Sunday Snippet: Stripped to the Skin

Wow, September flew by. Now that we're into fall the days always seem to go faster, probably because they're shorter and the activities tend to be jam-packed. I love the fall season so I hope I remember to take time to enjoy it.

As usual, the week got stuffed full of last-minute projects, but I did get some good viewing in. I caught The Last Ship on Monday because my brain needed time to recover from homecoming. LOL An excellent episode by the way.

I binge-watched classic Hawaii Five-0 most of the day on Sunday and it helped soothe my garbled mind. Caught another episode of Midsomer Murders and I'm almost through the season. I think I still have about seven more to watch.

Got in another episode of Babylon 5 along with The Sarah Conner Chronicles. To keep with the sci-fi theme, I also watched episodes of Birds of Prey and Lexx. Rounded the week out with Pensacola Wings of Gold and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Caught an all-day marathon of The Garage Sale Mysteries, too.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Stripped to the Skin, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of rewriting a scene from your favorite show but give it a twist. I chose to write one from Battlestar Galactica and instead of oxygen deprivation I went with a malfunction that made the temperature rise.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Kaley Pick and Dax Christopher are trapped in an isolation chamber when a ship-wide power outage occurs. The temperature rises and they have to strip to the skin—a perfect time to consummate their growing attraction—except they're not alone. A junior officer is stuck with them and he's not dealing well with the heat.

And a sneaky peek…

Kaley Pick paced the small confines of the isolation area. "Figures one of you asshats brought some kind of contaminant back with you." She didn't like downtime with nothing to do.

Dax Christopher quirked a brow. "So you're sure it wasn't you that stepped in something nasty then?" He propped a shoulder against the wall and let his gaze track her progress.

Stupid man.

The third member of their team, Brad Robinette, added his two cents. "Yeah, Lieutenant, what makes you so sure?" He didn't move from his spot on the tiny sleeping berth against the wall.

"Shut up, Bird Dog." Kaley spoke in unison with Dax.

Robinette rolled his eyes. "Sucks being an ensign to two lieutenants." He swiped a hand over his forehead and pulled his t-shirt away from his body, fanning himself.

Dax moved to sit on the small bench beside the table where they ate their meals. "What's got you all hyped up? We've only got three more hours left in iso." He leaned forward, placing his forearms on the metal top.

Kaley stopped pacing. "You know I hate being confined with nothing to do." She started walking again. "Gives me too much time to think." Which never worked out well for her.

Dax couldn't disagree. "Yeah, okay. But you don't have to get twitchy. It's almost over."

Kaley loved the fact he'd totally call her on being jumpy but understand why.

She snorted. "That's exactly why I'm twitchy." And feeling flushed.

Robinette cut in. "Is it me or is it really hot in here?" He got up and went to the door. "Seriously, I'm sweating buckets." His face pressed against the small glass window, but it didn't seem to help.

Kaley didn't like the way Bird Dog looked. His hair stuck to his skin, his soaked shirt clung to his body, and his breathing had gone shallow. Dammit!

 Dax got up and met Kaley at Robinette's side.

He nodded toward the comm unit. "Try to get in touch with someone." He led Brad to the berth and got him settled. "It is hotter than a sauna in here." He snagged a bottle of water, one of their last ones, and gave it to Robinette.

Kaley picked up the handset. "It's dead. No tone." She hung up and looked out the window.

The observation area appeared to be deserted. Shit. Of course everyone would be scarce when they actually needed someone.

Dax came over to her side and looked out the window. "Looks like the outer door is closed." Meaning no risk of contaminating anyone by leaving before the allotted time. "Let's go out and try the comms." He tried the hatch and it wouldn't budge. "Dammit, it's jammed." He had sweat dripping from his face.

So did Kaley. Sweat on her face, dripping down her back, and between her breasts. Ugh. How did she miss the rise in temperature?

Because she thought her anxiety caused the perspiration. And it skyrocketed with the current hatch situation.

She pushed Dax aside. "Let me take a look." She pulled the panel to the inner mechanisms. "Dax, it's not jammed. It's autolocked." Well, crap.

Dax peered over her shoulder. "Which means malfunction. Perfect."

Kaley sighed and put her head against the hatch. "What a time for the ship's systems to go haywire." A thud hitting the floor drew her attention.

Robinette lay sprawled on the floor beside the berth.

Perfect.

I love to take a scene and turn it on its side or spin it around. Dax and Kaley are fun to write and I love adding little beats between them on the page.

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

ML Skye