Visrian slipped from the turbolift, armed with a deadpan cast that effectively masked the chagrinned smile bubbling beneath. She hadn’t meant to put it off this long. But with the staff meetings and the cataloguing and the oh-so-necessary systems analyses—maybe it was her intention. Maybe her subconscious was combating a fear she didn’t know she had. Maybe… Visrian pushed it down, knowing it would only strand her in a bottomless pit she couldn’t claw her way out of. Blinking the thought away, Visrian shook her head and marched up the counsellor’s nook. Before her mind could protest, she flung her finger to the chime and stepped back. Checkmate.

—Visrian Parr, CSO