Friday 29 May 2015

SFFS 30/5/2015 Before Sorrel

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the information here.



My snippet this week is an old piece I worked on, before I wrote Sorrel in Scarlet. There are a number of similarities - the central character is again a pilot, but here she is a charter pilot who suspects she is in big trouble. As I say, lots of similarities! This sequence never ended up in a final work - I might well rewrite it as a Sorrel short story. You have been warned!



I pride myself on being able to spot the early warning signs of impending trouble. Hints like screams, the odd orc spear slamming into the ground near my feet, and the sound of running feet are usually enough to give me two minutes' advance notice of danger.
Of course, it can take anything up to ten minutes to get the Duckling ready to fly.
I could seen movement on the trail down through the jungle towards the lake. Quite a lot of movement, actually. Not quite a herd of vinbani, but not far off. That had to be my passengers, and whoever was chasing them - most probably orcs - could not be far behind.
I flung myself up the flimsy gangplank like a startled djinn, through the cabin and into the cockpit. The Duckling's a good amphibian, dependable, with a high wing and two props. I hauled on the starters for both engines - four years ago I paid an exorbitant price to Charyk Venth, a dwarven engineer I know in Muugral, to build starter motors for the two engines. They've saved my life twice, since, and this looked likely to be a third time. Mind you, even saving my life three times the price was higher than it had any right to be.

As always, comments welcomed!

6 comments:

  1. Too many "quites" in the middle.
    Promising with echoes of Biggles. Does she have to swing the props to start?

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    1. Fair comment about "quite" - my excuse is that it was still not in final form. And yes, Biggles was some of the influence for it. As to swinging the props - fortunately, no, which is why she has the starters. Assuming they work, of course...

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  2. Orcs - why's it always have to be orcs. Sounds like she's practiced in the art of the getaway - thanks to a dwarf she met in Muugral.

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    1. Exactly! Useful people, dwarven engineers.

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  3. LOL! I can see how this can sub for Sorrel. Definitely her sense of dry humour... and propensity for calamity...

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    1. This heroine has a great deal of Sorrel's DNA. Knowing Sorrel, she'll demand Talini returns it...

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