Alarms blared as a group of roughly 60 men and women stared around at each other, all of them feeling a deep sense of frustration and powerlessness.
Gathered in this room were some of the greatest scientists, researchers, engineers, and theoreticians in the Terran Alliance, but despite being among the most brilliant minds alive today, none of them could explain why this disaster was happening.
Only minutes ago, everything had been proceeding according to their expectations. The Void Generator had been activated, just like it had been for each of the past 125 days, and the next stabilization/neutralization experiment had commenced.
It seemed as though it would be another frustratingly uneventful day, where the experiment failed to produce any noteworthy results; unfortunately, everyone's expectations had been terribly, terribly wrong.
With sparks flying around them, and space itself warping before their very eyes, the lead scientist, Doctor Jessica Zhang, clenched her fists tight and voiced what everyone knew but dared not say, "There's no way to stop it, a Spatial Tear forming is inevitable. We need to evacuate the facility. Now."
"That's not possible!"
"How could this have happened?"
"There's not enough time to escape!"
"No! There must be a way to stop it!"
Several panicked voices all cried out at once, some in disbelief, some in despair, some even defiant or angry, but in the end, Doctor Zhang silenced them all with a roar, "EVERYONE, SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Taken aback by the loud and crass reproach from their always calm and composed leader, the researchers and scientists abruptly stopped shouting and turned their focus towards the woman who had earned all of their respect over the past 10 years and waited for her to speak.
Seeing that she had everyone's undivided attention, Doctor Zhang began giving orders in a stern and forceful tone, "Sound the evacuation alarm and have everyone withdraw to the ship. The moment everyone is aboard, go to maximum warp and get as far away from the facility as possible."
Knowing there was no other way, the various scientists and engineers, together with the other civilian and military staff, began moving.
The research facility's docking port was 10 levels up, where an Alliance warship was moored at all times in case of emergencies. With the 318 staff in the facility, Doctor Zhang figured it would take them 10 to 12 minutes to clear out, and then another 10 or so to reach a minimum safe distance to not be affected by the Spatial Tear.
Given the current rate of spatial flux, however, she calculated that the Spatial Tear would fully form in just under 15 minutes.
As the leading authority in Spatial Tear formation, Doctor Zhang was keenly aware of all of this even as she gave the order to evacuate the facility, as well as a very simple truth; they weren't going to make it.
The most logical solution would be to abandon those who could not evacuate in time to save the rest, but the research colleagues around her were the core of this project and the most capable of continuing it.
Worse, they were currently at the deepest part of the facility and were thus the farthest from the evacuation ship. Understanding all this, Jessica Zhang quickly made a decision, turned away from the exit, and headed back towards the primary control console.
The moment she turned, though, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and a familiar voice called out, "Where are you going, Doctor?"
Without looking back, she muttered quietly, "Remove your hand, Lieutenant. There's not enough time for everyone to evacuate. Someone needs to stay behind and delay the Spatial Tear's formation. I'm the most qualified, so it's my responsibility."
In defiance of her command, however, the hand didn't let go and instead gripped tighter, the same calm voice speaking once more, "I can't let you do that."
Frustrated and growing more anxious by the moment, Doctor Zhang finally turned back and snapped, "I have been granted full authority over this project by the High Council and Military Command. Follow my orders, Lieutenant Ashford!"
By now, the raised voices had caught the attention of the evacuating scientists, and all of them turned around to see the odd scene of Doctor Zhang trying to break free from grip of one of the military officers who had been sent to serve as a liaison for this project.
Furrowed brows and confusion only clouded their minds for a short moment before some amongst the crowd of geniuses assembled realized exactly what Doctor Zhang had understood from the start.
"Doctor! You can't do this!"
"He's right, you can't sacrifice yourself here, Leader! No one knows more about this project then you!"
"If someone needs to stay behind, let me do it!"
Immediately, voices called out, imploring Doctor Zhang to reconsider, with some even volunteering to take her place, but Jessica was steadfast in her decision as she forcefully broke free of the young Lieutenant's grip, "Why are you all still standing around?! Get moving! You're right, I'm the one who knows this project best, so I'm the most qualified to stay behind! Now go!"
Just as the crowd of researchers and staff were about to argue back, an unthinkable scene occurred.
Lieutenant Ashford pulled out his sidearm and without hesitation shot the Doctor in the chest, causing her to collapse on the spot. Scooping the woman up, he then chucked her over to the dumbstruck crowd and shouted, "Get her stubborn ass out of here!"
Before anyone could come back to their senses, Lt. Ashford had turned around, dashed over to the primary control console, activated all the protective forcefields to isolate himself from the outside, and began furiously adjusting the power-flow settings in front of him.
While he was basically a glorified security guard in this facility, Lt. Ashford had still graduated with degrees in Spatial Mechanics, Warp Theory, and Mechanical Engineering, giving him the bare minimum required knowledge to not be completely lost after being assigned here by Military Command.
Trevor Ashford was helpless to contribute anything meaningful to the advancement of the project, but he had picked up enough basic understanding of the science at work here over the years to realize that in order to delay the Spatial Tear's formation, all he needed to do was starve it of energy while stabilizing the spatial harmonics of the containment field.
Any of the researchers present could do a better job at that than him, and with far more ease, but that was precisely why he was the one who needed to stay behind.
Simply put, the scientists here were all essentially to the continuation of critical project, one that would decide the fate of humanity itself; none of them were expendable.
This was especially true for Doctor Zhang, the project lead.
As for Trevor… there were millions of others who could take his place.
Still, just because he thought he could succeed, didn't mean the young Lieutenant had gotten full of himself. Immediately activating his communication terminal, he switched on the audio feed and called out, "I've shut down generators 4 and 5 and redirected flow from generators 1 through 3 to the containment field, what do I do next… Come on! Talk and run!"
A second later, an older male voice sounded in his ear, "You need to match the power output from generators 2 and 3 to that of generator 1. Start by adjusting the output settings on the far right of the control panel."
Trevor immediately got to work, and with the guidance of the project's Vice-Director, he continued making adjustments to the containment field of the rapidly destabilizing Spatial Tear. The task was not labour intensive, but Trevor was currently sweating buckets from the stress while doing his best not to think about his impending demise.
The moment he stunned Doctor Zhang and sealed himself in, Lt. Ashford knew he was going to die, but he did not regret his decision.
Ever since he lost his family in the great disaster of 2765, he had always been frustrated that he couldn't contribute more to the effort to stave of the impending crisis facing mankind. That was why he chose to study Spatial Mechanics with such passion, and why he later joined the military after realizing he would never reach the level necessary to participate in research projects like the one he was currently assigned to in any other way.
If there was one thing that gave him pause, it would be his little sister who he would now be leaving alone in this world.
Trevor didn't need to worry about her being taken care of as she would soon be graduating University herself, and with far better grades then he had ever achieved. However, he was her last living relative, the one who practically raised her after their entire family perished, so the thought of dying without even being able to say goodbye stung him deep down inside.
Even so, the thought that he could help save the Alliance's greatest scientists, the ones who had the best chance to protect and sustain humanity through this tribulation, allowed Lt. Ashford to steel his resolve.
Before Trevor knew it, 13 minutes had passed and the Interstellar Defence Force Destroyer, Lexicon of Truth, had cleared the facility's spacedock and entered warp.
Noting that the ship had left, Lt. Ashford kept adjusting the field intensity and power flow to the experiment furiously until a few minutes later, staring at the main screen, he called out, "What's next?"
But unlike before, nobody answered.
Finally, after 10 agonizing seconds of silence, a familiar female voice called out, "Trevor, I'm sorry… there's nothing more you can do."
Freezing up for a moment, Lt. Ashford felt his sweat drip down his brow and plop onto the screen below before quietly asking, "Will you make it, Jessica?"
Silence fell once more as he continued watching the space inside the primary containment field twist and distort. It seemed like an eternity, yet only an instant all at once before he received an answer in a slightly shaky voice, "We'll make it."
Nodding, Trevor Ashford backed away from the console and slumped down into the nearest chair, "That's good… En, that's good."
"Why… why did you…" Doctor Zhang asked haltingly.
"Someone had to," Trevor replied frankly, before chuckling, "Besides, what kind of man would I be if I let such a beautiful and intelligent woman die to save my own skin."
A vid-com screen opened before Lt. Ashford's eyes, where a now slightly blushing Jessica Zhang could be seen scowling at him. The staring contest lasted for 30 seconds before Jessica muttered, "I'll tell your sister you were womanizing to the very end…"
Trevor choked and coughed before glaring at his best friend from college and complaining, "Even now you can't give me a break, Jessica?"
"Hmph, if you weren't so dense, I wouldn't have to be so blunt!" She snarled.
The two then glared at each other before finally sharing a laugh while the timer ticked down.
24 minutes soon passed; the evacuation ship was safe.
With nothing more to do or worry about, Trevor Ashford let out a sigh of relief and did his best to get comfortable.
Trying to stay calm, but with her eyes clearly becoming moist, Jessica Zhang asked in a trembling tone, "Is… is there anything you'd like me to pass on to Lily?"
At that moment, many thoughts crossed Trevor Ashford's mind.
Words of apology, words of advice, words of comfort, words of encouragement.
Things he wanted to say to his little sister, things he wanted to say to the woman in front of him, things he had never gotten to say and would now never get to say.
He felt like pouring out all his feelings, yet didn't even know where to begin.
He was confused and distraught, stressed and panicked, a mish-mash of emotions he couldn't even understand, much less describe; but here, at the end of his days, with the limited time he had left, there was just one thing he felt he should say, "Tell Lily I love her, and I'm sorry I won't be there for her graduation…"
Through her sobs, Jessica Zhang somehow nodded and promised, "I-I'll tell her. I p-promise, I'll tell her."
"Thanks Jessica… I lov…"
…..
Staring at the static filled screen before her eyes, Doctor Jessica Zhang, the young prodigy in charge of the Terran Alliance's highest priority research project, broke down in tears.
The words she had longed to hear from the thick-headed, stubborn fool of a friend she had met 22 years ago were forever cut off, and it felt like a dagger was being driven through her heart.
The bridge was abuzz with noise as reports on the small-scale Spatial Tear forming behind them echoed about, but all Jessica Zhang could hear at that moment was the deafening static coming from the communication screen in front of her.
It was only a full minute later that the ship's Captain finally asked, "Doctor Zhang… what are you orders?"
Taking a moment to rub her eyes dry and steady herself, Jessica lifted her head and declared, "Note the date and time in the log, then proceed to Rho Indi Prime for repairs and re-supply."
Taking a glance at the cold, determined face of the young woman less than half his age beside him, the Captain sighed silently to himself before nodding, "Yes ma'am."
…..
After-action report:
Earth Standard Time: 2788-02-02, 15:35.
Experiment #126 to artificially generate, stabilize, and subsequently seal a Spatial Tear resulted in failure and total destruction of research facility Alpha-6.
The accident resulted in the death of Lieutenant Trevor Ashford, posthumously promoted to the rank of Commander for his sacrifice in the line of duty which prevented further loss of life.
Project Twilight to continue as soon as replacement facilities are operational.
End report.