Dying Ship
Still unaware of the desperate situation created by the unstoppable Machines, Captain Jason Pierce and the rest of the five-headed team could finally wipe the last drops of sweat from their foreheads. In such a small amount of time and with the hot breath of the Machines in their necks, they had managed to create the thing that had to save the Galaxy and perhaps more from utter destruction. It wasn't a ship or a weapon of conventional sorts but something that couldn't even be touched, yet it held a subtle destructive power that could take out the heart of this dangerous enemy in the blink of an eye. And this 'weapon' was completely harmless to anything organic but instantly lethal to those who weren't. The most powerful and intelligent quantum-based virus ever created was released from its sandbox environment and placed on a secured data-module for rapid-deployment once a data-uplink node was secured. The program would active itself and terminate every computer system it was interfaced with, in this way taking out even more than just the AI itself. It addition, it would set the primary power core on overload so that it would take down the entire complex with it to be absolutely sure that there wouldn't be a trace left of the entity.
"Congratulations everyone, we did it!" Jason applauded while removing the module.
The lab where he and the other members of his team had been working on the virus was filled with the high-ranking officers of the base, the members of the infiltration team and a couple of scientists who wanted to observe this moment. Everyone began to cheer and applaud, the Mantrins patting the human on his shoulders with such force that he almost gave way. Jason pressed the module into Kero's hand, squeezing into the Mantrin's large hands to strengthen his words.
"Make sure it reaches its destination. Go, and regain your honor for your House and Empire and make your father proud."
Kero thankfully looked at the Starfleet Captain and assured him that he would do anything in his power to make sure it did, even if he had to die for it. Jason brought his finger up in a 'no' gesture.
"I'm toasting with you when the distinctions are conferred" he replied with a smirk.
Later that evening, not only Kero and Stith but also Rajah prepared for their last night of sleep in a safe environment. They would leave the base early tomorrow morning and probably arrive at Aridanis during the night time, providing everything went well.
It was early in the morning, the sun rising above the hills of Sogowa's landscape. When its first rays touched the grass-overgrown hills accompanied by the chirping birds flying over the hidden base, a heavy rumbling sound disturbed the peaceful sounds of nature. Two large horizontal doors opened on the flat terrain adjacent to the training ground partially revealing the internals of a large underground hangar. A large trans-atmospheric shuttle was standing on the main take-off platform that rose slightly above the hangar's ground level. The VTOL shuttle was ready for take-off, its six massive thrust-vectored engines build into its delta-shaped wings warming up with a droning that became louder and louder as the last members of the strike team boarded the craft. Combat gear was already brought on board and when the checklist was worked off, flight control gave the shuttle's pilot the all clear signal.
"Looks like the General wasn't bluffing when he told us he would take us back to the ship in style" Jason said to his First who was frowning at his remark.
"I'm sorry sir, but I honestly can't see what's so stylish about this shuttlecraft!" Chrysta replied trying to get above the noise of the engines.
Buckled up into the large relatively comfortable chairs in the roomy pressured passenger compartment of the shuttle he could feel the power of the engines being eager to push the craft up into the sky and beyond. This type of shuttle was actually a large troop transport used to bring the EAF soldiers up into orbit were a large warp-capable ship would bring them to the actual mission ground. It had a large capacity and that was why most of the seats, except for the ones up front were empty. There was one more of these shuttles parked in the underground hangar but due to the long time of peace, they hadn't seen much service for a while. However due to recent events, that was about to change, even if they managed to remove the Machine threat from their quadrant for good. The trans-dimensional gates still formed passageways for hostile species to emerge.
"I've always wanted to fly with one of these" Rilas said to Stith and Kero who were all three sitting on the same row.
There was one row on each side of the main fuselage, each one three seats wide. That would say, Mantrin seats, because two humans could share one seat with enough room to spare.
"And why is that, if I may ask?" Kero yelled trying to get above the deafening noise the engines were currently producing.
His heavy voice was shaky because of the trembling and the loading door in the aft that was still open didn't help much either. When this door finally closed the passengers were finally able to communicate with each other on a normal volume. The droning of the engines was still audible but not as clearly present as with the door open.
"I don't know" Rilas replied with a laugh.
"When I was young, I just thought this thing looked cool. These are the same ones they used for the regular infantry of the Imperial Armed Forces."
With the engines in their vertical position, the droning rose to a maximum when the pilot pushed them to full power. A very slight bump could be felt by the passengers when the shuttle's landing gear detached itself from the platform. The engines trying to counteract gravity pushed the huge transportshuttle hovering far enough above ground level for a safe flight after which the pilot pivoted them between horizontal and vertical position so that the shuttle could start making speed for its space entry. The use of six high-powered engines gave the shuttle a surprising amount of acceleration and it didn't take long before the base of the EAF blended with its surroundings as seen from the window.
"Enjoying the ride?" Rajah who was sitting between the rest of the soldiers asked with a big smirk.
"Very" Brian and Korso who were sitting one row behind him replied in unison.
The uneasy look on their faces told otherwise because the force working behind their backs held them tightly pressed in their seats. Looking outside the windows, they could see that the shuttle had already brought them above what little dotted clouds floating into Sogowa's almost perfectly clear sky and judging by its steep trajectory and steady speed it wouldn't take long before Sogowa's atmosphere would be replaced by the cold vacuum of space.
"Well this little visit to your homeworld definitely changed my mind about your people. Not all of you are born with a gun."
Rajah frowned and slightly flattened an ear at Brian's remark.
"You seriously didn't think that all Mantrins are warriors?"
"Frankly, I believe I did" Brian replied with a chuckle when he saw the amazement on the Mantrin's face. After all, his species did have the tendency to be pugnacious and aggressive.
A few moments later the shuttle had reached high orbit of the planet and began its leap towards the Son of the Empire's starboard docking port. The docking bay was also an option but since this transport shuttle would return to the planet it wasn't the best one. The Valkyrie was going to be used for the last part of the trip to Aridanis and from what her Captain had heard, it recently got a new addition. The cloak had been installed and the Mantrin workers on the space port had craned their necks when the ship suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but seeming empty space where it was standing.
The shuttle decreased its speed until it was equal to the orbiting Mantrin warship and the pilot could bring his shuttle closer to the docking port. A soft clunk and a loud hiss confirmed what the pilot said over the intercom a few seconds later.
"Okay guys, everybody out. Docking port is pressurized and secure."
Climbing out of the large seats, the muscles of the humans felt a bit stiff. Being tied to the seat while constant force of rocket engines was pressing you down wasn't really their idea of a comfortable ride. They left the shuttle through its port airlock and found themselves standing into the wide internals of Kero's ship. When the last passengers and equipment required for the mission was aboard the hatch behind sealed and the shuttle undocked, plotting a trajectory for a fast re-entry into the atmosphere of the planet, flames licking its outer hull when the ship touched the layer of air surrounding the Mantrin homeworld.
Two officers of the Imperial Guard had been ordered to take Commander Otrin and his team to the briefing room for the final briefing. Kero would leave the ship in the capable hands of Rilas during the mission but wanted to say a few final words to his bridge staff before he would begin. The Goureg Prince lead the humans to the bridge together with Stith and the acting Captain Rilas who was secretly eager to take command of the massive Ikana class warship. Commanding such a vessel was his dream and he now got the opportunity to take a bite from it. When the huge turbolift, designed by Mantrin standards reached the command deck, Kero's smoothed the wrinkles out of his uniform shirt and stepped proudly on the bridge, occupied by a couple of familiar faces. He was surprised to find the two Sijal sisters on the bridge with the oldest one sitting into the center chair. Naea jumped up when she noticed him entering the bridge in company of the Republican and Starfleet officers and saluted.
"Captain on the bridge!" she announced with a firm voice after which everyone turned around to face their Captain.
"Good to have you back sir. I kept your seat warm for you" she said offering Kero his chair.
"Well, don't get too comfortable Lieutenant" Kero replied in a friendly manor offering her his toothy smile.
Authors note: Music track 24.
"I want you all to take a good look at Commander Rilas here because he will be your Captain in case I happen to fail" he said patting Rilas on the shoulder.
"Sir?" Naea asked a bit non-understanding.
"In case you haven't heard yet. I'm going to be on the mission. It's probably my best and only chance to regain my honor for myself and for my House and I have to do this."
Kero began to make one last round over his bridge, passing by each station, looking at each crewmember and even patting some of them on the back as a goodbye.
"If we do not speak again, it was a great pleasure to serve with all of you and I wish you all luck with your future career. It really hurts me to say this and I honestly hope that this is not a definite farewell."
Morale on the bridge dropped to a low level when the Captain was making his preparations to leave. A lot of ears drooped down and some members had a trouble with the lump in their throat.
"At last, I expect you all to serve under Rilas like you would have done under me. Goodbye everyone."
Kero looked his First in the eyes and smiled.
"Rilas, she's yours. Take good care of her since the possibility is always there that I might return to take her of your hands. I know you have the tenacity and determination to command a ship of your own. Good luck Captain."
Rilas smiled weakly but his voice remained strong and confident.
"Oh I expect you to. If I remember correctly you've promised me that we would share a glass of your little secret remember?"
Kero smirked and squeezed into the shoulder of the acting Captain.
"Computer transfer all command functions to First Officer, Commander Rilas from the House of Eyani."
The computer confirmed and Kero left the bridge.
"Let's go" he said wanting to take Stith with him.
The Sogowan Mantrinesse however was standing next to her bridge console, the chair now occupied by no one less than Kiké. Her long brown-reddish mane was bond together with a pink bow giving the young Mantrin an even more girlish appeal. Kero was surprised to see her as a bridge officer but that was probably because they needed someone to replace Stith. Stith herself was congratulating the young Fjetahna with her position but warned her that she too might return to claim her place again. Kiké just laughed assuring Stith that she would gladly let her take over once she returned. As the former Captain of the ship he too decided to have a word with her.
"You´re not going to tell me that you are a weapons specialist too?" he asked the young girl with a smirk.
Kiké greeted him with her girlish laugh like always.
"To be honest sir, I have a degree in various areas of expertise, including tactical so you could say I'm quite versatile."
"Keep going that way and you'll be commanding your own ship very soon."
"Thank you sir" she replied.
After a few last words he and Stith left the bridge on their way to the briefing room leaving the humans and Rilas who was now officially in command behind.
Rilas took his place in the comfortable Captain's chair looking from his First Officer who now happened to be Naea to the Captain's Pierce and Korso, and Commander's Kenneth and Winter.
"I shall contact your ships so you can transport back" he offered.
"That won't be necessary for us" Jason replied pressing his combadge.
"Pierce to Highlander."
"Highlander here, go ahead Captain."
"Two to beam up."
The Federation Captain and his First Officer beamed back to their own ship vanishing in a pattern of tiny blue marbles leaving only Korso and Brian behind.
"You might wanna contact the Valkyrie first since I have absolutely no idea where they're hanging out right now."
It was Naea who replied first.
"I think I can be of help" she said a smile playing over her black beak characteristic for Fjetahna.
"Captain if I may?" she asked standing up from her chair.
Her long brown-reddish mane bond together in the same way as her sister Kiké but with a ribbon instead of a bow was swaying gracefully behind her back. Her fluffy tailtip in the same color was gently whipping over from one side to the other.
"Wow, she's really gorgeous" Rilas thought staring at the Mantrinesse's figure.
From her strong legs with the hoof-like feet to her well-trained feminine body and from her full breasts to her gorgeous deep-orange eyes. When he thought about the fact that he was still looking for a mate, he realized he just found himself one.
"What I'm I thinking?!" he thought overwhelmed.
He was in command for barely more than one minute and his thoughts were already drifting away to his beautiful First Officer. Restoring himself from this sudden moment of his mind playing tricks on him he granted Naea permission to do her thing.
"Open a channel" she ordered the operations officer.
"Channel open ma'am."
"Son of the Empire to Valkyrie? Valkyrie do you copy?"
After a few moments pause the face of Akima appeared on the screen. Korso saw that his entire crew was present on the bridge and ready to follow orders.
"Captain, as you are aware we have just made some modifications to your ship. If you wanna take a look at the port side please?"
Her voice sounded really amused and that promised something. When Rilas ordered the viewscreen to display the area of space at the port bow of the ship, Korso and Brian saw nothing but empty space. But upon closer look he though he saw a rippling effect. As if space itself had become liquid. However the effect increased and took the shape of a ship, his ship. The rippling silhouette of the Valkyrie took solid form, indicating the newly installed cloaking device was working at optimal efficiency.
"Outstanding" Brian brought out.
Pleased and intrigued by the new technology Korso requested a beam out.
"Impressive" Rilas complemented.
"The Empire once had managed to cloak only a few small objects but we've abandoned the concept after too many of us thought of it as a coward's tactic to use such technology in battle."
"Yeah but this time we have no other option" Korso replied.
"Can't say I disagree."
"See ya Captain" Korso said just before he dematerialized off the warship's bridge.
After all three ships had plotted the collective course to Aridanis, the small taskforce jumped to warp, beginning the long and painful mission that would decide the Galaxy's fate.
The wreckage of the Akrennian warship Tsun'rhaa was drifting into the cold and merciless nothingness of space. It's surviving crewmembers were unaware of the fact that they were still alive until one of them opened its eyes. Groaning from the pain in the back of his head, Preed tried to move, only to find out that he was half buried under a pile of rubble from the collapsed ceiling. The sparking of broken power conduits made him aware of the current situation. When he slowly opened his eyes he could vaguely determine the face of his unconscious Captain, who he vainly had tried to protect with his own body against the darkness of the ruined bridge. In his weakened and wounded state, Preed was barely able to free himself and his Captain from under the rubble, the stinging pain in his back preventing him from using too much strength. Piece by piece his managed to push the piece of ceiling blocking his way to freedom away. His sudden struggle and the dust in the unfiltered air made him cough, causing more pain on various places of his body. His could vaguely see the flickering of consoles against the darkness of the destroyed command center, indicating that there was still some power left. The question was: For how long? Since they hadn't been picked up by another ship, they must have forgotten them in the haste of getting out of the mess. His first thought was sending out a distress signal but he realized that could also be picked up by the Machines.
"Crap" Preed thought.
"This was a pretty screwed up situation."
Trying to find out if he wasn't the only one alive he tried to wake his Captain first. But when his hands found an object made of solid cold metal sticking out of her body he realized that his Captain wasn't going to wake up any time soon. A half a meter long piece of metal had penetrated her chest possibly causing massive damage to her internal organs. In his disoriented state and the dark surroundings of the bridge, he finally found out that his waist was covered with her blood causing sudden fear to arise in his chest.
"She is dying."
Checking her pulse and breathing, only to find out that it was very weak caused his brain to start working at top speed. Hampered by the pain in his back he found his way through the rubble obstructing the bridge. When he reached the barely functioning ops. station he found an unconscious Iyu still in her chair. The sand-colored female Akrennian suffered from blood loss from a wound on her head. Her head was hanging to the side and blood trickled down her face to the tip of her beak from where it dripped in her lap. Preed gently tilted the female's head to see if he could wake her, softly shaking her motionless body until she started to move and groan.
"Arrgh" she grumbled slowly bringing her hand to her sore head.
"Iyu, are you all right?" Preed asked knowing that it was a silly question.
Of course she wasn't all right. He wasn't a medic but even he could tell that she was suffering from a concussion and a possible skull fracture.
"What does it look like?" she coughed, spitting out the blood caused by a blow against her beak.
The flickering console in front of her didn't provide enough light to see something and it didn't seem like it was still functioning however it didn't hurt to try.
"Iyu, we have to send out a distress signal, do you think you can get sensors back online?"
Iyu tilted her head towards him, still supporting it with her right hand since she felt like her neck was barely able to carry its weight.
"What happened?" she brought out with a soft groan.
"One of their attack fighters began a suicidal run of some kind" Preed explained.
Iyu cursed when she looked at her hand she had pressed against the wound on her head.
"I'll try to find the emergency medkit" Preed said already beginning to work his way through the darkness to the back of the bridge where he presumably could find one.
He stumbled over a support beam that send him straight to the deckplating causing stabs of pain in every limb. He let out a soft cry and when he opened his eyes he had closed against the fall he looked at the lifeless body of one of his crewmembers. It was Djorath, the grey-skinned crossbreed Akrennian tactical officer with the unusual blue patches of fur over his body. He was lying on his back with his neck was twisted in an unnatural position and his chest penetrated by several pieces of debris. His motionless face was a mask of pain, the eyes wide open. Preed closed the poor Akrennian's eyes and whispered something that would grant Djorath a safe passage to the afterlife.
"That the God's of Akrennia may take pity on this brave warrior that died in battle."
Realizing that Ayko awaited the same fate if she didn't receive help soon he hasted himself to the back of the bridge and forced open the compartment with the medical kit. He wasn't a doctor and the small case didn't contain the right equipment that could save his Captain's life but at least he would be able to treat Iyu's wound and give her something for the pain so that she could concentrate on contacting the people that could. Finding his way back to the front he found Iyu still with her bleeding head in her hands, growling in pain. When he opened the case, a small light build in the cover went on so he could see what he was doing.
"Let me give you something for the pain first" Preed mumbled trying to make sense of all the different medical instruments.
Luckily they were marked and he was able to find the correct one with the limited amount of light available. After he gave Iyu the shot in her neck she relaxed, feeling the pain dissipate immediately. Iyu let out a few sighs of relief until she finally looked at him.
"Can you give me another one of those?" she asked with a funny voice.
"That hole in her head is driving her crazy" Preed thought.
"No you've got enough for now. I need you to try and make contact with someone who can get us out of this wreck before the air runs out."
"But I'm still not feeling very well" Iyu replied with the same voice.
She was rolling with her eyes and dizzy from the blow against her head and the drug that had to suppress the pain.
"There is only one way to do this" Preed thought putting the medkit aside.
He turned her chair towards him and grabbed her firmly by her shoulders.
"Iyu, listen to me. You have to send a distress signal, or we'll die. The Captain is severely wounded and needs help. Okay?"
Iyu however was becoming delirious and began to behave like a child.
"But I don't wanna do that, I wanna go to sleep" she whined.
"I think I'm a bit nauseous. I have to throw up."
To add deeds to her words she turned her head to the side and threw the contents of her stomach on the deckplating. The sour stench of vomit found its way into Preed's nostrils making him feel sick himself. However it cleared up Iyu's mind a bit since she now turned her attention to the flickering console.
"Wha' do you wa' me to do?" she asked with a double tongue.
"I'm gonna try and wake the others. You have to send the distress signal so someone can get us out of here."
"Can I go to sleep then?" she asked softly.
"Yes, you can sleep if we're out of here. It's not safe."
"All right, all right."
She began following his instructions and from what he could tell, she was doing the right thing and not just typing random instructions on her flickering console. He hoped that someone other than the Machines would pick it up soon otherwise Ayko would hemorrhage to death.Preed picked up the medkit and began to take a look at her neighbor Trynan who was regaining consciousness by himself because he woke up from him talking to Iyu.
"Trynan" Preed said touching the helmsman's shoulder.
"Preed? What happened?" the grey-furred Akrennian groaned.
He screamed in pain when he tried to move his left arm that had an open fracture at the height of his elbow exposing the yellowish bone tissue. When Preed opened the medkit to treat his injury he also noticed the third degree burn on Trynan's right cheek, leaking blood and fluids on his leather military outfit and in his fur. His console had exploded right in his face which he had tried to protect with his other arm which got the same treatment over a larger surface. Luckily the medkit was equipped with a tissue regenerator which was able to heal the damaged tissue quite rapidly.
"One of those things rammed us. Everything is destroyed" Preed replied because there was no way of getting this ship operational again in the middle of space.
"What about the rest of the crew?" Trynan asked with his teeth clenched together against the pain.
"The com.'s dead, just like pretty much everything else. I doubt there are many crewmembers left alive."
"And the Captain?"
"In bad shape. She won't make it if she doesn't get any help soon. Neither of us does by the way since life-support is failing as well."
When Preed finished treating Trynan's right arm he placed the tissue regenerator in the same hand.
"Treat your wounds with this while I'll check up on the rest. I'm sorry we don't have anything for your broken arm."
"That's okay" Trynan replied.
"I think I can… Ahh, dear mother. She was right when she told me to stay at home" he growled.
Preed continued trying to help wounded crewmembers to regain consciousness. He found two more dead and one relatively uninjured until he eventually found Kryfar. The army green Akrennian First Officer was pinned in his chair by a piece of metal that had penetrated his left shoulder and the chair locking him in this most painful and uncomfortable position. If it had been earlier he probably would just let him die but Kryfar was still breathing and letting him die like this was something he just couldn't do. Kryfar woke up with an aggressive growl, opening only one eye to face his biggest rival on this ship. He let out a laugh at his own dire situation when he faced Preed in the darkness of the destroyed bridge.
"You're really enjoying this aren't you?" he sneered.
"Having me pinned down in my own chair like this. Completely turned over to your mercy?"
Preed stared back through the relative darkness, his Akrennian eyes weaker in the dark because of his desert-like homeworld.
"Oh shut up Kryfar, I just wanna get off this wreck just like you" Preed bit back because of Kryfar's insufferable way of pronouncing the words.
Even now that his own life was in danger, he was still a jerk.
"But wouldn't it be great just to let me die? You can be First Officer."
"If you kill her too, you have your own command" he said nodding at Ayko who was still lying unconscious on the deckplating.
"Shut up and let me help you Kryfar" Preed said taking a look at Kryfar's injuries with the help of the light from the medkit.
Cuts and bruises were easily healed and giving him something to make the pain more bearable wasn't the problem either but the piece of metal was going to prove something of a problem. Carefully watching Preed while he was helping him Kryfar didn't spoke a word. The untrustworthiness of his species was quite well known throughout the spiral arm and he was genuinely surprised that Preed helped him without anything in return.
"Now we have to get that thing out of you" Preed mumbled.
"Well, just pull I would say" Kryfar muttered.
"You sure?" Preed asked.
"Well, it won't come out on its own" Kryfar sneered.
"There you have a point" Preed replied.
"Wait."
Now that Trynan was finished with the tissue regenerator he collected that vital piece of medical technology first before helping Kryfar.
"Hold this" he said pressing the device in Kryfar's right hand.
"Seal the wound as soon as I can get this thing out."
He grabbed the sharp elongated piece with both hands pulled with all the strength still left in his battered and tired body. No drug could suppress the pain currently experienced by the Tsun'rhaa's First Officer. Kryfar yelled and called every curse word part of the Akrennian vocabulary. Blood gulfed out of the double sided wound staining the leather of his uniform before he began to heal the tissue. This was rather tricky for the device since the wound was literally a hole in his body but at least he managed to contain the bleeding. Preed tossed the blood covered sharp metal object to the back of the bridge were it couldn't get in the way and helped Kryfar to seal the wound on the side of his back. Kryfar loosened up his stiff neck with a cracking sound and glanced over the remains of the bridge until his eyes found what he was looking for. His unconscious and defenseless Captain was lying on her back in front of the Captain's chair, pinned down by the piece of metal that had penetrated her chest. An evil laugh played on Kryfar's lips, undetectable by Preed until the green-skinned Akrennian started to move in her direction.
"What are you doing?" Preed asked carefully watching as Kryfar approached his injured superior.
"I never liked her attitude" Kryfar muttered.
"Always complaining. Never good enough. I'm sick of it."
In what little light he had, Preed though he saw the flickering of the blade of a knife slipping out of the sheath.
"You're going to kill her?" Preed asked in astonishment.
Kryfar let out a malevolent laugh.
"Neah, I'm just gonna make sure that she'll never be able to command a ship again."
Getting ready to mutilate his Captain, Kryfar carefully approached her, trying to find the best way to make sure his plan worked. If she was unfit for command, he would automatically get a field promotion to Captain and with Ayko out of the way, he could just as easily get rid of Preed. Preed however thought fast, coming to exactly the same conclusion at the right time. He sneaked up on Kryfar and grabbed the other Akrennian's shoulder.
"Kryfar!"
When Kryfar turned his head around he didn't see Preed's fist coming that bashed in his face. Kryfar fell over the Captain's chair, bleeding from his nose and growling anger.
"Always messing things up" he thought.
"Time to keep my promise!" he yelled.
With a roar he turned around his knife cutting through nothing but empty air. Preed had already backed away and drawn his own knife to defend himself against the furious Kryfar. Beside himself with rage Kryfar dashed at him with a loud cry lashing with his knife in an attempt to kill him with a single deadly stroke that would rip his flesh and spill his intestines over the deck plating. Preed however was smaller and faster than him and dove behind the First Officer seat Kryfar's knife penetrating the back of the chair.
"Come here so I can kill you!" Kryfar yelled insane with rage.
Yelling and cursing he stumbled into the darkness of the bridge trying to find out where Preed went.
"What are you doing? We have to get out of here" Trynan called from up front.
"Stop yelling, my head hurts!" Iyu complained.
"Shut up!" Kryfar spat, blood and spittle flying from his beak.
Preed who had taken advantage of the distraction had sneaked up at Kryfar from behind and grabbed his neck, trying to drag Kryfar with him to the ground. His knife was cutting into the soft flesh of Kryfar's neck spilling blood over his hands. Kryfar, strengthened by the adrenaline slammed his elbow a couple of times in Preed stomach causing him to let go in pain. Preed coughed violently and collapsed to the ground, the decorated knife clanging on the metal floor. He was having trouble breathing and he was panting and sweating just as Kryfar. He could really feel the air becoming thinner now. He looked up into the bloodthirsty eyes of Kryfar gleaming in the dark. With his knife held high and the blood trickling from his broken nose he was getting ready for the death blow.
"Anything before you die?" he brought out with a sparkle of insanity in his voice.
"You're insane" Preed panted.
"That's good enough for me" Kryfar replied.
Just as he wanted to plant the knife into Preed's head to end his life a devastating blow hit Kryfar on the back of his head. He began to stagger, his legs suddenly unable to carry his weight and collapsed to the ground. Behind him was Trynan, with a long piece of metal debris in his uninjured arm. He tossed it away and looked over the unconsciousness Kryfar to Preed sitting on his knees and having trouble catching his breath.
"I always knew that he was power hungry. Are you all right?" he asked offering the other Akrennian some assistance by stretching out his hand.
Preed took it, beginning to lose all of his remaining strength. The carbon dioxide levels were rising in the thinning atmosphere and it wouldn't take long before people were gonna start losing consciousness again.
"Thanks" he brought out with effort barely able to walk straight.
The lack of enough oxygen made him dizzy and disoriented. With Trynan helping him he made it to the front of the bridge with a last look at his dying Captain and the motionless Kryfar.
"Don't worry, I knocked him down pretty hard" Trynan said when he saw Preed looking.
Trynan's left arm was dangling powerless beside him, the drugs suppressing the pain. The other Akrennian officer left alive he got to know as Klegg was helping Iyu who was still talking with a funny voice and trying her best to assist where possible.
"Do we have sensors?" Preed asked biting his teeth because of the pain in his stomach.
Kryfar hit him pretty hard and it would certainly hurt for a while.
"Only short range" Klegg replied.
"I managed to launch a probe but sensors are barely functioning; it extends the range only by two lightyears. The only good thing is that the collision has knocked us on a course away from the Xirosa system and out of the danger zone."
The Akrennian had a brown-reddish skin color and two instead of one horns on his snout. A larger one up front and a smaller one behind it. He looked friendly and had only a few minor injuries when Preed had found him but the nasty blow on his forehead had knocked him unconscious just like the rest.
"Luckily we are able to send a distress call but the com.'s down so there's no telling if someone picked it up."
"Aargh" Preed growled in frustration.
With help possibly lightyears away and an atmosphere that became harder to breathe by the minute the situation was beginning to look pretty dire.
Moments later, just when he began to give up hope, Iyu's barely working console began to beep. Preed flicked his only good ear, surprised that someone actually picked up their cry for help.
"A ship?" he asked full of hope his lungs burning from the high carbon dioxide levels in the thin air.
"Possibly" Klegg replied panting heavily.
"There's no telling if they picked up our distress call."
Preed shook his head. They could still be two lightyears away.
"Iyu, try to send them a message" Klegg panted.
"Iyu?" he repeated shaking her shoulders.
Iyu's head had fallen on the console. The tiredness, concussion and lack of oxygen had finally caused the poor Akrennian woman to collapse. She was still breathing but unconscious just like they would be in a few minutes. Klegg slowly lifted her injured head off the console with Preed's help and took over from her.
"Preed" Trynan's voice sounded weakly.
"Trynan" Preed brought out stumbling to the other console.
With the carbon dioxide reaching toxic levels Trynan was losing all of his strength just like Iyu and was barely awake.
"Before I go, I want to thank you for trying to save our lives."
"You're not going to die. They've almost found us. You've gotta stay awake."
The furred Akrennian coughed violently through his panting.
"I bet the Captain would be proud of you."
"Don't give up now" Preed said.
"Trynan. Trynan!"
But his head had fallen aside and he was now in the same state as Iyu. His life slowly slipping away, unable to do anything about it.
"Ayko."
Ayko was the first thing that crossed his mind when Trynan lost consciousness. As fast as his legs could still carry him he sunk on his knees beside her. She was still breathing but it was very faint and irregular. He heard Klegg coughing violently and knew both of them could go any second now. Preed grabbed Ayko's cold hand in his, not planning on letting go of her until death would separate them. The darkness of the ruined bridge of the Tsun'rhaa was replaced by a complete one. Preed could feel his eyes falling shut, the last coughs of Klegg faded into nothing. The cold deckplating was the last thing he felt when his numb body hit the ground. Preed watched his life pass by in rapid succession before at last his mind finally shut down, leaving him with nothing but dreamless Akrennian sleep.
"Captain I'm picking up a distress call."
The bridge of the USS Highlander was on full alert. The failed attack on Xirosa had spread through the entire sector and had caused every ship that travelled through this region to remain on heightened alert.
"Audio only."
"Well put it up" Jason ordered.
They had to travel past Xirosa and because of the number of destroyed ships, there could very well be survivors of the attack.
"It's pretty garbled. I'll try to clean it up a bit."
A lot of static came through at first but the transmission could vaguely be heard above all the background noise.
"Akrennian battlecruiser Ts…. Survivors… Attack… Life-support failing… Please help…"
It was cut off by crackling and after that only more static came through. Jason ended the transmission with a quick gesture and ordered his helmsman to increase speed after informing the Son of the Empire and Valkyrie. Both their Captains had also picked up the transmission and had agreed to increase speed as well.
A few moments later, all three vessels dropped out of warp at coordinates outside the Xirosa system. A sensor sweep of the area revealed what they were looking for.
"I'm picking up a ship, or what's left of it, bearing 178 mark 045."
"Intercept. Hail them" Pierce ordered following standard procedures.
"No response Captain. Several areas have lost atmospheric containment and life-support is failing on the remaining decks. I'm picking up several life-signs but all of them are very weak."
"Bring us in to transporter range Ensign" Jason ordered his helmsman.
With assistance of the other two vessels, Jason brought his ship closer to the remains of the once proud Akrennian warship and brought its speed to zero with a tractor beam. Whole sections had been ripped off the battered chunk of metal drifting away from Xirosa and there was practically nothing left of the initial design. He was amazed that there were people still alive aboard this destroyed wreck. With help of both Captain Rilas and Korso, the Highlander began beaming over rescue teams with breather masks to key area's were they could find the most survivors. This small delay in their mission wasn't such a problem and it was Starfleet procedure to respond to any distress call. Maybe the survivors of the Akrennian ship could be of help once they recovered.
After the successful recovery of all survivors of the attack Kero salvaged what was left of the ship into the huge docking bay of the Son of the Empire. It probably wouldn't be of much use but maybe the bodies of the died crewman could be returned to their homeworld in case the clan demanded a special burying ritual. Every species had his own way of dealing with the dead and Pierce didn't even think of it as such a bad idea. The sickbay of the Highlander was crowded once again when he signaled the other Captain's to get underway. Jason himself decided to bring a visit to sickbay himself. Maybe the other Captain could provide him with some firsthand information about what the Machines were up to when she regained consciousness.
Voices. He couldn't here clearly what they were trying to tell him but he could say for sure that it were voices. They sounded friendly, caring and the people those voice belonged to were not going to hurt him. Slowly the voices became louder, more clear and Preed finally realized what had happened. His lungs burning because of the lack of oxygen and the carbon dioxide slowly poisoning him. His last moments with his dying Captain aboard the crippled Tsun'rhaa. It was all finally getting through when his brain slowly started to function normally and he realized he had escaped from death once again. Help did arrive and just in time because his body had already given up on him. It was his second near death experience in such a short period of time and far too close for comfort.
Preed was slowly getting his senses in the rest of his body back and decided to pry open his eyes to look into the world of the living. Bright lights, just like last time stung in his visual organs as he granted them time to adjust to the level of lighting. The bipedal creatures walking through something that must be a sickbay judging by his condition were wearing bright colored uniforms, hair and a pink-colored skin.
"Humans" he thought.
This was a Starfleet vessel for sure judging by their uniforms and the tiny figures of the communicators pinned on their chests. The burning feeling was still present in his lungs and when he took a deeper breath he had to cough causing him to curl up on the biobed in pain.
"There's another one getting awake" a doctor said speeding towards his bed.
"You're safe now" the man assured him.
Preed felt the warm touch of the human's hand on the exposed skin of his shoulder.
"The others?" Preed brought out weakly looking at the unconscious Akrennian lying on the bed on his right.
"Give him another five cc's of triox" the doctor instructed after which one of his nurses quickly approached with a hypospray filled with the appropriate dosage.
"My crew, my Captain" Preed said trying to get up but feeling too weak to actually add deeds to his words.
"You're all having severe symptoms of hypoxia, but the survivors of the attack are stabilized for now. You need to recover."
Preed barely felt it when the subdermal contacts of the hypospray touched his skin. The effect however was hard to miss as the triox eased his breathing and allowed him to ask his question again.
"Your crew will make it. Your Captain, is a different story" the doctor replied looking serious.
"Will she make it?" he asked hopefully.
Having a future with Ayko looked promising and he didn't want to lose her now. He loved the strong Akrennian woman and this time it was genuine. He had always chased after women that were unreachable to him but this time he finally felt like he found the right one.
"We've stabilized her internal bleedings for now but her injuries were severe. The lack of oxygen has damaged part of her brain. It will heal but it needs time."
The man sighed.
"She's in a coma."
Preed suddenly felt like a bucket of ice had plunged in his stomach. A coma. There was no telling how long it would take for her to revive from a coma.
"This cannot be happening" he thought feeling more miserable then ever in his entire life.
It was like the universe was collapsing in on him.
"I should let you rest" the Starfleet doctor said leaving Preed alone in his misery.
He couldn't believe what his ears just heard. But it was as if thinking alone was tiring him. He turned around to his other side and his eyes caught something that concerned him even more. On a bed similar to his, under the same white sickbay blanket laid the army-green skinned body of the most hated person in Preed's life. Kryfar had made it off the Tsun'rhaa alive and with Ayko in a coma he was in command of this crew. On the other hand, the ship was destroyed and without any means to return to Akrennia the best thing he could do for now was stay with Ayko until she regained consciousness. As this was the best option, Preed closed his eyes against the tiredness and fell again in a deep dreamless Akrennian sleep once again.