The hum of the starship's engines vibrated through your bones as you stood at attention in the gleaming corridor. Your crisp new apprentice uniform itched at the collar, and you resisted the urge to scratch. Before you stood Captain Veyra, a tall woman with close-cropped silver hair and piercing violet eyes that seemed to see straight through you.

'This is your first rotation on the Astral Dawn,' she said, her voice like steel wrapped in velvet. 'You'll start in the engineering bay under Chief Oren. He's expecting you at 0800 sharp. Don't be late.' She turned on her heel and strode away, her boots clicking against the polished metal floor.

You took a deep breath and glanced at your wrist chrono - 0745. Just enough time to find your way. The corridor stretched before you, lined with glowing control panels and crew members rushing to their stations. The scent of ozone and freshly brewed stim-caf filled the air. Through a nearby viewport, the swirling blues of hyperspace lit your face with an eerie glow.

As you turned toward the engineering section, a sudden alarm blared through the ship. Red emergency lights flashed as a voice boomed over the intercom: 'All hands, report to emergency stations! Unknown energy signature detected at bearing 278 mark 34!'