All posts by Alex "hmom001" Joshi

WIG Captain 2017.


Thanks to all the free time I had during the exams, I threw together the beginnings of a story. Feedback is appreciated! Not finished yet, but feel free to leave a comment or two.


The Arkangel was a large ship, made of hundreds of cubic kilometres of vulcanite forged in secret, a collaboration of several factions coming together to make a colossal behemoth to stand against the most powerful armada that had ever existed. With sweeping golden arches tethering it together, silver sheets of metal forming its hull, it was an era defining work of engineering as much as it was empire defying.

But it was no longer a battleship. The rebellion had evolved beyond that, taking in hordes of refugees, becoming a small civilization in itself, able to self-sustain itself almost indefinitely. Not that it needed to- it was able to trade on the black market, and had somewhat of a trade centre in itself, whenever the opportunity presented itself.

There were two centres of command which reflected these two aspects of the Archangel. Firstly, the military command centre, located close to the main military hangar which housed the various fleets, and secondly, the civilian command centre housed in the centre of the ship, just above the power core, amidst of the civilian centres. Anatoly sat in the military centre, in a meeting with the commanders of the rebel army.

“Commander Sarov, do you honestly think that we should endanger the lives of everyone on this ship for this ludicrous assault?” Minister Milorad, the representative of the civilian side of the rebellion, asked.

“I remind you, Minister, that this is a rebellion.” Sarov, the leader of the Rebel fleet answered. “Each day is another day tens of thousands of people are killed by this fascist regime. We need to act.”

“Quit the inspirational speeches, Alexi, you aren’t a politician,” The minister replied.

“Why do we have politicians on what used to be a military vessel?” Sarov replied. “Where did it go wrong?”
“Alexi.” Anatoly’s Captain/Mentor/Friend, Leighft, warned. “This was inevitable.”

“If we can’t do what is needed to be done, why do we have this ship at all?” Sarov exclaimed.

No one bothered to answer the question.

“Sarov is right.” Leighft spoke up. “We are unable to wage an effective war against Antarctica while protecting our citizens.”

“Don’t you have the fleet?” Milorad asked.

“The fleet needs a cruiser large enough to warp on it’s own to anywhere.” Sarov explained. “We can’t launch a proper surprise attack without the Archangel.”

“So you need a big ship. How big?” Milorad asked.

Sarov looked to Leighft, who looked to the ceiling in thought. “Kambiz.” He turned to the man sitting next to Anatoly. Kambiz was Anatoly’s brother. They hadn’t grown up together, but they were almost genetically identical, and luck had brought them together.

“Y-yes?” Kambiz stammered.

“How large of a ship have to be in order to utilize a Class A warp engine?” Leighft asked.

“Oh. Usually needs to be more than 5 kilometres long, at least a tenth of that at it’s widest.” Kambiz answered.

“What’s the largest ship you have?” Milorad asked.

“My ship is a kilometre and a half.” A guy standing behind Leighft piped up. “It’s the largest ship in the fleet. Class B warp engine.”

“And Class B means?” Milorad asked.

“Warp to a destination given that there is a warp gate there. From anywhere, but requires a bit of calculations beforehand.” Kambiz explained.

“A warp gate means that the operator can see someone coming through. It’s dangerous.” Leighft said. “But that’s off topic.” He paused. “I have an idea.”

Sarov raised his hand to his face and grabbed his nose, eyes closed in prayer.

“Antarctica has built a supercruiser to rival the Arkangel.” Leighft said. “The Pegasus. I’m sure you’ve all heard of it. It’s huge. Not as big as the Archangel, but it’s entirely focused on military power.”

“Dear god.” Sarov murmured.

“If we captured it, we could use it solely for military purposes.” Leighft proposed. “Solving our conflict of interest.”

“You’re joking, right?” The kilometre and a half ship guy said.

“I’m not. We have Kambiz, who served on the Pegasus recently and knows the ins and outs of the ship.” Leighft said. “It’s doable. And would make a big sign in the war. Excellent propaganda.”

“I like the idea.” Milorad said excitedly. “I love the idea. Good for the masses. Could inspire more rebellion.”

“This is a stupid idea, by the way.” Alexi said. “But if Archimedes Leighft thinks it could work… we may as well try and plan it.”

“Alright.” Milorad said. “Dismissed.”

Alexi sat down and stared at Milorad, who just stood where he was blankly.

“I said, dismissed.” Milorad said again, somewhat annoyed as only a few people had started leaving.

“This is the military centre, Minister.” Alexi said. “Leave.”

Milorad scowled, and paced haughtily out.

“Every minute I spend with an idiot politician the more I like this plan.” Alexi said.

“Like I said, we are in charge of protecting a large population. People have been born, people have died on this ship. It’s a city. So obviously someone needs to run it.” Leighft said.

“I am aware, thank you, Leighft.” Alexi replied.

“Kambiz.” Leighft turned around to look at Kambiz. “Is it doable?”

“Anything is doable.” Kambiz said. “The question is how much you are willing to commit.”

Alexi rolled his eyes. “Can you give us an overview of the Pegasus’s defenses?”

“If you were to capture the ship, first you would need to land in one of the hangars.” Kambiz explained. “The port or starboard hangar are the two main fleet hangars- both are essentially equivalent, except the port hangar was recently destroyed. Well, by recently, I mean a few months ago. I would imagine most of the crew there would be fairly new, so that would be a weak spot. To get there, you would have to get past hangar control, which shouldn’t be too hard, with the right credentials.”



TitlePrompt: London Fields

The vast expanses of the fields melted into the horizon, green hills indisingushible from themselves, their shadows unseen.

London was beautiful, compared to what it had been a thousand years ago. The sky hung green in the heavens, and the ice that used to hold the area at mercy during this time of year no longer dared come this far south- or anywhere at all.

January was a merry month, but the overwhelmingly green grass hid a bitter past, an ancient civilization.

Five Card Flickr

WritingPromptFiveFlickrToday’s writing prompt was five card flickr.

Google it.

The stones crunched beneath my feet, the ocean rushing up beside me. The odd shell dotted the brown assortment of stones, and the seagulls cawed loudly. I walk up through the brush back to the town, spiky bushes which somehow have more shells in them than the beach, but the spikes still stop me from reaching out and finding out what had truly happened there.

Now I am in the town. This is not my hometown, but it almost is- nearly two full decades of beachside holidays in this idyllic place. To my left is a box full of maps, for the growing tourist population. I smile to myself, and take one.

Hilarious. The map shows only a skelton of the streets, a tourist attraction.

I feel

I feel the ice cold air on my fingers.

I feel the platform beneath me.

I feel the warmth of my coat on my back, my arms, my legs.

I feel the buzz of my phone in my pocket.

I feel the rush of wind as the train rushes behind me.

I feel my heart sink as the train app notifies me my train is delayed ten minutes.

I feel my mouth twitch as I laugh at my friend’s dog.

I feel the sun disappear behind the cloud, 

I feel the trees whilstle behind me, twigs snapping in the breeze.

I feel the boredom of having to wait for the train.

And now reversed
The train is waiting for bored me.

The breeze snaps the twigs, behind me I feel them.

The cloud covers the sun.

Ten minutes, my train delays, notified by the app.

Behind me, the train rushes, a rush of wind.

In my pocket, my phone buzzes

My legs, my arms, my back feel the warmth of my coat.

Beneath me I feel the platform. 

My fingers feel the ice cold air.

Alex Joshi
Thanks Mr Woodley for this weeks prompt(s)

Writing Prompt 28/04

You are on a train in a tunnel, heading towards the city to be trained as a Emergency Medical Technician (you are fairly into your training already) but you feel the train shake under your feet and everyone in the train is lurched forward as the train careers off the rails and smashing afainst the wall. You somehow survive with no injuries, but many others are injured, help will most likely arrive in a day or two. Describe what you do next.


The train stops and my book flew out of my hand and into the seat in front of me, my face following it promptly, my nose taking the brunt of the blow. Then it lurched out beneath me as it fell down onto the ditch next to the rails, the trees stopping the train going any further. The drinks cart flew down the hallway, bashing into the ordered seats on the side.

The train had derailed, and the screams of a hundred different passengers echoed down it’s two long, twisting hallways that formed its carriages. With a final lurch, the train fell to it’s final resting place.

I look up, I stand up, I wobble, I straighten. I look outside- the vast green landscape tilted to the left. I step the person sitting next to me, unconcious in their chair, and I know what needs to be done.


Alex J



It’s late in the holidays,

The sound of pen betrays,

The pain of the student race,

Going into year 11.

Do you want to hang out ?

I can’t because of a clout,

To my head, on the snout,

It’s called maths!

What an aberration,

I’m supposed to be on vacation,

Yet all around the nation,

We bash our head against a text.

Ah, you have so much time!

There’s no need to whine,

Just bend your spine,

And do the bloody work.

Maths is bad, I learn,

Oh mother, I yearn,

For a break from this turn,

Of horrid student fate.