Sunday Snippet: Zero Sum

Not a bad week. I made excellent headway on the two projects I'm editing and got some writing of my own done. The weather has been so nice and comfortable. Not quite chilly enough to be considered fall but also not the sweltering yuck we often have this time of year.

I'm finally more or less back on my regular viewing schedule. I might be dropping one of my streamers because they're going to paid only and, frankly, I'm not that interested in the content to pay five bucks a month for it. We'll see how it goes.

Caught several episodes of Classic Rugrats. I'm into season four and trawling through the memory banks. I love reminiscing about sitting with the kids and watching this when they were wee little ones.

Watched maybe the last episode of Chicago Med for me. This is the streamer that's going to paid only and I'm not that interested in continuing to watch. I'll see what happens in a few weeks.

Enjoyed two episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. I have so much love for this series and tend to rewatch on a semi-frequent basis. There's a very good stable of villains and the animation is great.

Caught another episode of Ted Lasso. Gotta say I thoroughly enjoyed Ted losing his shit with Rebecca. I also loved the whole method of breaking the curse. This is a great show.

Watched the season eight finale of The Brokenwood Mysteries. I have a behind the scenes episode to watch then another wait for new episodes. Looking forward to seeing what Mike had to say to the proposal at the end.

Enjoyed the second part of Silent Witness. Looking forward to seeing what season twenty has to offer. I'm loving the dynamic between the characters.

Finished up season twenty-five of Classic Who. Not a bad way to end the season. I also discovered there's at least one more so I'll start it this week.

Caught another episode of Strangest Things. I liked the segments in this episode. A hoax and a spectacular way-before-its-time device caught my attention.

Loved the episode of The Book of Boba Fett. It featured the return of the Mandalorian and I'm a little spoiled for season two of The Mandalorian because of this, but I'm totally okay with that.

Enjoyed another episode of Only Murders in the Building. This show. I have a lot of love for it and can't wait to jump in to season two.

Watched the season eight finale of Peak Practice. A lot of moving pieces and setting things up for next season. I'll be starting nine in the near future.

Caught another MasterClass lesson with Roxane Gay. She focused on the business of writing and I ended up getting some good information from this lesson.

Umbrella Academy ended up being great. I'm really loving this show. I very much enjoy finding out little bits and pieces about the characters and the pacing is excellent.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Zero Sum, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Sabrina Delft and Carrick Stafford have a zero sum relationship—whenever one gains something, the other has a corresponding loss. But when they're stranded on an abandoned mining colony and forced to rely on each other, they learn to balance the good with the bad and end up with a total win.

And a sneaky peek…

Sabrina made her way to the colony base facility. "Glad it's not a long walk." Her suit showed the atmosphere had oxygen, but not enough to be breathable even with filters.

The planetoid surface lacked plant life, at least close to the mining area. Dust blew from all directions and she doubted anyone would last long without a suit. A filtered mask would get clogged quickly.

Once she arrived at the door, she found it closed but not locked or barred. It took a few hard tugs to get it open and gritty sand swirled all around her until she got it shut again after entering. She turned her headlamps on and scouted the entryway. Three corridors led off from the main door and the vestibule had furniture stacked up along the walls.

She took the left hall, which led to the main hall and lamented not being stronger once she got inside. "No way will I be able to get into some of the rooms without help." She'd need Carrick's offer of brute force to get stuff up and running.

But the place had viability and she found an intact suit. "At least we'll have a way back and forth." If they needed one.

She also found the power stores and main connector. The solar units should give them plenty of juice to survive. Continuing her exploration, she discovered the entrance to the mine in an offshoot from the main hall. The infirmary and living quarters were located along the middle corridor. Not exactly stellar accommodations, but livable.

She started back. "Now to convince Carrick my idea gives us the best chance." She did a quick search of the third corridor and, on her way out, found a food store but couldn't get into it.

She also peered through a cloudy window across the hall from the storage area and decided she'd stumbled onto the remnants of a hydroponic garden. "That could be useful."

Still under her thirty-minute window, she'd tell Carrick what she found when she got back to the ship. "No need to start an argument over comms." Unless she missed her guess, he wouldn't want to leave the ship.

Tucking the other suit under her arm, she started the trudge back to the hopper.

This story is a lot of fun to write and I'm enjoying the enemies-to-lovers vibe. I also love stranding characters together and making them figure things out.

 

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

ML Skye