Chief Engineer Jeffery Lambs entered his engineering section, still grumbling under his breath about his conversation with the Commander on the turbolift. He slapped a data pad into the chest of one of his Ensigns, telling the young man to get to work on the starboard power coupling. His staff knew to avoid him when his mood turned sour, letting him slump into his station and cross his arms angrily, looking over the ships display without really seeing them. He breathed heavily through his mouth, trying to calm down.
"Maybe the good Commander won't be with us very long," he said to himself. This thought gave him some comfort, and he smiled slightly just as he was thrown to the floor, the Spector suddenly lurching in space like a drunken sailor. Alarms burst all around the Engineer. His smile became a grimace as his shoulder took the brunt of the fall.
"Report!" he yelled to a Lieutenant, finding his feet.
"The Zardanian's have fired on us! Direct hit to the Bridge!"
"Shields?"
"Shields were being raised just as they fired. They took some of the impact but the Bridge..."
"Hail our other starships...let them know about..."
"Sir, they are under attack as well," the Lieutenant said, working her console, "sensors detected multiple transporter beams to the Gorkon and Phantom. Massive explosions and..." she paused a moment, her brow furrowing in anxiety.
"What? Report Lieutenant!"
"Sensors are reading massive amounts of Baryon radiation throughout those ships," she pulled up a sensor visual of the other Federation starships. Outside, the Gorkon and Phantom drifted, explosions ripping along their hulls, green energy radiating outwards into space.
"Baryon radiation?" an Ensign asked as the ships again rocked to and fro, "but that destroys organic material."
"They are killing the crews and saving the ships for later," Lambs concluded. The ships again lurched under them.
"The flagship and her escort are continuing to fire on our port nacelle. Shields are weakening," the ship took another series of strikes, "shield collapsed. We have to take the Warp Drive off-line or we'll lose the nacelle."
"Then we're dead in the water. Transfer emergency power to the Shields and shut down the Drive," Lambs tabbed a console control, "Engineering to Bridge! Bridge, does anyone read me? Captain Patterson, can you respond?"
"Sir!" the Ensign yelled, pointing at her console, "Six more Zardanian cruisers are emerging from the gas giant and are headed this way."
"We're finished," Lambs thought to himself.
BridgeAlexander Dent struggled to consciousness, alarms screaming around him coupled with the distinctive hum of forcefields. He dragged himself erect, holding onto his ruined console station. His uniform felt warm and wet.
The Bridge was smashed beyond repair. Above him the ceiling was missing, offering a terrible expanse of outside. The Zardanian flagship continued to fire on the Spector, while the Federation vessels slowly drifted in space, alight with red and green flame. He brushed at the front of his uniform, his hand coming away slick and red. Looking down he realized he was covered in blood and gore. He staggered backwards, his legs not yet ready to hold his weight, and slumped into chair. Ahead he could see the flickering energy of the emergency forcefields, and on the other side the ruined remains of Captain Patterson and the rest of the Bridge crew. At least, those that had not been blasted out into open space. Dent checked himself for injuries, shocked to find himself relatively uninjured except for a terrible gash across his forehead. The blood and other unmentionables on his uniform was not his, but that of Captain Patterson. Dent shivered involuntarily at the realization and felt like throwing up. Nearby he heard a gently groan and saw Lt. Commander Venax rising up from the floor, using her console as a brace. Dent stumbled over and helped the Vulcan to her feet.
"How badly are you hurt?" he asked.
"I am fine, Commander," the Vulcan said, breathing deeply, "I just need a moment to collect myself."
The comm channels on their communicators chirped to life, "Engineering to Bridge! Bridge, does anyone read me? Captain Patterson, can you respond?"
Dent tapped his badge and replied, "Bridge here, Engineering."
"Is everything all right up there? We're having troubles getting sensor readings and the turbolifts are out."
Venax looked around and found a working computer station, "I should be able to adjust the internal sensors from here."
"The Bridge is destroyed, Engineering. What's the ship's status?"
"Apart from the Bridge we took damage to one of our nacelles. We had to shut down Warp power for a moment but that will be back online in no time. The Zardanians are continuing to fire and reinforcements are arriving. Six more vessels will be in weapons range in less than a minute."
"Transport Venax and myself to the Battle Bridge, Mr. Lambs. There are a few wounded as well...transport them directly to Sick Bay. Have the auxiliary Bridge staff standing by as well."
"Aye sir. What about Captain Patterson? Has he been injured?"
"The Captain..." Dent began, looking at the mess on the deck floor, "I'm assuming command of the ship for now."
"Commander," Venax said, "adjustments to the internal sensors are complete. They'll be able to transport immediately. You should go to Sick Bay and have that head injury looked at as well."
"No time, Lt. Commander," Dent said, wiping away at the blood covering his eyes and shrugging off his uniform jacket. He didn't need the crew to see their Captain splattered all over the Commander. The tingle of the transporter beam began to encompass him. Within moments, the auxiliary Battle Bridge surrounded him. "Venax, take the weapons console. Computer, transfer command control to Battle Bridge, authorization Commander Alex Dent."
"Authorization acknowledged. Command codes transferred to auxiliary command, Commander Dent."
"Tactical display on."
The viewscreen sprang to life, showing the Zardanian escorts and the large flagship. Six more cruisers were moving to their location, along with the drifting Federation vessels. The ship shuddered under their feet.
"The Zardanians are continuing to fire on the warp nacelle," Venax said. At her side the turbolift doors opened and Starfleet officers ran onto the Bridge, quickly taking their stations.
"Open a channel, Venax. Make it all frequencies."
"Channels open, sir."
"This is Ensign John Smith calling the Zardanian fleet. Cease fire! I repeat, cease fire!" Dent's voice took on a panicky edge, "We wish to discuss terms of surrender."
"Sir," one of the Lieutenants asked in shock, "are we surrendering the Spector?"
"I didn't say whose surrender, Lieutenant," Dent said firmly. Overhead the comm channel cracked to life.
"USS Spector, this is High Admiral Gulum M'rkess of the Zardanian Expansionist Fleet. Lower your shields and disarm your weapons. Prepare to be boarded."
"We can't!" Dent replied, practically yelling in terror. The officers looked at him with unsure eyes, "Your attack slaughtered our entire senior staff. The command codes for the ship have been locked out. We'll have to physically cut the power to our shields. You have to give us a few minutes. Please!"
"You have three minutes. If you do not lower your shields we will kill you and your remaining crew. So says the Zardanian Empire."
"Whatever," Dent said, hitting the mute button, "Venax, status of the other Federation vessels."
"Baryon radiation has completely encompassed the ships, Commander. No life signs to report."
A collective cry of dismay went around the Bridge. The comm officer began to weep. Dent nodded gravely then turned back to the viewscreen, studying the Gorkon. "Venax, how good of a shot are you?
"Venax can split the eye of a needle with the ship's phasers, sir," the Helm officer said proudly.
"Good to hear that, Mister... Boone, isn't it?" Dent thought for a moment longer than said, "The only reason the Zardanians would cripple those ships like that is so they could drag them back to their home world and strip them down. I'm not about to let them have their little prize. Venax, manually target the Gorkon's dorsal Warp ejection coupling with a quantum torpedo and prepare to fire on my mark. Mr. Haro," he ordered, gesturing to the Bolian at the science station, "ready another torpedo for transport. Target the engineering section as near to the Phantom's Warp Core as you can get it."
"Sir," Haro said, "if I understand you correctly, that will cause a warp explosion on both ships. The explosion will be...massive. You're talking about destroying two Federation starships."
"Exactly right, Mr. Haro. If I can't save those ships than the Zardanians sure as hell aren't getting them, and right now we're a little outnumbered. Bridge to Engineering."
"Lambs here, sir."
"I need Warp power and I need it now."
"We're just about ready to reactivate the Core, sir."
"Good. Helm, prepare for the Picard Manoeuvre."
"Sir?"
"We need a cold start of the Warp core. I need to jump this ship out of range and I don't want the Zardanians to catch wind to what we are about to do. If we power up the nacelles it'll be pretty clear we're making a run for it."
"I've never done that particular manoeuvre before, sir."
"First time's the charm, Lieutenant. Plot an ejection point just inside the magnetic pole of that gas giant. That'll mask us to any Zardanian sensors. As soon as that torpedo leaves the launch bay I want us at Warp. If everything goes right, it should look like we were destroyed in the explosion, and we may even take a few of those conniving Zardanian bastards with us."
"Gulum M'rkess to Federation vessel. Your time is up."
"Your right about that, Zardanian," Dent said, not bothering to activate the comm channel as he took his sea, "Everyone hold on. Haro, energize. Venax, fire the torpedo. Helm, activate warp engines."
Outside, the Spector unleashed a torpedo, speeding it towards the Gorkon's underbelly just as the six enemy cruisers surrounded her. Deep within the Phantom, a blue glow formed into the shape of another active torpedo and detonated, shattering the Warp Core's casing and unleashing the energy within. Both ships, stripped of their ability to harness the anti-matter of their cores and without any crew to assist them, exploded into still-borne stars. Nearby, the Spector vanished just as the wave of energy touched her hull, reappearing in an instant above the gas giant, audience to the terrible detonation of twin starships. The Bridge's viewscreen adjusted to light of the discharge, the crew watching as the small Zardanian fleet were virtually blasted to pieces, their shields unable to compensate for the unmatched energies of the dying starships.
"The Zardanian flasgship and her escorts have been destroyed, sir. No survivors."
Dent sat a moment, watching the glow fade away, leaving no sign of debris or remains of its passing. "Set a course for Federation space, Helm. Best speed possible."