Whew. The Last Ship had one of the best
finales I've seen in a while. I'm so thrilled season four and five are already
on tap and we'll get more of this terrific show. I'm honestly excited to see
where things go with Tom, who's so broken right now, the Greens and their new
family, and the rest of the crew of the Nathan James. Gonna be a very loooonnng
wait for 2017.
Still need to catch
up on Dark Matter so I haven't seen
the finale yet. Hopefully next week I'll have some final thoughts on this
season.
I think Gotham starts this week and I'm
interested in where things will end up. With so many disturbed and unbalanced
people on the loose, Gordon and company will have their hands full.
Fall television
will be in full swing soon so there might be more shows added to the roundup.
That's it for
television this week. Tonight's post is from Command Authority, a novella that started as a sexy short but
matured into something else. Still sexy, but with more depth.
Here's the
mini-blurb:
Addie Varns and Neal
Columbo are thisclose to having everything they want, namely each other, when
Neal gets promoted to commander. Used to being on equal footing, Addie needs
some time to adjust to the new chain of leadership. Neal gives her some space,
but if need be, he'll invoke his command authority.
And a sneaky peek…
Addie Varns wondered if the
upheaval and turmoil of the last three months might finally be over. Neal
Columbo, promoted from captain to commander a full month ago, certainly
appeared at ease during the morning briefing. So did his group of officers. A
vast improvement over the previous three months.
War did horrible things to people
and surprise attacks, when every military branch got caught with their pants
down, threw everything and everyone into a tailspin of reaction. Trying to get
civilians to safety and pull all their asses out of the fire while fighting a
battle against a relentless enemy had everyone on edge. But they had to keep it
together or lose everything.
Addie listened intently when Neal
briefed the command officers on the day's schedule.
"First dog watch needs two
additional crewmen on comms." He directed his attention to the shift
leader. "Make that happen, but don't use anyone who pulled duty
yesterday."
Decidedly less formal than
Admiral Ames, Neal opted to have everyone seated comfortably on the plush
furniture, arranged in a u-shaped configuration, in his quarters. It made a
palpable difference to have the commander sitting right among his group of
officers instead of looming behind a huge table. Where Ames ignored opinions
differing from her own and ruled with an iron will, Neal encouraged independent
thinking among his officers and respected what they had to offer. That sense of
camaraderie had won over the entire crew.
Addie let her mind wander. She
knew the briefing notes upside down and sideways. Had worked with Neal long
enough to not need them. Instead, she pondered the difference in command style.
She'd respected Admiral Necia Ames, but the peril of war had taken its toll,
pushing the novice admiral beyond the limits of sanity.
By the time Ames made the
rendezvous—six months after the initial attacks—a third of her crew had been
lost. She'd executed her XO for countermanding orders and by doing so, lost the
one buffer she had against her questionable grasp on reality. Tim Braddox had
done his level best to be her voice of reason.
His replacement, Colonel James
Trask, did nothing to dispel Ames's method of commanding by fear and
intimidation. He encouraged it to further his own nefarious agenda, but Addie
didn't want to think about Trask at the moment. Still broke out in a cold sweat
when she did.
Ames's ghost no longer lingered
in her former quarters and the bloodstains were long gone. But the shadow of
the admiral's harsh tenure had long tendrils. If Addie hadn't overheard the
conversation between Ames and her XO Trask, she wouldn't have believed the
words flowed from the woman's mouth. But Addie had a prime listening spot,
directly behind the admiral in the formerly hidden compartment the woman used
to record her strategy sessions and private meetings—a major bucking of
protocol.
The discussion continued to haunt
Addie.
Ames had a feral smirk when a
young private entered, carrying a tray with coffee. "Trask, I think I'm
going to have my contingent of marines act as my enforcement squad."
Trask raised an eyebrow. "Do
you think that's wise, Admiral?" The man could give two shits, but always
played the game the way Ames preferred.
She'd given him a long, sideways
glance. "Of course. After all, they did an outstanding job of
interrogating the crew to find sympathizers." Her gaze shifted to the
young man.
Ethan Janisay. Private, first
class. Victim of multiple interrogations.
Trask's lips twisted in a knowing
smile. "Whatever you feel is best, Admiral." He shot a quick look at
the private. "Although they might need to brush up on how to break the
holdouts."
Addie didn't know the history,
but she witnessed the final chapter when the lowly private ended the admiral's
reign of terror—he shot her after delivering her morning coffee. Janisay barely
escaped with his life. Trask had his sidearm drawn and against the kid's head
before Addie could blink. But with her mission scrapped, she went against
orders and revealed her position to the XO.
With a surprising calm, she
exited the compartment, her weapon drawn. "I wouldn't dig myself a deeper
hole by shooting him, Sir, but please feel free to do what you want."
I'm looking forward
to seeing how this one turns out. Hopefully in early 2017.
That's it for this
week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
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