Note: I don't appreciate flames from people who don't like original characters.
Chapter 1
The metallic beep grew steadily faster as the green glow of the screen pulsed with each beep. Lines from the sides traced a dot's path among other, less obvious points of light.
"Captain, you should look at this," came a feminine voice that had an iron edge to it.
A pair of heavy boots echoed their way across the metal screen floor. "What is it, Akima?"
Sitting at the control panel, a woman in her late teens or early twenties sat looking at the screen, and deciphering the readings from it. Her purple forelocks hid her face from view as she bent over the screen. She shook her head. "I don't know. The readings are stranger than I've ever seen them."
"Stith, ready at the guns," Korso shouted over his shoulder.
"Right," came the reply from a long legged extraterrestrial that looked quite similar to the kangaroo from the non-existent Earth. Stith's eyes gleamed with the anticipation of using the laser gun. Loud thumps echoed around the harsh, metal room as she neglected to use the stairs.
"I still can't make it out," said Akima, controlling her voice to not sound uneasy.
"Gune, come here," Korso commanded.
A squat, gnome-looking creature with a frog-like head scurried from a back room where there were tinny beeps aplenty. He looked up expectantly at Korso, his big eyes reflecting the harsh light of the spaceship.
"See if you can find out what the hell that is," he said pointing at the tracking screen as Akima moved over.
Gune oohed over the screen for a while tracing his stubby, yet agile fingers over the glowing screen. Korso gazed intently, trying to discern Gune's mutterings. Gune abruptly sputtered in excitement and fear.
"Ah, it's Drej!" he repeatedly said in a high-pitched voice.
Korso immediately reacted. "Stith, fire!"
The ship jolted the impact of the laser gun firing, and it echoed with Stith's sadistic scream. Korso and Akima watched through the cockpit window as the bright light headed towards the distant, blue object, narrowly missing it.
"Dammit!" screamed Stith and prepared to fire again.
"No no no! Not Drej!" screeched the ecstatic Gune. "Life forms on it!"
"Wait, Stith!" Korso shouted.
Akima turned to him. "Drej don't show up as life forms. They're pure energy."
Korso leaned over, putting his hands on the control panel, and stared out the window. "They aren't going anywhere, just drifting." His calm mask hid his calculating resolve. "Take us closer, Akima," he said, nodding his head at her.
Akima guiding the ship carefully closer to the strange object, bringing them parallel to it.
As the crew studied it, the only sounds heard were the mechanical bleeps and Gune's dread-filled mutterings.
A door slid open with a whoosh of air. A gangly creature with a large ear on one side and a metal plate on the other side of its head walked through. "I heard there was some excitement. Anything I can do to –" He cut off as he let his eyes follow to what everyone else was staring at. "Good gosh. What happened?"
Preed's voice broke the awful spell that held everyone glued to the blasted ship beside them. Akima pressed a series of buttons and read the information that appeared on the screen. The short-range scanners inspected the blast scars on the ship's hull, and the electric blue energy surges near a gaping hole that went right through the entire ship.
"The Drej readings from the radar were actually residue emissions from the energy surges," she said coolly, trying to remain a calm face despite the awful scene.
"Why would the Drej attack such a little ship?" voiced Stith.
As if revived by the simple question, Korso blinked and turned to Gune. "You said something about life forms."
"Yes Captain," Gune replied in a calmer, but still high-pitched voice. He bent over the green, glowing screen once more. "Two."
"That is a little ship, but it would need more than two to pilot it." Preed stepped closer to examine the readings over Akima's shoulder.
Drej attacked two life forms, posing no threat. Akima thought quizzically. "Captain, they may be humans."
"I think you're right. The Drej have no quarrel with other species. Unless-" Korso started.
"Captain, the life signs are fading," Gune said hysterically.
Akima spoke immediately afterwards. "The ship's life support is failing."
"Get it into the docking bay, now!" barked Korso.
There was a hiss of air as the docking bay doors shut, and the room repressurized. The light on the hatch turned green, and the locked clicked back, echoing in the room. Stith urgently spun the handle until the door swung back, revealing the battered ship. The air was filled with the stench of charred titanium.
And scorched flesh.
"Quick, get inside and find them, if they're still living." Korso looked pointedly at Preed.
Preed crawled through the gaping hole in the side of the ship, grumbling all the way. The jagged hull occasionally scratched him, and he would let out a sharp cuss. Once inside, Stith tossed him a small, medical device.
"Thank-you precious for your wonderful choice in tools," he mocked.
"Just find the two life forms," Korso answered tersely.
Preed looked around, cocking his one ear in all directions. He sniffed the air tentatively. It was clogged with carbon smoke and open, burnt flesh. Gingerly sorting through the rubble, he found remains of the main console, and what appeared to be a chair. There was a sudden crackle as another circuit shorted out to his right. As Preed jerked his head in the general direction of the runaway electric bolt, he saw a bruised and bloody hand, clutching the helm.
Working his way over, Preed hauled wreckage out of his path. As he finished clearing the debris away from the body, it gave a painful groan and shifted.
Preed gave a disgusted grunt. "It's human alright, a bloody mess of a one."
"Bring it out, Preed!" Stith snapped, her patience worn thin.
Preed dragged the broken body towards the opening. It was a lanky, teenage boy, no more than fifteen. His almost black hair shone in the hazy light with a crimson glow of blood.
"Is he alive?" Akima asked with an indifferent mask on her face, but Preed knew the hopeful glint in her eye.
"He groaned, precious. That usually means he's alive," Preed stated sarcastically.
As Stith flipped the boy over her shoulder and headed to sickbay, Preed flicked the top open on the mechanical device she had given him. It gave a series of beeps before slowing to a steady beat. As Preed moved across the room, the beeps became faster. As he set the device down to lift a sheet of rubble, he uncovered a second body.
"Damn, that's not good."