Episode 32: The Quiet Between
Gracie held up a hand covered in fabric labels.
“I have labeled nearly everything except the cushions.”
Kahlia laughed before she could help it. The adhesive had caught Gracie’s sleeve, two fingers, and the corner of a seed packet. A younger conduit fetched a damp cloth and began freeing her one tag at a time.
At the monitoring station, Echo was making a different kind of order. She had aligned the pressure readings with the times each crack appeared.
The display showed long stretches of stability interrupted by brief changes.
“So we have room to work between them,” Eshan said.
“Room,” Echo replied. “Not a promise.”
Kahlia brought a chair closer. With the immediate alarms quiet, she could finally examine the records without someone asking her to move a table or settle a dispute.
Near hydroponics, the two brothers were sharing a task list. The younger one paused at the last item.
“I can do that part myself.”
His brother nodded and handed him the tool. No reassurance followed. None was needed.
By evening, Gracie had labeled the cushions, and Echo had arranged the damage records into a sequence Kahlia could follow.
Kahlia stayed after the others left the station. She opened the Archive’s repair catalogue and searched beyond the systems already in use.
One sealed entry held her attention.
She asked Echo to sit with her.
To be continued…
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