Sunday Snippet: Nugget Training

Gearing up for a busy week with work projects and my youngest's graduation from college. I think we're also going to have some nasty weather, which should be fun.

Had a solid week of work and writing, which makes me very happy. I might be finding my groove again. I so hope I am. I'm not a fan of being unable to focus when I need to.

Had a decent week of television viewing. Made it through the modified list of shows and started over.

I caught the final two behind the character bonuses for My Life Is Murder. I'm somewhat hoping there's another season. Based on a little research, I think there might be.

Also watched two episodes of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Both were enjoyable. Kind of sad to see the pub owners no longer with the cast but interested in Dom's uncle being a possible addition. Hopefully he won't be too shady.

Enjoyed the two-part Silent Witness. A lot of twists and turns in this one and I liked them. Looking forward to starting a new two-parter this week.

Finished up season six and started season seven of Death in Paradise. I'm excited to dive further into Jack's tenure as the DI. It feels like this is when cast members start their merry-go-round of coming and going. But I'm looking forward to more of this show.

Caught another episode of Elementary and Moriarty is making their presence known. I'm kind of interested in how this might play out over the seasons. I'm very much loving the dynamic with Sherlock and Watson.

Watched another episode of The Batman. I guess it was the season two finale. It always kind of annoys me when the first season is twice as long as the remaining ones. That said, pretty sure Robin makes an appearance in season three so there's that.

Enjoyed an episode of Classic Rugrats. Again, these were new-to-me vignettes. Not sure what happened with season seven during the original run, but I'm happy to see those now.

Also finished up the Peak Practice episode I started a while ago. Hoping to get another one in this week.

That's it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Nugget Training, a novella that brings a couple together even though they don't always see eye-to-eye.

Here's the miniblurb:

Bonnie Bash has issues with remembering boundaries and it gets her in trouble with Taggart Allen, her immediate superior—especially when she sometimes forgets she has to respect the rank. She quickly learns why she frustrates Tag so much when she's thrust into training a group of fifteen newbie pilots, nuggets, and not one has a clue or even cares about how the chain of command works.

And a sneaky peek…

"Bash is flying with Brown. Daub is flying with Elliot."

Lieutenant Bonnie Bash jerked her head up and glared at the CAG, Taggart Allen. He did not just say she had to fly with Alti Brown. Five and half hours of nonstop chitchat would drive her bonkers mad. What the hell did she do to piss Tag off?

Her hand shot up before she could stop it. There had to be someone else she could fly combat air patrol with. Alti just rubbed Bonnie the wrong way. His play by play of everything that happened in the last daily rotation never failed to be mind numbing. She just couldn't deal…

"Bash? You have a question?" Tag's voice cut through the white noise roaring in her ears.

Bonnie blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Did you go alphabetically for this roster?" She expected better treatment from a guy she'd been tight with since basic.

Hell, they practically lived in each other's pockets now and had since that first brutal welcome.

Tag sighed. "No. Moving on." He continued reading the flight schedule off.

She couldn't let that answer slide and got snappy and snarky, piling question after question onto Tag, interrupting his ordered delivery of information.

He finally shut her down. "Bash. Wheels go up in twenty minutes. I have five more items to get through. Kindly keep your mouth closed until I finish up." He pinned her with a hard stare and narrowed his eyes.

She huffed out a breath and sulked for the rest of the briefing, reeling a little from the harsh words. Stung would be a better description. Since when did Tag go all rank and file on her?

Right about the time she pushed every button he had. But, damn, putting her with Brownie? She didn't expect preferential treatment, but a heads-up would've been great. She could've prepared for the longest five and half hours she'd ever have to spend in a cockpit. Now, she'd be lucky to survive without her ears bleeding from the onslaught of inane details that would spew from Alti's lips.

When Tag dismissed them, she made a beeline for the exit. She wanted a few moments to lick her wounds and maybe curse Taggart Allen into oblivion.

Some friend he's turned out to be.

This story has some fun banter and I love writing characters at odds even when they're friends.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Nugget Training

Apparently, the week before last ended up being bizarre not only because Mercury is in retrograde but two other planets are squaring up. I'm kind of glad I made it through the insanity. The past week had some challenges but things finally started coming together and smoothed out. Whew.

My youngest kiddo returned from Alaska where she had a great time. She graduated high school last year and she and my dad finally got to take a trip this summer. They had great weather and got to do a ton of fun sightseeing events.

Had a slightly slower than usual television viewing experience. I started out with a new episode of No Offence. Viv had quite the revelation at the end of the episode and I'm interested to see where things go from here.

Enjoyed another episode of Silent Witness. This one has some quirky undertones and I'm interested in the second part to see how everything plays out.

Caught another episode of Blue Heelers and started a new one. Since my new washing machine arrived, I've been catching up on laundry and getting some quality time in on my Australian show.

Watched a full arc of Classic Who. For some reason, I thought they only needed to find four pieces of the key, but it's actually six. Should be interesting to see how the final three play out.

Enjoyed another episode of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. This one focused on UFO tech, which I find fascinating. The theories that come out of the woodwork regarding why and how the technology is used always makes me smile.

Caught two more episodes of The Muppet Show. Guest stars were Madeline Kahn and George Burns. Both were shows I didn't remember.

Watched a great episode of The Hardy Boys. Things are starting to come together and I'm really interested in where things will end up. I'm ready for the tall guy to get served. Just saying.

Enjoyed a new episode of Peak Practice. I have a feeling the next one will have a tragedy but I rather liked the new doctor they introduced. Looking forward to more from him.

Caught another Master Class on graphic design. This one focused on life as a working designer. I didn't think I'd get much out of that lesson, but I actually did. Even if I don't want to pursue graphic design as a career, the concept of what's important in the career you choose provided some good information.

Finally, I'm watching another episode of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This is set around Thanksgiving and there are some great character reveals. I like this show but I'm not champing at the bit to get to the next one … yet. This episode does have an awesome guest star in Michael Hogan and I'm happy to see him in the mix. Reminds me to send positive vibes out and hope his recovery is going well.

That's pretty much it for television and life updates. Tonight's post is from Nugget Training, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Bonnie Bash has issues with remembering boundaries and it gets her in trouble with Taggart Allen, her immediate superior—especially when she sometimes forgets she has to respect the rank. She quickly learns why she frustrates Tag so much when she's thrust into training a group of fifteen newbie pilots, nuggets, and not one has a clue or even cares about how the chain of command works.

And a sneaky peek…

Tag waited until the last student exited the classroom before pushing away from the wall. He'd been standing sentinel for the past half hour, dying to know how things went. From the mood and comments of the class, Bonnie didn't overwhelm them and she'd sparked their competitive spirit.

She strolled out, carrying an armload of files.

He fell into step beside her. "Turning over a new leaf, Bonnie?" He referred to her folders and the satchel she had hooked over one shoulder.

She quirked a smile. "I guess so." Pausing, she turned to face him. "Honestly, I didn't realize how horrible I must sound during the briefings until I got fifteen malcontents going off at the same time. It sucked." She started forward again.

He stifled a chuckle. About time she realized how disruptive her running commentary tended to be. Score one for him.

She did a quick rundown of the first session. "Once they got settled, we made progress. They've got lots of questions, which I expected." She waited a beat. "And they're not stupid ones. That's never a given."

Tag grunted. "You pretty much squashed that in the mud. I doubt any of them will be brave enough to waste time … theirs or yours." Another good thing since they didn't have time to do a lot of hand-holding.

They reached the end of the corridor before she gave him a sideways glance. "Pissed off I stole your speech?" Her eyebrow arched.

He snorted. "Hell, no. More like surprised any of it stuck." Seriously, she nailed it pretty much word for word.

She laughed. "Hey, if I’m going to steal, it's gonna be from the best." She walked away, grinning wide.

It's gonna be from the best…

Tag sputtered. "Wait, what? Did I hear you correctly? The best?" He took off after her. "Bonnie! Hold up."

Her laughter rang out and he did exactly what she wanted.

Gave chase.

I'm having a great time writing the dynamic between Bonnie and Tag. It's fun to explore an established relationship that undergoes a challenging situation.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Nugget Training

Hello, February! We've got snow and slushy ick outside today. Perfect weather for the big game I won't be watching. LOL

So… The Flash definitely got Barry out his regular cell, which is terrific. Sadly, he ended up in a much worse predicament. Nice that he got to do a good deed before landing there.

Black Lightning continues to make me happy. I need a few hours to binge watch all the eps together so I can truly immerse into the universe. Looking forward to that.

I'm behind an episode of Riverdale. Need to catch up this week before the new episode.

Arrow… wow. I have so much love for this show. The dueling teams sadden me but I like where everyone is for the moment. I have a truly bad vibe that I won't share just yet but it's going to make me really angry if I'm right. Not mad in a bad way so maybe disappointed is a better word. Stay tuned. LOL

Got through another four episodes of Chicago Fire and I'm so glad the almost lethally lame fill-in chief is gone. Nice to see Welsh do something terrific for once.

I'm almost through season one of The Punisher. Gotta say this show pisses me off to no end but for all the right reasons. I'm kind of interested and waiting to see where they take the Lewis storyline. Right now it's not meshing well with the other parts. We'll see how it goes.

Also need to catch up on my period dramas. Hopefully, I'll have something for next week.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Nugget Training, a fun little novella that started with a two-word prompt of "I'm blessed".

Here's the mini-blurb:

Bonnie Bash has issues with remembering boundaries and it gets her in trouble with Taggart Allen, her immediate superior—especially when she sometimes forgets she has to respect the rank. She quickly learns why she frustrates Tag so much when she's thrust into training a group of fifteen newbie pilots, nuggets, and not one has a clue or even cares about how the chain of command works.

And a sneaky peek…

"Bash! Hold up."

She paused by the door, but didn't turn around.

"I'll only take a moment of your time… unlike the ten minutes you spent hijacking my briefing." He grabbed her arm and tugged her to the side of the room. "What the hell, Bonnie?" She'd been more of a pain in his ass than usual lately.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Hey, if you can't take the heat, maybe you shouldn't be leading the briefings." She crossed her arms over her chest, closing off the chance for a friendly reminder.

Fine. He could pull rank with the best of them.

He gave a terse nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Now here's something for you to consider…" He pitched his voice low to keep the pilots milling in the halls from overhearing. "You don't have to respect my methods or, hell, even me, but you do have to respect the rank. And since we're on the topic of likes and dislikes..." He nailed the issue really pissing him off at the moment. "You don't have to like me on a personal level to follow orders—"

Bonnie pushed away from the bulkhead, dropping her arms. "Wait. Hold on. You know I like you. We've been friends for a long ass time."

Could have fooled him, especially over the past two weeks.

But… "That's part of the issue, Bonnie. Yeah, we're friends and all, but you know the extra pip means you don't get to be a raving bitch when I'm going over the flight roster." Warming up, he laid everything out for clarity. "Just because you don't like to fly with Brownie doesn't mean you get to have a say. I decide who flies when. You got a problem with my schedule; you come see me after the briefing." Wouldn't that be nice?

She grimaced, silently acknowledging his point. "Not always easy to find you after it's over. And fifteen minutes until wheels up doesn't give you much time to make adjustments." Her sheepish tone revealed the reason for her earlier attitude problem.

He quirked a brow. "Then deal. You have to know I didn't just plop you in with Brownie to piss you off. We're down a full squadron. If I could've made the roster work without putting you together, I would have." He shook his head. "Seriously, Bonnie. Cutting you slack is one thing, but throwing out a well-planned schedule is crossing the line. We have rank and chain of command for a reason."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I remember the party line. It's only thing standing between us and the enemy." As they both knew well.

Tag pinned her with his gaze. "Then do me a favor and keep your mouth shut the next time you're not happy with your choice for wingman."

Her lips curved in a saucy smile. "Yeah, I'm not stupid enough to make that a promise, but I won't disrupt your briefings anymore."  She bumped his shoulder with her fist. "And I'm sorry. For being a pain."

Tag couldn’t ask for more. "Wendell's coming back in two days. He'll have the next rotation with Brownie." They could talk each other into oblivion and neither would be worse for the experience.

Bonnie nodded. "Thanks." She made a move to go past him. "If I leave now, I'll have just enough time to get some painkillers from the infirmary."

Tag frowned. "Are you okay to fly?" She hadn't mentioned anything being wrong.

Bonnie flashed a grin. "I'm fine. I'm being proactive. Trying to ward off the headache I'll no doubt come back with." Her low, husky chuckle followed her out the exit.

Taggart snorted. "Always with the last word, that one."

She'd always been that way… why change now?

I'm having a lot of fun with this one. My brainstorm notes keep me entertained and I truly hope that translates onto the page as I continue writing.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Nugget Training

AHHHHH! Season finale for The Walking Dead tonight and I'm excited and actually a little frightened. Last week's ending kind of hurt, right?

Let's see… what else from this fairly big week of TV? The Flash messing with the timeline proved kind of interesting. I have to wonder if maybe Wells didn't get split, or possibly has an evil twin wandering around. Not sure how I feel about the idea, but I could probably get behind it. Arrow blew my mind again. So in love with this show. I won't get into too much detail, but every actor is pretty much spot on and giving their all. I LOVE it.

Bitten also brought the goods. Watching Greyston Holt go really creepy as Sean Rogerson's Alestair proved to be great. Nice bit of acting there. I have one small quibble. For all the times the witches have claimed to know everything, they sure get shit wrong an awful lot. Frankly, I expect more from Ruth, but I also like the huge changes in storyline deviating from the books, so… yeah, there's that. I'm just not sure I like how they come across as so uninformed, yet give off the vibe they know it all. But hey, I love Paige and Nick, so hopefully the witches can stick around. :D

And, that's it for TV this week.

Tonight's post is from Nugget Training, a working title until the real one prangs me over the head.

Here's the tagline:

Bonnie Bash has issues with remembering boundaries and it gets her in trouble with Taggart Allen, her immediate superior—especially when she sometimes forgets she has to respect the rank. She quickly learns why she frustrates Tag so much when she's thrust into training a group of fifteen newbie pilots, nuggets, and not one has a clue or even cares about how the chain of command works.

And a sneaky peek…

Bonnie did a slow count to fifty. Nugget training. If the commander wanted her to die an agonizing and painful death, he couldn't have given her a better way.

Her gaze strayed to the clock on the wall. Ten freaking minutes and not a single newb even spared her a glance in the last five. They'd heard her come in, heads turned when she entered the room. Narrowing her eyes, she made a quick decision. If her group didn't think they needed instruction, she'd show them otherwise.

Raising her voice, she shouted. "You know, I'm blessed to have such an outstanding class of nuggets." The group quieted a little and most looked her way. "Wanna know why?" The last stragglers stopped talking and turned to pay attention.

Good. She'd let them sweat a little.

One brave soul, Marti Beasley, call sign Moonbeam, responded. "Why?"

The class finally settled and the others nodded, wanting to hear the answer, little mini-conversations starting back up again.

Bonnie shrugged. "Because you guys know it all already." Stalked to the front of the room. "So come on. Let's go." She clapped her hands together. "Time to jump inside the cockpit and head out there." Her arm swept wide, indicating the darkness of space, visible through the observation deck's huge windows.

No one moved and everyone finally shut the hell up.

Bonnie tilted her head to the side. "What? No snappy comebacks?" She pinned a wet behind the ears ensign with a hard gaze. "Chalk Dust? You've got nothing to say?"

His cheeks went red and he jerked his head back and forth. He'd been one of the last to finally zip his lips.

Bonnie snorted. "I find that hard to believe. Your mouth hasn't stopped flapping since I walked in the door." She threw her arms up. "Come on!!" Her voice rose higher. "Patchwork, Bobbo, Bird Dog. Let's hear from you." She leveled her gaze on the trio, their heads hanging down.

Not a sound or whisper of response.

She whirled around. "No one? Really? I walked in here ten minutes ago and it finally gets quiet now?" She turned and faced the group again. "Basic training, what did you all learn? When an officer enters a room, you give them your attention." She swept her gaze over the entire group, shaking her head. "At the very least you shut the hell up. It's called respect people. You don't have to like me. Hell, you don't have to respect me…Bonnie Bash. But you damned well better respect the rank, which is lieutenant, two grades higher than ensign." She paused a moment, then continued. "It's all we have out here between us and the enemy. The chain of command. And until you nuggets actually learn how to fly combat, the chain starts here. With me." She pointed to herself, please to see she had every single eyeball in the class on her.

Tag stepped into the room and Bonnie snapped to attention.

She barked. "CAG on deck." Face set, eyes straight, she stood with perfect stance.

The nuggets all scrambled out of their seats and made a horrific attempt to mimic her. Notebooks and pencils went flying and the group jostled and bumped into each other trying to get turned around to face the front of the space. Bonnie fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Tag nodded in her direction. "At ease. Lieutenant."

Bonnie relaxed. "Sir." She stepped to the side, making room for Tag to address the class.

He strode further into the area and his eyes met hers when he got close. "Nice speech." He swept his gaze around the room. "I think they get it now." He moved to stand in front of the class. "How about it, nuggets? Everyone got a clear picture of how things will move on from here?" He lifted a brow, waiting on a response.

Bonnie couldn't have been more shocked when the entire group responded in unison. "Yes, Sir."

Tag inclined his head. "At ease, then." He shot Bonnie a quick flash of a smile. "Lieutenant, I leave our new nuggets in your capable hands." Walking back the way he came, Tag kept his pace measured and steady until he reached the exit. "I can't wait to see you guys do gyro training." His laughter lingered after he strolled through the doorway.

The group groaned and settled into their seats.

Bonnie smirked. "You might not want to eat before class that day." She took a spot behind the podium and glanced over her class of newbie pilots. "Let's get through combat and tactics first though, okay?" She adjusted the switch to dim the lights and flipped on her overhead projector. "To begin…"

Bonnie getting a dose of her own medicine is so much fun to write. And Tag has a strong appreciation for it, too.

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

ML Skye