Savior
"Sir, the distress call is coming from the second moon at Poseidon V." The ensign looked up at the captain with a concerned look on his face, which was all too familiar to Picard.
"Lay in a course, ensign." Picard looked at his console and hoped to god he wasn't too late.
"Yes captain." Ensign cooper typed in the new co ordinates with near super human speed "Course plotted and laid in captain."
"Engage!"
"Captain!" The voice of Ensign Clyde was drowned out by the numerous whaling alarms, each one trying to get attention. "Captain! Oh god! Captain! Are you all right? Where does it hurt? What can I do?" The hysterical voice of Clyde woke the captain from her warm slumber.
"Cl…" Murray coughed grudgingly, blood dripping from her open mouth "…Clyde…?"
"Captain I'm here, you'll be okay." The young ensign's hands clasped the frail women's head; her hair sticking to Clydes open palms.
"…what happened…?" another splutter of blood weeped from the captains mouth. "Never mind about that, we're okay." Captain Murray struggled to hear the naïve voice of her helmsman as another cradle of sparks flew from the ceiling and landed on the smoldering carpet. "We've lost contact with all decks, including engineering." Clyde looked into her captain's eyes, they watered coldly, and the reflection was the only warning Clyde had of the terrible fate that awaited her. The bridge gave one last shuddering creak, before caving in completely.
The Enterprise sparkled out of warp and silently slowed its pace to a stop, right beside the dying Tauron. Its silver sleekness over powered the deathly scene. There was a harsh contrast between the Enterprise and the wounded vessel floating silently, mimicking the lifelessness of the dark blanket that consumed her. The Tauron's starboard hull was breached and scorched crackling with energy as burst conduits wavered about, unleashing their fury. The wounded and dyeing vessel was a stark contrast from the once gleaming new ship it had been, with the vast responsibilities of keeping the peace, protecting the citizens of the Federation and gracing the magnificent Federation fleet with it's presence.
"Sir, The Tauron's hull is heavily breached, I don't think she can stay intact for much" the ensigns voice was cut off by the persistent priority bleep of the console "Captain! The Tauron's hull is collapsing!"
"Get them out of there!" Picard's Adrenaline crazed mind screamed the command, yet his voice never carried it, instead, he fought his deep-seated emotions and his level persona took over, acting as it had for countless years.
Level eyes glanced at Worf as the Lieutenant Commander Glided his hands over the smooth glass surface of the console.
"Transporting…got them Captain! All crew from the Tauron have been successfully transported to the emergency triage units in shuttle bays 2 and 3."
"Excellent Worf. Captain Picard to Dr Crusher" Picard angled his head to the ceiling to activate the COM, and grimaced at the flustered voice of his Chief Doctor.
"Yes captain, I'm afraid we're a bit short handed at the moment. There are a lot of casualties but I think we'll be ok. I'd recommend getting to the nearest starbase immediately though, overcrowding will become a problem."
"Agreed. I'll let you get on with it Doctor, I'll be down in 10 minutes." Picard moved towards the Conn. and leaned close to the Ensign. "What's the nearest starbase from this position Ensign?"
"One moment sir…" Ensign Jack Cooper activated his database and input the necessary details, they blinked back at him with a degree of nonchalant, which almost annoyed the Ensign "Starbase twelve is the nearest sir, would you like me to set a course sir?"
"Yes Ensign, Set a course and proceed at maximum warp." Picard moved back to the center stage of the bridge and nodded his head "Course set Ensign?"
"Yes sir, Course plotted and laid."
"Then engage" Picard did his customary point of the finger, and stood staring at the view screen, it's display flickered slightly as it compensated for the effects of warp speed. Stars flickered past, leaving a shining white trail, before themselves disappearing into the lifeless dark void which had consumed too many. Why does something beautiful always end up feared and hated? Picard flinched slightly at his own chain of thought, we are not going to go here today Jean-Luc. He moved slightly, before awaking from his reverie altogether, and stepped closer to Riker. "I want to get down to the sickbay ASAP and start assessing the situation, we must find out what is going on here."
"Agreed" Riker's voice was deep with intense thought, as he tried to sort out the non-existent clues they had been given so far. "After you sir" Riker pointed at the turbo lift door, and watched as his Captain eyed it with a little more scrutiny than was necessary or justifiable. Picard nodded and walked briskly to the door, accompanied by Riker.
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