If you’re here for the SFR Brigade Presents excerpt from Hostage to the Stars, go here.
Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the
participants sharing excerpts today…a fun way to sample new books and find new authors! (Also welcome to the Sunday Snippet visitors!)
Here’s the next snippet from Star Cruise: Stowaway (blurb below). Edited a bit from the published version. ‘She’ refers to Moby the cat:
Figuring she wanted to show him a recent kill, which he’d then have to dispose of, he followed.
Moby moved faster now that she’d gotten him with the program.
Moby & Midorri by Artist Nyssa Juneau
He followed her around the corner of the pallet the ship had taken on earlier in the day and found Midorri, the Zephyr’s other pet, crouched beside a free trader container. “What mischief have the two of you gotten into now?” he asked Moby. Midorri came aboard the Zephyr originally as the pampered pet of a princess, but after the whole outbreak incident, Sector authorities refused to let the lady disembark on Sector Hub with the undocumented animal, so the ship had kept the odd green fluffball.
Midorri sneezed, as she was often wont to do, allergic to humans perhaps, and flicked her plush prehensile tail before lowering her head and extending her long green tongue to lap at something on the deck.
“Freaking flares, do not tell me we’ve got leaking cargo,” He hoped Moby hadn’t sampled whatever Midorri was drinking. The alien animal could probably handle anything up to and including nuclear fuel, who knew, but Moby was definitely a terrestrial cat, with a more delicate stomach. He tried to shoo Midorri away from the slowly growing puddle of green goo, dripping from a dented corner of the container. Musta gotten banged when the shuttle crew offloaded the final pallet too fast and had to straighten everything in a rush.
The story:
I’m really excited to release three Sectors stories that have only been available previously in anthologies, none of which are available currently. (I know many of you purchased the Pets In Space anthology, which first contained STAR CRUISE STOWAWAY and thank you so much!) Along with STOWAWAY, I’ve really been wanting to get the other two stories out there for you, especially THE GOLDEN TOKEN, which was only in the limited edition paperback we handed out at last year’s RT Booklovers Conference. So I’ve bundled them ALL into one book with the lengthy title STAR CRUISE A NOVELLA: STOWAWAY WITH RESCUE AND GOLDEN TOKEN SHORT STORIES.
Here are the story descriptions:
Star Cruise: Stowaway: A novella of 22K words, previously in the ‘Pets In Space’ anthology.
Cargo Master Owen Embersson is shocked when the Nebula Zephyr’s ship’s cat and her alien sidekick, Midorri, alert him to the presence of a stowaway. He has no idea of the dangerous complications to come nor does he anticipate falling hard for the woman whose life he now holds in his hands. Life aboard the Nebula Zephyr has just become more interesting – and deadly.
Star Cruise: Rescue: A short story of 9K words, previously in the ‘Romancing the Stars’ anthology.
When a shore leave excursion goes terribly wrong for Mira Gage, a member of the Nebula Zephyr’s crew, Security Officer Clint Miltan races the clock to find her before the ship leaves orbit and abandons Mira to her fate. Clint’s got more than a professional interest in Mira, but will he be able to save her from the aliens holding her prisoner?
The Golden Token: A short story of 13K words, previously in the limited edition ‘Dealer’s Choice’ paperback anthology handed out at the 2016 RT Booklovers Convention Interstellar Bar & Grille event.
Sectors Special Forces operator Charlie McBrire had a few days to kill on a layover at Space Station 47. He never expected to find himself in the middle of a miners’ rebellion, fighting to save the life of a casino dancer he just met but can’t imagine living without.
Why (and how) do pets always manage to find stuff to get into?
Uh oh. What is that green goo? Eep. Great snippet, Veronica.
I love your description of the pets from his POV. And this is such an intriguing part of this story. I know what happens next, but I’m still on the edge of my seat waiting for it to happen. LOL
Let’s hope Midorri’s tongue doesn’t catch fire or something equally dire.
Great snippet … interesting choice of POV
That sounds gross and rather dangerous as in – what the hell is it better not touch it dangerous.
Hopefully, whatever is leaking is not dangerous for any of them. Pets always find the weirdest things. LOL
green goo is not usually a good sign. 😉
Ugh. Not a very appetizing feel here…pets better beware as I doubt there’s much green grass aboard ship to help them clear their pallets! LOL!
Love your character voices, and the uh-oh moment at the end! (Also, the story itself sounds so cool!) Can’t wait to see what comes next week.
I remember this snippet! And I love that you’ve got all three of these shorts in one collection now. Great snippet!
Normally, I would suggest that staying away from the green goo would be a rather excellent idea. I do think, in this case, its presence is significant. Tweeted
Love the description of Mindoro and her, uh- tastes! I have a feeling he’s about to be surprised.
You have certainly piqued my curiosity! 🙂 Wonder what that green goo will do?? Surely special powers or something fun like that. 😉 Good snippet, Veronica!
I love pets in a story. They add a great side interest. Good job!
Hurrah for pets, especially green fluffballs.
This is fun with a capital F; so different from your other stories. Thanks best GF for giving me a chuckle on this glorious hot day Hugs!
Love the illustration. They really seem to be saying “Open the darn container, human! We want to see what’s inside.”
Great description of the green cat. It may not be an earthly cat, but it’s curious anyway.
I hope the poor cat didn’t get any and that the goo doesn’t make the alien creature sick. Great snippet.
Aw, the kitty has a friend, one with an important message (leak)
Lol – possibly allergic to humans – brilliant. So what’s the green stuff – guessing it isn’t good. Tweeted.
That’s quite a way to acquire a ship’s pet. Love the contrasts and similarities between the two critters!
I love pet mischief!
Great excerpt – I loved ‘Stowaway’, anything with animals in SF usually gets my attention! 🙂
Oh no, what’s the green goo? I’m curious to find out. Great imagery. The pets sound intriguing.
Oh, great. I just hate it when my cargo leaks green goo.
This snippet ramps up the tension…and curiosity. I enjoyed this story when I first read it. These snippets remind me how much I liked it.
Having recently had to chase down a dog to stop him eating something he really shouldn’t have, I hope that green goo isn’t poisonous.