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Tag Team in Space - Episode 28: "Man Was She Hot"
Episode 28 - Man Was She Hot
"You see doc, I told you she was up to something crazy." "Derrick, I don't think it's like that. You don't know Katie like I do." "Well doc, it wouldn't appear that you know her all too well either. Who is that guy she is talking with, and what the hell are they talking about? And did you see what happened to your best buddy Fogweet? I thought you two were attached at the hip? I'm surprised you didn't get the bump on your head from him being hit." The doctor and I crouched behind one of the loaders at the entrance of the terminal. Across the floor, at the other end of the terminal we could see Fogweet unconscious on the ground by the lift and Katie sitting at a table with some guy who looked vaguely familiar. I couldn't quite place his face, but I felt like I knew him from somewhere. Regardless of who he was, I had work to do and this guy would not stand in my way. "I admit, the man knocking out poor little Fogweet pisses me off a bit." "'Pisses you off' huh? Wow, that's the most emotion I've heard out of you yet. Maybe you wanna' waltz on over there and do something about it? Maybe take that guy out back and show him a thing or two?" "Uh... Well, I mean... There's no need to resort to" I was running out of patience and quickly cut the Jerry off, "Yeah, doc, I get it. No need to resort to violence, but we are at a time and place where violence is probably the first, second and third option for dealing with these traders and getting the fusion device back. We've been standing pat for way too long hoping that these Rogarians would simply stumble their way out of the tunnels and into our hands, and time is not on our side."
Read rest of episode here
Mike Martin joins Tag Team in Space
Mike Martin - New character by A.L. Jambor
I watched the Martian grab the girl. I’d been watching them for several minutes, and I had a gut feeling this wouldn’t end well. I looked around for something to bash him over the head with and found a large stone in the decorative fountain near the entrance of the Starbucks. As the girl struggled, I bashed him over the head and he fell like a sack of potatoes.
“You okay,” I asked. She looked stunned and her arms were covered in slime.
“I’m fine. I had this under control.”
She looked pissed off so I offered to buy her a coffee. She didn’t want to at first, but then she agreed. I could see she was rattled, but she kept pretending everything was cool. I picked up two coffees and brought them to the table.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said. “I was handling it.”
“Yeah, you looked like you were handling it.”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Mike Martin. And you?”
Ensign Katie Golden.”
“Ooo Ensign. So, what’s with the Martian? I saw you talking nice and then he grabbed you.”
“I was asking for his help.”
“Help with what?”
She hesitated for several seconds. “I wanted him to talk to Marla.”
“Marla! You don’t look like the type,” I said smiling from ear to ear.
“It wasn’t like that!” she said. I liked seeing her face turn red.
“Then what was it like?”
“That’s classified.”
(Follow entire story here at Tag Team in Space)
Great interview
The episodic saga Tag Team in Space continues on. Join Dr. Jerry Waldman & Sgt. Derrick Thomas on their wild adventures to protect the Earth, and not beat each other to death in the mean time.
By Ahmad Taylor & J. Naomi Ay
http://tagteaminspace.com/blogspot.com
Tag Team in Space: Episode 20
Episode 20 - Derrick's Escape
The trader and his minion continued shoving me forward down the conduit. I was getting fed up with being pushed around but I knew that this was not the time to try and protest. The head trader was at least eight feet tall and probably at least four hundred pounds. Combine his stature with the weapons around his belt and the sharpness of his fangs and I was certainly at a slight disadvantage. I knew in order to escape I'd have to find or create a moment but this was not it, not yet.
"Stalling is making me angered. Show me chip now or die to death."
As if their foul breathe and pushing wasn't bad enough, their blatant butchering of the English language was grating on my nerves.
I scanned the area ahead of me, continuing to count the steps we took in my head. It was four hundred feet between emergency beacons and I was nearly at the next one. Through the darkness, dragging my feet, I came up on the next beacon. I pretending to trip again, and as I fell to the ground I initiated the next one.
"What you do? What that light?" I heard over my shoulder as a mammoth foot came crashing down on my back. The weight of the blow knocked the air out of my lungs. I regained my senses and turned over; "It's a marker I placed to show me the way to the chip I hid." It was a blatant bluff, but it was all I could come up with at the minute. The head trader leaned down over me, his vile breathe making me nauseous. He seethed over me for several moments before he acquiesced.
"You get up now and find chip, or you find your head under foot next time."
I got to my feet and continued to stumble forward. All I could do was pray that somewhere, someone was monitoring the feed from the emergency beacons and was alerted to the distress signal, because I was certainly in plenty of distress.
(Read the rest of Episode 20 here and the rest of the saga from @Jnaomiay & @Ahmaddarkside)
Tag Team in Space: Episode 19
Episode 19 - Jerry
"What is it?" Fogweet asked burying his big eyes in my hair, getting my head all sticky as if it wasn't dirty enough.
"Not sure," the cop replied, now shaking from lack of nicotine. "Whatever it was, it sure ain't that anymore."
"Hey Fogweet," I said trying to unlatch the little dude. "Go look over in that pipe and see if you can find anything else."
"Like what, Uncle Jerry?"
"I don't know. Maybe there's some candy or ice cream bars. If you look really hard, you might even see our buddy Derrick."
"Okay." He scampered off while I reached into my bag for my stethoscope, otoscope and knee hammer. I also opened the app on my iPhone that did an instant PET scan and MRI to see if there was any life left in this thing.
"What do you think it is, Doc?" the cop asked while trying not to look but somehow couldn't seem to turn his eyes away.
"It is a Luminerian man roughly twenty-seven years of age, lacerated spleen, four broken ribs and a puncture to his left ventricle chamber. He's got a cerebral contusion as well as a broken nose and eechymosis in both eyes. If that isn't bad enough, it looks like he split his lip."
(follow the rest of the episode and the entire story here)
Tag Team in Space... Episode 18
Derrick:
The trader released my shackles from the wall and I came crashing to the ground. Immediately there were hands under my arms dragging me across the floor. My head was still throbbing and I was in no shape to attempt to fight back against these creatures so I allowed myself to thrown around like a rag doll for the moment.
We exited the room we were in and found ourselves back in the conduit, “Now, you tell me where you hid the chip and this can all be over very soon Human.” The distaste for me and all humans was evident in the trader’s voice. I knew this was not going to end well, but I also knew the value of the chip and that I had to protect by any means possible, including losing my life.
I had no idea of whether Jerry was out there looking for me, or if anyone else was searching for my location, but I did have one idea of how I might bring some help my way. I directed the group down the conduit away from the link to the lift shaft, and thus away from where I had hidden the chip. The creatures crawled along the path I set forth and dragged me along behind them. Ahead of us was a faint light. As we approached the source of the light I could see the floor of the conduit was broken through providing another link to the lift shaft. I wanted desperately to keep them out of the shaft, but they were already descending and I was still shackled and being dragged along so I could not provide much resistance. There was a sudden tug and I slid through the opening and fell several feet to the bottom of the shaft floor.
I landed hard, but my fall was somewhat softened by the large mass of one of the traders beneath me. He let out a loud grunt and the life seemed to go from his body. I leaned over and examined the body with my hands. His neck was certainly broken. I felt around more for anything I could find. I quietly tucked a few finds in my pockets and then I heard the voice of the head trader calling back to his minion in whatever language they spoke. When there was no response, I could hear him coming toward us. I scurried to my feet and held my hands up to show I was not a threat. The trader and another of his men grabbed me by the back of my neck; “You show us chip now or next dead body is you!”
I nodded my agreement and pointed up the shaft.
(Read the rest of Episode 18 Here and Follow the story of Dr. Jerry Waldman and Sgt. Derrick Thomas in Tag Team in Space by J. Naomi Ay & Ahmad Taylor)
Tag Team In Space Episode -16
Episode 16: Jerry is now live!
http://tagteaminspace.blogspot.com/2012/11/episode-16-jerry.html
Tag Team in Space: The NEW Blog is LIVE
The hit new Episodic Saga of Dr. Jerry Waldman & Sgt. Derrick Thomas, created in the minds of authors J. Naomi Ay & Ahmad Taylor has a new home: TTiS Blog
You can of course continue to track the story on Naomi's and mine separate blogs, but you can now get your Sc-fi/Adventure fix in one place.
Be sure to keep up with these two characters, and coming soon, we will be adding new authors and new characters to the mix. The storyline is fluid and changes with the whim of the current author, so anything can happen and anything goes.
Readers, fell free to chime in a where you would like the story to go, and we'll see if we can make that happen for you.
Thanks for all the great words and support. We aim to please.
Tag Team in Space: Episode 10: Derrick's Secret
Derrick:
I ran passed the head Big Head and up the tube. I could barely see anything in front of me, but I needed to put some distance between Jerry, Fogwat and myself. I stumbled a few times over who knows what, but I was able to guide myself along the electro-magnetic guide rails the lift ran on. The dim glow from Fogwat’s head grew darker and then it was gone. I knew I only had a few moments to myself before they would catch up to me, and I knew that with three eyes, Big Heads had better than average sight, so I had to act fast if I was going to keep my actions a secret.
I dropped to my knees and began groping around in the dark. I felt across the ground, moving my way along the wall of the tube.
“Here we go… Got it” I said under my breath as my hands located what I was searching for. I found the release handle, turned it counter-clockwise and pushed in. The door to emergency access panel slid open and I quickly took a piece of restraining cloth from my bag and adhered it to the underside of the door. As I pulled the door closed and locked the handle I could see the dim illumination from Fogwat’s head growing brighter. I stood up and turned to face my pursuers.
“Hey Derrick, wait up man! Why would you just run off into the dark like that?” Jerry asked, as he approached me. He slumped over trying to catch his breathe.
Catch rest of Episode and previous episodes here...
Guest Post: Joyce Strand: From Spin to Spillane
Guest Post: Joyce T. Strand: From Spin to Spillane
Today's guest is not only an accomplished author, but a great resource in the literary community. She has been a huge help to me, and her knowledge and work ethic are truly amazing.
Joyce T. Strand
Mystery author Joyce Strand, much like her fictional character, Jillian Hillcrest, served as head of corporate communications at several biotech and high-tech companies in Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. Unlike Jillian, however, she did not encounter murder. Rather, she focused on publicizing her companies and their products. Joyce received her Ph.D. from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. and her B.A. from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
She currently lives in Southern California with her two cats, a collection of cow statuary and art, and her muse, the roadrunner.
From Spin to Spillane:
Most of us are not born authors. We start out earning our living in a variety of ways. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a physician. Stieg Larsson and Michael Connelly were successful reporters – Connelly even was a finalist for a Pulitzer for his coverage of the 1985 Delta Flight 191 plane crash. Nora Roberts was a legal secretary, albeit briefly. Mary Higgins Clark worked as a secretary, copy editor and stewardess. Isaac Asimov was a biochemistry professor. Raymond Chandler decided to become a writer when he lost his job as an oil executive during the Depression. Our host – Ahmad Taylor – was involved in law enforcement.
I was a public relations specialist practiced in the art of spin. I am currently a mystery writer ala Mickey Spillane. Hence – “From Spin to Spillane.” Well, I’m not claiming to be as good at creating a story as the artful, down-to-earth Mr. Spillane. But I am a former spinner of products turned current writer of mysteries.
Many authors exploit the experience from their work environment to tell their story or enhance the credibility of their characters...
(Read rest of article here)
Author Interview w/ Raynetta Stocks
Today as a treat we have Raynetta Stocks, a friend, and author of The Grim. How you doing today Raynetta?
Doing great Ahmad, thanks for having me here.
My pleasure of course. Been looking forward to sharing you with my readers for awhile now.
Tell us about your latest novel in 20 words or less:
Jaycee must recall a murder she doesn’t remember committing to be released from incarceration at a psychiatric hospital. Wait, is that 20 words…?
No worries, we’re moderately flexible here.
What has been the most exciting part of being a published author?
The best part of authorship is seeing your work in print. When the first copies of my book arrived on my doorstep, and I held my masterpiece in my hands, it was that surreal, “silver lining” moment when the heavens part and a golden beam of sunlight hits your face. Suddenly, everything I went through to get here was worth it. And I’d do it all again.
How poetic.
And we all hope you will do it again as well.
What do you do to prepare for a writing session?
For me, I need peace and quiet in a cool, well-aerated place. I need serenity, so that I can watch the movie playing out in my head. Then I take what I see in that movie and put it to words.
Great description for our readers.
Does writing get easier with each project?
Yes, the writing does get easier, because with each project, I learn a bit more about my craft and my own writing style. I get giddy with each work; I don’t waste time writing stories I’m not passionate about. So that excitement is a catalyst to finish the book and have the reader share in what had me so excited in the first place.
*****Read the Rest here*****
Tag Team in Space... Episode 8
Tag Team in Space continues...
The episodic tale of Dr. Jerry Waldman (The Two Moons of Rehnor) and Sgt. Derrick Thomas (Dark Side of the Moon) continues:
Check out Episode 7 (Jerry) from J. Naomi Ay here
Episode 8
Derrick:
“Light doc… Turn on the damn light please!” I yelled over to Jerry as I tried to fend off the onslaught of slimy hands groping for me all at once.
The smell in the air was almost more overwhelming than the amount of force being thrown at us by this group of Martians. I did my best to keep my footing as I fought off the creatures that kept coming one after another.
I was shockingly surprised to learn that the consistency of a Martian Big Head body was not unlike Earth creatures. Their bodies were thin and bony, their heads were hard like a traditional skull, except they had a large layer of what I can only assume is fat at the top of their heads like a whale might have. They also had several rows of sharp teeth in their mouths, as I came to find out the hard way. I thought of all the shows I watched growing up about sharks and how they had rows of teeth that came in yearly to replace the last set of damaged or missing teeth in their mouths. I wondered if this was an applicable similarity with the Big Heads, meaning that like sharks, their teeth were fragile and while formidable, also easily removable. I tried to process all these thoughts in a moment’s time and decide my best course of attack, as one lunged toward me, head glowing I could see his mouth agape and I reacted.
I extended my right leg in an instant, bringing the sole of my boot straight out at its face. I connected with its jaw, if these things even have jaws, and I could feel a hard crack. The Big Head squealed a moment as it came crashing to the ground and I knew something had indeed broken. Several sets of teeth oozed out of its mouth and onto the floor, and I knew I had found a weak point.
I quickly spun to connect a kick with the face of another Big Head trying to bite me, and the result was nearly identical. I fought off at least ten, but realized that there were too many more coming my way. I wouldn’t be able to keep up this effort for very long, and once they swarmed me as a whole I would be finished.
I turned to retreat and tripped over something and came crashing to the ground. I hit my head against the tube wall and became very dizzy. I could hear the Big Heads organizing and with my misstep, the glow from several dozen heads grew brighter in my direction. I tried to shake off the haze in my brain and get to my feet to defend myself.
As I got to one knee I could see what I had tripped over in the first place. The glow continued to grow brighter, and the requests for help from Jerry grew more intense, and I knew I had to take care of this right now or else neither of us would make it get help.
I frantically pawed through my bag, throwing the contents everywhere. I needed one item, and I needed it now. The creatures began chanting in unison like a crowd at a cyberball match back at home when a penalty shot was taken for the win.
“Chip, chip, chip, chip…” they all began reciting as they approached. I had no idea what chip they were referring to, and if it was something the doctor had, I would have to hurry up and save him to find out.
Finally, I found what I was searching for, and not a moment too soon. I placed my thumb on the safety release and powered it on. The distinctive glow of my plasma blade stopped almost all the creatures right in their tracks. It was apparent that they had had some experience with this weapon and knew enough to fear it. They all began to back up slightly, even the ones on top of Jerry moved away slowly.
(Read the rest of Episode and catch up on previous episodes here...)