Today I'm hosting
fellow author Melisse Aires whose story Stranded on Grzbt is one of the
eleven novellas in Pets in Space 6. Mimi and two other Earth women have been
abducted by decidedly unpleasant aliens who take them to a space port at Grzbt
where it becomes apparent they're going to be sold as slaves.
Here's what Melisse
told me about Velvet and her role in the story.
In Stranded on Grzbt, my
heroine Mimi meets a tiny alien animal and befriends her. The Earth women
captives are frightened, powerless, and grieving. Cuddly little Velvet becomes
a tiny spot of comfort in a difficult situation.
Their captors
eventually land the ship and take the Earth women onto a busy space dock.
That’s when Velvet shows she is more than a cute snuggle bug. Somehow, during
important events, Velvet pops up. What is she capable of? I suspect Velvet and
her fellow nanosnoots are smarter than anyone thinks.
Velvet is a hero.
Mimi and her alien trader Kyre wouldn’t have gotten very far without her.
Mouse sized, trunk
nosed nanosnoots were originally lab created to help with invasive nanobot
infections. They have computer knowledge and some kind of telepathic
connections. Over the years, one crazy genius scientist or another has enhanced
their abilities, and those talents have spread through the nanosnoot
population.
Even I, the author,
am not sure about nanosnoots capabilities. I look forward to finding out
more about them.
Excerpt
“Now I’m just worried about where they are taking
us,” Acacia whispered. They came to an area of larger ships, cruise ship sized.
Then something appeared above. Other aliens were looking up at it. Something
poked through the gray sky.
“It’s not the sky, it’s a wall,” Mimi said. “A
weird wall.”
The piece coming though the wall got larger and
larger. Workers around them stopped to watch. The worms tried to get them to
walk, but the path was full of observers.
“The wall seemed to be made of gel or something
soft,” Acacia said. “Maybe this isn’t a planet after all. Maybe it’s a space
station.”
The gray gel ceiling glommed around the bright
white and gold of an enormous ship.
“The ceiling is like ooze, you know, that toy that
feels like snot,” Chloe said.
The ship was probably twenty times larger than one
of the cruise ships. It didn’t attempt to pull into a space along the walkway.
Instead, it stayed up near the ceiling. A door opened on the side and a flat
barge-type ship came out, covered with containers. A covered ship flew out of a
different doorway. The barge parked in the docking area. Many workers and
hauling machines moved to it and started handling the goods.
A crane-like machine nearby wobbled as it picked up
a container.
Velvet, who was riding on Mimi’s bra, peeking out
at the dock, jumped to her shoulder, climbing her hair. “Churr-churr-EET!”
The whistle was piercing.
“Watch out!” Mimi screamed, as the container began
to swing like a pendulum. They all rushed back as far as the rope would let
them. One of the worms tried to jerk them forward, rope taut, since they
wouldn’t move. The four watched the swinging container.
The container broke free of the crane and landed with
a boom that shook the ground. They all screamed and covered their faces with
their arms. Debris flew everywhere. An alarm blared. Aliens and machines ran
around, screeching and howling.
Mimi peeked over her forearm as she covered her
face from the flying shards. The container fell right on top of the four worms.
The end of the rope fell to the walkway. We’re free! Mimi grabbed the
rope and pulled the others. “Come on!”
*************************
Here's the blurb for Stranded on Grzbt.
Splat! The unlikely sound of freedom…
Mimi Stevens considers the out-of-control packing
container that squishes the stinky spaceworm kidnappers a brilliant stroke of
luck. She and her companions take advantage of the unfortunate event to escape
into the maze of the busy space dock and plan a strategy on how to survive.
With the help of a tiny elephant-mouse and her theater skills, she just might
be able to make it.
Kyre Valryssian, First Officer of the Red Haven, is
shocked to hear Earth women singing in an ancient language from a planet that
has not yet entered the space trade lanes. Concerned for their safety, he is
determined to escort them to his clan’s ship—especially the woman with the
short hair and big eyes.
Mimi doesn’t know if she and her friends can trust
the handsome alien with flashing eyes or not, but she is running out of
options. With the bad guys closing in, she’ll have to trust her gut—and her
tiny pet—that Kyre wants to help them. Can Kyre convince Mimi that he has her
and her companions best interests at heart, or will her distrust threaten them
all?
Get your copy of Pets in Space 6 while you
can. You'll find all the links to your favorite ebook stores at books2read.com/PISA6/
