The station shook violently, throwing Elena and Harris from their chairs as they ate lunch. The lights flashed briefly as a low rumble echoed through the station. Without warning, alarms blared, and the emergency klaxons signaled. Something catastrophic had taken place. Both Officers exchanged horrified glances.

 “What’s happening?” Elena shouted, struggling to her feet.

Harris, tapping his communicator, barked orders. “All hands, report to your stations! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill.”

Elena rushed to the nearest terminal, her heart pounding. “We need to get to Operations now!” 

They sprinted through the corridors, dodging debris and helping injured crew members as they could. The sounds of the station’s automated warnings and the cries of the wounded people filled the air. It was a horrific scene, and nothing any training manual could accurately describe.

In Operations, chaos was in full swing. People shouted orders as others tried to make sense of the situation. Lieutenant O’Connor’s face was pale as he reported, “Captain, we’re detecting multiple breaches across the station. The structural integrity is failing.”

Mitchell’s mind raced with the possibilities. “Evacuate all non-essential personnel. Get them to the escape pods and shuttles.”

Harris worked frantically at a nearby console. “Captain, we’re losing power to critical systems. We need to stabilize the system, or it…”

Elena snapped, “I know what happens. Someone tell me what caused this.”

“It’s the Klingons, Ma’am,” O’Connor stepped forward bravely. “It seems they’ve been mapping the corridors beyond those apertures. Before we could sound an alarm, several Klingon ships came through. It was a calculated ambush, Captain.”

“Korta,” Elena hissed. “He gave us more time.” Just as she finished her sentence, a massive shockwave hit Operations. Within seconds, the entire room was filled with flames, smoke, and the bodies of fallen officers.

Coughing, Elena pulled herself up to a sitting position, brushing back a strand of hair; she could feel blood trickling down her face. She coughed, trying to talk, but the burning sensation in the back of her throat made it hard to speak. “Report,” she spoke with a notably hoarse tone.

“Report,” she spoke a little louder as she coughed again. Seeing O’Connor from the corner of her eye, she crawled over to the Officer, placing a hand on his shoulder. Elena gasped as the limp body of O’Connor slumped over, crumpling to the floor. “Oh my god,” she muttered.

Despair filled her thoughts, as she stumbled to her feet, her vision blurring from the smoke and pain. “Gab, are you alright?” she called out. The station continued to tremble under the unrelenting assault. “Commander,” she screamed.

Harris emerged from behind a console, his face covered in soot and blood. “Barely, but we need to get the remaining systems online. If we lose life support…”

“We won’t let that happen,” Elena interrupted. “Focus on what we can save.”

Another explosion rocked the station, this time closer. The walls buckled as a section of the ceiling collapsed, barely missing a group of Officers. The smoke was so thick that breathing was hard, and the heat from the fire was almost unbearable. Elena reached for her communicator. “This is Captain Mitchell. All hands, prepare for immediate evacuation. Abandon station, I repeat abandon the station.”

She hated saying those words, but there was no other choice. The station was beyond saving. She looked around at the faces of her crew, each refusing to give up despite their home. The evacuation started slowly. The corridors were filled with injured crew members, some barely able to walk. The cries of the wounded echoed through the halls, each cry a reminder of the lives she couldn’t save.

As time dragged on, the situation grew more intense. The fires spread, the smoke thickened, and the station’s shaking became violent. Elena’s hope began to weaken. However, she refused to show it. The crew needed her strength now more than ever.

“Captain, we’ve lost contact with Deck 5,” someone reported. “Internal sensors show it’s been completely breached.”

Elena’s chest tightened like a weight she couldn’t escape. “We have to keep going. We can’t stop now,” she pleaded. The feeling of doom hung over them. Even though they knew there was no hope, they still had to fight. It was their job to ensure the last of the survivors escaped.

The station’s violent shuddering intensified. However, just as the chaos seemed to peak, everything around Elena faded into a blur. The flames, the smoke, everything just dissolved into a haze. Suddenly, Elena found herself adrift in a void, weightless and disoriented. She felt frozen in place, unable to move. She struggled to understand what was happening. It was the end; her station was gone.

Suddenly, everything shattered, and Elena darted upright in her bed. She was drenched in sweat. Her heart pounded fiercely against her ribs. Her breathing was rapid and uncontrollable. The familiar surroundings of her quarters gradually became focused. The soft hum of the station, the dim glow of the console by her bed. It had all been a nightmare. She ran a trembling hand through her hair, feeling the sweat as she tried to calm her racing thoughts.

She sat up, moving her legs over the edge of her bed, and stood, still shaken. Walking to the window, the stars seemed to greet her. It was a contrast to the chaos she had just experienced. Elena took a deep breath, the air filling her lungs, and let it out slowly. “One, two, three, four, five,” she counted as she breathed out and then back in. She placed her hands on the glass .. the station was intact. Her crew was safe.

Gab’s voice crackled over the intercom, breaking the silence. “Captain Mitchell, I’m just checking in. Is everything alright?”

Elena smiled weakly, her heartbeat finally slowing. “Yes, Commander. Just a bad dream. I’ll be fine. Thank you.”

There was no Klingon ambush, no catastrophic breaches, just the ongoing command responsibilities. Yet, the nightmare had been a bleak reminder of what could happen. She took another breath. ” Just a dream,” she spoke out loud. Grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, she knew she couldn’t sleep not now.  She left her quarters, tapping her comm badge, “Millie, you awake.”