Sunday, April 10, 2016

Sunday Snippet: Zulu Delta Niner

Just in time for the weekend, snow showers in Ohio. LOL Considering I was still wearing shorts and flip-flops in October, I won't gripe anymore. J

Update on the gimpy kid… she'd made huge strides over the last week, going from her splint down to a boot and now easing into a brace. She's doing therapy and it's making a huge difference. She won't be ready to jump hurdles before the end of track season, but she's mobile and crutchless for the most part. *throws confetti*

Sad there isn't a new Walking Dead, but also a little relieved. I'll give next season a quick go then decide if I can deal with Negan or not.

The Magicians is almost to the season ender and I'm kind of excited to see what happens. Bitten is also two episodes away from its finale and I'm kind of sad there won't be any new episodes to look forward to.

No new The Flash, but Agents of SHIELD had a terrific showing. I rather like how the deep division seems to be setting up Captain America: Civil War.

Arrow… wow. I'm actually kind of shocked at who we lost. That said, never say die in a show based on a comic series. There's a solid chance we'll see the one we lost again.

Legends of Tomorrow put a good episode together. I really love the complicated mix and relationships portrayed. I will admit, I'm actually kind of tired of Savage constantly having the upper hand. I'd like to see a serious blow dealt to him and maybe an introduction of some other villains.

Still need to watch Banshee, but I have the eps ready to go. And the first episode of Wynonna Earp proved awesome! If the second ep is as good, I'm all-in. Kind of looking forward to The Hunters and hoping it holds my interest.

That's it for TV this week.

Tonight's post is from Zulu Delta Niner, a novella built around the challenge of writing a story set in a specific time period. I put a little spin on the idea, opting to write with Kent State 1970 in mind, but maintaining my sci-fi / speculative romance flair.

Here's the mini-blurb:

In a war torn galaxy, Nell Watkinson works to save lives on the front lines in the battle arena. When she returns home, she meets Jerrick Haight, a man who's not afraid to fight if his number is called, but he vehemently opposes waging war when it spreads resources so thin their own people suffer. On opposite sides of a moral dilemma, Jerrick's actions put him in danger and Nell uses everything at her disposal to save his life.

And a sneaky peek…

Nell Watkinson smoothed her hand over her patient's forehead then checked the readout on the thermostrip. "Your temperature is staying down, Rod. That's good news." She noted the degree on his chart.
The flight hit turbulence when they entered inner-atmo and she feared the bumpy ride would jar his slow-healing injuries.
Rod gave a weak smile. "How'd I get so lucky to have my nurse travel all the way home with me?" Another pocket of air and a rough dip made him wince.
She shook her head, cursing the storm, the pilot, and last but not least, her irritating father for dragging her home. Dragging some rolled up blankets, she tucked several around Rod, hoping to add some stability to his remaining journey.
Glancing down, she smiled. "Rod, I'm not a nurse. You know I'm a ranking medic in the combat medical corps and you're stuck with me because I got called to come home." She checked his fluids and pulled out another bag of saline to replace the almost depleted one.
He watched her work. "How long?" He snagged the empty pouch when she hung the new one.
Nell frowned. "How long what?" Her focus split between too many things, she didn't have a clue what he meant.
He chuckled. "Since you've been home?"
She cleared up the debris, doing a quick calculation. "Hmm. Three years, give or take. Shipped out as soon as I made rank and had a choice. Haven't returned since." Too many reasons to get into, even on a longer than normal flight.
But running fast and far topped the list. Quickly followed by the intense need to decide her fate without anyone else's input. And, of course, saving as many lives as she could while war waged out in the black put her training to good use.
If she had her way, she wouldn't be here now. Too bad her father's pull far exceeded hers. But she'd dutifully show her face in his presence and dance to his tune.
For a very short period of time.
Then the gloves would come off and she'd demand he leave her alone again.
Rod cleared his throat. "You must be excited then. Coming home."
Nell held a bottle of water with a straw to his lips. "I'll be thrilled to land." And not because she couldn't contain her glee with being back.
But she wouldn't bring Rod down. His stay would be permanent. He wouldn't return to his unit, the damage to his leg too severe. But he'd live to a ripe, old age, something way too many men would never see.
When he drank his fill, he settled back down and his eyes drifted shut. Good. He needed sleep and plenty of rest. He'd survived a brutal battle that wiped out most of his platoon and the physical scars might fade over time, but she worried over the hidden ones, the mental and emotional toll of war.
Oh, yeah. She definitely wanted a chance to give her dad a piece of her mind.

The introduction of Nell ended up being fun to write. Looking forward to sharing the intro of Jerrick sometime in the future.



That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye

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