Sunday Snippet: Outcasts

Whew. It's been a week. Had another trip to the emergency department with a family member and, thankfully, things seem to be okay and we're getting closer to having some answers.

Had an okay week of television viewing, mainly because my brain was kind of scattered all over the place. Started out with watching the behind the scenes and episode breakdowns for Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries. Thoroughly enjoyed both.

Caught both episodes of a Silent Witness two-parter. This is one I kind of remembered and I ended up liking it a lot. Some cool intrigue mixed with the science.

Enjoyed two more arcs of Classic Who. I believe there will be a new companion joining the crew but I'm not sure how soon that happens.

Watched two more episodes of UFO Witness. This one isn't nearly as entertaining as the lost evidence series but I'll finish it out.

Caught four episodes of The Muppet Show. Pearl Bailey, Jean Stapleton, Loretta Lynn and Alice Cooper were the guest stars. I'd forgotten about the Alice episode and really enjoyed watching it again.

Enjoyed two more episodes of McCartney 3, 2, 1. It's so cool to watch the breakdown of how many happy accidents shaped the sound of Paul's career.

Watched two more Master Class lessons with LeVar Burton. The first was a case study of Roots and how that story impacted so many. The second was about the importance of the oral storytelling tradition. I'm so glad I gave this series of lessons a try.

Got two more episodes of Peak Practice viewed. I didn't finish the second episode, mainly because one of the characters annoyed me so much I couldn't watch it. I'll pick back up with the next one and see if I missed anything important.

Caught another full episode of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and I'm almost finished with another one. I'm sort of on the fence with this show right now. I literally hate Blackwood with a passion and I'm close to saying I'm done because I can't stand him.

Enjoyed another episode of Star Trek: Discovery. I gotta say I'm impressed with the narrative so far. There's some serious intrigue I'm enjoying along with a mix of new concepts that I'm fascinated with. Lorca is compelling to watch.

Watched another episode of Chicago Med. I'm enjoying the second season a lot and I might have to go look up the crossover episodes again.

Caught another episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. I really love this show. I switched to a different streaming provider and should be able to continue the second season without a delay.

I'll probably finish out the week with another episode of New Rugrats and another Chicago Med. I'll discuss those next week.

That's it for television recaps. Tonight's post is from Outcasts, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Frannie Boyd and Thorn O'Reilly are stuck in a bad situation with no way out. But when the people they love are threatened, they'll play hardball to protect what's theirs, even if they have to go up against an admiral to do it.

And a sneaky peek…

Thorn O'Reilly finished his after action report and flipped the folder closed. He'd left out a lot, things he didn't want put on the official record. "Definitely can't include anything about the Gaspra." Or how everything since the arrival of the ship had gone pear-shaped.

The Gaspra's commanding officer ruled by fear and intimidation. Admiral Naught read every single report and she'd already clearly stated opinions should be left at the door. She wanted facts and nothing else. None of her officers questioned her decisions.

Thorn leaned back in his seat. "I wonder what would happen if anyone tried?" Probably nothing good.

He wanted to find out why Naught's crew thought they'd come out to rescue the Deimos. "Better yet … why is she letting them believe it?" The admiral had an insidious way of twisting the facts to suit her own purposes.

Sets my teeth on edge.

The Deimos had been off the grid for months, running a stealth mission to get intel on the Gamma base. The crew had been cut off from sending the data back—thanks to the Gamites destroying the communications buoy. And the CO had strict orders not to break radio silence.

Thorn shook his head. "The Gamites don't even realize what they hit." A damned good thing, too.

The cloaked beacon showed up as space debris on sensors. An ingenious concept that kept the enemy from knowing the Deimos hovered on the perimeter of Gamite space. Not a bad thing, except for the fact it left his ship effectively stranded.

Thorn snorted. "And we've got orders not to leave the area unless the Gamma base did."

So … they played a dangerous game of cat and mouse, staying out of range and hidden from the enemy. His CO had the info needed to destroy the base, but not enough fire power. At least not the right kind.

"It's gonna take radiological weapons to blow the station disguised as an asteroid."

And the sum total Deimos had? Zero. To do it right, a second warship should also fire at the same time.

So they'd been stuck. Doing useless recon runs to gather intel that went nowhere but could come in handy if they found another way to decimate the base, which they didn't think would happen.

Until the Gaspra showed up, rolling in like a savior for the rescue.

Thurgood O'Reilly, Thorn's grandfather, announced a big celebration after the Gaspra arrived. Too bad the party got nipped in the planning stages. Naught wouldn't authorize it. Why?

Thorn rolled his eyes. "Because according to the admiral, the Deimos crew has nothing to celebrate." Their failure at protecting the communication buoy that cut them off didn’t warrant it.

Hello? Stealth mission. If they'd tried to protect the beacon, the enemy would know of their presence. Which strict orders stated they had to avoid at all costs.

Thorn didn't understand her logic.

Yet … apparently, the esteemed admiral figured they should've taken on the Gamites—even though they were astronomically outnumbered and would violate their orders not to reveal themselves—and protected the buoy.

Right. Zero sense. Which made Thorn ask questions. Ones the admiral didn't like.

So … his report to command wouldn't be much. He'd discuss his reservations with his commanding officer off log. Sometimes being related came in handy that way.

Gathering up the report, he added the flight roster and tucked them into a large envelope. Rising from his desk, he crossed over to the hatch and pushed it open. Flipping the lights off, he decided to personally deliver the files. If he got lucky, he'd have a chance to sit down and have that conversation when he did.

His grandfather couldn't be on board with Naught's bullshit. No way.

This story is coming together bit by bit. It's slow going but I think it's starting to take shape and I know where everything is headed.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye