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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. 
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27 comments:

  1. Sara C. Snider28 April 2015 at 07:25

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

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  2. Tasha Duncan-Drake28 April 2015 at 10:33

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

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  3. Anonymous28 April 2015 at 11:05

    A great alien twist. :)

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  4. Jennifer Hawes28 April 2015 at 12:50

    If only! How cool:)

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  5. Alex J. Cavanaugh28 April 2015 at 13:04

    So now we are a sport, huh?

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  6. Hilary Melton-Butcher28 April 2015 at 13:34

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

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  7. Jean Davis28 April 2015 at 13:49

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

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  8. T. Powell Coltrin28 April 2015 at 14:02

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

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  9. Tamara Narayan28 April 2015 at 14:04

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

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  10. A Tarkabarka Hölgy28 April 2015 at 14:33

    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

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  11. Annalisa Crawford28 April 2015 at 14:53

    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

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  12. Chrys Fey28 April 2015 at 15:20

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

    That aliens fun is dangerous...

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  13. cleemckenzie28 April 2015 at 16:30

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

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  14. Keith's Ramblings28 April 2015 at 18:32

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

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  15. Sarah Foster28 April 2015 at 19:31

    Nice twist! And I learned a new word :)

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  16. Anonymous28 April 2015 at 19:40

    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

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  17. diedre Knight28 April 2015 at 20:32

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

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  18. betty28 April 2015 at 22:08

    Xebec sounds French for some reason :)

    Two more letters for the challenge!

    betty

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  19. Susan Gourley/Kelley28 April 2015 at 22:11

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

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  20. Michelle Wallace28 April 2015 at 23:12

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

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  21. Yvonne Ventresca28 April 2015 at 23:23

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

    Yvonne

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  22. J E Oneil28 April 2015 at 23:30

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

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  23. Sharon Himsl29 April 2015 at 02:02

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

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  24. Liz A.29 April 2015 at 02:54

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

    Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

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  25. Shell Flower29 April 2015 at 14:42

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

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  26. djinnia29 April 2015 at 18:19

    Cool! New word and awesome story!

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

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  27. Deniz Bevan3 May 2015 at 09:34

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

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