"Captain's Log, Stardate 88006.3
The USS Nexus and other ships of the joint task force are currently undergoing repair and maintenance at the Solanae Dyson Joint Command. It's been little over a week since the crushing victory of the Alliance over the Voth—so decisive, in fact, that not a single report of Voth activity has surfaced since. All in all, it's been rather quiet out in the stars of late. I suppose "no news is good news" truly is accurate.
As repairs finalize, the crew is eager to return to the stars and continue our mission of deep-space exploration, discovering whatever lies out there. That is, until the Alliance finds another mission they deem worthy of the Nexus crew to undertake. I often wonder if we will ever actually get an exploration mission, or if we'll simply keep being called upon to put out interstellar fires."
Captain Anzyl Praxas walked through the chrome alien halls of the Dyson Joint Command, a starbase assimilated from the ancient aliens who once called this place home. Abandoned millennia ago, it has now been reclaimed by the Khitomer Alliance. This ancient alien construct now serves as the main starbase and central command for the Khitomer Alliance. With its instantaneous gateways to all sorts of distant locations, the Alliance can deploy ships, resources, and allies to far-flung parts of the Alliance in moments, as opposed to months.
Anzyl moved through the tube-like halls, lined with silver chrome and organic-looking pipelines, with the familiarity of a seasoned resident. After all, he had spent many months here prior to taking command of the Nexus, when he was in command of the USS Hemmer. It was during that time he became pen pals with Dr. Rivas.
The chrome aperture door hissed open as Anzyl entered the communications hub inside the command center.
"You wished to see me, Sub-Commander?" he asked, approaching a Reman at the communications hub.
The Reman nodded, turning to a console node. "Yes, Captain, we came across a rather tattered signal that appears to be a distress signal."
A little confused as to why he had been called down for a mere distress signal, Anzyl asked, his hands tucked into his pockets, "So, why call me?"
The Reman pressed a button and played back the distress recording.
The screen was heavily covered with static, but the image of a Starfleet human, battered and bloodied, flickered into view, followed by the audio: "...repeat… this is… USS Hemmer… under attack… out of nowhere… no response to hails… need immediate assistance."
Anzyl's face turned white as a ghost, his composure instantly shifting to one of decisive action. "Send all you have to my communications officer on the Nexus," he commanded. He tapped his badge and turned immediately back down the hall. "Captain to the Nexus, prepare for immediate departure."
—
Outside the interstellar command base, which resembled the great Gateway Arch of St. Louis, but only if it reached into Earth's upper atmosphere, the quad nacelles of the USS Nexus roared to life.
—
On the bridge, Captain Praxas materialized on the transport pad, stepping onto the deck. "Heluna, did we get the distress signal file from Solanae communications?"
Heluna nodded, turning in her chair, her hand instinctively touching her communications earpiece. "Yes, sir, the file has been uploaded and the point of origin pinpointed."
Anzyl nodded and turned to Nolan at the Science station. "Where is it, Nolan?"
Nolan typed rapidly at his computer. "Not far from the New Yadera system in the Gamma Quadrant."
"Is there a Gateway we can use to get there quickly?" Anzyl asked, sinking into his Captain's chair.
"Yes, there is…" Nolan searched his console. "If we take the main gateway here, we can exit in the Umbral System, which is the neighboring sector."
Anzyl nodded. "Perfect!" He then turned to Lusaalli at the helm. "Helm, get us to the main Gateway, and Heluna," he added, turning to her at Communications, "Request to exit via the Umbral Sector."
Both women nodded dutifully as the Nexus pulled away from spacedock. The roar and groans of the uncoupling systems echoed through the ship, as the behemoth vessel sped forward.
—
Outside, a gargantuan triangular gateway opened and closed, allowing ships to pass through. Using Iconian technology, it folded space, enabling vessels to travel all over the galaxy in the blink of an eye. The portal closed before the Nexus, then reopened, revealing starry nebulas on the other side. The Nexus loomed forward, entered the portal, and instantly exited on the other side, transported from the Beta Quadrant to the far end of the Gamma Quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy in moments.
—
"Helm, plot a course for the distress signal," Anzyl commanded, his hands clenching the arms of his chair. "Maximum warp, get us there as fast as the Nexus can, Lieutenant!"
Lusaalli's pink hands danced on the console as the engines of the Nexus hummed, and in a flash of light, the vessel entered warp speed, streaking off into the distant stars.
She turned to the Captain at her console. "Pushing the engines and maintaining warp 9.97, sir. We should be there in moments."
Anzyl nodded and turned to Veirik at Tactical. "We don't know what we are heading into, Red Alert."
Veirik nodded and pushed the red button, as the bridge dimmed and red lights began flashing at all consoles.
Anzyl continued his commands from his chair. "Bridge to Sickbay. T, we don't know what we're heading into, so it's best to prepare for the worst. Activate emergency Hospital Sickbay protocols."
—
"Understood," Thegris nodded affirmatively, speaking from his desk in Sickbay. "Computer, Chief Medical Officer override, end all Holodeck programs and initiate Emergency Hospital programs on Holodeck 5 & 6." He tapped a button on his console, and his voice chimed through the decks. "Chief Medical Officer to all off-duty Medical staff, report to medical triage positions. Possible incoming triage patients."
The black and dark holodecks flickered to life, transforming into massive hospital floors. Hundreds of medical beds materialized, and dozens of EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) nurses appeared, standing dutifully by the bedsides.
—
On the Bridge, Anzyl leaned back into his chair, letting out a sigh of anxiety, when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, his first officer eyeing him stoutly.
"I'm sure Alia is alright, Captain," Neil spoke softly and reassuringly. "She was a goddamn good first officer under you, and I can only imagine how good she is as a Captain. And the Hemmer is a strong ship. I'm sure they are alright."
Anzyl gulped and nodded back to him. "Let's hope," he said, patting Neil's hand reassuringly.
Lusaalli spoke up from the helm. "Approaching destination, sir. Dropping out of warp."
—
With a flash of light, the Nexus dropped out of warp, and was greeted by a grotesque, gut-wrenching, and all too familiar sight.
Before the Nexus, like a praying mantis feasting on a beetle, was a Fek'ihri Dreadnought, gripping the USS Hemmer in its metal blade arms and wrought-iron mandibles. Fires, flames, and debris sputtered from the Sovereign-Class starship, and lights flickered as several decks were ripped and shredded open wide by the Dreadnought's metal blade-like appendages. With the sound of metal shredding metal, the Dreadnought began splitting the USS Hemmer into pieces.
"Fek'ihri…" Anzyl muttered under his breath, his fists clenching. "Of course, it's the Fek'ihri… Fu…"