The 0300 Jolt

Posted on Mon Jun 16th, 2025 @ 7:25am by Lieutenant JG Kate Kono

493 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Wounds From the Mirror
Location: Kate's Quarters
Timeline: 0300

It wasn't a sudden jolt nor a scream into the night. Just a silent opening of her dark eyes once the sheets that wrapped her naked frame permiated with enough sweat to interrupt the nightmares. Images of dark shadow beings, a dark red shuttle bay getting smaller with a helpless figure within the confines of a demonic space was stranded to greater evils. The sharp teeth, the dark sunken eyes in a suit transmission baiting her into feeling hopeless --- a laser scalple opening her up below her belly...

The intelligence officer silently stepped out of bed and looked down at herself. The scars weren't visible... With the help of the doctor, any physical evidence of what she had gone through was all but eliminated, but there was some damage deep within that she knew would last a lifetime. The young Asian silently stepped into the bathroom and turned on the sonic shower. Her matted black hair suddenly pulled away from her head at the same time beaded crystals of the nights horror vaporized as if it had never happened.

Kate leaned against the tiled walls and crossed her arms in front of her bare chest to soak in the invisible comfort of the sonic clense long after the entire mechanical system had done its job. She closed her eyes and leaned forward to grab her hair clippers. She hoped that Ben wouldn't mind but any luxury of comfort was going to outdo the elegance of beauty's burdeon. She measured four fingers and began to cut. The air vanished into nothingness as the sonic shower, attuned to lose dead things eliminated the useless parts of her on the spot.

By the time she stepped away, she used her folicle tuner, much like a 21st Century can of hairspray and gave her the old spiked style that she was used to. It reminded her of more innocent times as well, which was something she felt she needed. TImes before she was butchered; times before she was sent to hell and back with Section 31.

She returned to the main room, careful not to wake Ben as she silently stepped to the window, still bare as the day she was born, looking out into the black at the stars. Her face twisted slightly with confusion as she realized that they were at warp... They weren't supposed to be at warp yet; not only were they at warp -- high warp. She placed her hand on the window and she could feel it. Maybe it wasn't a 0300 terror, but a terror at 0300. Something more exestential than a nightmare. She pulled her hand away from the transparent aluminum almost as if it were hot -- simply the realization that something wasn't quite right.

She blinked with confusion and concern before averting her gaze to her love, who still lie in her bed fast asleep. She may not have been telepathic but a bad feeling crept into her spine.

 

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