An Isolated Dawn, Part 2: Grey

Posted on 01 Apr 2013 @ 8:50am by Lieutenant Dawn Meridian

457 words; about a 2 minute read

Captain's log, supplemental. Some time has passed since we began studying the anomaly. Preliminary readings don't match anything in Starfleet's database, although the nebula is interfering with the Augustine's sensors. Lieutenant Sorell is in the process of modifying a probe to withstand the nebula's unique form of radiation, after which we should be able to discover more.

Captain Selene de Fay leaned against the viewport, her back to the shifting grey cloud of the nebula. For once, the anomaly was out of view, hidden away on the other side of the ship. It had been beautiful at first - captivating, even - but its slow, erratic glow was beginning to unnerve her, although she couldn't put her finger on why. If it only it had been steady, predictable...

The chime pulled her from her reverie. She took a moment to fix her blonde hair before calling, "Come in."

Edmond's grey eyes said everything. She smiled softly at him. When had they last had any time to themselves? Every minute they had free together was dedicated to Dawn, even now. They weren't so much lovers as parents. She didn't regret a moment of it, but there were times she missed their home in Dax. They'd been free, there, unlike any time before or since. "Dawn's in bed?" she asked softly.

He nodded. He hadn't shaved today, she noted with a twist of her lips. The black stubble suited him. "Sleeping like a rock, as usual. I don't know how she does it." His grin lit up his face. "And Lieutenant Sorell says the probe is all set. Commander MacKay should have the bridge crew assembled by now."

"No time to waste, then," Selene said with a sigh.

"That's the spirit," Edmond said.

She put her hand on her hip. "You know that I'm excited, Edmond." She let out a breath. "I'm just... tired, is all. More tired than I'd like to be. I don't have as much time for Dawn as I'd like, or as much time for us."

Edmond shrugged. "We knew the price."

"We did," Selene said. She was quiet for a time. "Do you think she'll resent us?"

Edmond's grey-eyed gaze was stern. "For being able to live in space? For having a crew who loves her as much as she loves them? She's not the only child whose parents work away from home. But she's one of the few who gets to do their job with them. She's incredibly lucky, Lune. As we are."

Her nickname brought a smile to her lips. "You win this time, Lieutenant," she said. "Now get out of my ready room. We've got a probe to launch."

RSS Feed