Sunday Snippet: Not Quite Paradise

Another crazy week. This time on more of a personal front, which isn't all that unusual. I don't normally get slowed down though and I did this week. We got to see almost totality for the eclipse and that was actually a lot of fun. Our streetlights came on at three in the afternoon on an otherwise sunny day. Seriously. Lots of fun.

Had a fairly decent week of viewing and caught up on most of my regular schedule. I've pared it down a little and kind of hope to get back into a full rotation sometime soon. If I'm paying for streaming services, I should be using them, right?

Ended up catching two episodes of The Batman. I'd completely forgotten the original sidekick storyline with Prank for the Joker. Ended up enjoying that one. Also kind of loved the "Thunder" episode. That one I did remember.

Watched two episodes of Classic Rugrats. I must have missed a big portion of the seventh season because I don't remember any of the vignettes. Kind of nice to have new-to-me material to watch.

Enjoyed an episode of My Life Is Murder. I think I have one more left before bonus material. Going to miss this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Caught the holiday episode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Enjoyed it. Looking forward to diving into the new season.

Started a new two-part Silent Witness. Loved seeing Jack's niece again. Looking forward to finishing this episode.

Said good-bye to Humphrey on Death in Paradise. Really liked the way his run ended. I'm excited to start Beyond Paradise in the near future.

Watched another episode of Elementary. I'm almost through the first season and I'm very much enjoying this show.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Not Quite Paradise, a novella that maroons the characters on a deserted moon.

Here's the miniblurb:

Janee Neff and Oxley DeCosta are military transport pilots flying a peacetime mission to pick up new recruits when their craft crashes and strands them on a deserted moon. The couple discovers things aren't exactly what they seem when they find their signal beacon is destroyed by blaster fire, which means their unexpected vacation isn't quite paradise after all.

And a sneaky peek…

Ox compiled the day's data and added it to the previous three. "Sending the final scans. Ready to bust the boredom and pick up our newbs?" He bit the inside of his cheek to hide a grin.

Janee's head snapped up and her gaze went hot. "Excuse me? Bust the boredom?" She swung around in her seat. "You are not talking about me?" Her hand gripped the armrests so hard the knuckles turned white. "I mean, I've been called a lot of things. But boring? Definitely isn't—" She broke off and her eyes narrowed. "Shit. You just used your free dig and I totally fell for it." Her gaze turned questioning. "Um … right?"

He could keep her hanging but the small waver in her confidence had his eyebrows raising a bit. Had their dynamic shifted? Might be something to ponder once they got back to the ship.

Ox huffed out a laugh hoping to break the weird beat of tension. "Yep." He'd be a complete ass if he left her twisting too long.

Her shoulders slumped forward, and she flashed a smile. "Good one. And, man, you weren't lying about being a patient man." She snorted. "I thought you'd forgotten about the free pass." Swinging back around, she buckled her harness over her chest.

Ox smirked and tamped down a rush of pride at the backhanded compliment. "Not only am I patient…" He waited until she glanced his way. "I rarely forget a promise made." Facing ahead, he started the preflight checks.

Janee tilted her head to one side. "Duly noted. That's actually good information." Her lips curved upward.

Ox didn't know if she meant good to have or good to use … but he had no doubt he'd find out at some point.

Halfway through the checklist, Ox came across a concerning ping. "There's a blip about the rear thrusters. It's on the original checklist, too. Do you remember what the issue is?" And would it delay the short jaunt to pick up the new recruits?

Janee frowned. "Not sure there is an issue. There's a small skip when initially engaging them. Since we're not doing much more than sitting in the black and landing in a spaceport to pick up passengers, Wan didn't redline the transport." Her fingers drummed on the control panel. "I trust his assessment."

Ox hesitated over the keyboard. "Did you eyeball the unit?" He'd believe her review if she had.

Janee grimaced. "I didn't. Like I said, I trust Specialist Jennings." She side-eyed him. "Do you not?"

Ox exhaled slowly. "It's not that I don't. But I'd be more confident if one of us had a visual point of reference." Or if the deck chief had… "You made the call to take off. You think we're good?" He'd go with her gut.

Janee's lips kicked up in a grin. "Of course, we're good. What could really go wrong?"

Ox winced. "Yeah, probably nothing." He spooled up the engines. "Let's head out…"

The probably nothing is going to be an absolute something. Janee kind of jinxed their takeoff.

 

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

ML Skye