Write a space adventure story that features a visit to an alien marketplace.

Posted in Science Fiction on May 29, 2021

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✍️ 123 stories

“A Meal at the Market” by Jim Snyder

Submitted to Contest #67

Although the light blue substance frothing and bubbling in the large vat was labeled “soup” in the common galactic tongue, there clearly had not been a common galactic consensus on what, precisely, qualified as soup. Xera took a deep whiff of the steam rising from the pot and almost instantly regretted her decision. The fumes were hot and acrid, burning the hairs in her nose. Taking a step back, she waved her hand and looked over to Commander Jackson. “You can’t be serious. This is supposed to be shore leave, not a science experiment!” Com...

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“Here Comes the Sun ” by Zinnia Hansen

Submitted to Contest #67

Mina Shi sold seafood from all over the galaxy. The price depended on the distance an item had traveled and its availability. Mina specialized in the exotic, but she sold everything from the small purple barnacles found on every shore of Ee-ha, to rare earthen Tuna. She rose early each evening to unload her wares, carefully positioning her more flashy specimens so their scales or shells reflected the bright white light of Ee-ha’s extraordinary moon. As she waited for the market to fill up, the silent heat of twilight would diss...

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“GUIDE ME” by Art⋲mis Xx

Submitted to Contest #67

The stars really were bright tonight, lighting up the sky like flashlights in the dark. And Saika could never get enough of them. She just stared, wide-eyed into space, mind drifting. Someone’s silhouette, loomed over her, cause her to flinch away as they reached for her. They just shifted their weight from foot to foot, almost hesitantly. But they eventually stretched out beside to her, dangling their legs over the edge of roof. “Saika.” “Tieran.” She acknowledged with a slight jerk of her chin. “Where’s Archer?” “Snoring like a bear as a...

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“THE CUSTOMER” by Ras Henree

Submitted to Contest #67

On the outskirts of The Seradus Galaxy lay a lone wasteland of a planet named Todium. Todium was a haven of outlaws and scavengers from all around the seven planets of The Order of Stars all converged here either to purchase contraband or take a break on their way to the outside galaxies. There wasn't a single trace of vegetation on the entire surface of Todium and neither could there be found a drop of water on this wasteland. The entire surface of the planet was covered with red dust where there was no ground of hard red rock. There ...

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“The Lunar Marketplace ” by Bethany Henrich

Submitted to Contest #67

Ryder strides across the stone, gray ground of the Lunar Marketplace. “An open air market on the moon”, he muses, “who’d a thunk?“ The settlement on Mars has been sending expeditions to the moon for about 5 years now, but this is Ryder’s first time seeing it in person! His brother, Phoenix, has told him stories of it, but the vastness and selection of goods could never be put into adequate words. Phoenix had teased him before he left, something about meeting a “nice alien girl”. He responded with his signature eye roll and a reminder that he...

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“Terrestrial Mayhem” by A K

Submitted to Contest #67

My once well-manicured nails are now reduced to dust. They are stubby, jagged, and well, non-existent. I switch to autopilot and join Alessa in the back. I sit down on the hard metal floor. She rolls up her map and looks up at me. “This will be like a little adventure, you and me against the world. Like always,” She laughs. I also force a laugh, but I’m not convinced, and by her looks I can tell that neither is she. But it's the longest exchange we’ve had in hours. We both know that this is nothing like those adventures we used t...

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“Grey Rooms” by K T

Submitted to Contest #67

It is a well known fact, among the classmates, that the universe consists only of grey rooms with grey walls, and grey floors, and- believe it or not- grey ceilings. The sleep room is grey, the lab room is grey, the classroom is grey, and etcetera. So it stands to reason that test room #4, one of the rooms where they are quizzed to see if they have learned what they are taught, should also be grey.It is not. At the moment, it is only dripping, dripping red.MX8 looks around himself in horror. His labmate, MX7, props herself on her elbows in o...

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“Eyes Tight Shut.” by Ark Vandal

Submitted to Contest #67

The sum of a man’s worth was far less than Kalen had thought. Five credits. That was his worth. His masters sold him for five measly credits. Not even enough for a full day’s meal. The skin of his neck chafed where the metal collar bit into his skin and his wrists oozed hot blood down his fingertips to the soft, beaten earth. The sky was dark, cloudy, and his breaths came out as steam into the icy air, burning up and out his dry throat. Kalen heard nothing, but the shivering howls of the wind and the jangle of the chains around his ...

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“Aliens With a Spot of Milk” by D Y

Submitted to Contest #67

Caylin tugged the fridge open and lazily pulled out the milk. Today was a weekend, and homework was unexistent. She planned to watch anime and eat stale cereal with 2% milk. As she slammed the fridge shut, she noticed that the jug was considerably light. Maybe I'm getting stronger, she thought. Hoping that that was the case, she twisted the milk jug's lid, but her fingers slipped, leaving prints on them. Scratch that, I'm not getting stronger. Caylin shook the jug but didn't hear any swooshing sounds, signalling that ther...

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“Sufficient...Or Beaten” by Christine Hungerford

Submitted to Contest #67

I, the narrator, am behind everyone else, watching the protagonist live her life. I am visiting this space marketplace, observing her. Alexia kicked her fruit stand’s wooden cabinet door shut and sighed heavily, forcing herself to stay patient with the still deciding customer standing amidst hordes of busy humans buying other aliens’ produce here at Spaceship’s planet and sun-neighboring marketplace. Tapping her unusually long, extremely tan fingers on the counter, she heaved another sigh and ran two of them through h...

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“An Aulorian Experience ” by Mello Timothy

Submitted to Contest #67

Aziphiwe woke to the scorching sun burning her eyes. It took 5 seconds for her skin to adjust to the burning sun. Planet Aulo had maximum temperatures of 51 degrees Celsius. Luckily, Humanaza, as they were referred to (descendents of human beings) had the ability to adjust to the planet's climate. Aulo was a utopia with 652 days a year and a florescent purple, with bands of bronze, lime and dark orange sky line during the day and a black sky with a hue of light blue and green in the night time. Aulo had 28 million species and 2 races, the Hu...

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“Two of Those” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #67

Two of Those Please “I’ll have…” “They aren’t fattening you know.” “I, didn’t know! But then, I don’t know what goes on here.” When Win Pegasus landed on Quagmire, I should say crashed on our little planet, he claimed to have done so by accident, but then he was more than a little confused. I asked him how he could have crashed by accident and he really didn’t have a believable answer, or so it seemed, but then our translation system hasn’t been updated in quite some time. It has a tendency to rearrange the words in dyslexic f...

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“A Spot of Trouble - Part 1” by Riva Darva

Submitted to Contest #67

The market is not without its charms and distractions - but one lone Darin is on a specific mission to find a unique part for a very special device...Being blue has its advantages. I can fit right in with most races if you don't count the lack of extra limbs or eyes sometimes. In most cases, blue is the colour people also tend to avoid.On Darin, the distant planet of the Yaris galaxy, the Darins have pale blue skin that shifts in the gathering darkness of dusk to a deep maroon, settling into the crisp blackness of night. I have no such featu...

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“The Market Place” by Haylee Crouch

Submitted to Contest #67

It has been so long since I’ve come to the market place. My insides writhe with the thoughts of the creatures I will definitely encounter. It’s been so long since I’ve associated with them, what feels like an eternity. I’m so overwhelmed with terror I almost swerve off course, causing a fatal collision. Focus, Teagan, focus. I can’t be squashed by the ever-amounting anxiety. Watching the familiar surroundings, I see every time I make the journey, I can barely control the shaking of my hands. Do I look decent? Will I blend in with the rest of...

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“Fuzz and the Plague” by Yvette Cullum

Submitted to Contest #67

Pressed against the backdrop of three amber suns, the enemy’s Crescent Winged Fighters cast a menacing shadow upon the peaceful villagers below. As the aircrafts streaked across the seafoam green sky, shrieks of terror whipped up like wildfire. Planet Antora trembled beneath the weight of Black Foot’s impending invasion.Pax’s outdoor market abruptly shifted from a bustling center of commerce to a frenzied hub of fear. Carts with coral and white umbrellas toppled over, releasing a river of yellow Pekun fruit that quickly transformed into an o...

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Write a space adventure story that features a visit to an alien marketplace.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 123 stories

“A Meal at the Market” by Jim Snyder

“Here Comes the Sun ” by Zinnia Hansen

“GUIDE ME” by Art⋲mis Xx

“THE CUSTOMER” by Ras Henree

“The Lunar Marketplace ” by Bethany Henrich

“Terrestrial Mayhem” by A K

“Grey Rooms” by K T

“Eyes Tight Shut.” by Ark Vandal

“Aliens With a Spot of Milk” by D Y

“Sufficient...Or Beaten” by Christine Hungerford

“An Aulorian Experience ” by Mello Timothy

“Two of Those” by Joe Swanson

“A Spot of Trouble - Part 1” by Riva Darva

“The Market Place” by Haylee Crouch

“Fuzz and the Plague” by Yvette Cullum

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a pirate captain obsessed with finding a mythical treasure.

Write a thriller about someone who witnesses a murder… except there’s no evidence that a murder took place.

Write a romance where the characters pretend to be dating each other in order to win a reality show.

Write a story where one character needs to betray the other, but isn’t sure if they can.

Contest #67

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

726

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: