Sunday Snippet: Red Tape

June 24, 2018

We had a slightly crazy week of weather. Lots of rain with storms blowing through quickly then the sun popping back out. I love to watch the storm clouds roll in.

Television this week was hit and miss. I got another episode of Mutant X in and I caught a couple of Blindspot episodes but didn't get to finish out the season before they yanked some of the episodes I hadn't seen. I'll have to finish up season three on DVD.

In Classic Who, I finished out the Key of Marinus episodes. Not a bad arc. I'll be starting the Aztecs this week.

Canal Road's third episode was excellent. I enjoyed seeing the group interaction in this episode. I have some thoughts about who killed Spence's wife. Just saying.

Caught a movie on Café Noir. It wasn't the best, but I've been writing some noir-ish-themed stories lately and I liked the ambiance of the movie.

Got in another episode of Midsomer Murders and finished up season three of Endeavor. Gotta say the last episode really packed a punch. Watching Morse realize he loved Joanie ended up being a beautifully acted scene.

Caught the usual episodes of The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Constantine, Pensacola Wings of Gold, Band of Brothers, and Strike Back. Episode four, season four is when Section 20 loses Julia and, ugh, I forgot how much of a kick in the teeth that was.

Watched a crossover of Chicago PD with Chicago Fire. Excellent episodes. I enjoy PD when the focus isn't on dickhead Wood trying to take Hank down. I thought we got enough of that in the first two seasons.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Red Tape, a novella that got started with a writing community prompt of boots and bunk room. Easy to run with that one.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Noelle Phame and Dirk Santias are given a temporary duty assignment to a new space cruiser and quickly realize how different the traditions are on an admiral's flagship. Once they figure out the red tape, they're free to fraternize all they want.

And a sneaky peek…

Noelle Phame paced outside her commanding officer's quarters. "What the hell did I do this time?" The summons she received from a wet-behind-the-ears ensign gave nothing to go on.

Report to my quarters. 1945 hours. Captain Wallace

She paused to tuck the paper in her shirt pocket. Footsteps alerted her to someone else's presence approaching. Turning, her heart dropped to her stomach. Dirk Santias.

Damn, damn, damn. "Shit. What are you doing here?" She slid her gaze sideways.

Dirk waved a note in front of her. "Reporting as ordered." He stood beside her and lowered his tone. "You're not worried, are you?"

Gah. The man's voice never failed to get her going. Blood pumping. Heart pounding. Libido throbbing. Not exactly the best time for any of those.

Noelle lifted a shoulder. "I wasn't. Not really." She glanced sideways again. "I am now." Why have both meet at the same time?

Dirk cocked his head to one side. "You don't think—"

The opening of the hatch cut off his question. Each snapped to attention, faces forward, eyes staring straight ahead. The rest of Dirk's query didn't bear thinking about. If Wallace had any idea how often they broke frat regs, both were finished.

The captain waved them inside. "At ease, lieutenants." Motioning for them to sit, he settled on the edge of his desk. "You're probably wondering why I'd bring you here with little notice and zero details." Crossing his feet at the ankles, he folded his arms over his chest. "I couldn't put anything specific in the summons because this isn't official yet."

Noelle shot Dirk a quick glance. What the hell?

He sent one back. No damn clue.

Captain Wallace filled in the blanks. "You're being temporarily assigned to the Orion to head up the rollout on the weapons' upgrade." He sent a look back and forth between Dirk and herself. "You'll leave in the morning. Admiral Glazier wants her pilots trained on the new targeting systems and doesn't plan to wait on the red tape."

Dirk gave a brief snort. "She gets stuff done because she doesn't."

Noelle breathed a little easier. A TAD assignment she could handle. Even if Admiral Glazier had a reputation as a hardass.

 Wallace nodded. "I won't argue that fact and you'll be halfway through the rollout before the red tape clears, but…" He pinned Dirk with his stare for a long moment. "The only shorthand the admiral accepts is for the betterment of the fleet." He shifted his gaze to Noelle. "She won't turn a blind eye to fraternization." He waited a beat. "You two need to be clear about that." He slid a look back and forth between them but said nothing else.

Noelle responded in unison with Dirk. "Yes, Sir."

Shit. Wallace knew. What a way to find out.

The captain straightened. "You're dismissed. Get your gear together and be ready to leave by 0900." He walked them to the hatch. "Good luck. I expect you two to the Sagitta proud."

Noelle turned when she cleared the threshold. "We will, Sir." She lifted her chin then stepped away, falling into step beside Dirk.

He nudged her shoulder. "Think he needed the reassurance?" His eyebrow quirked.

She shrugged. "Probably not." With a one up on the admiral, Wallace had a lofty perch he could get knocked off of. "But he could've busted us and he didn't, so promising to do a good job is the least we can do."

Dirk's lips curved in a smirk. "As if we'd do any less." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "Later tonight?"

Noelle shivered. Probably not the best idea, but she couldn't resist. Hooking up with Dirk kept her sane. If they had to curtail their activities, they might as well have one last sexy romp.

Cracking a smile, she agreed. "Usual spot. You bring the boots."

This one is very fun to write. Dirk and Noelle will have their work cut out for them on their new ship.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Quick Fast Dirty

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. And if you're not a dad, happy weekend!

It's been a long week with back and forth temperatures that always wreak havoc with my allergies. Bleh. But… not a bad week for television viewing. I started out with more Mutant X and followed with Endeavor and Midsomer Murders.

Then I hit The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I'd forgotten how dramatic Derek's entrance to the fold was. I'm also a little more than halfway through Constantine and I liked the fallen angel episode.

I finished up The Batman season four and really enjoyed the series. I think there might be a few more episodes floating around but I'm not sure. I caught several episodes of Classic Who up through the third episode in the Key of Marinus arc.

Pensacola Wings of Gold isn't half bad. Fits in with my military-themed shows of Strike Back and Band of Brothers. Chicago Fire is just over the midway point and I'm hoping to finish out the season soon. I caught Sense8's "Demons" episode and really enjoyed it. It's not as hard to keep things straight as I thought it would be. Really, a great show.

Loved seeing Hurst go down on Blind Spot. I need to mainline some episodes because they're getting close to expiration. This makes me a little angry. I realize the season is over but, honestly, unless the DVD is going to be released within a month, keep the episode live, dammit. Just saying.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Quick Fast Dirty, a novella that started with a writing community challenge of writing sex with clothes on. Always a fun thing to do.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vixen Arz and Josh Baldwin like their sex quick, fast, and dirty. In the middle of a war, they don't have time for sensual pleasantries, and they can't do the hearts and flowers things anyway—Vixen is Josh's superior officer. If caught fraternizing, both will face brig time—or court martial!

And a sneaky peek…

Vixen Arz eyed the sculpted ass of Josh Baldwin. He walked several steps ahead of her, giving her ample time to imagine grabbing hold and never letting go. Right. As if.

At best, she'd be able to cop a good feel in a stolen moment later. The middle of a war zone didn't allow much in the way of long-term gripping. Dammit.

A shoulder bumped into hers. "Hey, Captain. Sorry about that."

Pulled from her viewing pleasure, Vixen glanced up. "It's all right, Jannis. I'm lost in thought." She groaned. "Are those fit reps for me?" She'd just finished a crap ton of files yesterday.

The petty officer bobbed his head. "Yeah, and the XO said he wanted them yesterday." He rolled his eyes.

The XO wanted everything yesterday.

Vixen took the reports. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see what I can do." She nodded. "Thanks, Jannis." Moving away, she caught up to Josh. "Lieutenant, did you still want to discuss the flight schedule?" She used their code for "come see me later."

He quirked a brow. "Uh, yeah. If you have time." He ducked into an alcove so they could speak without holding anyone up.

Vixen kept a professional distance but craved contact with her junior officer. "I've got time." She lowered her voice. "Got another stack of fit reps to work through, if you're up for some stress relief later."

A slow smile curved his lips. "Aren't I always?" He kept his tone just shy of teasing.

Vixen smirked. "So far, so good." She started down the corridor to head to her office. "And you know I keep score." She didn't wait for a comeback; she liked having the last word.

Josh had a shift in command, which gave her about four hours to plow through as many reports as she could.

She opened her office door, wearing a wide smile. "Nothing beats having a hot man willing to get down and dirty with a superior officer."

Except maybe getting caught. That would trump each stolen moment, every bit of hidden pleasure they'd carved out over the last six months. Time she wouldn't give up for anything.

Settling behind her desk, she opened the first file. "After a full year of being on the front lines, a court martial for conduct unbecoming might just be worth it."

Vixen and Josh are fun to write and I love the dynamic of Vixen being the superior officer.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Questionable Vision

June 10, 2018

My youngest kidlet is back from her trip to Disney and it's so nice to have her home. It's also terrific she had the opportunity to visit every theme park in Disney's repertoire. She had such a great time. On a proud parent note, she enjoyed Epcot the best and it makes my entire year because that was my favorite when I went to Disney many, many moons ago. I'm resisting the urge to plan a full-on Disney vacation… mainly because I don't have the time. But it would be so much fun!

Had something of an off week in television viewing. I'm battling a nasty cold / allergies / upper respiratory "ick" that's kicking my teeth in. But… I did get quite a bit watched.

I started a new-to-me Australian show called Canal Road and it's rather good. I'm two episodes in and I'm hooked. I also got to finish up Archangel and thoroughly enjoyed it.

In my classic rewatch, I caught Midsomer Murders and several episodes of Classic Who. I finished up the Dalek episodes and started the new arc. I'd forgotten what a shifty guy the first doctor can be. I also caught another episode of The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

Endeavor continues to make me happy. I also got another episode of Constantine in and I'm quite excited for the character to make the move to Legends of Tomorrow. I started a show I only got to watch sporadically when it originally aired, Pensacola Wings of Gold. I actually hope I can catch other late 90s early 00s shows. I missed so much back then.

On DVD, I finished up The Batman's third season and started the fourth. I also caught a few episodes of current seasons of Chicago Fire and Blindspot. Gotta say the whole Hurst arc is turning out to be kind of exciting.

Band of Brothers and Strike Back gave me my military show fix. I continue to be blown away by the casting in Band of Brothers. So many good choices.

I'm five episodes into Sense8 and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to watch this show. That said, I can binge the entire thing and see the finale in one go so there's that bit of good news. Fearless's third episode kind of broke me a little. It's a dark, dark show.

Krypton's first season proved to be pretty awesome. I have no idea where they'll go for the second season, but the end was kind of chilling. Jana called the whole General Zod ruling over Krypton thing and I'm truly hoping Lyta is now regretting her choice. If she isn't that character is dead to me. Just saying.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Questionable Vision, a sexy short that explores coming back from a tragic event.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Park Danielson doesn't want to fight anymore. Stuck in a warzone, he has one burning question. Why bother sticking around? Darby Young has the answer. He's not allowed to leave.

And a sneaky peek…

At least she'd taken him seriously. And, yeah, more serious than she'd ever know. She didn't have a front row seat to the destruction. Didn't watch two squadrons merge together to destroy a common enemy then turn on each other and open fire. No, she escaped that particular drama and landed in the middle of another one. The order to take out the opposing commander.

If the charge hadn't been rescinded, he'd have lost her. And he should've been there to have her back. They always watched each other's six, even when they sometimes couldn't stand the sight of each other.

Park swallowed, forming his words with difficulty. "Why do we do this, Darb?" His question could be interpreted a myriad of ways.

Why did they push each other? Why did the world always seem to implode on a regular basis? Why did they never end up on the same page long enough to pursue the megawatt chemistry between them?

Darby stopped pacing. "I don't know, Park." She moved to sit beside him again. "Fear. Self-loathing. The utter uncertainty we live with every day."

He shot her a look. She'd basically answered every question in the universe.

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh no. Unacceptable, Park. You don't get to use that. And you don't get to leave me. Not that way."

He elected to remain silent. Arguing with Darby gave him a headache on a good day. And he hadn't come close to having a decent twenty-four hours in weeks.

She grabbed his hand. "Is that what you really want?" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "To get away from me?"

Park swallowed again. How did he answer the question? He loved her. Hated her. Laughed with her. Fought with her. He counted on her. She'd become a lifeline in the harsh waters of war.

But even life-preservers were short-term solutions. "Darb, some days you're the only thing that keeps me upright. Other days, you're the one pushing me down." He slowly met her gaze. "When does want and desire get to trump pain, confusion, and utter despair?" His throat clogged with more words he wouldn't speak.

Darby stared at their entwined fingers. "So, basically, I add to this whole equation, don't I?" She loosened her grip but kept their hands joined. "You and me, we're hot then cold, back and forth, pretty much all the time." Her gaze met his again.

She'd hit on the underlying issue… in a big way. Progress of a sort. But maybe not enough.

He kept his gaze steady on hers. "Where and how do we move forward? Is it possible?" Uncertainty didn't make a great foundation to build anything on.

Darby didn't look away. "Honestly? I don't know." She placed her other palm over their joined hands.

He finally looked away. "Yeah, I figured as much." Dejected, he pulled free of her grasp.

Darby didn't let him off the hook. "You'll get back on track, Park." Her hand cupped his face. "Moment by moment, day by day, you'll improve." Leaning in, her fingers traced along his jawline. "And I'm willing to talk about everything… after you recover. So do your damned physical and get cleared for active duty." Her lips brushed over his and she eased away.

Park snagged her arm and tugged her close again. "Is that a promise?" She wouldn't go back on her word if she gave it.

Darby didn't hesitate. "I said it and I meant it. So, yeah, it's a promise."

For the first time in a long time… something seemed right in the world.

I'm not sure where this one will end up going, but I'm having fun with the challenge of writing something a little on the somber side.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Quality of Care

Well… half the year gone and I have no idea where it went. LOL I have some terrific news. My oldest kidlet, on his twenty-fifth birthday and fifth anniversary of dating his girlfriend, proposed and she said yes. I'll be welcoming a new daughter-in-law in the next year or so. She's already part of the family… the marriage will only make it official. Congratulations to both!

Good television viewing week. I started off with Endeavor and caught two episodes. Glad I was able to watch the opener for series three not long after the end of series two. That was kind of a cliffhanger.

Gotham went and changed all the rules again. I have so much love for this show. I truly think season four is its best yet. Everyone finally came into their roles and the cast and plotlines all meshed together in a brilliant fashion. I can't wait for season five. Seriously.

Caught two more episodes of Chicago Fire and Blindspot. I'm truly curious about where Roman is going with everything. I'm also hopeful he ends up not being a raging dickhole. Probably not much chance he won't be, but, yeah, here's hoping.

Also caught two episodes of Sense8 and Fearless. I'm getting into Sense8. It's not as hard to follow as I thought it would be. I'm excited to see where the rest of season one goes. Fearless is kind of relentless. I'm somewhat saddened the US person is such a raging bitch. Terrific actress though.

Krypton's first season is excellent. I have the finale to watch then it's wait, wait, wait for the next season. Argh!

I didn't get to finish Archangel on the app I was watching it on, so I'll have to find it on Netflix. I did finish up The Ghost Squad and, honestly, not a bad show. A little ambiguous, but quite enjoyable. I'm still working my way through the later seasons of Midsomer Murders and should be starting series twelve soon. On the rewatch front, I'm hitting The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Band of Brothers, and Strike Back's fourth season. I'm gearing up to watch the most recent season of Strike Back so I can be ready for season six when one of my favorite actors joins the cast.

Also caught another episode of Constantine and two more episodes of Classic Who. Mutant X has joined my lineup of shows I'm revisiting.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Quality of Care, a novella that started from a writing community prompt of creating a story built around the main characters being in a tough spot or feeling worn out, whatever the case, and they're depressed, or someone else thinks they are and they need help.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Stuck on the fringe of space, cut off by an enemy blockade, Phoebe Point and Dane Moragson keep their ragtag crewmembers from going stark, raving mad. When food rations become non-existent, Phoebe and Dane plot a daring plan to improve the quality of care for their comrades—even if it means going against orders and risking court-martial.

And a sneaky peek…

Noell brought a bag, a small one, out from behind his back. "This is for you two." He opened the pouch to show its contents.

Phoebe glanced up, meeting Dane's gaze before shifting her attention to Noell. "Where did you get this?" The sack contained more food than Phoebe had seen for a very long time.

Dane shook his head. "He doesn't need to answer, Phoebs. Let's thank him instead of putting him on the spot." His hand closed around the offering.

Phoebe winced. "Yeah, sorry. Thank you." She couldn't quite wrap her head around the generosity.

Noell flashed a quick smile. "Look, why don't you two hit the storage locker next to aft control junction and have some downtime." He shuffled from side to side, clearly a little uncomfortable.

Phoebe tilted her head. "Why?"

Dane asked the same. "Yeah, while appreciated, this gesture is surprising to say the least." He shook the bag, almost like the food might disappear.

Noell lifted a shoulder. "The reason is simple, really. Even though the pilots don't always show it, they get it. How much you guys do." He paced, making a slow back and forth across the width of the corridor. "Trying to keep the peace, breaking up the throwdowns over rations, boosting morale." He paused. "And even if no one will admit it, they also know Dane gives up his share every third day to keep the numbers even." He nodded toward Phoebe. "And Phoebe skips assigned eating times so someone else can have more." He folded his arms over his chest. "Well, it's your turn. Someone has to take care of you guys, too. And the quality of care you two strive for matters… to everyone." A blush stained his cheeks. "We just forget to show how much it means sometimes."

Phoebe reached out and gave his arm a squeeze. "We appreciate it, but we're doing our jobs." And would continue until one or both were dead.

Dane clapped Noell on the shoulder. "What she means is thank you. We'll take the downtime and enjoy a brief break from work." He started off in the direction of the storage locker.

Phoebe sent Noell a quick glance. "Will you be okay? If anyone has the smallest regret, their reaction could blow back on you."

Noell shrugged again. "I'm a big boy, Lieutenant. I'll handle whatever fallout—if there is any—that comes my way."

Phoebe nodded. Noell had a good head on his shoulders. If he said he'd be okay, he'd be just fine. With a quick, wobbly smile, she turned and caught up with Dane. The lack of sleep, hunger, and high-stress of the past few weeks had her emotions all over the place.

A brief respite should help her get things back under control.

I kind of like the somber tone with spots of humor in this story. Here's hoping the rest comes together the way I hope it will.

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

ML Skye