Astronica - Part 1

Coryn turned over in his sleep and mumbled to the empty space next to him, "I miss you..." He apparently found some consolation in his dream, because he smiled, and rolled back over. Unfortunately, there was no more bed to roll on, and so his head made a noisy thump when it hit the cold titanium floor.

Elsewhere in the station...

Mei sighed, and yanked the plintz up from over her eyes. She yawned and reached for her cup of coffee on the stand near the welding station. Her hand met nothing but empty air, however, and she turned to see the source of the sudden lack of a coffee cup. Her eyes met Senraa, quietly and calmly watching her and sipping her coffee.

"Hey! Get yer own, jerk!" she said, and made a swipe for the cup. Senraa easily stepped back, evading the swipe.

"Why get my own, when yours is right here?" he responded lazily.

"'Cause it's mine, you twit! Give it here!" she snapped.

His cold blue eyes regarded her, and he tossed the cup at her. She caught it, and realized a very important problem.

"You drank it all, asshole!"

"So I did."

"Grr...you just wait..." She threw the plastic eye protection (dubbed 'plintz' for some unknown reason) down on the floor, and lunged toward him. He caught her arms easily, and held her against the wall. He leaned in to within a centimeter's distance, and smiled slowly.

"You'll never beat me, Mei, my dear."

"That doesn't mean I'll give up! Let me go!" He did so, and she flung herself away. "Would you just leave me alone!"

"Certainly. You know I can't say no to you, lovely maiden."

"I'm gonna kill you one of these days, Sen!"

"I know, and I can't wait." His voice, so full of arrogance, drifted back around the corner that he had just gone past. Mei simply stood, fuming.

In the admiral's quarters...

"It will be done immediately, madam." Brian turned, and strode purposefully out of the admiral's quarters. He made his way toward the barracks, in search of a certain private. He reached the barracks, and placed his hand on the lock, which beeped, and the door quietly whooshed open. He looked around at the dark room, his metallic eyes automatically adjusting to the darkness. He grimaced, hating to wake up all the soldiers, and shouted, "Up! All of you, up! Now!"

The lights snapped on with an audible buzz, and every soldier in the room was up and at attention within seconds. "Sorry to ruin your sleep, kids, but which one of you is Coryn?" A young private stepped forward, rubbing his eyes, his unruly brown hair sticking up.

"I am, sir."

"Good. Come with me. The rest of you, back to bed."

Coryn shuffled along, trailing in the wake of Brian's purposeful strides. Brian looked back at the boy, and barked, "Hurry up, kid! Admiral Damaera's waiting!"

Coryn sighed, and thought, "What have I done this time...?" Nevertheless, he tried to speed up his pace.