Prologue

David sat and watched in horror as the shuttle came to life outside. In a split second, it was engulfed in flames. Purple and red majestic lights flashed across its bow. The shuttle was left in flaming tatters.

"Raise shield and charge weapons!" bellowed the Captain. David took little notice of his orders for a moment, unable to peel away his eyes from the viewscreen.

"I gave you an order, Commander!"

Again the Captain's words didn't register for a moment. He began hearing his father's lecturing voice from when he was a child,

"The enemy won't give you time to blink. Don't give them that luxury either."

David quickly snapped out of his trance, fighting away his anxiety as much as humanly possible. His fingers danced over his console as his training took over.

"Aye, Sir."

David looked up again. The battered shuttle, little more than flames and a feint metallic structure, began drifting quickly into their path. David gulped and grasped his console tightly.

"All hands, brace for impact!" Shouted the Captain. David watched as it grew closer and closer. He was un-afraid of the physical danger. He hadn't even been caught off guard. But his anxiety was doing back-flips throughout his body.

The shuttle collided with their ship. Crewmates were flung fro their seats. Sparks rained down from above. David glanced around and saw the chaos erupt around him. And the chaos on the outside. Beautiful, but destructive lights on the outside. Each hit jostled him in his seat. The only consolation he took was the Captain, shouting orders in his deep, stern voice. His voice was commanding, and to David, almost slightly paternal.

"INTRUDER ALERT! DECK 5!" screamed the intercom. Without thinking, David jumped from his seat, nodding to the Captain as he approached the lift. He breathed a sigh of relief, leaving the chaotic bridge scene behind.

David tossed his phaser to the ground in frustration. His body and mind had become instruments for his rage. It absorbed and swallowed him whole as he plunged deeper into the chaotic mayhem surrounding him. There was no careful thought. No clumsy anticipations or pre-meditations. His clarity was instinctual, as if he'd done this a thousand times.

David grabbed the nearest intruder and belted them across what he assumed was its head, feeling none of the impact. Pure adrenaline ran through his veins. An uppercut, a jab. It was almost like a dance.

Bodies covered the floor, aliens and friend alike. A sea of red Starfleet uniforms surrounded him. Blasts of pure light back and forth through the corridor. David remained focused on his targets, occasionally acknowledging his subordinates. His father's stern voice had disappeared, replaced only by the clarity of the moment.

The intruders began collecting, like an army retreating. David paused, scanning their movements with his eyes. Their shots rang out less and less. Perplexed and puzzled, David grabbed a phaser from a fallen comrade.

"Hold your fire!" he ordered, keeping his phaser pistol locked on the now retreating enemy. The clarity was now fading, replaced with a forced calm. He could feel his anxiety slowly creeping back in.

"Moore to the bridge; the intruders are leaving. I think…" His men gave him perplexed looks, underneath their expressions of fear and anger.

"Hold your positions! Mitchell, Wong. You're with me!" barked David. Him and his men began slowly and cautiously pursuing the intruders. With each step, David's heart skipped a beat. His arms grew heavy, and his breathing quickened. The adrenaline surge no longer served his purpose, becoming more cumbersome by the minute. Their boots clicked on the deck plating, avoiding bodies.

They turned a corner, and Wong let out a gasp. The sight both sent terror and fury through David. He raised his phaser, but they were too late.

"They're taking them!" shouted Mitchell. David stared in horror where the enemy had stood just moments ago. Thoughts coupled with anxiety started churning through his head.

"You failed them," he heard his father's voice say. The word failure started swimming through him faster and faster. It beat like a drum. His head felt like it was going to explode. He had to fight back tears. Guilt began to swallow him. His stomach did back-flips.

"sir, what do we do now?" Wong words knocked David out of his trance. He glanced above the corridor, and was in mid sentence when the intercom rang out sharply.

"Bridge to Commander Moore! You'd better get up here!"

As the lift carried David to his destination, he could feel his heart sink. His anxiety grew more and more by the minute. His head felt heavy. He wanted to burst. He could sense something terrible, more terrible than anything else that had just transpired.

The lift opened to a fog of debris, sparks and mangled crewmen. David could see nothing clearly. As he entered the bridge, his anxiety swallowed him whole.

"Where's the Captain?" He asked, hesitantly. He didn't want to know the answer. The flight control officer turned to David.

"Dead, sir."

David gulped. He could hear his next question. And the next answer. But he didn't want to.

"Who's in command?" he slowly asked. His heart sank with the answer. Every feeling, every anxiety swallowed him whole, and left nothing.

With the poise and emotion of a man about to be hung, David took the Captain's Chair. He saw his reflection in the viewscreen. His father was staring back at him, that stern look in his eyes. David inspected the bridge…slowly. The Captain and first officer were dead. The ship took heavy damage. Part of the crew had been abducted. David gulped.

"Your orders, sir?" David paused, lost in his swirling thoughts and feelings. His father kept glaring back at him from the viewscreen.

"We're going to hunt them down."