Federation Space – Archanis Sector

Archanis IV – USS Akira

The USS Akira loomed impressively against the infinite darkness of space. Its sleek and polished hull reflected the ethereal glow of the distant sun. Rays from Archanis cascaded over the ship’s surface, creating a vibrant display that gave the Akira a halo of golden light. 

As the ship traversed the void, three Vaadwaur warships suddenly appeared from a flash of light in the distance, heading on an intercept course for Archanis IV. They were unaware that a Federation ship was present in the sector, let alone in the system. The USS Akira banked its bow directly toward the Vaadwaur vessels, intent on intercepting them to determine their purpose in the area. After all, the Akira’s commanding officer was on the planet.

Bridge

Debrah braced for impact as two Vaadwaur Pythus fighters attacked the ship. The bridge rocked and bucked from the assault, and sparks flew as several conduits exploded from a surge of power triggered by the Vaadwaur’s attack.

“Report,” the commander shouted in a calm voice.

“Shields holding,” the tactical officer behind her stated.

“Minor damage to the hull and several injuries,” another officer reported.

“Good,” Debrah replied, her body relaxing momentarily just as another round of impacts hit the shields. 

“Trever, take evasive action and keep those fighters off our tail,” she ordered

Flashes of light blue energy danced across the hull of the Akira as the Vaadwaur fighters continued their assault on the ship. Although the shields were weakening, they were still holding.

Debrah had had enough of the Vaadwaur fighters’ poking and prodding. Reaching down to the console on the command chair’s armrest, she tapped the main hanger’s intercom.

“Captain Roberts, get your Valkyries out there and handle those Pythus attackers,” she ordered before closing the connection to the hanger.

Main Hanger

Kelsie was half-buried under the nose of her Valkyrie, diligently inspecting with a tricorder as she conducted a routine diagnostic on her fighter. Although she was confident that there was nothing wrong with the ship, her instincts compelled her to check every part of it meticulously.

She was halfway through the diagnostic when her attention was briefly diverted by the sound of the hangar’s intercom chiming. Commander Fergouson-Vax’s voice came over the speaker. As soon as she heard her name and the order, she slid the tricorder into a pocket on her pants leg and rolled out from under the nose of the Valkyrie. Getting to her feet, she clapped her hands to get her pilot’s attention while simultaneously slipping her arms into the sleeves of her flight suit. As she zipped it up, she caught a helmet that a technician tossed to her.

Moments later, she tapped on a toggle on the joystick and connected to the bridge as she and her pilots waited for final orders.

“Bridge, Roberts, waiting for final orders, Commander,” she said as she looked out of the cockpit at the looming stars just outside the forcefield that covered the main hangar. Just then, a Pythus fighter flew past in a blur.

As soon as the word “go” sounded over the intercom, all of the Valkyries launched from the main hangar and entered into combat. 

As soon as Roberts’ Valkyrie cleared the forcefield, she banked her ship sharply up and over the Akira’s hull. Another fighter followed her while the rest attended to their assignments.

As she cleared Akira’s hull, she spotted the second Vaadwaur Pythus. She relayed this information to her squadron, and in response, several clicks were heard in her earpiece. A seriousness washed over her face as if a switch had been flipped, and her instincts kicked in. Banking again, she lowered the nose of her Valkyrie, aiming to gain a better position over the fighter she had just reported.

As Kelsie pulled up, she concentrated on aligning the reticles with the fighter. Once the target was in her sights, the onboard computer confirmed her aim with a pleasant sound. With a slight twitch of her fingers, she pulled the trigger, releasing several phaser bolts. Some of these bolts hit the shields of the Pythus fighter, causing the shielding to ignite and creating a cascading display of golden light over its hull.

Banking hard once more, she glanced over at her wingman and nodded. The two of them split apart without needing to say a word; they both knew what they had to do. It was a routine they had performed many times before. As she adjusted the nose of her Valkyrie once again, the Pythus came into perfect silhouette. She knew her wingman was on the opposite side, doing exactly the same thing.

Taking a breath, she steadied herself as she aligned the reticles once more. As soon as the Pythus fighter appeared within the reticle, the computer emitted a signal. The sound blared in the cockpit, prompting her to start a countdown from five. When she reached zero, her fingers gently caressed the trigger, releasing two volleys of phaser bolts. As her bolts struck the shields, she switched over to her torpedoes and noticed a faint golden glow on the other side of the ship; her wingman had also hit the shields. She realized then that her wingman was preparing to launch their torpedoes as well.

Banking once more, she pulled the nose of the Valkyrie upwards, executing a loose loop as she repositioned her aim on the fighter. Kelsie narrowed her eyes, her thumb hovering delicately over the torpedo firing button. Just as she was about to launch her torpedoes, the Pythus fighter flipped upside down and aimed its weapons at her.

Yanking back on the stick, Kelsie sharply raised the Valkyrie’s nose. She then banked the fighter into a spiral over the incoming Pythus, narrowly avoiding an impact with the fighter’s shields.

As she cleared the Vaadwuar fighter, she had a perfect view of two-photon torpedoes striking the ship. Its hull buckled under the impact. To her, it felt as though time slowed down as she observed a ripple cascading along the shields as they failed. Shortly after, a second ripple occurred as the hull tore itself apart. 

As she cleared the spiral maneuver and pushed the impulse engines to full power, a bright glow filled her cockpit as the Pythus fighter exploded. A satisfied grin spread across her lips. She glanced out the window at the smoldering wreckage of the Vaadwaur fighter. Her wingman leveled out beside her Valkyrie, also sporting a grin on their face.

With a nod from her wingman, Kelsie banked away from them and headed towards the engagement that the rest of their squadron was involved in.

Archanis Sector – Archanis IV

USS Akira – Valkyrie wing

Kelsie and her wingman arrived at maximum impulse speed. The engines of their Valkyries glowed brightly against the darkness of space. In the distance, flashes of flames indicated that the rest of the squadron was engaged in battle with the Vaadwaur fighter, who seemed to be a more experienced pilot than the one Kelsie and her wingman had just defeated.

As they approached, Kelsie looked down at her scanner and noticed that the third Vaadwaur ship was just outside the battle, moving slowly. Confused by this new information, she cocked her head to the slide. With her thumb, she tapped on a toggle and opened a communication connection to the bridge of the Akira.

“Commander Fergouson-Vax, I have just noticed that the third Vaadwaur ship is on a slow intercept course.”

Bridge

Debrah observed Kelsie as she focused intently on managing one of the Pythus fighters displayed on the monitor at the console on her armrest. Debrah was so engrossed in the battle that she didn’t notice the Manasa Assault ship moving slowly. It wasn’t until the bridge intercom chimed that Debrah heard Kelsie’s voice.

Turning to look at the tactical officer, Debrah tilted her head slightly when she noticed the officer nodding toward the speed of the Vaadwaur Escort. 

“Strange,” Debrah thought to herself as she stood up and walked over to the tactical console. “What are you doing?” She tapped the console to widen the view of the battlefield and realized that the ship was just outside the engagement zone.

As she studied the battlefield from the monitor at the tactical console, the icon indicating the Vaadwaur Manasa ship began to flash. She looked up, and it felt like time slowed down as she watched a wave of energy radiate from the Vaadwaur ship.

Suddenly, a burst of energy crashed against Akira’s shields, creating a flash of pale blue light that lit up the viewscreen, signaling the use of a weapon. Debrah shielded her eyes for a moment, and once the flash faded, she saw that three of the Valkyries had been disabled while two had been destroyed. Additionally, the Pythus that had been engaged with the Valkyries was also destroyed. 

As she observed, Debrah noticed that the Manasa-class vessel was approaching the three remaining Valkyries.

“Trever, get us within range of our fighters,” Debrah commanded.

Trever had already anticipated her request and was swiftly executing her order. His fingers raced over the console as he maneuvered the Akira into position near the three disabled Valkyries.

Within moments, the Akira was within transporter range of the disabled ships. Suddenly, a voice came over the bridge’s intercom. “Commander, I am unable to lock onto the pilots.”

“Damn it,” Debrah muttered as she saw the three pilots looking at the Akira. “Trever, maintain a defensive posture over those ships,” she instructed.

“Not a problem,” he replied as the Akira came to a halt close to the Valkyries.

“I won’t let any more of this crew be killed,” Debrah said, her gaze fixed on the Vaadwaur ship that had come to a stop nearby.

“Incoming transmission from the Vaadwaur ship, Commander,” the comms officer said to Debrah.

“Put it through.”

The viewscreen shifted from the disabled Valkyries to display a Vaadwaur. “I am Lieutenant Dranik Vesh of the Vaadwaur Supremacy. I have my weapons aimed at your ship.”

Debrah glanced at the console on the armrest and saw that the Vaadwaur ship had its weapons aimed at the Akira. Her eyes narrowed at this unexpected turn of events, but she was determined not to let an aggressive posture deter her from rescuing the three officers stranded in the coldness of space. She had never left anyone behind, whether as a Federation officer or as a civilian captain, and she was not about to start today.

Debrah then took control of the weapons console and targeted the Manasa ship. “Two can play that same game, “ she said to Dranik as she looked up at the Vaadwaur lieutenant.

On the view screen, the background shifted from a dimly lit bridge with dull lighting to a golden hue as the onboard systems recognized that Debrah hadn’t been bluffing.

Both officers narrowed their eyes at each other. 

The viewscreen suddenly flashed back to the disabled Valkyries as Dranik ended the comms. 

Debrah reclined in the command chair, gazing out at the battlefield between herself and the Vaadwaur officer. “Your move,” she thought as she crossed her left leg over her right and placed her hands in her lap.