Hard Contact Part One
Everything felt heavy like his body was made of lead. Roscoe opened his eyes slowly and turned his head. Around him was a line of hospital beds, each one occupied by wounded soldiers. Covered in white bloody bandages and held together by plastic casts, the injured laid prone on their beds, unable to move. Thick transparent cables were attached to his arms, feeding his damaged body nutrients. A rectangular controller laid next to his right hand. He hissed in pain as he straightened his burned back. Thumbing the call button on the controller, it emitted an alarm and summoned a nearby nurse. Dressed in a navy blue uniform, she scanned him while examining his patient file.
"H-How long was I out?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and dry. "A week, admiral," the nurse said. She continued her briefing with the injured Tenno, filling him in on what he missed.
After his charge failed, the Sentients left their universe through the portal. The joint task force near the portal generator fled Earth, hoping to escape the oncoming wave of destruction. While a majority of the ships escaped, it was too late for the others. Whole towns and cities were leveled across the continent, ripped from the earth, and tossed aside. The ships tumbled about in hurricane-level winds, their pilots trying to regain control as they spun around. Some fell into the sea, where gigantic waves crashed over them. Others suffered a more terrible fate as they collided into each other, resulting in fiery balls of explosion and a rain of debris and corpses.
"The casualties are still being counted, sir" the nurse reminded him. The Tenno sighed heavily, covering his face. After a moment, he slowly pushed himself up. "I think I would like to be discharged immediately, nurse." He winced, pain racing through his back.
Another nurse wheeled over a portable module and set it on the floor. Within seconds, the machine came to life as it connected with Ordis and his own armory on his Orbiter ship. The two nurses disconnected the tubes from his arms and helped him to his feet. The anti-gravity field engaged as Roscoe was held in place. He selected the Rhino Prime warframe and his damaged Rhino warframe vanished into thin air. The pain and aches were gone when he switched bodies. Rotating his shoulders, Roscoe thanked the nurse and walked out of the field hospital. It was past four o'clock and then summoned his Orbiter. Upon entering the ship, Ordis's shrill voice greeted him.
"Operator! I was quite worried about you. You were knocked out for a while. Do you want a briefing from the fleet admirals?" Roscoe nodded and turned to face the radio console. The radio channel switched off and the orange hologram of Keyes's face appeared.
"About time you woke. You have a lot of stuff to catch up." the fleet admiral told the Tenno. Roscoe gripped the side of the radio console and leaned forward, "Besides the casualty reports, what else is happening?"
Video footage from a nearby satellite plays. The quality is poor and signal interference from the portal causes some static. A purple transparent wave radiates from the portal, spreading across the planet. It then zooms in on the giant sphere floating in the Earth's atmosphere. The sphere's murky surface quivers and trembles as lumps formed on its surface, resembling an Infested pus about to burst. The lumps burst from its surface, revealing a white translucent comet streaking through space. The comets' sizes vary and nearly all of them are headed in different directions. Eventually, the dark sphere shrinks until it disappears.
"How many of these 'comets' came through?" Roscoe asked as he consulted the navigation.
"We think there are others on Earth as well, so Cole and I agreed to deal with the ones that arrived here," Keyes pointed at the Tenno, "You are responsible for tracking down the ones in space."
"While I believe I can locate these anomalies, I don't think we can simply persuade them to come with us. There is also the possibility of them lacking FTL technology." Roscoe pointed out. There was a chime when Cole entered the discussion. "If they lack an FTL drive, we can put them in Lagrange point two until we figure something out." the ex-UNSC admiral said.
Keyes nodded, agreeing with his counterpart. "Okay then. Any questions?" Both Cole and Roscoe shook their heads. "I will spare a few battle groups for your mission, Roscoe. Good luck." The Rhino Prime switched off the radio console and kneeled in front of the navigation console. Setting a course for the clan sector, he retreated to his personal quarter to meditate.
After docking with the Kilimanjaro, he was at the bridge, watching the crew as they carried out their tasks. The superheavy cruiser had escaped Earth with glancing blows to its hull armor and had jumped back to the clan sector for emergency repairs and re-armament. A pair of Autumn-class heavy cruisers flanked The intercom squawked as the deck chief announced the ship had replenished its weapons.
"We're ready to go, admiral," Farragut informed him. Reclining on his chair, he pointed at the viewscreen. "Full steam ahead, captain." The order was given and the Kilimajaro's battle group disappeared into the swirling slipspace portal.
The rumbling stopped when the trio of ships from the Cosmic Era lurched out of the black hole. The static interfering with their sensors disappeared slowly.
"Status report!" Captain Gladys shouted. "Everything is fine, Captain. The engines are hot right now, but we are cooling down as fast as possible. Linear catapult is ready to go." the chief engineer said.
"Launch the mobile suits ASAP. I want full sensor readings immediately." The entire CIC was abuzz with orders being issued and executed. Inside the carrier's MS bay, the Destiny was crouching inside the linear catapult, awaiting the all-clear signal. The moment Shinn saw the green lights, he was launched and tossed into space. The Destiny's thrusters roared to life as he soared through the empty void. On his left was the gas giant Jupiter. He turned around to check the rear, where the Archangel and Eternal were also deploying their mobile suits and scouting the area.
"There doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary" an Orb pilot mumbled. "Just because it looks similar doesn't mean it's all okay" Mu interjected. He was still rattled about nearly failing to stop the Minerva's positron cannon. His comm channel crackled as Kira's voice filled the cockpit.
"Athrun and I are going scout ahead. We will let you know if anything happens." Kira reported. Both the Strike Freedom and the Infinite Justice sped off into the darkness, leaving a trail of blue light. Inside the Strike Freedom cockpit, the ultimate Coordinator guided the mobile suit as it followed the massive ring orbiting the gas giant. As both mobile suits turned, they were greeted with a strange sight. Orbiting above the rocky ring was a giant asteroid surrounded by a giant fleet of ships. Small white lights flitted around the asteroid and ships. Magnifying his camera on one of the flitting lights, Athrun's eyes widened he gasped in shock.
It was a mobile suit, painted in dark green colors. It shared an uncanny resemblance to ZAFT's ZAKU mobile suits. A bright red monoeye camera inside a dome-shaped head swerved sideways, an ax-like beam saber hung below its backpack thrusters. He turned his view on the other mobile suit, which Athrun didn't recognize. Covered in light green armor, the mobile suit was standing on the deck of a white ship. A blue diamond-shaped face plate protected its camera from incoming attacks, a rectangular shield was attached to its left arm.
Hiding behind an asteroid, Athrun contacted Kira on an encrypted comm channel. "Did you see them, the mobile suits?" he asked. Kira frowned, troubled by the ZAKU doppelganger.
"I saw them as well, but I'm more concerned about the giant asteroid they are guarding. I'm guessing it might a colony ship of sorts" Kira said and pointed at the asteroid.
"Or it could be a weapon." Athrun pointed out. The ZAFT pilot had a point as it was about the size of a space colony. Kira shuddered and wiped away the mental image of Earth being destroyed by the asteroid. "So, what do we do now?" Kira asked.
"We get back to the Archangel and tell everyone what we saw. From there, we will decide whether to make first contact with them." Looking back at the alien fleet and the asteroid, the two mobile suits were about to leave when all hell broke loose.
The white rectangular warship dropped out of Void space, a translucent coating of energy shimmering around the ship's armored hull. Bristling with thick armor and numerous turrets, its white armor shone like a beacon. A holographic pennant streamed in the darkness, alien words displayed across it. Kira and Athrun watched the doppelganger mobile suits scramble into the actions as they deployed.
Aboard the Redeemer, Nef Anyo, self-proclaimed Prophet of the Void and esteemed member of the Corpus Board, stared down at the alien ships. Next to his console was his personal padd, where he uploaded holographic images of the ships and the asteroid. Enlarging the hologram, he spun it around. The ships would bring a hefty profit to his growing coffer of credits. But like any Corpus, his greed knew no bounds and was infinite. He pushed the image away and the humanoid figure appeared next. Nef believed they were powered by some sort of reactor, but he didn't know how powerful they were. It was a risk he had to take, assuming one of them could obliterate his warship.
"Executive Anyo, your orders," a Corpus lieutenant asked. Nef stared at the main screen, pondering where the newcomers came from. Then again, their homeland or place of origin was of no concern to him. As long as he was able to salvage the ship and mechanical humanoids, the Corpus as a whole would benefit. He chuckled as he imagined himself being named Chairman by that damned old-timer Frohd Bek.
"Open a hailing transmission on all frequencies" he ordered. The lieutenant paused before he stuttered. "Sir… if we do that, then they will also hear us; which will compromise our position," he said meekly. Nef glared at him, his eyebrows raised. "Carry it out now!" he shouted with finality as the chastised lieutenant ordered a nearby comms officer.
Inside a hangar bay, Char, Amuro, and Bright Noa were inside an office room, listening to the incoming transmission. Since their arrival, both the Earth Federation and the Neo Zeon faction decided to a ceasefire. Bright Noa and a small entourage of his officers entered the Axis asteroid as acting representatives of the Earth Federation. The commander appeared to be wearing a metal stovetop hat. His chin was attached to some mechanical device that listed out alien words, almost like a stock ticker. His eyes were painted with dark coin-like circles and he had a grey mustache.
"Greetings, foreigners. I am Nef Anyo, Prophet of the Void and esteemed member of the Corpus Board. I see that you are in need of assistance."
From the balcony, Lord Gulliman watched the long line of people snaking toward the Fortress of Hera. At the base of the temple's steps, several cooks and chapter serfs had set up an impromptu soup kitchen. The cooks scooped up the hot soup with metal ladles and placed them into disposable bowls, while serfs cut freshly-baked loaves of bread into thin slices. Veteran Space Marines patrolled the plaza as they kept their vigilant eye for troublemakers.
The sound of a ceramite-clad fist knocking on the massive oak door behind him brought him out of his reverie. Cato Sicarius, captain of the Victrix Guard, nodded at Gulliman and led him to the meeting room. Thick rectangular windows allowed sunlight to illuminate the room. The walls were adorned with murals dedicated to the Ultramarines' illustrious history of defending the Imperium. Sitting at a circular table were various leaders of the Imperial factions. Space Marine officers towered over the mortals, waiting for him. Tech adepts mingled with Knight princeps, exchanging information and updates. Astra Militarum officers and navy admirals conferred with one another. Sisters of silence stood away from the crowd, observing the whole affair behind their helmets. Behind everyone else was contingent of Adeptus Custodes clad in gold auramite armor.
Aside from the mortals, there were other famous heroes of the Imperium in the room. Surrounded by her fellow Sororitas and two bodyguards, the Living Saint Celestine folded her wings around her like a cloak. The Archmagos Cawl, creator of the Primaris Space Marines, moved about in the room, gathering feedback from the Space Marines. Tech-priests followed behind him and recorded the Space Marine's words on their dataslates. Inquisitor Grayfax stood behind a thick oak plinth, while Tribune Colquan stood nearby.
The moment he sat down on his oak throne, the meeting began in earnest. "My lords, my generals, my countrymen," said the primarch. "I thank you for answering my summons in a timely manner. I understand there are pressing matters you must deal with, so I will try to keep this conclave as short as possible." His baritone voice rang strong and clear over the marble walls.
The holoprojector in the table's center rose for a moment and activated, casting a blue glow to the ceiling. Currently, it was showing the total amount of forces they brought with them. Various iconography of Space Marine Chapters was scattered all over, like a messy mosaic.
"Our first order of business is to reorganize the Space Marine chain of command. Currently, we have the following numbers: 621,000 Firstborn Space Marines and 480,000 Primaris Space Marines. Without a central and simplified chain of command, the Space Marines will be fighting senselessly. Therefore, Space Marine chapters will be reorganized into temporary Legions led by the primogenitor chapters," Gulliman said.
He could see the fear rising into the mortals' faces, shock painted on the stoic faces of the Space Marines. Even the gold-plated Custodes shuddered slightly at his order. While all of the people here acknowledged his authority and right as the Emperor's living son, they too had reservations about bringing back the Legiones Astartes.
"I understand you are uneasy about my order, but it is a necessity if we are to defend this world from Chaos. Chapters will retain their authority to be independent and pursue their own goals so long as it does not impede us."
"Legion Commanders will be either Chapter Masters of the primogenitor chapters or respected people from the successor Chapters. Speaking of order, we will cooperate with the natives of this world. You all heard what my father said about them. They are intelligent beings who have conquered the stars in their own way, but they do not know of Chaos and its vile influences. Therefore, the task of making contact with them falls to you." He laid his steely gaze on the mortals, who simply dropped their jaws. Gulliman was puzzled at their reaction, but he realized few humans had ever gone on an exploration voyage, something that was reserved for dashing and risk-seeking Rogue Traders and knowledge-hungry Adeptus Mechanicus tech-priests.
"Your mission is simple: establish diplomatic ties with the natives and their allies. Should there be any abhumans or xenos, be cautious and wary of them. Most importantly, do not fire at them unless fired upon. We must present ourselves as their allies and friends. Otherwise, we will be fighting a two-pronged war and that is not the result I want." Gulliman sternly warned them.
Almost instantly, the mortals are shouting at him, voicing their disagreements in polite but loud shouts. While none would dare cry 'Heretic!' against the primarch, they certainly felt the need to do so. Nearly all of them agreed to work with the locals, but they would fight in their battles in their way, regardless of the natives' opposition.
The harsh scraping of a chair against the marble floor rose above the cacophony and Gulliman saw an old man stand up slowly. A dark green greatcoat with white officer tassels was worn over his flak armor. A power sword crusted with jewels at his waist and a pair of Hellpistols at both hips, Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed exhaled the cloud of smoke from his mouth from smoking his cigar. Gulliman raised his hand for silence and the room became silent. Nodding at the primarch, Creed spoke.
"Lord Commander, I believe I speak for every person when we disagree with your plan. We have been drilled for our entire lives to uphold four tenets: to hate the xeno, to abhor the mutant, to purge the heretic, and to kill the traitor. No matter the situation, we will always believe in those tenets until the day we die," There were shouts and grunts of agreement from everyone in the room. "However, in the midst of our complaints, we have become short-sighted. As we began our ties with the natives, we will also be collecting intelligence on their military strengths and weaknesses."
"I guarantee you that they will do the same as well! The veil of friendship and eternal peace is a facade for war and bitter enmity!" He pounded his fist on the table, emphasizing his meaning. "We will and must be vigilant to all people, whether they are friend or foe! Depending on their conduct and sincerity, I will consider them a true ally of the Imperium of Man." His tirade finished, he sat back down and reclined his chair.
The primarch contemplated his words for a moment and responded, "I agree with the Lord Castellan that we should be vigilant for any threats against us. Now, to other business..." He motioned at the Martians to come forward.
Archmagos Cawl slithered toward the table, propelled by the clattering mechadendrites. The hologram changed to show Macragge and its surroundings. A ring of Imperial ships guarded the planet against potential invaders, the giant Ramilles-class star-fort Galatan positioned in one of Macragge's Lagrange points. Several blinking arrows moved away from the planet and into the unknown.
"I propose that we form several strike groups to explore this new world. If we are going to find these natives, we will need to scatter our forces. We are consulting with the Astra Militarum and other Imperial factions on the strike group's composition. Once we have agreed, we can set out immediately." Cawl dipped his head to the primarch, who was checking on the number of ships they had. On a dataslate's screen, the stylus flew across it as he calculated the number. Circling his answer, he sent it to the delegates' dataslates. There were murmurs of agreements as they read it.
The Navigator for Macragge's Honor came next, a diminutive figure dressed in a fine silk suit. Nodding to the primarch, he spoke, "My lord, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that we are able to use our Warp drives. One of our cruisers was able to jump from here to another location with no problems. The bad news is our perception has changed." The last sentence ended in a whisper as everyone tried to understand what he said.
"What do you mean by perception? You should be able to see the Warp and how to navigate it, right?" an admiral questioned him. The navigator nodded hastily, "We are able to see the Warp. It is well-known that we can see the roiling red and black ocean that is the Immaterium, but this is different." Manipulating the hologram, he brought up an image of gaseous bluish-white rivers in a background of dark green and pointed at it.
"This scene was what we encountered when we were pulled through. Without any landmarks, we will be traveling blindly," the Navigator warned. "My advice is to travel via plasma engines until we figure out it out." He stepped away from the table, leaving Gulliman alone. Hands steepled together, the primarch made his decision.
"Assemble the strike groups immediately. They will depart as soon as possible and travel via plasma engines. If you need to run, do so via short-burst Warp jumps. The Legions will be reinstated temporarily and led by me. There will be no Warmaster to take my stead." He concluded the meeting with finality and no one questioned his order.
The day lengthened as it turned into night. Lord Gulliman remained in the conference room as he reviewed potential legion-masters. Some of them were obvious, such as Marneus Calgar and Ragnar Blackmane. Others were more enigmatic, such as Gabriel Angelos. The door's hinges creaked as three people entered the room.
"Uh.. you called for us, my lord?" Fabian Guelphrain asked meekly. Eyes wide like white orbs, he rubbed his fingers on his white robe. Gulliman nodded and motioned the historitors to come closer. Solana, a Martian priestess, noticed the pile of reports on the table and the insignia of the nine primogenitor Chapters. Her servitor's scarlet camera eyes flared to life. Meanwhile, Deven Mudire, a Terran aristocrat, pulled out his golden autoquill and placed it on top of his dataslate. The pen quivered as it hovered above the screen, ready to record the primarch's words.
"Thank you for coming so quickly. I wish for you to record my actions today as I have chosen my legion-masters." Looking down a piece of paper, he read out the names slowly, trusting the historitors to accurately record his words. They double-checked with one another and nodded to the primarch. Solana's servitor hovered over the table and took a picture of the organizational chart. Their task complete, they left the room quietly.
Taking a moment to rest, Gulliman wandered to the balcony was at hours ago. The line of people had disappeared, although the soup kitchen remained at the temple steps. There were no glimmering stars in the night sky, but the primarch was content for the time being. In the following days, it would be an endless cycle of work, organization, and vigilance.
Picard pressed the cold rag to his forehead, the painful throbbing lessening as the rag's chill dampened the pain away. The tumultuous journey through the black hole could be described as insane. If it hadn't been for the auto-pilot feature, the Verity's crew would have perished in the transit. Sitting at his desk in his quarters, he refreshed the computer screen, which produced the updated casualty count. So far, no one had died, but there were too many injuries and the medbay was filled to capacity. Patients were being treated as fast as possible, while others were forced to recuperate outside in cramped halls. When he regained consciousness, he remembered lying on the red carpet floor, his head throbbing painfully and blood trickled from a cut. Luckily, the renegade Romulans had fled the area, but Picard thought it strange as to why they fled. They could have easily taken out the transports, but they refused to do so.
He considered getting his usual cup of Earl Gray tea when a hologram of a familiar Klingon appeared in front of his desk. Standing at attention, Worf saluted his former commanding officer with a worried face, "Admiral, are you alright?"
Picard sighed as he made his way to the replicator nook. Ordering his drink, he leaned against the wall next to the nook and addressed Worf. "For now. I am exhausted, but I'm worried about the refugees. The casualty numbers keep increasing every minute. How are things on the Enterprise?" he said and sipped his warm tea.
"Our wounded is being treated in medbay and those with less severe injuries have been ordered to remain in their quarters until they can resume their duties." Picard nodded approvingly of Worf's ability to command. Another chime alerted the arrival of another person via hologram. Grinning at both men, the holographic figure of William Riker stretched his arms out for a hug.
"What are you doing here, Riker? I thought the Titan was ordered elsewhere?" Picard as he tried to hug Riker. Riker scratched the back of his head and said, "Let's just say I got wind of your mission through confidential sources and begged Worf to join the task force." The Klingon groaned as he felt Picard's stare drill through his skin. "Believe me, admiral. I refused him every time, but he's too stubborn." the Klingon replied.
The admiral made a mental note to speak privately with his former Number One as he sat at his desk. Placing his teacup aside, he looked at the two men. A hologram of their total forces was displayed for them to see. The task force that rescued the refugee fleet comprised of many ships, from the old reliable Excelsiors to the newer ship, like the Centaur-type.
"Right now, we have no idea where we are. The probes we sent out are collecting telemetry data and the nearest planet near us is an ice planet. For now, we will orbit the planet's dark side until we get more information. I am considering deploying our runabouts and shuttles to scout out the area." Worf stroked his beard as he thought of ways to improve their chances to gain information. Tapping the screen, he highlighted the two Nova-class science vessels. "I suggest we deploy the Einstein and the Maxwell to maximize our chances. They are scout vessels and equipped with cloaking technology."
"I will send the Maxwell to scout out another path, but the Einstein will stay to protect the fleet," Picard said as he sent his order to the Maxwell's captain. Riker was looking offscreen when he received data from one of his shuttles. "Sir, we received some data on our end. It's transmitting the data back to us." The screen vanished and was replaced by the shuttle's bow camera.
The dark-blue planet ahead of the shuttle was surrounded by black bulbous slug-like ships. Thin flat wings protruded under the ship's hull with pale yellow lights scattered across the vessel. Guttural, harsh alien chatter howled in the background as the computer was trying to translate the language. The camera shakes slightly as a white hammer-shaped ship exits out of its FTL travel. The alien chatter is interrupted by another language. Almost immediately, it is translated easily with the computer registering its a type of Latin language.
"This is Director Adrian of the CBS (Corpus Board Ship) Deliverance, I wish to speak to Captain Thrav about the gallium cargo." The guttural alien chatter stops and is replaced by a hoarse and metallic voice
"Captain Thrav speaking. I assume you are here for the gallium?" There was a pause as Director Adrian coughed before speaking, "Yes, I'm here for the gallium cargo. Per our agreement, the 8th fleet is to hand over half of the detonite ampules mined at Sedna to us. Otherwise, there will be consequences." Thrav growled at the Corpus captain, slamming his fist.
"The Empire needs gallium. Our colonies have been deprived for too long and your greed has bled us dry! We are taking over this planet immediately! Surrender or die."
"Surrender? Oh no, you don't get to make that claim. You are the ones that bled us dry! Your mining methods have left the land barren and the precious minerals wasted. If it wasn't your crap method, you wouldn't need to come to us for help!"
Immediately, the feed was cut off as the shuttle was leaving the area. Worf was the first person to break the silence. "Sir, if what this Adrian person said was right, then the planet we are orbiting..." Picard finished his sentence as he consulted the vessel's database. "It's Uranus. We are in the Solar System or its mirror version." One by one, data started to flow into Picard's personal computer. Translated chatter was muted as the computer constructed a new map of the mirror Solar System. Indicators for planets and ships popped up as it compiled data.
"That looks nasty," Riker remarked as he chose one of several incoming videos. In front of the three captains was a raging battle. Diamond-shaped cruisers faced against the wall of black bulbous Grineer vessels. Small attack fighters flitted around in no man's land as they fought one another. Picard noticed another smaller fleet fleeing the battle, their armored hulls shimmering and disappearing in a flash of light. The orange flash of missiles detonating against thick black armor shook one of the ships, but it remained undeterred as it retreated.
"Captain Garcia is requesting new orders, sir," Word replied. Staring at the ongoing carnage, the admiral felt uneasy about his decision. The rational side advocated that they avoid the battle in order to protect the refugee fleet. On the other hand, he wanted to help the fleet that was under attack from the Grineer. He didn't know whether or not the other fleet was able to withstand the growing Grineer fleet, but he was sure they wouldn't survive the onslaught.
"Send the following ships to the Maxwell's position and put the fleet at yellow alert. Charge weapons and shields for a possible battle." Picard hurried to his bridge, the warbling of yellow alert filling the ship. Crew members ran to their battle stations, engineers tapped furiously at their consoles as the containment shield covered the Verity's warp core. Brushing past flustered ensigns, Picard arrived at his bridge. The tenor of authority within his words made the bridge crew more attentive and aware of the situation.
"Status report, Number One?" Rising from her seat, Lieutenant Commander Musiker spoke quickly, her report succinct and to the point. "Photon torpedoes loaded into all tubes, phaser arrays are charged and shields are at maximum." Nodding at his second-in-command, he received an incoming message. "The Highlander has arrived at the Maxwell's location. They are transmitting tactical data and will engage the enemy soon," he whispered to Raffi. The woman rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "So, you want the Verity to join as well?" She grinned when she saw Picard's posture loosen.
"I'm well aware of our position, but I believe our assistance will aid the alien fleet. The Enterprise and Titan are here, so everything should be fine in my temporary absence."
The bell chime for an incoming message halted Picard's thoughts as the Prateor appeared on-screen. "Admiral Picard, I noticed several of your ships have jumped away. Is something wrong?" Straightening his back, he spoke to the worried Romulan, "Our shuttles encountered an ongoing battle between an alien fleet and a hostile enemy called the Grineer. I sent a few ships ahead to aid the Maxwell and the Verity will be joining as well." He leaned forward and smiled at Tal' Aura. "Don't worry, praetor. The Enterprise will be here to protect the fleet. Knowing Worf, he will have tons of tricks up his fleet."
Both leaders chuckled, the praetor's worry dissipated a little bit. "If you are worried us, I am more than happy to transmit the tactical data we are collecting." Tal'Aura's mouth opened slightly but clamped shut. "It is appreciated, but there is a chance the renegades may intercept the data. We are currently combing our database for any hidden Tal Shiar malware. As a sign of goodwill, I am considering sending one of Bird-of-Preys to reinforce you."
Picard's eyebrows raised in surprise. he wasn't expecting them to send one of their own ships into battle. "That is a kind gesture, praetor, and we accept your gift gratefully." He bowed to the praetor, who returned it gracefully. "Good hunting, admiral." Tal'Aura said and the line was severed.
Taking a deep breath, he called out to the helmsman to orient the ship. Once the Verity was righted, he stood up from his chair and walked to the bridge's center. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the famous words to be uttered aloud. Pointing at the screen, Jean-Luc Picard began the Verity's first mission.
"Engage"