Captain Jake Barret sat in his command chair, staring at the view screen at the front of the bridge.
"Let me hear the message again." Barret said to the young Andorion male sitting at operations.
"Yes sir. Would you like visual?"
"Very well. " The view screen flickered from the stars around them, being replaced by a tall, stern Vulcan.
"Hello. My name is T'ka. I am the captain aboard the U.S.S. Cardinal. We have come under attack from the Ferengi D'Kora class and will soon be destroyed. We request back up, they are extremely dangerous."
"That's where the message ends sir."
"Very well. Helm set coordinates one nine five mark eight. Warp eight, engage."
"Yes sir." The stars shown on the view screen, which had formerly been spheres of light transformed into long white lines as the ship accelerated.
"Mr. Plockoth, how long will it take to reach our destination?" The Andorions antennae twitched as he thought.
"Approximately ten seconds sir."
"And we received the message how long ago?"
"Five minutes."
"All stations, yellow alert." Barret commanded.
"Arriving, now." Trevor Balvicks, the man at flight control said. The ship came out of warp speed fast. The crew found themselves in the midst much debris.
"Any life signs?" Barret asked quietly, staring at the wreckage.
"Yes sir, several, all human." The reply came from Lieutenant Amelia Harwin, the officer at tactical.
"Very well then; any sign of the Ferengi ship?"
"Besides the remains of T'ka's ship and the traces left over from phaser blasts, no." Harwin said.
"Thank you lieutenant. Prepare to beam the survivors onboard." Barret finalized. Jake Barret was thirty one. He had been promoted to the rank of Captain only two months ago. The ship he had been assigned to was the Niagara Class, U.S.S. Jupiter. This was his first outing. So far there had been very few problems.
"Sir, the shields are down, we will be beaming the survivors aboard in around thirty seconds." Harwin informed the Barret.
"Very well. What is that?" Barret said as he noticed a strange anomaly on the view screen. It appeared to be warping the space around it. The anomaly took form, changing into a red starship, a Ferengi D'kora class. Green beams fired at the Jupiter. The moments before impact two thoughts went through Jake Barrets head, one, panic, two, there was something wrong with the Ferengi vessel, the beams, they were green. Then the beam hit. Barret hit the ground. "Sheilds Up!" he commanded.
"Yes sir." Harwin said, panic in her voice. The second beam collided with the shield, sending another shock throughout the ship.
"Arm phasers!" Barret shouted he got back into his chair.
"Phasers armed." Harwins reply was almost immediate, she had obviously been taking care of the task before Barret had made the order. "Target locked on." She continued.
"Fire everything!" Jake Barret's shout was heard even through roar of explosions. Torpedoes and phasers hit the enemy ship hard. "Prepare for the Picard maneuver." Barret said moments before another volley of weapons hit them.
"Shields are at forty nine percent." Harwins said.
"Sir, Balvicks is down!" Plockoth said. Barret swiveled his head towards flight control. Trevor Balvicks had indeed fallen out of his chair, hitting his head in the process. He was out cold.
"Dammit." Barret said as he looked around for somebody to take Balvicks' place. Seeing none Barret himself jumped into the chair, looking over the controls. "Alright, do the Picard Maneuver on my mark; NOW!" Barret shouted as he activated warp speed.