It began again. Although Nico knew the nightmare was coming, it caught him with the force of a quantum torpedo.
It always started the same way. Fear, cold, blackness, measured breathing. Nico opened his eyes, realizing that he was floating in space amongst other pieces of wreckage. Nico's breathing quickened as he realized that he was all alone. Although he was in a EVA suit, all of the suit's capabilities were damaged, so he had no idea how long he had been out here, floating as another piece of debris.
As this dawned on him, he reached to trigger his beacon attached to his wrist, but there was no response. Dead, just like everything else, he thought. Just like me.
Nico started to panic, thrashing around, which only set him to spinning. He saw flashes of the debris field; a dead starship shedding pieces of itself, like a body shedding its skin and the nearby star; burning brightly, but so far out of reach. They left me, they don't know that I'm here! Oh my god, I've been left out here as such another piece of debris!
Nico's breathing quickened again, coming so fast that he felt himself starting to black out from lack of oxygen. He fought this in vain, but only succeeded in staving off the darkness for a few moments. As his breathing continued to become more labored, the blackness overtook him.
Nico's eyes flew open as he shot up from his bed. Clutching his chest as he thrashed around on the bed, Nico came to the realization that he wasn't still in the suit, floating in space. Although his breathing slowed, the panic still remained, forcing him into a fetal ball under his bedsheet. Finally, the tears started to flow as panic became a physical force.
The door to his room opened, casting a gentle light into his room, like a spirit coming to him. A woman dressed in a Starfleet medical uniform walked across the room, sitting down and cradling his head in her hands. "Shhhh, it's okay Nico. You're in San Diego and I'm with you. It's going to be okay."
Although Nico heard the words, he wasn't sure that she was ever going to be right.
back to TOC