[springs]

Falling Stars
Hurricane Grace was more than 900should be written in full, I think miles across and I could see all of it between the index finger and thumb of my right hand.

My bunk was a few hundred meters behind me, and I hung in space looking down at Earth, the storm an angry dark swirl. I could perceive it moving slowly, it's western tip near the edge of Florida.

I lowered my hands as the text in my field of vision begin to creep upward, but I couldn't read it because all the letters on my heads up display were colored cerulean blue, and they were hard to read over the blue of Earth.

I brought up my left hand and touched my middle and fourth finger together to activate my controls. Part of my vision of Florida was blocked as a window lit up on the faceplate of my spacesuit.

I had patched in a military text channel for weather alerts. Someone was observing the storm and they'd just stated it would cross inland in a matter of minutes. The text had scrolled upward because of a new post.
so, he can read it now? Was that bringing on the light that did that?

MMurphy: Grace touches down near Jacksonville in maybe three minutes.

MMurphy5: I'm clocking it at 135 mph.

I usedmoved? my hand in front of me to where the window appeared to beso it was there, not just appearing to be there?, grabbing hold of it and moving it to the left. I could make out where Jacksonville was?, and heJacksonville? looked to be about right.

I touched the window again and thenyou could lose then fanned my fingers wide apart so a virtual keyboard appeared, and then I typed a message into the window.

MartianExpatriate: Are you near where it will touch down yourself?

I waited for a moment, and the observer responded.

MMurphy5: Yes.
MMurphy5: I''m watching from the beach.
Kale: I'm showing winds of 125 mph.

I thought about for a moment, then typed my response.

MartianExpatriate: Well get inside!

I heard a beeping noise as an icon appeared in the right upper quadrant of my screen, flashing. It was a picture of Satine. It flashed as I ignored it, finishing the message.

A moment later I saw Murphy's response.

MMurphy: Hey man, nobody has a better view of Grace than this! lol

I typed in my response as a beep continued to alert me to Satine's call.

MartianExpatriate: I know what you mean.

The beeping continued, so I dismissed the virtual keyboard by spreading my fingers wide, then touched fingers on my right hand and reached up to touch the icon, watching as the icon enlarged slightly and became a view of her sitting in front of a physical keyboard. I don't think she ever really got used to the virtual one.I like this line.

"What are you doing," she said.

""I'm outside," I said.

"Again? Come inside, I want to show you something."

"I'm busy," I said, as I watched the cloud moved in.

"You can watch it just as well from in here."

"You could send me video of whatever your looking at it in there, and let me view it on my faceplate."

I heard her muttering in Russian, and I delete? caught a few familiar words I'd heard her say many times.

"I didn't quite catch that," I said, smiling.

She groaned. "Come inside! It will all still be there later." I watched the hurricane as it crested the shores of Florida. new paragraph."No," I said. "I don't think it will."

I heard her growl.The girl or the hurricane? She growled would be less passive.

"I'll be there in a minute," I said.

I closed out the virtual keyboard and then closedclosed/closed the chat, then I activated one of my mano?euvering thrusters, spinning myself delete? around. I was already drifting towards Zenith slowly, drawn in by its gravity even from here. As I spun around facing the station, I canceled my rotation by firing my other thruster, then activated both thrusters for a second to move a little faster as I leaned forward.

This seems ever so wordy in comparison to he rest:

As I spun to face the station, I fired my other thruster to cancel the rotation. Activating both thrusters for a second, I leaned forward and moved a little faster.

I watched as the upper ring spun around, sending the activation sequence to the entrance opened something not quite right - do you need it, if so should it be opening, or is there a missing word earlier? the sequence to open the entrance, maybe?, and giving myself another push with the thrusters, timing it so I flew into the airlock. It was a game I had played for many years.

As the door shut behind me, I could see a - change to the? computer screen on the airlock displaying ship arrival and departure times and hangar bay information. The room pressurized as a door on my left opened, and I trudged through, my boots clanging on the deck.

I trudgedrepetition inside, walking up to an empty Waldo bay. There was an impression of two feet on the floor and I stepped forward carefully, sliding first one foot into the left impression, then the other into the right. I brought my arms up high, hands pointed straight up in the air.

"Disengage Waldocomma" I said carefully. I could hear a click as my computer gave up control of the suit and my arms stiffened in place. Robot arms disengaged from the wall, one connecting to a port in the back and making a whirring noise.
The clasp in the? back came undone, and the shoulder and arm pieces were removed and raised up into the air, and I relaxed as I was able to lower my arms, massing out the kinks in my back. I then slid one leg up as the outer carapace of each leg stayed in the floor, the rear section allowing me to slide the leg out.
The leg carapace opened up and was pulled into the wall, while the upper section of the waldo was held aloft, waiting for the next person to need it.

I turned and looked in a mirror. My faceplate and mesh suit remained. It took me a second to notice, but I realized that someone had scrawled some kind of a message on the right lower edge of the mirror. My eyes focused on it.

"Don't forget to brush," read the message. That would have been tricky with the faceplate still on of course.

I turned and walked towards another door, holding my hand up to a motion sensor so it allowed me into the main concourse. Two technicians were standing next to the door talking, Brett and someone named Simms.does he know them? Or is there a sign to tell him - it seems an odd way to introduce a name.

"Brett, I just saw a message scrawled on the mirror. Did somebody spray that on it with ink?"

He laughed. "I think so. It's been there for at least three months."
"I didn't notice it. How did they find ink up here anyway?"

"I'm not sure. Probably one of the life support technicians was able to get some out of organics."

I sighed. "Clean it off. It's a random element."

"Yes sir," he said grinning.

I continued my walk past them moving to the main concourse. That was where Satine spent what little free time she usually had.[/QUOTE]

I enjoyed it, nice action walking me through the station, the hurricane is a good visual image. i did find a few nits, though, and bits I wasn't a 100 percent sure of. Edit - just to say I think more of the thens could go than I highlighted, maybe.