Sunday Snippet: Out of the Box, Into the Burn

Ugh. Still feeling terrible and under the weather. The respiratory yuck that's going around in my area is awful. I think I'm through the worst. Fingers crossed!

Had a whole slew of new projects land in my inbox this week. I'm so thankful for the work and truly hope I can get back to a normal schedule where I don't crash several times a day and need to rest.

Slow viewing week, mainly due to the aforementioned rest periods. When I only got about two to three hours of sleep at a stretch, those nap sessions were super important.

I started the fifth and final season of Suspects. Wow, brutal opening episode and kind of a heartbreaker. I have a feeling Jack is going to go completely off the rails. And Charlie needs to have a moment to grieve and wrap her head around everything.

I finished the tenth season of Brokenwood Mysteries. I love this show so much. I'll look forward to the next season with lots of anticipation.

Caught another episode of Best in Paradise. I rather liked meeting Humphrey's dad and rewatching this episode ended up being a great reminder of how fierce Florence could be.

Enjoyed an episode of Death in Paradise. I'd watched a little of this one and I'm glad I got to see it from beginning to end. Very twisty plot threads in this one.

Watched another episode of Elementary. Nice to see Mycroft again. Loved the new dynamic between the brothers. Gotta say I'm on the fence with the whole Watson sleeping with Mycroft deal, but we'll see if I come down on one side or the other later.

Caught an episode of The Batman and it's one I remember from my original watch. I liked seeing Dick in school and the double-cross by the Riddler ended up being fun. The ending, though, topped everything.

Enjoyed a Classic Rugrats episode that departed from the normal two to three vignettes. "Finsterella" was such a fun episode of the show.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Out of the Box, Into the Burn, a novella where the characters face a challenge of brining change to old-school ways.

Here's the miniblurb:

Parry Thrum, a superior pilot, is sidetracked with an injury and relegated to planning a mission on an enemy outpost instead of flying in to save the day. When one of her superiors rejects every parameter she comes up with, Blake Bradley, another excellent pilot, steps in and backs her up—the out of the box, into the burn approach is just the thing to take their opponent by surprise, and a very Parry plan.

And a sneaky peek…

Blake didn't bother changing into his uniform before heading for Commandant Wagner's quarters. "I'd like a quick word with the commandant." He made it a request, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.

The marine guard announced Blake then nodded for him to enter after Wagner gave the okay.

Wagner stood at the monitor, watching the gun camera footage. Blake didn't need to see the screen … the carnage would haunt his dreams for the foreseeable future. They lost another half of a squadron, which meant they would be a full one down.

Wagner didn't speak until the display went dark. "Captain, did you know the dual maneuver the pilots used out there is one your grandfather came up with?" He shot a quick look toward Blake. "And it's the first one I learned and executed under his tutelage?" His shoulders slumped a little.

Blake gave a nod. "I do, sir. Grandpa has a keen mind and isn't afraid to roll a hard run into something else." He chose his words carefully because he didn't like using the family connection.

But this situation justified pulling the card and putting it in play. Kip Wagner went way back with Thomas Bradley, first learning then serving under him. Blake also had a sneaking suspicion, the elder Bradley pulled strings to get his grandson a post under Wagner's command.

Wagner squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes. "You saying I'm not capable of doing the same?" His tone suggested Blake needed to step with caution.

Blake shook his head. "No, sir. Not you specifically." He left the rest unsaid, letting Wagner draw his own conclusion.

Kip motioned for Blake to take a seat. "You've got something to say, so spit it out, Bradley." He propped his hip on the edge of his desk.

Blake settled in the chair opposite the commandant. "You've seen the carnage. What we're doing isn't working. We're down a full squadron now." He didn't have to tell Wagner, the man already knew, but saying the words kept the loss close to the surface where it needed to be.

Wagner grunted. "Why are you here, Captain?" He lifted his chin, indicating Blake should speak freely.

Blake unloaded. "If you don't want to lose more people, you have to let someone—anyone—else plan the missions. Colonel Carbine can't or won't see past standard tactics and procedures." When Wagner didn't bust Blake for insubordination, he kept going. "The biggest challenge we face is our enemy knows our maneuvers … because they learned from the same playbook. We're not fighting against unknown tangoes. We're fighting former colleagues and comrades in arms. They know exactly how to counter anything we use out there." He stopped because if he continued, Carbine would be next on the list and Blake didn't want to open that avenue right now.

The loss of fellow pilots still burned, and the stench of defeat lingered.

Wagner shifted slightly from his perch on the desk and pinned Blake with a steady stare. "You're laying all this at the XO's feet then? What about me? What's my responsibility here?" He folded his arms across his chest.

Blake didn't flinch. "If I may speak freely, sir, we're all at fault here. With the possible exception of Lieutenant Thrum. She's been banging the drum of alarm for weeks now." And Parry suffered the consequences of her actions.

Wagner's brows rose. "Why am I only hearing of this now?" He pushed up to his feet and paced back and forth. "I haven't been informed of any pushback regarding the mission ops." He stopped and gave Blake another questioning glance.

Blake sighed. "I have to assume the XO is leaving that out of his reports to you then. Because Parry has been very vocal during the mission briefings." Not to mention she'd nailed the problem on its head.

The commandant lifted his chin. "So, what's the solution?"

Blake shook his head. "Sir, it's not my place—"

Wagner cut him off. "Don't give me that, captain. You didn't come here without an action plan or use your family connection for nothing." One eyebrow arched, daring Blake to refute the statement.

Blake winced. "You're right, sir. I didn't." He exhaled on a slow breath. "If you want me to offer a suggestion … we need to think way outside the box here."

I love this story. Parry and Blake are a great team in the air, and they'll be excellent strategists when planning a mission also.

 

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

ML Skye