Shockwaves

Posted on 21 Jul 2012 @ 9:39am by Verity Thorne
Edited on on 22 Jul 2012 @ 9:29am

687 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4
Timeline: MD 07: 22:00 - co-inciding with 'Tough Little Ship'

ON:

Wrapping his arms tighter around the girl, the Chaplain half curled over her as the ship rocked again.

Verity had been surprised when he had first started looking after the child when the ship went to Red Alert. She had been his only charge with the lack of civilians and guests currently on the ship.

When he had seen how young Lily was, he had expected to need to comfort a crying, scared child with the sirens screaming and the lights flashing.

However, the young girl had curled up easily in his lap as he sat securely against the wall, humming to herself and playing 'incy wincy spider' with her fingers.

"You don't mind the Red Alert sirens?" Verity had dared to ask her gently and casually, watching her with a soft smile. He didn't want to suddenly draw her attention to a need to be scared, but he was eager to know what to expect from her.

"No," Lily had declared, smiling brightly to the Chaplain as the 'incy wincy spider' had started to 'climb the water spout' up over his shoulder.

"Well that's very grown up of you," he had replied gently, using his own fingertips to chase her spider fingers.

Lily just shook her head with a distracted smile. "Just nothing wrong with them."

"Uh huh," he had nodded as he watched her with curiosity. He had considered asking for more, but was worried about making her anxious with his line of questioning.

"Mummy said that they help scare the naughty people away," she said with a serious nod, clearly accepting the idea easily and without question.

"Ahhh," Verity nodded to her in return, finally understanding. He had to admit, it was a good twist of the facts to keep a child from being scared. "I see."

"So they'll go away soon, the sirens will chase them away!" Lily ran her 'incy wincy spider' fingertips quickly over his shoulder, as if it was being chased off.

He had sung nursery rhymes with her after that, to pass the time and distract her. But then the ship had started to rock with the hits from the attack, physically jolting them from their music.

"That's the ship telling them off," Lily had said, looking up to him with wide, blue eyes, but there was question in her voice that time, rather than the absolute resolution of the last time.

"It may take a little while," Verity had replied to her softly, but had pulled her a little closer, wrapping his arm around her to keep her secure, and feeling safe.

"Okay," she accepted what he said with surprising ease, but rested quietly against him rather than play after that. She hummed softly to herself, content just with that, but as the battle and rocks and shakes became harder and faster, the humming had started to fade off.

"Shouldn't be too much longer," Verity had assured her with a light tone of voice, his hand on her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly as he looked around, double checking that everything was secure in the room.

Lily had been silent after that, resting easily against him and curling up close. Verity had been amazed at how relaxed she was, not only with him but with the situation. It was a shame he couldn't explain frightening things so easily to adults.

The hits were coming thick and fast now though, and the ship was groaning and shaking harder under the stress of it. The Galileo was receiving a full on battering and he instinctively tightened his grip on her and half curled up over her to keep her cocooned against him.

"Do you think it's pirates?" Lily asked in a whisper from the curled up hideyhole of his body and arm.

"I don't know," Verity replied honestly, shaking his head as he took a long, steady breath. "But it sounds like they're getting a big telling off, whoever they are, right?"

"Right!" Lily half called back over the noise, wrapping her arms firmly around one of his to keep held tight against the jolting struggles of the science vessel.

OFF:

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