Calming the Inner Storm (Collab with Kezika) (Part 1)
13 Feb 2022KazukoHimura
Kazuko stood with her back to the wall, her pistol raised and pointing forward with shaking hands. Surrounding her were shadowy forms, one of which made a motion with their hand. A bolt of energy shot from a far distance away, heading straight for the lithe woman, who attempted and failed to dodge out of the way. Instead of colliding with her on impact, it turned into a net-like structure, engulfing Kazuko completely.“We’ve got her. After a couple decades, the lost goods are returned.”
Upon hearing that statement from one of the figures, the distressed woman began thrashing and screaming, desperately trying to escape her energy net prison.
The blanket on Kazuko’s bed went flying from the force of the now-awoken pilot’s thrashing, crashing into the wall of her bunk room before floating in midair, slightly soaked from the panicking woman’s sweat, which clung to her clammy skin. Kazuko’s heart pounded heavily in her chest as she frantically glanced around, rapidly breathing, clawing and kicking at something unseen.
Kazuko soon came to her senses, realizing that she was simply in her bunk on the fleet carrier, but that didn’t stop the sheer sense of dread weighing down on her, the same sense that yanked the breath from her lungs and flooded her mind with pure, unadulterated fear.
“Kazuko?” A single voice cut through her overwhelming despair like a knife. Shortly after getting no response, Jenelle stepped in, sitting on the bed across from the distraught woman and gently taking her hands.
“Kaz, focus on my voice. You’re here on Kezika’s fleet carrier, you are safe.” Jenelle kept repeating her second statement while gently squeezing Kazuko’s hands. The motion and speaking was enough to bring Kazuko back to her senses, albeit silently crying.
“Would you like me to bring you to Kezika?” Jenelle asked, to which Kazuko nodded.
* * * * *
Kezika’s bedside terminal pinged with the tone indicating an urgent call from a household staff member. Kezika rolled over and unzipped the side panel to take a look and noticed it was coming in from Jenelle and became quite worried as she pressed the answer button.
“Did something occur with Kazuko?” she inquired hurriedly.
“Yes, she seems to have had a panic attack,” Jenelle explained. “I was able to bring her back to her senses and calm her down to a degree-she wishes to see you.”
“Oh yes, of course, you can bring her right here, I’m in my quarters on Aristarchus,” Kezika explained, referring to her Orca.
Kezika raised the lights, slipped into mag-slippers, and waited for Kazuko to arrive. She made sure to also pull out a couple snack foods just in case Kazuko was hungry as well.
Kazuko soon entered Kezika’s quarters aboard her ship, having been escorted by Jenelle. Her eyes were red from crying, and tear stains were visible on her face. Jenelle returned to her own quarters aboard the fleet carrier, letting the two pilots have their privacy.
“Kez..?” Kazuko trailed off, her voice wavering.
“How are you feeling,” Kezika asked.
“Still shaken,” Kazuko remarked, a few tears falling from her eyes before sitting on Kezika’s bunk. “I…I had an awful nightmare.”
“Nightmares can be scary, did you want to talk about it, or more looking to not be alone?” Kezika inquired.
“Mostly looking to not be alone. I was…I was captured in that dream. I-I couldn’t escape…”
Kezika placed her hand on Kazuko’s hand, “Well for now let’s not pull at it any more and try to get some rest. I’ll pop out the secondary bed here for you as well.”
Kezika popped over to her terminal and pressed a button which began folding out a bed with a zero-g sleep bag attached, “Oh and there are some cookies there if you’re hungry,” Kezika added in.
Kazuko nodded at Kezika’s first statement, then immediately spotted the sleeve of cookies as soon as they were mentioned. The shaken woman immediately began devouring them, as she was indeed hungry. Once sated by the treats Kezika left for her, she quietly moved over to the now folded out bed, curling up in the sleeping bag in the fetal position.
Kezika moved over towards her bed, “Kaz, would you like one of these stuffed toys for the night, my doctors tell me they are good anxiety reducers, or like an extra pillow or anything?”
“Yeah, I would,” Kazuko immediately responded. “I left all of mine back at my apartment, didn’t think of bringing one with me.”
Kezika unzipped more of the side panel, and a few plushies of various kinds floated out, followed by a couple more that she pulled out and let float around. There was among other things an alpaca, what appeared to be a plush Imperial Cutter, and a quite spherically shaped penguin. In total there were seven of various sizes as well as a pillow floating around the room.
“Whichever one suits your fancy,” Kezika mentioned.
Kazuko quickly threw her magboots back on, and immediately made her way after the chubby penguin, before practically darting back into the sleeping bag bed.
Kezika pushed the others back into the tent cover of her own bed, but chose to leave the plush Imperial Cutter out floating about the room, spinning ever so slightly.
“Well sleep tight, if you need anything I’ll be right here as well, would you like the lights out, or would you like one of them to remain dimmed,” she asked.
“I think I’ll be fine with the lights out.”
“Alright, sleep well, and then tomorrow we can see how you’re feeling,” Kezika said as she turned the lights off.