Story #1: "Closed Colony, Special Stock" by Branwell

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

To get things rolling, I'll start by picking a story myself. Hopefully it will prompt some interesting discussion.

Closed Colony, Special Stock by Branwell

Rating: PG-13 for mild language, innuendo, disturbing
images and ideas.
Category: X, A, M/S Friendship
Casefile with Mytharc connection

Summary: A body is found in a top secret area on an Air
Force Base. No one knows the cause of death, or why the
dead woman was in a secured area. The Air Force officer in
charge makes a last ditch effort to prevent the project
from being closed down. He uses his clout to get the FBI to
send Mulder and Scully to investigate. Scully finds she
knows the right questions to ask--but how?

Please keep your comments polite, even if you don't like the story--the author may be reading. And please consider sending feedback to the author as well as commenting here.

Can you think of a story that you'd rather discuss? Nominate it.

Comments

[bardsmaid.livejournal.com]

Like you, I enjoyed the narrator's musings about being dead. They stood out to me in particular since I wrote a post-col piece for an XF Lyric Wheel (Through Walls (http://www.bardsmaid.org/XF/thruwalls.htm)) that, while principally about Mulder trapped in a colonist holding pen, involves the ghost of Krycek. Writing K's part became an intriguing exercise because of his non-living status, and I'm really glad I was pressed to explore that.

I found this story to be well-done and engaging. While I enjoy the mysteries inherent in the XF universe, I often find case file fics to have less character development than I'm looking for, which would include this one (though that's just my personal preference and not a reflection on this story or the author.) However, I really did like the ghost-as-narrator, the gradual revelation of who the narrator was, and the fact that it wasn't one of those formulaic case files that seem only to be a set-up for MSR. And I liked that Scully was the one to have the premonitions this time. It's not common, but it's plausible and gives the realm of XF cases a nice, fresh spin.