AN/ So I revised chapter one last week an now it is time for chapter 5! So they way I'm doing chapters is by story arcs, so if you are ever confused just remember multiple chapters to a plot. Anyways Chapter 5. Oh, I forgot! I do not own YJ or ST:E; if I did, Wally and Trip wouldn't have died.

July 15th 2156:

U.S.S Justice: West's Quarters:

July Fifteenth, 2156: Navigator's log. Yesterday Justice's sensors picked up a small disturbance on a planetoid body about three parsecs away. However considering that Captain Kaldur has sent Shuttlepod Two with most of science division aboard. The plan will be to have Shuttlepod One carrying Lieutenant Artemis and I with a sensor buoy attached to the stern of the vessel. Should there be any problem, Justice will warp back and pick us up. Hope all goes well, considering how close we are to Romulan territory.

Wally sat on his bed with Brucely. The pit bull slept on the covers of the standard blue covers of the bed. The navigator gave let a small chuckle escape as he watched the dog swat at a bug that wasn't there. 'Still thinks he's at the farm,' He thought to himself. Wally was dressed in a tan excursion uniform, complete with his blue hat and sunglasses tucked onto the side of the zipper. His holster was empty as his phase pistol sat at his desk with several energy cells resting nearby.

A knock at the door alerted Wally who stood up to move to his desk, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal the tactical officer. Artemis held a plasma rifle in her left hand while a phase pistol protruded out of her holster; she was dressed in the exact uniform as Wally. "You ready to go? Shuttlepod One is all warmed up and Zatanna says the storm in the east is moving closer to the flying point."

"Yeah I'm almost ready, just let me grab something."

Wally reached for his pistol and energy cells, one of the cells knocked over, waking the canine on the bed. Brucely lifted his head to the tactical officer before looking at his owner and letting out a low whimper. Artemis moved to the bed and reached out to pet the worrying pit bull. Wally holstered his weapon and walked back to the bed to calm Brucely, "Hey boy. I won't be gone long. Arty and me are just going to fly around for a bit and come right back. Promise."

Wally rubbed the dog's head before looking at Artemis, "Ready."

"Yeah, just don't call me Arty."

"Got it babe."

"Or that."

The navigator let out a small laugh before exiting his room with the armory officer.

Shuttle hanger:

Dick stood by the catwalk to the shuttle pod as both lieutenants walked up with everything need for the mission. The commander stood by with his PADD in his hands but took the opportunity to look up and greet the officers. "Well we have the sensor node up and running on the shuttle pod. Basically fly in, turn on the machine, and get the hell out. We are still near Romulan territory."

"So basically no disaster." Artemis stated.

"Why disaster? Just feel the –aster if you catch my drift. Good luck to you both."

The second-in-command walked off still tapping on his PADD as Artemis turned to Wally. "Don't screw this up, flyboy. While I like your pooch, I'm still not accepting of the owner."

"Whatever, could we just get going? Ladies first." Wally gestured to the catwalk and the hatch of the vessel. The armory officer started into the cramp pod along with the navigator. Artemis took a seat facing a computer and started the basic menu, while Wally shut the hatch before strapping himself in the pilot's seat in the very front of the shuttle. Slowly the door to the hanger opened below Shuttlepod One. The black, starlit space below was in conflict with the basic grays of the ship. Gradually the opening started to grow as the boom holding the shuttle began to lower. Soon the grapple released the pod, letting it drop into the sea of stars and emptiness.

Two wings slowly began to spread out from the gray and red shuttle pod, around the same time the blue hue of the impulse engines came online. Slowly the vessel pulled away from Justice's view as the engines gained their strength. Artemis watched on the screen as the last visual of Justice faded away with a warp signature, Shuttlepod One was now alone. Wally looked back from his seat to see Artemis looking at the screen; he knew she wanted to be back on that ship than on this little vessel. Suddenly Wally looked away, not wanting to remember the cramped interior of the pod and his fear of enclosed spaces. He focused on the space outside and the planet coming into view. The white and green marble started growing in the viewport as the shuttle sped towards it. A pink and blue splotch filled a small portion of the planet, an ion storm.

Wally placed the pod in autopilot and swiveled around, taking a deep breath when he did, "So… why are we scanning this planet for dilithium? I thought we had enough in our engines."

Artemis looked up from her counsel at him, with a surprised look. "Dilithium can also be used as a form of currency, but to be honest I have no idea either."

"Well we'll come into orbit in-"

Wally was cut off as green light and sparks filled the cabin along with both officers being thrown around in their seats. The navigator quickly spun back into his original position to investigate the sudden lurching. "What was that?!" Another explosion occurred, but this time the pilot had a visual of the vessel. "We have a warbird! Romulans!"

Outside a green ship with large nacelles outmaneuvered the almost defenseless shuttle. Disruptor blasts pelted the tiny vessel as the warbird fired upon the Starfleet ship. Wally looked back at Artemis, "Arty, I need the hull polarized and weapons online!" Another volley of shots hit the shuttle pod throwing the armory officer into her weapons display, "Ouch, just shoot the damn thing! I'm sending a distress call to Justice." Wally steered the small shuttle pod to within weapon's range of the warbird before squeezing the red trigger of the joystick. A phase blast hit the Romulan vessel, but did little damage. A volley of green disruptor blast struck the shuttle pod's armor, throwing sparks around inside.

"We just lost our primary engines! Communications are gone, and I'm losing control. Arty, I'm going to try and land."

"Stop calling me-" Another disruptor blaster interrupted them, causing both of them to jerk towards the front of the ship.

Suddenly the front of the vessel started to grow a dull red before flames started crossing over the viewports. Alarms began to ring through out tiny cabin. Artemis turned her seat to face Wally, "West, we're at too far of an angle. We're going to break up!"

"Almost got it!"

Shuttlepod One slowly crossed over a small jungle before coming over a desert. Flames spewed out from under the left wing as well as smoke and other debris. The night sky suddenly turning to day as the vessel drifted at a rapid pace towards the ground. Both Artemis and Wally braced themselves as the ship finally hit. Flumes of fire were sent into the air just as the pod made contact with the ground. The wreckage of the shuttle laid strewn across the desert, the main part of the hull was still intact.

U.S.S. Justice: Bridge:

Commander Grayson stood by his workstation on the bridge. The rounded counsel suddenly activated and gave off a low tone as a message was received. Dick, standing by the lift talking to Raquel, noticed the sudden change over at his communication's table. Bidding Lieutenant Ervin a farewell, Dick went back to his station and put his headphones on. A distress message from Shuttlepod One emitted, Grayson went into a small state of shock. Two of his friends were aboard, two who he managed to send off less than ten minutes ago. Looking towards the Captain in the center of the bridge, Richard spoke up, "Captain, distress call. It's Shuttlepod One. A Romulan warbird ambushed them just after we jumped to warp."

Kaldur'ahm looked to his communication's officer in a dazed manner, "How long ago?"

"I just received the message. Orders?"

Kaldur looked at the view screen, Shuttlepod Two was making its way from the nebula and was making preparations to dock. "We need to wait until we have our science crew. Ensign Allen, set course for previous destination and engage once Shuttlepod Two is fully docked."

"Yes, sir."

"Once we jump to warp, arm the torpedoes and prepare the phase cannons. If the Romulans made it this far, then I can only imagine the trouble Lieutenants Crock and West are in." Kaldur took another glance at the slow moving transport, 'I hope we're not too late.'

Unknown planetoid: Shuttlepod One:

Sparks crackled inside the small cabin. The lights went out after the impact and failed to come online. Only the pilot counsel and the weapons board were lit, although they had cracks from the crash. Yellow and red wires hung loosely from a hole in the shuttle, the hole let some light from the stars aluminate the cabin dimly. Slowly a hand crawled over the shattered weapons board as the armory officer pulled herself from the ground. Artemis' hair was a complete mess as was her uniform, which held a rip down the arm. Luckily she pulled herself into her seat with much trouble. She made a grab for her flashlight and illuminated the cabin.

"Ugh, West you alright? West? Wally?" Her mind raced as she assumed the worst. Artemis pulled herself to a standing position and hobbled towards the front of the shuttle. Guiding the light to Wally, she froze at the sight. The body in front of her was leaning on the control panel, his arms were spread as though he tried to brace for impact. Lastly a small pool of crimson liquid formed on the board near Wally's head.

Artemis held her breath as the seconds ticked away, however the body in front of her stirred finally expelling the most grievous of her worries. "Wally." She breathed out. Artemis quickly went to his seat and pulled him to sit back in his seat. Sluggishly the navigator opened his eyes, "Hey beautiful… you don't… look so good." His voice was weak but still retained some light-heartedness given the dire situation.

"Wally we need to get you some help." Artemis pleaded with him as she took his restrains off.

"I'm fine… just a little bump, that's all."

"Wally you have a large cut and you're concussed. You need to lay down and let me help." The armory officer finally pulled the wounded navigator from his seat, however Artemis had a problematic time trying to maneuver Wally to the ground.

Eventually Artemis managed to pull the body to the other end of the craft where she could finally care for the helmsman.

"My head." The redhead complained.

"Just hang on. You're bleeding out from under your hat. It's going to be painful when I get it off, kay?"

Wally nodded and slowly Artemis took hold of his hat. Removing the item proved difficult as the navigator strained to keep from crying out. Ultimately the hat was removed revealing a gash above his right eyebrow, which started to scab over. Artemis stood up and went to the medical kit hanging above the hatch to the craft. The silver, white, and red box opened to reveal shelves filled with medical tools and a dermal regenerator. Snatching it from the medkit, Artemis made her way back to way and ran the regenerator over the wound, quickly healing it.

"Perfect, but Wally I need you to keep conscious. I don't have anything to give you for the headache. You have a small concussion, but it's going to be okay."

Wally nodded and lay down, but he kept his eyes fixated on the ceiling. Artemis turned around to look for her medical scanner. "Arty?"

"It's Arte-," She began. However when she looked at him, she remembered his state and ignored it, "What is Wally?"

"Will Brucely be okay?"

"Yeah Walls. He will, just don't worry."

Artemis turned back and pulled out the oval shaped device from a cabinet. The medical device was turned on as she headed back to Wally.

"Arty? I got something to tell you."

"What is it Wally?" She slowly glided the scanner over his head.

"Brucely doesn't hate you."

Artemis gave him a glance before pulling the scanner to look at the readings, "That's… nice."

"And I don't hate you either."

The armory officer looked down at him, trying to keep from smiling. "Wally you're not thinking clearly. Just relax, I still need to see if you can sleep safely."

"But Arty," He whined, "I mean it! I really like you!"

Artemis bit her lip to keep from laughing, 'He's acting like a child,' she thought. "Wall-" The sound of footsteps outside caught her attention. Instantly the tactical officer reacted by grabbing her plasma rifle, "Wally I need you to be quiet, a bad person is outside." The redhead struggled to nod, but he submitted. Artemis felt her attention revert back to the hatch. Out of the dusty window a small humanoid figure appeared a few dozen meters away, but his features were hidden because of the still settling sand. However the outline of a projectile weapon sent messages through Artemis, 'He's going to kill us.'