The SS.Prospector was burning. Caught by an unseen foe she had barely the time to acknowledge she was under attack before she was crippled. Fortunately the single action her Captain had been able to accomplish was to send out a distress bouy, and several ships of the Aenari defence fleet were en route to aid her.
?Time to target 30 seconds sir? Ensign Sokar replied to his Captains enquiry ?I have the Prospector on sensors sir, she?s not in good shape? ?Can you be more specific ensign?? Captain Leoten was worried, the prospector was the most advanced ship in the fleet, for her to be crippled was unthinkable. ?Sir, she?s barely holding together, sensors estimate an 88% casualty rate on board? ?Damn! Hail the Defiant and the Pioneer. Appraise them of the situation and tell them to follow my lead, we are going to need all the help we can get.?
The SS.Venture increased speed to pull to the head of the 3 ship squadron. With the Defiant and Pioneer in close pursuit the Venture dropped out of warp just before reaching the Prospector?s position.
?Frell! Ensign....any life signs on board?? Cpt.Leoten gazed at his viewing screen, unable to take in the sheer amount of damage the Prospector had endured. ?None sir, I..? ?CONTACT!, BEARING ONE-SEVEN-TWO-MARK-FIVE!!? screamed Jackson, the Venture?s tactical officer. ?Can you identify Jackson?? ?No sir, sensor data is incomplete. The ship matches nothing we?ve seen before? ?Hail the Defiant, tell her to pull forward and shield the Prospector, order the Pioneer to escort us under blue alert?
The two Aenari ships gunned their engines. Cpt.Leoten was going to fight this on his terms, not his enemy?s. As they approached the enemy vessel powered up, the sheer size left Cpt. Leoten in awe. With stunning accuracy a beam of energy whipped from the craft and struck the Pioneer. The ships starboard engine was torn from its nacelle and she spun away crippled. ?Frell!!! Ensign, bring all weapons to bear, full spread. Then get us the hell away from that thing!? Leoten barked orders, the efficiency of his crew shining through as the Venture banked steeply away from the enemy ship while firing all weapons. ?Ensign report? ?Sensors report only minor damage to enemy vessel sir? Ensign Sokar replied. ?Minor?!? That barrage was enough to cripple a frelling Battlecruiser!? Leoten was stunned at the inadequacy of his ships firepower.
The Venture was suddenly rocked violently and the bridge crew were thrown from their stations. ?Sir, direct hit to the engineering deck. They report that the engines are off line and we are about to lose main power? No sooner had that been said than power failures occurred all over the ship. The enemy vessel moved into position over the Venture and prepared to fire again, but several impacts suddenly rocked the ship as the SS.Defiant screamed past.
?Sir we have minimal power back, and the Defiant reports that they have got the enemy vessel in pursuit.? ?Can we get weapons online?? ?Already done sir? relayed Sokar ?Target is locked? ?Then fire damnit!? A multitude of shots erupted from the Ventures weapons arrays. Pulse cannon bursts and torpedoes impacted on the unidentified vessel, adding to the damage the Defiant was causing with her own weaponry. ?Sokar, hail the Defiant and tell her to break off. We cannot win this? Leoten uttered ?Sir, Defiant reports she is leaving the system now? ?Good, lay in a course for Fleet Headquarters, they need to be warned of this? ?Aye sir?
Bleeding atmosphere and on a single engine the Venture managed to limp home. Bringing with her the news of this new deadly foe....
_________________ Cpt.Leoten SS.Venture Aenari Defence Fleet
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