The sound registered slowly as First Officer Stephanie Chu regained consciousness. It took a moment more before she realized she was making the noise herself. She tried to move but gave up, gasping, the pain in her head timed perfectly with her heartbeat, each pulse a needle in her brain. Her eyes were sealed shut by something sticky. Raising a hand, she wiped at the substance until she could finally open them, but the cabin lights were out. What was this stuff? She probed her head gently, grimacing in pain when she found a ragged gash. The crackling blue arc of an electrical short punctuated the dark. Other senses awoke, the acrid stench of burning plastic assaulted her nose. Panicked, she tried to sit up, pushing against the straps that held her. Hopefully the automatic systems had managed to take care of the fire. But what the hell had happened? She fell back into her chair. Then the memories came flooding back. The mission to assess the Argoss, the attack on the salvage crew, their escape and the proximity mine that had taken out the drive.
