Episode 52. Standing Her Ground

After the confrontation with Admiral Michaux, I return aboard the Enterprise, still inhabited by a burning anger. It has not dissipated. It has thickened.

I cross the ship with furious steps until I reach the gym. I need to release it. To hit something. To feel something other than this compact knot crushing my chest.

And for that, I know exactly who to pour it onto.

The room empties in a tense silence. Once alone, I remove my uniform and put on shorts, a sports bra, and sneakers left in my locker. I grab a container of chalk and rub it over my hands, my forearms, my neck.

I breathe hard.

Too hard.

I open another locker. Inside, a row of combat gloves. I grab one pair, then a second.

When Tarsi enters, escorted by a security agent, I am already ready.

The door closes behind him.

Tarsi observes the room, then looks at me. She immediately understands that something is wrong.

I pick up the gloves and throw them at her again, harder this time, ordering her to put them on.

Tarsi does not move. She stands her ground, her gaze steady, still refusing to fight.

My patience snaps.

I launch myself at her without waiting.

My blows come fast, too fast. Loaded with anger, frustration, everything I can no longer contain. But Tarsi dodges with disconcerting ease. She pivots, ducks, steps back just enough. No wasted movement. A precise, almost elegant mastery of defensive techniques completely foreign to me.

I stop dead.

My arms instinctively fall along my body.

I stare at her, stunned, unable to hide how unsettled I am.

A heavy silence settles between us.

Then, calmly, Tarsi bends down, picks up the gloves, and finally puts them on. Not to attack. Not to defend herself. But to establish a frame.