dressed up quite a bit, he might not notice you at first," Ash whispered back.
Gayle leveled her gaze at him. "Soon as I open my mouth, everyone notices me."
"That's true. But he doesn't know me yet. Or does he?"
Only one way to find out, Azalea said.
"I guess we'll take our chances." Ash took another sip of his cocktail. "Alright, let's do another round of mingling and we'll meet over on the other side, by that big plant in… ten minutes?
"Sounds good to me. Hang on, I don't have a watch, so just show up over there and I'll come by?"
"Okay." Ash turned and strolled away from the window, more confident now that Rand was nowhere to be found, as the towering fellow would have ejected them right away. His free hand was in his pocket, feeling the ridges in the grip of his closed multi-tool. Gayle's keys were in his other pocket, which were suitably minimalistic, just the car and house and two other plain ones. Her wallet was in one of the pockets of his jacket, but her phone was safely locked in the car. No need for that tonight when they could just play the telephone game in their heads.
Lumina's voice soothed him. You needn't worry all that much, dears. The worst that could happen is they would simply ask you to leave. None of them would try anything dramatic with so many people around. Ash hummed twice to signal his understanding, while casting a glance over at the table Mr. Frost had been commanding for the last hour, getting everyone seated with him to laugh at his jokes and buy more company stock. Neither Yin nor Rand were hovering around him, so either Frost wasn't concerned about security, which was unlikely, or there were other security personnel somewhere else.
Ash, Azalea said urgently, Yin is looking around the room again, turn toward the band, quick!
He did so, stepping between narrow tables so he could keep his back to the correct position on his way to the food line. Ash got himself another appetizer plate, all of this espionage was making him hungry. He walked back past the dance floor as the band changed to a more lively song, and some younger couples made their way out to step around. Ash scanned the crowd for the guy he had been watching earlier: a middle-aged businessman with wavy blond hair and a sharp nose who had been talking about a project for a hydroelectric dam, and receiving a lot of resources from Frost to help build it. He wanted to know if perhaps any of those resources included a certain blue-eyed girl. It sounded far-fetched, but it was better than nothing. He pulled down his sleeves again, hoping the tip of the flamethrower nozzles at his wrists just looked like a watch or other jewelry.
Gayle dear, Lumina said softly, you're rather close to Drake, you may want to relocate after that conversation.
Gayle was juggling. Not with balls, that was pretty easy, even without using her talents. She had to keep away from Yin, who was lurking around by the bar trying to chat up some lady; and Frost, who she'd never met but wouldn't be surprised if he had some kind of Star-detector gadget in his pocket. On top of all this, she had to walk around in a dress, which wasn't restrictive at all, but still required her to change her usual loping gait for something a little more feminine, to make sure she didn't trip over the hem. It was pretty tiring, but she thought she was doing well so far. She kept her ears peeled for any kind of conversation that might be useful, like new construction or research they might be able to sabotage later. But only Frost Enterprises projects, of course. No need to harass anyone else.
When it came down to it, Ash preferred running around in warehouses to this kind of exhausting work. The harness on his back itched a little, but he had to power through it. He also wanted a cigarette, maybe he would wander out to the balcony in a few minutes.
Yin had devoured his first plate of food and went back for more. He pushed the button on his earpiece. "Rand, you're missing out, you wouldn't believe the selection they have down here."
The response crackled in his ear. Are you talking about the food, or the girls?
"Heh, a little of both, I guess."
I'm good. Enjoy yourself.
"Big grouch, doesn't know when to have fun."
The music reached a crescendo, then the finale of the song. The band was quiet for a few moments as some of their number picked up different instruments, mostly winds and strings, and others tuned theirs in different directions. The song they followed with was slower, more classical, suited for a waltz rather than a swing dance.
Ash was nodding his head with the pleasant tune when Gayle appeared at his elbow, an odd smirk on her face. "Fancy a dance, Mister Grisarco?"
He put down his cheese stick and his clam-infused drink. "Absolutely, Miss Earhart."
They walked to the corner of the floor, where it would be less likely they would embarrass themselves. Gayle stood up straight. "Alright. Now we take our hands up like this, and I put my other hand on your shoulder, and yours goes on my hip there. Now don't worry, I won't bite."
Ash did as he was told, attempting to keep the nervous heat in his cheeks where it was, and not letting it spread any farther. He held her gloved hand tightly, comforted by her firm grip in return. "I haven't danced since my last brother's wedding, and that was with my cousin Blanca."
"She any good?" Gayle asked, as she twirled him around.
"She was nine."
"Little inexperienced, but gettin' there." It was clear she was leading, but Ash didn't mind at all. There were plenty of other couples around them of varying ages and skill levels, so they didn't stand out that much, even with their height difference. Ash kept watching his feet to make sure he didn't step on hers, but the hem of her dress kept getting in the way.
Aww, look Lumina, they're dancing. Lemme take a picture, where's my phone?
"We're just blendin' in and lookin' natural, right?" Gayle said to all three of her conspirators.
Lumina pointed out: Yin is quite distracted by his, ah, conversation. He isn't looking anywhere near either of you. I still have not seen Rand, and Drake has not moved from that table. If you want to have a little diversion, this is a fine time.
"I just hope I don't step on your feet," Ash said.
"You're doin' fine."
"So, did you take ballroom dancing lessons?"
"Nope, just somethin' I picked up here and there. Now, quit jawin' and relax."
The band finished suddenly, either the piece was short or he was so focused on not tripping that he lost track of the time. They let go and he bowed to her. The maestro got back up to the microphone to announce the next dance was for those couples who knew each other well, either before or after the previous waltz.
A gentle serenade started up, and all the familiar couples assembled into a more intimate configuration. Ash was about to suggest they get back to their food, but Gayle pre-empted him with the troubled frown on her face.
"I need a smoke," she said, stalking off toward the patio before Ash could even offer her the pack out of his pocket.
Everything alright, dears?
Ash hummed twice and went back to his table to down the rest of his drink as Azalea's voice asked, What's up, Gayle? He couldn't hear Gayle's response, only Azalea's: Okay, a break sounds good.
Octave of Stars is currently airing on Substack for free, with two of the 45 total posts per week. It’ll be fully released at the end of April 2024. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can get the entire story right now, in either Ebook or paperback. Every purchase supports the ZMT Books mission of family-friendly entertainment.
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