Falling Star
Part 2
"All hands to battle stations, prepare for imminent engagement," Salk commanded, the waves of confidence coming off each word sending a chill up Pond's spine as she listened. The ensemble of sirens blaring that could only follow such an order, however predictable and well experienced, never ceased to fill the ships atmosphere with a kind of primal excitement that caught them completely off guard. Though not a single enemy ship lay in sight just yet, a rumble shuddered through the hull signaling crew sprinting to their posts and foot soldiers arming themselves for combat.
"Wings one through seven, move to intercept positions and prime your boarding vessels," he continued, his eyes scanning the projected entry coordinates. "Wings eight through ten, take up support positions and minimize their window of escape."
"Ensign Pond," he jolted, his subject clear though his vision remained steadily affixed to the panels.
"Sir!" Pond eagerly replied, snapping her body back to attention stance.
"Return to the nav deck, they're going to need your help," Salk ordered, his tone nonetheless imperative while subtly lacking in enthusiasm.
"R-right away, sir," she followed, coy in her response as she turned to face the lift at the rear of the observation deck. "good luck, Captain."
Just beyond the gravity well, they popped into view, a cloud of debris caught in their warp trails shooting passed as they exited the jump. The pitch-black void about them now glistening with the rays reflected off their orange and burgundy hulls, there could be no mistaking them. Far from a classic Androssian assault formation, their flagship and dreadnoughts lay cocooned in a defensive bubble of support ships surrounding them. Obviously, though poorly, adapted from Cornerian fleet strategy. As soon as they had arrived, the fleet began turning about to not only broadside their incoming attackers, but also to set in sight their next objective, MacBeth, its rusty hues glinting just within eyesight. All, except one. A once feared instrument of planetary annihilation, it stood now little more than a remnant of the early stages of a war long passed. Even so, far separate from its allies, it made no such turn. Its prow, having been annexed by elaborate paintings of ancient war apes which sprawled all the way down its port and starboard where the name 'Troades' lay faded from years of conflict, pointed squarely in the interceptors' path.
"Hahaha!" A maniacal, almost squeaky voice laughed, "Lying in wait, just as I suspected!" Though small in stature, his position atop a hastily constructed throne meant he had a clearer view than all others of the command module he sat dead center in, even as it stood dimly lit in emergency lighting.
"Divert power to main shields and open all cooling vents!"
"Admiral Oikonny! Sir!" One of his many lackeys reported, any identity which could have been extrapolated from his poor posture and doubt riddled tone veiled by a standard issue visor covering his face. "Captain Thaag has finished his preparations. He awaits your command."
"Excellent! Patch him through," Oikonny replied, a snide grin plastering his expression. With a metallic whine, a holo-interface attached to the end of a robotic arm descended from above until its static filled projection lay directly in front of him.
"Yes, my lord," a grizzly voice answered as his image, mostly thick and scraggly hair surrounding a menacing and undoubtedly proud scowl, materialized on the interface.
"Jacob, my friend, the fleet needs more time for our warp drives to cool so that we may make the jump to MacBeth," Oikonny began, an unusual softness in his tone, "I commend you on your courage in accepting this task free of any hesitation.
"Your sacrifice on this day will ensure the preservation and rebirth of our glorious Empire. Legends will sing of your heroism! Your name will transcend our mortal boundaries!
"It will be done my Lord," Thaag replied, tilting his body just so to give a proper bow without creasing the lavish cloak that hung from his shoulders. "Long live Andross!"
"Long live Andross!" The crew comprising the entirety of the command module cried out, their bodies stiffly enacting their former emperor's personal salute towards Thaag as his image phased out.
With a shock-wave powerful enough to rock the fleet beside it, all of the Troades' engines fired at maximum throttle. Jolting in the direction of the Cornerian interceptors, visible plumes of smoke and a rainbow of flames began billowing from its warp drive, only growing in intensity as it bore down on them.
