Sunday Snippet: Quality of Care

October is starting out really well and I hope it's a sign of things to come. My work projects have picked up again and I'm so happy! I'm also making progress on the great clean out again. I've also taken to spending fifteen to thirty minutes before I go to bed reading something that interests me. I've got a ton of new research books and I love digging into them.

Pretty decent week for television viewing. I watched four episodes of The Muppet Show. The guest stars were Shields and Yarnell, Dyan Cannon, Victor Borge, and Linda Lavin. Pretty good episodes all in all.

Caught two episodes of Prime Suspect, which finished out season four. So far, the episodes are standing up and I like revisiting them.

Watched two episodes of Peak Practice. Will said good-bye and headed for Bristol and the newly formed trio is finding their footing. The second episode ended up being quite dramatic with explosions and emergencies all around.

Enjoyed the second lesson of Master Class with Brandon McMillan. He focused on variables that make dogs unique. I already have some good information based on the two types of dogs I have.

Caught Making the Witcher and liked diving deep into how everything gets put together behind the scenes. I'll probably be starting a new show this week.

Enjoyed Artist to Icon: Madonna. She came onto the music scene in my early adulthood and I've always enjoyed her music. Nice to see some new information about her long and storied career.

Watched another episode of Classic Rugrats. As usual, I get sucked right back into the past when my oldest was a tiny baby and watching the show with my husband in the evenings.

Caught an episode of Chicago Med and thoroughly enjoyed it. I like how the relationships and friendships work on the show and even when the characters make me angry, I can see where they're coming from.

Loved the latest episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. Breen's discomfort whenever he tangled with the abrasive Trudy proved valid even if she ended up not quite fitting the mold most, including me, cast her in.

Watched the first part of Silent Witness. I remember this one but not how it turned out. I'm always interested when the characters end up on opposite sides of a case. Looking forward to seeing how this one plays out again.

Enjoyed Classic Who's finale arc of season nineteen. Looks like Teegan won't be returning for the twentieth season, leaving the Doctor with one companion. Should start the new season this week.

Finished out the season of UFO Conspiracies. I'll be starting a new UFO show this week and I'm kind of hoping it will be a good one.

That's pretty much it for this week. Tonight's post is from Quality of Care, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Stuck on the fringe of space, cut off by an enemy blockade, Phoebe Point and Dane Moragson keep their ragtag crewmembers from going stark, raving mad. When food rations become non-existent, Phoebe and Dane plot a daring plan to improve the quality of care for their comrades—even if it means going against orders and risking court martial.

And a sneaky peek…

Noell Bartof skirted by the latest altercation Captain Moragson and Lieutenant Point got in the middle of. The CAG and deputy CAG spent way too much time keeping the peace between hungry, cranky pilots.

Ducking into a recessed alcove, he waited for the two superior officers to march the bickering pilots in the direction of separate decks. "With food sources being low, everyone's on edge." And with an enemy blockade between the space station and supply lanes, tempers would only get worse. "Ha. Try frayed beyond anything." Stepping out, Noell followed along behind Dane and Phoebe.

He got a good look at each and both looked dull and down. Then again, the duo had been making sure the other pilots got taken care of first—on top of playing babysitter and nanny along with maintaining some semblance of a flight roster. Noell hadn't seen either smile in over a week. Other than the morale boosting kind that didn't quite reach their eyes.

And even they'd been surly and snappish, but only with each other, and in such a quiet way it freaked everyone out. If Moragson and Point reached their breaking point, the whole station would be screwed. Noell doubted the top brass had any kind of clue how much the lower ranks relied on the CAG and deputy CAG to keep order and calm below decks. Or the toll it took on both.

He stopped. "Screw that." Time for someone to take care of the caregivers and Noell would start the process.

He ducked into the small gym on D-deck and glanced around. Empty. Good. He made his way to the heavy bag and peeled back the duct tape covering a torn section. Reaching inside, he withdrew a small pouch and opened the bag. He shook two small candy bars into his palm from the secret stash he'd hidden in case rationing got even worse.

Closing the pouch, he tucked it back inside the heavy bag. "This isn't enough. I gotta get more." Resealing the tape, he stuffed the candy into his pocket and retraced his steps.

First stop … pilot quarters. He'd bet his next full meal—if he ever got another one—he'd find others who had a little something squirreled away. And he wasn't above using blackmail and extortion to get it.

"Everyone's gonna give a little of what they have."

Or look like an ass if they didn't.

This story is set up a little differently from what I usually do and I'm enjoying the challenge of writing from a somewhat unique perspective by adding a third party POV.

 

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

ML Skye