Tuesday 28 April 2015

X is for Xebec


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Xebec.

Xebec: (historical) A small three-masted Mediterranean sailing ship. (I knew xebec before, but my dictionary only had 20 X words and most of them were scientific.)

The xebec unleashed a volley of fire on the enemy ship. They made a hole in the side, but a return salvo narrowly missed the captain.

“Let’s bail,” said the first mate.

“Agreed.” The captain cloaked the vessel before transforming the xebec into a gleaming spaceship and exiting the atmosphere. The crew reverted to their true form.

“That was okay, but I’m looking forward to being a Spitfire next week,” he said. “Airborne battles look fun.”

He meant no harm. He just wanted to have a little fun with the only planet apart from his own where he’d found life. 

27 comments:

Sara C. Snider said...

Woohoo! A new playground to enjoy! ;) Great story.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

So, what was their true form? I love that they were aliens :)
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Anonymous said...

A great alien twist. :)

Jennifer Hawes said...

If only! How cool:)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

So now we are a sport, huh?

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - this sounds a great word with a cool idea - love that thought ... and as Jennifer says 'If only' ... cheers Hilary

Jean Davis said...

I wonder what the enemy ship thought of their vanishing act.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Even Aliens are into gaming. :) Not found of their game though.

Tamara Narayan said...

Another great twist. I've never heard of the word xebec. Sounds like a good name for an alien, actually!

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

Haha :D That would be a fun trip!

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

Annalisa Crawford said...

I like that aliens want to play rather than invade. Although, they did cause damage to a ship, so maybe it's not such a good thing.

Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

Chrys Fey said...

I just read about xebecs for the first time in another post. :)

That aliens fun is dangerous...

cleemckenzie said...

I'm not very nautical, so this is a new word for me.

Keith's Ramblings said...

Excellent new word for my arsenal. As for these illegal aliens....!
Keith's Ramblings

Sarah Foster said...

Nice twist! And I learned a new word :)

Anonymous said...

Ha. Aliens just wanna have fun too!

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

diedre Knight said...

Interesting that the alien would choose a seventeenth century vessel built for speed! Fun! Glad he 'meant no harm' Ha!

betty said...

Xebec sounds French for some reason :)

Two more letters for the challenge!

betty

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

LOL. So they just show up and cause trouble and then zip away.

Michelle Wallace said...

Non-threatening aliens... just having some fun?
Ha! Good one.

Yvonne Ventresca said...

Nice twist! I love visiting blogs on the "X' day. :)

Yvonne

J E Oneil said...

So you found an X word! :) And what a cool story to work it into.

Sharon Himsl said...

Now that's one wild ship. X was a challenge but you did great!

Liz A. said...

Loved this. So cool. Went from historical to sci fi in a heartbeat.

Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

Shell Flower said...

LOL,those pesky aliens! Great x word. It really is a hard letter.

djinnia said...

Cool! New word and awesome story!

This is a new twist on Space Invaders. Love it!

Deniz Bevan said...

Oh, that was fun! Love the idea of aliens playing :-)