Sunday Snippet: Zulu Delta Niner

Whew. What a week. Wehave some actual fall weather, and I love it. Who knows how long it will last.Pretty sure we'll have at least one more heat-up before December and theofficial start of winter.

Had another busywork week because I'm still playing catch up from being under the weather in lateSeptember. I finished a very challenging copy edit of a 95k-word manuscript.Great story with a lot going on.

Update on ourdoggo. She's doing so much better. She's still a little congested, but shefinished her round of antibiotics and the steroid seems to be helping also. Ofcourse, she's drinking a ton of water, which means we're going out for pottybreaks about two times her normal rate.

Had a very slowviewing week. The challenging copy edit required a lot of focus. But I did makeit most of the way through my regular shows.

Started again with MissFisher's Murder Mysteries. Enjoyed the episode because it's one Iremembered and loved on my original run through.

Caught anotherepisode of Foyle's War and enjoyed watching again. I'd forgotten some ofthe key moments in this one. Sam sure struggled a bit to find another place to stayafter her rooming house got bombed.

Enjoyed anotherepisode of Death in Paradise. Really glad to see Mervin figure out hismom's murder and also so happy to see Mr. Sterling Fox get his walking papers. Smarmyjerk.

Watched anotherepisode of Poirot. I always enjoy when Miss Lemon gets involved in acase. Watching Hasting completely destroy her filing system—after she told himnot to touch anything—made me laugh out loud. In his defense, he'd already halfwaytrashed it before he spoke to her.

Elementary had another solid episode. It's veryinteresting to watch Sherlock interact with Moreland. So much trauma to unpackbetween them.

I didn't get tocheck in with Batman Beyond or Lower Decks this week. I'm hopingto get a full run this upcoming week.

That's it for thelife update. Tonight's post is from Zulu Delta Niner, a novella about acouple that meet under tenuous circumstances.

Here's theminiblurb:

In a war-torn galaxy, Nell Watkinson works to save liveson the front lines in the battle arena. When she returns home, she meetsJerrick Haight, a man who's not afraid to fight if his number is called, but hevehemently opposes waging war when it spreads resources so thin their ownpeople suffer. On opposite sides of a moral dilemma, Jerrick's actions put himin danger and Nell uses everything at her disposal to save his life.

And a sneaky peek…

Jerrick clasped Wayne Prewitt'sshoulder in a hard grip. "Dammit, we're not supposed to start anythingphysical." He jerked Wayne back before the man had a chance to throw apunch at a police officer.Prewitt whirled around. "Keepyour damn hands to yourself. You don't tell me what to do at a protest. I'mmaking a point and taking a stand." He spat the words out on a growl.Jerrick shook his head."You're an idiot if you start an altercation in the front yard of theMinistry of War. The security here is more than police. Home Guard is on handat every corner on the ground and on the roof. If you start throwing down,they'll shoot you. This wouldn't just be a simple arrest." Hammersmithdidn't have to warn Jerrick about the dangers of protesting at the MOWbuilding.But he should've laid out the factsfor Wayne.Prewitt rolled his eyes."You're full of shit. We're allowed to voice our opinions. Sometimes thatmeans getting physical." He balled up one hand and smacked it into hisopen palm.Jerrick stepped back, ready to letPrewitt learn the hard way. "You really need to brush up on our articlesof federation." A tap on his shoulder had him turning around.A uniformed military police officerarched his brows. "Is there a problem here?" He patted his sidearm ina chest carrier.Jerrick lifted both hands."No, sir. We're just exercising our right to free speech." Movementalong the left side of the building drew Jerrick's gaze.A woman in a medic uniform, flankedby two officers, headed for the back entrance of the building. Why would amedic be needed at the ministry of war's headquarters? Very interesting.The MP cleared his throat."Did you hear what I said?"Jerrick met the man's gaze. "Sorry,no. I'll assume it's something about staying peaceful and not makingtrouble?" The standard party line.The officer frowned. "No, Isaid clear out. Showtime's over. Almost curfew." His hand gripped thehandle of his weapon.Jerrick narrowed his gaze."Since when is there a curfew?" He slid his gaze to Prewitt.Wayne shrugged. "Don't look atme. I didn't know about this."The MP jerked his head toward thebuilding. "Brass enacted the civilian curtailment item of the protest resolution.You've got ten minutes to vacate the area or suffer the consequences." Anoily smile curved the man's lips.Jerrick didn't like the gleam thatentered the officer's eyes. "You'd like to arrest us, wouldn't you?"Wayne snorted. "Are youkidding? I'd bet he lives to zip-tie protesters."The officer grunted. "Wannafind out?"Jerrick shook his head. "Nottoday, man. Defeats the whole purpose of organizing against the deplorableliving conditions we live with every day." He gave Prewitt a warning look.Wayne huffed out an angry breath."This is bullshit." He turned and stomped away.Jerrick started to follow butglanced back toward the MOW building. The woman's head angled around, and shemet his gaze for a long moment. The wind gusted and pulled several strands ofher hair loose from her sleek ponytail. Jerrick grinned when she started totuck them behind her ear then decided to leave them framing her face.Definitely not standard operatingprocedure. He liked that she didn't seem to care if she met regulations.But he also wondered why sheentered the building with the other two officers.

Pretty pleased withhow this one is coming together. Jerrick is walking a fine line, and he'll facebigger challenges soon, especially with Prewitt stirring up trouble.

 

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

ML Skye