The stairwell seemed endless.

Though the spiral narrowed as they climbed, the pale shaft of light high above never seemed to draw closer. Their bare feet ached against the worn stone, and Scott’s ragged breathing made each step feel heavier than the last. Jordan and Alfie carried most of his weight, his arms draped over their sweat-slicked shoulders, the splint around his leg jostling slightly with every careful movement.

“How long have we been climbing?” Beatrice asked, pausing to stretch one aching calf. “Feels like we’ve looped the same five steps over and over. I’m expecting déjà vu to start charging rent.”

“No way to tell,” Alfie replied, adjusting his grip on Scott’s torso. “It’s like this place is deliberately messing with our sense of distance.”

Jordan gave a quiet grunt of agreement. “That light, I swear it’s not getting any closer.”

“It’s not,” Scott muttered. “Or maybe it is. Everything feels off. Like we’re inside a dream.”

They reached a slightly wider landing and paused to catch their breath. The silence around them was thick, almost ceremonial. Even the air felt artificial. It was too clean, too staged.

Beatrice turned, planted her hands on her hips, and gave them all a once-over. Her brows shot up. “Okay. Stop. Just look at yourselves. Do you realise how absolutely, ridiculously hot this whole thing looks from my perspective? I have to say it. You three? Make a very good-looking throuple.”

Jordan blinked. “What?”

“I mean, come on!” She waved both hands dramatically. “Scott, who is tragically injured and flushed. Sweaty, shirtless Alfie on one side. Sweaty, shirtless Jordan on the other. Both of you are sweaty, shirtless, heroic, and it’s all emotionally complicated. It’s like one of those overly dramatic Risan romance novels come to life. Even better, I could write a whole romance holo-novel around it. This would be the opening chapter, it would be hot and steamy, and I would call it ‘Love and Plasma Conduits: A Starfleet Affair.’” She gestured further to the scene before her, with even more mock-dramatic. “I mean, come on! Scott being carried up an endless staircase by two shirtless hunks? If this isn’t his dream, it’s definitely mine.” She turned to Jordan before continuing. “You are literally carrying your former lover up a mystic stairwell with your ex-boyfriend. Who writes this stuff?!”

Alfie groaned. “Bea—”

“No. Let me enjoy this! You three are a perfect storm of trauma, abs, and emotional repression. And I’m here for it.” Beatrice continued, voice gleeful. “You are all the poster children for ‘hot Starfleet drama’. If a violin started playing in the background, I’d weep.”

Scott huffed a laugh through his pain. “Glad to know my suffering is aesthetically pleasing.”

“It is! Honestly, if you weren’t in such agony, I’d be jealous. Carried like a tragic prince by two brooding lovers, with unresolved tension thick enough to slice with a Bat’leth?”

Jordan gave a crooked smile despite himself. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Oh, it gets better,” she said brightly. “It’s high drama! This is peak Starfleet messiness. Tragic. Sexy. Very ‘hero of a dramatic romance serial.’And honestly? I ship it.”

“Ship what?” Jordan asked wearily.

“You. And him. And him.” She pointed at all three. “Scojolfie. It’s a vibe.”

“That’s appalling,” Alfie muttered.

“It sounds like a Ferengi perfume,” Jordan added.

“Deeply cursed,” Scott agreed.

Beatrice smirked. “Listen, you’ve got history, chemistry, unresolved longing. Polyamory is not only respectable, it’s efficient. I mean, imagine the mess hall gossip! Or even better, the next set of team-building exercises. Captain Niro catches you three in the act!”

Alfie snorted despite himself. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

Beatrice went on, grinning like a troublemaker. “Have you considered a new kind of romance? Post-stairway escape? The three of you. New start. Very modern. Polyamory’s very in right now.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “You think we should become what? A throuple?”

“Why not?” Beatrice shrugged, clearly enjoying herself. “Honestly, as I said, it would probably make a brilliant holonovel. Maybe we could do a second part to the story and call it ‘Three’s a Crowd In Engineering’.”

Alfie gave her a sharp look that failed to hide the way his lips twitched. “Please stop talking.”

“Fine,” she said, raising her hands in mock surrender. “But just know I’ll be the one saying I told you so when you’re all cuddling in the mess hall next week.”

“We’re scaling a collapsing, never-ending stairwell in white shorts, and you’re playing matchmaker,” Jordan retorted, his frustration evident.

“Hey, a girl’s gotta find her fun somewhere,” Beatrice quipped back. “Besides, it’s a coping mechanism. You three are oozing unresolved emotions like a malfunctioning subspace relay.”

Jordan snorted. “Your priorities are incredible.”

“I pride myself on them,” she said. “Jordan, babe, let’s review your dating record. You dated me, which was a chaotic disaster. Then, Alfie, your emotional landmine. All of that was perfect before you two got into an argument after training on the holodeck. Then Scott, who you were secretly doing during a crisis, which is so on-brand. You’re like the emotional equivalent of a warp core about to breach.”

Jordan sighed. “Thanks, Bea.”

“But you’re cute and awkward and you try so hard it’s kind of adorable,” she added sweetly. “And I get why Scott fell for you.”

Scott raised a brow. “Do you?”

“Oh, please,” she said, waving him off. “You’re hot. He’s hot. I mean, I get it. If I’d been trapped in engineering with Jordan during that Vaadwaur mess, all sweaty and desperate for comfort? I might’ve jumped him, too.”

“Beatrice!” Jordan exclaimed.

“I’m just saying!” she grinned. “Scott, you’ve got a killer smile, those arms are illegal in several systems, and you’ve got this ‘sensitive rebel’ vibe going. My type, by the way. Alfie, if Jordan hadn’t gotten to him first, I wouldn’t blame you for swooping in.”

Alfie blinked. “Wait, what?”

“I mean it,” Beatrice said more gently. “I know you were hurt, Alfie. Finding out about them. That must have stung. But you and Jordan were on a break. And that’s one thing I don’t understand why you don’t understand. You were on a B-R-E-A-K! You didn’t owe each other anything then. And Scott? He didn’t do it to hurt you. Come on, he’s our sexy good guy. Jordan wanted some comfort and got it in those strong arms and fine abs. Again, remember you were on a break. A break! Which meant you two weren’t together. Jordan did nothing wrong here.”

“I know,” Alfie said quietly. “It just felt like a betrayal. Even if Jordan and I weren’t together and we were on a break.”

Beatrice nodded. “Because you still loved him. And maybe still do. And maybe you’re also mad because Scott’s a good guy, and it’s easier to be angry than to admit you like him too. Perhaps a bit of jealousy he got with Jordan first before you?”

The silence was thick.

Then Jordan said, “So what are you suggesting?”

“I’m saying,” Beatrice said, voice firm, “that maybe you should all stop punishing yourselves. We’re climbing an endless rock tunnel, half-naked, holding each other like some tragic opera finale. Get out of here alive. Then talk. Hug it out. Kiss it out. Whatever you need.”

“No kissing!” all three said in unison.

Beatrice pouted. “Such a tease!”

Scott groaned. “Can someone please just toss me into the void?”

“I’m tempted to join you,” Jordan muttered.

“Seriously, though,” Beatrice said, more quietly. “You’re my friends. And I love you. You’re stronger together. Whatever ‘together’ ends up meaning. So stop bickering. Survive this. And figure it out later.”

There was a long pause.

Then Alfie nodded. “She’s right.”

Jordan sighed. “Let’s get out of here alive. We can unpack the emotional drama once we’re back on the Astra. Preferably clothed.”

Beatrice raised her hand again. “Actually, I vote we keep the white shorts. Very flattering.”

“Beatrice,” all three groaned at once.

“Okay, okay! No fashion notes during the near-death experience,” she said with a wink.

Scott managed a weak smile. “Thanks, Bea.”

“Anytime,” she said cheerfully. “But I’m still calling you Scojolfie.”

As they began climbing again, the shaft of light above seemed brighter, closer. Their steps felt steadier, more in sync. Something had shifted.

As each step appeared to get easier and easier, the group’s mood changed. It became more positive. Beatrice, who was now behind Alfie, Scott and Jordan, smirked at the sight before her. She knew she had sorted them out. 

With her grin, she spoke up. “You’re welcome, boys. And when we’re back on the ship, I expect you all to buy me a drink.”

“Only if you never say that name again,” Alfie called back.

“Scojolfie lives forever!” she declared.

And they climbed on toward the light above.

USS Astra (NCC-96894), Unknown Moon, Nacene Reach, Delta Quadrant

The hum of monitors pulsed steadily in sickbay as a soft chime echoed from the central diagnostic console. Stellan’s eyes snapped to the screen, Parker standing just behind him. Neural readings were fluctuating again, but this time, not in alarm. They were stabilising.

“I’m seeing a change in activity across all four cadets,” Stellan reported quickly, fingers dancing across the controls. “There’s a slight change in their brain wave. I think they’re starting to split away from the Garden of Minds.”

Niro leaned in closer beside Penelope. “They’re waking?”

“It looks like it,” Parker said, eyes locked on the waveforms. “Their minds are separating from the neurogenic field.”

One by one, the cadets stirred.

Alfie’s eyelids fluttered open first, his breathing shallow and ragged. His gaze darted around as the lights of sickbay replaced the pale shimmer of the dreamlike stairwell. A soft groan escaped him as he shifted upright slightly.

Then Jordan jolted awake, gasping as if surfacing from deep water. His hand gripped the side of the biobed instinctively before he realised where he was.

Beatrice blinked a few times, then sat up abruptly. “What the hell?”

And Scott let out a low moan, clutching at his leg before realising it wasn’t broken. He looked down, bewildered to find his Starfleet uniform restored, no injuries in sight.

“You’re safe,” Niro said firmly, stepping into view. “You’re aboard the Astra. You’re all okay.”

Parker moved to Jordan’s side, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. “Easy. Take deep breaths.”

Jordan didn’t hear her at first. His eyes were locked across sickbay on Alfie. They exchanged a stunned look. Alfie swallowed hard but said nothing.

Beatrice rubbed her temple. “Okay, either I’ve just had the worst migraine dream of my life or someone dumped us in a rejected holonovel about emotional trauma and stairs.”

Scott groaned and tried to sit up fully. “Was that real?”

“Not physically,” Stellan said, stepping toward him. “But neurologically? You were all connected inside a construct. It was an artificial telepathic link called the Garden of Minds.”

“The Garden of what?” Beatrice asked, blinking.

“The Nacene built it,” Niro said, stepping forward. “It’s ancient technology. The away team found it inside a cave near where you all started to hallucinate. The system misidentified you as compatible, as you were young like the Ocampa it was built for.”

“It pulled you into a shared subconscious space,” Penelope added calmly. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t designed for non-Ocampa.”

Beatrice scoffed. “Well, it sure got a show.”

Alfie swung his legs off the biobed. “We were never in that place?”

“You were, but just not physically,” Parker confirmed. “But everything you experienced? Emotionally, psychologically, it was real. It somehow drew on all of your emotions, thoughts, desires, and nightmares. Everything. There was nothing we could do at this end without harming you all.”

Jordan, pale and shaking, looked over at Scott. “Your leg was broken.”

“I thought it was,” Scott muttered. “I felt the pain. I felt everything.”

“That was the danger of this device,” Stellan said. “We believe if you had died inside, it could have killed you out here.”

A heavy silence followed.

“Guess the Garden’s a bit of a sadistic therapist,” Beatrice muttered, breaking the tension again. “Let’s put them on a death stairwell and force a romantic reckoning.”

Alfie looked at her and cracked the ghost of a smile.

“I’m just saying,” Beatrice added, stretching out and swinging her legs. “If anyone writes a memoir about this, I demand to be credited for forcing these three to deal with their unresolved issues as well as be illustrated fabulously. I was the backbone of emotional logic in there.”

“You also told us to make out to resolve our drama,” Scott said, his voice a little steadier now.

“And I stand by that,” she said, pointing. “That’s ancient Starfleet wisdom: kiss the drama away. Kirk did it all the time!”

Niro raised an eyebrow and muttered to Penelope, “I think we’re going to need the counsellor to schedule recurring sessions for all of them.”

“I already have,” Parker said dryly.

Jordan turned back to Alfie. “What we said in there. That was me. I meant it.”

Alfie nodded slowly. “I know.”

Scott sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “For what it’s worth, I meant what I said, too.”

Beatrice groaned and fell back onto her biobed. “Stars help me, we’re back in the triangle again.”

“No,” Alfie said firmly, surprising even himself. “We’re not.”

He looked from Jordan to Scott, then to Beatrice. “We all survived that madness together. I think that counts for something. But I need time to work through how I feel. About everything.”

Jordan nodded. “Whatever you need.”

Scott gave a simple, quiet, “Okay.”

Beatrice sat back up again and clapped her hands once. “Good! Emotional honesty achieved. Nobody died. We have a new understanding of more screwed up alien technology. And, we survived a mental death trap. I’d call that a win.”

Stellan stepped forward again. “All of you need to rest. No assignments for at least forty-eight hours. Full psych evaluations along with plenty of hydration and real food.”

“And maybe shoes,” Beatrice said, looking at her feet. “After a dream world with no footwear, I am done with barefoot symbolism.”

Niro and Penelope shot a look at one another, confused and amused by whatever the cadets had shared. 

“Captain, shall I inform the away team they can return?” Penelope asked.

Niro nodded, “Yes, but I want that device shut down. Tell Jaceon to find the off switch, or if not, I want it destroyed. No one needs to go through all of that again.”