Now THIS is something I know a little bit about ;D Travel is something I do often for the day job. This year I’ve been to four or five different countries and all over the danged states, too. As a matter of fact, as I type this post, I’m 3000 miles away from home.
So let’s do something a bit different, eh? Let’s go intergalactic!
In this snippet from Death and Roses, our heroine and hero are headed for a very important meeting…on another planet…that’s a bitch to get to. And one of our peeps would rather make use of the little white bag in the seat pocket in front of him. What made me think of this? My most recent trip to the East coast where I just knew I was gonna blow chunks as a result of the turbulence – gah!
After the post, enjoy all the Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of the page.
Tanil literally jumped into his clothes while moving toward the door. Scharsi didn’t bother. It would take her almost two minutes to get all the way back to the bridge. She had no time for modesty. It was the one disadvantage to having a large med ship. It had been converted into a fighting machine, but that didn’t change the size of the damn thing.
“What’s going on? What’s happening?” Tanil ran right behind her.
“The ship’s computer can’t handle getting us on the ground. Have you ever been to Mimnet?”
“Once. I don’t remember much of it. I got so airsick from all the turbul…ah shit!”
“Exactly. The turbulence. Mimnet is bad enough, but the computer said we’re coming up on Quantinium Moon. Landing on Mimnet itself might be a rocky proposition, but Quantinium is ten times as tricky.”
“Well at least I get a nice view of your ass while you run to save the ship.”
“Perv.”
“Definitely.”
Scharsi settled into the captain’s chair. Tanil ran back to her bunk, grabbed some clothes, then held tightly to the controls as she hopped up and dressed at record speed. Seated again, Scharsi thanked the Gods for her unusual strength. Piloting this craft through to the moon was a fucking fighting match—her against the atmosphere.
Tanil took the co-chair and brought up the topography grid. “Good Gods. Is there really something in this place? Scanners are coming up empty.”
“Must be or Vonner wouldn’t have sent us here.”
“Trust him that much, do you?”
“Actually, I do,” Scharsi said. “Men like him have their own code of conduct. Once they bring you into the fold, people like Ulric Vonner will treat you like family. Once we became BHI good guys, we became part of his crew.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but you don’t send family into this kind of shit without warning.” Tanil grimaced as he held onto the arms of his chair for dear life.
“Yeah, but think about it this way, Tan, the people he’s sending us to hook up with are part of that family. He’s not going to out them just to make it easier for us to get to them. He has to protect them just as he would protect us. Period.”
“Makes sense. So now explain why it feels like my teeth are being rattled around in my head by this Gods-awful turbulence? If it keeps up, I’ll be painting the bridge floor with all kinds of new smelly colors.”
“The ice storms are bad enough, but the ground isn’t much better. Computer, magnify distance to thirty percent.”
“Yes, Commander.”
After a wicked drop in altitude, Scharsi pulled back on the controls to level them out. “See, look there. This place is one big mountain range covered with nothing but jagged peaks and a hell of a lot of snow and ice. One wrong move and we not only risk a nasty crash, but also being spotted by one of a bazillion sensors floating around in the black.”
“And we’re going there on purpose?”
“Looks like. Computer, disengage autopilot on my mark.”
“What? Disengage?” Yep, he was definitely going to blow chunks.
“There’s no choice but to pilot without the benefit of the computer’s quick calculations. Computer, five, four, three, two. Mark.”
“Autopilot disengaged, Commander.”
“Oh lord, we’re gonna die.”
“Oh stop,” Scharsi said playfully. “Thankfully this is an agile craft with good maneuverability.”
“Yeah, but she sure has a big ass,” Tanil grumbled.
“I thought you liked big asses.”
What could he say to that? It was beyond the truth, and Scharsi’s was a spankable piece of art that was permanently framed in his mind. He was a happy man. A nauseated one, but happy none the less.
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