Sunday Snippet: Fail Me Now

Well, June is off to an auspicious start. Not only a pandemic still raging but global protests against police brutality and systematic racism. It's a wild time to be alive. Whew.

Not a bad week of television viewing overall, especially considering how intense this past week has been. I started out with some new Blue Heelers and almost finished up the episode.

Also caught several more episodes of Danger Man. I'm almost through the second season and should be starting the third soon.

I did indeed start Gabriel's Inferno and I've been catching bits and pieces throughout the week. This is a movie I want to watch during uninterrupted time so it'll take me a while to get through the full two hours. I'm excited there will be more to come with a second part to this and I think two more books to adapt. Good stuff so far.

Also did some additional listening to the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack for season three. I'm going to have to hunt down the works I don't have from Bear McCreary. He's truly a remarkable composer.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Fail Me Now, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Tate Emerson has no desire to fly fighters—he's worked too hard to get out from under his father's thumb. But when enemy forces attack, Indi Best comes calling with a special invitation from the elder Emerson: Join the fight or get left behind. Tate hatches a plan to do his part, but not have to take orders from his father.

And a sneaky peek…

Indi Best poked her head into her CO's quarters. "You wanted to see me, sir?" She hoped like hell he had good news for once.

The commander paused the video on the monitor and waved her inside. "I did." He pointed to the screen. "Watch this." He pressed the play button and the footage started again.

Indi blinked at the action taking place. A dogfight between the galactic concourse and enemy raiders played out in rapid fire sequence. The gun cameras caught the intricate maneuvers of the two sides, each a force to be reckoned with. Indi picked out several missteps from both arenas, thinking that might be why her CO called her in.

She leaned closer to the monitor. "Is that…" Her voice trailed off and her brain tried to wrap itself around what occurred next.

A freighter charged forward, slipping down below the battle playing out over its upper deck and bridge and carefully maneuvered its way through the flak coming from the big carriers below its hull and hold and managed to avoid plunging into the asteroid belt directly beneath the theater where the skirmish took place. And … somehow made it safely to the other side where concourse forces controlled the space.

Indi shook her head. "No effing way." How the hell did that ship make it through without a scratch?

She'd never seen anything like it before; neither the tactics nor the style of piloting the large ship between a raging battle taking place over and under the vessel. Impressed didn't quite describe the amount of awe filling her. Glancing toward the commander, she caught a brief flash of something cross his face. She assumed he marveled at the skill of the pilot also.

The CO turned to face her. "We need pilots who can fly like that." He pinned her with a hard gaze.

Indi pursed her lips, treading lightly. "I don't disagree, sir. But freighters are very different from our combat prowlers." The two didn't compare on any level.

Freighters had a crew of at least three, usually more. Combat prowlers were single pilot ships designed for speed and maneuverability. And shooting down as many of the enemy as possible. Freighters didn't have much in the way of weaponry, maybe a cannon rail that didn't have a lot of range or accuracy.

Her gut churned, warning her of what would come next.

The commander slid her a sideways glance. "You saying it's not possible? Because it's easier to teach people who already know basic flight." The low growl in his voice indicated he didn't want an argument.

Neither did Indi, but she pointed out the obvious anyway. "I'm not saying it's impossible, sir. I'm saying just because this guy can slip through a battle unscathed there's no guarantee he'll be any good or even have the aptitude to fly combat missions." Lots of pilots did well with maneuverability and control but cracked under pressure when bullets started flying.

The commander shook his head. "I can pretty much guarantee he's got the aptitude." His voice held a confident note…

And something else that gave Indi an inkling…

She narrowed her eyes. "What makes you so certain?" Did her CO know the pilot of the freighter?

The commander met and held her gaze. "He's my son."

Holy shit.

The rumor mill churned out fodder about Commander Teague Emerson's son, who pretty much thumbed his nose at his dad's career and decided to go his own way. Indi wanted to ask a zillion questions but she didn't. She waited patiently for Teague to explain exactly what he wanted from her.

I'm having so much fun with this story. I love Indi and Tate is very much like his dad, even if he hates the fact that he is. It's a joy to write these characters.

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

ML Skye