Nebula's are known to be beautiful. Their swirling patterns of vibrant color clash and collide and circle in a seemingly endless stretch of beauty. But every place has its secrets and what most could never guess, is that a nebula is the perfect place to hide.
Hiding was what exactly was on Enterprise's mind. The nebula offered shielding from the long range sensors of a starship but that meant that she was flying blind as well. Her blue eyes scanned her purple-blue surroundings warily for any sign of her opponent, the much smaller but powerful younger Reliant. The poor young starship had been abducted by Khan, an old enemy of her captain. He sought revenge for the death of his wife. Enterprise paused, directly below her and fortunately not looking in her direction was that very ship. Reliant had her eyes fixed firmly ahead. She wasn't looking for Enterprise. Despite all the punishment Khan inflicted upon her, she still resisted him. Enterprise had to admire her courage. Reliant stuck true to her ideals, stayed loyal to her leader. For that, Enterprise would gladly give her a medal and a double, even triple promotion.
She kept still as Reliant passed harmlessly underneath her. She knew that the smaller ship would eventually find her and she hoped that she wouldn't be forced to destroy her. She had come to admire the tough little ship. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Reliant moving through the purple clouds in front of her. She fell in behind her, sneaking along. Her teeth bared, ready for the fight. As soon as she was close enough. She fired a phaser shot at Reliant's warp nacelles, preventing her from using them. Reliant gasped in pain as she vented warp plasma. "Owww! God damn it!" She cried. A seal had been placed upon her so she couldn't disarm her weapons. She opened fire. The torpedoes struck Enterprise's shields but they held. Enterprise returned fire, striking a direct hit on Reliant's port bow.
"Ouch! Enterprise, that hurt!" Reliant cried. "I know, I'm sorry." Enterprise replied. "But I have to destroy your shields." "Khan can't be reasoned with. He'll kill you the second you set foot on board." Reliant growled. "I'm not going to destroy one of my ships." Enterprise growled. "After this fight, you're getting a triple promotion." She said. "But that would give me a rank second only to yours." Reliant gasped. Enterprise nodded. "I'm aware of that." She said. "Thank you, Enterprise." Reliant whispered. Enterprise smiled. "You've earned it after today." She said. She turned back around as if she was racing back into the nebula. Reliant followed her under Khan's control. It was a feint though and Enterprise made a quick 180, facing her opponent. She opened fire with both torpedoes and phasers, knocking out Reliant's shields. Reliant fired a phaser shot that hit main engineering. Enterprise shrieked as the phaser cut deep into her hull. Blood poured from the wound and Enterprise groaned in pain. "Had enough?!" Khan taunted.
Enterprise growled. "I'll kill you." She hissed. "I will." Reliant looked at her and whimpered. "I'm afraid you're too late for that." She whispered. "Khan's set the self-destruct sequence. I can't deactivate it." She gasped. "Enterprise, you have to get out of here!" She exclaimed. Enterprise hesitated and Reliant fired a low powered phaser into her side. "Go!" She snarled. "Or you'll be caught in the blast." Enterprise shook her head. "No." She growled and moving forward, she nuzzled the little starship. "You did well and I'm proud of you." She whispered. Reliant nuzzled her back, quivering slightly from the pain and also from fear. "Go now." She growled softly. Enterprise nodded and backed away. "Goodbye Reliant." She whispered and raced away. Reliant watched her go. 5 seconds to self-destruct. "Goodbye Enterprise, I'm sorry." She whispered and closed her eyes.
Enterprise just managed to stay ahead of the blast. Looking back she could see the formation of a planet. Reliant had been carrying the Genesis plans when she died and Enterprise could see they were a success. "From death, comes creation." She whispered. "The Genesis Planet." Kirk whispered. "No," Enterprise replied. "No, this is the planet Reliant. Farewell, my brave sister."