The corridor walls shuddered, spraying sparks and smoke from torn bulkheads as another explosion ripped through the lower deck of the Astra. The red alert klaxon howled like a wounded beast, casting flickering light over the chaotic scene. Alfie ducked behind a junction box, clutching his phaser rifle tightly as enemy fire screamed past him. His palms were slick against the cold grip of the phaser rifle. The smell of burning circuitry choked the air, and his heart hammered a wild rhythm in his chest. He couldn’t quite grasp how all of this had just happened so suddenly and against the Astra when everything just seemed normal. He was now alone and in the middle of a fight for his life. He took a deep breath, knowing he needed to focus if he was to survive this. 

Alfie’s breath caught in his throat as the Vaadwaur soldier emerged fully, its armour gleaming with soot and plasma burns. Their eyes met. Cold. Mechanical. Predatory. Alfie’s instincts screamed at him to run, but his training overrode his panic as he raised his rifle and fired.

“Boarding parties confirmed on decks three through six. All hands, repel invaders. Repeat: Vaadwaur boarding parties are active throughout the ship,” boomed Captain Niro’s voice over the intercom, his usual calm replaced by urgent command.

Alfie took a shaky breath, shoulders tense, when another Vaadwaur soldier emerged from a side corridor, weapon raised. There was no time to react.

A streak of red flashed past Alfie’s shoulder, another phaser bolt. It hit the enemy dead-on. The Vaadwaur soldier collapsed before they could get a shot off.

Alfie turned just in time to see Jordan step into the corridor, his chest heaving, his phaser rifle still raised. His brown hair was matted to his forehead with sweat, and a smudge of soot was on his cheek.

“You alright?” Jordan called, his tone light despite the urgency as he rushed over to Alfie’s side.

Alfie grinned, adrenaline and affection mixing into something bright and unrestrained. “My knight in shining armour,” he teased breathlessly. Then, in one impulsive move, he leaned forward and kissed Jordan.

Before the moment could linger, a voice rang out from around the corner. “Ahem.”

Both cadets turned to see Beatrice standing stiffly, arms folded, eyebrow arched. Beside her was Jib, the Bolian with a perpetual scowl and a fierce sense of duty. Both of them had phasers in their hands as well.

“Really?” Jib huffed, shaking his head. “Cut the kissy stuff, guys. Jaceon’s in engineering, and the Vaadwaur are trying to breach the warp core. Let’s move before one of us gets shots and dies!”

Alfie and Jordan straightened up, their romantic moment firmly behind them.

“Right,” Jordan nodded.

“On it,” Alfie said, pulling his phaser rifle close again as the four cadets broke into a dash towards engineering. 

The corridor twisted with smoke and fire as the cadets raced through it, barely keeping ahead of the ship’s failing internal defences. In the distance, the sound of metal shrieking was followed by a thunderous crash. Something massive had just impacted the shuttle bay.

“Drop pod!” Beatrice shouted. “They’re cutting through!”

The hull burst open in front of them, a curved Vaadwaur drop-pod slamming down in a shower of flame and debris. The hatch hissed open, and more Vaadwaur soldiers spilled into the corridor, weapons blazing as they were transported in.

Phasers and polaron-based weapons clashed in rapid bursts. Jib took point, drawing fire as the others flanked. Alfie dove behind a support beam, taking out two enemies with clean shots. Beatrice and Jordan covered the side entrance, pushing back the advancing line. However, with only a few left, the Vaadwaur boarders were intent on doing whatever it took to take control of the Astra and kill its crew. They continued to advance towards the cadets.  

Jib fired a final, desperate shot before throwing a photon grenade at their oncoming onslaught. The explosion knocked the enemy down, but not before one of them opened fire against his exposed body. Jib then stiffened as a searing bolt slammed into his side. The sound he made wasn’t a scream but something rougher, guttural. 

“Jib!” Beatrice shouted in panic.

He stumbled, then collapsed, blue blood pooling beneath him. Alfie skidded to his knees beside him. “Jib! Hang on—”

The Bolian gritted his teeth and shoved Alfie away with a weak arm. “Go, get to engineering… Don’t let them…” His breath hitched. The last words never came.

Beatrice crouched down, her jaw clenched tight, and for a moment, she didn’t move.

Then she grabbed Jib’s rifle and rose slowly.

“Let’s finish this,” she said quietly.

A silence fell, lingering just long enough for the three cadets to feel its weight. They exchanged knowing glances, and with that, they pressed on. Their grief hardening into determination.

Engineering was a warzone. The stench of scorched metal clung to every breath. Computer stations flickered erratically, casting ghostly shadows on the walls. Plasma hissed from broken conduits like venomous snakes, flooding the room with a sickly green light. Alfie felt the heat radiating from the overloaded systems, his uniform damply clinging to his back as he walked over shattered consoles and fallen equipment.

A Vaadwaur soldier held Jaceon against a support beam with a rifle to his head. Meanwhile, two soldiers patrolled the warp core like predators, standing guard.

Jordan gestured silently, indicating a flanking manoeuvre. Beatrice nodded. Alfie crept along the upper catwalk while the others positioned themselves.

Then, someone slipped.

A clatter of a boot against a metal grating.

Everything exploded into motion.

The Vaadwaur guard spun and fired. Jordan tackled Alfie just in time, but not before a wild purple bolt of polaron energy missed them and struck the warp core.

The warp core overloaded in a deafening cascade of light and energy.

Alfie’s vision blurred, and for a moment, everything slowed. The pulse of the explosion seemed off, like the flicker of a misfiring screen.

The Astra exploded.

Then everything went all dark.

A second later, a soft chime echoed.

The shattered engine room vanished, replaced by the sleek silver-and-gold holodeck grid.

“End simulation,” said a smooth female voice.

All four cadets, including a very alive Jib, stood silently, their expressions worn, breathing heavy. Sweat glistened on their brows. Even knowing it was all a simulation, the sting of failure clung to them like smoke.

It was over, but Alfie’s legs still felt shaky beneath him, his heart refusing to slow. He blinked hard, trying to shake the lingering images: Jib crumpled on the floor. The warp core blowing up. The silence after the blast. He knew it wasn’t real. But his body hadn’t gotten the memo.

A shimmering hologram materialised in front of them. Penelope, the ship’s holographic training program.

“Well done,” she said warmly, with a slight nod. “Though the outcome was catastrophic, your tactics were sharp, and your teamwork commendable. Also, well done, Mister Jib, for your outstanding death scene. I don’t think I’ve ever recorded such a dramatic way for someone to lose in a simulation.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am!” Jib jokingly bowed. 

Beatrice crossed her arms. “We were outnumbered. There was no way to win that.”

“Precisely,” Penelope replied. “The goal of this simulation wasn’t to win. It was to prepare you for close-quarter combat under overwhelming conditions. You responded with bravery, but sometimes, even the bravest fall. The lesson is how to respond and think beyond the obvious solution.”

She looked to all of them in turn. “Consider options besides immediate retaliation. Try misdirection. Use the environment. Or even diplomacy, yes, even with the Vaadwaur.”

The cadets exchanged sheepish glances.

“We don’t know when we may engage the Vaadwaur again. We need to be prepared for every opportunity.” Penelope paused when she realised just how tired they all looked. “Take a break. You’ve earned it. We’ll start back on training in two hours.”

The group began to file out when Penelope’s voice called again, this time with a sharper edge.

“Cadets McCallister and Duncan, a word,” Penelope said sternly.

They paused at the door and turned around to look at her. Though she was a hologram, she held the rank of captain, so she was their superior. 

“Yes, ma’am?” they replied in unison.

She started at them both. “Flirting during a red alert? A surefire way to get yourselves or your partner killed. You’re not here to play Romeo and Juliet with phasers. You have potential; don’t waste it letting hormones override protocol. Understood?”

Jordan lowered his gaze. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Understood, ma’am”, Alfie added, more solemn this time.

“Good. You’re both ordered to use better judgment. Dismissed”

The doors hissed open, and the pair stepped into the corridor beyond.

As they walked down the passageway, Jordan nudged Alfie gently. “Knight in shining armour, huh?” Jordan murmured with a smirk.

Alfie grinned but let the smile fade just a touch. “You don’t think it suits you?”

“Maybe, but how about next time you save me?”

Alfie nodded. “Deal. But only if we both walk out alive next time, yeah?”

Jordan bumped their shoulders together. “Yeah, and with the ship still intact.”

 At that point, the other four cadets walked down the corridor towards them. All of them wore their combat gear. 

“Ready to save the ship?” Alfie asked in a friendly tone.

Scott smirked. “We’ll do a better job than you guys just did.”

“Especially if no one stops for make-outs,” Athena added, cocking her head as she checked her phaser’s power cell.

Brook cracked her knuckles. “I call dibs on punching the first Vaadwaur I see.”

“Hey, it’s not as easy as it looks!” Jordan responded.

“Well, especially if you’re smooching your boyfriend!” His younger brother teased.

Jordan gently nudged his brother as he took Alfie’s hand and moved away from them. “Good luck!” He called out.

“We don’t need it!” Athena fired back.

“We’ll save the ship this time!” Brook added as they entered the holodeck and the doors closed behind them.

Alfie and Jordan exchanged a look.

“‘We’ll save the ship this time,’” Jordan muttered, mimicking Brook’s voice with a smirk. “Give me a break.”

Alfie snorted. “They’ll be crying for their holographic mommies in ten minutes.”

They started down the corridor, boots thudding quietly against the deck plating. The adrenaline was fading, and now the sweat-soaked uniforms were clinging in all the wrong places.

“I swear this uniform’s glued to my back,” Alfie groaned, tugging at his collar. “Next time we go in, I’m asking Penelope to turn the temperature down by ten degrees.”

“Or,” Jordan offered, “we could just not run headfirst into a corridor full of drop pods.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “You’re insufferable.”

“You still kissed me.”

“And I still might regret it.”

They both laughed, and the tension finally eased from their shoulders. The doors to their shared barracks slid open with a soft hiss, revealing the quiet hum of their bunkroom beyond.

As they stepped inside, Alfie hesitated, his smile fading just slightly. “Hey, I’m really glad you’re back on the Astra. I missed us. Missed you.”

Jordan turned toward him, the teasing edge softening from his face.

Alfie scratched the back of his neck, eyes flicking to the floor. “When you got assigned to the Bellerophon for that stint, I kept thinking maybe that was it. That we’d just kind of drift.”

Jordan stepped a little closer but didn’t say anything yet.

“And with my mom being your CO”, Alfie exhaled, the words rushing out. “I don’t know, I kept bracing for something. A conversation. A message. A raised eyebrow. Some awkward ‘Is there something going on between you and Jordan?’ moment. I can’t get over that she didn’t say a word. Not even a hint.”

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“No, I mean yes. Maybe.” Alfie let out a soft, nervous laugh. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been waiting for the other boot to drop, you know? I mean, it’s my mum. She notices everything. If she didn’t ask, maybe Dad knows too. Or both of them do. And they’re just waiting for me to bring it up.”

Alfie imagined walking in on his parents having dinner with Captain Niro in the mess hall, his parents exchanging loaded glances over raktajino. What if they were just waiting for him to fess up? What if they already had opinions they kept under wraps until the right moment?

Jordan didn’t speak at first. He just reached over, hand brushing Alfie’s wrist, reassuring, steady. That one slight touch grounded him. He then smirked at Alfie. “So what’s the plan? Never tell your folks or mine and hope they just die of suspense?”

Alfie gave him a flat look. “Wow. You’re very helpful.”

Jordan’s grin widened, and he bumped his shoulder lightly against Alfie’s again. “Hey. If and when it comes up, I’ll be there. Besides, I’m pretty sure your mom has already decided I’m good enough for you.”

“You’re ridiculously smug sometimes, you know that?”

“I’ve been told.”

Alfie paused as he considered their situation. “Sometimes I wonder if you being with me is more complicated than it’s worth.”

The words slipped out before Alfie could stop them. He regretted them instantly, but they hung in the air like static.

“Complicated? Yeah,” Jordan said. “But we signed up for complicated the second we kissed.”

He looked down, a shadow flickering across his expression. “It scared me too, you know. Being on the Bellerophon. Away from you. I kept thinking maybe you’d decide this wasn’t worth it.”

He met Alfie’s eyes. “But I never stopped wanting to come back to us.”

“If something happens,” Alfie murmured, “in real combat, not a simulation, and I lose you…” He trailed off, his throat tightening. “I’m not sure I’d know how to go back to being me.”

Jordan was silent at first. He just stepped forward, cupped Alfie’s cheek, and looked at him like he was the only thing keeping the stars spinning. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

Alfie blinked, swallowing the lump in his throat. “You don’t get it. This, us, it’s not just about being happy. It’s about finally feeling safe. And that’s terrifying.”

Alfie leaned against Jordan, not out of romance but out of necessity. They shared a warm, lingering look. Quiet but full of unspoken understanding. 

Then, Jordan gave a soft laugh and clapped Alfie on the shoulder. “Anyway, I’m calling first dibs on the shower before you hog it.”

Alfie’s lips twitched, his smile returning, though it was quieter now. “You planning on being in there for an hour again?”

Jordan shot him a sly grin. “Depends if someone decides to join me.”

Alfie chuckled and tossed his jacket onto his bunk. “Keep dreaming, Cadet Duncan.”

As they disappeared into their quarters, Alfie glanced once more toward the corridor, toward the holodeck where the others were now facing the same chaos they’d just survived.

Their training would never stop. But for now, they had a brief moment of peace.

And a hot sonic shower.