Tunnel of Light

*"Captain, you button brain, you reversed into the patrolman!" - Levi Adlington as Mia tries to remember how to pilot a shuttle.*

Tonight on Zodiac Explorers: Aquarius...a dead man makes an unexpected appearance, a record is broken, and Mia Lawson is thrown clear of the Zephyr, seriously injuring herself!

## Summary

### Act One

Mia is trying to remember how to pilot a shuttle, as she is being re-tested due to a recent decision she made. That's right - she's decided to go for a speed record! Not really out of the ordinary - she is often nicknamed "Captain Lightning" for her shuttling habits.

She accidentally reverses into the shuttlebay at 5mph, knocking down a patrolling security. This prompts Levi to shout at her. She laughs, and still somehow passes.

She is then taken to the Earth plains where she will attempt to beat the record, over in Utah. Mia is initially confused, but upon asking AURORA through her HoloWatch of her whereabouts, she quickly recognises where she is.

She finds somewhere to begin, and drives off. She has her HoloWatch on hands-free call mode to speak to Levi, Starlight, and an official, who is present to determine Mia's speed in the newly modified Zephyr and see if she has indeed broken the record.

At first, everything seems okay - Mia is going at 180mph, and her shuttle still looks like its steady. Other shuttles show up with other crew, and some of her crew even turn out to be watching it on their TV!

### Act Two

Mia hits 300mph, the first shuttler to ever do so - and achieves her dream of breaking a record! The official is very impressed, and asks Levi about the modifications Mia has done, to see if they are illegal, which they're not, as all she's done is upgraded her engines and accelerator.

"I have never felt more alive!" she calls out to the people watching her...right before her engine suddenly blows out! Nobody can look away as the shuttle is suddenly flipped and Mia is thrown clear of it. She flies across 4000 metres (or roughly 3/4 of a mile) of salt plains, scratching up her body, ruining her uniform, and injuring herself severely.

Everyone runs up to her to see if she is alright, but she is barely conscious. She gets a vision of her Chief Engineering Officer, Fiona Wilson, telling her that it isn't her time to die.

Mia takes this as a cue that it is, stops fighting to keep her eyes open, and resigns herself to fate, accepting her death. Levi places his hands on Mia's shoulders, but Starlight pulls him off her, warning him that she is very likely to have suffered spinal injuries.

The official notices her ears are bleeding, prompting Starlight and Levi to shriek out of fear. Four doctors assess Mia. She is determined to be breathing, and is carefully moved into the medical shuttle, as they try to keep her head and body in line.

### Act Three

Mia is in the Medbay, getting a back x-ray. Starlight and Levi are sitting outside, looking worried. Eventually, the Chief Medical Officer comes out and tells them that her back is badly broken, however, in a stroke of extreme luck, her spinal cord is unaffected. Starlight looks relieved that Mia will still be able to walk (if she lives), but Levi just sighs.

After some more checks, which determine Mia has also broken two ribs, her skull, and her right arm, the captain is moved to a bed, and a doctor assesses her level of consciousness. She is determined to have a significant brain injury, leaving her in a coma. Starlight starts to scream and cry. Levi wraps his arms around her, trying to comfort her.

Mia wakes up to find that everything is just white...except her. And a mysterious green glow, which she doesn't recognise. She asks herself if she really is dead, before the glowing morphs into a person...a man of five feet eleven inches, with bright green eyes, short black hair, and a warm, friendly smile. Mia immediately recognises him, but not as her father.

Eventually it comes to her, and she runs up to him and hugs him for "the first time in two years". He calls her by Mimi, which normally she hates, but she seems to like being called this by him. He promises her that this is not the end, and he was just asked to take her for a little while to talk to her.

Mia asks what is happening, and Chandler Lawson (her father), explains to her that she is basically a shell of a person - she can hear the people around her, but she can't respond.

### Act Four

Mia seems upset by this, stating that she wants to comfort Starlight, but she can't move or talk. Her father tells her that it will be okay, that she will recover, and there is no need to be afraid. She holds him tighter.

He tells her that she still has a lot to do, that he loves her, and then asks her not to let him down. Mia can't hold back her tears, as the way he said it was the way he said it as the airlock was descending on his neck...on the day of his execution.

Finally, the pair say goodbye, and let go. Mia lays down, and closes her eyes, returning to the darkness. A doctor starts to talk to Levi and Starlight about what is going to happen now that the captain is likely going to be out of commission for a few weeks. Levi is chosen to be acting captain.

### Act Five

Levi gets onto the PA system and lets the crew know that due to the captain's shuttling accident, he will be acting captain for now, and Starlight will act as First Officer. He makes sure he also mentions that she is comatose. Several crew burst into tears upon hearing of Mia's condition, others just look dejected.

Crew morale is noted to be very low, and so everyone is given two weeks off work to process the sudden event.

Levi sits in Mia's chair in her quarters, and promises he won't let her down. He then places some papers on his desk, which are some of Mia's law drafts. The episode ends with him working carefully on drafting some laws for Mia to have a look at once she wakes up.

## Memorable Quotes

"I'll have to find out what kind of modifications she has for this thing." - **Official, joking with Levi**

"If you crash at this speed, Lawson, who knows what it'll do to that brain of yours!" - **A doctor who came to observe Mia's record attempt, trying to help her**

"I have never felt more alive!" - **Mia's last words before her shuttle accident**

"Can you hear me, Captain? It's not your turn yet. It's not your time to die." - **Chief Engineering Officer Fiona Wilson, in a vision, which unexpectedly prompts Mia to give up**

"It's been two years since we last saw each other, hasn't it?" - **Chandler Lawson to his comatose daughter in her second vision**

"Unfortunately, due to the shuttling accident that has left Captain Mia Lawson comatose, I will be acting captain until such a time that she is fit for command again. Starlight will act as First Officer." - **Levi's announcement**