Lt Alex Storm - What Child Is This?
Karen Morris
Alex rounded the corner near her quarters, letting her steps slow to match her steady pull and exhale of oxygen. She pressed her palms into the small of her back, easing her chest open as she drew in another slow, measured breath. The corridor’s air cooled her cheeks, though not enough to completely chase away their warmth. Sweat traced down her forehead and jaw before disappearing into the damp fabric of her tank top. Bouncing twice on the balls of her feet, she let her gaze linger down the empty stretch of corridor, the urge for one more sprint humming in her legs.
oO Keep it balanced. Oo
With a groan and a muttered oath about meddling doctors, she dropped back into a steady stride toward her door.
As her stride eased, the corridor seemed to hold its breath with her. Her hand lifted to tap the panel, then stopped halfway, the quiet catching her before she moved.
The door slid open, and the low, muted lights inside cast long, soft-edged shadows across the floor. A soft, pulsing glow warmed the far corner of the room, rising and fading like a slow heartbeat. Her feet carried her inward before her thoughts did, eyes tracking the slow pulse of an indicator light at the edge of the console.
Slipping her finger under the back of each shoe one at a time, she removed them and set them aside before she allowed the flashing light to draw her across the room. The console brightened as she approached, the pulsing light smoothing into a steady glow. Touching the indicator light, her recent messages appeared. At the top of the list, she saw…
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From: H’all — CivNet Relay
Alex, please respond when you can. I think I’ve found Cassie.
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Her hand braced against the edge of the console, knuckles whitening. oO Breathe, Alex Oo Her head lowered, chin settling toward her chest as she stayed braced against the console.
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They passed through Kelara Station.
Cassie was with him.
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Her fingers tightened, knuckles blanching against the console’s edge. Slow inhale and exhale. She lifted her spine from the console edge, one vertebra at a time, holding herself upright.
Involuntary, Alex took one small step back from the console, as if space could slow what she’d just read. Her grip slackened, fingers slipping slowly from the console's edge and dangled freely at her side. A breath later, the chair met her quietly as she sat, the room settling into stillness with her. The solid weight of the chair beneath her steadied the moment, holding her where she sat, but her gaze moved back to the words, tracing them once more as if confirming what they said. Her shoulders eased back, the line of her spine settling into something steadier. She let the silence stretch, her breath slow and even. Her gaze settled on Cassie’s name, the rest of the text fading to the edges of her awareness.
Storm: Cassie.
The word escaped her lips like a prayer. Her heart beat strong and steady with each breath. Jaw set, her finger reached out and touched the indicator, initiating a call. Her hands folded in her lap as she waited for a Catian face to appear on the console.
H’all: Response
Alex nodded once. Her mouth opened and hung there like a baby bird waiting to be fed, and like that hatchling, she chirped her need.
Storm: Cassie?
H’all: Response
Storm: How’s … how’s she look?
H’all: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2