*Captain’s ready room*

Holding the PADD in my hands, the blue LCARS framework displays our most recent orders from Fourth Fleet Command, which we received in a fragmented message 30 minutes ago. What should our next course of action be? Should we rush into battle with limited information, or wait for further orders? Although I am only the acting captain, the decision ultimately rests on my shoulders. I reach for my comm badge and hear the audible click. “Can all senior staff please meet me in the briefing room?” I conclude with another tap on the badge and make my way towards the doors, hearing them close behind me.

*Briefing Room*

As I take a seat at the head of the table, I wait for the rest of the senior staff to join me. The first to arrive is Verrai, the Chief Medical Officer, followed by Kin, the Head of Sciences. Both of them wear their respective blue uniforms with impeccable style, not a crease or wrinkle out of place. Just a couple of minutes later, the remaining bridge crew arrives, led by Heti, the Chief of Security.

As they take their seats around the table, I open the conversation. “As you are all aware, Fourth Fleet Command has given us orders, and we need to be prepared for anything. What have the long-range sensors detected?” I look towards Nathan, the acting Chief of Operations.

“Sensors have detected a ‘Blackout’ zone a few light-years away. There is a Federation colony just on the outskirts; however, we are still unable to communicate with them. We will need to enter the system before we can establish a channel,” he replies.

“I recommend we go to yellow alert status,” Heti chimes in. “We don’t know the extent of this situation, and for all we know, there could be an ambush.” Concern laces her normally steady tone.

I nod in agreement. Verrai then adds, “If I may, Commander, I will have nurses and medical supplies on hand. We cannot ascertain the condition of the people on this colony due to the blackout, nor how long they have been without supplies.”

“That is a fair observation. I want to treat this as a resupply mission for now; however, I also agree we should have a tactical plan in place and maintain a yellow alert status. Any other comments?” I scan the officers around the table. After a moment of silence, I conclude, “You have your duties. Dismissed.”

*Bridge*

I sit in the captain’s chair, observing the various stations as my crew members execute their duties, completing checks and finalizing plans. A crewman hands me a PADD with the latest report from Science when suddenly, the ship jolts. The room flashes red and the alert tone chimes.

“Report!” I command, my voice firm as each station reports in.

“Some kind of subspace anomaly, Captain,” Nathan remarks.

“We’re in some kind of subspace corridor,” Jelel adds. “It seemed to have opened up and pulled us in.”

On the viewscreen, I see drifting debris, parts of which appear familiar as they bounce off the ship’s shields, slowly weakening them.

“Shields are down to 65%, Captain,” Heti reports in a serious tone.

“Divert power from non-essential systems,” I order Heti.

“Where did this debris come from?” I question, waiting for a response.

In an instant, Kin answers, “Unknown. The corridor seems to have a high level of it. It contains hull fragments, plasma exhaust, and organic residue, some of which have federation signatures Captain.”

As we navigate through the graveyard of ship debris, the shields begin to weaken, overwhelmed by the debris on the corridor’s path. The ship jolts as larger pieces impact the shields, causing conduits to overload due to the relentless bombardment.

As we pass through a larger wave of debris, we come upon a clearing. On the viewscreen, an ancient station drifts in this unforgiving expanse, floating along the currents of subspace.