Sunday Snippet: Night Watch

Geez, half of May is gone and I have no idea where it went. At least the weather has somewhat improved and feels more like spring heading into summer.

Had a fairly decent week of work and television viewing. Finished up a project and completed another one.

I started a new episode of Blue Heelers and got about halfway through. So far, it's an interesting one.

I caught the penultimate episode of No Offence. I have a feeling the finale is going to be a doozy. I'm looking forward to starting the third series.

I finished up the second part of Silent Witness. I should be ready to move on to season eleven in the near future. I think I have one more two-parter to watch.

Watched another arc of Classic Who. Once again, I got a little annoyed with Four. There's something about his arrogance that rubs me wrong. Pretty decent four-part series of episodes leading up to the six-part finale, which I'm looking forward to.

Caught another episode of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. This one focused on pilots and astronauts that had experiences seeing unidentified flying objects.

Watched a couple of The Muppet Show episodes. Don Knotts and Zero Mostel were the guests. I'd forgotten they had a new opening for the second season. I'm kind of partial to the first season's opener.

Caught another episode of The Hardy Boys. I like this show. For me, there's a lot of nostalgia because it harkens back to phones with cords, unorganized or unstructured days, eight-bit video games, and hanging out with friends. The mystery and dangerous stuff is icing on the cake.

Also started another episode of Peak Practice. Jack's in Africa and Beth and Will are trying to manage the practice while they wait on a replacement doctor. I have a feeling this episode might end up being a sad one.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Night Watch, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Aisley Diehl and Thad Saunders pull a shift of night watch on the hangar deck. They're tasked with keeping their junior pilots from being drunk and disorderly when they'd much rather be spending the evening doing something more enjoyable—under the covers.

And a sneaky peek…

Aisley Diehl wiped the sweat from her face. "Great workout, Callie." The other woman put Aisley through a difficult series of maneuvers.

Callie grinned. "You're fun to spar with. You give me a run for my money." The engineer took a long swallow of water.

A petty officer popped his head into the gym. "Lieutenant Diehl, the CO wants to see you in his quarters. ASAP." He ducked back out, probably to avoid getting grilled for information.

Aisley frowned. "Pretty sure I haven't done anything to piss him off this week. Wonder why he wants to see me." She grabbed her shirt and yanked it over her head.

Callie rolled a shoulder. "No clue. But I suggest a shower before you meet with him. I can smell you from over here." She cackled before turning toward the heavy bag.

Aisley smirked. "Ha-ha. But, yeah, think I'll make myself presentable before heading to his quarters." She draped the towel around her neck and started for the head next to the gym.

Callie tossed off a wave then went back to punching the bag.

Aisley stripped quickly and stepped under the misty spray even though the water hadn't warmed up yet. "ASAP gives me a little leeway, but don't want to keep him waiting." If the petty officer had said RFN—right fucking now—she'd have skipped the shower altogether.

Ten minutes later, she had a uniform on and strolled down the corridor to the commanding officer's quarters. Her hair still dripped a little, but he wouldn't care. At least she didn't think he would.

Drawing closer to the CO's space, she found Thad Saunders waiting outside and her curiosity kicked up a notch. Surely the CO hadn't heard anything about her clandestine relationship with Thad? They didn't speak of it for a reason.

Nah. That would have warranted an RFN summons.

Thad lifted his chin when he noticed her. "You too?" He jerked his head toward the hatch.

She nodded. "Yep. Ordered to report ASAP. How long have you been here?" And why hadn't he gone in already?

Thad shrugged. "Just got here. Took a moment to run through everything I've done this week to figure out why he wants to see me. Didn't know I'd have company." His lips twitched.

She grinned and lowered her voice. "Speaking of company … plans for later?" She didn't get specific—they could decide the where and when after the meeting.

Thad gave her a heated look. "Definitely." He raised his hand and knocked on the hatch.

This is a fun little story that should be angst-free. Thad and Aisley pulled the short straw with their extra duty but they'll find a way to make it interesting.

 

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

ML Skye