The room is bathed in an orange and red glow from a small fire burning in the corner. Juliette slowly begins to regain consciousness on the ground, her head pounding from a previous collision with a glass console.

As her eyes adjust to the ceiling, she notices that several panels are loose, with wires and pipes dangling down like vines from a tree. The floor feels unbearable beneath her, and as she struggles to pull herself up, she spots the fire in the corner of the lab. Without hesitation, she calls out, “Computer, activate fire suppression systems in Lab 94.”

Moments later, the computer responds, “Unable to comply. System is currently offline. Recommend using manual override.”

With unsteady steps, she makes her way to the wall panel by the entrance door, where she locates the manual lever to extinguish the flames. After tapping the LCARS screen and pulling the lever, the fire suppression system begins to activate.

Knowing that her immediate problem has been addressed, she presses on toward her battle station, leaving behind the scene of the destroyed ships and adhering to the designated strategy during red alerts. She remains unaware of whether the battle is still ongoing. As Juliette navigates the normally bustling corridors, she notices how quiet they are now. Her shaky steps make it challenging to traverse the maze of hallways, especially with the debris and damage present. Nevertheless, since she is still able to walk and maintain her mental faculties, she keeps the emergency communications clear for those with higher priority, just as she was taught during her orientation.

As Juliette approaches her destination, she turns a corner and spots two crew members pressed against the wall further down the corridor. She overhears one of them speaking softly, “We’re nearly there.” The desperation and encouragement in her voice are evident, urging her companion to keep pushing forward. One crew member is a tall Klingon female in a gold uniform, leaning against the wall, while her petite companion in red struggles to pull them both along. They appear to be in a similar state to Juliette. Just as she takes a step closer, a sudden jolt causes both of them to lose their footing, and they each tumble to the floor.

Seeing this situation, Juliette rushes forward to offer aid and support. However, both crew members kindly refuse her help. The girl in red explains that a medic had passed by earlier, ensuring that they were healthy enough to move to the nearest gathering point on this floor. She also mentions that there is an emergency triage zone set up to alleviate the burden on priority medical facilities, where minor wounds and ailments will be treated.

As she pressed on, ensuring that the two crew members were alright on their own, she finally reached the triage zone. It was at that moment that she fully grasped the impact of the attack on the station. Dozens of people were present—some on beds, some on the floor, and others sitting against the walls. This was just one of many triage points set up across the station.

During her orientation, she had learned that each triage zone would be managed by one main doctor and a handful of nurses. The protocol specified that non-emergency injuries would be directed to these zones, while emergency cases would be taken directly to the sickbay for priority treatment, where most of the doctors were stationed. Further, first responders would assess injuries on-site and either direct patients to the triage zones or arrange for site-to-site transport.

As she entered the treatment area, a nurse rushed over to Juliette to begin her knowledge check, ensuring all her medical history was covered and determining her priority band for care. Given her minimal injuries and preliminary scans, she was assigned to a low-priority band and taken to a seating area. While waiting, she overheard a nurse telling another that the attack had stopped and that the assailants had simply left.

Based on everything she knew, this was not a random attack; it was deliberate and strategic. Its purpose was to instill fear within these walls. No matter how strong someone may seem, there is always someone out there ready to bring them down. Whoever was behind this would not be an easy adversary.