Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. Snippets of ten to fifteen sentences or less are yours for the reading!
Since we’re finished with the Crime Lord, I thought I’d address some comments from previous snippets, namely the nature and identity of the Stowaway… Yes, this is still from BARRON’S LAST STAND. While breaking the Crime Lord’s kid brother out of a high security detention center, one of the other escapees – unbeknownst to Bo – tracks them to her ship and manages to stow away in her engine compartment. Unfortunately, Sundance, (Bo’s shipboard computer,) fails to let her in on this little nugget until after she’s fought another ship, outrun two picket ships, engaged her hyperdrive, and settled in to her bunk for a much-needed rest. Here, she confronts her uninvited “guest,” who also happens to be her ex — none other than Blade Devon.
***
“I, uh, don’t want you to think I’m misrepresenting myself,” he said. “But the IC and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”
“I’ve heard that one before.”
“My standing with the IC depends on who you ask,” he said. “They’ll tell you I’m an agent in good standing. I’ll say they can pound sand.”
“So you’ve gone rogue — again?”
“I prefer mercenary,” he said.
“That’s how you ended up in Akita?”
He nodded. “A job went sour. I stayed behind to cover my team’s escape.”
Her lips twisted in a humorless smile. “Still working with the bottom feeder, the Delian and the mutant?”
“Phinny’s not a mutant.”
“Right.”
***
That’s the snippet for the week. Thank you for stopping by.
If you’re interested in reading more about Bo, you can pick up your ebook copies of SOVRAN’S PAWN and HERO’S END for Nook and Kindle at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
If you’d like to read a sneak peek at BARRON’S LAST STAND you can find the first chapter at the end of HERO’S END and here on my website.
In case you missed them, here are some other SFFS snippets from BARRON’S LAST STAND
No Such Thing As A Free Ride
No Such Thing As A Free Ride – Part II
No Such Thing As A Free Ride – Part III
No Such Thing As A Free Ride – Part IV
No Such Thing As A Free Ride – Part V
Portrait of a Crime Lord – Part One
Portrait of a Crime Lord – Part Two
Portrait of a Crime Lord – Part Three
Portrait of a Crime Lord — Part Four
Stowaway
Stowaway Part Two
Stowaway Part Three
Gotta Name My Blog 
I love the bi-play between Bo and Blade. And the final lines cracked me up – Blade obviously knows exactly who Bo means by the bottom-feeder, but doesn’t disagree wtih that description, only challenging the “mutant” tag!
He knows better. His associate is a pilot who ranked in the bottom third of his class at Galator Flight Academy. He didn’t quite graduate due to a misadventure involving pretty girls and a stolen ship. Compared to a Barron Clan pilot — not to mention THE Barron herself — he IS a bottom feeder. As for the other, while they’re not sure WHAT species Phinny is, he’s pretty sure he isn’t a mutant.
Their banter always brings a smile to my face, and this time is no different.
😉
They have a complicated past and it shows with their layered dialogue. You show that very well. Always fun banter to read!
Complicated is a good word to describe their past. It’s the word Blade has always used, much to Bo’s annoyance.
The conversation does a nice job of showing their ambiguous relationship.
Thank you.
Now, I’m left wondering what happened to cause their relationship to go south. And, it was going so well, too.
Read faster! It’s all in HERO’S END!
Don’t read TOO fast, though, because then you’ll be in the same boat as I am, and waiting not-so-patiently for the next installment. 🙂