The overhead lights in the border space station flickered in a way that grated against Xavier Hunter's already frayed nerves. He stared at the same requisition form for the past ten minutes. The numbers and labels blurred together, melting into indistinguishable shapes.
He blinked slowly. Ah, damn.
Outside the reinforced windows, space stretched infinitely: a cold void broken only by distant glints of passing starships and the faint glow of nearby planetary systems. The morbidly serene sight did nothing to ease the pain.
Xavier pressed his fingertips to his temples. The headache throbbed insistently, a reminder of the crushing workload he had been buried under for weeks.
He glanced at the list of pending files displayed beside him. It was a lot. No matter how many he approved, more arrived in their place. It multiplied endlessly, mocking him with its sheer volume.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, opening another file.
