Saga of the Viper

This is a long overarching narrative of the crew of the Viper I wrote over the past year or so for the STO Literary challenges. Each story will be posted in this thread in chronological order, in order to provide the complete experience. The stories written involving the non Viper crew will be posted in their own thread, but spin out from this initial story. Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing them!

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The Viper shook from the disruptor fire. Jenna banked the ship hard to port, giving the phaser cannons a perfect shot to obliterate the Nausicaan pirate ship. Grimworm shouted in triumph. "Got him!"

T'Fon shook his head. "Captain, may I remind you that Starfleet regulations clearly state criminals should be arrested and brought to trial. Not summinarily executed."

From her chair in the centre of the Bridge, Talaina tilted her head towards T'Fon, without taking her eyes off the viewscreen as three other pirate ships flew past, firing their disruptors. "And may I remind you Lieutenant, that we are trying to protect that Tuffli out there. We don't have the opportunity to take prisoners, not without giving them the time to take hostages or just outright destroy that freighter. We warned them off, they attacked. We have plenty of justification."


The ship shook again from weapons fire, but the shields were holding. T'Fon frowned, but remained silent until his console beepd. "Captain, detecting a ship decloaking off the starboard bow. Sensors indicate it is a Romulan warbird. D'deridex class. They are hailing." Talaina shook her head. "Perfect. On screen." The face of Commander D'Elon appeared on the viewscreen. She was as all business as usual. "Starfleet vessel. This is an internal Romulan matter. We thank you for the assistence, but we can handle it from here."

Talaina shifted in her chair as she replied. "Commander, we are responding to a distress call from a civillian freighter. We will depart when the area is secure."
"Then you should be aware we detected a pair of Son'a ships on an intercept course. We have reason to believe they will be aiding the Nausicaans. We will both deal with them."

She promptly cut communication as the I.R.W. Tomalak moved across the starscape, plasma beams lancing out. They locked a raider in a tractor beam, holding it while Viper fired her phaser cannons. The final raider opened a comm. "Hold your fire. We surrender."

Talaina smiled. "Wise move. Shut down your power systems and prepare to be boarded." The Nausicaan complied without question. As Viper was moving into transporter range, plasma beams struck the pirate ship, tearing it apart. Viper shook slightly as Talaina quickly spun to Ttorkkinn. "Get me that Romulan onscreen NOW!" It was only a moment before Talaina was looking at that smug expression once more. She hated Romulans in the military. They were always so arrogant. "Commander! Why did you destroy that vessel? They had surrendered."
"Because they made hostile moves against a person connected to the Star Empire. We do not take simple mercenaries prisoner. We dispatch them. The Son'a ships are coming in. Prepare for battle." She cut off the comm as the Tomalak turned, opening fire with a torpedo salvo at the two ships before they even finished dropping out of warp. The Son'a ships rocked under the assault. Talaina knew there was something more going on here. "Hold fire. Don't shoot unless fired upon. Jenna. Keep us away from those ships. What's the Tuffli doing?"
"They are attempting to move away from the area."
"T'Fon, scan that vessel. I want to know why everyone is after it."
"Scanning now Captain."
The ship slammed hard to port from impact. Ttorkkinn held onto the console until Jenna had righted the vessel. "Captain, the Romulans AND the Son'a have opened fire on us. Everyone's attacking everyone!"

"That does it. Helm, get us out of here." Jenna brought the ship about, but before they could jump to warp, the Tuffli grabbed them in a tractor beam. Xui Li worked her console furiously. "Captain. I am, ah, unable to break the tractor lock. It appears to be, ah, military grade. Hull polarisation is, ah, having no affect." D'Elon appeared on screen again. "Starfleet vessel. You were warned not to interfere. It pains me to report to Starfleet Command an unfortunate accident cost them a fine vessel." Talaina jumped to her feet. "You underestimate this ship Commander." D'Elon just smiled, yet strangely, there was no malice or contempt in her voice. She was very calm. "I don't think any vessel can withstand being the epicentre of a singularity. Goodbye." The channel closed as Ttorkkinn reported. "The Tomalak is coming in from Port! And a Son'a vessel is approaching from.... dammit! The Son'a fired a subspace torpedo! And... somehow, the Tomalak has fired a.... sensors indicate they fired a black hole at us!"
"Can we get free!" Jenna hit the console with her palm. "Sorry Captain. That tractor beam is too powerful." Talaina stood up. "It's been an honour, and a privilege to serve with each and every one of you."


The subspace rupture tore through space, reaching the trapped defiant class ship at the same moment the projected quantum singularity did. Both detonated against the shields, causing massive fluctuations. Everyone on the Bridge had to shield their eyes as the energies of two completely unstable galactic phenonima, somehow harnessed by those who would unleash them on others, mixed in a way they never have before. The Tuffli quickly released it's tractor beam and moved away as subspace shockwaves started expanding out from the ship, each wave with a greater ferocisty than the last. Viper started listing to the side as space around it was torn asunder, enveloping the ship. The black hole quickly collapsed on itself, blasting a shockwave out across a light year, amplified by the subspace rift.



On the Bridge of the Tomalak, D'Elon sat in her chair, watching the scene unfold. She remained a perfect calm in the storm as her ship was buffeted around her. "Satra. Report." Her science officer and friend turned from her console. "Our singularity sealed the Son'a's subspace rift. There is no trace of the Starfleet vessel."
"Our records indicate the Republic leant that particular ship a cloak. Ensure it hasn't simply engaged it." D'Elon waited patiently for Satra to complete her sensor scans. "Negative sir. No trace of a cloaked ship."
"Excellent. Now, hail that Son'a vessel." She stood up as the Captain appeared on the viewscreen. "Son'a Commander. You are engaged in illegal activites. The vessel you attempted to procure cargo from via the Nausicaan pirates is a protectorate under the Romulan Star Empire. We have already dealt with your business partners. Stand down and we will not have to declare war on the Son'a."
"The Romulan Star Empire." The male captain sneered. "The Romulans are weak. Pathetic. You stand no chance against us."
"If you believe that, then open fire. Attack this ship. And see what happens."

The Son'a ship fired at the Tomalak, which took the hit to it's shields. D'Elon simply looked to Ta'el and nodded. The tactical officer input some commands, causing a series of small devices to decloak around the lead Son'a ship. Barely larger than a torpedo, the devices moved up against the shield perimeter and exploded, coating the Son'a ship with Thalaron radiation. The Son'a commander appeared on screen, his skin already fossilising. "You.... you monster! You....ggggghhhhh...." He collapsed to the ground. D'Elon looked to Ta'el. "Get me that other Son'a ship." The terrified Captain appeared on the screen. "Now. You will withdraw from this space. You will tell the Son'a command of what happened here. And you wil stay away from any Romulan business. Failure to comply will result in the eradication of your species. Do I make myself clear?"
"P-p-perfectly. We won't bother any Romulan again." As the Son'a ship turned and fled to warp, D'Elon sat back down, smiling at how that went. "Whatever else the Tal Shiar may be, they make good weapons. Analyse the performance of the devices. Inform Command the first test run appears to be successful, with a more detailed report to follow. And see if that freighter needs any assistence before we escort it back home."










The blackness slowly faded into a blurr of colour. Her mind was screaming at her to just lie down and go to sleep, but Talaina knew better. Acting more on instinct, she forced herself to open her eyes properly. The Viper was a mess of smoke and fire. People were injured but apparantly, they were intact. Groaning, she moved a hand under her and braced to push herself up, screaming as her arm completely gave out. Something was probably broken. She instead rolled over just as Ttorkkinn approached, offering a hand. Grasping it greatfully, she was hoisted to her feet and checked around. Injuries, but no fatalities on the bridge. "Report."
"I don't know what happened. But from what we can tell, we've somehow got thrown into a distant part of the galaxy. There's some kind of battle going on out there, so we've cloaked. The ship's badly banged up, but we're still alive. No reported fatalities. But the ship is going to need a drydock." Talaina slowly nodded. She looked at the viewscreen. Through the static, she could see a fleet of saucer shaped ships firing at large purple vessels. The large ships were easily a mile in size and looked like a spear with spikes growing out of it. Smaller fighters seemed to be flying between the ships, blasting at the saucers. A sudden coughing fit prompted Talaina to spit out some blood, wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve as she walked up to helm. "Where are we? Exactly?" Jenna had a bad cut to her forhead, blood gushing down her face. "Astrological charts are having trouble identifying our exact position. But the stars don't match up with known space, we know that much." Talaina looked up at the screen again. "Move us away from that. Slowly. We don't want to attract any attention from either party until we know what's going on here." Talaina moved over to Xui Li's station and read the engineering reports. "We're that screwed?" she asked to no one in particular. Ttorkkinn felt the need to answer anyway. "We've been in worse." A curse from Jenna made both officers turn around. Ttorkkin asked if there was a problem. "Sirs.... according to this, we're on the edge of a completely different galaxy. Further out than Andromeda. We'll never make it back to Federation space." Ttorkkinn blinked a couple of times as he processed that information. "I stand corrected." Talaina felt a pang of dispair at the news, but she was not going to let it show. She straightened up, assuming an air of authority. "We got here. That means there's a way back. We will see our homes again one day. Remember the Voyager."

"Voyager was only on the other side of the galaxy! We're in a completely different one!" Jenna slumped into her chair, resting her face in her hands. Talaina moved over to the young woman and put an arm around her shoulders. "It just means we'll have to work that much harder to make it. But make it we will. For we are Starfleet officers. If we hold to the ideals we took an oath to uphold, we will get back home. For now...." She turned to look at the viewscreen. "For now, we explore. We see what's out here. Technology brought us here, someone may have the technology to send us back. But we wont know until we search. Until we seek out those new civilisations. For out there..... is the final frontier."

Captain's log. The Viper has been lost in what we have identified as the Triangulum Galaxy, or M-33, for five days now. Our records show the Enterprise D once arrived in this galaxy early in it's career. Unfortunately, we don't have The Traveller to help us get back. We were able to find an asteroid with an atmosphere that allowed us to make repairs and we are heading out into this new frontier to find a way home. So far, we have yet to encounter any natives. Given the size of the battle we arrived in, I hope never to meet either of those.


Sensor scans show no sign of life supporting planets within sensor range. As we have no indication of which way would be the best, we have set a course towards the outer edge of the galaxy. Hopefully, we will find someone that can help before we must face the possibility of crossing the void between galaxies.




Talaina stood over Xui Li's console, watching the reports from Engineering. Commander Dotson's teams were working like crazy, slowly restoring one system after another. Talaina had already ordered everyone onto emergency rations and minimal power consumption. They only had a limited supply of deuterium and no easy way to replace it. It was times like this she wished they had a bigger ship. She could almost hear her mother.

"Now now Talaina. A true commander can make her ship do what she needs it to do. Motivate your crew, scrape what needs scraping, and you can survive."


Talaina blinked. That.... that sounded almost real. She turned to see her mother standing on the Bridge. "Mother? What are you doing here?"

"How should I know! I'm not a scientist."

T'Fon picked up a tricorder and started scanning. "Fascinating. She appears to be real."
"Of course I'm real. Why wouldn't I be?" Talaina stepped closer, cautious. "Because you're suppossed to be two galaxies over?"
"So are you."
"True, but I'm pretty sure you weren't on my ship when we got stranded here."
"Well, I'm somehow here now."

"And not helping matters Mother." Just like that, her Mother vanished. Talaina looked around. "Anyone care to tell me what that was?" A cooing from Xui Li's area took Talaina's attention before someone could answer. A tribble was sitting on the console of the startled woman. "Great. That's all we need. Xui Li, I thought I banned you from bringing your tribble collection on board."

"Yes Sir. You, ah, did Sir. And I did not. But, ah, this tribble just appeared." T'Fon stepped forward to grab everyone's attention. "Captain, I believe I have an answer. In the short time the Enterprise was here, they discovered thoughts became reality. I believe we are in the same area."
"That would certainly explain things. And if that is true....."


Talaina turned to the viewscreen, concentrating on their ship flying home. Instead, a sovereign class ship with modified warp nacelles warped in and hailed. Talaina frowned. "Not the response I was hoping for. Put them on screen." Her antenna flicked up slightly as the male Andorian that appeared identified himself.

"This is Captain Kazzur of the Federation starship Sentinel. How can we be of help?"
"Captain Kazzur.... of the Sentinel....."
"That is correct. To whom am I speaking?"
"Captain Kazzur, of the U.S.S. Viper."
"Coincidence?"
"I don't believe in them."
"Then something else?"
"Yes. Captain, I request permission to beam over."
"Granted. We'll be waiting."

As the viewscreen shut down, Talaina turned to leave. Ttorkkinn stepped close, falling in line to talk and walk. "Captain, is this a good idea? We have no guarantee that thing's even a real ship."
"Ttorkkinn, this is a strange place. We need to take risks if we are to ever get home. And I was thinking of getting this ship home when they appeared. Maybe they have the means to do so."
"And if we beam you into space?"
"I'll have the transporter maintain a lock on me at all times. I can survive a few minutes without an EV suit. Just make sure to beam me back quickly."



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Talaina materialised on the transporter pad. Before her stood the male Captain Kazzur, flanked by a Trill male, Chinese male and a betazed female. Captain Kazzur stepped forward. "Greetings Captain...." He paused and smiled. "Captain Kazzur. Allow me to introduce my senior staff. My First Officer, Commander Bearlo, my Chief of Operations, Lt Commander Zhong and my chief medical officer, Doctor Juffra."

Talaina looked at each one. "Interesting. It seems your crew are the same as mine. Except for two things. Commander Bearlo is still on board?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't he be?"
"On my ship, Commander Bearlo has taken an extended leave of absence."
"Ah. Nothing serious I hope?"
"Just some personal time."

Captain Kazzur nodded in understanding. "You said two things."
"Yes. It seems everyone on this ship has swapped genders."
Bearlo did a double take at hearing that. "Really? Interesting. Captains, I suggest we compare our ship logs, see if we can determine if we are in their universe, or they are in ours."
Kazzur nodded. "Set up a comm link and talk with their Bearlo. Or... your equivalant position."
Talaina interjected. "On my ship, that would be Commander T'Fon."
"Very well. Liase with her."
"Him."
Kazzur looked to Talaina. "Excuse me?"
"T'Fon is a male."
"But.... it's a woman's name."
"I know. I didn't ask."
"Ah. Bearlo, liase with him."
Bearlo nodded. "Yes Sir." He left to do just that with Zhong. Juffra started scanning Talaina with his tricorder. Talaina would have ordered the same thing in their position. After a few moments, Juffra flipped the instrument shut. "All scans check out Sir. This is you. Except for the obvious change in chromosome, it's you, even down to the DNA strands."

"Thank you Doctor. Dismissed. Captain Kazzur, let's walk. I'm sure you have the same questions I do."


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Talaina and Kazzur walked through the decks. It was eerie for Talaina, being on the Sentinel. It was the spitting image of her previous posting. Apparantly, this ship never got involved in the Gorn ambush, so was never destroyed. And Kazzur had been Captain since Stunshock retired to be with a Vulcan freighter captain a year ago. Which, in an odd twist, was the same time Talaina's Stunshock had been captured by the Gorn. The more Kazzur talked, the more Talaina saw herself in him. Their personalities were the same. They had a very similar upbringing. Their hopes and dreams were the same. It was surreal to say the least. Still, unusual situations were nothing new. Finally, talk came round to the situation. Bearlo and T'Fon had confirmed they were in Talaina's universe, which begged the question how Kazzur's ship got here. They hadn't passed through any portals or black holes. They had simply dropped out of warp here. Kazzur was a bit annoyed by the news, but took it in stride.

"We'll help the Viper with what we can, then fly together to find a way back home. For both our ships." Talaina nodded in agreement. "Just what I was going to suggest. The only thing Viper needs is deuterium. Our reserves were depleted in combat last week."
"Say no more. I'll have our surplus transferred over."
"Thank you Captain."
"You should probably return to your ship and begin preperation for a transfer of supplies."
"Makes sense. We'll talk again Captain."
"Until then Captain."

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Back on the Viper, Talaina sat down in the Captain's Chair. T'Fon and Xui Li were overseeing the transfer of supplies when Ttorkkinn came over to the Andorian. "What was it like over there?"
"Strange, yet familiar. They had all the characteristics we know each other to have, yet hearing it from a different perspective was odd. Yet, it also felt familiar. Strange thing though, they had no T'Fon. Not even a male version of him. No records of him in any of their database."
"Huh. Guess in their universe, he, or she, lived a very different life. Strange that so many things were the same, and some things were so different."
"I'm no quantum theorist. But they didn't loose the Sentinel, so there are clearly some differences." The comm went off, Xui Li informing them the supplies were all on board. No sooner did Talaina acknowledge the report, the Sentinel vanished on the screen. Talaina leapt to her feet. "REPORT!"

Ttorkkinn was already at the sensor station, running scans. "Nothing out there. No power signatures, nothing to suggest cloaking, no warp trails. It's just... gone." Talaina frowned. This was most concerting. "You mean it was another illusion from this.... mind space?"
"T'Fon could probably give a more definite answer when he gets up here, but it looks that way." Talaina checked the internal sensors. The deuterium and supplies were still on board. "This.... makes no sense. If the ship was illusionary, why are the supplies still here?"
"I have a better question." Talaina looked up to Ttorkkinn, waiting for him to continue. "If that was created from someone's mind, why were they all gender swapped? Someone on this ship must have created that."

Talaina stood up straight. "That is a worrying thought. Get those supplies stored properly. Jenna, set course for the Milky Way. Warp 5."

The image flickered on, showing a bunk. The camera was clearly resting on a table as Jenna crouched into view, her blonde bangs framing her young face as she smiled into the camera, resting her chin on her hands. "Hello camera. Ensign Jenna Jones here, on board the Federation Starship Viper. We've been lost in this galaxy for three weeks now, and I've decided to make a video of daily life on this ship, as a testament to the crew." There was a pause. "No, that's not right. I'm making it as a.... tribute? Yes, tribute to the crew of this ship." She reached for the camera, the image trying to stabilise as she picked it up and turned it around. It swung sideways to look in a mirror, showing Jenna with the camera mounted over her head on a band. She smiled and shook herself quickly. "Seems steady. Ok. Let's go!"



The scene shifted to a corridor. "First port of call is the mess hall. This is a Defiant class ship, so we're a bit sparse on amenities. No holodecks. No arboretums. Nothing except this room." The door opened to show the small mess hall. Most of the tables were taken by crew members in uniforms. "You'll notice most of the crew are in uniforms. That's because we were meant to be on short term assignment between putting into dock, so most people haven't packed alot of clothes. Needless to say, after three weeks, people are starting to notice." The camera moved through the mess hall. Claire Dotson was at one of the tables, her voice becoming audiable. "I'm just saying, it's a shame we didn't stay in that region of space where thoughts became reality. We could have just thought up a wormhole home." The young man in the blue science division uniform shook his head. "No, we tried that, remember. The wormhole just dumped the probe out in the void between universes." Claire sat up straighter. "Really? Don't forget, I was cooped up in Engineering for most of that time."
"Yeah. T'Fon said something about reality not being powerful enough to get us across two galaxies, or some such rubbish."
"Well, I suppose if a Vulcan said it, it must be true." Claire leaned forward closer to her friend. "Here, you work with T'Fon. Has he ever explained his name?"
"Nope. And I didn't want to ask. I figure it's something personal."



Both stopped talking and looked at the camera. Claire frowned. "Something I can help you with Ensign?"
"I'm recording the daily life on board the Viper. For prosperity."
"Well don't film me. I know how films can be edited to make people look bad."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to edit anything."
"Well, I suppose it's something to do when you're off duty. Carry on."


Before Jenna could reply, the ship went to Red Alert. Claire grumbled as she kicked the chair from under her and filed out of the room with everyone else. The camera shook violently as Jenna ran towards the Bridge. Technically she wasn't on duty, but she thought she may as well report since she was awake.



The door to the lift opened as the ship shook. Ttorkkinn was standing at the weapons console, wearing some new armour Jenna hadn't seen before. Talaina sat in her chair issuing orders. Another shake erupted an explosion from helm. Talaina shouted for someone to get on helm. The camera surged forward as Jenna shouted "On it!" The view sat at the console, showing the readouts. There was an alien vessel attacking them and a second craft, much smaller, drifting nearby. The camera's view remained fixed on the console, but the voices of others could still be heard. Talaina ordered weapons trained on the saucer and Strike Pattern Alpha Three. Jenna's fingers were seen dancing over the console, the readouts showing the Viper looping lazily around the saucer ship before pulling a sharp upwards bank and corckscrewing in towards the target. The whine of the phaser cannons cried out through the bridge. Viper quickly banked sharply down to the left and out of weapons range of the ship, completing the attack pattern. Ttrokkinn's voice stated the ship had taken heavy damage and was withdrawing. Talaina ordered the ship to pull alongside the transport pod. Identifying the drifting ship as said pod, Jenna moved the ship alongside and stopped. Talaina's voice spoke louder. "This is Captain Kazzur of the Viper. We have responded to your distress call. Can we be of further assistance?" The camera shifted upwards to show a blue woman with yellow mottling across her skin on the viewscreen. She spoke very calmly. "Thank the Goddess you came. Our pod is badly damaged. My friend and I request to come aboard."

"Stand by. We'll transport you over."
"Thank you."


The comm was cut. The camera swung backwards, Jenna obviously turning in her chair, to show Talaina speaking with Xui Li, but the camera couldn't pick up what was said. Xui Li nodded and left the Bridge. Talaina then came over to the camera. "Good work Jenna. We can handle it here if you want to go get some rest."
"Thank you Sir." The camera moved again as Jenna stood up and left the Bridge.



In the corridor, Jenna started narrating again. "So, it looks like we are going to have two new guests on board. I certainly picked a good day to start this project. Maybe I'll even get to see them. That would be sweet." The camera turned a corner and stopped. Ahead stood the bald blue woman and a male who looked human, but half of his face was covered by a metal mask. It seemed a very plain mask, except it was strapped to his head securely. The camera was picking up a faint haze around both aliens. "Oooh. Our first non hostile contact since we got here. This is exciting." Xui Li lead them through a door that closed behind them. "Well, looks like that's all the excitement for today. This is the trouble on such a small ship. Nothing actually happens on board. Excitement has to come to us. Maybe something good will happen tomorrow." The camera shut off.









The camera turned back on. Once again, it showed the bunk with Jenna crouched in front of the table. "Well, here we are on Day Two of Jenna's Viper Diary. No, that's a terrible name. I guess I'll just call it a video log. Oh! A Vlog! That sounds like a good name. Day Two of Jenna's Vlog. Let's go see what's happening in the ship." She picked up the camera and put it on her head again, then made her way into the corridor. "The most important part starting any day is breakfast. You have to have a good hearty breakfast to get going. Of course, Replicator rations means we can't have big meals, but a nice glass of orange juice and some warm porridge always gets me ready." The door to the mess opened to a very busy room. Officers were stood around, along with the two guests from yesterday. The camera still showed an aura around them. Jenna approached T'Fon. "Good morning Sir." T'Fon turned and gave the traditional Vulcan salute. "Good morning to you Ensign."
"Sir, if I may ask, what are the two guests still doing on board? I thought we would have repaired their ship by now."
"A malfunction in their engine caused their transport pod to explode. The Captain has offered to grant them safe passage back to their homeworlds in the hope of making an ally."
"Huh. I'll go say hello."
"Be careful Ensign. The male is somewhat.... unbalanced."


The camera moved closer to the two guests. The female turned and smiled warmly, her yellow eyes seeming to invite instant trust. She stood straight, moving gracefully and with purpose. Her robes were a mixture of translucant colours, mostly a mix of blues, greens and yellows. But the man was a completely different story. He was slightly hunched, his hands constantly moving in spasms. His clothes were more earthy coloured, a very worn jacket hinted it had been worn far too long. His one eye was wide and crazed. The woman spoke first. "Greetings child. I am Pa'U Naahz. And this is my friend Trarsk. You're Captain was kind enough to give us safe passage on your vessel."
"Welcome aboard. I'm Jenna." As the two women exchanged pleasantries, Trarsk kept glancing off screen at something, clearly quite agitated and quietly muttering about evil deception, lies and masks. The battery life on the camera started flashing before the picture cut out.






The picture came back showing Jenna's bunk. She was crouched in front of the camera again. "Well that was embarrassing. I forgot to charge up the battery. And I didn't even realise until the end of the day. Well, you didn't miss much. Though...." Jenna's face slowly dropped, her tone becoming softer. "We did find Naahz and Trarsk's homeworld. Or what was left of it. The entire planet was a destroyed husk. They say they didn't take sides in the war, but something clearly changed while they were away. Sensors showed it happened in the past couple of weeks. But.... there was nothing left. Trarsk was saying when he beamed down that he could hear the screams of the dying. He could feel them passing on. I... I don't know if he could, or if he was just insane. But Naahz seemed to believe him. They said there was over nine billion when they left. A lush world full of wonder and beauty. But now, it was just molten rock and an atmosphere that was forever burning." Jenna wiped a tear away from her cheek. "They had no colonies. No where else to go. Unless there were some others offworld at the time, they are the last of their species. It...." Jenna put her head down on the desk and wiped another tear away. "It's times like that.... it makes you wonder who could be capable of such horrible acts. What sort of galaxy is this, where entire worlds can be destroyed in a matter of days. We've seen ships from both sides of this war during our time here, but we have never learnt anything about it. The Captain thinks Naahz and Trarsk can help fill in some of the details, but they're distracted. Understandable. I didn't grow up on a planet. Well, I did sorta. For about eleven years. But it wasn't a good time. Certainly not enough to give an emotional attachment to. I wish I knew what they were feeling. I wish there was a way I could help them. But... I.... I just don't know how to. The Captain has offered them a place with us on the ship, at least until they figure out what they want to do. Space is a bit cramped, but we'll manage." She frowned as she thought about something. "Funny thing, when I went over what I'd recorded, there was a strange haze around both of them on the camera, but no one can see one. I should probably report that to Ttorkkinn. Probably nothing, but just in case."


Jenna sighed. "Maybe this Vlogging is a bad idea. But then it's not like there's anything else to do to pass the time. I don't know. At the least, it's worth it to get some things off my chest. We'll see if I do any more." She reached for the camera and the video shut off.

Captain's Log. After six months stranded in Galaxy M-33, the Viper has finally reached the edge of the galaxy. We have suffered casualties, we have made new friends. The war between the two factions almost crippled us when they sought out our cloaking device, but the crew were able to fight them off and make what repairs to the ship they could. Before we proceed further, I award a commendation for every member of the crew.


Before us lies the vast emptyness between galaxies. There will be no planets. There will be no help. There will be no enemies. Xui Li predicts it will take us nearly one hundred years to cross into Andromeda. As very few of the crew will live that long, I am hesitant to commit ourselves to such a journey. The Viper is not designed for long term missions. We are already running with patched systems and pushing her beyond her operational limits. I believe the best course of action would be to locate an inhabited star system and try to modify our engines in some way.



Talaina sat in the chair, staring at the screen. Scorch marks were still on the walls from that boarding party two months ago. Computer panels remained dark, either damaged beyond repair or shut down to save energy. The lighting was dark, as if they were running under cloak, even though that device had been disconnected a long time ago simply due to how much power it drew. Everyone had adjusted to the dark conditions. Talaina wondered how Voyager had been able to come back to Earth looking so new. Trarsk and Naahz had not been helpful as guides, having long past the region they lived in. Talaina was surprised they had remained on board. Still, they had been offered the chance to leave the ship back at that trader's yard. They had declined the offer. The screen showed black. Nothing but black. "It's funny. Why isn't there a barrier at this galaxy?"

Ttorkkinn was stood beside the chair in the TRT armour, something he and the rest of the squad wore perminantly now.The beefed up Saurian blinked and looked down to his Captain. "Excuse me?"
"The Great Barrier. Starfleet records indicate our galaxy has some kind of energy barrier around it's outer edge. I'm wondering why this galaxy doesn't have one."
"Maybe for the same reason some planets are Class M, and some are Class D. Random quirks of nature."
"Maybe.


Xui Li spoke up from her console. "Captain, sensors are, ah, picking up a vessel beyond the, ah, Galactic Rim."
"Status of it?"
"It appears to, ah, be adrift. No power detected." Ttorkkinn leaned forward. "Might be something on that thing we can salvage to get home faster."
"Take an away team. And I don't need to tell you to be careful." Talaina shifted slightly in the seat. It hadn't been right ever since that bullet tore through the back. The Defiant class ship eased itself out into the black. The vessel was reached within a matter of minutes. The large imposing hulk was black, blending into the dark perfectly. A large box with six curved 'sails' extruding from the top and another one from underneath. The stub of another sail was evident underneath, orange plasma burning into space. There were no windows on the ship or identifying marks of any kind. Sections of the hull were torn open, revealling the decks within. From this distance, it was hard to see any details inside.



The transporter beam dropped Ttorkkinn, Karry, Grimworm, Xui Li and T'Fon into the middle of a dark corridor. Xui Li and T'Fon wore environmental suits, the others being protected by their TRT armour. T'Fon took out his tricorder and started scanning. Ttorkkinn and Grimworm triggered their helmet lights, casting them around. The walls were made from the same black material as the hull. Alien writings were scribbled across them haphazardly. The floor was a metal grating. T'Fon finished his scan. "It appears life support is not operational. This section has minimal air pressure, and it is decreasing slowly. It is logical to surmise there is a minor hull fracture in this compartment. I would suggest we not remove our breathing apparatus." Ttorkkinn nodded. "Xui Li, Grimworm, Karry. You go that way and see if you can find a computer terminal. Proceed carefully and maintain contact at all times. T'Fon and I will head this way and try to locate the Bridge."

Grimworm led the way down the corridor, keeping his assault minigun handy. "You picking up any signs of life?" Xui Li checked her tricorder again. "No. Nothing. Wait. I'm detecting, ah, a large biomass in the compartment ahead." Karry slipped past to take the lead. Approaching the door, she cast a quick glance to Xui Li for confirmation it was the right door. Seeing the nod, she started checking it for any traps. "Looks clean. But I don't see any door panels." Grimworm approached the door. "Easily sorted." He slid his fingers between the cracks and strained with all his might to open them. He was visibly shaking from the effort but a deafening screech yielded the doors. Inside was too dark to see, even with the torches. "Wait here Commander." Grimworm moved in and shuffled to the left, Karry moving in and sweeping right. The two dissapeared into the dark. Xui Li frowned. How odd. She should still be able to see their helmet lights. "Zhong to Grimworm. Can you, ah, hear me?" Silence. "Zhong to Karry." Silence.



Ttorkkinn opened the doors and scanned the room beyond with his rifle. It was pitch black. T'Fon scanned the area. "No signs of life, but this does appear to be the Bridge."
"Keep alert. I have a bad feeling about this."

The two officers entered the room. From what they could tell by their flashlights, there were some consoles in the centre of the room, all facing inwards towards a central chair, obviously for the commander. Metal grated stairs went up to a level that extended around the room. T'Fon approached the nearest console and tapped it. "There does not appear to be any power. I will attempt to see if I can power up one of the consoles, it may provide us with information." As the Vulcan worked, Ttorkkinn worked his way around the Bridge. His boots barely made a sound as he slowly moved to the upper level. "T'Fon, I've found something." T'Fon made his way up the stairs and knelt beside Ttorkkinn. Some kind of mess was bathed in the flashlight. It was clearly a body of some kind, but it had been eviscerated beyond any hope of recognition. T'Fon ran his tricorder over it. "It is some kind of organic matter. Most likely one of the crew."

"Can you tell how long ago it died?"
"Negative. Without a frame of reference for this species, I am unable to create a cellular decay rate profile. And the vacuum we are in would disrupt such readings."
"Ok. Store his genetic profile. We may find his species and they would probably like to know what happened."


Ttorkkinn stood up and resumed his search of the Bridge. T'Fon recorded what he could about the alien. A whisper in his ear caused him to spin around. No one was behind him. And even if there was, they wouldn't be able to whisper in his ear through the EV suit. The voice whispered again. Perhaps the comms were malfunctioning. He ran a quick diagnostic but no faults were reported. He focused on what the voice was saying. It almost seemed like the creature was the one talking. T'Fon stared at the mess on the floor. Some kind of spectral entity? He reached out a gloved hand towards it.





Xui Li moved cautiously through the room. Though her lights were on, nothing was visible. Even when she touched a wall, she could see her hand in front of her, but not the wall. Her stomach was in knots, but she knew she had to push on, if only to find Grimworm and Karry. Suddenly, a yelp from ahead was followed by rapid phaser fire. Grimworm was firing his Minigun at something. Xui Li took a deep breath and started jogging. She slammed straight into a wall, her nose squishing against her visor. Wriggling it to try and work the numbness off, she turned right and started moving. She checked her tricorder. Two lifesigns ahead, and it was able to scan the walls so she didn't run into them again. Coming around a corner, she found Grimworm on the floor, hysterical. Karry was trying to settle him, but the Hulkanian was ignoring her. Xui Li ran up to them. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He just went crazy. He's just babbling. We need to get him back to Viper." While Karry tried to calm him, Xui Li tapped the comm unit on her wrist and ordered an emergency beamout.







Talaina stormed into the Viper's transporter room. Grimworm was trying to fight his way out of security's grip. Karry was trying to calm him and T'Fon was comatose on the floor. She marched up to Ttorkkinn who was taking his helmet off. "What happened?"
"We split into two teams. T'Fon and I took the bridge. Power was out but no sign of trouble. We found one of the crew members ripped apart. There wasn't much of him left. I continued to secure the Bridge, next thing I know, T'Fon screams and collapses. I beam us back to Viper. Moments later, those three beam up reporting something happened to Grimworm."
Talaina nodded and looked over to Juffra as he sedated Grimworm. She and Ttorkkinn picked up T'Fon and carried him towards the medbay as security helped move Grimworm.




It had been an hour. Talaina stood in the cramped sickbay as Juffra came over with his report. "Scans are showing an increased neural activity in both of them. Something over there hyperstimulated regions of their brain that controls their telepathy." Talaina frowned. "Grimworm has telepathy?"
"Very, very minute. It's an evolutionary leftover from thousands of years ago. To be honest, I'd be surprised if any of his species even registered it. I've started them on a treatment of cortical suppressors to try and bring their activity down. They should wake up in a few hours. Little shaken, but they should make a full recovery."

"Thank you Doctor. Keep me informed of any developments."





Captain's Log. I have decided to head back towards populated space. Viper is not equipped for an extra-galactic journey and I have no desire to get my crew killed. Trarsk has pointed us towards where he believes a technologically advanced society resides, though he could be getting it confused with the home of the Space Whales. I guess we'll find out soon enough.



Night had fallen on the ship. Ensign Jenna Jones walked through the corridor, carrying a mug of warm cocoa with a hint of nutmeg and a dash of whiskey. She'd had trouble sleeping so decided to try a remedy her foster father had told her. It certainly helped calm her down enough to sleep back on the Crothers. If only replicators in quarters hadn't been shut down to save on power, but the advantage of such a small ship is that everything is close by. She took a sip, enjoying the warm sensation as it flowed through her. She could already feel the tension slipping away. She walked up to her door and pushed the button. With a sigh of contentment, she stepped inside, but paused. Her right foot had felt like it was in something sticky. She looked down. The pink furry slipper slurped as she lifted her foot up. A red stain was underneath it. How odd. No stain was there when she left. Frowning, she crouched down to get a better look.

"No. That can't be right."

Because of where she grew up, Jenna knew a blood pool when she saw one. She looked around. No blood was on the walls, just blast patterns and they had been there for weeks. Her gaze lifted upwards. A red stain seeped through the roof. Jenna quickly moved inside her quarters and hit the comm panel.

"This is Jenna. I need security at my quarters."






Talaina rubbed both eyes with a finger and thumb. She was shattered at having been woken at this time of night, but some things couldn't wait. And the broken corpse of Ensign Neil Redshirt was one of them. The poor guy had freaked when he was assigned to a Security detail. And who could blame him, with a name like Redshirt? Everyone knew the songs that went around the Academy Campus. His name had finally caught up to him. Bob Juffra finished his examination and stood up.

"Almost every bone in his body has been broken."
"I'm not surprised, the way he was stuffed in the ceiling."
"No, I don't mean at the joints. His bones have been snapped in half. Something powerful did this."
"Someone on the crew?"
"Hmm. Grimworm is the only one with the strength to do this without any mechanical help. But he's still in sickbay."
"Is he?"
"Well. He was when I went off shift. I'll check in on him when I take Neil's remains there."
"Very well. Jenna, are you going to be ok in your quarters tonight, or would you like to move?"
Jenna had been standing inside her door, cradling an empty mug. She was clearly shaken by the discovery. "I'll be ok Captain. I saw much worse on my homeworld."
"Ok. Goodnight Ensign." Talaina then tapped her commbadge. "Kazzur to Ttorkkinn. We have an issue."





Trarsk walked down the corridor, his eye wide in panic. Someone had been brutally killed on the ship. He knew it. He felt their soul scream in agony in their final minutes, but he hadn't been able to do anything about it. "Oh me oh no oh my. Haunted death stalks this ship of graves. Soon all will cross to the other side, and I shall be left alone to atone for my sins." He saw the Chief Engineer on the floor up ahead, working on some conduits in the wall. "Chief, did you hear?" Claire Dotson took the plasma torch out of her mouth and shuffled sideways to look at the guy. "Hear what?"
"There's been a murder on this ship. An innocent man cut down in his prime."
Claire extracted herself from the wall. "What are you talking about?"

"It's all over the ship. Someone was murdered, and they think it was one of the crew." Trarsk paused when he sensed strong emotions from Claire. She visibly tensed up and became agitated. Trarsk's eye widened as he realised why. "You? You did it? But-" He was cut off when Claire slammed him against the wall and held the Plasma Torch to his neck, the prickly heat from the tool far too uncomfortable. "Now you listen to me you little runt. No Jem'Hadar are innocent. I did what I had to do to avenge Betazed. I haven't been found out yet, and I'll be damned if I'll let some hitchiking freak squeal on me. You say anything to anyone, and I'll burn your throat out. Understood?"

Trarsk nodded quickly. "I wont tell. You have my word I wont tell. I swear on the Moons of Grazthinka I won't tell a soul about your secret." Claire narrowed her eyes before releasing him. Without saying a word, she turned back to the panel and crouched down. Trarsk wearily moved around her. "But... the victim was a human." Claire looked back up at him. "What?"

Around the corner, a figure remained motionless, listening to everything. It silently moved away.






Captain's Log. We have discovered another murder on board. One of our passengers, Naahz, has been found behind one of the warp relays. Her throat was cut with what appears to be a plasma torch. I have ordered a full stop of the ship until we can get to the bottom of this.



Talaina stood to the side, watching Trarsk mourn his blue friend. Sickbay was feeling especially cramped right now. Ttorkkinn and Juffra held a respectful gaze. Trarsk was in tears, babbling incoherantly. Talaina turned from the guests. "Do we have any clues?" The Saurian shook his head. "Whoever's doing it knows how to avoid security detection. It's someone with technical skill."
"Bob, can you sense anything from the crew?"
The Betazed paused a moment while he reached out with his mind. "I'm sensing.... alot of apprihension. Understandable, considering. To be honest, without doing a person by person scan of their mind, I can't pick up anything specific."
"I'll tell you who it was." Trarsk looked over from the bed. He firmly clasped Naahz's hand. "It was that engineer Dotson. She threatened me with a plasma torch. Just like this. She's killed before. She'll kill again."

Talaina's antennas pricked up. "Commander Dotson? That's some serious charges. Do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence? EVIDENCE?! She held a tool against my neck and threatened to burn my throat out! Kill me! Silence me, like a Grishna cat to the slaughter. She's done this to hurt me. And hurt me she has." His gaze returned to his beloved. "Be at peace now my love. May the Goddess watch over your pure soul, and forever fly the stars."



Talaina turned to the other two. "We need to talk to Dotson. My quarters. Ttorkkinn, have some security there."





The human woman just sat there. She didn't react when Talaina challenged her. Juffra and Ttorkkinn flanked either side of their captain. Talaina sighed and leaned forward, folding her arms on the desk. "Commander, just answer truthfully, and this can all be over. You've been accused of threatening behaviour, and murder. If you answer the question, we can forget about this and all go back to finding the true killer."

Dotson took in a deep breath. "I did not kill Redshirt. Or Naahz." Juffra leant over to whisper in Talaina's ear. "She's not lying about that, but she is very nervous. Strong feelings of guilt, and a desire to hide something." Talaina simply nodded. "Ok." She sighed before rubbing her eyes with a finger and thumb. "Claire. We're trying to find a murderer. The sooner you tell us, the sooner this will end. You know you can't lie with a Betazoid in the room."


Claire set her jaw and crossed her arms. "I reserve the right to remain silent."

Talaina leaned back, considering her options. Claire had her right to privacy. There was no guarantee what she was hiding was anything even remotely related to the murders. But then again, Trarsk had claimed she assaulted him, threatened him with death. That just couldn't be ignored. And she certainly wasn't acting like an innocent party. "Ok Commander Dotson. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't consider this. But we are far from any help, and there's already been two deaths on board. I'm not going to sit here and let that go unanswered. Either tell us what you're hiding, or Commander Juffra here will have to extract the information himself." Talaina ignored the look of surprise on Bob's face. Claire remained motionless. "You can't do that. You're a Starfleet officer. You have a code of conduct to maintain."
"I have a crew to protect. I would haul you in front of a tribunal and do this properly if we were in the Alpha Quadrant. But we're not. I would prefer you simply tell us. But one way or another, we will find out."


Ttorkkinn leaned in and whispered. "If we start crossing the boundaries of personal freedoms, we begin-"
"We'll discuss this later." The Saurian simply straightened back up. Dotson remained defiant, so Talaina sighed. "Commander Juffra. If you would." The Betazoid concentrated on Claire. The group was silent as the seconds ticked by. Claire started twitching, fighting the invasion but she wasn't trained to fight telepathy. Bob frowned as he recovered what he was looking for and turned to Talaina. "She is innocent of the murders today, but she is guilty of killing Mirat and the other members of the Dominion Delegation last year. Some kind of revenge plot."
Talaina shook her head in frustration. "Consider yourself suspended from active duty until further notice and confined to your quarters. Do you have anything to say in your defence?"
"Only that they deserved it."

Talaina made no movement. After a beat, she called Security in to take her away. Once the door was shut, she let out a loud exhasperated sigh. "That solves one mystery. But still not who's doing the murders now. Bob, I'm sorry I made you do that." Ttorkkinn moved around to the other side of the desk so he could face his Captain fully. "I hope that doesn't become a habit. Once we start stripping away people's freedoms, we become no better than the Borg, or Cardassians." Talaina shifted her gaze to meet Ttorkkinn's, unimpressed. "I'm well aware we need to be careful about it. And it's not something I intend to repeat. If I can help it. But we are not a few days from a Starbase. We can't just call up the legal department and have them put someone on trial. We're out here alone, and when someone starts picking off members of my crew, you can be damned sure I'm going to do what I have to in order to safeguard them. If that means I need to.... bend, a few moral rules once in a while, then so be it."
"Just be careful Captain. When you justify it the first time, it's easier to do so again."
"I'm sure you'll prevent that from happening."


Talaina turned to Bob, who had been unusually quiet. "Bob? You ok?"
"No." The Betazoid was quiet, clearly unnerved. "I can sense a presence. A powerful entity on board. One with strong hatred for all life."
"Is it the killer?"
"Yes."
"Who is it?"
"T'Fon."




The Vulcan walked up to an intersection and abruptly stopped. Karry was stood before him, sword in hand. "Lieutenant, what appears to be the matter?"
"We know T'Fon. So just come quietly and there won't be trouble."
"I do not understand. To what are you referring?" T'Fon looked around. Grimworm, Ttorkkinn and Talaina all approached from the various corridors, flanked by security teams. Doctor Juffra was also present, but keeping back. The Captain was the one who answered. "We know you've been the one killing members of the crew. We're here to take you in." A shadow of anger crossed T'Fon's face. "Oh I don't think that will be happening Captain. I am stronger than any of you here."
"Not all of us. TRT. Take him in."

Karry, Grimworm and Ttorkkinn all approached, keeping their weapons trained on him. T'Fon moved with lightning speed, slapping the blade out of Karry's hand and punching her in the face. As she staggered back, nose broken and gushing blood, T'Fon spun around and punched his bare hand through Ttorkkinn's armour. Another swift punch sent the Saurian flying against the bulkhead, broken ribs puncturing a lung. He started gasping for breath, the life support in his armour trying to keep him alive. T'Fon was about to pounce on Talaina when an armoured hand almost the size of his head clamped around his face and slammed him into the wall. His feet flailed in the air, but Grimworm held tight onto his prisoner. Karry picked up her sword and moved beside Grimworm, but T'Fon was not yet done. Looping an arm over Grimworm's, he slammed his other palm in an upwards strike at the elbow. Even through the armour, the joint snapped upwards, releasing the Vulcan. Grimworm staggered back and Karry slashed her sword. T'Fon caught the blade between his hands and yanked it from her grasp. Phaser fire struck the Vulcan from behind but he didn't go down. Talaina ordered the settings to be higher and they fired again, Karry using her quick martial arts strikes to keep his focus on her. T'Fon backflipped away from Karry and swung at the security, knocking them down.


Bob was tending to Ttorkkinn. He'd stabilised him but needed to get him to sickbay. But when he saw the Vulcan beating up the others, he knew he had to do something. This was not a normal Vulcan. And so, for the second time today, Bob was forced against his principals. He mentally invaded another person's mind without their consent.




T'Fon's mind was chaos. Vibrant colours flashed in whisps around Bob. He looked around. Nearby, he saw T'Fon held in a tiny cage, barely bigger than he was. Bob moved towards it. "T'Fon. What's going on?"
"Doctor. I appear to be trapped. Something has taken over my mind."
"Wrong T'Fon." The voice was alien, slightly screechy. Bob turned around to see who it belong to and gasped in terror. Behind Bob had appeared an Undine!


The creature from Fluidic Space continued. "This is MY mind. You, T'Fon. You are the invader. For too long I remained amongst your kind. In your form. I pretended to be you for so long, I began to believe I WAS you. But now, that psychic trail from that ship reawakened my true mind. I am myself once more." Bob was terrified. But he knew he was the only hope, not just for his shipmates, but to bring the T'Fon personality back into domanance. "T'Fon. You and I will need to work together to beat this thing. I know your mind is strong. With my help, we can put things right."
"How pitiful. The T'Fon personality is nothing more than a cover. It does not exist."
"Yes. I do."


T'Fon grabbed Bob's hand, establishing a mental link. The cage dissapeared around the Vulcan. "For you see, a Vulcan's brain may be inferior to your mental capacity, but my brain is not Vulcan. My brain is Undine. And the mental link I now share with Doctor Juffra is stronger than your mind by itself."

"What?" The Undine fired white pulses from it's head. Each one struck the two officers, lighting their nerves on fire. But they stood firm. They could fight this creature. The Undine moved towards them. "The weak shall perish."

Bob lifted his chin slightly. "And you. Are. WEAK!"

The two officers channeled a psychic blast at the Undine. It's body started glowing before it exploded. The two officers collapsed from exhaustion. "Doctor. Are you ok?"
"Yes T'Fon. I will be. But I need to break the link."

Without waiting for a reply, Bob severed the link and collapsed on the floor.




A few hours later, Talaina sat in her quarters. T'Fon, Grimworm, arm in a sling, Karry and Bob were also present, though Grimworm and Karry were there purely for security. The Andorian had been told what happened. She hated mental type things, almost as much as she hated time travel. "So, T'Fon. You believe you are in full control?"
"Yes Captain. The Undine presence has been removed, thanks to Doctor Juffra."
"Even though, I want you to wear that neural monitor at all times. We can't afford the risk of having it return and cause more carnage."
"I understand. A sensible precaution Captain. I also request to be taken off all Away Team duties until such a time we are confident the Undine will not return."
"You will be kept off ALL active duty for the time being."
"Understood."
"Dismissed."

As the Vulcan, human and Hulkanian left, Talaina turned to Bob, who was resting on the bunk. "Honest answer Bob. Will it return?" The doctor sighed and shrugged. "I honestly can't answer that Captain. This wasn't a case of an alien presence invading the mind of a Vulcan. This was the case of someone being undercover so long, that personality developed it's own sentience. Multiple personality disorder. T'Fon's body is still morphed into that of a Vulcan, but as you saw, with the Undine strength. Frankly, I'd be surprised if it didn't come back some day. Does explain his name though."
"Oh? How so?"
"You know how he has a woman's name? Well.... translation mixup when the Undine took on the role."
Talaina nodded. "And here I always thought it was some deep, complex backstory, like honouring a deceased sibling or mother figure. At any rate, keep an eye on his neural patterns."
"I've already rigged the computer to alert me the instant it detects them raising."
"Good. Let's hope we can get home before it happens. We can't afford to lose anyone else out here."



In his quarters, T'Fon slept. He rolled over towards the wall and quitely mumbled "The weak shall perish."

The Viper tumbled out of the wormhole. Thrusters fired, stopping the ship in it's tracks. Talaina sat in the command chair, gripping the armrests. "Report!" T'Fon reported from the science station. "We were drawn through a wormhole. Sensors indicate...." He turned in his chair. "Captain, we appear to be in high orbit of Andoria." Talaina's antenna pipped up. "On screen."

Sure enough, there it was. The white marble in space. The frozen wasteland of home. Talaina felt a slight pang of homesick at seeing it. Though she hadn't been back there in a couple of years, being lost in another galaxy for four months was enough to make anyone long for their planet. "Xui Li, start scanning for any ships or Federation transmissions."

"Captain." T'Fon's calm voice cut in. "I do not believe you will find any. Star positioning puts us over six thousand years in the past." Talaina thumped an armrest in frustration. She knew it was too good to be true. "Is the wormhole still there?"
"Yes Sir."
Talain sighed. At least she got to see her homeworld. But it was not the world she knew. She could cloak the ship and put the crew in stasis for six thousand years, but that was not a viable option. Too many things could go wrong. "Very well. Helm, take us back though the wormhole. We'll have to find another way back."

"Captain, this is curious." Talaina looked at T'Fon as he raised an eyebrow. "I am detecting a single Tribble lifesign on the planet."
"A Tribble? They aren't meant to be on Andoria."
"No Sir. They... Hmmm. The lifesign has gone."
"Gone?"
"Yes Sir. I suggest-"
"An away team to investigate. Minimal crew. Xui Li, you don't have any of your tribble collection onboard, do you?"
"No Sir. I, ah, have followed your orders not to have, ah, Tribbles on board."
Talaina got to her feet and walked off the bridge, muttering. "Then where the hell did it come from?" As she walked, she realised she had just used a Terranism. She'd never used one of them before.





Talaina and T'Fon materialised in the middle of a blizzard on an arctic tundra. Flat ice fields were all that could be seen in the poor visibility. Both were wearing thick coats, snowshoes, gloves and goggles. Though T'Fon had his hood up, Talaina left hers down. She smiled at the biting cold, snow whipping around her antenna, her usual free hanging ponytail tucked tightly into her coat collar to stop it blowing around, but T'Fon pulled his fur hood further over his head, snuggling deeper into the coat. He scanned the area and pointed to the side, shouting over the howling wind. "I BELIEVE IT'S OVER THERE!" The two officers carefully made their way through the snow until T'Fon stopped and pointed at the ground. Talaina knelt down and started scooping away snow with gloved hands. It was only a few seconds before she uncovered a hard ball of fluff. Holding it up, she tapped the Tribble. No reaction at all. "IT'S FROZEN SOLID! POOR THING MUST HAVE DIED ALMOST INSTANTLY!"
"GOOD! THE TIMELINE SHOULD BE INTACT THEN!"
Talaina fumbled to doubletap her commbadge, signalling a beamout. With the officers recovered, the Viper turned and flew back through the wormhole, back to Galaxy M33...

Captains Log. The Viper is approaching the star system Trarsk believes will be able to help us get out of this galaxy and return to our own. And not a moment too soon. The crew has performed well beyond what they should have to tolerate. And this ship... Defiant class vessels were not meant to operate continuously for so long without putting into a drydock. Hopefully our salvation will be just ahead of us. Given the date in the human calander, Ensign Jones has decided it would be good for morale to celebrate a human tradition called 'Christmas'. She says tomorrow is the big day, but I've authorised a small celebration in the Mess Hall today since we will hopefully be too busy establishing a way home tomorrow. Everyone has agreed to donate some of their replicator rations to making the event a festive one. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of having some fat man enter your house every year. If he tried that on Andoria, he'd probably end up with a broken arm or two. Still, the humans seem to be enjoying it.



Jenna stood in the Mess Hall with a cup of eggnog. Ttorkkinn and Trarsk were with her, and nearly all forty surviving members of the crew were also present. The room was crammed with joyous cheer and traditional music. The Saurian was trying to explain the story behind Christmas to Trarsk who seemed genuinely interested in the religious holiday. Though Ttorkkinn was getting most of it wrong. Jenna couldn't supress a smile as she interrupted. "I'm sorry Sir, but Santa Claus wasn't born under a tree, and three stars certainly didn't land in a field and turn some sheep into lumps of coal. You're actually confusing.... quite a bit." She went on to explain about the origin of it with Jesus, leading to the growth of the holiday via St Nick and onto Father Christmas. While Trarsk stared eye wide at the story, hanging on every word, Ttorkkinn took a sip of brandy and cast a glance around the room. He didn't particularly care about some ancient human festivity, but it did seem to be lifting the crew's spirits. Captain Kazzur, Xui Li, T'Fon, Dotson (obviously), Kaplin and Brotha were not here, the first two manning the Bridge, the last two in Engineering and T'Fon was still coming to terms with his truth. He spotted Karry and Grimworm dancing close to each other. Those two had been getting close over the past few months. He'd noticed they had a close friendship dating back to the days on the Sentinel, but this forced closeness seemed to be pushing them together. As long as they didn't let it interfere with their duties, he had no problem. And he was confident they wouldn't. After all, he had personally trained them. They knew the score. He took another sip, letting the rough warmth flow down his throat. Someone dangled some mistletoe over the two and they very quickly embraced. He didn't say a word as he watched them quickly slip out of the room. It was at this point he zoned back into what Jenna and Trarsk was saying.

"So this Jesus was the son of God?"
"Yep. That's what they believed. Although the holiday later became more about being with family and friends at the end of the year." Ttorkkinn then spoke up. "I know I'm no expert, but wasn't there a large number of religions on Earth?"
"Yes Sir. But Christmas seemed to be the one that spread out and was the mostly celebrated."
"So why don't we celebrate one of the others?" Jenna shurgged. "I guess because this one is more about being together with family and friends, more people were willing to celebrate it. I mean, it's not like there's any actual religious symbolism in it any more."

Before anyone could respond, Kazzur came over the comm. "Bridge Officers to their stations." Ttorkkinn gave his brandy to Borielus, the Trill member of his TRT. As she simply shrugged and moved into the crowd, Ttorkkinn patted Jenna on the shoulder as he guided her and Trarsk towards the exit. "Well at any rate, well done Ensign. This seems to be just what the crew needed."



Talaina sat at the helm. Viper had approached the system and dropped from warp. With the ship at Impulse, Talaina looked at the piece of tinsel Jenna had previously lined along the edge of the console. As Ttorkinn, Jenna and Trarsk entered the Bridge, Talaina moved to her Captain's chair. Ttorkkinn and Trarsk flanked her, watching the viewscreen. "So Trarsk, tell me more about this species." He looked at her, his eye going wide in amazement. "Oh you'll like them. They are called the Prentary. One of the most advanced species in this whole galaxy. They build towers that reach up to the clouds and syphon the water vapour to provide a perpetual energy source. Each building powers itself. Highly evolved. They don't believe in war, but the betterment of their minds. And that message they teach to everyone else who will listen. They've developed some kind of interstellar drive that moves you through, well, something, that moves really fast. And they like to sing. Oh you must listen to the Glass Mountains singing their morning choir. Not a more wonderous sound will you hear in-"

He suddenly dropped to the ground, screaming and clutching his head. Talaina and Ttorkkinn leapt to his side. "What's wrong with him?" the Andorian asked. Ttorkkin shook his head as he tried to restrain the alien. "I don't know. He's just gone crazy!" Talaina slapped her commbadge. "Bridge to Sickbay. Medical emergency!"





Talaina stood in the Sickbay, watching Trarsk. He was on a biobed, mubling incoherantly. Bob Juffra closed his tricorder and walked over to his Captain. "He suffered a massive neural trauma. Something to do with his biology. I can't help him, but he seems to be physically ok. Mentally...." Bob shrugged. "I'd send him to a pshychiatrist if we had one."
"What's he mumbling?"
"Death. Millions dead, snuffed out in an instant. He hears them screaming."
"I see. Do what you can for him Doctor." At that moment, the comm went off. Xui Li reporting from the Bridge. "Captain. We are, ah, approaching the planet. You should get, ah, up here."
"There's always something. I'm on my way."




Entering the Bridge, Talaina stood behind her chair. "Report."
"Sensors are, ah, picking up no planet. Just a large debris field. There is alot of, ah, antiprotons in the system that are interfereing with, ah, our sensors."
"Can you compensate?"
"Not at this time."
Talaina frowned and walked to Jenna at the helm, resting a hand on the back of her chair. "Take us close to the debris field. It's not like Trarsk to decieve us."

The Viper edged cautiously through the debris field. Xui Li worked her console the entire time, finally coming to a conclusion. "Captain. The amount of, ah, debris here is sufficient to be, ah, a planet." Talaina turned to her Operations officer. "Something destroyed an entire planet? It clearly wasn't a supernova. Full sensor scan. We need to know what it was."
"Sensors are picking up a, ah, Neutronium signature. It is difficult to, ah, locate, but it does appear to be, ah, a large mass in the debris."
"Identify?"
"No."

A sudden burst of expletives from the other side of the Bridge brought everyone's attention to Ttorkkinn who jumped out of his chair. "Shut down everything! Quick! Go dark!" Talaina ordered for it to happen. As the few lights still operating on the Bridge shut down, Talaina looked to her Saurian first officer. "Why did we just do that?"
"I recognise this from historical tactical reports. Antiprotons and neutronium signature are the hallmarks of a Doomsday Device."

Xui Li didn't recognise it. "Doomsday Device?"
"Yes. Or a Planet Killer. One was encountered by Kirk's Enterprise. If memory serves, it took the sacrifice of a Constitution class ship to destroy it."
"What exactly, ah, was it?"
"It looked like a large blue horn. Kirk theorised it was built by some ancient civilisation as a last deterrant in some ancient war. They never found where it came from, but they theorised it was beyond our galaxy."
"From this, ah, galaxy?"
"Or the one between ours and this one."

All this talk was jogging Talaina's memory. "Didn't the Constellation self destruct inside it?"
"Yes. The only way they could destroy it."
"Well that leaves us with a dilemma." Ttorkkinn frowned at his Captain. "And what dilemma is that?"
"We can't just sit here and let that thing destroy more populated worlds. We have to stop it."
"And how.... Captain, may I speak to you in private?"


Talaina ordered the ship to remain in station keeping, then left the Bridge. She turned in the corridor and waited for Ttorkkinn. "Captain, I realise we should do what we can, but this ship is in no condition to fight something like that. Even if we were at full strength."
"I know."
"And before you sacrifice the ship, what about the crew? Are you seriously just going to leave everyone stranded here?"
"Ttorkkinn, we've been stranded in this galaxy for a year. We're out of supplies. We have an Undine infiltrator with a split personality for a science officer. We've got a chief engineer locked in her quarters for murder. We've got crazed warmongers after us for the cloaking tech. We've lost nearly a fifth of the crew. This ship can't take much more. If the crew evacuates, you can lead them to a habitable world. Set up a new life for them."

Ttorkkinn was silent, hearing the unsaid implication. "It doesn't need to come to that."
"Yes it does."
Ttorkkinn placed a gloved hand either side of Talaina's head, staring intently into her grey eyes. "You are not Commodore Decker. You don't have to kill yourself with your ship."
"I appreciate the concern. But that thing out there has already destroyed what was to be our best chance at getting back. If we don't do something, who's to say it won't take away our next shot? And our next?"
"Voyager got home. We can to."
"They didn't start their journey in the middle of a war. They didn't start with a crew of fifty spread across five decks. Voyager was still in the same galaxy and actually had the chance to make it home in their lifetimes. Ttorkkinn. My responsibility is to this crew. We've been to the edge of the Galactic Disc. There's no way any of us will make it back to Federation space. The best option is to start our own colony. But it won't be safe until that thing is destroyed. And that won't happen without someone making a sacrifice."


The Saurian dropped his hands and thought long and hard. He'd served with Talaina for a number of years now. She'd do anything to save her crew. And although lately the stress had clearly been getting to her, it had been getting to all of them. "We could just leave the system. Claim the Prime Directive is in play for this galaxy and be on our way."
"We could. But could you live with yourself?"
"Perhaps."
"Really? Knowing entire species will be wiped out, when you had the chance to save them?" Ttorkkinn sighed. "No. No I couldn't. But why must you pilot the ship? Go on autopilot."
"If there's damage, there'll be no one to correct it." Ttorkkinn narrowed his eyes. "There's more to this than you're telling. This isn't some redemption scheme because of what you forced Juffra to do with T'Fon?"
"Partly. I still have my honour. And how can we save others when we lose ourselves?"

Ttorkkinn never got chance to answer as the entire ship violently flipped, knocking them both out.



Ttorkkinn gradually came to, his armour having protected him from most of the injuries. The ship was in complete darkness, so he triggered his armour's torch. "Captain!" Talaina was picking herself up from the floor, her white hair stained blue from a head wound.
"I'm ok. Just a little dizzy. Come on, we need to see what happened." She got to her feet and moved to the door. When it didn't open, she figured power was out across the ship. Good thing gravity generators always had their own backup power supply. She cast a glance down the corridor. The hallway was almost unrecognisable from damage. Power systems had ruptured, blowing out most of the bulkheads. Holes in the floor leaked gas and many components from the ceiling now hung below head height. She dared not think what the rest of the ship was like. Grabbing the handle, she manually pulled open the door and staggered onto the Bridge. It was in just as bad a shape as the corridor. "Report!"


Xui Li was sat on the floor, her right arm in a sling made from the tinsel. Jenna was at the sensor console. "We got hit by a powerful beam. I think it came from that Planet Killer."
"Were our shields raised?"
"No Sir. We were completely powered down so it wouldn't detect us."
"Ship status!"
"I don't know. Everything's offline. I can't raise anyone on the comm."
At that moment, Karry and Grimworm entered the Bridge. Ttorkkinn checked over his team members and asked where the others were. Karry shook her head. "It's bad. Deck Three downwards is gone. And the Mess Hall took a direct hit. I'm... I'm sorry Sir, but the crew is dead." As Jenna gasped in shock, Talaina narrowed her eyes, antennae curling in anger. "What? Everyone?" Karry nodded. "Yes Sir. We went by the Mess Hall. Emergency Forcefields stopped us before we could even enter. It's just open space. All decks below it are missing and we could see exposed warp coils in the nacelles. There was the remains of a ship very close to us, but it's completely destroyed. I'm sorry Sir, but this ship is finished."

"Then prepare to evacuate. We'll fly the Viper into that thing. It may be enough to stop it." When no one moved, Talaina barked. "MOVE!"

As Jenna and Karry helped Xui Li off the Bridge, Talaina tapped at the helm console, trying to get engines online. Ttorkkinn paused in the door. "Captain! I'm not going to leave you."
"Go Commander. That's an order. Get what's left of this crew to a safe place." Ttorkkinn nodded. "It's been an honour Sir." And he was gone.


Talaina tapped the helm controls. Nothing. Engines showed there was power operating, the warp core was online, but the ship wasn't moving. Engine damage was too great. Talaina sighed and looked at the viewscreen. She knew that monster was out there somewhere, but where? The screen wasn't working, and short of putting a hole in the hull, she wouldn't be able to see. Her crew was gone. Her ship was dead. And she was powerless to avenge them. Was this what the crew felt like after the Gorn ambush wrecked the Sentinel? Talaina had been almost dead at that point and missed the entire thing. She understood now why Emony had taken an extended leave following it. She sighed, resigning herself to the knowledge she would simply have to leave. As she turned, she saw Ttorkkinn and the other survivors entering the Bridge, including Juffra, Trarsk who seemed very dazed, Dotson and T'Fon. "Commander. I told you to get off the ship."

"We tried, but the remaining escape pods are damaged. None of them will launch."
"That's it then. As soon as that thing comes around again, we're dead."


Jenna broke down in tears. Karry placed a comforting arm around her and hugged her. Talaina noticed the edge of her vision was starting to pickle different colours. Obviously a result of the head wound. She reflected she seemed to get alot of head wounds and she must have a very thick skull. Talaina looked at each of the crew before her. "I want you all to know it's been a true honour serving with you. We've had our problems. We've had our differences, but each and every one of you never lost hope. Never lost faith. I'm just sorry I was not able to live up to it."


Dotson pushed past the crowd and towards the Engineering station. "Screw this. If I'm going to die, I'm looking Death square in the face." She bypassed controls and burnt out circuits, making patch after patch until the viewscreen came to life. It showed the Planet Killer engaged with seven ships of unknown type. Burning hulks littered the area, suggesting quite a battle was taking place. "Huh. That explains why it hasn't finished us off." Talaina moved to Dotson's side. "Any way we can help them out?"
"No. While I was patching the viewscreen, I saw the core was building to an overload, so I've shut it down. We literally have no power except emergency batteries. It's enough to maintain atmosphere and forcefields for about an hour."
"Damn." Talaina rested a hand on Dotson's shoulder. "Whatever you may have done in the past, you've always been one of the best Engineers. I don't condone what you did, but I hope you understand-"
"I understand Captain. That's why I didn't protest. I want you to know I don't hold a grudge." Dotson looked at Talaina and grimly smiled. "I explained why I killed Mirat and the others. I do not regret my actions, and I do not hate you for yours." Talaina smiled grimly back and gave Dotson's shoulder a quick squeeze.


Trarsk moved closer to the viewscreen. "The Prentary." He whispered in awe. The Planet Killer fired it's energy beam, catching six of the ships and vapourising them. Talaina realised with all that power, it must have been a glancing blow that struck them, or there would be nothing left of the Viper. The final Prentary ship, the biggest of the group, came about, trailing burning Plasma from it's engines. It fired blue pulses into the maw of the beast, flying in towards it. Explosions started ripping along it's hull as the ship started to come apart, but it held together long enough to enter the jaws of hell. A bright light erupted from the cone, the Prentary ship finally giving up. When her vision cleared, she saw the device was now a lifeless grey husk, as dead as everything else in this system. Trarsk collapsed to the floor, weeping. "They must have come looking for their planet. They knew something happened to their homeworld, so they came to defend it. But they were too late."


Talaina knew time was critical now. Dotson had given them a ticking clock, but with the Planet Killer destroyed, there was hope. "They were too late to save their homeworld, but they were able to avenge it. And by doing so, gave us a fighting chance. We need to see what we can salvage from those ships. We have less than an hour before we lose life support. Everyone, get EV suits, break into teams and board those ships. Transporters are offline and we lost our shuttles, so be extremely careful with your suit thrusters. I don't want to lose any more of you. And Dotson, consider your confinement lifted. Jenna, you stay here with Trarsk. Try to keep the ship together."


As everyone moved, Talaina felt a heavy burden in her chest. She had lost almost the entire crew. Such a loss weighed on her, but her military upbringing allowed her to compartmentalise. She would grieve for them later, after she had secured the survivors.



Jenna collapsed into a seat as she watched everyone else leave. She had hoped it would be different this year. Every time she had tried to celebrate Christmas since her parents had died, it had been a disaster. Which was why she hadn't tried since she was ten. The first time she tried in years, and the entire crew died. Jenna crossed her arms on the console and lay her head down, tears gently falling across her face as she quietly whispered. "Merry Christmas everyone."

Melvina Adria Macwilliams. Petty Officer and leader of Night Shift.
Fernando James Daddio. Maintenance Engineer.
Nulhor. Technician First Class.
Neal Dewayne Igtanioc. Diagnostic Engineer.
Joe Sammie Kemble. Damage Control.
Rea Ria Randol. Diagnostic Engineer.
Terrell Isiah Worlds. Fabrication Engineer.


And they were just those of the Night Shift of the Engineering crew. Talaina looked at the profile of each one. Each face stared back at her, people who had trusted her, who had relied upon her to get them home. People she had come to know well over the past year since taking command. Sure, it seemed like she only ever spoke to the same main crewmembers, such was the nature of a command structure. But on a ship this small, Talaina had wanted to know everyone. Rea had been playing the harp for two years. She often put on concerts in the mess hall with David Tolvsky, a Lt junior grade astrophysist, on violin. Terrell had been building small, intricate models with fully working clockwork parts out of what scrap he could find. He was making them for his son when they got back. Nulhor was the only Trill on the team, but was amazed as she gradually realised just how many human mannerisms she had picked up by being around so many for so long. Fernando was a stickler for precision. His uniform was always clean, always pressed. Even when such concerns had been made lax, Fernando always turned up in a clean uniform. He'd been using part of his replicator rations to keep up appearances.


Talaina's vision blurred as tears welled up. Her fingers tightened around the back of the PADD, almost bending the case. Almost everyone had been killed in a matter of seconds. There was no warning. No provacation. They didn't die with honour. They died for no reason. All because she failed them. And not for the first time. She heard movement by the door. Sat behind the desk in her quarters, Talaina just kept squeezing the PADD as Ttorkkinn appeared in the doorway. "Captain. Life support has been stabilised enough to give us a few more hours. Dotson and Zhong believe they can use what we salvaged to get the core online. But it's still going to take them hours. And with the exposed coils in the nacelles, we won't be going above warp three. To say nothing of the lack of structural integrity right now." He stared at his Captain as she remained motionless. "Captain?" He took a step into the room, careful to avoid the collapsed girder from the ceiling. "Blaming yourself won't bring them back. Focus on those of us still alive. That's how you get past this." He held himself rigid as Talaina launched the PADD across the room, only wincing when the device splintered against the wall, sending a shard across his cheek. He lightly pressed a finger against the wound and checked. A light smear of his blood. But nothing that would cause harm.

"How can you be so calm and detached about it Ttorkkinn? Even a Vulcan would be affected."
"I'm not calm. This is one of the worst things to have happened. But I came up through the ranks by MACO training. That's a higher standard of soldier than what you took. We were trained in Vulcan disciplines to keep our heads during crisis, to not let our feelings show. It's techniques I've been training the rest of the TRT since I was first assigned to the Sentinel. But believe me Captain, I'm feeling it." He moved forward and righted a chair, sitting across the desk from her. "And as Captain, you need to show strength. Most of us are soldiers and survivors. We can still function. But I'm worried about Jenna. She's still young, doesn't have any of the training and with her background, I'm not confident she can keep it together." Talaina rubbed her eyes with a finger and thumb, blinking a few times before focusing on Ttorkkinn. "Go on."
"Karry is doing her best, but she needs a strong Captain to draw from. She needs to see you taking charge."
"My taking charge is what got everyone killed." Talaina clasped her hands together on the desk and leaned forward, lacing her fingers between each other. "I thought I was ready for the big chair. We fought battles and we made diplomatic negotiations. But they were all short missions. Always with a repaired ship and a rested crew. I'm not ready for this. None of us are."
"Given the circumstances, I think you've been doing an outstanding job."
"I've been making mistakes. Easy, simple mistakes that should be easy to avoid. I cloaked the ship when we detected that Planet Killer, instead of raising shields and running. I let Myncroft and her mercenaries get aboard to talk instead of shutting them down. I've let guilty killers remain as part of the crew. I kept us running from that Cybertronian War instead of allying with one side to help get safe passage out of their space, leading to them hunting us. I can't do this anymore."


She rested her face in a hand, before sliding it up and through her hair. Her antenna folded flat as the hand passed over them, remaining flush against her skull. Talaina sighed, bags under her eyes betraying just how tired she was. "It's hopeless. I've let everyone down."

Ttorkkinn placed his hands over Talaina's. "Emony said the exact same thing right before the Sentinel went down. And she's probably right back in the command structure of another ship now. A crew doesn't ask for their Captain to be a larger than life hero that makes no mistakes. They ask for their Captain to be someone they know will do everything she can to save them. They know mistakes will be made, but they trust her to learn from those mistakes. I've been right by your side the entire time. I've agreed with every decision you made. You are not alone here Talaina. And you never will be."


Talaina smiled ever so slightly, her antenna rising an inch as she patted his hand in appreciation.






In Engineering, Claire frowned. Part of the floor was missing, exposing the room to space so all actions had to be taken with an EV suit. And it made the fine adjustments of the tools awkward. The emergency forcefields had sealed around the doors rather than the hole, so Claire had set up a barricade to stop people and objects falling through the hole. Claire tapped some commands into the console and the room started to come alive. A very slow throb in the warp core told the Engineer the systems were repaired. Power was flowing. It wasn't much power, but it was a start. Suddenly the power started fluctuating. The core cut out, then back on. This cycle started to repeat on a regular basis. Beside her, Xui Li tapped the side of her tricorder. "Readings suggest, ah, it isn't working."
"Of course it isn't working. It's a bunch of Prentary equipment. It doesn't even have the same basic concepts in common with our technology. The Captain is asking the impossible." Claire smashed the wrench against the corner of the console in frustration and shut down the entire system. Salvaged devices littered Engineering, some of them held together in unusual ways, propped up on boxes, with cables, tape and the odd random tool jammed in to hold the contraption together. "Even if our guesses are right about what all this stuff is, there's no guarantee it'll hold the reaction chamber together. I don't even know what most of this stuff was designed for."
"Many engineering elements are, ah, the same, due to laws of the universe being, ah, constant. Prentary technology may appear completely different, but, ah, look past the alien to find the common."


Claire looked over to Xui Li and glared. "Spoken like a true non-engineer. Our systems run on Electro-Plasma and a matter/antimatter reaction. This stuff.... well, that part runs on water, that part is some kind of electrical and I don't even want to think what that thing is powered by." She furtively glanced at the last piece that was pulsing with a thick black ooze, small chunks swirling around inside. "We've got it rigged up based on how we think it can fit together, but we need someone who specialises in putting a round peg in a square hole. We need someone like Terrell. And that's the problem." Claire sighed and made her way outside Engineering. Passing through the containment field, she shut down her suit's oxygen and took the helmet off, leaning against the wall. "We need our crew."






Karry approached the door to the quarters and knocked on the wall. Alot of the bulkhead was missing, so she could see Jenna in the room, sat on the side of the bunk. She was hugging something close to her chest. "Come in." Karry stepped in and carefully made her way around the collapsed roof to the bed. Sitting down beside the young Ensign, she put an arm around her. "How you doing?"
"Terrible. I can't help thinking if I hadn't pushed for that stupid celebration, more would have survived."
"Hey. You can't keep thinking like that. Most of the ship is gone. It doesn't matter where people would have been. This tragedy still would have happened." She gently stroked Jenna's arm and looked around. "These aren't your quarters."

Jenna sniffed hard before replying. "Mine were lost. These belonged to Carl Burkins."
"The Lieutenant?"
"Yeah. We were becoming good friends over the past year. We would give each other back rubs and talk about our day. It... it wasn't much more than that, but it was nice." Karry looked over to the shelf and saw a photo of Burkins stood in a forest. Sun filtered through the trees around him, a huge grin on his face as he mocked whoever had taken the photo. "Did you take that?" Jenna looked up, momentarily confused. "Oh. No. That was his wife who took that. It was on Archer IV about three months before we got stuck out here. He was going to be a dad for the first time. He was so excited. When we got home, he was going to give his son this." Jenna lowered her arms, revealling an old teddy bear. Its fur was long since worn out and most of the stuffing had been cuddled into it's head, giving it a square shape. "He had this bear ever since he was four weeks old. His parents put it in his cot to keep him warm at night and make him feel like there was someone there with him at all times. He took it everywhere with him." She smiled as she stared into the bear's eyes. "He'd kill me if he knew I showed you it. He was very embarrased to tell others about it. But he loved it. I intend to give it to his son if we get back."
Karry held Jenna slightly tighter. "I'm sure Carl would appreciate that." Jenna smiled and hugged the bear tightly.





Claire was back in Engineering. "Ok Captain. I think I've figured out the trouble. This should work this time."
"I hope so." Came the reply over the comm. "We only have a few hours of life support left."
"Fingers crossed, no pressure." She muttered to herself. The core came to life, the bodged modifications working. But just as before, it shut down and sprang back to life in an endless cycle. Claire started banging her head against the console. "Dammit dammit DAMMIT!" Stopping before she cracked her helmet, she snatched Xui Li's tricorder and started running scans on the core. She set her jaw and frowned. "According to this, there is no problem. Everything is connected up properly. There's no gaps in the circuits. The damage has been bypassed by materials that are conductive. So where the hell is the problem?" Claire started walking along the room, manually scanning the power systems. "There. Whatever the problem is, it has to be in that Jeffreys Tube."


Claire left Engineering and stripped out of her EV suit. Determined to find the cause, she pried open the hatch into the Jeffreys Tube network and began crawling towards the intersection. After a few minutes of crawling, she turned the corner and stopped. "Well I never. Have you been what's causing the problem?"

Lying in the tube was Ensign Willie Wurz, Tactical Officer. She had a tool lodged into the power relays and was using it to sever and restore the power flow at regular intervals. Hearing the voice, she stopped what she was doing and looked down past her feet, smiling when she saw Claire. "YES! THANK YOU! I've been trying to get someone's attention for hours."
"What are you doing here? How did you survive?"
"I was calibrating the targeting sensors before I went to the party. I got trapped in here when whatever happened.... happened. I saw the entire power grid go out, and figured I could send a message when the power was back online."
"Why didn't you use the comm?"
"Comm badge was destroyed when a piece of wreckage hit it. Saved my life, or it would have gone through my heart. And all computer responses have been down in this section."
"Well it's great to see you survived. Come on, let's get you out of here."


Claire shifted around and gingerly put Willie's arm around her. She could see the Ensign was badly hurt, probably why she hadn't just crawled out by herself. "So does this mean my bodge actually worked?"




On the Bridge, Talaina stood over the Engineering console with Ttorkkinn and T'Fon. She watched as the console came to life and lights flickered around her. "Does that mean it's worked?"
"I believe so Captain." T'Fon raised an eyebrow. "We now have sustainable life support in the remaining sections of the ship and structural integrity is once again active." Talaina let out a sigh of relief as she took a step back. That was something at least. She then heard the door open. Turning, she saw Claire enter the Bridge with Willie Wurz. She was assumed to have been one of the dead. Talaina didn't say anything. She just walked across the Bridge and embraced Willie tightly.

"Why has no one turned up yet?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why has no one turned up yet? The entire Prentary homeworld was destroyed. Ships were lost, but no one came looking."

Trarsk turned from the viewscreen and leaned on the helm console, staring at the young face of Jenna as she sat at her post. "If your homeworld went silent, wouldn't you send people to investigate? But we've been sitting in this system for a week now, and no one else has turned up. Why? What are they afraid of?"
"Maybe they think whatever happened to the first group of ships they sent will happen to everyone else?"
"But then why not send probes? I know the Prentary. They have technology that could easily see there's no danger in this system. So why haven't they sent any rescue ships to search for survivors?"

"Maybe they know there's no survivors." Talaina walked over to them, wearing a tanktop and some technician trousers, a couple of tools stored in the trouser pockets. Sweat glistened on her blue brow as she tossed the toolkit to the floor, hitting the comm panel. "Dotson. Can you hear me now?"
"Yes Captain. That seems to have done the trick. Power to the structural integrity field is holding steady. We should be able to get warp 3.2 now. But our Deuterium reserves are almost depleted. We'll need to find a nebula to gather more supplies with the ramscoops. Provided they're working."
"Can't you do an EVA, check them?"
"Sorry Sir. Diagnostics for that part of the ship are completely gone. Only way to know if they'll work is to try them out."
"Ok Dotson. We'll try to find somewhere. Let me know if you need more work in the Tubes doing. Kazzur out."


Talaina sighed and wiped her brow with the back of her arm. Trarsk approached her and felt her head. "If you don't mind my saying, you don't look well."
"Had to patch together some relays very close to a burning plasma vent. My species doesn't handle high temperatures well. I'll be ok once I cool down a bit. I don't think we can wait any longer for help from the Prentary. I know you value them highly Trarsk, but we need to get moving. We've already been adrift here far too long." Trarsk looked crestfallen, but nodded his agreement. Talaina turned to see who else was on the Bridge. Only one other. "T'Fon. Find us a nebula with a high deuterium content. Then send the coordinates to helm. I need to change." Talaina scrubbed her face, trying to get some kind of energy back into her mind. Running her hand up through her hair, she let it hang loose. It was very odd for her to have it out of it's customary ponytail, but even the most militaristic of folks reach a limit. Before she could even leave, sensors started beeping a contact. "Captain. Unknown vessel approaching. They are not hailing."

"On screen."

The ship was small and agressive looking. Black in colour, it was vaugly reminiscent of a Tholian web spinner, if it tried to bulk up it's intimidation. A series of flashes launched towards the Viper. "BRACE! BRACE!" The ship was kicked sideways from the trio of impacts. As Talaina picked herself up from the floor, a series of thumps rang out from the hull. With no phaser handy, she grabbed a welding torch from the toolkit and ignited it. "Everyone. Defend yourselves."


An explosion tore the Bridge doors free. Through the smoke came quadraped insects, about six foot in height. They carried rifles that shot green blobs. Jenna was hit straight away, the goo compressing her into the seat. Talaina slashed the torch across the nearest bug's hands, easily seperating it from the arm. As the bug squealed and moved back, Talaina whipped out the knife on her belt and slashed it at another bug. The creature jumped back out of range, allowing one of it's companions to fire. Talaina rolled under the glob and sprang up, spinning through the air to deliver a series of quick blows to the two invaders. T'Fon had joined the fight, holding his own. But another explosion in the other door yielded another group. They swarmed the Bridge and fired. T'Fon went down and Talaina only had time to burn a scar through the face of one before she felt the thick viscous goo envelop her body. It immediately began constricting, forcing her arms down to her body. The torch flickered out, smothered by the partial liquid. The pressure was becoming too great. The more she struggled, the more the air was squeezed from her lungs. Talaina collapsed, desperately gasping for air. Holding on as much as she could, she rolled to see the bugs picking up her crew. But it was no good. Her already exhausted body surrendered and everything went to black.



Something caught in her throat. Talaina coughed violently, forcing her eyes open. She was lying on her side on a dusty stone floor. Her throat felt raw. Gingerly pushing herself upright, she blinked a few times to clear her head head. "Ow. What were they hitting us with?" She looked around, noticing for the first time she was in a cage only a few metres wide. Some strange aliens were in cages around her, and the large room seemed to be made of the same orange stone as the floor. The creature in the cell beside came over to the bars. Covered in green scales, the quadraped lizard type thing stared at Talaina with a large bulbous eye either side of a long snout, large burly arms with sharp claws gripped the bars. A large pair of leather wings folded up against it's back, though they looked too small to lift the weight of the creature. It flickered it's forked tongue quickly at Talaina before turning away from her. "Captain?" The voice of Willie Wurz brought Talaina's attention around. The Ensign was in the cage on the other side. "Ensign? Are you ok?"

"I think so."
"Where are we?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen anyone come to check on us, or any sign of the rest of the crew. How are you?"
"Fine." she lied. "First thing we have to do is get out of here." She struggled to her feet and approached the door to her cell. "Hmmm. A standard physical key lock. Should be easy to pick." Talaina reached up to take the pin out of her hair, only to realise it hadn't been in there all day. "Damn." She looked over to Wurz, but having a buzz cut, the Ensign wouldn't have one either. Patting herself down, her fingers paused on a button on one of her trouser pockets. That could work. She popped the button off and removed the pin. With a deft flexability, she manouvered the pin into the lock and slowly started working. Suddenly hearing someone coming, she hid the pin and stepped back. A group of seven burly humanoids in heavy armour and carrying spears marched into the dungeon. "You two are next." That was interesting. The universal translator had already adapted to their language. How long had she been unconcious? Talaina straightened upright. "I demand to know where we are."


One of the guards laughed as he unlocked the cell. "You'll get your answers." He grabbed Talaina by her neck and forced her forwards. Wurz was also being marched forwards through the stone halls. Talaina leaned slightly over to whisper to the Ensign. "Stay calm and try to stick together. Until we know what's happening-"

"SILENCE!" A punch to her back knocked the wind out of her. This whole situation was humiliating. Chalk up yet another reason to hate this galaxy. A chanting crowd could be heard from just beyond the doors ahead. The group stopped before them. One of the guards moved too close to Talaina. "I hope you survive. You intrigue me." The doors jerked open, casting a blinding light into the hall and causing both Starfleet officers to look away. The guards pushed them into the next area before the doors closed. Talaina looked around. They were in a large Collosium style structure with thousands of aliens in the seats. The arena floor was littered with discarded weapons and blood smears. Large falcon-esque birds circled above, some on the ground picking at the remains of someone. The crowd's cheering intesified as from an observation box, a green being roughly 14 feet in height approached the balcony. Large tusks curled around a too well fed face, his body bloated from an obvious life of luxury. The being raised his hands and the crowd fell silent.


"My fellow patrons. I give you another exciting match. The Blue Girl and the Brown Girl, exotic travellers from distant lands, will face off against the Morphacons. This is an exclusive first match. All bets are being taken." The crowd erupted in applause as animalistic creatures that defied description entered the arena. Talaina stepped forward. "Who are you and what gives you the right to kidnap us?" The man feigned insult. "Kidnap? Why I would never kidnap any free person. Slaves such as yourself.... that's not kidnapping. That's making a purchase. For I am Gyconi, and I am LAW on this world."
"And you expect us to fight for your amusement?"
"Basically... yes. That is what I bought you for."
"We were never slaves. We were kidnapped against our will. We will not fight for your amusement."

Gyconi frowned and leaned on the balcony railing. "You will do as I command."
"No. I refuse." Gyconi sighed. He raised a pistol and fired, striking Wurz directly in the head. The audience fell silent at Talaina's scream. She ran over to the Ensign and collapsed, cradling her in her arms. "No no no. There was no need for that. She didn't do anything." She held Wurz's head tight against her chest, as all of the pent up emotion of the last year overcame her. The guards came up to her and grabbed her by the arms. Her vision blurred by tears, something seemed to snap in the Andorian. A year away from home. Hunted. Chased. Most of the crew wiped out. The survivors now missing. The only one she was left with randomly executed with no warning and for no purpose. Even those with military training can only take so much.


Roaring in a feral rage, Talaina broke free and spun around, dropping down and trapping one of the guard's knees between her legs. Twisting her body, she caused the guard to hit the ground hard, giving Talaina chance to grab his spear and spin it around, building up enough momentum to smash it into the other guard's helmet. He staggered back, only to get the point through his neck. Purple blood gushed out as he tried to clasp the wound, but Talaina pressed her advantage, breaking the tip in his skin and spinning around backwards, driving the shaft forwards to crush his throat. As he went down for good, the other guard got up and backhanded Talaina across the face. She crashed to the ground but rolled with the momentum, springing up into a battle stance. The guard jumped forward and Talaina rolled sideways. Another shuffle brought her close to one of the weapons. A spiked flail. As the guard jumped again, she rolled to the weapon and grabbed it. Spinning it over her head, she launched it at the guard. His helmet buckled from the impact and he staggered back, having to force the helmet off. He was the same species as Gyconi, but in much better physical shape. Talaina was certain to change that. She ran forwards and double drop-kicked him in the chest. Landing on her hands, she sprang up and charged again, making to do another jump. The guard fell for it and missed her completely as she drove her heel into his knee. Though the armour took most of the impact, it did force his knee to bend backwards enough to force him down. Grabbing the flail, Talaina smashed it down into his skull with as much force as she could muster.


It was only now she started to come to her senses. The crowd was on their feet with thunderous applause. Gyconi just smiled knowingly before Talaina felt the goo the insectoids had used envelop her body once more. She crashed to the ground, but this time, instead of fighting it, she welcomed the oncoming blackness.



Talaina sat in her cell, back against the wall, knees drawn up. She stared unwavering at the guard outside. The sound of combat could be heard from the arena. Something told her it was more of her crew out there. She just stared at the guard, letting her rage simmer. The guard obviously knew, as he kept shifting uncomfortably. She just stared. Unblinking. Not moving. Finally the guard had enough and walked towards some of the other cages. Without loosing a beat, Talaina was on her feet and using the pin to unlock the door. Slipping out of the cage, she ducked down behind some crates, waiting for the guard to come back. It didn't take long. Waiting for him to pass, she leapt on his back, closing her arms around his throat and squeezing. The guard struggled, but she had a firm grip. She felt his life slowly ebbing away, but she didn't relent. When he dropped to his knees, she grabbed the pistol off his belt and fired it into his ribs. He coughed out blood and faceplanted. Talaina stood up and checked the weapon. A simple point and shoot weapon, with what appeared to be three settings. Setting it to it's maximum, she aimed at the guard and fired. A blue glow enveloped him, dissolving his body into dust. "Hmmm. Interesting weapon."


Keeping it handy, Talaina looked over at the creature in the cage beside hers. It was watching her intently. Should she set it free? Or leave it be? There was no way to know how it was going to react. No way to know if it was hostile or friendly. "Screw it." She approached the door and, setting the weapon on it's lowest level, fired at the lock. The door swung open and the creature came out, hugging Talaina. It spoke in a series of clicking noises before running off down the hall. Knowing she needed to reach Gyconi, and with no clue how to get out of this place, she started after it.


A few turns later, she found herself in one of the pits surrounding the collosium. Hidden from view to the outside, but able to see what was going on, Talaina crouched down behind a stone arch. In the arena, she saw the battered body of Jenna prone on the ground, Grimworm stood over her fighting two of those Morphicons. He had trapped one of them under his right foot, where he had it pinned despite it's best efforts to claw him. The other beast was stuck with the Hulkanion holding apart it's long jaws. The fury he showed demonstrated just how dire the situation was, as he let out a roar, tearing the jaw apart. He then started to beat the creature with it's own jaw until it fled. Grimworm reached down and dug his fingers into the second Morphicon's eyes, slowly increasing pressure until it's skull collapsed. Talaina wanted desperately to run out there and help. To see if Jenna was alive. To shoot everyone in that arena for what they were doing. But she knew if she did that, she would just be put right back in the cage under heavier guards. The only way to help them was to get to Gyconi and force him to release them.


She watched as Grimworm knelt down and checked on Jenna. The relief on his face told Talaina the Ensign was still alive. "Thank the Ice for that miracle." The guards surrounded Grimworm and aimed their weapons. He looked like he was about to start fighting them. "Don't do it Grimworm." Talaina quietly muttered under her breath. "Just take Jenna and look after her." She was relieved to see him doing just that. Movement nearby caught her attention. One of the falcon's had walked beside her. It truly was a majestic bird. But not something Talaina needed to focus on. She was about to move, but there was something odd. The bird was staring her in the eye. It was almost like their was some intelligence to it. The bird turned and walked round some crates. Talaina followed and stopped, gasping in horror. The weapon clattered to the ground, forgotten. Before her was a fenced animal feeding area. Scraps of meat littered the area, and casually thrown in was the body of Ensign Willie Wurz. Other birds had been pecking at her, eating pieces off her. The sight was too much. Talaina jumped the fence and ran forwards, shooing the birds away. It was heartbreaking to see her in such a state. Talaina collapsed to her knees, hands held out near her officer, but afraid to touch her. Who would do something like this to another person? Where was the respect? The value for the life that had been. Wurz deserved more than this. She deserved more than Talaina could do for her now.


Talaina ran her fingers through her hair, clutching her own head tightly. "I'm so sorry I failed you. But I will avenge you." She slowly got to her feet and walked over to the dropped weapon. The falcon that had guided her just stood there, watching it all. Talaina picked the weapon up and slowly walked back over to Wurz. Tears streaming as she aimed the weapon, adjusting the setting. "Be at piece Ensign. And if you see the rest of the crew.... tell them I'm sorry." She watched as a blue glow took the human away. She kept staring at the spot Wurz had been for a few moments before running down the nearest corridor. She knew where Gyconi would be. That observation box he was in. Everyone seemed focused on watching the combat, which made it easier for Talaina to move unnoticed. As she moved through a larger area, she heard a low voice. She paused and looked around. Ttorkkinn was in a cage nearby. She went to the door.


"Captain? Are you ok?"
"No. They killed Ensign Wurz."
"Damn." Talaina shot the lock on the cage. "So what's the plan here?" Talaina looked Ttorkkinn dead in his eyes. "We find Gyconi. And we find out where the rest of the crew is." Ttorkkinn nodded and the two moved off. But he was worried. There was a look in her eyes. Something he had rarely seen in all the years he'd known her.




She eventually came to a large set of double doors. This was obviously the place. It was the only room she had come across that even remotely looked like someone important lived in it. But the doors were sealed. "There must be another way in." Ttorkkinn had moved to a window. "There is. There's a ledge out here that goes right to the balcony." Talaina moved over to the window. The crowds below had dispersed. Whatever sick games they played were over for now. Talaina just had to get her crew out before they started up again, and before anyone else was lost. However, the ledge was very narrow. Only wide enough for one foot at a time, sideways. She looked back to her First Officer. "Wait here. I'll check out the layout and come back. Then we can make a plan."

"Ok. But be careful."



Talaina climbed out onto the ledge. Her boot was barely able to fit on, so she spread her arms against the wall and leaned back against it slightly. Fortunately, there was no wind so she was able to very slowly shuffle along the ledge. It was slow going, and more than once she had to stop to compose herself. A fall from this height would certainly kill her. Gently moving along, she finally came to the edge of the balcony just above her head. Short pillars formed the base of the railing, letting her to cautiously reach up and take hold with her left hand. Giving it a very gentle tug, it seemed to be solid. This next bit was going to be a nightmare. Taking a few sharp breaths, she swung out and flung her right arm up, fingers grasping. They brushed the stone but failed to grab. Panic shot through her as she fell back against the wall, supported only by one hand which her reflexes caused to tighten up on the pillar. Positioning her feet under her, she pushed herself up off the wall and swung again, the time grabbing the pillar. She slowly raised herself up just enough so her eye level was flat along the floor, trying to keep her antenna as flat as possible. From what she saw, there was no way to sneak up on him properly. The room was very ornately furnished, and Gyconi sat behind a large desk towards the back of the room. They could easily jump over the railing and rush him, but the question was what weapons did he have hidden back there? And why did he appear so agitated?


As she watched, the doors opened and two identical looking robots strode in. Talaina didn't recognise them, but she knew the kind of robots they were. About 16 feet tall with wheels on their outer legs and back of their shoulders. Humanoid in appearance with a hunched metallic hood over their shoulders and heads, and a face that was nothing more than two eyes and a mouthplate. Identical in every way. Except one was black, one was white. Cybertronians. Talaina mentally groaned. She hoped they had got out of the influence of their war after the first few months of being in this galaxy. Obviously they were a bigger curse than she realised. She remained watching as the white one strode up to the desk and leaned on both palms. His voice was slightly high pitched, and spoke very quickly.

"Gyconi! My favourite Pit Boss. How's life treating ya? Good I hope?" The black one walked beside his friend and spoke in the exact same voice. "Yeah, it better be good. Certainly looks good. All these fancy things you got."
"G-gentlemen. Please. Surely there's some kind of arrangement we can come to."
"Oh, yeah, sure. What do ya say Runamuck?" The black one asked. "Sure Runabout. I mean, you do have such nice treasures. It'd be a shame if someone were to report back that a certain someone was skimming a bit off the top."
"Now now. I assure you both, all proceeds from the fights and casino are reported and paid properly. I'm not getting anything extra."
"Why don't I believe him Runabout?"
"Gee, I don't know Runamuck. Oh! OH! I DO! It's because he's a filthy lying cheat who thinks just because he's not near any Decepticon territory, he can get away with thinking he's a big shot all of a sudden." The two robots picked up the desk and flung it against the side wall. They went up to Gyconi and put their arms around him. Runamuck leaned in closer. "But that's not true. I know where my place is. And I think you need a lesson on where yours is." Runabout punched Gyconi in his stomach. The Pitt Boss doubled over in agony. As the two robots started beating him, Talaina had seen enough. She carefully lowered herself back onto the ledge and shimmied back to the window. Ttorkkinn offered her a hand back inside as he asked. "Did you see them?"

"Yeah. Cybertronians. They're extorting Gyconi and they don't seem too happy he's been cheating them. How did you hide?"
"Curtains over there. They just walked straight past."
"Ok. Here's the plan. Assuming they don't kill him, we wait until those robots leave, then we storm in."
"What if he's got weapons ready against us?"
"Something tells me he's not going to be in a position to refuse. Come on, let's get behind those curtains."


The two officers hid and waited. It was another ten minutes before the doors opened and the two Cybertronians walked out, congratulating each other on a sucessful lesson taught. Talaina waited until the echo of their footsteps had gone, then motioned Ttorkkinn to move. They moved swiftly from the curtain. The doors were left open and Gyconi was prone on the floor, bleeding in the fetal position. One of his tusks lay broken beside him. Talaina didn't even attempt stealth. She just marched up to him and pushed him onto his back with her boot. "Now you listen to me. You will tell me where the rest of my crew is and how to get out of here, or I'll make the pain you're in now feel like a mild headache." Gyconi just looked at her and spat blood in her face. Without a word, Talaina picked up the broken tusk and positioned it point first over his left eye. Pausing a moment for him to answer, of which none came, she promptly pushed the tusk into his eye and scooped it out. Gyconi roared as Ttorkkinn moved over to her. "Captain! What are you doing?"

"Getting answers. Now. Tell me what I want to know. Or loose the other eye."
"No." He whimpered. "No. I am the law. I am total."
"Laws were meant to be broken." A bird cry from the balcony caused Talaina to look over. One of those falcon type birds had perched on the railing, watching. It let out another cry. Ignoring it, Talaina turned back to Gyconi. "Yes? Or no?"
"Ok, ok! Your people are being held in the Slave labour camp, two streets over. Section Alpha Four."
"Good."


Talaina stood up and dropped the tusk. Pulling out her pistol, she aimed at Gyconi square between the eye and empty socket. Her aim wavered as she stared at the monster, broken before her. Ttorkkinn placed a hand ontop of the pistol and slowly forced it down. "No Captain. Not like this. We're better than that."

"I should hope you are." The female voice from behind startled them both. Behind them was a six foot robot, with falcon wings folded up on her back, falcon feet forming her heels and the beast's head forming a significant part of her chest. Her armour was considerably different styled compared to the two Decepticons from earlier, almost an organic metal, but she was certainly a Cybertronian. She walked up to them, staring at Gyconi with her black eyes, framed around the silver face, a faux beak like structure acting like a sort of fringe. "Though we got the information we need, I would have to stop you from taking his life."

"And who are you?" Talaina demanded.
"Airrazor. Autobot scout. And you?"
"Captain Kazzur. Trying to save my crew."
"I see. Well, looks like we all got the info we need. And then some. He mentioned your ship runs on.... antimatter?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Simply that we Autobots could use your help. Would you be willing share the secret of your antimatter? In return, I'll get your crew out. There's a shuttle in the loading bay. You should be able to use it to get to your ship in orbit. Head to these coordinates."

Ttorkkinn frowned as he pipped up. "You seem very trusting of us." Airrazor shrugged. "We know who you are, and how certain Decepticons kept hunting you for your invisibility device. Though we Autobots never directly interacted with you, as a target of interest, we kept intelligence reports on you. I pulled them when I heard you were planetside. Your actions always seemed the right ones in the past, so I'm taking a risk. But with your antimatter ability, we could end the war in one fell swoop. That's gotta be a feather in anyone's cap." Talaina nodded. "Ok. We'll help."

"Great! I'll get your crew out and have them meet you at the shuttle." Airrazor transformed back into her bird mode and took off skyward. Ttorkkinn looked at Talaina aghast. "Tell me we are not going to give those things the power of antimatter."
"No. We're not. But we are going to use them to get our crew out and back to the ship. We'll jump to warp as soon as we're on board."
"Good. For a minute there, I thought you'd lost your senses." Ttorkkinn turned and left the room, making sure the exit was clear. Watching him go, Talaina pointed her pistol at Gyconi's head and fired, then ran after Ttorkkinn.




They made it to the shuttle without much hassle. What few guards they encountered were quickly dispatched. The rest of the crew were already waiting for them, with Airrazor. Grimworm still carried the unconcious Jenna, and everyone else looked battered, but alive. They all welcomed their Captain and COmmander back, but Talaina was all business. "I'm glad you all made it, but we have to get going. Now."

"Captain. Where, ah, is Ensign Wurz?"
"She didn't make it Xui Li."
"That is...... most upsetting. What about Trarsk?"
Airrazor butted in. "He's a known friend to us. We got him off planet as soon as we could. He is the reason I broke cover and helped you guys out. Look, I know this is a family reunion and all, but we gotta fly. Security is already moving in, and if you wait too long, airspace will be locked down. You'll never get out. You have those coordinates?"
"Yes."
"Then head over there. Tell them I sent you, they'll be expecting you."
"You're not coming with us?"
"Duty calls. We still have things to tidy up here. Good luck Captain." Airrazor transformed into her falcon mode and took to the skies in a hurry. Ttorkkinn ushured everyone on the shuttle quickly. As Karry lifted the ship off the ground, the Saurion moved to his Captain, sat at the back and staring at Jenna. "Captain?"
"Yes?"
"When we get to warp, you and I need to talk."
"I'm fine."
"No. No you're not. You know it. And I know it."


Talaina slowly shifted her gaze to Ttorkkinn. He was right. She wasn't ok. And they both knew it. He probably knew what she did to Gyconi. But screw it. This galaxy didn't play by any sense of morals. It was that kind of thinking that got everyone killed. No more. Starfleet's moral code and ethics are all fine and good, but sometimes, a person must give up everything to save those they care the most for. Talaina was already working on a plan to save everyone. She didn't know how she was going to impliment it, but she would find a way. Even if she had to unravel the galaxy to do so.

Jenna walked along the corridor of the ship, clutching Lt Burkin's bear tightly to her chest. The ship kept creaking, making the ship seem haunted by those lost. She heard voices ahead. Karry and Grimworm. They were laughing. Having just been forced to fight in some sick, twisted gladiator arena, Jenna really didn't feel like laughing. They had lost yet another member. Ensign Wurz. What was wrong with the Captain? Why couldn't she stop people from dying? Wasn't it her responsibility? And though she hadn't been killed, Jenna seemed to be taking alot of the injuries. Her insides still hurt. Her bones ached. She wasn't this miserable on the failure of a colony she was born on.

The wall was missing to the quarters, so Jenna could see Grimworm and Karry hugging as she walked past. They didn't see her. Good. She really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. It had been forty seven weeks since they had reached the edge of the Galactic disk and turned around. Forty seven weeks since they had essentially given up on ever getting home. The ship was not designed for long term missions, and it was showing it's wear. She paused by a gap in the hull. They had flown into a nebula to restock on Deuterium supplies. This one was pink, with streaks of a rich deep blue. It was pretty. It reminded Jenna of a sky as the sun came up, casting a myrid of lights over all. But... it was just another thing to worry about. Sensors were useless, so they had to search for the pockets of Deuterium by basically running into it. She hugged the bear tighter as she started walking again. There were very few of them left now. Reserves were running low. Half of the ship was either uninhabitable, or outright missing. Her friends were gone. It was times like this she would have gone and talked to Carl. But he was gone. Wiped out without a trace by the Planet Killer. Who did that leave? Karry? Too busy with Grimworm. T'Fon? An Undine with multiple personalities. Dotson? The murderer? Did anyone on this ship just have a normal story? Maybe Xui Li.



As she slowly walked along, she thought about her life. About avoiding those horrible gangs on her colony. She had witnessed what they did to young women they caught. She was glad she had become good at hiding. Her parents had always loved her. Had kept her hidden. Had kept her safe. When they died, she used what they had taught her. Even now, after all this time, she still knew how to blend into the background and dissapear when she wanted to. But was this all that was left? Flying around this blasted galaxy, forever searching for a way home that will never come, until the day arrives when you meet something better than you and your search ends? What kind of a life is that? No one to talk to. No one to listen. Never seeing your home again. Never seeing your family again. Never falling in love and starting a family of your own. It was a terrible thought. But it was something she had been thinking about ever since Christmas. So it was no surprise she had ended up where she was. At the airlock. She sniffed, fondling the bear's ear as she stepped inside. There was no note. No last parting words. It would be too painful, and they would certainly stop her. And truthfully, a small part of her would let them. But she had made her decision. She had walked here without thinking. Using a phaser would not work, she would never be able to pull the trigger. But the computer would have no such considerations. It would do what needed to be done. She closed the door, tears blurring her vision so she could barely see. She blinked away what she could and started the airlock cycling routine.






"Are you insane??" Ttorkkinn could barely believe what he just heard. He stood in Talaina's quarters, aghast at what she had just suggested. "Not only does that go against everything we were told to uphold, not only does it violate the Temporal Prime Directive, but it could unravel the space time continuum!"

Talaina sat behind her desk, bags under her eyes from a complete lack of sleep. "It's the only way to save the crew." Ttorkkinn mumbled a bit as he paced. "What if we just went back to Christmas. We beam everyone who died from the past Viper onto our ship just before the Planet Killer hits. It'll look like everyone died, but we'll have them. Here, with us."
"Ha! This ship doesn't have the ability to hold that many people. We're barely functioning with a crew of ten. Besides, we'd never hold together long enough for a slingshot."
"But we'll have them. Safe. AND we'll have preserved the timeline."
"And what about those crewmembers who died before Christmas? You would consign them to death, just because they weren't fortunate enough to survive as long as the others?"
"No. I'm not saying that. But think about it Talaina." Ttorkkinn rested both palms on the table and leaned forward. " If we start messing around with the timeline, we could screw up this entire region of space."
"What of Ensign Redshirt? We can stop him from being murdered by T'Fon. We can help T'Fon before his mental abilities went beserk. What of Naahz and Trarsk? She would still be alive, and they would still be together. We'd simply be restoring this region of space to it's original timeline, without our interference. Because we certainly broke the Prime Directive by getting involved with these people."
"I can't in good concience agree to a course of action that would involve the alteration of timelines. Not unless it was to set right the timeline as it should be."
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS ISN'T THE WRONG TIMELINE ALREADY?!"


Talaina paused, ashamed of her outburst. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."
"It's ok. But I can not stand by you if this is your course of action."
Before Talaina could respond, Xui Li came over the comm. "Captain! You are needed in, ah, Airlock two. NOW!"
"What now?" Talaina and Ttorkkinn looked at each other, then ran out the door.




At the airlock, Karry, Grimworm and Xui Li were frantically working on it. Talaina came running up. "Report."
"It is Jenna. She has, ah, locked herself in and, ah, initiated the cycle sequence."
"WHAT?!"


Talaina pushed herself to the door and activated the intercom. The readout read 47 seconds left before the sequence shifted. "Jenna! What's happening?"

Jenna was stood in the middle of the airlock, clutching a teddy bear. Tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry Captain. I-I didn't want to let you down. But I can't go on like this."
"Jenna. Open the door. We can talk about whatever's going on." Talaina looked at the timer. It still said 47. Karry explained. "Dotson was able to lock the system in a loop at that point. But we don't know how long before it kicks out her patch." Talaina nodded and looked back at Jenna. "Jenna. Everything that you've been through. That we've all been through. It's made us family. You could never let me down."
"No. But you've let us down Sir. Everything here is out to kill us. Look at Wurz. That could easily have been me. Or you. Or Grimworm. It's constant fear. Constant pressure. I just.... can't. Knowing that one day soon, I'll be next. I'd rather go in my own way. On my own terms. Be happy Sir. At least you'll have one less person to worry about, And I'll get to see Mum and Dad again."


Talaina started banging against the window. "JENNA! NO! ABORT THE CYCLE! PLEASE!"
The Ensign straightened up, squeezing the bear. "Goo-"

The outer door opened, sucking the young woman out into space. Talaina banged harder against the door. "NO! DAMMIT! No."

She broke down in tears, watching the lifeless body tumble into the nebula. Resting her head against the door, she slowly slid down to her knees. The timer still showed 47. 47 seconds to say goodbye was not long enough. It was never enough. Ttorkkinn gently placed a hand on Talaina's shoulder, horrified. No one said anything. They hadn't seen it coming. The shock still hadn't sunk in. No one uttered a word, except for Talaina, quietly whispering. "Still think this is the right timeline?"

Captain's Log. The U.S.S. Tesla has entered the Risa system to perform an indepth analysis of the spatial anomaly the U.S.S. Sentinel discovered around the first moon some time ago. I donnae know why it's taken Starfleet so long to send a ship out here, but it's a nice assignment for our first mission.



Captain Imzavia looked around the bridge of her Nova class ship, stroking the arms of her chair. This was her first command and she was determined to perform well. After all, there were plenty of warships out fighting the good fight, but there weren't too many Starfleet ships that focused on science and exploration these days. She looked over to the Science station, where her First Officer, a Trill female of the name Emony Bearlo, was manning the sensors. Emony had recently come back to the fleet after an extended leave and had requested a position off the front lines. Imzavia felt a little funny having a First Officer a couple of years older than herself, but she valued the expertese and experience. "Anything on sensors, Commander?"

Emony shook her head. "No Sir. All readings from the first moon are normal, as expected. On the Sentinel, we had to get close to the lunar surface before we started to feel the resistance from the anomaly."

Imzavia nodded and looked towards her helm officer. "Joses. Take us closer to the moon, but keep at least 10km away. I don't want us getting trapped."

"Si Captain. Keeping our distance."

The Tesla moved close to the moon. Still nothing appeared on sensors. "Commander, launch a probe at the coordinates. Let's see if we can get some readings." The probe flew up to the coordinates and started scanning all spectral bands. On the Bridge, Emony poured over the data. "Captain, telemetry is coming in strong. All readings are normal."
"Are we sure there's still somethin' there to pick up?"
"No Sir. But the probe may be too small to trigger it. I suggest we launch a shuttlecraft. It should be large enough to trigger the event."

At tactical, Lt. Commander Derek Peck leaned on his console. "I don't recommend that. A shuttle may be too small to get through in one piece."
Emony retorted. "The original discovery was made in a runabout. I think a shuttle should be enough. May I suggest we take the Waverider? It's structural integrity is better than a standard shuttle."
Peck nodded in agreement. Imzavia smiled. Her crew seemed to be working well together. That was a good sign for the future. "Bearlo. Peck. You two take the Waverider. Keep in constant communication with us. And contact Serenity Station. Tell them to have someone standing by with the Transwarp Gate, just in case you get stuck."




Emony and Derek sat at the controls of the small ship, Emony on sensors and Derek piloting. With permission to depart granted, the ship released the docking clamps and dropped away from the underside of the Primary hull. The engines powered up and glided easily over to the probe. "Ok Commander, we should encounter a sudden stop in this area. Keep crossing around until we find it."
"Aye Sir."

The Waverider started flying back and forth in a standard grid search pattern. Suddenly the ship jolted to a stop. Emony looked out of the window at the closeness of the moon. She could see all the various nooks and impact craters. From this distance, it looked close enough to reach out and touch. She spoke through the comm. "Waverider to Tesla. We've encountered the invisible wall. We're going to start ramping up our speed until we punch through."
"Copy that Waverider. Good luck."
"Thank you Captain. Peck, increase speed to full impulse. You should feel the ship start to slowly slide around in the spot before we punch through."
"Increasing speed. Now at full impulse. I don't think it's working."
"It'll work. Just... how to describe this? You have to.... smoosh the nose around. It's difficult to do."


Suddenly the ship lurched and Peck slammed on the brakes. Both officers looked out the window. The moons were gone. The planet was gone. The stars were gone. Even the blackness was gone. They were surrounded by empty blue. Every direction was simply blue with nothing else. Emony checked the sensors. "Well done. We've got through. Waverider to Tesla. Do you read us?" There was a pause before she tried again. Still no response. "It looks like this region is interfering with our comms."
"Can you patch it through the probe on the other side? That should act as a signal booster."

After a few moments, Imzavia's voice came through, but distorted with static. "Waverider? Can you hear us?"
"Yes Captain. Peck and I are ok. We've broken through the barrier and are now in the Blue Dimension."
"You're signal is very poor. Can you boost the gain on the bandwidth?"
"Attempting." Emony's gloved hands danced over the console. "Any better?"

Though there was still some static, it was drastically improved. "We can hear you much better now Bearlo. What's your status?"
"All systems are ok. We're beginning our survey of the area."
"Copy that. Keep in touch."


The next few hours were spent taking scans of the area. The region was very peculiar. With no distinguishing features visible, they dropped a navigation beacon before moving off, so they could find their way back to the initial entry point. Though there appeared to be no indication of movement, not even a lag in the inertial dampeners, the beacon was moving away from them. Emony was glued to the sensor readouts. "This is amazing! Look at our position report. The computer still thinks we're in the Risa system. We've flown through the second moon. But yet, there's nothing here. This must be some kind of subspace, underneath, or, or displaced from our own dimension. It seems to be a vacuum outside. Not seeing any evidence of anything else in here. Ok Peck, I think we've got enough information for this trip. Let's get back."

"I've already taken us back. There's nothing here. No wall to bump against."
"There has to be. The passageway can't just be one way."
"I've been flying around here while you were taking those scans. Believe me, there ain't no hole or wall to fly through."
"Damn. Waverider to Tesla. Can you hear us?"

The Captain's voice came over the com. "Tesla here. What's your status?"
"We've completed the first round of scans, but we appear to have become trapped."
"Och. I thought something like this would happen. Hold tight Commanders, we're contacting Serenity Station. What's your position?"
"We're holding position directly beside the nav marker we dropped when we came in. Sending coordinates through. I've also launched a probe to remain on this side of the barrier to record it's findings."
"Got them. Hold tight."
"Standing by."


Emony and Peck waited in silence, watching the blinking light on the nav beacon. Peck started tapping his fingers on the console. Emony cast a quick glance over, but didn't say anything. He didn't look like the kind of guy you wanted to annoy. She went back to studying the sensor readings. Peck started blowing air out his mouth. "What's taking them so long?"
"Hmm?"
"How long does it take to open a Transwarp conduit? They have our position."
"Yes, but those coordinates are in normal space. We're not in normal space. They probably have to switch the interspatial values through all the different dimensions of subspace until they find this one. That's not an easy thing to adjust on the gate. And then for each one, they've got to check to see if we're there."
"I see." Peck looked at Emony. "You're a bit of a smart cookie. You joined?"

Emony blushed slightly. "Thank you, but no. I'm not. I studied everything the hard way. That's why I've declined the joining. I didn't want the answers given to me."
"Ah. Do things yourself. I like that. Not enough people are like that these days."
"Is that why you joined Tactical? So you could be hands on?"
"Yep. That and I don't exactly have the brain for science. Or engineering. But hell, you want something blown up, that I'm an expert in."
"You must be regretting not getting assigned to a front line ship then."
"Hey, someone has to protect the Tesla. May as well be me. And I bet no one on the front line ships has seen this Blue Universe. Or has such a cute co-pilot."


Emony blushed again and looked back to her sensor readings sheepishly. Peck knew he'd embarrassed her, and decided to just go for it. "I don't suppose you'd fancy grabbing a drink when we get out of here?"
"Oh.... errr.... thank you.... I'm flattered, really..... but.... I'm married."
"Oh. Sorry. Forget I asked. Stupid me. That's what I get for trying to be more upfront."


The two sat in awkward silence for a bit until Peck cleared his throat and took an unnatural interest in the navigation systems. Emony smiled and went back to her sensor readings.

After what seemed like an eternity, there was a flash of light in front of them and a transwarp corridor opened in front of them. From the other end, a voice all too familiar to Emony came through.


"Commander Bearlo. This is Lt Gweevle on Serenity Station. Can you hear me?"
"Gweevle? This is Emony. It's good to hear your voice."
Gweevle seemed to talk to someone beside him for a moment. "Yes Sir. We've located them." After a pause, he addressed Emony again. "Commander, we've got the gate open. Come through when you can."
"Copy that Serenity. Coming through now."


The Waverider went through the conduit. In a flash of light, they emerged back into normal space, out of the Transwarp Gate Firefly Fleet had constructed. Serenity Station was the home starbase of Firefly Fleet, located near the Badlands. Emony knew it well, as the Sentinel had been part of Firefly Fleet some time ago. Before them was the majestic station itself. Emony got back on the comms. "Serenity Station, this is Commander Bearlo. We've made it back with no injuries. Thank you for the assistance."

The voice that replied was not someone Emony recognised. "Copy that Commander. Glad we could help. We've let the Tesla know you're both safe, and they will head out here to pick you up as soon as they finish the scans on their end. Meanwhile, you're welcome to make use of the station facilities."
"Thank you Serenity. Glad to be back."

The comm cut and Emony looked to Peck. "Head for the shuttlebay. Looks like we'll be here for a while. You know, they have a chef on the promenade, made the worst food you've ever had. Whatever you ordered, he would fry it, even a salad. But there was something about him that made him instantly likeable. I wonder if he's still around."

Captain Talaina Kazzur stood outside Airlock Two, staring through the window. "I don't blame you. And I forgive you." She watched the stars outside the viewport streak past at low warp. Where were they going now? It didn't matter. There was no final destination. There was no hope. Footsteps coming from her left brought T'Fon, respectively keeping his distance. Talaina didn't turn as she spoke softly. "Yes, T'Fon?"

"Captain, I have completed those calculations you asked for. But... I am perplexed as to why you would wish it."
"Hope, T'Fon. Simple hope." Talaina took the offered PADD and put it behind her back, not even bothering to look at it.

"Captain, it is not healthy for you to be here every day. I understand you are in mourning, but the rest of the crew require your presence."
"They really don't. T'Fon, I've been in mourning since Christmas. We lost ninety percent of our crew in an instant. And the few survivors have slowly been fading away. To be killed in action is bad enough. But to take her own life? Can you imagine what was going on in her mind? To be that desperate? I- To be honest, I understand. But in these dark days, we all need hope to cling to, no matter how small. This, T'Fon. This is my hope. Thank you."

T'Fon remained a moment longer, before turning and walking away. He was concerned for her mental health. He would have to speak to Ttorkkinn about it.





Ttorkkinn sat at helm, having volunteered to take over Jenna's role. While at warp, it was a fairly easy job, he knew in combat he was never going to be able to live up to the stunts Jenna was able to pull. He remembered once on the Sentinel, she had basically made the entire ship power slide. He had seen the visual logs from one of the other ships in that engagement. Seeing a Soverign class cruiser kick it's tail out and sweep through all those fighters, flipping around to point it's belly upwards at the same time... she had a skill like no other. Ttorkkinn was going to be lucky to pull off a barrel roll. Xui Li's console started beeping, prompting the Saurian to turn towards her.

"Commander, I am, ah, picking up a distress call from, ah, a nearby system."
"Let's hear it."

The voice was filled with static, either damage on their end or his, Ttorkkinn didn't know. But he recognised the mechanical slant to the voice. It was a Cybertronian call.

"This is Jetfire call******** attack! Dece********ter the Space Bridge. We can't hold out********"

Ttorkkin leaned back in his chair. If there was a Cybertronian attack going on nearby, they should probably avoid it. He started plotting a course away from the system. Xui Li nervously shifted. "Commander? Are we not, ah, going to assist?"

"How? You've seen how much bigger their ships are than us. Even in perfect condition, the Viper would be heavily outgunned."

Xui Li said nothing. She just grimaced and turned back to her console. Talaina entered the Bridge, but kept standing. "Report." Ttorkkinn inputted the course correction as he replied.


"We picked up a Cybertronian distress call from a nearby system. I've plotted a course away from it."
"Take us there."
Ttorkkinn paused and slowly turned around. "Excuse me?"
"Take us to that system. We help out the Autobots, maybe they'll help us out."
"Captain, may I remind you how badly those things hunted us when we first arrived. May I also remind you that you yourself, not too long ago, made the decision NOT to help these things."
"It's different now. I let things get too desperate. If I need to make a deal with the devil, then so be it. If it keeps the rest of you safe."
"Captain, I strongly disagree with this course of action."
"Your disagreement is duly noted. Anyone else want to object, it will be noted in the ship's log."


After a pause, T'Fon and Grimworm both raised their hands.

"Duly noted. Commander, lay in a course to that signal. Best speed."




The Viper dropped from warp in deep space. Before them was a station floating outside a star system. The only illumination came from the fires burning on it's hull and the flash of weapons fire as numerous small fighters zipped around outside, shooting at each other. Talaina sat in her chair as she ordered a status report. At Tactical, Grimworm gave the report. "A couple of small fighters engaged around the station perimeter. No organic lifesigns on the station, can't get a read on any Cybertronian lifesigns. Sensors are either too damaged, or not calibrated."
"Can you identify Decepticon fighters?"

"Yes Sir. They have a slightly different energy signature."
"Red Alert. Ttorkkinn, take us in. Target Decepticon fighters. Grimworm, fire at will. We're done being passive in this galaxy."
"I still protest this course of action Sir."
"Noted Ttorkkinn. Engage."


The Viper moved into the fray, swerving around the weapons fire. Locking onto a jet that transformed into a humanoid robot, the Starfleet ship unleashed the full fury of it's phaser cannons. The Decepticon was shooting at the station when his back tore open. He had a few moments of recognition before he exploded. Viper swept through the fireball and curved around, firing at another robot. But they were quick to react, switching into triangular jets and blasting away in a wide arc. Two of them came down from above, missiles tearing into the Viper's shields. The ship lazily flipped up onto it's side as it tried to dodge more missiles, but they connected.



Talaina held onto her chair arms as an explosion brought down part of the roof at the back of the Bridge, destroying the sensor table. "Ttorkkinn! EVASIVE!"
"Helm controls are sluggish! I'm doing the best I can."
"More weapons coming in. BRACE!"

Ttorkkinn tried to dodge, but most of them impacted the ship. Grimworm reported shields were down. A loud thump rang out from the rear of the ship. Grimworm let out a worried yelp. "One of the Decepticons has landed on our hull. He's shooting at our port nacelle." Ttorkkinn desperately tried to shake him loose, but more explosions showed how badly he failed.

"I can't shake him off!"

Outside, the Decepticon, being able to hazard a guess at what the engines were, continued to shoot at the port nacelle, his feet clamped down to lock him into the hull. Charging up a powerful blast, he unleashed it at the nacelle at point blank range. The nacelle exploded, taking the port side of the ship with it. The weapons along that side left a burning trail as the ship spiralled out of control, the Decepticon having been knocked off by the blast. Quickly shaking his head, he transformed to his jet mode and flew back towards them, switching to robot mode at the last instant to land on the hull. He began targetting the starboard nacelle.




Clawing herself upright, Talaina demanded a report. Grimworm let her know the nacelle was gone, along with the port side weapons. Seeing Ttorkkinn immobile on the floor, Talaina made her way to the Helm and brought the ship around. "He wants to play rough, we'll let him play rough." The Viper moved quickly towards the station, at the last second flipping over and skimming past the hull with mere metres to spare.


The Decepticon looked up in time to see the wall about to smack him. The impact drove him off the Viper and spiralling back out into space, not much more than a collection of pistons and wires left. Viper swung back around and saw there was only one largish guy left. A couple of Quantum Torpedos streaked towards him, tearing through his armour. Talaina let out a sigh of relief as the area seemed to quieten down. Xui Li reported they were receiving an audio hail.


"Unknown vessel. This is Jetfire. I don't know who you are, but thank you."
"Jetfire, this is Talaina Kazzur of the U.S.S. Viper. What's the situation?"
"We've got a boarding party on board, and most of our scientists are dead. Any ground support you can provide would be greatly appreciated."
"We'll see what we can do. Where's your hanger bay?"
"The opening at the central point of the central axis. We're holed up in the control room at the top of the station. The Decepticons are located near the array at the other end."
"Copy that. We'll move towards your position."


It was only now that Talaina really looked at the station. A cylinder with a large box set at one end, with a curved outer bar half way down. At the bottom of the station was a series of large curves, as if it were a large claw cupping a central spire. Energy occasionally crackled along the claw and leapt from one claw part to another. Talaina steered the Viper into the shuttlebay, discovering a group of Decepticons standing over executed prisoners. One of them spotted the ship hovering and they all turned and opened fire. Viper took heavy damage, the front of the ship getting torn up badly as Talaina started swaying the ship sideways. "GRIM! Target and destroy!"


The shuttle bay lit up with weapons fire crossing back and forth. Viper had the heavier firepower, but in her damaged state, was unable to utilise it properly. It took a few minutes before the cover the Decepticons had hid behind was destroyed and the soldiers were chewed up. With one survivor, he aimed and fired a large missile, clearing the launch tube as a Quantum torpedo struck him in the face. The missile flew true, slamming into the nose of Viper. Everyone was thrown into chaos as the Deflector was destroyed, taking the nose and remaining phaser cannons with it. Viper lurched backwards, smashing into the deck and skidding across the floor. The remaining underside was torn away as her rear hit some stacked crates, causing them to collapse on the ship.



Talaina slowly came to. Her left leg numbly ached, but she could move it so it wasn't broken. Ttorkkinn and Grimworm had also come to and were checking on T'Fon and Xui Li. "Everyone ok?"
"Everyone on the Bridge is." Ttorkkinn looked over to Talaina. "But I don't think Viper is going to be flying again."
"Get below deck and check on the rest. Make sure they stay with the ship. And tell Karry to gear up. I'm taking the TRT out."



The team, consisting of Talaina, Ttorkkinn, Grimworm and Karry emerged from the wreck, carefully picking their way around the crates. A white Cybertronian with panels emerging from either side of his head was running around the room. He paused when he spotted the officers. "Hey! You guys ok?" The panels flashed in unison with his voice. Talaina nodded.

"We'll live. We picked up your distress-"
"I know. You came here to help. Jetfire sent me to get you up to the control room. The Combaticons are heading this way and trust me, we want to be gone."
"We still have crew members in the ship." The Autobot looked at the crates a moment.
"They'll be ok, as long as they stay inside. You're smaller than I thought you'd be. Come on, I'll give you guys a ride."

As the Autobot transformed into a car, Talaina tapped her commbadge and told everyone to stay inside the ship. They all jumped into the car and it sped off down the corridor. In the front seat, Talaina shifted uncomfortably. Both the body armour and the gun were not comfortable. "So, you got a name?"
"Wheeljack."
"Kazzur."
"Nice to meet you Kazzur. Thanks for responding to our call. Though I'm surprised you helped. Organics tend to fear and flee anything Cybertronian. Especially a distress call."
"To be honest, we responded hoping to get something in return."
"Ah. Silly me, thinking we'd found some altruistic organics."
"It's nothing serious for you lot. Basically, we just need you to fix our ship."
"Well, since you wrecked it helping us, I guess that's fair."
"Good. I'm glad we have an agreement."


They quickly entered the command room. There were only a couple of Cybertronians there. The officers got out of the car and were approached by a large white mech with wings on his back. He looked down at Talaina. "Thanks for the help. I'm Jetfire."
"Kazzur. How can we help?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Most of the Decepticons are holed up in the lower sections around the array. And they've taken a scientist hostage. We're not soldiers, we don't have the skills to mount a rescue. Not against that team."
"Well, anything we can do."
"Best stay here for the time being. I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

One of the others turned towards Jetfire. "Hey boss? An Ark is coming in. I think it's Prime himself." Jetfire turned towards the screen, hope on his face.
"Then just maybe, we can get out of this. Tell them to board and get up here ASAP."

Talaina quickly dodged to avoid getting trampled on as everyone in the room started moving around. Ttorkkinn quickly sided up to Wheeljack. "What's an Ark?"
"A class of starship of ours. It means reinforcements are here. Errr... no offense. We do appreciate your help." Ttorkkinn just crossed his arms and humphed at the remark. The Starfleet officers gathered together in a corner for a few minutes, discussing if it was a good idea to come here. Talaina maintained her stance that it was, and that they needed to be more pro-active. Finally the door to the command room opened and in strode a red and blue robot carrying a glowing orange axe. With a faceplate that moved when he spoke, he carried himself like a warrior. Like a leader. A group of various robots followed him in.

"Jetfire. Report."
"Prime. Onslaught's Combaticons have captured Perceptor and taken over the lower levels. They currently control the array, but they can't activate it without taking this room. We're all that's left."
"That is grave news. We can not allow the Decepticons to take the Space Bridge. It would give them too much of a tactical advantage." Prime turned to the robots behind him. "Aerialbots. Set up a perimeter around the exterior of the station. Do not allow any Decepticon reinforcements through and be prepared to offer air support if needed."
"Yes Sir."

Five robots turned and left, leaving Prime and five others with gold and red chests. Prime turned back to Jetfire. "We need to free Perceptor before we can retake the station. If we make any hostile moves before that, they could execute him."
"We have another matter. These organics also responded to our distress call." Jetfire motioned to the Starfleet officers. Prime looked at them, then stepped closer and knelt down, laying his axe on the floor.

"Thank you for your attempt to help. I am Optimus Prime."
"Talaina Kazzur."
"Your assistence is appreciated, but this is not your battle. I must ask you to leave, for your own safety."
"Unfortunately, our ship was badly damaged helping out. We'll need some serious repairs before we can get flight capable again."
"That is regretable. Then I must ask you to remain here, where you will be safe."


Wheeljack walked over. "Prime? I've had an idea. If Kazzur and her team are willing to help, Decepticon scanners aren't calibrated for organic life. If we can create a big enough diversion, Kazzur's team could sneak in and free Perceptor."
Jetfire joined in. "There's maintanence tunnels running the length of the station. They're too small to move a full squad through, but your smaller size could make it work."
Prime looked up at Wheeljack. "No. This is not their problem. I will not have innocents risking their lives because of us. We will have to come up with another way."

Talaina stepped forward. "Prime? We're volunteering to take the risk. We came here to help out, to get some help in return. Let us do our part." Prime looked back down to Talaina.
"Are you certain you know what you are signing up for? The Combaticons are an elite unit. They will kill you on sight."
"Then we won't be seen."

The lights in Prime's eyes blinked briefly as he thought about it. "Very well. I commend the bravery of you and your team. Make your way through the tunnels. Grimlock's team and I will start causing a diversion. That should draw out most of the Decepticons. Good luck."


Behind Prime, the robot with the gold chest smashed his hands together and started rubbing them in excitement. "Me Grimlock love this plan!" He turned to his team. "Transform and follow me Grimlock!" Grimlock transformed, dropping onto his fists as they became legs, his robot legs fusing together into a large tail. From his chest, a large animal head emerged and let out a fearsome roar. Karry jumped back ever so slightly in surprise.

"Is that.... a dinosaur?"

The other four members of Grimlock's team also transformed into dinosaurs and charged out of the room, Prime following them closely. Karry moved up to Talaina. "Sir! The odds of dinosaurs evolving in this galaxy as well as ours is... well, I'm not T'Fon so I can't calculate it, but it's stupidly remote. Virtually impossible. But that was clearly a T-Rex."

Ttorkkinn crossed his arms. "May I remind you Lieutenant, the Voth had dinosaurs, and they were in the Delta Quadrant."
"Yes, but they originally came from Earth. These Cybertronians MUST have had contact with Earth in the prehistoric past."

Talaina knew where this was going, and motioned to Karry to calm down. "Ok, ok, I'll ask. But not now. We have a mission to complete first." Checking their weapons were ready and each member had some grenades, the team moved into the tunnel.




The tunnels were fairly empty. They were just large enough for Grimworm to walk upright, but would have required any Cybertronian to crawl. Obviously it was their version of the Jeffrey's Tube network on Starfleet vessels. The creaking of the station was the only noise as they moved, ready for anything. Pipes and conduits ran along the wall and Talaina was on point. "Keep sharp. Remember, these things can be disguised as anything. Even living creatures." It was a long walk towards the lower levels of the station, but one without incident. As they neared the target room, Talaina suddenly stopped. There were voices up head. A pair of them, sounding very similar. She motioned for the TRT to spread out and take defensive positons. There was a bend just ahead and that was where the voices were. They sounded like they were getting closer.

"Tell me about it Rumble. I wanna get out there and bust some heads!"
"Hey, you and me both bro. But Onslaught gave us orders, so we gots ta do what we were told."
"I know, but I really, REALLY wanna go crazy! I'm gonna bust a bolt with this waiting!"
"Little guys always get the short straw. You wanna get bigger jobs, get a bigger body."


The two came round the corner. Looking like an average humanoid, they were 7 foot tall and identical, except one was blue, one was red and black.
"Oh very funny. You know we're not allowed to just switch like that."
"Then quit your moaning. You're doing my head in."


Talaina nodded and the four officers sprang up, firing their phasers in unison. The red one staggered back as his armour started to heat up. "OW! That hurts!" He reached over his shoulder and pulled a gun out, opening fire. "Rumble! Get out here and help!"


The blue one had ducked back behind the bend and started shooting from it. Ttorkkinn tossed a grenade along the tunnel. The red guy didn't even notice until it exploded, blasting his legs clean off. He slammed into the roof before dropping onto the floor.

"Ow. That's gonna leave a mark." He faceplanted the ground, prompting the blue one to yell out.

"FRENZY! Alright ya punks, you wanna tangle with Rumble, then let's rumble!" He swung out into the tunnel, his arms turning into large pistons that he started pummeling the ground with. The tunnel started shaking as if it were an earthquake, girders dropping from above. Grimworm jumped into Karry, knocking her aside as a girder crashed onto his back. Ttorkkinn quickly dropped his own rifle and grabbed Grimworm's minigun, unleashing it's blistering hail at Rumble. The hits forced him back, stopping the shaking which gave Talaina the chance to throw a grenade at him. It stuck to his face and while he started screaming and scrambling to knock it off, it exploded. Rumble dropped to his knees, his face a smoking wreck before he faceplanted beside his comrade. Talaina looked back. Ttorkkinn and Karry were ok, but Grimworm was trapped. The three officers moved around the debris and strained to lift it. Ironically, Grimworm would have been the best one to lift. But with great strain, they were finally able to lift it enough for him to crawl out. Talaina knelt down beside Grimworm.

"You ok?"
"Will be. Fortunately, the armour absorbed most of the impact. But my back is killing me."
"We'll wait here a moment for you to recover."

Grimworm just shrugged it off. "I'll be fine. Let's keep going."


The team moved past the downed robots and kept going towards their destination. Finally they came up to the grate with no further encounters. On the other side was a large room with glowing columns and glass tubes reaching from the floor into the ceiling. A single yellow robot was walking around and on the floor was a bound red robot. There didn't appear to be any others. Talaina turned to her team. "Ok. Looks like there's one full sized Cybertronian on guard. Ttorkkin, Grimworm and I will run interference. Karry, you get over to Perceptor and release his bonds. Get him inside this tube and away from here. Us three will fall back when he's safe."

Karry looked through the grating. "I hope he's able to move, because I'm not going to be able to carry him."
Grimworm looked through the grating as well. "Looks like his arms are moving at least."

Talaina readied her gun. "Ok. We move on three. I go left, Ttorkkinn is right, Grimworm is middle. One. Two. THREE!"


The grate popped open and the three officers charged out, opening fire on the Decepticon. He let out a yelp and spun around, Grimworm's minigun fire causing his head to jerk back quickly. He raised a hand to block the fire. "What the PIt are you things? And more to the point, where'd you come from?"


The phaser fire, though not enough to destroy his armour, was clearly putting him in pain as it scorched his body. His right arm transformed into a cannon and he opened fire at Grimworm, but the Hulkanian had already moved quickly. Talaina came at him from the side and carefully aimed at one of his eyes, shooting a concentrated beam. The glass covering the optic cracked, prompting a furious yell. "Ya little runts! I'll kill you for that!" The Decepticon took aim at Talaina who barely rolled away from the explosion in time. Meanwhile, Karry chose her moment carefully. If she ran out too soon, she'd be spotted. The Decepticon turned his back to the grate. Now was her chance. Moving swiftly, she ran out towards Perceptor and jumped up behind him.

"Don't worry, we're here to help."

Perceptor nodded. "Thank you. That is a most pleasing situation."

Karry inspected the bonds. They were some kind of thick solid brace keeping his two hands locked together, but seemed to be made from pure energy. It was a very bizzarre thing, and one Karry had no idea how to unlock. So she simply withdrew her sword and slid it into one of the gaps. Applying pressure to the tip of the handle, the sword started to bend. With a loud snap, it broke, but it also forced the bonds to break open. Perceptor shook it off and rubbed his wrists as he started freeing his legs. Karry motioned for him to follow her.



Talaina rolled aside and fired again at the Decepticon. He was busy tracking Ttorkkinn and exposed his back to her. She cast a quick glance and saw Karry and Perceptor dissapearing into the tunnel. The distraction worked, now it was time to fall back. She shouted for them to move, but Ttorkkinn was just too slow. The shot hit the ground he was on, lifting him up into the air. Another blast hit him in the chest, knocking him back against the wall. Grimworm opened fire with a full flurry from his minigun, keeping him distracted. Talaina holstered her gun and whipped out her knife. Running forward, she rolled under some wild shots from Grimworm and jumped up, digging her knife into the back of the Decepticon's leg. Grabbing one of the spikes jutting out, she climbed up to the knee and triggered a grenade. Slamming it into the armour, she quickly jumped off as the explosion tore through pistons. The Decepticon cried out as he collapsed to the floor. Grimworm grabbed Ttorkkinn and dragged him into the tunnel as Talaina backed up, firing at the Decepticon's head. He was shouting all kinds of expletives and death threats as he tried to get himself into a somewhat upright position and started shooting. Talaina dove into the tunnel and quickly ran around the corner as the mouth of the grate was torn up.



Talaina saw Perceptor and her team ahead. She ran towards them. "Status?" Grimworm was carrying Ttorkkinn, who seemed somewhat awake. His armour was badly charred and smoking.

"Karry, Perceptor and I are ok. Commander Ttorkkinn took a full hit. His armour absorbed and deflected alot of the damage, but he still needs medical treatment soon."

Perceptor was crawling on all fours, the only way he could fit in the tunnel. He awkwardly shifted to look at the team. "We Autobots have some experience with healing organic lifeforms. We may be able to assist."

Talaina looked at the Autobot. "Thank you. But our ship should be able to look after him. Come on, let's get back to the control room."


As they made their way back, Karry walked just infront of Perceptor. "I'm curious. Why did the Decepticons capture you, when they killed everyone else?"
"As lead scientist on Project Generations, I and I alone hold the Space Bridge activation code. I am also the only one capable of generating the calculations required to open a Space Bridge safely."
"What is a Space Bridge?"
"In simplest terms, it opens two portals in space and connects them via an interdimensional bridge. It allows for almost instantanious travel anywhere. We were developing it to provide a means of searching for new colony worlds and resources away from the war. Unfortunately, the Decepticons learnt what we were doing. Needless to say, if it were to fall into their hands, the strategic advantage it would provide could in theory allow them to end the war in a matter of megacycles."
"Aahh. It's basically an artificial wormhole."
"I.... am unfamiliar with that termonology, but if you say so."
"I do have another question. The one called Grimlock. He turned into an animal that was on my world a very long time ago. But that world is in another galaxy. Any idea how?"


"Hmmm. Grimlock's team were captured by a Decepticon scientist a long time ago. He forced them into those alternate modes as part of a science experiment. No one knows where he got the data from for such scans, but it is theorised he did have a Space Bridge. Unfortunately, the scientist has been missing ever since, and Grimlock's team have no memories of said event."
"Really? Could a Space Bridge reach into another galaxy?"
"I do not see any reason why it couldn't. In theory, a Space Bridge could connect two points anywhere in the universe. Due to the nature of the interdimensional fold effect that is employed, a Space Bridge could branch any two points in the universe. There is no difference in power consumption. All that is required would be the correct calculations."
"Than I think we may have just found our way home."




They finally made it back to the control room. Karry explained what she had learnt to Talaina, while the Autobots were finishing clearing up the pockets of Decepticons. Prime strode into the control room. "All Decepticon forces have been transferred to the Brig in the Ark. Jetfire, I want you to see what damage has been done to the array."


Perceptor walked over to Optimus, with Talaina perched on his shoulder like a parrot. "Optimus. Captain Kazzur has made a request." Optimus simply looked at Talaina and waited for her to speak.

"Our homeworld is three galaxies away. We never thought we'd ever get home, but from what we've learnt about your Space Bridge, it could get us there almost instantly. Optimus Prime, I formally ask permission to use your Space Bridge."
"The Space Bridge has not been tested. There is no guarantee it will work, or it will send you where you want to go."
"The risks have all been explained to us. But my crew and I are willing to take the risk. All we need is some reinforcing of our ship's hull to survive the trip."

Perceptor also spoke up. "We can also use this as a chance to test the Bridge. Optimus, the data we gain from it could help us immeasurably in tuning it."

Prime thought about it. "Normally, I do not condone the use of our technology with those who are, technologically speaking, less advanced. However, you proved invaluable in rescuing Perceptor and you are far from home. I know if I were in your position, I would risk everything to get my crew back to Cybertron. If you and your crew are willing to take the risk, we will open the Space Bridge for you."

Talaina smiled. "Thank you Optimus Prime. You don't know what this means to my crew."




The next two days passed quickly. The Autobots patched together the Viper, leaving the ship with a very unusual looking hull. T'Fon worked closely with Perceptor, calibrating the scanners with where Federation space was. At this vast distance, Perceptor was worried they could land them on the far side of the Milky Way. Ttorkkinn was in a medical induced coma, but was alive and gradually on the mend. Good thing he had been wearing the TRT armour. Finally, Perceptor announced the calculations were complete. Talaina sat in her bullet ridden Captain's Chair. Karry was manning the helm and Xui Li was on sensors. The Viper was orbiting the station with the Aerialbots providing an escort wing. Optimus was on the main viewscreen.

"Perceptor is opening the Space Bridge. Prepare for turbulance."


The 'claw' at the base of the station started glowing as energy built up. The crackling energy intensified until a beam shot out from each part of the 'claw' into the central spire. A pulse of pure white energy raced up the spire and jettisoned out into space. It ran free for a few miles before detonating in a brilliant explosion, bathing the entire area in white. Talaina closed her eyes and looked away. Sensing the glow fading, she slowly opened her eyes again and blinked to clear her vision. On the viewscreen was what appeared to be the event horizon of a Black Hole. Optimus came on the other half of the screen.

"Perceptor has confirmed the Space Bridge is stable. It should be linked to the coordinates you provided. Communication traffic should be passable between the portals. Are you picking anything up?"


Talaina looked to Xui Li. With Cybertronian comms operating differently to Starfleet's, it was decided Viper herself would scan through the portal for any confirming signals from the other end. Xui Li was working furiously, scanning. Talaina held her breath. The wait was agony. Finally, she turned, a huge smile on her face.

"Captain, I am, ah, picking up a Starfleet Nav beacon."

Talaina nodded and looked to the viewscreen. "It looks like it worked. We're picking up a Starfleet signal from the other end."

Prime nodded. "Then I thank you for your help. May Primus speed you quickly and safely on your journey."


Talaina nodded. "Karry, take us in."



The mangled ship, with half it's hull in the battle scarred Starfleet plating, and the other patchworked half covered in Cybertronium alloys, flew into the Event Horizon. The ship started shaking badly from the gravitational forces, but Perceptor had said that was to be expected. The screen started flashing, as they passed through space beyond description. Talaina started to feel sick to her stomach, the room spinning uncontrollably, but the trip was over almost as quickly as they began. Unfortunately, the effects weren't. Straightening up from over her arm rest, she wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and frowned at the mess on the floor. Most of the others had not fared any better. "Everyone ok?"


Xui Li checked her sensors. "The ship appears to, ah, be intact. All life signs are, ah, present and accounted for." Talaina got to her feet and looked at the static on the viewscreen, quickly grabbing the panel beside her seat to steady herself.
"Any idea where we are?"

"No Sir. Sensors are, ah, not picking up any star systems. There are no, ah, planets or sensor readings of any kind. Except for, ah, the Starfleet Nav Beacon."
"Is the Space Bridge still open?"
"Negative."
"Then it seems wherever we are, we're stuck."
"I believe I can, ah, get a visual."


Talaina looked at the screen, waiting as patiently as possible. What were they going to see? Hundreds of different scenarios raced through her mind, none of them particularly pleasant. Finally the static cleared to show blue. No stars. No light. Just a solid blue screen. With a Starfleet Nav Beacon floating nearby. "Xui Li? Are we.... in the Blue Dimension?"
"It's possible Sir. The Space Bridge does, ah, go through dimensions. But that does not, ah, explain the Nav Beacon."


Karry turned from the helm. "What's the Blue Dimension?" Talaina staggered over to Karry.
"A dimensional pocket that we suspect may be a branch of subspace. We discovered an entry to it in the Risa system when we were on the Sentinel, shortly before you were transferred. The only way out was to use our Transwarp engines."
"Which are destroyed on the Viper."
"Yeah. But if there's a Nav Beacon, someone must have come back and done some exploring. Xui Li, can we patch a message through that beacon? See if we can contact anyone?"
"It's certainly, ah, possible. One moment."


Talaina waited for Xui Li to finish the work and gave her Captain a nod. "This is Captain Talaina Kazzur of the U.S.S. Viper, transmitting a general distress call. We are trapped in the Blue Dimension. Can anyone read us?" Just static was the reply. "Dammit. Keep transmitting that through the beacon. There has to be a way we can get out of here."

"Not with the damage we, ah, have taken. Only Transwarp was known, and that, ah, is why Starfleet did not send any more, ah, ships to investigate." Suddenly, a crackling voice came through the comm. A young female with a scottish accent.

"This is Captain Imzavia of the U.S.S. Tesla to the U.S.S. Viper. We read your signal. Do you have Transwarp engines?"
"Negative Tesla. We're stranded."
"Please stand by."


A few moments later, a Nova class ship randomly appeared in front of the Viper. Her Captain appeared on the viewscreen. A young lass with red hair, but with the black eyes of a Betazoid. Talaina found it odd a Betazoid would have such an accent, but dismissed it. There could be any number of reasons for it.

"Captain Kazzur. Our records show your ship as lost over a year ago. I must say, this is the last place I expected ya ta be turnin' up."
"It's a long, sad story Captain. I assume by your entering this place, you can get us out?"
"Aye, we've been tasked with studying this for a while. We've left our Waverider back in the Risa system to act as a link. We're standing by ta beam your survivors aboard. But we're not detecting many."
"Most of the crew have died."
"I'm sorry ta hear that. We'll beam ya aboard and get ya ta Serenity Station. Then we'll figure out a way ta get your ship out."
"Thank you Captain Imzavia. We all appreciate it."
"Wherever ya've been.... welcome home."
"Thank you. But not everyone made it."

The channel cut out and Talaina collapsed into her chair. They had found a Starfleet vessel. After all the trouble, after all the hardships... they had finally got home. At least, a couple of them had.

Ensign Jenna Jones.

Ensign Neil Redshirt.

Petty Officer Malvina Macwilliams.

Lt Fernando Daddio.

Lt Nulhor.

Ensign Neal Igtanioc.

Lt Joe Kemble.

Ensign Rea Randol.

Lt Terrell Worlds.

Lt Carl Burkins.

Lt David Tolvsky.

Ensign Willie Wurz.


To name just a few. Each one gave their lives in the line of duty. To save the ship. To save their family on board. The emotion was too much. The explosion of joy mixed poorly with the burden of regret. Talaina had got them home, but far too many didn't make it. She couldn't tell how she was feeling. All she could do was lean forwards, rest her face in her hands and quietly cry as the transporter took her.

"And how does that make you feel?"


Talaina sat on the leather couch of the office. The walls were a warm dark green, inviting comfort and hospitality. A large potted plant stood in the corner and the ornate desk had papers neatly stacked on it. The sun blazed through the window, warming the office on this lovely summer day. Across from her, sat on her own chair, was Doctor Wren. She had a PADD and every so often would tap some notes down on it. Talaina considered her answer carefully. "How do you think I feel? I failed them. I was out of my depth."

"Talaina, this was your first command. You deal with short term battle instances, in a ship that was designed for putting into Starbase between each battle. You didn't even have a holodeck. Frankly, it's a miracle you made it back at all."

"The Captain is responsible for her crew. It doesn't matter how you look at it. Everything was my responsibility."

Wren looked at her watch and sighed. "We've come to the end of this session. I do feel like you've made some progress, but until you start to let go of your guilt, you'll never be able to return to the service. You've made it clear how much you want to get back out there in some way, but I can't in good judgement let you go currently. We'll get there, it just needs more time. Visit your family. Talk to your friends. You're a strong person and you have a good network of support. Use it. Don't handle the guilt by yourself."

Talaina stood up. "Thank you Doctor. I'll try." After shaking hands, Talaina left the office. Outside, Ttorkkinn was sat on a park bench. They were both in civillian clothes, having been granted an extended leave, as with all the survivors, though Talaina was wearing a very smart pair of trousers. Seeing her come out of the building, Ttorkkinn picked up the jacket perched on his lap and offered it to Talaina. She quickly put on her Diplomatic jacket and changed shoes. Now dressed smartly, she waited for Ttorkkinn to pick up the backpack beside him and stand up.


"Done for another week?"
"For another week. Have you got it?"
"Yeah. Ready for this?"

Talaina took a deep breath and held it, before gradually letting it out. "Yeah. He's the only one left on Earth." The two walked along the San Francisco street towards the public transporters in silence. Ttorkkinn knew Talaina felt the need to do this, and he admired her dedication. Most Captains would simply make a call, not visit everyone in person. It was not only a means of ensuring the family knew how their loved one had died, but also helped Talaina move on.



It was only a matter of minutes before they were in New Orleans. They walked through the streets until finally, they came to the address on Terrell Worlds file. The sun was shining brightly here as well. Ttorkkinn gently took the backpack off and opened it. Talaina reached in and pulled out a small box. The Saurian looked at her. "I'll be waiting over there for you."

Talaina grimaced. "Thank you." Taking another deep breath to steady herself, she climbed the steps to the front door and pushed the doorbell. After a few moments, the door opened. A human female in her mid thirties answered. Her dark hair was a mess and she had clearly been crying. It was two weeks since Viper had returned. Two weeks since the families had been told by a random Starfleet officer on a comms channel that their loved ones would never be coming back to them. Talaina owed it to her crew to tell the families in person. She spoke softly, fighting back the pain in her own voice.

"Mrs. Worlds?"

The woman blew her nose on a scrunched up tissue as she nodded.

"My name is Talaina Kazzur. I was the Captain of the Viper. May I come in?"


Mrs. Worlds nodded and opened the door. Talaina entered the house and waited for Mrs. Worlds to shut the door and offer her a seat. Still holding the box, Talaina sat down on the couch. The house was decorated in an old style. Floral wallpaper and china teapots dotted around. Pictures of Terrell with his family were scattered everywhere, as if someone had recently been looking at them and was holding tightly onto their memories. Mrs. Worlds blew her nose again before Talaina continued. "Mrs. Worlds-"

"Please... Karen."

"Karen. I'm sorry for disturbing you in this time of grief. But I wanted you to be told in person about Terrell, by someone who worked with him." She paused and sighed again. "Terrell was a great engineer. He had an uncanny ability to make structures and items that many people told him were impossible. Many times, his skills saved the day thanks to his unorthadox methods. But he was more than that. He was an integral part of the crew. Of the family. During parties and social events, he was always one of the first ones to volunteer to run it. He always made sure everyone was enjoying themselves, putting their happiness above his own. I'm sure you already know this. But I wanted to tell you just how much Terrel Isiah Worlds meant to us."

"Thank you for coming. It means a lot to know he was so loved. If I may ask.... though I'm fearful to know. How....."

"The crew was gathered in the mess hall for a Christmas celebration. The ship was hit suddenly by a powerful weapon that destroyed half the ship. He didn't suffer."

"A.... a Christmas.... celebration? That's it? No valiantly fighting off invaders? No no no lethal dose of radiation to save the ship?"

"I'm sorry his death was so meaningless. If I could trade places with him, I would in a heartbeat. But at least take some comfort in the knowledge he didn't suffer, and he was amongst friends."


A small boy walked into the room. Only about six years old, he was the same kid from the photos. "Hello."

Talaina looked at the boy. "Hello."

Karen blew her nose and wiped some tears away. "Bobby? This is Talaina. She was your dad's Captain." The little boy looked at Talaina.

"Why didn't you save daddy? Why?"

"I'm sorry Bobby. I'm so sorry. If I could bring him back, I would. I would do everything I could to get him back. But I failed him. I failed you. And for that.... I can never forgive myself."

"I want daddy! You took daddy away! It's all your fault! I WANT DADDY!" Bobby started crying and promptly fell onto the floor. A young girl, no older than eleven, came into the room. Karen motioned towards Bobby.

"Claire, can you look after your brother for a bit?" The girl nodded and took Bobby away, singing to him. Karen watched them go. "This is hard for all of us. But moreso on him. He has a mental disorder, it makes it difficult for him to process his emotions properly."

"But he is right. It's all my fault."


Karen said nothing, a point that struck Talaina in her heart. Her antenna drooped as she stood up and handed the box over. "Terrell liked to make small clockwork sculptures from bits of scrap in his off time. He was working on this for his son at the time. I... I don't know if he finished it, but I felt you should have it."


Karen took the box. "Thank you."

Talaina shifted uncomfortably. "I should probably leave you to it. And again, I'm so sorry."


Talaina was shown to the door. As she slowly made her way down the steps, she raised a hand over her mouth, fighting back the tears. Ttorkkinn was sat on a bench not far away. He stood up when he saw her approaching. Talaina cleared her throat and tried to put on a brave face.

"That's everyone on Earth. I believe there's a few families on Trill that deserve a visit."

Ttorkkinn looked at her. This was clearly draining her emotionally. He raised his arms and hugged her close. "You don't need to do this you know."


Talaina hugged him back, squeezing him tight. "Yes. Yes I do."

Talaina sat on the park bench under a large tree. Ttorkkinn had gone to see when the next shuttles to Trill were, so the Andorian had some time. Still dressed in her diplomatic uniform, she had managed to get her emotions back under control. There were three more families on Trill to see, and then her responsibilities were over. Her position as Captain was done. At least for the time being. Until the therapist cleared her for active duty, she would have to find something to do. Some way to keep busy, to stop her mind spiralling out of control. It wasn't going to be easy, but she had Ttorkkinn to help. He had been a rock the past few weeks. Without his support, she didn't know if she would have made it through. And for that, she would be forever thankful.


A noise from the alley across the road caught her attention. Sounded like some fighting. She got to her feet and crossed the road, pausing at the entrance. As the buildings either side were high, no sunlight made it in, casting long dark shadows across everything. A clatter of metal boxes instantly shifted her into a defensive stance as she slowly edged into the alley.

"Hello? Anyone there? Stop your fighting and step out. This is Starfleet."

There was a loud bang and some hissing. Barking came from behind a dumpster. Talaina moved over to it and jumped back as something low to the ground shot out of the shadows. Talaina quickly swung aside and watched the pitbull run off into the street and out of sight. She straightened up and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew. It was just some dumb dog." She was about to leave the alley when she heard a mild moan. It didn't sound very healthy. Cautiously, she peered around the dumpster, her antenna dropping in sorrow. Lying on the ground was a small orange tabby cat. It had a large wound along it's side and was bleeding out. It wheezed and was barely moving.

"Oh you poor thing."

Talaina knelt down beside the animal. It tried to move away but couldn't. She quietly hushed, holding out a finger to it's face. The cat looked at the finger and started sniffing it. It gently licked it, then put it's head down. Talaina took her jacket off and carefully scooped the cat up, wrapping it up in the jacket and applying pressure on the wound to stop it bleeding. Ignoring the red stain forming over the white jacket, she held the animal close to her and left the alley. The cat closed it's eyes and burrowed it's head into her chest, letting out a wheezy purr. She went up to the nearest pedestrian.

"Excuse me. Can you tell me where the nearest vet is please?"

The young man helpfully pointed her a few streets along. Talaina thanked the man and quickly walked, keeping the animal safely embraced. She hoped the poor thing would be ok, but if not, she would at least make sure it was comfortable when it died.




Talaina sat in the waiting room of the vet's. It had been nearly half an hour since the vet had taken the animal in. Ttorkkinn had called her to find out where she had gone and was on his way. Finally, the older man walked out of the door and pulled his face mask off. Talaina stood up. "Well doctor?"

The vet sighed. "He was lucky you got him here when you did. The dog's attack punctured his lung. Another hour and he would have died."
"So he's ok?"
"Yes. I've repaired the damage and sedated him for now."
"Oh thank the ice for that. Can I see him?"
"Of course."


The vet led Talaina into the back. The cat was lying on his side, breathing normally and was fast asleep. Talaina quietly walked up to the table and knelt down so she was on eye level. Ever so carefully, she reached out and stroked his head with a thumb.

"What'll happen to him?"
"Well, since he's not shipped, he has no collar, and no other means of finding his owner, he'll be declared a stray. But even if he had, I'd be tempted not to contact them. He's showing signs he's been on the streets for a long while. Old fractures not healed properly. Bruses. Slight malnutrition. If he does have an owner, they obviously don't care about him. He'll remain here for a few days under observation before he'll be moved to a shelter and put up for adoption."

As she stroked the animal, he started purring in his sleep. Every so often, his tail would flick. "If anyone was interested in claiming him, they would have chipped him. Or given him a collar. Something. Poor thing just needs someone to show him some love."

The cat woke up and looked at Talaina. He lifted his head up and started sniffing her hand, sweeping his nose across every inch of it. When he got to her fingers, he started licking the tip. Talaina smiled and gently moved her finger around, teasing the cat and watching him follow with his whole face.

"What if I adopt him?"
"Are you prepared for the responsibility? He's going to need constant attention in the next few weeks. I see you have a Starfleet uniform. Your duties won't interfere with that, will they?"
"No. I've taken an extended leave for a month. And I'm planetside for the duration."
"Well, then I don't see why not. If you have any questions, feel free to call me. But like I say, he needs to stay here for a day or two, make sure his injuries are healing properly."
"I have some business on Trill. Can he stay here until I get back? Should only be a couple of days."
"That works out perfectly. Any idea what to name him?"


Talaina had been watching the cat the entire time, never once looking at the vet. "Not yet. But I'll think about it while I'm off planet."


There was something innocent about this animal. A curiosity, a need to learn. A need to have someone watch out for it, a need to protect it. It was like a crewmember. Maybe looking after this being was what she needed to start the path of healing. She needed him as much as he needed her.

"I have to leave you here for a couple of days, but I'll be back soon. And then we'll get you settled in properly. You won't have to worry about fighting to survive again. I promise."

3 months later




"Are you ready for this?"

Talaina looked at the Saurian, the white patches around his eyes a stark contrast to his black skin. They say the first officer should never become a true friend of the Captain, in order to maintain that objectivity needed for the role. But without Ttorkkinn, Talaina knew she would never have survived the last few months. "I'm ready. And... thank you."

"For what?"
"For being there. I know I always say it, but.... you've become the best friend I've ever had."
"Now don't go getting all mushy before you step out there."

Talaina studied his dark eyes. For a reptillian race, they were unusually warm. She touched the scratched and battered pips on the collar of her dress uniform, making sure this was real. "First day back. Let's do this." Ttorkkinn gave her a quick hug and stepped back. Talaina walked out onto the stage and quickly took it in. It wasn't a large auditorium, only about one hundred cadets. They quickly became quiet when they noticed her walking out. They were so young. So green. Completely unaware of what was out there. What was waiting. Talaina stood behind the podium and cleared her throat.

"Greetings class of 2411. I am Captain Talaina Kazzur, and I have been asked by the Academy to give a lecture on survival out there. I'm sure many of you joined Starfleet to explore space. To see what's around the next nebula. Well I'm glad to hear that. Starfleet is an organisation with a mission of exploration. Not war. But battle... is inevitable." She paused, thinking of the battles of the last year. She took a quick breath before continuing. "Starfleet has a duty to protect those who are unable to protect themselves. To put our foot down and stop the bullies of the galaxy when they start trouble. The cadets I see before me have demonstrated both a desire and ability to see that through. That is why I am here to talk to you about survival skills. As officers rising through the Tactical command structure, it will be your responsibility to protect the crew. To offer suggestions and ideas on how to get out of whatever mess the Captain has flown you into. This is a serious and demanding task. Let me show you some past examples."


She pressed a button on a PADD and a holographic display of a Galaxy class ship appeared. It was in orbit of a Class M world and a small Klingon Bird Of Prey was in front of it.

"I'm sure you are all familiar with this scenario. The Battle of Viridian III."

She started playing the hologram. The Federation ship fired a single phaser shot at the Klingons as it turned around, taking fire that passed through it's shields.

"Who can tell me what's wrong with this?" She saw a couple of hands shoot straight up. "Yes. You." Not knowing their names, she just pointed at a Bajoran male. The cadet, short fiery red hair atop a square head, stood up.

"They just fired one shot and stopped."
"Wrong. Who else? Yes."

A Bolian stood up. "They turned the ship around instead of making evasive manouvers."
"Wrong. You."
A Benzite stood up and took a deep breath from his breathing apparatus before answering. "They didn't remodulate shield frequencies after the first penetration."
"Correct. That procedure has become standard procedure now following any shield penetration, but at the time, it simply wasn't a tactic that was needed. No one was to be able to guess the shield frequency. The only time it was ever needed was when fighting the Borg, and at that point, there had only been one Borg attack; by a single vessel. A simple tactic that would have saved us an extra letter in the Enterprise lineage. Saying that, they did find a weakness in the Klingon vessel that they could exploit and thus stop the attack."

Talaina shut the hologram down, realising she had drifted off her script. Where was she going with this? The loss of the Enterprise D was well known. There had been an actual point she wanted to make, but she couldn't find it now. Her mind just kept thinking back to the Viper. The crowd was starting to mutter, sensing something wasn't right. She set her jaw firmly, trying to come to a decision. Off to the side, Ttorkkinn was looking concerned. He could tell something was not right. Talaina stepped around the podium and sat down on the edge of the stage, her feet dangling about two foot above the floor. She watched them dangle before lifting her head up.

"Ultimately, what survival comes down down to is trust. Trust that your crew has your back, just as they trust you have theirs. Look at everyone around you. Every person you see has to be like family. Because that's what a starship crew is. Out there in the vastness of space, you only have each other. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and offer suggestions, no matter how stupid you may think it sounds. Believe me, the Captain would rather hear your daft ideas than none at all. As Tactical officers, it will fall ultimately on your shoulders to protect the family. So study. Learn what devices can be merged with what devices to create crazy and... and insane things. Because that's your survival skills. Not how many people you can shoot with a phaser, or how quickly you can knock someone out. That doesn't mean you survive."

She paused again, the memory of Jenna in the airlock, clutching that damned stuffed teddy bear. A lump caught in the Andorian's throat, and she quickly coughed.

"Survival skills are also about your mental and emotional wellbeing. If you're finding it a struggle, don't hide it. Tell someone. Talk to someone. Otherwise, you may find yourself doing something you may never thought you would." It was clear by the way her eyes didn't focus on anyone, by the softness her voice took that she was referring to someone. The cadets started shifting in their seats awkwardly. "Keep an eye out for signs that members of your crew are struggling. Raise the flag with them. Or a superior. Because when someone no longer has the ability to survive... it can tear a family apart."


Talaina stopped again and started looking around. "I'm sorry. Something's come up. I'll see Alpha Shift on the DarkFyre ready for the practical lessons in the morning." Talaina pushed herself off the stage and quickly left the room. In the seats, Cadet Shuta frowned. The young Japanese man leaned over to his friend in the next seat.

"What was that about?" Seeing her shrug, Shuta straightened up. "Well I hope she's pulled herself together for tomorrow. Because that was some whacked out stuff."

Ship's Log. The U.S.S. DarkFyre is on a training mission out towards Pluto, teaching the cadets how a starship really works. So far, they haven't broken anything or crashed the ship into any of Pluto's orbital platforms.



Talaina sat in one of the science seats on the Bridge, watching the cadets run the ship. Her little ginger cat, Simba, sat purring in her lap as she gently stroked it, with a PADD on the console beside her. The Constitution Refit class ship was only operating with a crew of forty seven cadets with Talaina and Ttorkkinn overseeing. The Academy had granted the Saurion's request to help out the class; since they had no ship of their own yet, it had been alot easier than they thought it would have been to get him onboard. Cadet Shuta sat in the Captain's chair. Talaina gently rubbed behind Simba's ear. "Ok Mister Shuta, we want to perform a scan of Pluto's polar regions, so we can determine a suitable location for the geothermal platforms."

"Yes Sir. Cadet Grownlga. Take us into a geostationary orbit around the northern pole. Cadet Stryka. Perform a full topographical sensor scan. I want every part of that region scanned."

As the two cadets confirmed their orders, Talaina smiled slightly. "A topological sensor scan may take hours. Days even, at the range you just ordered. You could be wasting alot of time."

Shuta turned to look at Talaina. "What do you suggest, Sir?"
"Your mission is to scout out locations for new geothermal drilling platforms for terraforming purposes. What do they need?"
"Sir?"
"Geothermal platforms. What do they need?"
"Err... large flat land?"
"Yes, but more importantly than that."

Shuta frowned as he thought hard. "Oh, geothermal energy."
"Correct. Which means the first thing you do is..."

"Scan for pockets of underground heat sources. Then we run a topological scan of only those areas."
"Correct."
"Cadet Stryka, start scanning for areas of thermal signatures below ground."


As the scan started, the ship suddenly went to Red Alert. The cadets started looking around in panic. Cadet Stryka raised her hands above her head. "I didn't do it!"

Talaina got to her feet and moved towards the Captain's chair, holding Simba securly so he wouldn't run off. "All stations rep-" She was cut off by the comm. It was Ttorkkinn, who had stationed himself in Engineering.

"Bridge! Antimatter containment is failing on the warp core. We're about two minutes from a core breach!"
"Can you do anything to stop it?"
"I can try to buy us some time, but the seals are degrading. Once they go, that's it."
Talaina nodded, deciding on her course of action. "All cadets, evacuate the ship. Use the escape pods and head towards the orbital platforms."

Shuta was aghast. "What? Captain, no. We still have time-"
"Shut it Cadet. We don't have time. Get your crew to the escape pods. As Captain, their safety is your responsibility. You have to do whatever it takes to ensure they survive." There was an edge to her voice that made Shuta go silent. "Even if it means your own sacrifice. Take the pods and get out. I'll steer the ship clear of the platforms and join you later." The cadets just stared dumbfounded at each other. "MOVE!"


As everyone got to their feet and started making for the Turbolift, Talaina took the seat at Helm and put Simba down beside her. The cat looked around, nervous by all the noise and pushed himself up against Talaina's leg. "Ttorkkinn, how long can you give me?"
"Seals will rupture in Fifty seconds. The cadets down here have evacuated."
"I'm taking us away from the orbital platforms so they won't get caught in the blast."





In his escape pod, Cadet Shuta looked out of the viewport. The DarkFyre swung herself around, impulse engines flaring. She sped away from the orbital platforms and into space. "Come on Captain. You've got clear. Now escape. I know what you said, but don't sacrifice yourself when you don't need to." Shuta looked around. There were forty six escape pods floating with him and rescue ships were already approaching them, so he knew his classmates were safe. He looked back to the old Connie. He'd heard the rumours about what Kazzur and Ttorkkinn had been through over the past year. Was this some kind of suicide run, to go out in a blaze of glory? Surely anyone with that kind of mentality would not be allowed anywhere near a starship. Still, rumours of giant metal men, gladiator combat, hunting parties still whispered around the campus. Who knew how things like that would affect a person. "Come on Captain. Eject." He focused on the ship so intently, searching for a blast of compression that followed an escape pod launch, tensing as he knew they had to be mere seconds away from a core breach, that he utterly failed to notice the nacelles glowing. It was only when the customary flash of a warp drive engaging did he realise. But by then it was too late. The ship had jumped to warp. "What.... the hell?"




On the Bridge, Talaina checked the PADD and set it back on the console, making minute course corrections. "Well done Ttorkkinn. We've done it."
"Yeah? Don't forget, that was the easy part. Now we actually have to pull this off before anyone catches us."
"By the time word gets back to HQ, we'll be long gone. How's the core?"
"As stable as the day it was installed. I'm ready to push it to the maximum."

Talaina looked at the viewscreen. The Sol star was growing ever larger. She checked the sensors with the PADD and made some more minor corrections. "I hope you're calculations are right T'Fon. Or this is going to be very messy." The ship shot past Earth, continuing towards the Sun. Talaina started reading out speed updates. Warp 8. Warp 8.7. Warp 9. The ship started to shake, reaching speeds her frame was never designed for. "Ttorkk, divert all uneccessary power to the Structural Integrity Field. Everything else, dump into the engines."
"I've given her all she's got. I can maybe get a little more, but this really needs an Engineer."
"We don't have one. I know you can figure something out."

The ship reached warp 9.5. "Hold together old girl. I know we can do this." They flew past Mercury, the star bathing the Bridge in a yellow glow. Angling the ship into it's final course, she forced the engines fully open. "Come on, come on!" A blast of steam from above indicated something had ruptured from the stress, but Talaina kept pushing on. The ship came dangerously close to the star's corona, filling the entire viewscreen. It angled close around the equator of the star, picking up even more speed than should be possible from the engines. "Ttorkk, prepare for Time Warp!"





Heh. That tickled. What was it? Talaina slowly opened her eyes. She must have blacked out and slumped over the console. Simba was licking the inside of her hand. She smiled and stroked his head, picking herself up. The ship seemed in one piece. First thing was to check they'd stopped. Sensors showed they had stopped in orbit of Neptune, so they should be out of any passive sensor sweeps. But they still had to move quickly before any patrols came along. "Ttorkkinn? Are you ok?"

There was some slight grumbling from the comm. "Yeah, I'm alive. Ship's held together as well. Did it work?"
"Give me a second to check." Talaina accessed the starbase time beacon. "Yes and no. We've gone back in time, but a little further than we planned. We've got a month to wait."
"Then I suggest we warp out of here and find somewhere to hold up for a month. We don't want to start changing things before the encounter and we can properly plan our next move."
"Agreed." Talaina's fingers danced over the console and the ship pulled away from the planet. With a powerful flash of light, they were gone.





Twenty Seven days later.......


The Viper shook from the disruptor fire. Jenna banked the ship hard to port, giving the phaser cannons a perfect shot to obliterate the Nausicaan pirate ship. Grimworm shouted in triumph. "Got him!"

T'Fon shook his head. "Captain, may I remind you that Starfleet regulations clearly state criminals should be arrested and brought to trial. Not summinarily executed."

From her chair in the centre of the Bridge, Talaina tilted her head towards T'Fon, without taking her eyes off the viewscreen as three other pirate ships flew past, firing their disruptors. "And may I remind you Lieutenant, that we are trying to protect that Tuffli out there. We don't have the opportunity to take prisoners, not without giving them the time to take hostages or just outright destroy that freighter. We warned them off, they attacked. We have plenty of justification."


The ship shook again from weapons fire, but the shields were holding. T'Fon frowned, but remained silent until his console beeped. "Captain, detecting a ship decloaking off the starboard bow. Sensors indicate it is a Romulan warbird. D'deridex class. They are hailing." Talaina shook her head. "Perfect. On screen." The face of Commander D'Elon appeared on the viewscreen. She was as all business as usual. "Starfleet vessel. This is an internal Romulan matter. We thank you for the assistence, but we can handle it from here."

Talaina shifted in her chair as she replied. "Commander, we are responding to a distress call from a civillian freighter. We will depart when the area is secure."
"Then you should be aware we detected a pair of Son'a ships on an intercept course. We have reason to believe they will be aiding the Nausicaans. We will both deal with them."

She promptly cut communication as the I.R.W. Tomalak moved across the starscape, plasma beams lancing out. They locked a raider in a tractor beam, holding it while Viper fired her phaser cannons. The final raider opened a comm. "Hold your fire. We surrender."

Talaina smiled. "Wise move. Shut down your power systems and prepare to be boarded." The Nausicaan complied without question. As Viper was moving into transporter range, plasma beams struck the pirate ship, tearing it apart. Viper shook slightly as Talaina quickly spun to Ttorkkinn. "Get me that Romulan onscreen NOW!" It was only a moment before Talaina was looking at that smug expression once more. She hated Romulans in the military. They were always so arrogant. "Commander! Why did you destroy that vessel? They had surrendered."
"Because they made hostile moves against a person connected to the Star Empire. We do not take simple mercenaries prisoner. We dispatch them. The Son'a ships are coming in. Prepare for battle." She cut off the comm as the Tomalak turned, opening fire with a torpedo salvo at the two ships before they even finished dropping out of warp. The Son'a ships rocked under the assault. Talaina knew there was something more going on here. "Hold fire. Don't shoot unless fired upon. Jenna. Keep us away from those ships. What's the Tuffli doing?"
"They are attempting to move away from the area."
"T'Fon, scan that vessel. I want to know why everyone is after it."
"Scanning now Captain."
The ship slammed hard to port from impact. Ttorkkinn held onto the console until Jenna had righted the vessel. "Captain, the Romulans AND the Son'a have opened fire on us. Everyone's attacking everyone!"

"That does it. Helm, get us out of here." Jenna brought the ship about, but before they could jump to warp, the Tuffli grabbed them in a tractor beam. Xui Li worked her console furiously. "Captain. I am, ah, unable to break the tractor lock. It appears to be, ah, military grade. Hull polarisation is, ah, having no affect." D'Elon appeared on screen again. "Starfleet vessel. You were warned not to interfere. It pains me to report to Starfleet Command an unfortunate accident cost them a fine vessel." Talaina jumped to her feet. "You underestimate this ship Commander." D'Elon just smiled, yet strangely, there was no malice or contempt in her voice. She was very calm. "I don't think any vessel can withstand being the epicentre of a singularity. Goodbye." The channel closed as Ttorkkinn reported. "The Tomalak is coming in from Port! And a Son'a vessel is approaching from.... dammit! The Son'a fired a subspace torpedo! And... somehow, the Tomalak has fired a.... sensors indicate they fired a black hole at us!"
"Can we get free!" Jenna hit the console with her palm. "Sorry Captain. That tractor beam is too powerful." Talaina stood up but was interrupted by the beeping of the sensor console. T'Fon raised an eye brow. "Sensors are picking up a Starfleet vessel coming in at high warp."

Everyone on the Bridge watched as a Constitution refit class vessel dropped from warp and fired a beam from it's deflector dish. It struck the incoming singularity, causing it to dissapate harmlessly. Explosions ripped through the Constitution's dish, obviously a side effect of whatever they had done to stop the singularity. Talaina hoped the Romulans wouldn't fire another. But the saviours were not yet done. The subspace rift was mere seconds from impact, but the Consititution took up position between them and extended their shields around Viper. The rift struck the larger ship. Talaina could only watch as the side of the vessel began to break apart. Shields fluctuated wildly as they absorbed the impact. Finally things returned to normal. But the ship was badly damaged. "Identify that ship."

The confusion in T'Fon's voice was clear. "It appears to be the DarkFyre. With three lifesigns on board. One feline. One Saurion. And one Andorian. Captain... these life signs are of you and Commander Ttorkkinn." Talaina's gaze met Ttorkkinn's. What madness was this? A mystery that would have to be solved later. Right now, they were still stuck in the tractor beam. Maybe a jamming beam would free- "Captain!" Talaina followed Jenna's shout to stare at the viewscreen. The DarkFyre had fired her torpedos at the Son'a ships, causing them to break off the attack and warp out of the system. The DarkFyre flew towards the Tuffli, firing weapons at the tractor beam emitter. The Tomalak came about, blasting her from the rear.

"Grimworm, target the Romulans and fire!" Although Viper was unable to move, it was a perfect firing arc to break the Romulans off their attack run. DarkFyre's weapons hit the freighter, but the shields were too strong. Ttorkkinn's voice went up in surprise.

"They're ramming them!"

Sure enough, the leading edge of the saucer slammed into the Tuffli. Shields impacted shields, causing a feedback loop that cancelled them both out. The Constitution tore into the tuffli, explosions ripping through the cargo containers. The tractor beam released the Viper, allowing Jenna to instantly move them out of range. The two collided ships started breaking apart, debris fields merging together. The two floating hulks went dark. Talaina demanded a situation report from T'Fon.

"The Tomalak has cloaked. Sensors are registering twelve Benzite lifesigns on the Tuffli, the three life signs on the DarkFyre are stable and I am also picking up Borg energy signatures on the freighter."
"Borg? Why didn't we detect them before?"
"Some form of dampening field masked it. The impact appears to have damaged whatever was generating it."
"Ok. Jenna, get us in transporter range. Bridge to Sickbay. Bob, get a medical team over to the DarkFyre. TRT to Transporter Room 2. We're boarding that freighter and getting answers."



The Tactical Response Team materialised in the hallway of the freighter near the Bridge. Talaina, Ttorkkinn, Grimworm and Karry, all in the Omega armour, scanned the area visually, weapons drawn. Grimworm reported there was no visible presence but lifesigns were just beyond the door. Talaina motioned with her head. She didn't need to say a word. They were so well trained, that movement was all that was needed to give them the plan. The door blasted open and a spray of minigun fire lay down cover, giving Talaina and Ttorkkinn time to sweep in, splitting off in opposite directions to take cover behind consoles, firing at the crew to keep them distracted. Karry triggered her motion accelerator and stayed near Grimworm, giving him cover with her sword in case anyone got close range. The team were expecting Benzites, but Romulan soldiers in the older style Imperial uniforms, the ones that had massive shoulder pads and looked like they were made from a quilt, were the ones who returned fire. Talaina ducked behind a console and fired back. Phaser and disruptors flashed back and forth across the Bridge, but the TRT easily outflanked them and won. Talaina approached one of the consoles. "Hmm. Looks like they're transporting something classified. Whatever it is, I don't think we can let the Romulans have it."

T'Fon broke in over the comm. "Captain, the Tomalak has transported teams onto the freighter. Logic would suggest they are strike teams."
"Understood. Where are they?"
"Main Engineering. Captain, it appears the lifesigns from the DarkFyre are also there."

Talaina turned to her team. "Ok. Time we get some answers. Move out."


The damage to the Tuffli was extensive, but they made it to Main Engineering without too much trouble. The TRT crouched by the door and observed. A group of ten Romulans were at various places around the room, some working on equipment, some guarding the prisoners, but most looking over a large crate. Talaina did a double take. Sure enough, there were the prisoners. Talaina and Ttorkkinn, injured and bound. And a ginger cat seemed to be with Talaina. Ttorkkin crouched beside Talaina, also perplexed. "What do you think Captain? Clones? Quantum duplicates? Time travellers? Alternate dimension?" Talaina just shrugged.

"We'll ask them when we get them free. But we need to be careful with this. Loose weapons fire in here could hit the warp core. Karry, your skills are going to be essential. Do what you do. The rest of us will use smoke grenades and precision firing to give you cover."

Karry withdrew her sword and triggered her motion accelerator. Watching Talaina give a count down, she surged forward when the Captain gave the go sign. As smoke started filling the room, casting everyone into confusion, Karry blurred towards the nearest Romulan and ran her sword through his chest, carefully placing it to paralyse him without killing him. Her eye piece allowing her to see through the smoke, she quickly moved towards the next Romulan and incapacitated him. Running forwards, she flipped over a console and cartwheeled at another, her foot smashing him to the ground where a quick stomp put him out. It didn't take long to clear the room. As the smoke started to fade, Karry and Grimworm started gathering the Romulans together while Talaina and Ttorkkinn approached Talaina and Ttorkkinn. The prisoner Talaina looked up at her rescuers. "Well, this isn't quite how it was planned."

Talaina holstered her weapon and set about freeing the prisoners. "Ok, before we go any further, to avoid confusion, I'm Talaina, you're Kazzur. He's Ttorkkinn" she indicated her Ttorkkinn, then pointed towards the prisoner. "And he's Ttorkk."
"Fine." Kazzur replied.
"Now. What in the Name of the Ice is going on here?"
Kazzur picked up the cat and cradled him, letting out a long and weary sigh. "Basically, we've come from the future to avert what happened to us in this battle."
"And what happened?"
"Through a freak accident of various superweapons, the Viper spent a year lost in a distant galaxy. By the time we got back, only about six people survived."

Talaina's antenna and eyebrows shot up in surprise at that. "What? That's terrible! I can't even imagine living through that."
"Believe me, there are days I wish I hadn't. That's why we came back to now. We had to save you."
"But what about the Temporal Prime Direc-"
"SCREW THE TEMPORAL PRIME DIRECTIVE! Whoever came up with that didn't have to watch their crew fight for survival in gladiator matches. To be massacred by hunting parties and left as rotting corpses for the birds. To see young officers break down and blast themselves into space. That is a future no one should live through."
Talaina noticed now the haunted look in Kazzur's eyes. The same eyes she saw in the mirror just that morning, yet to be so different, had to have seen horrors beyond her worst nightmares. "Ok. Thank you. When we get back to a Starbase, I'm sure Temporal Investigations will want to talk to you."
"Let them. We've achieved what we came here for."

Talaina nodded and looked over at the Ttorkkinns. They seemed to be getting along. Ttorkk didn't seem anywhere near as mentally tortured as Kazzur. "Let's see what the Romulans want to protect so badly."

Everyone moved over to the large crate and opened it. Ttorkk frowned. "Is that a Borg Vinculum?"
"Certainly looks like one." Ttorkkinn replied.
Talaina shook her head. "This needs to be destroyed. Whatever the Romulans wanted it for, it can't be good."
Kazzur looked over to Talaina. "Overload the ship's warp core. Vapourise it completely."
"Agreed. Beam the Romulans to the Viper. Ttorkkinn can set up the warp core overload. I want you two to go over there as well. Have Bob look you over."
Kazzur nodded and clasped Talaina's hand. "We weren't meant to survive this trip. But I'm glad we did. I'd forgotten how I used to be."
"I'm sure we'll have much to discuss. Ttorkkinn and I will beam over in a minute."

The sparkle of the transporter put Kazzur and Ttorkk on board the Viper, the pile of unconcious Romulans around them. As the medical team got to work, helped by Karry and Grimworm, Kazzur looked around, holding Simba. "It feels strange to see this ship so intact." As if tempting fate, the ship shook and the lights went out. Acting on instinct, Kazzur ran towards the Bridge.

Upon arriving, she saw Talaina on the viewscreen. The crew was focused on their consoles "Sit rep." T'Fon instinctivly answered.
"Our systems have been disabled by the Romulan warbird and they have surrounded us with small devices. Sensors are detecting Thalaron radiation in each device."
Talaina picked up the report. "It looks like they're about to attack the Viper. Ttorkkinn and I are going to use the shields on this ship to funnel the radiation away from you." Kazzur knew that would have one result. She stumbled to the front of the Bridge, grabbing the back of Jenna's chair and squeezing tightly.
"No. You can't. The only way that would work is to use your shields as a funnel, drawing the radiation blast to your vessel."
"I know. But to save the crew, it's a sacrifice we're willing to make."
"Then let me and Ttorkkinn do it. We're displaced in time, it's meant to be you on this ship."

Talaina was working her console on the freighter as she answered. "No Kazzur. There's no time. Viper's power is offline, and the transporters over here are destroyed. And there's no time to set up a delay and evacuate. I'm extending the hields. Ttorkkinn, trigger the shaping now."
"Talaina!"
Talaina looked up at her crew. "I want you all to know, I... we... do this willingly. Whatever happens to you next, know you are my family. Look after each other. Protect each other. And know, that I take comfort that my death will ensure your survival."

Ttorkkinn could be heard announcing the radiation blast was triggered. The viewscreen flashed green briefly before returning to normal. Talaina looked at Kazzur. "Talaina. You've crossed time to save them. Make sure they get home."

Kazzur nodded before letting out a gasp. Talaina's blue skin was cracking, turning to cold grey stone. The transmission was cut as the view returned to one of the freighter. The Warbird fired at the freighter, sweeping past the inferno and cloaking, dissapearing back into the dark depths of infinity. Everyone on the Bridge looked around, uncertain. Kazzur cleared her throat. "Status of those devices?"
"Inert Captain." T'Fon offered. "There is no indication of Thalaron radiation. I hypothesis they are a one use device. It would explain why the Romulans destroyed the freighter afterwards. With us still alive, they knew they would not be able to secure the cargo cleanly."

Jenna looked up at Kazzur. "Well... I guess you're the Captain now? What are your orders?"
Kazzur looked down at the fresh young faced Ensign. So full of joy and hope. Of potential yet to be untapped. Though the current time's version of Talaina and Ttorkkinn had died, the rest of the crew still lived. Every single one of them. The two senior officers had sacrificed everything, twice, to save them. Kazzur couldn't fight back the smile, or the tears. This was a very weird feeling. Relief that the crew was saved. Yet sadness that the past Talaina and Ttorkkinn had died. There was the question that if the past selves had died, should their future selves exist, but that was a mess she didn't dare get into. Mentally thanking the past Talaina and Ttorkkinn, Kazzur knew exactly what to do.

"Set course for the nearest Starbase. There's alot of debriefing to do."





On the bridge of the I.R.W. Tomalak, Commander D'Elon sat in her chair, watching the alien stars fly by. They would soon be back in Imperial space. Her first officer and friend, Satra, walked over. "It's a pity we couldn't secure the cargo."
"Yes. But the situation was becoming too messy. Better to cut our losses and leave. The Suliban getting Lore's head for us will just have to figure out something else to do. They'll realise soon enough we are not making the meet."
"Hmmm. A shame really. It would have been interesting to see how it played out."
D'Elon permitted a wry smile. "Our own Borg assault squad? We would have been unstoppable. Still, at least the mission failed at this early stage, and not later on. But one does wonder where we would have been had it worked..."

Talaina sat in Dr Wren's office. This felt weird. It was the same therapist she had seen in her original timeline, and though Talaina knew her well, Wren knew nothing about Talaina. Dressed in a red Hola shirt and blue jeans, Talaina gave Simba a little head rub, thinking of the answer to the question. "To be honest, I'm relieved that it worked. Everyone on the ship was saved from a year of hell."

"Yes, but the you and..." Wren quickly checked her notes. "Commander Ttorkkinn from this time frame were killed."
"Yes. It was meant to be us that died, leaving everyone back at the start. Things didn't go to plan."
"You are aware you violated every Temporal Directive?"

Talaina looked at Wren. A haunted glaze came over her eyes and her anntena dipped. "Yes. Let me ask you this Doctor. Have you ever been responsible for a crew? A family?"

"Yes. I'm responsible for the mental health of many families."
"Then imagine seeing that family butchered and left to rot in front of you. Imagine a young girl kill herself because she just can't cope with living."

"I don't have to imagine that second one. One of my patients suffers from chronic depression. It's a struggle to keep her going on some days."
"Wouldn't you do something, anything, to ensure she was a happy, vibrant person?"
"That's a difficult question."
"No, it's really not. If you have a responsibility to that person, you do what you can for them. What we did have no consequences for anyone but our crew, and those three galaxies away. And those people will be better off without our presence."
"How can you be sure of that?"
"Because we got them killed. I made command decisions that proved wrong."
"You were in a difficult situation. You had to make split second decisions with no support. To be honest, I'm amazed you kept as sane as you have."
"I had some strong support. I know why Starfleet assigned me here. They want to make sure I'm of sound mind and judgement. Believe me Doctor, changing time was not a decision I came to lightly. It was discussed at length with my crew. At least... the survivors. We made the decision together. This was the action of a unified group, not one Captain going rogue. And I do not intend to change time again."


"But you've already changed time more than you thought. Whatever happens from that moment is different. Because people will be in situations they were not meant to be in. Because you and Ttorkkinn have an extra year of experience, you two will behave differently. We don't know how the universe will unfold differently because of this."
"Our fate is not set in stone. We each forge our own destinies with every decision we make. As I said, we were not meant to take the place of our 'local placements'. The universe was meant to unfold as it should."

Wren simply made a noise of agreement and wrote down some notes. When she finished, she looked back to Talaina. "So, what about Simba?"
"Excuse me?"
"Simba. Your cat there. You said you rescued him when you got back to Earth. That means in a year's time, that cat is going to be in an alley, getting attacked by a dog. And you won't be there to save him."
"Actually, I will. I've set a reminder to make sure I'm there at that specific time and place. I'll save him again."
"How can you be certain you'll be there?"
"Nothing is certain. All we can do is try."
"And if you fail, will you go back in time to save him?"
"No. That would be irresponsible. Obviously I will try, but if I fail, then that will be something I must live with. At least I can take comfort that one version of Simba is ok."

Talaina gently kissed the back of Simba's head which was met with happy purring.

"Well, I think that just about wraps things up. I want to see you again before I submit my reccomendations to Starfleet about assigning you back on active duty. Same time next week?"


Simba jumped to the floor as Talaina stood up and shook Wren's hand. "Next week Doctor."