Wow, I can't
believe January is almost over. Actually… yeah, I can. It's been a strange
month. The weather is definitely not winter-like, which I'm not really
complaining about. It might be nice to have snow… but maybe after we get our
roof repaired.
Slow week for
television as I had a few projects to get caught up on. I caught a new arc of Classic Who episodes. I'm in the tenth
season and have one more to go with Three.
Also watched two
more episodes of Gargoyles and
finished out the first season. The second is super long with something like
fifty-plus episodes. I'll gradually make my way through those.
I watched the first
episode season eight's Arrow. Man…
I'm going to miss this show so much. I'm excited there might be carry-on with
Mia and the Dinah's and I actually hope some of the others in the 2040 version
of Starling City find their way to the new show.
Caught an episode
of Murdoch Mysteries and loved it. I
always find it fun when they have historical figures mixed in with the regular
cast. And I love the soft jabs the show takes at current events.
Watched another episode
of Frankie Drake Mysteries and I have
one left for the third season. I really love how they work Flo and Mary into
the storylines and I'll be interested to see what season four has on the
horizon. If there is a season four.
Started the Riverdale finale for season three. I'm
so hoping Edgar is gone for season four and I know Hiram isn't but I at least I
might get one wish to come true. Seriously, I hate Hiram with the passion of a
thousand burning suns. Ugh.
And that's pretty
much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Command Authority, a sexy short that got a start with a writing
community prompt.
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…
"Hey, Addie. Did you see the
new flight roster yet?" Lucia Xing called out from the shower two stalls
down.
Addie frowned. She had, but
didn't notice any changes.
She angled her head toward the
other pilot. "Yeah, is there a problem?"
Lucia laughed. "Hell, no.
Which is exactly the point. Two full months with almost zero changes, barring
that last minute switch last week when Rumbleseat whacked his head on the
canopy and knocked himself out."
Addie finally got it. "You
want me to punch you so you know it's real?"
Showoff threw her hands up, mock
terrified. "No, no. Not necessary." She ducked her head under the
spray, making sure all the shampoo rinsed away.
Addie shut her water supply off
and snagged a towel. Xing did the same and moved to stand beside Addie at the
line of mirrors.
Addie went for humor. "You
sure get excited about the most bizarre things around here."
Using her fingers to comb through
her short mop of hair, Lucia shot back. "Look, when standard operating
procedure is a sharp stab to the back, something like a consistent schedule
takes some getting used to." She met Addie's gaze in the mirror. "But
it doesn't go unnoticed. Commander's doing a damned good job." Finished
with her primping, she turned and left the area to head for her locker.
Addie pondered Lucia's words.
James Trask, the first replacement for Ames, had been a wheeler dealer who
never thought to have a command. The bastard ran the ship the way he ran his
acquisition duties. More than a few of the crew felt the bite of a double deal.
Addie had her own run in with
Trask's system when she'd dropped a delivery of supplies at an outpost and
discovered she'd been promised in the deal. Several gunshots and a wicked
spiral fly out from the landing bay later, she'd contacted Neal on a secured
private comm and filled him in. Acting as the Amalthea's liaison and Ganymead's
CAG at the time, Neal kept a closer watch on the commander, observing his
underhanded practices and wondered aloud how long Trask could keep it up.
The quartermaster feared for his
life. Forced to be a go between, he took most of the heat when Trask kept using
off log suppliers and short changed them on trades and payment. The
quartermaster finally landed in the infirmary with several broken bones, after
a severe beating from one of Trask's sources. Trask didn't fare as well. He
ended up on the wrong side of the airlock. They'd found his body, floating in
space, outside the base station.
James Trask might have been
friendlier than his predecessor. He'd had to be. To further his own agenda, he
mixed business with pleasure. But his double dealing hadn't been limited to the
ships in the fleet. More than a few of the Ganymead
crew had bite marks on their ass from his tenure as commander. And they had the
scars to prove it. Considering they still double checked the duty rosters to
make sure they wouldn't be caught out by a last minute change—courtesy of a
trademark command payoff—the wounds hadn't completely healed.
Yet, Addie had noticed the solid,
positive changes made and Neal's hand in getting it done. She should. When Neal
had been assigned to be the Ganymead's
liaison, he'd often sought her opinion about former command initiatives, asking
her what she'd change. They'd grown very close during the time they spent deep
in discussion. Okay, closer. Addie never suspected he'd be commanding the ship
a short time afterward.
But seeing the relaxed countenance of the crew
made her weird uncomfortable vibe worth it. Neal had recently brokered an
arrangement for supplies in trade and it went super smooth. The crew finally
trusted the flight roster and had started singing Neal's praises.
Addie got a zing. She and Neal
had always worked in tandem, tag-teaming to get things done for the pilots on
the Amalthea. She missed it, working closely with him. But holy hell, it felt
good to see the confirmation that their work had paid off. The Ganymead staff
and crew had followed Trask because they had to… they followed Neal because
they wanted to.
And okay, she'd become part of
his command staff—temporarily—but it didn't feel the same. She didn't quite
have her bearings yet. Completely on her. Neal treated her the same… but she
saw him differently. Addie needed an adjustment period—something new and
foreign for her go with the flow attitude. Threw her off-kilter and she didn't
like it.
She and Neal… they had a
push-pull thing. Attracted to each other, they played it fairly safe,
acknowledging the heat, but not acting on it. They'd come so close a few times,
but she pulled away. Neal told her to be sure, absolutely certain. Once they
crossed the line, they couldn't go back.
Okay, he wouldn't go back. He'd
made it very clear. Then stepped back and gave her some room to figure shit
out.
Too bad hell landed on the hangar
deck in the form of the Ganymead and it's whacked out crew. Who the hell had
time to think when life went sideways and everything changed? Except maybe late
at night, when sleep wouldn't come no matter how tired she got.
Addie had plenty of time to think
then. And she knew what she wanted with Neal. But with the game-changing stuff
going on, she didn't know how they'd ever pull off making a relationship work.
Throw in the possible reaction from Neal's old man and Colonel Shitface and
Addie wondered which ship would implode in on itself first.
I'm excited about
this story. The narrative is a little different than the usual for me and I
enjoy playing with the structure.
That's it for this
week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
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