The morning shift aboard Starbase Bravo had begun like any other. I reported for duty as a Midshipman, Security Officer and Specialist, unaware that the day’s Operational Readiness Review would become farmore interesting than expected.
The review was designed to test Starbase Bravo’s ability to function under pressure. Over several weeks, different departments would be tested on emergency protocols, supply chains, staffing, docking procedures, evacuation routes and internal communications.
For Security, part of the review involved an internal security stress test. Simulated intruders would attempt to gain access to restricted areas while security personnel responded according to station procedures.
The exercise began at 0800.
COMPUTER: “Internal security stress test commencing.”
Almost immediately, alerts began appearing across the security display.
DECK 12 — SIMULATED INTRUSION
DECK 9 — SIMULATED INTRUSION
CARGO BAY THREE — SIMULATED INTRUSION
Everything appeared to be going according to plan.
Then a different alert appeared.
DECK 14 — UNAUTHORISED ACCESS DETECTED.
I checked the security system, expecting to find another part of the exercise. Instead, there was almost no information available. No personnel identification. No useful camera feed. No access record beyond the initial alert.
I tried the system again, but nothing more appeared. With no further information to work with, I decided that the best option was to investigate the alert personally.
I entered the turbolift and selected Deck 14.
When the doors opened, the corridor appeared completely normal. The station’s systems hummed quietly behind the walls and there were no obvious signs of an emergency.
I moved forward with my tricorder ready and my phaser at hand. During the stress test, security personnel were required to carry phasers so that the exercise could simulate a realistic security response.
A nearby access panel caught my attention. Its status light indicated that it had recently been opened.
TRICORDER: “Access panel recently opened.”
Then I heard a metallic sound further down the corridor.
CLANG.Fear rushed through me. Training scenarios and previous operations had prepared me for difficult situations, but there was something different about this. There was no instructor waiting to call the exercise complete.
I didn’t know what I was walking into.
I continued forward slowly. My tricorder suddenly chirped.
TRICORDER: “Life-sign detected.”
The reading appeared approximately twenty metres ahead before disappearing. I scanned again. It returned, then disappeared once more.
The corridor lights flickered.
When they returned, I noticed that a Jeffries tube access hatch at the far end of the corridor was open. I
was certain it had been closed when I first arrived.
Another scan produced multiple life-sign readings.
Three readings.
Then a fourth appeared.
I immediately contacted the commander.
Me: “Security Operations, this is Midshipman Trevin Higgins. I’m on Deck 14. I’ve located an open Jeffries tube
access hatch. My tricorder is detecting multiple intermittent life-sign readings. This area wasn’t included inthe stress-test parameters.”
The commander’s response was immediate.
Commander: “Understood, Midshipman. Maintain your position. Do not enter the tube until backuparrives.”
I acknowledged the order, but then the hatch began to close.
I made a decision. Despite knowing that I was disobeying a direct order, I entered the Jeffries tube beforethe hatch sealed.
Inside, the space was cramped and dim. My tricorder struggled to maintain a reading. The life-signsseemed to move around me before suddenly disappearing.
Then a voice echoed through the tube.
Unknown voice: “You’re not supposed to be here.”
I raised my phaser.
Unknown voice: “This was supposed to be a test.”
A panel behind me slammed shut.
My comm badge activated.
Commander: “Midshipman Trevin Higgins , report. We’ve lost your signal.”
Before I could answer, a message appeared on my tricorder:
STRESS TEST — PHASE TWO INITIATED.The station’s lights went out.
For several seconds I was surrounded by darkness. Then my tricorder detected a faint power fluctuation
from a junction ahead.
I moved toward it and opened the access panel. Inside was a small device connected directly to StarbaseBravo’s systems. It was unfamiliar and did not appear to be Starfleet equipment.
I transmitted the scan data to Security Operations.
Commander: “We’ve received it. Midshipman, that device shouldn’t exist anywhere on this station. Get out of there. Now.”
Moments later, security personnel reached my position. The device was secured and I was escorted back to Security Operations.
The stress test was terminated while the security department investigated the incident. Initial findings suggested that someone had used the readiness review as cover to gain access to Starbase Bravo’s security network.
I knew there would be consequences for disobeying a direct order. As a Midshipman, I had a responsibility
to follow the chain of command. However, the incident also made me realise something I hadn’t fully appreciated before.
My Academy training, combined with the operations I had previously taken part in, had prepared me for more than I realised. When the situation became uncertain, I had still been able to assess the information available, investigate the threat and identify something that shouldn’t have been there.
But one question continued to bother me.
How had this happened?
If the device was deliberately planted, how had whoever placed it known exactly when the security stress test would take place?
Was the incident simply another layer of Starfleet’s Operational Readiness Review that Security had not been told about? Or had Starbase Bravo actually been breached?
I stared at the report on my console.
There was no evidence proving that someone aboard the station had leaked the exercise schedule. But if the incident had been deliberate, somebody would have needed to know when the test was happening.
For now, all I could do was submit my report and wait.
The stress test was over. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that the real test had only just begun
