''Ozymandias''350LY GE of Crux ZOC, Alpha Quadrant
Betrican Light Frigate; "Silvitas"
“We’re not going to make it!” the voice yelled from the catacombs deep inside the bowels of the demon. Its sleek metallic body glimmered little light from the surrounding stars. Across the sides were the inscription of the vessel’s origins, Betrica.
“Hold on!”
The seemingly silent void of space was disturbed by the vibrant flashes of light that so easily blinded the observers of the vessel, even if temporarily. This vessel had hailed from the Betrican Federation, but the Federation was no more.
Its occupants had hailed from a once large star-state, that nestled so neatly in the Alpha Quadrant. Their home however, was no more. Behind this vessel was another, a much larger ship, and it was from here that the source of those lights had come.
Another salvo streaked across the empty void, burying their faces into the metallic shroud of the Betrican vessel’s armour. The ship shook violently with each hit, and the twisting sounds of metal reverberated throughout the long corridors.
“Initiate the jump!” the woman called out, the impact shook her from her footing as she fell to the floor. A man was hanging on to a ledge as the gravity was fluctuating on and off.
“I can’t reach it!” he yelled, trying desperately to keep his grip. Pieces of metal, rings, paper, and other small items were floating about inside. When the gravity generators activated, they’d all fall.
It was during this opportunity that the hanging man mustered his strength and pulled himself up high enough to hit the lever. The red handle cried out as it was pulled down by the man’s weight. The gravity turned off again as the sound of the vessel’s engines came to life.
There wasn’t enough power to run the jumper and the gravity at the same time. The reactors had been damaged by the onslaught. More explosions shook the vessel as it readied to jump. The lights flickered on and off, dimming down significantly as the space of the room darkened.
“Haha!” the man chuckled, the whirring stopped and for a moment it was as if time had slowed. The pursuing vessel unleashed another round of her menacing armament just as the Betrican vessel quickly left.
“I got it! I got it! We’re saved!” the man said. The ship arrived at its destination as the drives powered down. The gravity fluctuated again, and the man lost his grip. He tumbled from the lever, impaling himself on a section of damaged pipe.
The woman screamed as she too hit the floor, covering her mouth with her hands in her horror. They had been saved, through sacrifice - but to what end?
Crux Senthaal-Class Cruiser under the command of Captain Riatta Riff
350LY GE of Crux ZOC, Alpha Quadrant
***
“Commander,” the vessel’s AI had announced inside of the pursuing ship.
“Go ahead,” the Captain said, sinking into her chair with a grimace. Riatta wasn’t one to enjoy losing their prey, and she knew that Admiral Jul wouldn’t be too pleased either.
“Enemy Vessel has jumped,” the AI said.
Riatta rubbed her face, “I think we can damn well tell that you blithering idiot,” she sighed. “Any idea where to?” she followed.
“Negative, Scans suggest it was a random jump, the vessel was heavily damaged and under-powered,” the AI replied. Riatta shook her head.
“Do not report this just yet, we’re going to see if we can find them,” she said. The bridge of the small Senthaal cruiser was quiet as everyone at their stations remained glued to their screens. Riatta wasn’t one they’d want to disturb, especially when she was agitated.
As a result, the room fell eerily still. Riatta looked around at her subordinates, her mind was dodging around different solutions to this problem. The Betrican ship was damaged and losing power. They could’ve easily jumped and then be left to drift until they all starved.
What if it wasn’t a random jump however? How would Admiral Jul react upon discovering that this vessel was found later conducting a raid? She growled in frustration. “Dammit to Senthaal!” she shrieked, slamming her fist against the arms of her chair.
“Find that damn ship!” she barked.
Betrican Light Frigate, Silvitas
Perseid Federation Space, Alpha Quadrant
***
A sigh of relief was breathed by those aboard the Betrican vessel, for it wasn’t likely that their pursuers were going to follow them. However, this region of gas and dust seemed unfamiliar to these refugees.
Where they have arrived, the cosmic noise being emitted from the stars must have been deafening. From above, below and about them, the irregular and sporadic rhythms of quasars must have caught their scanners; as if the universe had suddenly become a busy marketplace.
Suddenly, it seemed that something was sending out noise in regularly spaced intervals, a pattern. This source appeared to be closing in on their ship, and fast. Was this perhaps the Artemene? There was no way they could’ve followed them here in this unknown region of space.
A message in Galactic Standard was received. “Attention unidentified vessel,” it hailed, “you have entered the territory of the Perseid Federation. Attempting to communicate with you, please respond.”
The woman, who had now recovered from the tragic accident that’d unfolded before her, not that things hadn’t been tragic from the start, looked towards another female near her.
“Perseid Federation?” she asked, her eyes giving a curious glance.
The other woman shrugged, “Not Betrican - though the message doesn’t sound threatening,” she replied.
“Neither did the Crux when we ran into them earlier, Mara,” the woman said.
Mara shrugged again, “We’re under power, Armay is dead - we’ve got wounded and sick,” she said.
“Either we die drifting out here and take a cold nap, or we do so under fire,” Mara added, stepping over to look at the panel.
The woman nodded as she interacted with it, “This is Olanna of the Betrican Light Frigate, Silvitas. We are lightly armed but non-hostile, we’re carrying refugees - we have sick on board,” she said with a sigh.
Mara and Olanna exchanged gazes for a moment before looking back to Armay, who had now been covered by a sheet. Their fates were now in another’s hands.