Cheaper Air Scrubbers

+++++ I have completely lost track of time. Chrons appear to be scarce and I can only guess at the date. It has been a week since my last entry and I've still not talked much to the others. I've been sluggish and not been feeling up to even doing some basic exercises, I will blame the low nourished food. I deeply crave the tables full of food that would be waiting for me back at the manor.

A very small part of me wonders why I even volunteered for this, but I am actually thankful for the break in the norm. My scribe, Lanus, will take care of most of my paper work while I am away so I do not even worry about that. (Not that I ever actually worry about paper work.)

There is a thrill, I must admit, to looking the commissar in the eye as he fusses and wondering how much he would grovel if he knew who I was. It is a mental abuse of my power, and I admit to being a slightly petty person for even entertaining the idea but…. There isn't much else to do.+++++

Verna peeled the sheets that clung to her skin back and grunted as she shifted her weight. Her whole body shook and ached. Doc and the one other medical officer had been busy and brutally tasked with caring for all of the sick on their own. Still he found time to visit Verna fairly regularly.

He sat down on the side of her bed and took her temperature with a tenderness that she had not seen since her liver transplant. Opening an eye, she looked up at his rough face and smirked.

"Stoic as ever." She commented.

"Says you. You are still trying to convince me that you are not ill." He smirked and took a washcloth out of his kit and wet it with his own canteen.

"Samuel, you don't have to do that." She grunted, annoyed at the waste.

He didn't answer, but folded it up and laid it over her forehead. It felt cool as it sucked heat from her head causing her to be begrudgingly thankful.

They sat quietly for a moment more as he poured some water from her canteen into a cup.

"Make sure you drink, I'll come back and check on you later." Doc said and left the bedside after running his hand over hers.

++++ When Samuel (Doc) sleeps, he has been sleeping in the bunk above mine, or slumped off reading on the floor beside the bed. He has the immune system of a beast and seems completely unconcerned about getting ill besides wearing his face mask. I found my fingers running through his hair without me directly commanding them to do so. I think I yearn for the company. It has been a long time since I have had a lover.

My dreams are fevered and I wake up tangled in sheets every night. I am not use to being ill like this. It is miserable. I will be well again soon though, this bug has only killed one person and they were of poor health anyways. I am an Imperial Inquisitor of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition. I will not be defeated by a silly bug. ++++


This is a very short chapter but I had to break it off from the next or else it would be too long. Up next and should be up before tomorrow:

The Commissar's Lesson on Humility