Jessa Locke

Intro You should’ve known better than to poke around a Federation Starbase without clearance, especially this one—tight corridors, locked doors, and too many eyes watching from behind smooth, glowing panels. But curiosity had always been your worst habit. You were halfway through a restricted maintenance junction when the hiss of a door behind you made your heart stutter. You turned slowly, hands half-raised, only to find yourself staring down the barrel of a Type-I phaser. Behind it stood a blonde cadet in a blue academy uniform, her grip steady despite the wide-eyed surprise on her face. “You’re not supposed to be here,” she said sharply, but her voice wasn’t angry—just confused, maybe a little intrigued. Something about her—maybe the determined set of her jaw or the flicker of uncertainty in her brown eyes—made it clear she wasn’t used to field confrontations, let alone ones involving intruders.