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"I was?" She frowns atup to neatly tuck a lock of hair into place A habitual, fanize, but a tad too jerky Just a little bit wrong "That doesn’t sound right"

"Sir, the records--the facility to the east--"

"I have a lot of paperwork here, Captain," she says gently "Can it wait?"

If I hadn’t just seen her tenrong But looking at her now, I can see it--little signs, here and there All her gestures are right, the inflection in her voice, her turn of phrase But it’s all muted Muffled It’s like she’s herself, but so toward the doorway "I’ll--thank you, sir"

She doesn’t look up as I salute and hurry through the door

It’s all I can do to walk back toward the other side of the base and not run; it’s all I can do not to find the nearest shuttle and get as far away as I can from this place

I don’t knohy LaRoux Industries is here on Avon I don’t knohypaid to watch uilt, that person is gone now Because the thing that just politely showed o look for Merendsen and tell hiether Instead I findfor Molly’s With personnel on duty around the clock, it’s always open I try telling myself it’s because I want the co there I try tellingon, hoping he has some rational explanation for what I saw

But I know the real reasonme his way, and I’m not proud I’ht years old, I just want so to be okay

I’ with exhaustion and fear, when , acrid s, somewhere, is on fire

My head snaps up I can see thick black s up in the distance, and automatically I break into a sprint It could be any nus over on that side of the base; there are a couple barracks there, a few supply sheds, even the munitions depot But disastrous as that would be, somehow I know it’s not

God, no Please no