Sunday Snippet: Sabotage

Well, we're finally getting November weather. It's chilly outside and we got some snow showers that really ended up being flurries flying wildly in the wind. I'm kind of excited to get into the true depth of fall.

Had a decent week of catching up on projects and doing more organizing. I also made a dent in my holiday shopping. I'm making an effort to be on top of that this year.

Pretty solid week of viewing also. I got two episodes of Glitch in. I thought I'd already watched the third episode but I hadn't. So I'll be starting episode five this week. Some crazy stuff happened and we're down two characters. I'm very interested in what the hell happened to Vic.

Caught another musical icon episode. Whitney Houston: We Will Always Love You ended up being full of stuff I didn't know or remember about the singer. I like revisiting the lives of those we've lost.

Watched the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery. Definitely had a twist I sort of expected but didn't know if the show would go there. They totally did. I'm kind of excited to see the finale then dive into the Ready Room breakdowns. I kind of hope Wil loses his mind over some of the twists and turns. He's so much fun because he's such a huge fan.

Enjoyed two episode of Chicago Med. I'm almost through the second season with one more episode to go. I'm kind of sad about Robin's descent, especially because Rhodes is such a nice guy. I'm also thrilled with how Reese is coming into her own and standing up for herself. Her confidence is amazing this season.

Caught the season finale of Midsomer Murders. Really liked this one and loved the mystery. I rather hope there's another season in the works.

Finished season thirteen of Silent Witness and started the first episode of season fourteen. I'm a little iffy on whether I remember this one or not. Some of the details are pinging so I think I did watch it before.

Watched the season twenty finale of Classic Who. Thoroughly enjoyed "The Five Doctors" and seeing all the former companions back for a spin. Although Four didn't have much of anything to do, which, honestly, isn't a huge loss. He'd been the most recent anyway.

Caught another episode of Roswell: The Final Verdict and liked the deep dive into how some of the witnesses were discredited and humiliated. Everything that happened with the Roswell incident is fascinating.

Enjoyed two more episodes of The Muppet Show. Lynda Carter and Carol Channing were the guest stars. The muppets trying to be super heroes was hilarious.

Started the updated version of Fantasy Island. Interesting premise and pretty decent storylines. I'll finish out the season and see if things hold up.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice. I'm almost through season five and I'm still liking the mix of partners. I think I have two episodes left before season six starts.

Watched another MasterClass with Brandon McMillan. This one gave me some good insight into how to keep my doggos from jumping. I'm going to try some of the techniques because that's a huge problem with both dogs.

Enjoyed two episodes of Classic Rugrats. Two were favorites from watching with my kiddos when they were little. This show is so much fun to revisit.

Also caught another episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. Nice to see Jared back and what a terrific case. I'm hoping the lawyer lady gets caught at some point. Because she's definitely guilty. Also wondering if the final duo will end up featuring in another episode at some point.

And that's pretty much it for this week's television update. Tonight's post is from Sabotage, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Sapphire Naught and Gifford Fell are tasked with finding a saboteur and neither is allowed to fly until the culprit is apprehended. The cat and mouse game of tracking and luring their prey into a trap takes its toll on their relationship but ends up making them see new sides to each other.

And a sneaky peek…

"Holy shit." Sapphire straightened in her chair, keeping her eyes glued to the monitor. "Lame bird. Trouble rising." She yanked the headphones over her ears to shut out the background noise and focus on the issues scrolling on the screen and Giff's voice relaying his problem.

Topping the list, a terrible malfunction with his navigation array.

She pitched her voice low, using a soothing tone. "Flagstone, Hyperion. Sit rep."

Giff replied. "Hyperion, Flagstone. Bad hydraulic leak. Can't eject. Bird's drifting."

She glanced over her shoulder. "Launch the SAR team." Search and rescue would need to haul ass or Giff risked hypoxia.

If he couldn't eject, the backup O2 wouldn't switch over. Unless…

She rolled her wrist in a circular motion. "Switching to one on one."

Another tech took over monitoring the SAR comm traffic.

She focused back on Giff. "Why can't you eject?"

Giff explained. "Cable snapped when I tried."

Sapphire frowned. "Should've been caught on pre-flight."

Giff made a quick reply. "That's on me. It was loose, but stable. Didn't think it would be a problem."

And, normally, it wouldn't have been.

Sapphire shook her head. "Okay, look, there's a way to override the malfunction to get the backup oxygen, but it ain't pretty."

Giff made a tsking sound. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

She stayed on the line with him, calculating the minutes until search and rescue would get to him. No way they would get there in time.

She lowered her voice. "Giff, you need to start now. You can't take any chances."

He made a disgusted sound. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. Walk me through it."

Sapphire described the steps.

Giff snorted. "Right. Definitely won't be pretty."

He had to find a way to cut the cable then switch the O2 intake over to portable.

Sapphire prompted him. "Keep talking to me so I can follow your progress. Do you carry a blade in your flight suit?"

Giff shot back. "Nope. I've had too many confiscated when we go planetside." After a brief pause, he came on again. "I'm using the metal panel that covers the comm system cables."

Good thinking.

She kept him updated on the progress of the SAR bird. "They're not that far out, but it's gonna be close."

Giff barked out a brief laugh. "Ha! I got it. I'll be switching over to portable, but when I do, I'm gonna lose comms."

Sapphire dragged her lower lip between her teeth. "See you soon." Hopefully alive.

She waited for three heart-pounding minutes before the rescue team announced they had him in sight. Another two for them to mark him aboard their ship. And thirty more seconds before his voice blended in with the others.

Sighing with relief, she glanced up and frowned when see noted the commander in a one-on-one with the XO. Each wore a concerned look on their face. Setting her headset aside, she fought the roil of her stomach and ignored the niggle of worry trying to rent space in her head.

Something's not right.

I'm having a good time writing this one. I love sprinkling a little mystery into the romance for a layer of conflict.

 

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

ML Skye