Brian yawned as he checked the plasma levels leading to the fusion reactors. The injectors were clean and the flow was steady. A red light began to flash on a nearby panel and he moved over to investigate. Dave heard the warning beep and looked up at his Chief Engineer.

  "What is it boss?"

  "The pressure levels dropped for a moment in the coolant tanks," Brian tapped on the gauge, "but they seem to have steadied themselves out."

  "Do you want me to run a diagnostic?"

  "Please, I want to be sure we're not leaking nitrogen." He shook his head, "it's probably nothing, just a faulty readout."

-     -     -

  Kim turned the spigot in her shower and hot water poured out of the metal nozzle. It was made from some sort of alloy that didn't seem to collect lime or rust. She smiled; she always liked a tidy bathroom.

  Her cute face greeted her in the mirror and she removed the small clip in her hair, allowing her blonde hair to fall around her shoulders. Steam began to collect along the top of the glass as she stepped back towards the shower and unfastened her robe. The pink cotton dropped around her feet and she shivered as moist air caressed her freckled skin. Her small breasts jiggled with life as she stepped lightly into the cascading water.

  Kim slid the partition closed and reveled in the liquid as it splashed against her. It played over her chest, raining down her smooth front. She sang happily as she wet her silky hair and began to rub in designer shampoo to a full lather.

  Somewhere in her nearby bedroom, a panel set into the wall began to brighten and Alexander's face appeared. His smiling visage wrinkled it's nose as he started to mouth the words to the song she was singing.

  Kim almost dropped her soap and she giggled at her clumsiness. She began to message the milky bubbles over her body, being careful to wash the ring that was piercing her navel. The water swirled below her in a wide whirlpool around the drain. She continued to sing.

  Alexander smirked, suddenly remembering why he had come. He pushed a virtual button and sent his program into operation. He felt the pipes far behind the wall shudder as a valve was switched. It gave a trivial creak as something new began to flow towards Kim.

  The water suddenly stopped and she opened her soapy eyes to look at the faucet to see what the problem might be. She did so just as a fresh current of liquid nitrogen began to pour upon her.

  Kim screamed.

  Everything suddenly flashed into darkness as needles of pain stabbed into her vision. She felt her throat constrict and her head become heavy as she struggled to choke. A violent convulsion forced the last breath from her body as her ears heard her tongue splintering against the wall. Her body was stiff, she couldn't move. Gravity shifted as her fleeting consciousness recognized that she was falling.

  There was the sound of crystal shattering; but Kim no longer cared. The faucet turned itself off and the last of her shower flowed down the drain. The reddened pieces were almost unrecognizable. Some of the fragments, not entirely frozen, were beginning to stain the floor a deep crimson. One broad strip sat peacefully, the navel at it's center looking eerily lifelike with a gold ring still attached to it.

  Alexander played back the sound of Kim's final scream through his circuits and closed his eyes as he began to fade away with a broadening smile.

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On to Ch.9 - Departing Storm

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