Touching Survival

Description

Write a flash fiction story (300 words or less) that captures the emotional and sensory experience of a Starfleet officer who touches the hull of a shuttlecraft that once saved their life. Through the act of touch, the protagonist recalls the moments of survival—the terror, the desperation, and the fleeting hope that carried them through a daring escape.

The story must focus on touch as the primary sense to convey the weight of the experience. Is the hull warm or cold? Smooth or scarred? How do these sensations trigger memories, emotions, or realizations about what they endured and how it changed them?

  • Perspective: The story is told from the point of view of the officer. They may be alone, in reflection, or sharing the moment with someone else, but the experience of touch remains central.
  • Setting: The scene could take place in a quiet Starfleet hangar, a repair bay, or even as part of a ceremonial event.
  • Emotional Depth: Dive into the ensign’s inner thoughts and feelings as they process the significance of this small yet profound act.

Criteria

  • Stories should be input in the text box.
  • Stories should contain a maximum of 300 words. You can get your point across in much less than that? Great, go for it! :)
  • Stories will be graded using the Bravo Fleet Fiction Rubric, which marks on the following criteria: Language, Style, & Mechanics; Adherence to Canon; Perspective; Characterization; Originality; Use of the Prompt.
  • Stories must be written during the competition period and should not be a reuse of an existing story. Stories written before or after the competition begins will be disqualified. The BFMS publication date will be used.
  • The story must be a single author post in BFMS and not a joint post with another author.

Winners

Submissions

User ID Content Date Entry
Nathan Hawthorne 2199

https://bravofleet.com/story/141359/

 2025-01-02 23:21:54
Edwin Wagner 2468

The hull was smooth.  The Raven Class USS Erigone was a workhorse with a long history.  Lieutenant Jordan Reid stood beside it, searching the surface.  It had been her first assignment out of Starfleet with an unknown CO, Commander Ambrose Harris.  Her feet pushed her closer, and her fingers hesitantly brushed against it.  The aroma of atmosphere floated off the ship - it had recently come up from the planet below for a refit.  Jordan pushed her palm against the stiff hull, wondering what the ship would say to her.  She remembered the small sickbay and how crowded it had become when they’d scrambled to rescue members of the Romulan Research station.

The Erigone had saved those lives.  Jordan had come to love the little ship.  Since leaving the assignment in August of 2400, she’d taken to watching out for other Raven classes.  She began to walk around, spotting the customary dings and marks painted across the outside over the years.  As a crew, they’d left their share.  She thought back to her assignment to the Erigone.  She had been exiled after upsetting a high ranking academy instructor.  She reached the outline of the warp engines, and her heart climbed towards her throat.  Even now, her memories of Ambrose Harris were hard to ignore.

They had met on the Erigone and continued to grow to the Edinburgh and the Mackenzie.  His death sent her into a chaotic spiral.  She traversed behind the Erigone, returning to where she had started.  She stared at the ship, wondering how different things would have been without it in her life.  From Harris to the crew to now - her future remained bright.

She touched the hull one more time, whispering, “Thank you,” before she left the bay, fighting back tears of memory.

https://bravofleet.com/story/141339

 2025-01-02 19:18:24

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