Star Trek: The furry Generation

Dry-dock, Orbiting Earth
Stardate 58642.3

The shuttle accommodating Captain Leon Strife, Commander James Conrad, Tactical / Security Chief Samuel E. Xavier, operations officer Ensign Seifer Strife, Brandon Jank the Helmsman and tactical officer Lieutenant Christine Peters approached the majestic starbase. Docked with the starbase was a newly commissioned ship, the USS Ambrosia, a new class of ship. As the biggest in the fleet, she had 75 decks, 1050 meters long, 600 meters wide as well as the latest in offensive and defensive capabilities and a crew of nearly 1800.

The shuttle approached the Ambrosia and flew towards and into the shuttle bay.

***

The turbolift reached its destination (the bridge) and its doors whooshed opened to allow its passengers (the people that had been on the shuttle) to depart. Several officers were on the bridge awaiting the command crew so they could introduce themselves. This included Patrick Lowell (the chief medical officer), Catherine Annex (The chief engineer) and Cody Stephens (the ship counselor).

Leon walked around the bridge, examining the various stations before walking to the center of it to make a welcome speech.

“Greetings everyone, I am Captain Strife, welcome aboard the Ambrosia. At 1800 hours we will be having a welcome board party in the mess hall. Everyone is welcome to attend. In the meantime I suggest everyone get settled in.”. He then walked over to and shook the hands of everyone that was on the bridge. Before leaving, he took a look at his ready room and the observation lounge. When he walked out of the lounge, he told James that he would be in his quarters and to watch the bridge.

Catherine and Patrick left with him for Engineering and Sickbay respectively.

James sat in the captain’s chair just as Christine walked over to him.

“What can I do for you Lieutenant?” he asked.

“I was wondering if you would like a tour of the ship?” She asked.

“Thank you Ms. Peters, I’d love it.” He responded, noticing the way she was looking at him. He looked towards the tactical position saying,

“You have the bridge Mr. Xavier”, to which Samuel nodded in response before leaving his position to sit in the chair.

James and Christine walked into the Turbo lift and Christine said

“Deck 3”, as the doors closed.

***

Doctor T'kal strolled through the Ambrosias impressive sickbay with one of her nurses.

“It is a very efficient design.” she exclaimed. The doors to sickbay opened and Patrick walked in and introduced himself to T’kal and the nurse. T’kal welcomed him aboard and informed him of how efficient and impressive she felt that sickbay was, to which Patrick responded by telling her that it was the most advanced in the fleet.

Seifer Strife (the ship operations officer and the captain’s son) was sitting on one of the bio-beds while Gabriel Saotome (another of the ship doctors) scanned his arm with a medical tricorder.

“There, all better.” Gabriel said.

“Thank you” Seifer said before getting off the bed and walking towards T’kal.

“See Mom, it was no big deal, just a couple of bruised bones”, he joked.

“Perhaps so, but you should be more careful, especially using the new gym equipment” T'kal responded.

“What happened?” Patrick asked. Seifer turned to face Patrick before saying

“I was trying out a balance beam in the gym and I lost my balance. I’m sorry if I caused any trouble, I’ll be more careful in the future. Anyway, I have to get to the bridge.”

As Seifer walked out, Patrick turned to T’kal and asked

“He seems like a nice kid. He’s your son?” In an unemotional tone typical of a Vulcan, she replied

“Yes, Were quite proud of him. Would you like me to show you around sickbay?” Patrick had looked forward to seeing the sickbay and gladly said yes.

***

In engineering, the crew was hard at work with final tests on the engines and engineering systems. Catherine walked in the door to see everyone busy with his or her work. Having seen her walk in, one of the engineers, known as ‘John’ walked over to her to introduce himself

“Hi, welcome to engineering, my name is John”. Catherine shook his hand and introduced herself,

“Hi, I’m Chief engineer Catherine Annex. So how is everything going?”

“We have the warp and impulse engines online and will be ready for departure at any time. We will have the new experimental transwarp engines online within the hour. In the meantime, would you like a tour?”” he responded.

“Excellent work and yes, I would love to a tour,” she asked. The two of them walked towards the warp core, as John began to describe the engineering section.

***

Christine and James walked down the corridor.

“Up ahead is Stealer Cartography, where we have access to the most advanced sensors in the fleet.” Christine said. The two of them walked into the room. Inside Megan Wiley, (the science officer who was stationed there) approached them and everyone introduced themselves to each other.

“So how far can we scan with these sensors?” James asked. Megan informed them that the sensors allowed them do precise scans of anything within 500 light years in 10 minutes and partial scans of anything within 1000 light years. James expressed his admiration and watched the large display for several minutes before he and Christine thanked them for the demonstration before departing.

***

On the bridge, Kyle Gates (the ‘backup’ helmsman) worked on the helm, fine tuning its settings as Brandon tested out the modifications he was making.

“How’s that?” Kyle asked, after he made an adjustment.

“Ah, much better. But this is just a simulation, I hope it works as well when we do it ‘for real’” Brandon responded. Kyle calmly told him that it would be fine before closing the access panel.

On the other side of the bridge, Samuel was talking to Cody,

“This ships weapons and defensive capabilities are incredible.” When Cody asked him for more information, Sam told him that the ship was armed with 2 experimental phasers arrays, type 14. And nearly 2000 quantum torpedoes, and 1000 transphasic torpedoes, and 16 Type 12 phaser arrays. Cody seemed a bit worried about that. So much firepower seemed to go against what Starfleet was designed for. The Ambrosia was designed for exploration as opposed to combat, or so he thought. Samuel rebutted by reminding him of the old boy scout saying of ‘always be prepared’. They both agreed that although the ship would be well able to protect itself in a combat situation, they would both rather not get into such a situation.

***

In his quarters, Leon had unpacked most of his things and put them where he wanted to put them when T'kal walked in. Leon asked her what she thought about sickbay and she responded by expressing how efficient she thought it was. Leon expressed admiration for the ships exploration and combat capabilities, saying they were unparalleled. They both agreed that they were fortunate to be assigned to such a ship. They would be departing the starbase the next day at 0900 hours.

“We should get ready for the ‘welcome aboard’ party in the mess hall, it starts in a couple of hours” Leon said. Vulcan’s normally considered parties to be an unnecessary indulgence, but for this instance, T’kal felt that her attending would be better for crew morale so she didn’t object to it.

***

Christine had finished giving James the tour of the ship and they had arrived at his quarters. James thanked her for the tour.

“No problem, glad to help” she cheerfully responded. James pressed the button to open the door to his quarters, looking around he saw that they were quite large. Christine informed him that she would be in her quarters and to call her if he needed anything. As he unpacked, he pondered her apparent interest in him. He wondered if perhaps she had a ‘crush’ on him but dismissed it as his imagination. He walked over to the replicator, and ordered a cappuccino. Planning on attending the party, he asked the computer for the time. The computer said that was 1420 hours, which gave him plenty of time to get ready.

***

Catherine had finished the tour of engineering and she thanked John for showing her around. As she walked over to one of the console’s to view its readout, Commander Janice Bates (who was second in command in Engineering) walked over to her and welcomes her aboard.

“Thank you, quite an impressive ship. It should be a lot of fun working with these engines”, Catherine said. Janice happily agreed with her.

***

In the stellar cartography room, Megan was testing out the sensors by scanning them at their maximum range when she detected something strange. She pressed a few buttons and brought up a display of the strange reading. The display showed what appeared to be a very large ship entering federation space.

“That thing is huge, where did it come from?” Talia Somboli (one of her assistants) asked. Jack Jolelle (another assistant) scanned the area surrounding the ship.

“I’m getting very strange readings from the area of that ship, it looks like a wormhole, but it seems to have dissipated”, he said. Megan walked over to the console and looked at the readings.

“Whoever they are, it seems they know how to create their own wormholes, at this range it’s impossible to tell for sure though”.

“Think we should tell the Captain?” Jack asked. Megan pondered the question for a minute before coming to a decision,

“The ship doesn’t seem to be making any threatening gestures, at least not yet. We do have other ships out there in the event that it does. In the meantime, lets keep an eye on it. If it does anything threatening then we can report it to the captain”

****

The border of federation space
On board the unknown ship

The massive ship traveled quietly though the vacuum of space. In it’s large command center the commander of the ship sat silently in his chair. Finally, breaking the silence, he stood up and said but one word.

“Report”.

“The trip through the corridor was uneventful, we suffered no damage. Our scout ship is ready to detach and embark,” a voice from the other side of the room said.

“Very well. Scan the region for inhabited planets”, the commander ordered.

“Scanning”

“I am picking up what appears to be a colony 10 light years from here. I am also picking up 2 federations ships in range of the colony, they do not appear to have detected us yet”

“Very well. Begin preparations to detach the scout ship. Prepare enough of the virus,” the commander, said.

“Yes sir” the voice enthusiastically said.

In the lower decks of the ship, several people moved about in containment suits.

“We have been ordered to prepare enough of the virus to cover a colony,” one of them said.

“What is its population?” another asked.

“250,000” he reported.

“The new modifications to the virus are stable, it should be able to activate on it’s own now”, another said.

“How long should it take?” one asked.

“Total conversion should take no more then 6 of their hours,” the others responded.

On the scout ship, the crew prepared to disembark.

“All systems report full functionality. The virus is ready to be loaded. Once we are in range of the planet, we can deliver it with a simple command” the head engineer reported.

“All weapon systems are online and ready,” the tactical officer reported.

“Excellent. Load the virus. Once it’s loaded, disembark.” The captain said.

***

USS Lexington, Nebula class ship
In range of the colony

An alarm beeped on the tactical console. Ron Pixtar (the tactical officer) pressed several buttons to see what was going on.

“Report!” the captain, Jerry Torme ordered.

“I’m picking up a vessel traveling at high warp. It appears to be on a course for the Brama Colony.” Ron reported.

“Hail them”, Jerry said. Ron pressed in the sequence to hail the ship and waited for a response, when none came after several seconds he reported that they were not responding.

“Helm, lay in a course to intercept, maximum warp” the captain ordered.

“Aye, going to maximum warp, we will intercept the ship in 10 minutes”, the helmsman, Paul responded.

“Red alert, all hands to battle stations”, the captain ordered as the bridge went dark and the ships red alert klaxons sounded.

“Captain the ship is changing course, heading directly towards us! They will intercept us in 2 minutes”, the Operations officer, Tony Saluce reported.

“Their charging weapons!” Ron reported.

***

On board the Ambrosia, the party in the mess hall was well under way. The ship’s mess hall was huge, perfect for large parties.

Leon walked up to the main table and picked up several things to eat. Seifer was standing beside him, talking to him about the ship.

“They have all sorts of gym’s and they have 10 holodecks and all sorts of other things. It’d be almost impossible to get bored on this ship.” Seifer said.

“I’m glad you like her, she’s brand new, and I think she’s going to be the pride of the fleet”, Leon commented.

In a group of sofas in the corner of the room, James, Cody and Christine were sitting discussing various things.

“I hear this ship has an experimental transwarp drive and that it could go a thousand light years in a matter of hours.” Cody said.

“Yes it is true. But it’s only used in emergencies because it is still not stable enough for general use. That’s why we still have normal warp drive in addition to it.” James responded.

“But still, it would be neat, going halfway across the galaxy in a few days. Just imagine the possibilities for exploration.” Christine said.

“Good point” Cody added.

“Well, we should hopefully get some time to test it out. I’ve heard our first mission is going to be an exploration mission of a star cluster just outside of federation space. No federation ship has ever been there”, James added.

Samuel and Catherine were looking out the windows of the mess hall watching the crews working on the ship completing last minute checks.

“Those engines sound quite impressive, I can’t wait to try the transwarp drive,” Samuel said.

“Either can I. I hear this ship has some of the most advanced tactical systems in the fleet” Catherine said.

“Well, some of it is classified so I can’t discuss in a public place such as here. But what I can tell you is that the ship is equipped with ablative armor generators, and a pair of new phaser arrays that are still experimental. We have regenerative shields and all sorts of neat new stuff”, Samuel said.

“Lets just hope we don’t have to use them” Catherine said.

Gabriel, Patrick and T'kal stood near the middle of the room, discussing the ships medical systems and other things.

“This ships sickbay is amazing, but why is it so big? A sickbay ¼ its size would be enough for this ships crew” Greg asked.

“It’s mostly meant for emergencies as you never know what we might run into ‘out there,’” Lowell said.

“Logical reasoning” T’kal added.

“This ship even had a new class of EMH, a mark 6.” Patrick said.

“Mark 6?” Gabriel asked.

“It was completed a few months ago. It has the latest knowledge and programming techniques,” Patrick responded.

Captain Strife was about to sit down when the COM system sounded.

“Bridge to Captain Strife.” The voice said. The captain walked outside of the mess hall and into the corridor so he could have relative silence and some privacy. Tapping the comrade on his chest, he said,

“Go ahead”.

“Captain we’ve just been contacted by Starfleet command. They have received a distress call from the Lexington. They say they are under attack by an unknown ship.”

“Are there any other ships in range?” the captain asked.

“Yes sir, but the closest ship is 2 hours away, we can be there in an hour if we use the transwarp drive.” The voice said.

“Has starfleet given us the go ahead?” the Captain asked.

“Yes sir, Admiral Jerald herself has authorized it,” the voice said

“Very well then. Red alert! All hands to battle stations!” he said. The red alert klaxons sounded, and the crew went into action.

***

Within a matter of minutes, the bridge crew as well as everyone else was at their stations.

“Captain, starbase operations reports all docking struts have been retraced and we are ready to get underway,” Samuel reported.

“Very well, Mr. Jank lay in a course for the Lexington and prepare to go into transwarp,” The captain ordered. Brandon pressed the appropriate sequence on the helm, and the Ambrosia disembarked from the starbase before going into normal warp.

“Showing warp 9.5 sir” Brandon said.

“Bridge to engineering, prepare to activate the transwarp drive.” The captain said.

“Yes sir, activating the drive. Transwarp in 10…9…. 8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…” Catherine said as the ship entered transwarp and it’s speed increased exponentially.

“We have successfully entered transwarp sir, e.t.a. 62 minutes, 15 seconds” Brandon reported.

***

The Lexington maneuvered around the alien scout ship.

“Status!” Captain Torme yelled.

“Shields are down to 30%, we have hull breaches on deck 7 and 8. Causality reports coming in, 26 injured 4 seriously. Warp engines are offline! The scout ships shields are down to 34%, their torpedo launchers are offline, but their disrupters are still online. They’re coming about for another pass! They’re preparing to fire!” Ron Pixtar reported. The ship rocked as the scout ship fired.

“Return fire!” the Captain ordered. The Lexington came about, and fired it torpedoes. The scout ship rocked, and returned fire. The Lexington was rocked violently and there were several small explosions on the bridge and several wires fell from the ceiling with smoke pouring from the gaping holes.

“Shields are down!” Ron Pixtar reported.

“Captain I’m detecting transporter signatures! Were being boarded!” Tony Saluce reported.

“Intruder alert!” the Captain yelled.

***

The ambrosia neared the co-ordinates of the distress signal.

“Captain, we are approaching the co-ordinates of the Lexington” Seifer reported.

“Take us out of transwarp and prepare to go to impulse power Mr. Jank”, the Captain ordered. The ship dropped out of transwarp and approached the Lexington.

“They appear to be adrift,” Seifer reported.

“Scan for life signs” James ordered. Seifer pressed several buttons on his console and read the display.

“I’m picking up, 780 life forms aboard, however several dozens of those life forms are exhibiting strange readings” Seifer reported.

“Mr. Conrad, prepare an away team, Mr. Xavier, are you reading the ship that attacked them?” the captain asked.

“I’m picking up a warp signature bearing 104 mark 204 mark 26,” Xavier reported.

“Keep track of them, in the meantime we need to assist the Lexington” The Captain ordered.

The Lexington’s bridge was dark, only emergency lighting and the ships red alert lights lit it. The area was momentarily lit up from the light from the transporter beam. James, T’kal, Gabriel and Cody materialized onto the center of the bridge. The bridge smelled of smoke. The 4 of them immediately took out their tricorders to scan for life signs. James saw a figure lying on the ground by a fallen pillar. He immediate ran over to the figure. Shining his light on it, he saw that it was the ships first officer, Alice Mitchell. She lay motionless, and was quietly moaning. “Hang on, ill get you out of there”, James said. He managed to pull several pieces of debris off of her.

“It’s okay, lay still” he said as he scanned her.

“You have a broken leg and 2 broken ribs, we need to get you to our sickbay” he said.

“The crew?” she asked.

“We don’t know yet, we are searching the ship now” James responded.

“Very well”, she responded. James pressed his comrade to contact the Ambrosia, and called for a beam out. Moments later, Commander Mitchell dematerialized.

“Where is everyone?” James asked.

“There is no one else on this deck, I’m picking up life signs on decks 2-7, it looks like they’ve taken refuge there” Cody said.

“Okay, lets go down there and try to find out what happened”, James said. The 4 of them boarded the turbolift and headed for deck 2.

When the doors opened, they heard a noise.

“Who’s there!” a voice called.

“We heard your distress call! We are here to help!” T’kal responded.

“Come out, slowly!” the voice responded. The 4 of them slowly exited the turbo lift and walked into the corridor. Several heavily armed crewmen greeted them.

“What is going on? What happened here?” James asked.

“We were attacked, they boarded us, sabotaged the ship, we managed to fight them off, so they left. We thought they had done all of the damage they were going to do, until this started happening.” The man said as he directed them to 2 crewmen lying on the ground. Both crewmen looked odd, they had what looked like fur on their faces.

“What’s happened to them?” James asked.

“It appears to be a virus, we were able to stop them before they infected the entire ship.” The man said.

“How many people are exhibiting these changes?” T’kal asked as she scanned the 2 two crewmen.

“39, including the captain.” the man said.

“We can take them to our sickbay and have engineering crews beam over to help with repairs”, James said.

“Very well” the man said.

***

“Captains log, Stardate 58642.3. It has been 6 hours since we first beamed over to the Lexington. We have been able to get their main power and engines back online and are working on other repairs. The strange condition that has afflicted 39 of their crew has progressed steadily. However they have done this, we must stop the scout ship that caused this before they can attack another ship. With that we have led a course towards it.”

In the Ambrosia’s sickbay, Captain Torme lay on a bio-bed. His entire body was covered in fur, fur that was white on his chest, feet and hands and black elsewhere. He has since shrunk to nearly half his size and was having difficulty speaking. He appeared to be growing a tail, a tail that was black with 2 white stripes down it. He looked at his fur-covered arms and signed painfully.

“It’s getting harder and harder to speak. Of all things to get turned into, why did it have to be a skunk? Why would they do this to us?” he asked.

“They may have been trying to capture your ship, by doing this to your crew, they could have captured it without resistance. Who knows how much more of this virus they have or what their planning on doing with it.” Captain Strife said.

“How long do I have doc, before I’m on all fours and looking for grubs?” Jerry asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m working on a treatment. Unfortunately, so far this condition baffles me. It could be in as little as an hour, but don’t give up” Doctor Lowell said.

“The others who were infected?” Jerry asked.

“Some have only had minor changes, but 3 of them have fully changed.” Patrick said.

“Into what?” Jerry asked.

“Crewman Yang a sea lion, ensign Pillar a dolphin and lieutenant Peterson a hedgehog. But you mustn’t lose hope we are doing everything we can, if they can be changed this way then certainly they can be changed back.” Patrick said.

“Thank you doctor, I know your doing your best.” Jerry said.

“If it helps, they’re all very comfortable right now, Crewman Yang and Ensign Pillar is in a large pool on deck 48. Neural scans indicate that their minds are intact; they appear to be retained their memories and intelligence; it was only their bodies that were changed. Lieutenant Peterson is on deck 23 in a suitable habitat, he too seems to be fine”. Patrick said.

“Why are the ones affected only becoming Earth species? Not all of them are human.” Gabriel asked.

“That’s a good question. I wish I knew the answer.” Patrick responded.

James walked over to Alice Mitchell, whose injuries had been healed.

“I heard you talking about the crew, how’s the ship doing?” she asked.

“Were at warp, we have your engines back online, the hull breaches have been secured and main power has been restored. Unfortunately, 3 of your phasers arrays have been heavily damaged, you’ll need a starbase to repair them.” James said.

“At least she’s still intact” Alice responded.

“Commander, I’d like to get back to my bridge as soon as possible”, she said.

“Hold on, you should rest. Your ship is in good hands.” James said.

“Very well” Alice responded.

On the bridge of the Ambrosia, the COM beeped. Christine pressed several buttons to hear the message. It was garbled but she could make out what was being said.

“This is the federation colony on beta-sigma 5, we are under attack by an unknown vessel. I repeat we are under attack by an unknown vessel. Require immediate assistance”.

“Bridge to Captain Strife, we just received a distress signal from the colony of beta-sigma 5, they say they are under attack by an unknown ship.” Christine said.

“How far are we away from it?” Leon asked.

“5 hours sir! The Iwo Jima also received the distress call and his headed to intercept the ship, they will reach the colony in 20 minutes” she said.

“Very well”, Leon responded.

***

Uss Iwo Jima, Akira class
Approaching the Beta-Sigma system.

“Captain, I’m picking up a ship in Orbit of the colony. It’s the same ship that attacked the Lexington.” The ships tactical offer reported.

“What is their status?” the captain asked.

“The colony defenses appear to have inflicted significant damage on it, as has the Lexington. Were not getting any response from the colony!” the tactical officer said.

“Captain! I’m picking up something odd in the colony atmosphere! That ship sees us, it’s breaking orbit and is retreating!” The tactical officer said.

“Have you been able to raise the colony yet?” the captain asked.

“No Sir!” The tactical officer reported.

“Captain that ship has set course for another colony, should we pursue?” the helmsman asked.

“How far away are the Ambrosia and Lexington?” the captain asked.

“There still 4 and a half hours sir” the operations officer said.

“Hail them!” the captain ordered. The image of Captain Strife appeared on the screen.

“Captain, we have a chance to catch the ship that has done this. We are detecting no signs of humanoid life on the planet surface, however we can’t just leave them. At the same time we cant just let that ship get away.” The Iwo Jima’s Captain said.

“We will set course for the colony, we’ll use our transwarp drive, the Lexington should be okay, but will remain on course for the planet” Strife said.

“Very well, we will pursue the ship.” The captain said.

“Good luck, Trevor” Leon said.

“The same to you.” Trevor said.

“Lay in a pursuit course for that ship and engage,” he ordered.

“Course already laid in sir. Engaging at maximum warp” the helmsman, said.

***

“The Lexington acknowledges sir. They will get to the colony as fast as they can” Samuel said.

“Excellent, Mr. Jank prepare to go to transwarp.” Leon said.

In engineering the crew was busy preparing the transwarp drive.

“Were ready when you are Commander!”, Janice Bates reported.

“Alright, bring in transwarp drive online!” Catherine said. The ship started to shake as the ship speed increased exponentially.

“Transwarp in 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1” John said as the ship shook some more.

“We have successfully entered transwarp,” John reported.

On the bridge, Brandon Jank reported that their ETA to the colony was now 10 minutes.

***

Captain Strife paced on the bridge with his hands behind his back as the Ambrosia approached the planet.

“Captain, we are approaching the planet” Brandon announced.

“Take us out of transwarp, prepare to enter orbit of the planet”, Leon responded. The Ambrosia existed out of transwarp and entered orbit of the planet over the colony.

“Scan the colony for life signs” Captain Strife ordered.

“I’m picking up life signs, but they don’t make sense. I’m not picking up any humanoid life signs. I’m also picking up what appears to be a viral agent in the planet atmosphere.” Seifer responded.

“A viral agent? It is safe to beam down?” Leon asked.

“I recommend against it. I recommend taking a shuttle down and equipping all away teams with level 5 hazard suits” Seifer responded.

“Very well. Mr. Conrad, take a shuttle down. Take whomever you need” Leon said.

“Yes sir, Mr. Gates, Seifer, Ms. Peters meet me in shuttle bay 1. Conrad to sickbay, Mr. Saotome meet me in shuttle bay 1” James said.

***

The Iwo Jima was at its maximum warp speed attainable.

“Mr. Peterson how long until we intercept?” The captain asked.

“2 hours sir! They are 2 hours and 30 minutes from the colony!” helm officer responded.

“They still aren’t responding to hails Captain”, the tactical officer, Terry Sato responded.

“Keep trying Mr. Sato” The captain said.

***

The shuttlecraft launched, exiting from the Ambrosia’s shuttle bay.

“We will enter the planets atmosphere in 30 seconds!”, Kyle Gates said.

“I’m picking up disturbances in the atmosphere, possible caused by the viral agent, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!” Seifer said.

“Everyone brace yourselves!” James said.

“10 seconds till we enter the atmosphere!” Kyle said. The shuttle started to shake violently as it entered the planets atmosphere.

“I’m picking up electrical discharges, and severe winds,” Seifer said.

“How could a viral agent cause this?” James asked.

“It appears that the ship that released the virus caused this somehow, probably to spread the virus across the planet quicker” Seifer said as the shuttle was rocked.

“2 minutes to the surface!” Kyle said.

***

“Captain! The alien ship has stopped its approach to the colony and is coming about!” Terry Sato said.

“How long until they intercept us?” The captain asked.

“10 minutes!” Mr. Peterson responded.

“Battle stations!” The Captain ordered!

***

The shuttle approached the capital city on the planet.

“I’m not detecting any damage to the various structures, however the defenses are offline,” Christine reported.

“I’m still not picking up any humanoid life signs commander” Seifer said.

“This colony had a population of 250,000! That doesn’t seem possible.” James responded.

“Take us down in the center of the city! Mr. Saotome, prepare the Hazard suits!” James ordered.

***

The Iwo Jima rocked as the scout ships weapons struck her shields.

“Shields holding!” Terry Sato reported.

“Return fire, target their weapons!” The captain ordered. The Iwo Jima returned fire, firing several volleys of torpedoes at the scout ship. The scout ship rocked as the torpedoes struck it.

“Their shields are down to 53%! Their returning fire!” Terry reported. The ship was rocked heavily as several beams from the scout ship struck it.

“Take evasive pattern gamma 12, target their engines and return fire!” The Captain ordered. The Iwo Jima flew towards the alien ship as the ship fired on her. Firing her phasers, the Iwo Jima hit the scout ships engines, causing plasma to stream from one of its 4 nacelles. The scout ship returned fire, rocking the Iwo Jima

“Damage report!” the captain asked.

“Shields are down to 63%! We have a hull breech on deck 6.” Terry Sato reported.

***

The shuttle had landed in the center of the city. The door to the shuttle opened and everyone walked out of it. Each pulled out a tricorder, scanning the region.

“I’m picking up several life forms 200m east of here, and an additional life forms 300m to the north of here. However none are humanoid.” Seifer reported.

“Okay, Mr. Saotome, Mr. Strife and Mr. Gates, go to the East location. Myself and Ms. Peters will head North, keep an open COM channel at all times” James said.

***

The Iwo Jima rocked as the scout ships weapons hit it. The Iwo Jima returned fire, striking the scout ship in several locations.

“Their shields are failing Captain, one more volley should finish them!” Terry Sato reported.

“Hail them!” the captain ordered as the ship was again rocked. Several seconds later, Terry reported that they were not responding. They were again rocked by several hits from the ship.

“Our shields are down to 10%!” Terry reported.

“Very well then, prepare to fire again, target their prime reactor,” The Captain ordered. The Iwo Jima came about, facing the scout ship. The ship fired on them again, rocking the ship.

“Hull breech on deck 12, shields are down!” Terry reported.

“Fire!” the Captain ordered. Terry pressed the appropriate buttons and the Iwo Jima fired on the scout ship, it’s torpedoes struck it several times causing it to spin out of control and explode.