Sunday Snippet: Not Quite Paradise

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

Had a fairly decentweek of viewing and caught up on most of my regular schedule. I've pared itdown 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 catchingtwo episodes of The Batman. I'd completely forgotten the originalsidekick storyline with Prank for the Joker. Ended up enjoying that one. Alsokind of loved the "Thunder" episode. That one I did remember.

Watched two episodesof Classic Rugrats. I must have missed a big portion of the seventhseason because I don't remember any of the vignettes. Kind of nice to have new-to-mematerial to watch.

Enjoyed an episodeof My Life Is Murder. I think I have one more left before bonusmaterial. Going to miss this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Caught the holidayepisode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Enjoyed it. Looking forward to divinginto the new season.

Started a newtwo-part Silent Witness. Loved seeing Jack's niece again. Lookingforward to finishing this episode.

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

Watched another episodeof Elementary. I'm almost through the first season and I'm very muchenjoying this show.

That's pretty muchit 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 transportpilots flying a peacetime mission to pick up new recruits when their craftcrashes and strands them on a deserted moon. The couple discovers things aren'texactly what they seem when they find their signal beacon is destroyed byblaster fire, which means their unexpected vacation isn't quite paradise afterall.

And a sneaky peek…

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

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

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

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

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

Ox smirked and tamped down a rushof pride at the backhanded compliment. "Not only am I patient…" Hewaited 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 curvedupward.

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

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

Janee frowned. "Not sure thereis an issue. There's a small skip when initially engaging them. Since we're notdoing much more than sitting in the black and landing in a spaceport to pick uppassengers, Wan didn't redline the transport." Her fingers drummed on the controlpanel. "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 younot?"

Ox exhaled slowly. "It's notthat I don't. But I'd be more confident if one of us had a visual point ofreference." 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, probablynothing." He spooled up the engines. "Let's head out…"

The probablynothing is going to be an absolute something. Janee kind of jinxed theirtakeoff.

 

That's it for thisweek. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye