Prologue

The first sensation he registered was the shaking. He felt like a Christmas toy in a neatly wrapped present being held by an excited child, unable to wait a second longer before discovering what treasures lay beneath the brightly colored paper.
     'This isn't good,' was the first thought that came to his mind, followed immediately by, 'Wait, where am I?" Opening his eyes, he noted that he was in what appeared to be a glass display case. No, that's not right. What was it again?
     The sound of an explosion was followed quickly by a tilting of the ship. Right, he was in a ship. Why was that? He stumbled out of the stasis pod, 'a what?' and began to follow the corridor hoping to get... somewhere.
     Finding an open door she, or was it he?, stumbled onto the set of a science fiction movie. It was a set, right? This couldn't be real. This had to be the strangest dream she, or he, whoever, had ever had. She was a 'she' wasn't she? Was he?
     He couldn't remember well enough. What he could tell was that he was in the middle of a first class emergency. This was evidenced by the continuous rocking of the ship, the intermittent explosions and the frantic shouting of the people that were running by.
     Confident now that this was a dream, she began to follow the most urgent looking people. After all, that was bound to be where the action was. And why not seek adventure in your dreams? Only this was particularly realistic. She couldn't remember ever having such vivid dreams before. The smell of smoke, melting plastic and anti-inflammatory chemical was downright stifling. In fact, was it just her or was she starting to have trouble breathing? On a whim, brought about perhaps by the memory of fire drills during her childhood or the echoes of a similar fire he'd escaped before, he ducked low, beneath the level of the haze and continued his journey.
     Finally he reached the command center. He'd seen similar designs before, but he'd never been on a ship so advanced. He would have liked the chance to stay a while and familiarize himself with the setup. However, he noted with a hint of regret, this would not be possible considering the situation.
     Out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. Or more accurately, someone. It was a young man in an odd looking uniform of some kind who she might have found attractive in other circumstances. As it was, his otherwise pleasant face was lined deeply with stress and marred by the occasional shout to his comrades in the room. Was this a spaceship? She'd never been in space before.
     "First time for everything I guess," she thought. Except, wasn't this just a dream?
     Before this thought could catch hold in her mind, her focus was drawn again to the man with the face. Had she thought him attractive?
     "Do it!" shouted the man, "do it now!"
     A woman's voice sounded in reply. "We can't, the calibrations aren't finished yet. If we go too soon it could destroy everything. There might be nothing left!"
     Another explosion rocked the room from outside, knocking everyone off their feet.
     "Listen, if they reach us, there won't be anything left!" the man shouted as he climbed to his feet.  
     'This is intense' thought the dreamer as he/she approached the woman from behind. He noticed that she was working feverishly at her console going through what appeared to be checklists and status reports. Glancing at the man who had been shouting, the woman made as if to get up but reconsidered and sat back down with a sigh. Another explosion went off. It sounded closer.
     "Alright," she said, "just give me a minute to make the changes."
     "I would appreciate it if you could hurry. They are almost here," was all the reply she received. As if on cue, the explosions ceased and the room became still. The dreamer began to feel uneasy and saw that the two others in the room felt the same. Without a thought, the dreamer began to ponder aloud. After all, they couldn't hear him could they?
     "Strange, everything just went... quiet." Both the man and the woman turned to look at him in shock.
     "How did you...? began the man before pausing, a look of realization dawning on his face. "Ah, I see."
     The woman looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Is that..?"
    "Yes."
    "In that case, we have to see this through without further delay."
     "My sentiments exactly."
     Turning to ignore her once again, the two crew members resumed their previous feverish pace, but with perhaps a slight increase in determination, if such were possible.
     Not entirely sure what had happened, the dreamer decided it was best to simply fade into the background. People don't look at you like that in dreams do they? Am I entirely sure this is a dream? Lost in her thoughts she nearly missed hearing the strange rumbling which had begun. The man and woman looked at each other for a second and then it hit them.
     "They're drilling!"
     "Do it! Now!"
     Without hesitation, the woman entered a command into the console. As she did so, the wall beside them burst open. The dreamer was thrown to the ground, managing only a glimpse of the man turning to face the new hole in the wall before everything went...