Posting from my WiPTHE GIRLS FROM ALCYONE: Freelancer
The Girls From Alcyone is the continuing story of two very special young women who find themselves at the heart of a conflict spanning more than forty worlds.
THIS WEEK: I'm leaving Merchantman behind. Many of you have read the whole story by now. If anyone else is curious to see what happens, you can read the whole thing here.
So, I'm moving back, or forward, into Freelancer. Here, Sigrid has just arrived back at her home on New Alcyone. It's late, she's very tired, looking forward to seeing Suko, and she's still very preoccupied with what happened with the Merchantmen.
Sigrid undressed in the quiet of their sitting room, removed her holsters and pistols and placed them on the weapons rack next to Suko's. Suko's collection of katanas sat mounted on the shirasaya above the mantle. Two of the swords were new, unsullied, pristine in their composite scabbards. But it was the other blade that caught Sigrid's eye. She reached for it, caressing the smooth lacquered surface of its simple wooden saya. This weapon seemed odd, out of place, an antique lost in the sea of advanced armaments that littered their home. The katana was very old, that was certain; some might consider it obsolete, only worthy of being discarded.
But Sigrid knew better. For this was the very same katana she had found on Vincenze, bought for Suko with the first of her earnings as Mercenary. The sword and Suko would not soon be parted.
Oh, and don't forget to check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.ca! SciFi Fantasy Saturday is a web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. All are welcome to join and participate. In fact, join and participate! Ten sentences every Saturday is all it takes.
Cheers, Cary!
Cheers, Cary!
Awww, that's sweet!
ReplyDeleteAin't it though. And they say diamonds are a girl's best friend. (diamonds - phtt!)
DeleteLiked the snippet, but the cartoon to the right made me smile a lot more. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love that drawing too. Quick. Name the character and win a prize!
DeleteSigrid and Suko if I'm not mistaken...
DeleteI love katanas! Yet another reason why I like Suko so much.
ReplyDeleteThe cartoon on the right looks to be Suko and Sigrid to me. I get the impression that the one at the top-left is Leta.
I so want a katana. I have real fakes...poo.
ReplyDeleteNice little snippet. The 'ambiance' gives off a nice homey feel. Love the descriptions...especially 'unsullied'. (Been watching too much Game of Thrones, have you?)
Leta, that's what I thought too. Immediately! And definitely Suko and Sigrid.
You and Patrick are of course correct and win... Well, I'll think of something. And 'unsullied' is ABSOLUTELY a nod to GOT. But Daenerys is just a rip off of sigrid anyway (so obvious - phtt.).
DeleteI like Leta...a lot. She's the red-headed techie, right? Reminds me of a combination of Anna and Aislyn from my books, only without the implants.
DeleteGreat vibe - very comfortable and really gives the reader a lot of insight to them both. Still loving the sketches!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a weapons-centered decorating scheme.
ReplyDeleteThey enjoy potter-making as well, but, you know...ten sentences...
DeleteI love the peeks we get into their tender moments. I could easily see Sigrid come in, start to unarm herself and get distracted by the katana. Lovely pace and details.
ReplyDeleteWow! Awesome snippet. I really enjoy the intimate peeks into their relationship. And the description really works.
ReplyDeleteI was recently at the home of a sword collector. He had, above his mantelpiece, a rack of katanas almost exactly as described in the snippet. Two modern ones, expensive and well made, and yes, probably with composite scabbards. Below them was a real treasure- an antique katana made of hand folded steel, a wooden scabbard,and the maker's mark on the blade! It's really cool when an author can use detail in a setting to draw memories from the reader's own mind.
Phew! That's very cool to hear. These are the kinds of scenes I worry about most - I'm always positive someone's going to come along and nail me for 'getting it wrong.' Because, of course, I ain't no sword expert. Never had one. Never held one. I wasn't even sure if you could have a shirasaya with more than two swords (but, hey! it's the future, right).
DeleteI loved the line: "This weapon seemed odd, out of place, an antique lost in the sea of advanced armaments that littered their home." It's breath-taking in its beauty. Great Snippet.
ReplyDelete