Frontline Assets

by knives4cash

Out on the front lines of Federation space, morals and ideals will be compromised. A young Human admiral and a Romulan commander will form an alliance to stop the Doomsday Machine dead in its tracks.

A humanoid figure of dark skin and ridges riding along his forehead, a Klingon male, stood tall but anxious in a deeply wooded area in an undisclosed location in the middle of night. He nervously continued to glance around and repeatedly checked his Tricorder. "Where is she," he grumbled in annoyance. "These are the correct coordinates. Why isn't she here?"

A feminine voice asked in a smooth monotone, "You came alone?"

The Klingon spun around, looking for the source of the voice. "Admiral? I've been waiting for the past ten minutes! What took you so-" he stopped abruptly, seeing her emerge into view.

She possessed a cybernetic eyeball in lieu of her biological right eye, and the majority of the right side of her face was covered with metallic implants permanently bonded to her skin.

The red glow produced by the optic of the technological substitute in her eye socket was rather intimidating, if nothing else.

"Admiral?" He hesitantly asked, "What happened to you?"

The woman gave a brief laugh. "Therein lies a tale, which won't be nearly as interesting to you and your team as this." She produced a handheld datapad. "The overriding prefix code for the starship Damocles. The very same starship that has been valiantly defying your attempts at seizing the Federation's dilithium mines located in the Kai system."

The Klingon quickly took the datapad into his possession. "Name your price."

"One third of the dilithium that you capture."

"Done. Any rules of engagement that we to discuss?"

"There are to be absolutely no survivors. I want none of this being traced, especially to me." She stated, "The last job you did was sloppy."

"We were in a rush," the Klingon remarked.

"My point is," the woman deadpanned, "You left survivors. Those survivors happened to bear witness to a bunch of Klingon mercenaries somehow knowing exactly which subsystems they needed to shut down in order to gain access to the star charts revealing the locations of three top secret military stations!"

"Calm yourself, admiral. I'll take care of it, just like I always do." The Klingon mused, "You must be in a lot of financial trouble if you're doing so much business with us."

The woman withdrew a holstered phaser and pointed it directly at him. "Don't you want to live long enough to learn how I got," she gestured at her right half of her face, "this?"

"I'm in no rush," The Klingon answered. "But, about this," he tapped the datapad in his hand. "We'll have no way of knowing if this is the right code until we test it on the Damocles. If it's wrong, my raid will be foiled, and you will be in a lot of trouble."

The woman scoffed at the threat. "And if you don't follow through with the dilithium, I'll put you into the position of needing a cybertronic patch and implant like mine." She turned back and disappeared into the woods, leaving her associate alone with his treasure.

Captain's log, star date: 90332.92, Starship Enterprise is on patrol through Section 14 of the Gamma-Hydra sector block. Currently approaching the Neutral Zone. All systems normal.

A young man in his mid-twenties sat in the captain's chair. A dark skinned woman, in her mid-thirties sat at a console to his right. Two more men, one Asian and one Russian, sat at the helm in front of the captain's chair. A Vulcan, a humanoid male with ears that could only be described as pointy, sat at his science console located to the left.

The Asian man stated, "Now leaving section 14 and entering section 15."

"Standby. Alter our theoretical trajectory to avoid entering the Neutral Zone."

"Aye, captain. Changing course, now."

The dark skinned woman spoke up. "Captain, I'm getting something on the distress channels."

"On speakers."

The woman pressed a button, and the voice of a man filled the bridge.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is the Kobayashi Maru! We have struck a Tachyon mine! Main power's offline! We've lost shields! Our impulse engines are fried! And we're leaking fuel! We cannot restore power and are losing life support on all decks!"

The woman responded, "Kobayashi Maru, this is the Starship Enterprise. Your message is breaking up. Can you give us your coordinates? Repeat, this is the Starship Enterprise. Can y-"

"Enterprise, we're drifting through Section 10 of the Gamma-Hydra sector block!"

The captain, a young man with short, curly, brown hair and blue eyes, muttered, "Right in the Neutral Zone." He sat back in his chair. "Computer, give me an analysis of the Kobayashi Maru."

A smooth, feminine voice said, "Subject vessel, Kobayashi Maru, is a Third Class Neutronic fuel carrier. Average crew: 381."

The captain looked to the Asian man. "Mr. Sulu, plot an intercept course."

Mr. Sulu looked back at the captain. "May I remind the captain that if any starship enters the Neutral Zone, they are no longer protected by the Klingon-Federation Truce treaties?"

"I am aware of the dangers, Mr. Sulu. Plot intercept course at full impulse power."

He turned back to the helm. "Yes, captain. Estimating ten seconds to entering the Neutral Zone."

The captain said, "Switch to tactical view screen."

On the screen before them, they saw a cylindrical ship with three engines in the back and a saucer connected by a pylon. The vessel was at a sharp pitch, and a bright, yellow cloud trailed from the ship, showing how far it had been drifting.

The captain turned to the Vulcan. "Mr. Spock, alert transporter rooms to stand by."

Mr. Spock said, "Transporter rooms are standing by to beam the survivors aboard our vessel, captain."

The Russian man spoke up. "Captain, three Klingon Birds of Prey are decloaking and raising shields!"

On the screen, three identical vessels, each with a single, long cannon-like beam jutted out of the forward side and two rectangular cylinders hanging down in the lower back, materialized, seemingly, out of nowhere.

The captain pressed a button on his chair, sending the entire vessel into red alert. "Battle stations! Mr. Chekov, activate shields!"

The Russian man responded, "Activating shields!"

The captain turned to the dark skinned woman. "Ohura, inform the Klingons that we are on a rescue mission!"

She responded, "They're jamming all communications, captain!"

Mr. Chekov exclaimed, "Birds of Prey are arming torpedos!"

"Mr. Sulu, get us out of here!"

"I'll try, captain!"

"Three Plasma Torpedoes incoming!"

As Mr. Chekov said the words, three bright green spheres shot out of the cannon-like structures and closed the distance between the two factions.

The captain shot up from his chair. "Evasive maneu-" and was cut off by sparks exploding out of the helm console, killing Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov instantaneously.

The captain was thrown back into his chair by the force of the explosion. He hit another button on his chair. "Engineering! Damage report!"

A Scottish man replied, "Warp drive is offline, captain!"

The captain yelled, "Lock Phasers and return fire!"

The Vulcan calmly responded, "No power to the weapons, captain."

"What?!" The captain glared up at the screen to see three more Plasma torpedoes almost instantaneously propelling towards him.

The second explosion rocked the bridge, causing a support beam to come crashing through the roof, impaling the Vulcan through his torso.

The computer said, "Warning: Theta radiation is flooding engineering and leaking into the other decks."

Surrounded by his dead crew, the captain sat there for what seemed like an eternity while the sirens blared. He stood up from his chair and calmly said, "I give up."

A female voice echoed throughout the bridge, "Alright, computer, end program."

The entire bridge, animate and inanimate objects alike, flickered out of existence, leaving the supposed captain of the supposed Enterprise a large, empty room, gridded with yellow lines running vertically and horizontally throughout.

In the corner of the room was a red headed, boy cut female in her mid thirties. She stood tall and proud with an indifferent, monotone expression on her face. Her two brown eyes analyzed him, judged him.

The man swallowed and asked meekly, "Any advice, admiral?"

The woman began to approach him. "Pray, Mr. Dillard. The Klingons don't take prisoners."

A few seconds passed. "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

She closed the distance between them, revealing that she stood three inches taller than him. "Permission granted, lieutenant."

"That wasn't fair. I was outnumbered, outgunned, and I didn't even get a chance to fight back."

The redhead raised an eyebrow as she grinned. "Did it ever occur to you, lieutenant, that it could have been a possible scenario that you might have faced as a captain?"

Lieutenant Dillard grimaced. "No, ma'am," he admitted reluctantly. "It did not. But my point still stands, admiral! There was no way to win!"

She laughed. "Lieutenant, there's a reason as to why it's called the 'No-Win Scenario'!"

He did not speak.

After waiting a few seconds for any possible reply, she made her way to the door. "Now, if you're finished complaining, I expect you on the bridge in five. Manchester won't steer herself."

"Admiral?"

The doors slid open, as she stopped and looked back at him. "Yes, lieutenant?"

He took a deep breath and asked, "May I ask how you handled the simulation?"

She laughed twice as hard at him.

A few seconds of laughter passed, and she smiled at him. "You may ask, lieutenant. But, I'm not going to tell you."

Lieutenant Dillard stood there, unsure of what to say or do.

"However," she paused, regaining his attention. "I will tell you this: All modern Federation Starships have their Phasers powered directly through the warp drive. Next time, reroute power from auxiliary to bolster your shields to prevent your warp drive from being damaged by the kinetic force caused by the impact of Plasma-based weaponry."

She paused for breath. "That lack of common knowledge on starship weaponry and engineering layouts will cost you points on your final grade, lieutenant."

With that, she exited the holodeck, leaving the lieutenant there to figure out how he felt about what had just transpired.

A humanoid figure with rather albino skin and short, black hair, stood outside of the holodeck. As the admiral passed her, she began to walk with her. "That was unnecessarily harsh, don't you think?"

Maintaining her pace, the admiral smiled. "Audur, as first officer, you must realize the harsh reality that comes with command."

The Romulan reasoned, "He was overwhelmed. The Kobayashi Maru Scenario frequently wreaks havoc on those who partakes in the simulation. Can't you be a little more lenient?"

The admiral put an arm around the first officer. "I wasn't shown any lenience when I took the test. I see no reason to show lenience with my helmsman."

Returning the gesture, Audur scoffed. "As I recall, you not only failed to rescue the Kobayashi Maru, but you also scored a zero out of a possible three-hundred and seventy-two."

She grinned. "And yet, at the same time, I succeeded where all others failed." She paused, momentarily. "Excluding James T. Kirk, of course."

Audur couldn't help but smile. "Of course."

Letting go of each other, the two entered a turbolift.

The computer automatically stated, "Please select a destination."

The admiral responded briskly, "Bridge."

The door closed, and they began to ascend.

Audur asked, "Do you think he's really ready for command?"

The admiral answered, "He's got the best shot, that's for sure."

"Lieutenant Dillard is only twenty-six. He lacks the experience."

"Does he? I'm only thirty-four." The admiral reasoned, "Every bridge officer, under my command, has received experience that other officers can only dream of acquiring."

Audur countered, "That's only because Manchester is on the front lines of Federation space. This is the most dangerous job for any officer."

Admiral Raven remarked, "Which is exactly where the best of the best belong. That's why I didn't let them stick me behind some desk." She sighed. "But, that's the trade off; I'm putting eight-hundred lives and a very shiny, new Assault Cruiser at constant risk in the name of the Prime Directive."

Audur reassured her superior officer, "I'm sure the Borg would be more than happy if we were anywhere else in the galaxy."

"Oh?" The admiral smirked. "I wasn't aware that any of them survived the last time we kicked their asses out of our space."

The first officer grimaced. "They grow bolder with each attack, and we keep losing more ships and more people each time."

The turbolift slowed to a stop and opened up, revealing a large, three-stepped room. Upon seeing the two women, a female Andorian, a blue skinned humanoid with white hair and two antennae protruding from her forehead stood up from the captain's chair. "Admiral on the bridge!" She returned to her seat at the helm, alongside a male Andorian.

A Human female with tanned skin and short, brunette hair was hunched over her console to the left side of the captain's chair. "Romulan Outpost Sohcahtoa, this is the Federation Starship, Manchester. Please respond."

Taking her seat in the captain's chair, the admiral said, "As long as Manchester patrols the border, the Borg won't have a chance."

Audur manned her science console located to the right of the captain's chair. "You're one of the best, admiral, but not even you could win a war by yourself."

The admiral couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe not, but I'm sure as hell going to be the one leading the required army to victory."

Audur countered, "Unless you plan on 'fraternizing' with the Collective, you're going to need more starships and miracles."

The Andorian woman, who had been keeping the admiral's seat warm, asked, "Do we even want to know?"

The admiral answered, "We were discussing the Borg, Thryiss."

The commander continued, "And the test?"

The admiral raised an eyebrow. "He couldn't win. What more is there?"

She gave a small laugh. "As the Chief Tacticians officer of this vessel, Admiral Raven, I cannot help but have a personal interest in how others handle combat."

Admiral Raven smirked. "The man didn't even get a chance to fire Phasers."

The male Andorian inferred, "His warp drive was damaged by the impact of the Plasma Torpedos?"

Grinning, Admiral Raven exclaimed, "And that's why you're our chief engineer, Tharan!"

The sound of the turbolift doors opening drew everyone's attention.

Lieutenant Dillard stepped out.

"Speaking of which," Tharan continued, "I'll head back to engineering." As he passed the lieutenant, he gave him a small slap on the shoulder. "Don't worry about the Kobayashi Maru. It's a test of character, not survival."

Lieutenant Dillard sighed, "Thanks, Tharan."

Admiral Raven pointed at the now empty chair. "Mr. Dillard, if you'd be so kind as to resume your post as helmsman of the Manchester?"

He moved across the bridge to his seat next to Thryiss. "Aye, admiral."

"Admiral," the communications officer spoke up, "Outpost Sohcahtoa is not responding to our hails. I've been trying all the frequencies, excluding the emergency distress ones."

Admiral Raven ordered, "Ease off, Ensign Willodean." She commented, "They're probably unwelcome to the idea of accepting aid from Starfleet."

"Actually, admiral," Audur interjected, "Sensors indicate that some variant of Sphilix Oxyphase, present throughout the system, is scrambling our long-ranged communications array."

The admiral turned back to Ensign Willodean. "Well, there you have it, ensign." She caught herself. "That's rather odd. Neutronium is the only element that emits Sphilix Oxyphase."

Audur spoke up, "I'm working on that, admiral."

The redhead nodded. "Very well. Lay off, ensign. Your efforts appear to be in vain."

"Aye, ma'am."

Admiral Raven turned to her navigations officer. "Mr. Dillard, how much longer will it take us to reach the Romulan outpost, Sohcahtoa?"

"At our current speed of warp six," He paused while double checking the math, "Two more minutes."

"Maintain speed and trajectory." She pressed a button on her chair, "Admiral Raven to Transporter Room Three. Are you ready to beam the shipment of heat shields down on my signal?"

"This is Transporter Room Three, admiral. We're standing by."

"Good. Raven out." She turned to her first officer. "Audur, what can you tell me about this outpost?"

She turned to the redhead. "It is a small, research facility, located on the outskirts of the Chulan system. Due to the system's abnormal levels of gamma radiation, the inhabitants require Class Seventeen Heat Shields, which we were assigned to deliver."

"Excellent." Admiral Raven turned back towards the helm. "Mr. Dillard, bring us out of warp. Full impulse power.

"Aye, admiral."

"Activate forward view screen."

The large, ten by eight foot view screen in the front of the bridge turned on, revealing the vast emptiness of space before them. Said space was filled with asteroids, rubble, debris, and nothing else.

Admiral Raven sat up straight. "What the hell? Where's their sun?"

"Admiral," Mr. Dillard said, "Helm must be malfunctioning. It says we're thirty kilometers from Outpost Sohcahtoa."

"But there's nothing there." She turned to her first officer. "Audur, commence long range scanning." She swiveled back to Willodean. "Ensign, hail the outpost. Try emergency frequencies."

"Admiral," Thryiss spoke up, "Port, aft, and starboard view screens all show the same thing. There's nothing out there but bits and pieces of rock."

"Admiral," Audur said, "Sensors indicate that this entire solar system has been destroyed."

Silence filled the bridge, as the admiral sat in awe and bewilderment.

Admiral's log, stardate: 90334.21, forty-five minutes have elapsed, upon discovering that the sun and all seven planets of the Chulan Solar System have been destroyed. We proceeded throughout the entire system at full impulse power, scanning for any survivors or signs as to what caused this. We were unsuccessful. We are proceeding to the next system, the Kator Solar System, in pursuit of assistance. We are still unable to notify Stafleet Command of this incident, due to what appears to be a constant presence of Sphilix Oxyphase. However, my science officer believes that short ranged hails are still possible.

While one Assault Cruiser Refit is incapable of destroying a planet, I fear that the Romulan Star Empire will ignore this fact and interpret the Manchester's involvement as an act of war. It won't look good if the Federation is the one to pronounce over three billion Romulans dead. We don't need a war with the Romulans, not with the constant threat of the Borg.

"Admiral," Audur said, "We know that Sphilix Oxyphase is emitted by the element Neutronium. I believe we can deduce that whatever destroyed the Chulan Solar System contains Neutronium."

Admiral Raven sat uneasily. "But what kind of vessel would have that much Neutronium? It's a finite mineral that's relatively rare and difficult to obtain!" She tapped her chair. "A vessel with the size and firepower to destroy a planet, much less a solar system, seems impossible."

"I lack the knowledge to answer your question, admiral." Audur sighed. "I can merely observe that something in existence is capable of and has extinguished the lives of three billion of my people."

The redhead grimaced. "Tread with care, Audur. I don't need my first officer becoming emotionally compromised in the line of duty."

The Romulan turned away. "Aye, ma'am."

Mr. Dillard said, "Admiral, we are now entering the Kator Solar System."

She responded, "Bring us out of warp. Full impulse power." She turned to Willodean. "Commence short range hailing. See if you can get one of the science outposts." She turned back to helm. "We need to find out just what in the hell is going on."

"Admiral," Audur said, "Sensors indicate that there is a copious amount of Sphilix Oxyphase in this solar system, but the print is fresher. I cannot be more precise than that-"

Admiral Raven grinned. "But we're catching up to it."

Thyriss remarked, "Yeah, because chasing after something that just destroy seven planets and a sun is a good idea."

"Manchester was built for these kinds of situations," the admiral commented.

Thyriss shot back, "If Manchester is an Assault Cruiser Refit why were we assigned a petty supply run?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Do you trust the Romulans?"

The Andorian was speechless. She glanced at Audur, then back at the admiral. "Um, ma'am?"

Admiral Raven sighed. "Present company excluded, obviously. My point, Thryiss, is that they don't trust us, and we don't trust them. We're only 'friends' with them, because the Borg are an immediate threat to all of us."

"In other words, Thyriss," Audur interrupted, "Starfleet will only send their heaviest, most armored vessels into Romulan Space, and my people will only send their heaviest and most armored vessels into Federation space for fear of a betrayal."

The Andorian turned back to her console and awkwardly said, "Understood, ma'am."

Lieutenant Dillard asked, "Admiral, shall I activate the main view screen?"

She nodded. "Make it so."

The screen before them lit up, revealing a similar scene. Asteroids and rubble polluted the space before them, but unlike the Chullan Solar System, the Krator system still had its sun. And off in the distance, they could see a long, cylindrical cone-shaped object slowly moving towards one of the system's planets. The pitch black alien object was almost two times wider and three times longer than the planet.

The admiral took action. "Magnify the view screen; Audur, commence scanning; Mr. Dillard, lay in an intercept course." She pressed a button on her chair. "Go to yellow alert. Thryiss, raise shields and charge Phaser Banks. Load torpedo tubes, stand by to fire."

Ensign Willodean spoke up. "Admiral, we're being hailed."

Admiral Raven blinked. "What," she pointed at the screen and questioned, "By that thing?"

"No, ma'am," the ensign said with her own disbelief, "We're being hailed by a Romulan vessel."

She turned to her first officer. "Audur?"

The science officer turned to her console. "Scanning." A few seconds passed. She looked to her commanding officer. "If there is a Romulan vessel out there, ma'am, she's cloaked."

"Admiral," Thryiss shouted, "Look!"

All eyes looked to the view screen. Before them, the cone-shaped, alien object fired an orange beam out of its forward end, colliding directly into the planet before it. The planet immediately began to break apart, crumbling into smaller chunks of its former sphere.

Admiral Raven slowly stood up from her chair. "Incredible!"

As the planet broke up into chunks, the planet killer ceased its attack and began to suck up the chunks.

The redhead fell back into her chair and commenced giving orders. "All hands! Red alert! We've found our planet killer!" She looked at Thryiss. "I want that thing dead, commander!"

A personal targeting screen folded up on the helm, displaying a smaller image of the space ahead of them. The Andorian responded, "We'll be within weapons range in thirty seconds, admiral!"

"Admiral," Willodean said, "The Romulans are still hailing us."

"Of all times," the redhead muttered. "On screen!"

A female Romulan with short, black hair and dressed in a reflective, black uniform appeared on the screen. Small fires flickered in the background; support beams and technical wires hung from the ceiling, and half a dozen dead bodies littered the bridge.

Coughing from the smoke, the Romulan exclaimed, "Federation vessel, this is Commander Pais of the Romulan Warbird, Severity! You are trespassing in Romulan space! If you do not leave, immediately, we will-" she fell dead silent. "Of all the people in this galaxy, it just HAD to be you?"

The admiral was equally silent. "Commander Pais," she seethed. "It would seem that fate does not wish us to remain separated."

The commander grimaced. "So it would seem, Onyx. Care to tell me what you're doing in Romulan space?"

The redhead answered, "Delivering heat shields to an outpost that no longer exists." She cautioned, "We're not looking for a fight, Pais."

Commander Pais remarked, "Then I would say that we are on equal footing, were it not for the fact that we retain the element of surprise." The Romulan Commander deadpanned, "Admiral Raven, I will ask only once that you return to Federation space."

Admiral Raven exclaimed, "There's an alien super weapon in this system that has robbed three billion people of their lives, not counting however many were on that planet, just now!" She asked, "Do you really expect me to turn back?"

The commander warned, "If you don't, I'll make sure that this is the last time we cross paths."

The admiral scoffed, "My science officer says you're cloaked, so you can't fire weapons. We're staying."

The Romulan asked in exasperation, "Then what is it you think you can do, Raven?"

She answered, "My crew and I are going to destroy that thing. You can either fight at my side or get crushed under my heel, Pais. But you will not stand in my way. Raven out."

The view screen returned to the monstrously large cone-shaped planet killer in front of their vessel.

Thryiss said, "Admiral, we're in range."

"Lock weapons on target."

Blue reticules appeared on the Andorian's personal targeting screen and began to zero in on the cone-shaped monster. "Weapons locked, ma'am."

The admiral waited a few seconds. "Fire."

With the push of a button, a rapid-fire rain of orange beams of fire burst out of Manchester's forward Phaser Arrays on her saucer. A storm of shining red spheres erupted from her forward torpedo bays and flew towards the target.

The Phaser fire hit first, making contact with the hull of the planet killer. With each individual shot, a powerful explosion ensued, making for quite the lightshow on the bridge.

Following suit, the Photon Torpedoes homed in on the alien device. All of the torpedoes slammed into the machine, erupting in a ball of light.

"Direct hit," Thryiss exclaimed.

Audur stated gravely, "No damage, admiral."

"No damage?!" Admiral Raven turned to her science officer. "What the hell do you mean, 'no damage'?!"

Audur explained, "The literary translation, admiral." Upon receiving a glare cold enough to freeze a sun, she continued, "Sensors indicate this alien object is 41.8 kilometers long, each millimeter of its hull being made of solid, pure Neutronium. So-"

The admiral finished, "-Neutronium's impenetrable matrix will render our weapons completely useless."

Mr. Dillard yelled, "Admiral?!"

She looked back to helm to see the planet killer turning towards Manchester.

With its maw right in front of them, they could see that its insides consisted of nothing but an ever-burning "stomach" of inferno fire. And it was headed right for them.

"Evasive starboard!"

As Manchester began to veer off to her starboard side, the alien device fired its beam, enveloping the latter half of the starship.

The blast knocked Manchester out of her projected course, sending the vessel turning onto her back as she continued to evade the planet killer.

The sudden force sent everyone flying out of their chairs and smashing into various parts of the bridge, sounding the alarm and illuminating the bridge with a red light.

"Bring," Admiral Raven gasped, as she struggled to her feet, "Us about!"

Mr. Dillard crawled to his seat at the helm and pulled himself up to his chair. "Working on it, ma'am!"

As Manchester continued to drift on her back, the planet killer followed her movement.

"I can't get power!" Mr. Dillard yelled as the admiral pulled herself up into her chair.

The redhead ordered, "Switch to auxiliary! Get us out of that thing's range!" She pressed a button on her chair. "Engineering," she yelled, head swaying and vision fogging, "Damage report!" Aggravated by the sound of the noise and concussion inducing flash of the lights, she screamed to no one in particular, "Someone shut off that damned alarm!"

"Admiral," Tharan's voice came through the com, "No major damage, but Manchester won't hold together if she takes another hit like that! Warp drive's temporarily compromised! We're making repairs, but it'll take a few minutes!"

"WE DON'T HAVE A FEW MINUTES!" She clutched her head, smearing the blood that dripped from the gash above her eyes. "Can you give me Phaser power?!"

"Not until we reactivate the Warp Drive!"

She stared down at her boots, slowly formulating a strategy. "Understood," she pressed the button again and said to Mr. Dillard, "Divert all power from weapons to engines!"

The helmsman got to work. "Aye, ma'am!"

The admiral turned to Thryiss. "What about torpedoes?!"

The Andorian looked back at her commanding officer. "Torpedo bays armed and ready to fire, admiral."

"Admiral," Mr. Dillard exclaimed, "Full power astern, but we're not moving!"

The planet killer slowly moved towards Manchester. She had righted herself, thanks to Mr. Dillard, but the distance between her and the alien device was slowly closing.

"Admiral," Audur informed, "We are being held in a tractor beam."

The admiral glared at Audur. "That thing has a tractor beam?!"

"In addition to what sensors say is some sort of Anti-Proton weapon capable of cutting through our shields," She turned to Admiral Raven, revealing that she, too, had received a gash along her forehead. "It would appear so, ma'am." Using her sleeve, she wiped away her own green blood.

The admiral turned back to the helm. "Switch to aft viewing screen."

The image of the planet killer's maw appeared before them. Its infinite inferno of fire slowly increased in size as it drew closer to them.

Admiral Raven shot out of her chair and went up to Audur's station. Looking over the various screens and controls, she asked aloud, "How much time do we have to break free?"

"Sixty seconds at most."

The redhead began operating the controls. "Can we polarize our hull? Match our magnetic charge with its charge?"

Audur answered, "Not with auxiliary being diverted to engines. Even if we mustered enough power, transferring it would reduce the efficiency."

The admiral moved to Mr. Dillard's console at the helm. "What's our best, possible speed?"

Mr. Dillard replied, "Three quarters impulse power, ma'am."

Failing to miraculously save the day singlehandedly, Admiral Raven slammed her fists on the console. "We need more power!"

The helmsman exclaimed, "We don't have it!"

She ran back to her chair. Pressing the same button, she yelled, "Engineering! Report!" A few seconds of silence passed. "Report, damn you!"

Tharan's voice yelled back, "Tharan here, admiral!"

"Tharan!" The admiral yelled, "I need main power in thirty seconds, or we're all dead!"

"WHAT?!"

She repeated, "Thirty seconds, Tharan! I need that warp drive online in thirty seconds, or we're all going to die!" Silence filled the bridge. "Tharan!"

"Onyx!" Audur exclaimed while pointing at the view screen, "Look!"

She turned looked up at the view screen. Ignoring the burning inferno of a maw that had consumed almost the entire screen, off in the right corner, a good distance away from the planet killer, a green vessel flickered into existence.

The vessel had the shape of a bird. Two sets of symmetrical wings protruded from her sides, looping around to form a massive, hollow oval shape. The front end of the vessel was a cannon-like structure that curved downward to from a beak. The entire ship was battered and torn; multiple hull breaches could be seen being held together by kinetic barriers, shimmering bright blue.

Thryiss exclaimed, "That's a Romulan Warbird!"

Lieutenant Dillard commented, "What's left of one."

"Military, a Mongai Escort," the admiral murmured. "What's it doing?"

To answer her question, the battered and beaten vessel began firing pale, green bolts out of the ends of its wings. Said bolts collided with the hull of the planet killer, similar to Manchester's previous attempt at an attack, and produced a similar lightshow.

"But that won't do anything," Willodean murmured.

"Forget them," Admiral Raven said as she moved back to Lieutenant Dillard's console. "If Pais wants to die in battle, so be it. We've got to break free!"

"Admiral," Audur exclaimed, "We're no longer being held!"

"I'll be damned," the redhead murmured and jumped back into her chair. "Go, Dillard!"

The helmsman yelled, "Yes, ma'am!"

Manchester evaded the alien's maw by arching at an upward angle to her portside. Still at three quarters impulse power, she made a break away from its damning gate to hell. The planet killer seemed to have lost interest in the Federation starship, as it began going after the Romulan Warbird which was still firing its Disruptor Turrets.

The admiral ordered, "Aft torpedoes, fire!"

Like before, a storm of red stars burst out of Manchester's aft torpedo bays and rocketed towards the planet killer, this time hurtling right down the alien's maw.

She turned to her first officer. "Anything?"

"A negligible power reduction to the planet killer's output. Barely a scratch."

The redhead grinned. "If it bleeds, we can kill it, Audur." She turned back to the view screen. "I think we just pricked it."

Mr. Dillard breathed a sigh of relief. "Distance from the planet killer: Five-thousand kilometers and increasing. Maximum speed remains at three quarters impulse power. Distance is now five point two-thousand kilometers and counting." He turned to face his superior officer. "We will require warp speed to ensure our escape."

"Admiral," Ensign Willodean spoke up, "We're being hailed."

The admiral quickly combed her bloodstained hair back with her hands and straightened her shirt, accidentally smearing it with her blood. Straightening her sitting position, she said, "On screen."

The view screen switched from the planet killer to the Romulan female that had been introduced previously. For the most part, he bridge had been cleaned up. The dead bodies had been removed, and the fires were no longer present.

"Admiral Raven," the Romulan said more calmly. "I see that you've gotten acquainted with the Doomsday Machine."

"Yes, well," the admiral said, "I'm sure we'll get to know it really well once we deal with it."

"Admiral," the Romulan woman smirked. "We drew the Doomsday Machine's attention from your vessel, allowing you to break away."

Admiral Raven declared, "You lie."

"She speaks the truth, admiral," Audur said, "Sensors show that the tractor beam's hold on us was 'released', not broken. It appears that the creature is programmed to automatically respond to enemy fire."

Surprised by the appearance of the first officer, Commander Pais asked, "Audur? You're still serving on a Federation vessel?"

Audur smiled and gave a brief nod. "I see that you are in good health, ma'am."

The commander said to the admiral, "Onyx, if you would be so kind as to halt your retreat and allow us to rendezvous with your vessel, we would appreciate it. Our warbird is not exactly in 'ideal' condition."

Admiral Raven looked at her helmsman. "Distance from the planet killer?"

Mr. Dillard turned to look at her. "Nineteen point four-thousand kilometers."

The redhead ordered, "Full stop."

He turned back to his console. "Understood, ma'am."

She looked back at the commander. "Commander Pais, you may rendezvous with Manchester at your leisure." Her expression grew stern. "And, while you're at it, tell us just what the hell is going on."

The commander grew hesitant. "Of course, admiral. Pais out."

The view screen switched back to a much smaller image of the planet killer.

"Mr. Dillard," the admiral commanded, "Turn us around, one-hundred and eighty degrees. Increase our altitude by thee-thousand meters." She turned to Thryiss. "Reload our torpedo bays."

"Aye, ma'am."

She turned to Audur. "We need answers, and I believe that Pais is still the deceptive Romulan that we've come to know." She paused. "No offense."

Audur slowly nodded. "None taken. I understand, admiral."

The admiral continued, "Run a search through Starfleet records. See if you can find anything like or similar to this encounter." She turned pressed the same button on her chair. "Engineering, report."

A few seconds passed before Tharan responded, "I'm here, admiral."

"Tharan," the admiral deadpanned, "We'll talk about your failure to save Manchester later; right now, I want that warp drive back online ASAP. No excuses."

"Y-yes, of course."

"Don't make me come down there."

"You'll have full power in sixty seconds at most! I swear, ma'am!"

"You could have sentenced eight-hundred lives to their death, Tharan. This is unacceptable. Raven out."

"Admiral," Audur said, "I've got something."

The redhead moved up to the Romulan's console. "What do you have?"

"An exact copy," The woman murmured. "In the 23rd century, the Constitution Class Cruiser, Constellation, as well as the Enterprise, encountered the very same thing." She glanced at the view screen. "I'm not sure if our newfound planet killer is the exact same alien vessel that they faced, but this is what I've got."

The admiral leaned in and began scanning the history. "Constellation, under the command of Commodore Mathew Decker, encountered and engaged an alien device which has been dubbed 'Doomsday Machine.' Constellation and her crew of four-hundred were destroyed, excluding the commanding officer. When Decker was brought aboard the Enterprise, he assumed command and repeated his attack."

"Twenty-third century weapon technology was barely in the Mark Six zone," Thryiss commented, "A Constitution would have been useless."

Admiral Raven continued, "Decker almost destroyed Enterprise in the process. He was relieved of command by Mr. Spock under the direct order of Captain Kirk. Decker committed suicide via flying a shuttlecraft into the Doomsday Machine's maw."

"Good Lord," Mr. Dillard murmured.

To everyone's relief, the red light that had illuminated the bridge transitioned into the former, normal white light.

"Admiral," Thryiss said, "Main power has been restored. Power levels and designations are returning to normal distributions."

"Well, it's about damned time." The redhead turned back to the file and finished, "The shuttlecraft explosion caused a minor power reduction for the Doomsday Machine. Kirk used the remains of the Constellation to deactivate the Doomsday Machine via 'ramming her right down that thing's throat' –Kirk. The Constellation produced a 978.385 megaton explosion within the Doomsday Machine. Said explosion," she looked up from the console, "deactivated the Doomsday Machine."

Ensign Willodean protested, "But we don't have a spare Constitution Class Cruiser or any explosive device like that."

Admiral Raven looked to Audur. "Can you plot a theoretical course if the Doomsday Machine continues with its trajectory?"

The science officer began tapping buttons on her console. "I believe I can, ma'am." Various star charts appeared on the screen of her science console. "If it continues on its projected course," she stated, "It will cut through the outskirts of Romulan space."

The redhead asked, "Where will it go from there?"

"Federation space."

Everyone fell silent.

Admiral Raven leaned in. "How bad?"

"If it does not alter its course," she answered, "It will, eventually, pass through the Sol System."

"Earth." The admiral slowly returned to her chair. "That thing's going to destroy Earth." She sat down and began chewing her thumbnail. "So far," she murmured to herself, "We have two options."

An alert on Mr. Dillard's console drew his attention. "The Severity is decloaking approximately two kilometers below us, admiral."

"Admiral," Willodean spoke up, "The Romulans are hailing us."

She sighed, "On screen."

Commander Pais appeared on the view screen, once again. "We have successfully evaded the Doomsday Machine, admiral. But, we must be brief; the more time we waste, the more planets it will consume. If you have any questions, ask them now."

"All I want to know, commander," the admiral stated, "Is where you found it, what you were planning to do with it, and how you lost control of it."

The Romulan was taken aback. "Are you suggesting that-"

"No," she interrupted, "I don't have to suggest anything; It's plain as day, Pais!"

Everyone else on the bridge tensed.

"You found it; you accidentally reactivated it; and now you can't stop it! Leave it to an incompetent fool like you to put the entire galaxy at risk!"

Commander Pais exclaimed, "That is a lie!"

Audur stepped in. "If I may, admiral," she looked at the fellow Romulan, "Commander Pais, bickering is only buying the Doomsday Machine more time to advance."

"Audur, clear minded as always." She turned her attention back to her rival. "Onyx, our personal conflict remains unresolved, but if we do not unite against our common foe-"

Admiral Raven finished, "The Doomsday Machine will destroy us all." She remained silent.

Unable to read her mind, Commander Pais asked, "Is that your way of saying, 'yes'?"

The admiral lied, "Our sensors show that Manchester's attack did minor damage to the hull of the Doomsday Machine."

Audur looked at the redhead in shock.

Admiral Raven motioned with her hand at Audur to prevent any objection.

Commander Pais scoffed, "Your sensors must be malfunctioning, admiral." The Romulan observed, "Our sensors indicate that your attack did absolutely nothing."

"Considering the state that your vessel is in, commander," the admiral retorted, "I think it would be wise to rely on the vessel that is in a superior state for tactical and scientific data."

Another Romulan to the right of Commander Pais entered the scene. "Commander, the Human has a point."

Intrigued, the admiral stated, "Identify yourself."

Commander Pais interjected, "She is Subcommander Annalia, my first officer."

"Of course," the redhead sat down in her chair, "Commander Pais, here's my strategy: We lower our shields, shut down all non-critical systems, reroute that extra power to our weapon systems, and concentrate our fire on a single point of its hull."

Commander Pais scoffed, "Without our shields, we're one hit away from annihilation!"

"Your ship is one hit away from annihilation, commander! Your shields won't make a difference! Manchester was at full strength and barely survived one hit from that thing!"

The Romulan countered, "You can blame that on flawed, petty, and weak Human design."

"If we can punch a hole in that thing's hull," the admiral stressed, "That should stop it."

"Oh?" The Romulan raised an eyebrow. "How do you know this?"

Admiral Raven lied again, "My science officer and I have deduced that rupturing its hull will cause it to leak its fuel source, thus causing it to shut down."

The commander grimaced and slowly sat back in her chair. "I see."

The redhead reasoned, "The thing has absolutely no firing arc; if we match its maneuvers and maintain fire on a single point, we can beat that thing."

The commander shifted in her chair. "We will," she paused, "Not lower our shields," she paused again, "But, we will assist you."

Admiral Raven scoffed, "Fine." She deadpanned, "Just know that if you destroy Manchester, you destroy your only hope at stopping the Doomsday Machine."

Ignoring the previous statement, the Romulan begrudgingly said, "Transmit your attack coordinates when you're ready."

"One more thing, commander."

The Romulan sighed. "Yes?"

"What is the status of your vessel?"

She grimaced. "We're still making repairs."

The admiral smirked. "I thought so." Her expression returned to neutral. "Manchester is at full strength. Perhaps you can use that as a frame of reference?"

The commander sighed in defeat. "We have partial main power; our Disruptors are at sixty percent; shields are at forty percent; impulse engines are undamaged; and auxiliary is at twenty percent."

"Do you require medical or technical assistance?"

Anger growing, the Romulan hissed, "No thank you, admiral; transmit your attack coordinates when ready!" Commander Pais ended the transmission, and the view screen returned to the solar system.

Audur glared at her superior officer. "What do you think you're doing?"

The admiral turned to face her. "Launching an attack. Now, return to your post."

She stood her ground. "You lied to them. Manchester barely scratched that thing's hull, and we almost died doing it. Launching a second attack will only do us harm."

Admiral Raven stood up. "Return to your post, Audur."

The Romulan objected, "As first officer, it is my duty-"

"As first officer," the admiral yelled, "It's your duty to follow my orders! Return to your post, or I'll relieve you of said duty!"

Audur yelled back, "It's suicide! Attempted suicide is proof that you are psychologically unfit for command!" She continued to return the admiral's ice cold glare. "I am more than capable of relieving you of command on that basis."

"Audur," the redhead tensed, "It is every Starfleet officer's duty to protect life. If we don't stop that Doomsday Machine here, in this system, millions of more Romulans and eventually other species will die."

The Romulan exclaimed, "Our efforts would be in vain! If we attack, we'll die, and the Doomsday Machine will continue on with its planet killing escapade! You must order a withdrawal so that we may alert Starfleet Command!"

"If we withdraw, we turn our backs on the helpless and weak, the very people we're sworn to protect." Admiral Raven shook her head. "You know I can't give that order."

"Admiral," Ensign Willodean muttered, "The Romulans are awaiting orders."

Audur looked back at her superior officer. "Your actions will be your undoing." She turned her back and returned to her post.

The admiral rubbed her hand across her forehead, smearing even more of her blood. "Damn it," she muttered. "Dillard," she commanded, "Pursuit course. Full impulse power."

"Aye, ma'am."

"Thryiss," she continued, "Ready all Phaser Banks. Arm Photon Torpedoes, full spread. "

"Aye, ma'am."

"Willodean, transmit our attack coordinates to the Romulans and inform them to follow our lead and stay the hell away from that thing's firing arc."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Audur, I need you to find me technical schematics on Mongai Escorts."

The Romulan woman faltered. "Technical schematics?"

"You heard me, Audur."

She began searching for the requested information. "Yes, ma'am," she muttered.

Lieutenant Dillard announced, "Distance from Planet Killer: Eighteen-thousand kilometers and closing. The Romulan Warbird is right behind us."

Aboard the Severity, Commander Pais sat back in her chair, grimacing.

Her first officer approached her. "Something troubles you?"

Commander Pais declared, "They are lying."

"I know," Annalia admitted. "But, I see no reason as to why they would lie."

Commander Pais speculated, "Perhaps she is in denial; maybe, she's too proud to admit that her mighty starship is no match for the Doomsday Machine."

First Officer Annalia suggested, "She's a leader. Is it not logical to assume that she is merely attempting to give her crew hope?"

The commander stated, "We can't apply logic to a species driven by emotion and hormones."

"If she were as bad as you make her sound," the first officer reasoned, "Would she have the command of a starship? A rather advanced starship, I might add? Scans say that her Mark XI Covariant Shield Array was generating a seven-thousand output before engaging the Doomsday Machine."

Commander Pais groaned in exasperation. "Yes, Annalia, I know. You also said that their Mark XI Phaser Turrets and Rapid Reloading Photon Torpedo Launchers had no effect. I get it; the Human ship is powerful, and Onyx is still as dangerous as ever."

The first officer looked away and mumbled, "Yes, commander."

The Romulan commander crossed her legs. "But," she admitted, "I could see it in her eyes; she has a plan." She realized, "Come to think of it, I've never known her to lack one."

Annalia cocked her head. "Oh? How do you know it isn't mere bravado?"

"If she was able to lure a Romulan into an intimate relationship," the commander mused, "Then she must have some redeeming qualities."

Annalia was shocked. "How do you know this?"

Commander Pais grinned. "I've known Onyx for a good bit of my life. When Audur joined her, I can only assume that their countless near-death experiences caused them to forge a bond."

Annalia spat, "Humans are so weak and pathetic! What could that Audur possibly see in that female?"

The commander grimaced. "Audur's expertise is scientific, but Onyx Raven is a highly capable combatant and engineer. She may be human, but she is as dangerous and as deadly as they come. Given that we survive this, you may come to see it for yourself."

Annalia scoffed, "It's still preposterous."

"I agree," the commander warned, "But, we must be on our guard. We'll play it her way, for now."

Annalia reminded her, "Their shields are down; we could easily destroy them."

"While I would love nothing more than to do just that," Commander Pais admitted, "The admiral is correct; she's our best shot at retaking control of our Doomsday Machine."

Annalia sighed.

She discovered religion. "However," the commander grinned, "Perhaps we can take advantage of circumstance."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I think it's time we tested our newly acquired satellite turret on its intended targets, instead of Doomsday Machines."

Annalia scoffed. "Solid Neutronium tends to render all weapons inert, doesn't it?" She moved back to her console and began pressing buttons. "I still don't like the idea of using black market weaponry."

"We going to beta test it at some point. And considering the circumstances, I can't think of a more ideal time."

Undetected by Manchester's sensors, a small hatch on the dorsal side of the Severity's aft region opened up, and a silver cylindrical object was shot out into space. The satellite used its maneuvering thrusters to halt itself. On its sides, two massive orange tinted wings transformed and unfolded themselves. Four long, triangular cannons slid out of the forward end of the satellite and locked themselves into position, rotating in a chain-gun manner for good measure.

"Satellite launched," Annalia informed her commander. "I've copied its console commands to the science station, and I took the liberty of automating it to attack impulse engines of any Federation signature, once you give the order to activate and attack."

"Very good, Annalia." The commander smiled. "As soon as we take back our weapon, we'll see what fate awaits this starship, Manchester." Her smile grew. "And together, maybe we can finally kill Onyx Raven!"

Annalia faltered. "That weapon decimated your entire fleet of Mongai Escorts. If we couldn't retake the Doomsday Machine then, how will we do it now with only a fraction of the firepower?"

The commander nodded. "Thus bringing me back to my original point: She has a plan." She shifted in her seat. "Which is why I'm taking precautions. Manchester may be a starship, but she won't be able to combat the Nike Defense Satellite." Commander Pais laughed, "Onyx should know, she's the one who designed it!"

Manchester charged forward with the Severity right behind her. The Planet Killer seemed to notice the advancement and began turning to face its attackers.

Audur reluctantly declared, "Mongai Escort technical charts up, ma'am."

"Keep them handy," the admiral responded. "Thryiss, report."

The Andorian stated, "We're coming into weapons range." Her targeting screen's reticules cycled in on the Doomsday Machine. "Ready to fire." She muttered under her breath, "Again."

Admiral Raven commanded, "Open fire."

Manchester unleashed a spread of Photon Torpedoes and rained down a storm of Phaser shots on the planet killer. All projectiles and bolts of destruction made contact with the hull of the planet killer.

"Direct hit," Thryiss stated.

The redhead immediately ordered, "Evasive starboard."

The mighty starship immediately veered off at an upper angle to her starboard side in order to prevent a repeat of her last attack.

With a direct line of sight now open, Severity followed suit, spitting out her own fury of disruptor bolts. Her own force of firepower made contact on the same area of the Doomsday Machine's hull just as Manchester did.

The redhead ordered, "Pull up. Fire aft torpedoes and continue Phaser fire. Maintain full impulse power and turn on our portside."

Turning to her portside, Manchester flew past the Doomsday Machine, quickly opening up a line of sight for the Aft Torpedo Launchers.

"Aft torpedoes away. Maintaining fire," Thryiss responded.

The admiral stated, "I want the forward torpedo bays loaded for another full spread when we make our next pass."

Audur informed her superior, "The Doomsday Machine is going after the Severity."

Admiral Raven jolted. "No, damn it!" She jumped up and commanded, "Helm, cancel our current attack pattern and lay in an evasive intercept course!" She deadpanned, "We cannot lose the Severity."

Lieutenant Dillard responded, "Course laid in, admiral."

Staying on her sharp turn to her portside, Manchester continued to rain down Phaser fire on the Doomsday Machine's hull. Torpedoes scattered forth as the Assault Cruiser swooned forward to Severity's rescue.

Annalia yelped as sparks flew from her console. She quickly glanced at her screen before turning back to take in the scene before her. "Our ship is in no condition to be fighting! I advise a withdrawal!"

Several small fires had burst out all over the bridge, and the body count had begun to resume its climb. The red alert continued to sound throughout the confines of the bridge, as two Romulans in hazmat suits were combating an electrical fire coming from one of the turbolifts.

Their Tacticians Officer yelled out amidst the pandemonium, "The Doomsday Machine is getting ready to fire!"

Their Helmsman added with an equal amount of panic, "I can't get us out of its firing arc!"

Commander Pais commanded, "Bypass safety protocols and divert emergency power to engines! Ramming speed on my mark!"

As Manchester closed in, the Severity ceased firing her disruptors. Her impulse engines charged up with a dark, green light.

"Now!"

The battle-hardened vessel rapidly accelerated away from the Doomsday Machine, right before it unleashed its Anti-Proton attack that barely missed the Romulan Vessel.

Commander Pais quickly checked the pulse her helmsman who lay slouched over his console. Upon seeing that he was indeed dead, she pushed the deceased out of his chair in anger. She looked back at her first officer and yelled, "Report!"

"Main power's offline! Disruptors are not responding! Auxiliary is down to eight percent! And our warp core is going critical! Shutting down, now!" Annalia stared at her commander. "We've fried our impulse engines." Ashamed, she stated, "Docking thrusters are engaged."

Commander Pais trembled as she clinched her fists. She unwillingly manned the helm and informed her first officer, "We retreat. We withdraw to a safe distance."

Alerted by a notification from her console, Annalia turned to the screen and informed her commander, "The Doomsday Machine is going after Manchester. She appears to be drawing it away from us."

"Then we," Commander Pais seethed with venom, "Are in her debt!" She ordered to no one in particular, "Get me another helmsman!"

While Severity began to pull herself out of the fight and put as much distance between herself and the Doomsday Machine that was possible with her docking thrusters, Manchester had caught the planet killer's attention by flying right past it above its dorsal side. She then swerved off to her portside in a 180 degree turn. Despite the futility, the mighty Assault Cruiser Refit continued her constant firing of red death.

"Good! Good! Keep firing," Admiral Raven exclaimed whilst moving between the helm and tactical consoles. "Get us to seven-thousand kilometers!"

Lieutenant Dillard responded, "Yes, ma'am."

"Once we achieve said distance, lay in an evasive course rendezvousing with whatever the Severity's coordinates will be."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Audur," the redhead moved from her chair to the science officer's console, "I need to see those schematics."

While her commanding officer began skimming through the data, Audur hesitantly asked, "What are you looking for?"

"The location of the vessel's warp core."

"And why do you want to know the location of their warp core?"

Admiral Raven answered by transmitting the location of said core to Manchester's targeting systems. "Commander Thryiss, on my command you will target the warp core coordinates and fire."

She froze in shock.

Audur demanded, "What?!"

Admiral Raven looked to Audur. "A Mongai Escort will produce an explosion with enough power to disable the Doomsday Machine. We are going to use that to our advantage. We'll disable the Severity, take her in tow with our tractor beam, and throw her into that thing's maw."

"You can't!"

"Admiral," Lieutenant Dillard desperately interjected, "Couldn't we beam the Romulans aboard and then follow through with that plan?"

"No," the admiral deadpanned. "If any of them survive, their testimony would start a war with the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire. The threat of the Borg makes that intolerable."

Ensign Willodean pleaded, "You can't just murder them for the sake of convenience!"

"That is not your place to decide, ensign! Their deaths will ensure the survival of millions!"

Audur stood up. "I cannot allow you to do that, Onyx!"

"And why in the name of hell should you care, Commander Audur?!" Admiral Raven shouted, "You are no longer a part of the Romulan Star Empire!" She covertly drew a hidden combat knife from the backside of her uniform, going undetected by Audur's glare.

"That may be true," Audur exclaimed with rage, "But I refuse to stand idly by as you commit genocide!"

"All other options have been exhausted! I have no choice!" Admiral Raven screamed, "You can fall in line or step aside, Audur! But you will not stand in my way!"

Tense silence filled the bridge.

"So what's it going to be?"

Audur answered by yelling and launching herself at the admiral.

Admiral Raven quickly ceased the assault by revealing her hidden blade and sinking it into her science officer's stomach, thus bringing her assailant to an abrupt halt.

Audur collapsed with a scream of agony, as her green blood began to stain her uniform and seep from her wound and onto the floor.

"Your ideals are admirable," the redhead admitted. "But you have much to learn before you obtain the judgment to make decisions such as mine."

Thyriss and Dillard attempted to intervene, but the admiral quickly drew her Phaser and aimed it at them. "Don't even think about it."

Audur groaned in pain as she summoned the strength to get up on her hands and knees, instantly drawing the admiral's attention. She gasped, "Murderer. Heartless, spineless-"

"Audur," Admiral Raven said as she holstered her Phaser and balled her hand into a fist, "Stay down." She threw her punch, connecting with the science officer's jaw.

There was an audible crack. Audur collapsed to the floor, followed by an audible clang as her head hit the floor, rendering her unconscious.

Everyone stared at the admiral as she holstered her handheld Phaser and knelt down to checked Audur's pulse. Satisfied that the Romulan was still alive, she wiped the blood on her blade off onto the science officer's uniform.

"Willodean, get her to sickbay," she ordered as she tucked the knife back into the waistline of her uniform and returned to her chair.

The ensign quickly seized the opportunity of vacating as well as the bleeding body of the science officer and hauled ass into the main turbolift.

"Now, if any of you wish to object to my plan, which will save millions of lives," the redhead calmly stated, "Don't. It would be rather hazardous to your health."

The only two remaining officers on the bridge quickly turned back to their posts in absolute fear.

Manchester, despite the social drama that had transpired on her bridge, had successfully followed through with the evasive course that had been laid in by her helmsman beforehand and was quickly catching up to the rather pathetic, battle-torn vessel that was the Severity.

"Thirty-thousand kilometers and closing," Lieutenant Dillard practically squeaked, unable to hide his fear-stricken voice.

Ignoring her lieutenant's current psychological condition, Admiral Raven order, "Close to five-thousand kilometers. Commander Thryiss, divert any non-critical power to shields, and reduce Phaser power to fifteen percent. We want to put their warp core into a prolonged meltdown, not instantly destroy them."

Thryiss inputted the requested commands. "Phaser power reduced to fifteen percent, and our shield levels have a potential twenty-seven percent," she said in as calm a tone as she could muster.

Manchester continued to close the gap between herself and Severity.

"They're coming in rather fast," Annalia informed her commander. "Ten-thousand kilometers and closing."

Commander Pais ordered, "Hail them."

"Understood." Annalia commenced hailing Manchester. "We've received a textual response." She read aloud, "Damaged chamber coils are releasing emissions that are interfering with our communication beacons. Please stand by. Repairs are being made."

Commander Pais questioned, "Their vessel was not damaged in the attack, was it?"

"Distance from Severity?"

"Seven-thousand kilometers."

"Stand by on the tractor beam. When we close to five-thousand kilometers raise shields."

"Pais, their shields are going up!"

"That backstabbing- EVASIVE MANEUVERS!"

"Fire."

As Manchester loomed over the Severity, a burst of Phaser fire was unleashed upon the damaged vessel. Shrapnel flew in all directions as the shots made contact with her already battered hull, revealing her already damaged interior. Bright blue fires tried to burn while in the transition from atmosphere to vacuum that began sucking out the contents and bodies of her interior. The warbird slowly rocked from side to side as its automated systems tried to compensate for the sudden impact.

"Target the bridge, but only soften it up. We don't want any jury-rigged self-destruct systems getting in the way."

Onboard the Severity, the impact threw everyone out of their chairs and stations. Containment doors immediately closed, confining the meltdown and trapping numerous Romulans on the engineering deck.

"Evade! Evade! EVADE!"

"I CAN'T! Our warp core is melting down!" Annalia desperately pounded on her console. "We're dead in the water!"

"Then we take her with us!" Commander Pais shouted, "Order Nike to power up, and initiate Severity's self-destruct system NOW!"

Annalia began relaying the commands. "Nike is powering up! But it'll take-"

Severity rocked back and forth as chunks of her hull were blown away again.

"That's good enough. Cease fire." The admiral sighed in relief, slouching in her chair. "Take her in tow and chase down the Doomsday Machine."

The Manchester loomed over and passed the disabled and now on her way towards meltdown Severity and quickly established a magnetic pull that caused the Romulan Warbird to follow the Federation starship.

Admiral Raven quickly moved to Audur's post and began scanning the warbird. "How long until you go nuclear," she asked under her breath.

Beep-beep-beep-beep

The three remaining people on the bridge turned towards the beeping emanating from Willowdean's communications hub. "It can't be," the redhead murmured as she moved to answer. "Who is this?"

"You're really going to kill me like a coward," Commander Pais laughed in between coughs. "After all these years, you're just going to blow up my ship?"

The admiral laughed in response. "Your ship will serve as an explosive device to render the Doomsday Machine inert, thus sparing any other planets." Her tone grew serious. "It's more than you deserve, Pais."

"I know you, Onyx." Unbeknownst to any of Manchester's crew, she smirked. "This isn't your style. You've always wanted to kill me with your hands around my neck."

"Sometimes, we must give up what we want, for the greater good."

She scoffed, "Two-faced to the very end, are we?"

The admiral did not respond.

"So be it, Onyx."

The redhead staggered back as the entire bridge rocked back and forth. "What the hell was that?!"

"Impulse engines have been hit by something!" The Andorian quickly analyzed the damage. "Looks like a Tetryon beam, but I can't triangulate the source!"

Admiral Raven immediately ordered, "Find it before it cuts through our shields and strands us in this solar system!"

Soft laughter filled the bridge. "You'll never find it in time, Onyx."

The admiral immediately turned back to the communications hub and demanded, "What did you do, you Romulan piece of shit?!"

"Tell me, Onyx," The Romulan pondered, "Does the word 'Nike' mean anything to you?"

Her face began to twitch involuntarily.

"I am here, on my bridge. Come and face me, Onyx, one last time."

Enticed by rage, she withdrew her Phaser and blasted the communications hub. She made her way to the turbolift and ordered, "Divert all power from weapons and auxiliary to shields! Severity has eight minutes before her warp core melts down, Dillard! Make sure to time it right!"

Extremely confused by her apparent abandonment of the bridge, he demanded, "Where the hell are you going?!"

High above the Manchester, one of Nike's triangular cannons lit up bright blue and fired another Tetryon beam down at the starship, this time cutting straight through her shields, sending pieces of the outer hull into space.

Back on the bridge, the admiral steadied herself from the impact. "A top secret orbital defense satellite is being used against us! I am the only one with a chance at disarming it!"

The turbolift door slid shut before he could ask any more questions.

The two ensigns manning the control hub of the transporter room practically gawked at the sight of their admiral storm into the transporter room, suited up head to toe in her personalized white and read hazard suit, and plant herself on one of the pads. "Target Severity's bridge and transport me there immediately!"

They had heard that tone before, and they had seen the damage that the incompetent had received from failing to follow orders. Without question, they energized her down to the Severity's bridge.

As Admiral Raven materialized on the bridge, she was met with an intense heat.

She looked around the burning bridge to see a completely shattered view screen to her left, a dead helmsman and tacticians officer, who's bones were broken through their twisted limbs, lying in front of her, and through the expansive flames she could see a Romulan figure hunkered over the communications hub. Behind her suit's visor, she smirked, assuming it was Pais's body.

Despite her visor automatically darkening to compensate for the blinding light emanating from the fires, she had to hold up a hand to assist her in reaching the science console. She quickly dispatched the small fire that was consuming the left side of the control panel. As she had expected, the program displayed by the console's cracked and partially melted screen belonged to her military patented orbital defense satellite, Nike.

As she began to decode the Romulan encryptions, she asked, "Raven to Manchester. How much time do we have before Severity detonates?"

"Six minutes, forty-two seconds, ma'am." She heard the sound of Manchester being hit. "That is assuming that the Tetryon beam won't chew through our shields first," He quickly added.

"That's the least of your worries," The admiral stated. "Nike is armed with a quad-cannon turret network and an attack pattern to coordinate." She continued to decrypt the data barriers. "Once Nike disables the target's shields with its Tetryon Turret, it will switch to either its Plasma Turret to maximize the damage on the outer hull or its Disruptor Turret to overload the weapon systems, depending on what it is programmed to atta-"

She was interrupted by an unwanted pair of hands grabbing her head and smashing against the control panel.

"You actually thought a little oxygen depravity would kill me?" Pais laughed as she slammed the admiral's head against the console again. "You're getting sloppy, Onyx!"

The admiral responded by throwing her fist in the direction of Commander Pais's voice.

As the Romulan staggered back, Admiral Raven turned to see through her now cracked visor that she had suffered severe burns as well as a copious amount of cuts and tears to her skin and uniform, green blood staining both. Aware that she had little time to spare, Admiral Raven lunged forward and knocked her nemesis to the ground.

"You would have made a fine soldier for the Romulan Star Empire!" Pais exclaimed as the admiral began choking the life out of her.

The redhead responded while tightening her grip around the Romulan's throat, "We were both given a second chance! You squandered yours; I've built an armada with mine!"

Life slipping from her body, Pais reached around her for something, ANYTHING, to turn the tables around. Her hand gripped something and, ignoring the burning pain that immediately coursed through her arm, smashed a blazing piece of electrical tubing into the admiral's visor, shattering it, and lodging it firmly in the right side of her face.

With a deafening roar, Admiral Raven jumped up and staggered back, gripping the piece of tubing and desperately pulled it out from her face.

Now completely possessed by rage, the admiral raised the burning pipe above her head and shrieked, "YOU! DIE! NOW!"

"Transporter Room Three to Bridge, the admiral's onboard but in critical condition! We're taking her to the sickbay!"

Lieutenant Dillard, too focused on the task at hand to ask question, simply responded, "Understood. Bridge out. "

Heart still pounding, Commander Thryiss asked, "Are we really going to go through with this?"

"The damage is done; the lives are already lost; and we've got fourty seconds before a Mongai Escort that we're towing melts down and takes us with it." He answered, "This is our only viable option."

Manchester charged towards the Doomsday Machine that had now destroyed the last planet in the solar system and had begun to suck up the chunks. As the distance between it and the starship closed to ten-thousand meters, Manchester fired a single torpedo. The bright red sphere detonated against its hull, immediately drawing its attention.

Thryiss asked, "Do you think this will work?"

The question made him laugh in desperation. "If it doesn't, we're all dead, and the sacrifices that were made today will have been in vain."

As the Doomsday Machine began charging towards Manchester, she immediately released her magnetic grip on the Severity and made a sharp ninety degree turn to the port bow and instantly rocketed away at full impulse power.

Automatically ignoring the retreating starship, the Doomsday Machine seized the derelict warbird in its own tractor beam and began to pull it into its blazing inferno of a maw as if it were a chunk of planet.

"Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four."

Severity completely disappeared inside the Doomsday Machine's maw.

"Three. Two-"

A flash of white light emanated from the Doomsday Machine and caused the Andorian and Human to turn their heads away from the viewing screen.

They both looked up to see a blue, gaseous mass of matter spilling out of its maw and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the super weapon slowly spinning on its side, floating dead in space.

Half of her face felt like it was gone. She lethargically opened her eyes to find that her vision was much sharper than she remembered.

She heard a man breathe a sigh of relief. "You're awake."

She turned her head to the sound of his voice. "Dr. Reid?"

A tall, middle aged man with short blonde hair placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Easy now. You've been through a lot."

She touched the right side of her face. "Cold to the touch. What happened?"

With a sigh, he answered, "I had to cut out the area of skin, flesh, and bone that your visor got grounded into. As for your eye…" He adjusted the bed so that she was sitting up and gave her a mirror. "I couldn't save it."

She looked into it to find that her right side was mostly metallic, and a cybernetic eyeball rested firmly in the socket. Its red optic glowed bright, bouncing off the mirror and hitting the wall behind her.

"At least your ear canal was spared," He added.

She lay in the bed, staring at her face, unsure of how to react to such a change.

The doctor broke the silence. "Thanks for not getting us all killed, by the way. It must've been a living hell on the bridge."

The admiral snapped back to reality. "Where's Audur?"

"I patched her up, but we had to sedate her. She woke up rather violently."

"I asked you for her current location, not her current condition."

"I had her confined to her quarters."

Silence filled the sickbay once again.

Once her thoughts were collected, she asked, "Am I free to go, doctor?"

Sensing that it wasn't a question, he requested, "I'd like you to come back as soon as you can. There are still some tests we'll need to run on your new," He paused for the right word, "Implant."

She entered her private quarters, greeted by her fanciful mahogany desk, and traipsed over to the queen sized bed that practically called to her. Ignoring the need for sleep, she moved past the bed and opened up a small closet, displaying a small collection of choices. Mentally flipping off the dress code for casual wear, she changed into black, knee length shorts and an equally black tank top, at long last alleviating her muscles' and tendons' agony.

A few stretches later, she heard an all too familiar buzzing noise. "Come in," she called.

The door slid open, revealing Lieutenant Dillard. "You wanted to speak with me, ma'am?"

She entered the main room and quickly stated, "The eye problem's going to be sticking around for a while."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied a little too quickly.

The admiral sat down at her desk. "Lieutenant, when I took the Kobyashi Maru, I scored a zero. They failed me. They said I failed the objective."

He faltered, unsure of the relevance. "Why did you fail the objective?"

"That," She countered, "Will remain a matter of perspective. You see, lieutenant, if one does their research, and assuming that they remain perceptive, they shall find that the Kobyashi Maru is a fuel carrier."

"Yes?"

"And one shall also find that upon receiving the initial distress call, said fuel carrier will have spilled most of its contents by the time Enterprise enters the Neutral Zone."

"I hadn't considered that fact noteworthy."

"Everyone else in the academy didn't either." She continued, "But I did. It's impossible to save the Kobyashi Maru without reprogramming the simulation. Common knowledge, yes, but I capitalized on it. As soon as Enterprise initiates a rescue operation, three Klingon vessels will decloak and attack, yes?"

Still unsure of where she was going with her lecture, he answered, "Yes, that's correct."

"What most overlooked is the fact that all three vessels are positioned roughly two-thousand kilometers from the Kobyashi Maru. And it's common knowledge that a cloaked ship must decloak before it can fire weapons."

"So?"

"So I blew it up."

He blinked. "I beg your pardon, ma'am?"

"I stationed the Enterprise on the edge of the Neutral Zone, armed my torpedoes and Phasers, charged in, and immediately attacked the Kobyashi Maru. The Phaser fire ignited the fuel, thus creating shockwave with a radius of five point six-thousand kilometers. The blast knocked all three enemy vessels off course, decloaked them, and severely damaged their hulls."

"Making the rest an easy clean up job," He finished.

Before he could ask any questions, she continued, "Out here on the front lines, lieutenant, you must be ready and willing to make those kinds of decisions, the morally impossible ones. I'm guessing that you realized some of that, because you and Commander Thryiss carried out my plan, despite how I had treated you two."

"More or less," He admitted.

"Out here, on the front lines, lieutenant, you'll be on your own for the most part. No reinforcements, no assistance, no allies. It's just you and whatever the enemy throws at you. Survival is a challenge in itself. Morals will be compromised from time to time."

He nodded slowly. "I understand, ma'am."

"I know you want to get your own ship and crew, lieutenant, but I requested that you join me on this assignment for a reason. You're a reliable, logical officer, and I know you can be trusted. To be frank, you're needed here." Taking a breath, she asked, "With what has happened, and I did warn you that these sorts of incidences would occur, will you remain here aboard the Manchester?"

He answered honestly, "I'd like some time to think about that, ma'am."

She nodded. "I understand. Dismissed."

He straightened his posture, saluted her, and exited her personal quarters.

As the door shut, the admiral wasted no time in flipping the surface of her desk over, revealing it to be a private console. As the screen lit up, she ordered, "Computer, transfer all of the log entries made by any crew member to my private terminal." As the massive amount of data began flowing into the memory bank, she added, "Deny any crew member other than myself from making a log entry until I say otherwise. Lockdown code: 1720."

The door slid open, drawing her attention. Commander Audur stood in the doorway, temporarily caught off guard by the redhead's new "implant". She regained her composure and entered the admiral's quarters.

Admiral Raven stated, "The eye's going to be sticking around for a while." She then closed up her terminal, diverting all of her attention to Audur.

"You deserve worse."

Ignoring the remark, the admiral sighed. "Audur, what was the first thing I told you when you came aboard this ship?"

Audur answered, "Fall in line or step aside, but don't get in your way."

"I bear no malice towards you, Audur, and I regret the injuries that I inflicted upon you." She deadpanned, "But you didn't give me any other choice."

"Don't you DARE try to blame me!" She exclaimed, "If you had just retreated, gotten outside of the Sphilyx Oxyphase's dampening field, you could have called for reinforcements!"

"And then what?!" Admiral Raven explained, "That thing would still have had a solid neutronium hull! One or one hundred starships firing on it wouldn't have made a difference! You know that, Audur! It would've taken nothing short of what I did to stop it dead in its tracks!"

"You sentenced everyone on that Mongai Escort to their death!"

"It was a necessary evil!"

"You can't justify murder with mathematics, Onyx!"

The admiral reasoned, "If we did it your way, Audur, then the Doomsday Machine would've moved on to the next solar system. My decision saved millions of lives, Audur."

"And what of your motives?" She questioned, "Are they really as selfless as you make them seem?"

"The other admirals won't care about my 'motives', Audur."

"But I do." She asked, "Was this a sincere relationship, or did you just want someone to ease the pains of your decisions?"

Admiral Raven answered, "Your ideals have proven to be counterproductive to the most dire of situations."

She glared at her. "How can you live with yourself?"

Ending the argument, the redhead stated, "Manchester has suffered mild damage to all major systems. It will be some time before we dock at an outpost for proper repairs. I can have you transferred to any starship of your choosing when we do."

She asked, "And what will you do now?"

The admiral paused, giving it some thought. "For now, I have log entries to falsify."

Neither spoke for some time.

As the Romulan turned to leave, she said, "This job has ruined you."

The door closed again, leaving the admiral to her task. She quickly reopened her computer and opened a private connection to one of her contacts. "This is Admiral Raven. Do you read?"

"Admiral! What a pleasant surprise," A gruff male exclaimed. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Cut the crap. I have in my possession something of value to you that serves no practical use to me."

He chuckled. "Shall we meet in the usual place?"

"It'll take Manchester a while to get there, but yes. I'll notify you when the time comes."

"Understood. It's a pleasure doing business with you, admiral."

She did not respond, but instead hung up on the voice and restarted her efforts to falsify the massive amount of journal and log entries.

"That's the tradeoff," she muttered to herself.

Author's Notes: Star Trek Online was the main inspiration for this. Revisions may be made in the future.