Deep Space Nothing

Act II

"Commander, situation report." she yells over a migraine inducing alarm. Slamming her feet into her military issue boots causes her to grunt heavily while she forces herself out of her first decent sleep in months.
With a feeling of familiarity in her mind, a gulp of the throat, a beat of the heart and a clicking of her jaw. Every move has been done before but she can't explain how.

"Commander, report." she says while holding down the button on the intercom, unable to shake the overwhelming feeling of deja-vu. There's nothing but silence so she repeats her order but this time much more aggressively, "Commander, I said report."

The speaker cracks then a startled voice comes through, "Captain. Nothing to report."

"What do you mean nothing to report? We all saw that." releasing the button with a nauseous feeling she rubs her head and asks herself, "Did we?"

"Captain, are you okay? Maybe you should head to medical?"

"Medical. That might be a good idea." she croaks as she staggers towards the door to rest her thumb upon the scanner. It emits the same long grind but this time she feels it deep in the pit of her stomach, in the roots of her teeth and in the back of her throat. It lasts an eternity causing her to stomp her feet angrily like a petulant child whilst keeping her thumb firmly balanced on the security panel.

As soon as the door slides upwards she throws herself into the corridor but nothing is out of place, no belongings, tools or toolboxes. Everything is just as it should be but that couldn't be more unsettling as this feels exactly like it was before but things are somehow different.

After a few turns down numerous corridors, she expels a breath of air that comes out in a mist. Through the dissipating fog she sees the first set of ladders. The palms of her hands immediately feel the cold bars but she knew they would feel like that, even though they never have before but something is telling her this isn't her first time touching them today.

Climbing to her feet at the top, she feels a crushing weight upon her, a thousand questions plague her mind in an uncontrollable barrage of screaming voices. She is torn between making her way through this level to medical or to continue up to the bridge to find out what exactly is going on.

The thought doesn't get a second to process as in the blink of an eye she has been teleported to the next set of ladders, as if her subconscious made the decision without informing her. The lights of her mind went out, if only for a few short moments and autopilot guided her here. She feels a rush of vomit pushing up her throat which causes her eyes to fill with tears, she wipes them away with the sleeve of her grey sweater, leaving a dark trail of moisture in the fabric then with tight lips she gulps the nausea down and climbs up.

Reaching the top of the ladder is more of a task than she bargains for and once getting there she sits herself at the edge of the hatch with her legs hanging down. Needing a moment, she tries to calm herself but her breathing is restricted and her heart is racing like it never has before. The fear that is filling her is unbearable as she gets a flashback to being here previously. A white blinding light strobes in her mind causing her to scream and throw her arms over her eyes but it doesn't help in any way as every molecule reaches her brain. She collapses with a roar of pain as her skull slams against the metal and she is dragged unwillingly into a deep pit of darkness and despair.

"Captain." the voice seems so distant but so close at the same time, fading in and out. It repeats the same word over and over. "Captain, Captain, Captain." the strain of the light entering her pupils stings her eyes as they struggle to adjust. The circular spotlight is swiftly removed and replaced with the pasty, wrinkled face of the team's medic.

"Quite the nasty fall you took. Can you answer some questions for me?"

She nods her head in small, sharp movements but says nothing.