3 Days After Zero Hour

Eos looked like a wounded animal. Her outer hull was blackened by the scars of energy fire and impact trauma. Deck plating sheared off in sections, replaced by temporary force fields. Entire sections remained sealed under vacuum protocols, but the station was still alive.

Within the rebuilt core of Auxiliary Ops, Milo sat at a communications console surrounded by flickering monitors. The interference was gone now, “Long-range channels are open, Sir,” he said.  “We’re receiving communications from Mirage Station, from Romulan patrol bands, even… Freecloud..”

Commander Okafor leaned over his shoulder, “That’s great news, Ensign. Good work.”

“One by one, the apertures are closing, and nearby Vaadwaur troops are leaving. While the Vaadwaur presence had thinned, scattered skirmishes still hot. But for the remaining Vaadwaur, it was fear that drove them now.

On the Promenade, the civilians gathered beneath a sky of broken glass. The force fields still flickered overhead. Smoke had long faded, but the damage remained. In the center of the large open area, a simple black plaque had been mounted beside the upper viewport. No ceremony or dedication. Just a name, a date, and the words, “The line held.”

AJ stood underneath it, his arm still bound in a sling. He said nothing at first, just stared up at the plaque. AJ looked at Elena as she walked up beside him, “You’re assigning me to the Galileo.”

She nodded. “With a new rank. Captain. You’ve earned it.”

He didn’t smile. “I’m not sure the crew of the Yeager would agree.”

Elena looked over to Santiago. “Don’t worry, you have a ship coming, something more fitting your tactical abilities.

Santiago raised an eyebrow. “A heavy hitter for the next round?”

“Exactly.”

“And Eos?” she asked.

Footsteps sounded as Everett Parker approached the group. “She’s mine now.”

Elena smiled slightly. “You always did love the broken ones.”

Parker shrugged. “They’re honest.”

Elena stepped back, “Everything changes,” she whispered, watching as AJ and Santiago shook hands. Elena stood for a moment, looking out at the stars. Behind her, Parker’s voice broke the silence.

“Cadet.”

She turned slightly and smiled. “We did what we had to, Professor.”

Elena reached into her jacket and pulled out a padd. It was old, scratched, the kind Gab always carried around. She stared at it for a long second, then tapped play. His voice filled the space around them

“If you’re hearing this, then I didn’t make it. I’m not recording this for history. This is just… me. Saying what I couldn’t say out loud.”

“Eos was never the shining outpost. She was old, overlooked, the kind of assignment you give someone good at duct tape and triage. That was me. The guy who fixed things. The one who held it together with string and spit. And then the Vaadwaur came.”

“All those years of fixing things couldn’t stop what happened next. I saw people I couldn’t save. I made the wrong calls. Or maybe just the only calls we had. It doesn’t matter now.”

“Elena, you surprised me. You weren’t supposed to lead. But you did. You stood when others froze. You made calls that mattered. You didn’t flinch when they needed someone steady. You became what I never could be.”

“You’ll want to cry. Don’t. You’ll want to make a speech. Don’t do that either. Just make the line matter. Because it did. Gab Harris signing out.”

The message ended. Outside, the lights of the station slowly came back to life. Beneath them, engineering crews moved like ants as they repaired the outer haul. Elena tucked the padd back into her jacket. Parker gave her shoulder a brief, steady squeeze. They stood together, looking out at the stars.