Sunday Snippet: Lover's Lament

Well, January in Ohio has been the usual weird warm one day, cool the next, and hey, let's throw some snow into the mix. It's not a lot of snow, but it's enough to be annoying until we get the first really good blanket of the white stuff.

Solid work week. I had a bunch of projects going and added a few to my calendar. I'm kind of excited to be delving into some new territory. I also got a lot done on my new venture and updating my website, which is very much needed. I've neglected it for far too long.

Had a decent week of television. Didn't quite make it through every show, but I got most of my current slate watched.

Stared the week with My Life Is Murder and kind of liked seeing a bit of Alexa's past even if her friend ended up being the culprit.

Caught the first part of a two-part Agatha Raisin. Enjoyed it for the most part. I'm not a fan of the whole lack of progress with Bill and Toni, but I loved having Roy back.

Finished up the second part of Silent Witness and I'm disappointed they lost Adam after a handful of episodes. What a twist though.

Watched another episode of Death in Paradise, starting the fifth season. I'm very much enjoying being able to watch all the episodes in chronological order.

Enjoyed an episode of Elementary. I kind of like the lack of boundaries and the need to establish them. This episode kind of brought that idea home in a big way.

Caught another episode of The Batman. "Grundy's Night" ended up being so much fun and it's one I didn't quite remember from my original run through.

Watched another Classic Rugrats. I actually didn't remember either of these, so it was fun to watch.

Finally, started a new episode of The Secret Life of Amy Benson. I'm enjoying this series, but I also feel like a lot is being left off the screen. Probably the biggest fallback when adapting books for viewing. That said, I love that Passionflix is doing this. So many books to choose from and they've chosen some of the very best.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Lover's Lament, a novella that explores what happens when things are stretched too thin.

Here's the miniblurb:

Taryn Untied and Holmes Selari, two soldiers under a constant stream of pressure, start making mistakes due to lack of any kind of down time. Their superior officer finally orders them to take R&R on the Lover's Lament and promises to conveniently forget their location if anything else goes wrong. Thirty-six hours of alone time should clear up their cranky attitudes.

And a sneaky peek…

Holmes Selari attempted to tighten a bolt on the landing strut of his bird. "Come on, dammit." The wrench slipped and his knuckles grazed the undercarriage of the craft. "Son of a bitch." The tool went sailing through the air and skidded across the floor, which did nothing to ease Holmes's frustration. "Why isn't there a number five hex wrench over here?" Is it too much to ask to have the most commonly used tool available for repairs?

Holmes riffled around the pile of equipment, searching for the elusive size he needed to finish the job on his landing gear. Unable to locate a number five, he whirled around and came face-to-face with the chief. The wrench Holmes tossed got placed on the workstation.

Newman folded his arms over his chest before he spoke. "We're short on the size you need, so you'll have to check the station next door." He stomped over and grabbed the correct wrench then returned. "I'm going to suggest you save the temper tantrums for the rec room, sir. Tools do not get thrown on my deck." Robbie stepped in and tightened the bolt on Holmes's plane.

Which only pissed him off more. "Maybe if you had the tools we need while we're covering your ass, shit wouldn't get thrown." Okay, I'm being a dick, but damn, it's been a day.

Taryn strolled over with her head tilted to one side. "Yeah, chief. This crap with your deck crew not catching things and having empty workstations is getting old."

Robbie leaned in closed, his voice dropping to a snarl. "They're doing their best. Doesn't help when you guys come down here and do nothing but bitch the entire time … from the moment you step foot until you leave."

Holmes snapped, his voice rising. "Don't talk to me about doing your best when you're the one asking my pilots to help out." They couldn't be stretched any thinner and the deck chief knew it.

Robbie pushed back. "None of your other pilots put my crew at risk by throwing shit."

Taryn added her two cents. "Is that right? How about your crew putting us at risk because they're not doing thorough evaluations?" She stared Newman down.

Say, what?

Holmes growled. "Why am I hearing about this now? When did this happen?" If he missed a memo or an after-action report, his ass would be in a sling.

Taryn held up a hand. "It happened earlier today, and I'm on the hangar deck so I could find you and fill you in."

Robbie rolled his eyes. "Nice, lieutenant, don't even give me a chance to address the concern with the crew. Terrific." He flung an arm out.

Holmes lost his cool. "Goddammit, chief. This is—"

"Enough!" A voice boomed from the direction of the corridor.

The XO poked his head out from the briefing room, a harsh glare on his face.

Holmes sighed. Well, fuck. Now shit'll get interesting.

Having a bit of fun with this one. Holmes and Taryn definitely need a break, but at this point, they're hoping it won't be in the brig.

 

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

ML Skye