“They’re more versatile than you’d think, these bombers,” said Dawa, her eyes fixed on the control panel as she spoke to the cadet in the tactical officer’s seat. She paused only to roll her mango-flavored hard candy to the other side of her mouth, hoping it wasn’t too loud as it clacked against her teeth. Even as she mentally scolded herself for bringing a choking hazard into the cockpit, she justified it as a necessity after lecturing for nearly four hours straight.

“The number of times we’ve launched anything but torpedoes from this vessel–anything from beacons to gas canisters to scientific instruments–well, it really speaks to the ingenuity of Starfleet officers.”

The versatility of Dawa’s beloved squadron was a point frequently touched upon in her lectures, partly because she believed in keeping lessons broadly applicable to cadets who might still be deciding on their career path, and partly to justify to herself the large chunk of her life she’d dedicated to flying a vehicle nominally intended for combat.

“Any questions so far, cadet?”

“N-“ she started. Cadet Olivia Darwin has been struggling with figuring out if she wanted to stay in Starfleet since the beginning of her journey in the academy. She felt pressured into making the decision by the legacy handed down by her family. From her great-great-great-great grandfather and mother down to her deceased older sister. They had all given their lives in the belief of what Starfleet was and their mission in protecting the Federation; but she wasn’t sure if she was willing to make that sacrifice.

“Yes I do commander,” her resolve fluctuated as she spoke. She knew she needed to ask someone and the commander was the best person to ask. “What made you want to join Starfleet?”

The rolling-clacking of the hard candy suddenly stilled as Dawa furrowed her brow and considered the question. She’d been expecting an easier one, like how does the bomber compensate for the inertia differential in torpedo payload modifications?

“Well, there were a few different reasons, I suppose,” she said, trying to gather her thoughts. “I–”

A sudden slight tremor of the ship made Dawa pause, and she glanced suspiciously around the cockpit, wondering if she’d imagined it.

A quick and violent jerk sent her forward into the console, a flash of pain in her ribs as she jabbed at the buttons flashing their alerts.

“Our warp field collapsed,” she gasped, hand flying across the controls as the emergency checklists ran through her head. “Cadet, scan for any local energy fluctuations that might have triggered this. I’ll–”

I’ll contact headquarters, she was going to say, but the computer denied her before she could get the words out. A sad buzzing noise was the only response. “I can’t get through. Damnit, is the blackout spreading? Anything, cadet?”

Anxiety started to set in as Darwin stared at the screen. She bit on her tongue a little as she tried to make sense of the displays in front of her. “I- if this data is correct. Then I believe the blackout is spreading Commander,” she said as fear and panic set in. The young cadet stared at the screen as she checked and re-checked everything to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. The blackout had been still for weeks. How had it suddenly changed? And why?

Dawa grimaced and let out a harsh breath through her nose as she recalculated their trajectory. “Alright, proceeding at full impulse. Our ETA of five minutes has just been pushed back to an hour. On the bright side, we can redirect energy from the ship’s warp functions and extend the reach of our short-range sensors a bit. I’m going to need you to keep an extra sharp eye on them, cadet. We don’t know why the blackout is spreading and we can’t afford to rely on the computer’s auto-detection. If you notice anything that you think looks even the teensiest bit off, you tell me. Got it?”

Darwin nodded as she began to scan outside. “Yes ma’am.” She pushed her anxiety aside as she focused on the mission at hand. Scanning the area around them as she occasionally looked down at the display, looking for anything of note. And anytime she thought of the worse. She would focus on home. Which for her wasn’t a planet, a starbase or even a ship. It was her family. Despite them being the main cause of why she joined Starfleet, she still loved them. She… they couldn’t afford a slip up because of she did they would most surely die and that would be most unfortunate.

Dawa’s mind settled on thoughts of home and family as well, on Starbase Bravo and her squadron. She only hoped she’d find them all safe when she finally got there.