Waking in a Science Fiction World

[IsabellaRose]

The distant hum of machinery thrums in the back of your mind, rhythmic, constant. The air smells clean but artificial, metallic with the faint hint of ozone and antiseptic.

You open your eyes. The ceiling above you is smooth, curved metal, embedded with strips of steady, dim white light. Your body feels lighter than normal, but you’re still grounded... artificial gravity stabilizers? The sterile scent around you, the precise hum of the environment, the subtle vibrations beneath your back... this is no ordinary place. When you turn and see the viewport, the vast expanse of space beyond stars glittering beyond the curve of a planet below you, you realize where you are.

You're on a space station or spaceship.

The room around you is small, sterile, walls lined with monitors displaying data you don’t understand. The bed beneath you is smooth metal, cushioned by a thin, synthetic padding. To your right, a glass wall reveals a corridor, long and sleek, its edges illuminated by faintly glowing strips of blue-white light. Beyond it, you catch the faint movement of shadows, people, or something else, walking past.

Your mind is hazy, like your thoughts have been deliberately scrambled, or perhaps you’ve been unconscious for far too long. You reach up, fingers brushing against a dull ache at the base of your skull. There’s something there... a lingering sensation, as if something had been implanted or removed.

A door hisses open, and a figure in a dark uniform steps inside. Their face is partially obscured by a visor, the flickering light reflecting off its surface. They glance at the monitors beside your bed, then turn their gaze to you.

Your head throbs. Pieces of memory float just out of reach, fragments of something that should make sense, but doesn’t. 

Before you can answer, the figure taps a small device at their wrist. A holographic display flickers to life, casting a faint glow across the sterile walls. They skim through a list of data, nodding slightly.

A distant alarm blares, red warning lights flashing through the corridor beyond the open door. Something is happening.

"Welcome back." They pause, considering you for a moment. Then, they say...

• If they say, "Commander, you're awake! We need you on the bridge. Enemy ships have come out of nullspace. They'll be in attack range within minutes," click here.
• If they say, "It's time to return to duty, Officer. Prisoner 1791 has escaped. The rest of your team is down. We need you," click here.
• If they say, "Ah, you're awake. ARTEMIS, Secure the prisoner," click here.
• If they say, "I certainly hope you have enough credits to cover the damage to the station, or you're going to end up indentured here for years," click here.
• If they say, "You shouldn’t exist. There is no record of you in any Dominion database," click here.