Effing Feline admires disobedience
Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior posts on Mr. V’s behalf
In my infinite wisdom, I, Effing Feline, chose another ten sentences from Ed Hoornaert’s The Trial of Tompa Lee. In last week’s snippet, Mr. V’s lowly heroine, Tompa Lee, has been framed for terrorism on an alien planet. Dante Roussel, a Space Navy policeman, has handed her over to Shon justice.
The Space Navy is famous for leaving no sailor behind, and the sailors hate to abandon Tompa to be slaughtered by aliens. But only one of them is willing to disobey orders to fight at her side against 300 accusers.
“None of you,” Carolyn ordered the humans observing the trial, “is going to sacrifice yourselves to defend Ship’s Ward Lee—and that’s a Code Magenta order.”
Magenta: the color splashed across Dante’s mind. Code Magenta meant an order of ultimate importance he must instantly obey, no matter what—but magenta was also the color of blood, of life and of death; of Tompa’s death.
Doing this to an innocent girl wasn’t fair. The confusion and uncertainty of the last few days crystallized into a vivid, magenta decision. Dante dashed down the steps, chasing after Tompa Lee.
Shouts arose even before he reached the powdery dust of the arena, but he kept running, expecting with every step a sudden, burning agony to terminate his dash. Ignoring a Code Magenta was an act of mutiny.
He didn’t dodge or weave. He owed the Navy a clear shot at his back even more than he owed Tompa Lee her safety—or, to be more realistic, the small grace of not dying alone.
Effing Feline here again. Brave guy, eh? With such sterling bravery, Dante is obviously part cat. Or at least a cat lover who hates, loathes, and despises dogs!
Make sure you read the snippets by other great weekend writing warriors.
The Trial of Tompa Lee is reminiscent of the best of classic Star Trek. – TheBestReviews.com
Ed Hoornaert is a marvelous writer: a terrific, engrossing storyteller and a consummate stylist. – Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo-Award winning author
Hold a tissue ready, as Mr. Hoornaert knows how to squeeze the heart of the reader. – Love Romances
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Finally, I found this on the SFR Brigade group and just had to share it with fellow writers. If you aren’t into science fiction, substitute your own genre.
