Title: Crossing Over

Author: Drey'auc475

Rating: PG for now

Spoilers: none for this chapter

Setting/Season: season five

A/N: here's the next chapter… enjoy.

-----Chapter Two-----

Freya entered Slipstream again as they headed out from the Sinti system.

As Freya piloted the stings of Slipstream, a warning light appeared over her head. Warning alarms sounded all over the small ship.

Birdie frowned as she tapped several buttons.

'The exotic matter lens of the Slipstream drive is failing,' she reported. 'We have to drop out now!'

'OK, OK, I'm going,' Freya said as she dropped out of Slipstream with a lurch. 'Damn cheap lens,' she swore under her breath. 'Remind me NEVER to go back to that lying bastard again.'

'Sure, no problem,' Birdie agreed as she headed to the door of the engine room to check the lens.

'Now,' Freya said as she jumped up and went to Birdie's station. 'Where are we?'

She tapped a few keys and consulted the radar.

The Reetu System. She had never been here before and didn't know what was here. But without another lens, they were stuck here.

Suddenly three ships came out of Slipstream just over their heads. Freya was about to activate the com, when the Hellbird A.I. identified them as Neitchzean Battle Cruisers. Instead of activating the com, she turned off all the power.

There was a crash from the engine room and Birdie opened the door with her lantern lit.

'The lens is shot and we'll–'

Freya held up her hand to silence her. She gave her a questioning look, but Freya just pointed out the view port at the massive ships above them. Birdie's eyes widened in recognition. They had run into Neitchzeans before and they were not pleasant.

Birdie moved closer to Freya and said to her in a low voice:

'Should I power up the engines?'

Freya shook her head. 'No,' she replied. 'These guys are Drago-Kazov – we should see what they're up to.'

Birdie looked as though see didn't agree, but went along with it.

She took up her station in the co-pilot's seat as Freya went back to the pilot's seat.

The Neitchzean ships moved into formation around the sun in the centre of the system, where Freya had dropped the Hellbird.

There were three ships in total, though of no design that Freya had ever seen. They had several cannons on the front and Freya was most intrigued to see what they did.

Though a few minutes later she wished she hadn't.

'Go set up the spare matter lens, in case we need to make a quick get-away,' she said to Birdie.

'Aye,' Birdie replied.

Freya watched the ships move into a triangle formation – two on top, one on the bottom – around the equator of the star.

For a few moments nothing happened, and then beams of energy began to pulse between the three ships. Freya's blood turned cold.

She punched the com. 'Is that matter lens set up yet?'

'Almost. Should be another minute,' Birdie replied.

Freya took a deep breath and looked back to the ships around the sun.

The charge going between the ships had changed colour. Instead of being blue, as it had started out, it was now turning slightly white.

'Done,' Birdie reported over the com. 'We're ready to go if we have to.'

'Good,' Freya said not taking her eyes off the ships. 'Thank you.'

'I'm heading back now.'

'OK.'

Suddenly, a beam of highly charged energy shot from every cannon on the Neitchzean ships. They struck the star and pierced the corona, straight into the core of it.

The surface of the star began to convulse, enormous eruptions burst from the surface, and the star began to turn blue.

Freya leant over and turned the engines on even though she knew it would bring the Neitchzeans down on them. But Freya was confidant of her piloting capabilities and knew that she could out-run them.

The star had now gone from blue to white, and Freya had to shield her eyes from the light.

Birdie entered the cockpit.

'What the –' she said looking at the sun through squinted eyes.

'Take stations!' Freya ordered as she jumped in the pilot seat. She had a pounding headache and just wanted to get out of there.

Birdie went to the co-pilots station and prepared to start the engines.

At this point the surface of the star seemed to have solidified and was breaking apart slowly.

'Neitchzean fighters approaching Starboard Bow!' Birdie reported.

The star had broken apart more now and the core was in full view. Remarkably it was still turning and as the core began to fade Freya's headache got worse.

She leaned forward and hit the slipstream drive. The ship lurched forwards and Freya's head felt as though it was going to burst.

But once they were in the slipstream she began to feel a little better.

That was until a beeping began.