Flashes of green light, a flash of memory being carried into the room. Screams so loud. Feeling the coldness and facing upwards. Agony, pain that resulted in screaming. Unable to move, unable to respond to this pain, this extreme pain. Another flash of memory, seeing mechanical drones working on something, fluid spat onto the sight of vision. A sight that changed color to dark red. More screaming, wanting to move but unable to respond. Wanting to escape, but held firmly in place. Until….total blackness. 

Sitting up as Towalr looked confused, slowly around. He was sitting in the mess hall of the USS Yale, an old Nebula-Class vessel. He tried to understand what was happening. Not only that, but he swore he was somewhere else. He knew that he had to be somewhere else. The Yale was an old assignment from when Towalr was still an Ensign as their Operation Officer. 

“Drooling again, Ensign?” 

A voice came from behind him, and Towalr instantly reacted by turning to it. Seeing Lieutenant Stan Harrison, his Chief on the Yale. “Lieutenant Harrison…” 

Stan smiled in his direction and sat down at the table. “Shh, I won’t tell anyone you were drooling on the mess table” He sat down and looked around. “You have been working nonstop on those systems. Engineering is grateful for your input on that. Truly” 

Maybe what he dreamed was all just a dream? But the dream was so vivid, so real. Why could he not puzzle the pieces together?  He looked at Stan, who looked pleased at him. Ah, yes, the system upgrade of the Yale engines was a complete nightmare, as Captain Ch’evhisroq wanted to get it done while on the road. An unreasonable request, for sure. “Right, yes…I am quite overworked by that assignment. But the goal is the same, the efficiency of the Yale is of our utmost importance.”

“There you go again; with that kind of attitude and glorification, you will be a First Officer in no time,” Stan smirked and looked out of the window of the mess hall.

“But I am…” He whispered, unknowingly, to himself. He stared blankly into the void, feeling memories flash by of him being a First Officer, but at the same time being suppressed. “I will be a great First Officer, mark words!” Towalr said with much confidence. But at the end of his sentence, he blinked, feeling Deja Vu. 

Stan smirks a bit and nods. “I know you will, champ. But remember not to forget the most important lesson in this all. Your career just started, and showing your skills is all fun and good for it, but you have to realize that without your colleagues, you are nothing. Even if you are at the top, then it becomes very lonely” Stan looked back at Towalr. After a few seconds, he nods and stands up. “Get some rest, and I will see you in the next shift.” 

Seeing Stan leave and give Towalr a pad on his shoulder as he passes him by. Towalr narrowed his eyes and looked briefly over his shoulder, seeing his old Chief leave the mess hall. What was going on? He gets up and rubs his template as he leaves the mess hall. Maybe he needed some sleep; maybe the long hours in that system lab were driving him insane. 

Only briefly, later on, he entered his well-organized quarters. It was a privilege that an Ensign could dream of to get their own room, but the Nebula was spacious, so he didn’t need to share his room with anyone else. He let his hand glide over the leather chair. “Just as I remember….what is going on here? I feel like this is all so wrong but so right also.” Towalr’s head felt it was spinning around with all these thoughts. 

“Because everything you see, hear, feel, and taste is real, or so your mind clarifies it as such.” Another voice came from the other side of the room. 

Towalr looked in that direction, seeing a female figure sitting there, a figure he knew. He narrows his eyes as he crosses his arms. “Captain….Yoon-Jung?” The name just popped up in his mind. “What….what are you doing in my room?” He saw her holding a cup of tea while taking a sip.

“People say there is nothing more calming than taking a sip of a cup of tea to get those nerves untangled. But you see, they never had a real cup of tea; it’s like a shot of adrenaline straight to your heart to make you realize everything you see and need to do.” Ko lowered her cup and looked at him. 

There were many questions rushing through his head, but how Ko was talking to him was strange and alien to him. He rubbed his template and shrugged, trying to remember. “Where am I? What is going on?” 

Ko smiled at him. “Now that is at least a Latinum bar worth answering, is it not?” She placed the cup on her side, “You will have to figure this journey on your own. Because I can only give guidance on what you want to understand. If you wish to understand, go to bed, Towalr.” 

He looked at his side and saw his bedroom; he felt the urge to go there, and Towalr felt tired suddenly. He looked back at the chair, seeing it was empty. It alarmed him, and he looked around again, only to find out that he was there by himself. “What is going on…” Towalr leaned on the leather chair, feeling weak, as he moved to his bedroom and fell onto his bed. He felt exhausted and turned around, facing the sealing, only to get a flash of a memory of being on a cold table facing mechanical drones above him. In the blink of his eyes, it was gone again.

“Sleep, Commander, you’re in for a longer journey. The end result is up to you. The ghosts of past, present, and yet-to-come will visit you. Face them, and salvation is at your fingertips,” Ko’s voice echoed in the room as Towalr’s eyelid felt heavier and forcefully closed.