Spoilerific (PMF 6): Part Deleted Scene, Part Making the Sausage (Patreon)

This doesn't happen to me a lot, but it happens to every writer.

Sometimes you write an entire scene, feeling like it's logical and worthwhile... and then you get to the end of it and you realize it'll probably get cut in the final draft. Pacing, redundancy, interesting-but-not-important. And sometimes it's a perfectly good scene.

I had that happen on Friday, and then I realized hey, I did include deleted scenes on my list of Spoilerific posts, so maybe it can see the light of day here?

Anyway PMF 6 is very much a Tanner book, but in the immortal words of Jesse Baldwin, not everything is about Tanner. Big things are happening.

* * *

“God damn, that’s a lot of ships.” Sanjay sat back at the helm and took in the broad spread of astrogation info projected onto the bridge canopy. Holographic icons, text, and navigational lines appeared all over the natural backdrop of space beyond the transparent shield.

Val ran the station beside Sanjay, with Lynette in her chair behind them. Veronica sat at the fold-out portside auxiliary console beside Lynette. No one strapped in for such a routine FTL arrival in a known spot, especially the guest and the part-time chief engineer who stood behind the captain’s chair to watch.

“Welcome to the busiest system in the Union,” said Charlotte. “Earth, Luna, Mars, Europa, and Assembly Station, along with all the little colonies and outposts in between, and trade and tourists from all over.”

“I wanna see Earth,” said Sanjay.

“Everyone wants to see Earth.” With more experience in space than all save Admiral Yeoh, Charlotte’s dismissive, French-accented reply carried credibility. “The tourist spots are nice. The rest is like anywhere else, except the cities are more crowded. Humanity expanded for a reason.”

“Yeah, but it’s the starting point. No place has history like Earth.”

“Now you’re a history guy?” Lynette grinned.

He glanced and frowned over his shoulder, but only muttered as he turned back to the helm. “I’m not a complete goon,” he muttered.

“Charlotte, do you see anything new?” asked Lynette. She hired the older woman on as a relief engineer, but Charlotte’s lifetime of trade and shipping proved equally valuable to her technical experience. Like the admiral, Charlotte had been at this long enough for her age to finally crack through her longevity treatments.

“It’s already different with them letting us drop inside of Saturn’s orbit.” Charlotte folded her arms, staring at the screen with blue eyes under a choppy blonde bob. “Interesting that they’ve got traffic to the outer worlds on defined tracks now. Seems a little overbearing.”

“Tightening security for the Minoan visit, maybe?” suggested Val.

“It's petty bureaucracy,” said Charlotte, just as Yeoh answered, “It's make-work.” The two mirrored one another’s raised eyebrows and knowing grins. “Solar Defense needs every chance to make themselves relevant and justify their bloated budgets,” Charlotte went on. “We’ll hear from them any second now.”

“Really? It hasn’t even been two—” Veronica paused at the ping from her console, frowned, and tapped a holographic key. Her frown deepened. “Tripoli, this is Phoenix inbound for Assembly Station under diplomatic authorization. Transmitting credentials. Please advise.” Her gaze flicked back to the crowded canopy display, searching for the ship. “The visual bounce-back had to have just timed out. Did they transmit the literal second we appeared?”

“Oh, I’m sure it took three seconds. Maybe even four,” said Yeoh. “They do this around the clock, you know.”

“With enough ships to trip over,” grumbled Sanjay. “Oh hey, there’s a cruiser behind us, just hanging out between gas giants. Nothing better to do than flex on new arrivals, I guess.”

“It’s still mostly civilian traffic, and nobody’s in visual range,” said Lynette.

“Tripoli, Phoenix. Understood. We are en route now.” Veronica dropped her “signals” voice for her bridge companions again. “Charlotte was right. They want a boarding, even with the diplomatic exemptions. And they gave us a number to wait in line.”

“It should only be cursory,” said Charlotte. “An identity check, a safety inspection. They use the attack on Qal’at Khalil as an excuse for a radiological sweep.”

“That wasn’t even an actual nuke. It was a fuel cell bomb,” said Val. “Anybody with a starship could make one of those.”

“Of course. It’s not about security. Anywhere else, a Union diplomatic pass exempt us from inspection altogether, but not here. They want to make the point.”

“And they might scan for any number of other things without telling us,” said Yeoh.

“Of course,” Charlotte repeated.

“Captain Kelly, who will you have meet the boarding team?” Yeoh asked.

“Thought I’d do it myself, unless you want it?” Lynette offered to Veronica, and received a wave of dismissal in reply. “Why?”

“I’ll be more recognizable in my uniform. Allow me to get changed. Personnel tend to be on their best behavior in front of an admiral, regardless of their service.” Yeoh stepped out with a pleasant nod.

The bridge crew shared a look.

“We’re not still ‘personnel,’ right?” asked Sanjay. “I mean, we’re all discharged now. Civilians.”

“I can’t help it if you’re intimidated by her air of authority,” said Lynette.