Authors note: Hello readers and potential followers (hopefully), I wrote this when I was in Italy, lots of spare time. I just wanted to let you know that I am interested in having more experienced writers than I critique my work. Also, the frequency that I upload/write depends on the amount of hits/reviews/favourites that this story gets.

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light". Aristotle Onassis

Prologue-

… ission … failed. … damage … all compartments. Power lost … combat contr… weapons, cent… and communications.

Repeat. Mayday, Mayday, this is the USEFC Graf-Spe. Our mission has failed. We have suffered major damage to all compartments. Power lost to combat control, life support, weapons, centre of intelligence and communications.

Repeat. Mayday, Mayday…

In the void of space hung something not of natural origin. This in and of itself was not unusual; many unnatural objects could be seen in this small part of the Milky Way. But what was unusual was by whom this object had been built. Its creators hailed from a planet, thought long lost by the inhabitants of this region of the galaxy, known as the Twelve Colonies of Kobal.

Chapter One

Graf-Spe

Red lights flashed in the wrecked corridors and rooms of the USEFC Graf-Spe. These lights were usually accompanied by blaring alarms, but these, at the present time, were completely inaudible had anybody been alive to listen to them. This was due to a rather unhealthy lack of atmosphere inside the shattered wreck of the vessel, known to some as the Graf-Spe.

But, believing that there was nobody left alive, would not be entirely correct. The artificial intelligence known as Cleopatra by the crew, or more officially, as U.S.E.F.C.A.I-CLEO, stirred, awakened from a long slumber. Cleopatra slowly began to reactivate her subroutines, BS (Base Substance) matrixes and started to scan the space surrounding the ship she had been commissioned to protect. In her attempts to locate the disturbance that had triggered her awakening, she detected… something. Redirecting what was left of the Graf-Spe's sensory systems to where she had detected the anomaly; a previously hazy return cleared up, and took shape as a large ship.

Graf-Spe, Cryogenics station 2

Petty Officer David Kelly of the USEFC Graf-Spe dreamed. Lights flashed and klaxons wailed. Boots pounded on floor plating as panicked officers and enlisted sailors ran to their Action Stations. A faint rumbling sound rippled through the length of the proud warship, followed by loud booming noises. Seemingly unnoticed by the rest of the crew, David floated, to the nearest viewport. Gazing out to space, he saw the ship that had turned the normally professional and calm atmosphere of a USEFC warship, into one of fear and anticipation. He saw the trademark alligator-like forward section, the extended flight pods; relatively thin body, which led to a large propulsion section at the stern.

David was jolted awake by a mechanical whirring sound. Keeping his eyes closed, he felt the previously constant pressure around him drain away. Opening his eyes, he saw the curved glass of his cryogenics chamber, which slowly slid away. David promptly fell forward, hitting the titanium deck plating with a loud thump.

David could hear the voice of Cleopatra resonating from an intercom station set into the roof.

"Good morning Petty Officer. It is 0200 hours, 3 weeks after the Attack. I trust that you are feeling well?"

"Hmmmphhhh" David groaned from his position on the floor. "What happened?" he asked, standing up slowly. Taking note of his surroundings, David saw the cryo chamber in dis-repair, pieces of equipment strewn across the deck. It was all bathed in the harsh red lighting, showing the ship to be running on emergency power. He smelt an acrid burning odour, and the room was uncomfortably cold.

"After the captain instructed the crew to enter cryogenic sleep, the Graf-Spe was rammed amid-ships by the Incursionist vessel. Most of the crew were not able to reach their cryogenics stations in time. Of those that did, all but yours lost life support."

David, using the wall to prevent cryo-induced fatigue from sending him to the floor again, froze. Blood pounded in his ears and his vision turned red at the edges.

"I am sorry Petty Officer. But you are the sole survivor of the USEFC Graf-Spe" Cleopatra said softly.

David stood up fully with a determined look on his face. "Why did you wake me Cleopatra?"

"An unidentified vessel of unknown origins has approached the ship. It has launched small craft that I believe to be capable of breaching our hull, and landing boarders."

"Threat analysis?"

"In our current state, we are incapable of withstanding an assault from an Apollo mission era Space shuttle armed with flashlight strength lasers."

"What can I do?"

"Approximately two metres down the hallway out of this cryogenic chambers airlock, there is a Boatswains Mate Boarding/Counter Boarding kit. Unfortunately, with the sole exception of this room, the entire ship is depressurised and, due to this, central heating is only able to heat this room."

"Awww, bloody hell."

The reason for Petty Officer David Kelly's distress, was that the average temperature of space, was -270.425 C or -454.765 F. This meant that, if he were to attempt to space-jump to the counter boarding kit, he would freeze before he had a chance to suffocate.

David crossed the large 50-station cryogenics chamber and opened a box attached to the wall. He pulled out an emergency portable anti-asphyxiation oxygen system (EAOS), and attached the mask to his face while strapping the air tanks to magnetic seals on his off-duty skin suit.

Cleopatra watched from security cameras installed in the room.

"Petty Officer, this ship is about to lose artificial gravity. Do you seriously intend to manually retrieve the counter boarding unit while in null gravity conditions, in minus 270 degree temperatures?"

"Do I have much of a choice? Those small-craft are getting closer."

"The chances that you survive this attempt are approximately 0.342%."

David depressed the seals on the mouthpiece of his oxygen mask, initiating the flow of oxygen. As he jogged towards the airlock, he suddenly left the floor, flew across the room and slammed into the closed airlock. David rebounded, spinning in lazy circles. He managed to grab onto a handrail and steadied himself.

"Artificial gravity is now offline." Cleopatra dutifully intoned.

"Well no shit, Sherlock."

David looked around, unsettled by the lack of direction. A side effect of having no gravity was that the words 'up' and 'down' lose their meaning. David re-oriented himself so that the wall and airlock was now the floor. This meant that David would be 'falling' towards the counter boarding kit.

"Cleopatra, open the airlock"

An alarm blared, and a yellow light above the airlock (now on the 'floor') began to flash.

"Warning! Warning! Decompression imminent," shrilled the automated airlock computer.

A massive rush of air pulled David 'downwards' out of the airlock. He snagged the black counter boarding kit box on the way past. An unbelievable cold seized him, and in the second he had before his joints and brain froze. David hit the emergency release switch for the counter boarding kit.

Cleopatra switched her attention to the security camera positioned in the hallway. She saw David hit the release switch. She watched both he and the box float away from the wall. Realising that he no longer had the capability to control his body, she opened a wall-mounted fire-fighting unit. Micro seconds after David had released the kit from the wall, a stream of superheated steam hit him in the back. His icy frozen grip on the handle of the counter boarding kit prevented him from letting go, as the steam propelled them both back into the cryo bay.

The room automatically re-pressurised, shutting the airlock and filling the cryo bay with air. Cleopatra activated the rooms central heating system. David's cold, flash frozen body, floated stiff and unmoving in the middle of the cryo room.

(Line Break)

David felt comfortably warm. He was lying in bed, in his small house just outside of Sydney, Australia. Through half closed eyelids, he could see his girlfriend walking around, cleaning, and arranging furniture.

"Time to wake up David. Robert will be coming over for lunch soon", she said. "David?"

"David!"

For the second time that day, David woke up in pain. But this time, instead of lying prostate on the floor, he found himself floating near a light fitting.

"Petty Officer Kelly, are you functional?" This was not the calm soothing voice of his girlfriend, but the clear and authoritative (And slightly nagging as some old sailors grumbled) sound of Cleopatra's voice.

"Blargh."

"You will be feeling quite stiff and sore for some time. You were recently thawed from a near lethal experience to hard vacuum without an EVA suit."

David could feel a painful burning sensation all over his body, and his vision went in and out of focus several times.

"How…" David coughed fiercely several times. "How am I alive?"

"As you are aware, all USEFC personnel are given regular injections of anti-crystallisation fluids. These fluids prevent the water in human blood from freezing when subject to Cryogenic conditions. While the conditions you were exposed to, were far more severe than those of a cryo-tube, the principles remain the same. The symptoms you feel now are a result of those extreme conditions."

David slowly felt his extremities responding to his commands. He attempted to form a fist, and his weakened hand complied. After several minuets his body had returned to an acceptable level of health. And the amount of pain he was feeling, had reduced to tolerable levels.

"Several of the small craft launched from the unidentified warship have begun to cut through a damaged section of our armour belt. This vessels internal defence systems are offline!"