FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Here is the next part for this series. This chapter was by far the most difficult installment I have written to date. I enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading...

For Reference:

Kyree (key ree): anthromorph wolf-like race

Kenseng (ken sang): anthromorph tiger-like race

Arastos (a rest tos): alien starship http://www.sofurry.com/page/248059

Arastos Crew:

Kanolos (ka no loss): male kyree, starship helmsman, mated to Riyla

Riyla (ri la): female kyree, starship captain, mated to Kanolos

Shyla (shy la): female kenseng, starship tactical officer/cook, mated to Yanashi

Yanashi (ya na she): female kyree, starship tactical officer/physician, mated to Shyla

Eriras (ear rass): female kenseng, starship engineer, mated to Taylo

Taylo (tay low): male kenseng, starship engineer, mated to Eriras

Lumina (loo men na): holographic female kyree construct, starship supporting A.I.

Keith (key th): male human, human ambassador

Territory Map Diagram: http://www.sofurry.com/page/222716/

Know Your Enemy

Written by: Spudz

It was quite enthralling, watching the swirl of spacecraft activity through the large panoramic window of the bridge. In all of his years, the human had always looked up to the stars and wondered... just what marvels lay out beyond the meager existence of Earth. Never had he envisioned himself standing here; gazing out in absolute admiration to the technological achievements of other intelligent races, appreciating the power and might of their innovation and creation. The notion truly gave Keith a newfound understanding for just how insubstantial his existence really was in the grand scheme of the universe.

Just yesterday he had stood comfortable upon the familiar terra firma of Earth, playing his trivial part in helping his new friends introduce themselves to humanity... but now, Keith truly was out of his element.

His viewpoint was rather awkward, as he looked out toward the slowly rotating world below that was Sora. This was due to the unwieldy orientation of Arastos, as the starship sat docked to the orbiting Federation Command station with her nose pointed down to the planet surface below.

In particular, the starship was berthed to one of six huge circular docking hubs, which were attached around the outer circumference of the central cylindrical structure. These outer partitions housed the entire supporting infrastructure needed to maintain a fleet; such as armament stockpiles, temporary crew quarters, maintenance facilities, and dry-docks. Meanwhile, the cylindrical core consisted of life support equipment on the lower decks, with recreation and High Command office space above. About the size of New York City, the orbiting station's span was completely mindboggling to Keith, its configuration reminding him vaguely of a spinning top toy. Just how could such a sizable construction even exist in orbit around a planet?

Similarly, the kyree and kenseng home world was quite a breathtaking sight to behold. Her splendor closely resembled Earth, with lush green continents and deep blue oceans... all teeming with diverse life belonging to complex ecosystems. Sora's similarity with Earth was uncanny to Keith. As he looked down to the world below, the human couldn't help but recall his time aboard the International Space Station... silently watching the features of his own beautiful planet slide gradually across the astronaut's viewpoint.

To think Keith had actually considered himself at the forefront of technological innovation while serving aboard the ISS, orbiting around Earth in the unbelievably fragile confines of the station. The idea was laughable to the human.

Now he stood onboard a starship representing the pinnacle of spaceflight advancement; a vessel capable of punching holes in the fabric of space, a spacecraft bristling with military armaments designed to erase an enemy from existence, a starship that could crash headlong into the ISS in the same manner as a windscreen smashing into a bug.

Keith had to shake his head in amazement as he continued watching the various military starships cruise about outside the bridge window. The revelation was like a slap across the face for him. Not only was humanity far from alone in the vast dominion of the universe, his race was also quite technologically primitive. It was unnerving a thought to consider just how easy it would be for another species to simply erase his kind from existence.

The sight of Keith silently standing near the bridge window troubled Lumina. For some time the A.I. had been watching him with concern from the ship's sensors, noting his expression of despair while the human watched the fleet move about around the space station. She couldn't help but wonder what was troubling him.

A soft hum suddenly reverberated next to Keith, causing the human to turn and look toward the swirling light patterns that appeared alongside him. Quickly, the illuminations combined and took shape, presenting Lumina in her white-furred kyree holographic form. She stood considering him with a warm smile.

"Good morning Keith," the construct began. "Did you sleep well?"

Keith returned Lumina's smile, happy to have someone to talk to.... even though she wasn't exactly someone... in a sense.

"Like a rock actually," the human replied, turning slightly to regard Lumina. "The bed was quite comfortable. Soon as my head hit that pillow, I was out like a light."

"That's good to hear. You really needed a good night's sleep."

Lumina allowed her consciousness to flow completely into the confines of her kyree self, quickly shaking off the disorientation of her awareness withdrawing down to a single defined perspective. She supposed it felt... just right in a way to address her flesh and blood counterpart by way of a single body, as opposed to having her subroutines interwoven across the vast computer network of the starship. Perhaps the act allowed the construct to feel more tangible... more like a fellow crew member, instead of just the ship's supporting A.I.

"So is the rest of the crew still asleep?" Keith continued, turning to again look out the bridge window. "To be honest I'm not exactly sure what time it is... or if we are still following Earth's timetable for a start."

"Actually this particular ship is set to Eastern Standard time back on Earth," the A.I. replied, while she folded her arms across the chest and joined Keith in gazing out to the planet below. "Since our primary mission was to protect and monitor your world, we figured it would be best if the crew acclimated to Earth's timetable. However, I must admit the human perception of time is rather... odd."

That statement perked Keith's interest as he watched the sleek hull of a nearby scout cruiser slowly drift across his view. He had never considered the fact that other alien races might develop dissimilar concepts for tracking the passage of time.

"It is odd how humanity follows a time scale that doesn't adhere to the base conformity of numerical counting," Lumina added, smiling while she watched Keith mull over her words. "The idea of seconds, minutes, hours and days is synonymous with the concept of our own time system. However, having 60 seconds constitute one minute, in conjunction with 60 minutes to one hour, is quite strange. Not only that, but there are 24 hours in a day. While the concept works, it is quite abnormal."

"The Federation tracks time similarly," The construct continued. "We use tics, marks, revs, and cycles. Although the difference is there are 100 tics to a mark, 100 marks to a rev, and 10 revs to a cycle... a cycle being about the equivalent of one day. The rest of the fleet follows this timetable."

"Interesting," Keith replied, after contemplating Lumina's words. "Your system seems to follow the same principle as the metric system of measurement."

"Exactly. The idea is to keep the timescale uniform."

Two running clocks materialized into existence next to Lumina, one of which Keith recognized as Earth's familiar timescale.

"It is 08:35am back on your planet," the A.I. spoke as the white-furred kyree shifted her stance slightly, her wolfish tail swinging gradually in the opposite direction for counterbalance. "However, Federation time is about 10:30pm, converting between the two dissimilar systems."

"No kidding, that must result in some nasty... space lag?"

Lumina had to laugh at that notion. "Well... I don't have to worry about that thankfully. However, the crew always drags their tails along the deck in exhaustion every time we shift time sectors. Sleep is the one inconvenience of my living colleagues that I don't envy in the slightest."

She paused for a moment, seemingly considering her words carefully.

"So, what's bothering you?" Lumina asked suddenly, catching Keith off guard. "I couldn't help but notice your troubled expression earlier."

For a moment he hesitated, not sure how to reply. The fact never ceased to amaze Keith that he was conversing with a light projected object... no, wait... that wasn't the best expression. Lumina was a being of immense intelligence, someone he could open up to and talk with as the closest of friends. Even though she had no tangible form to call herself, she was still just as real an individual as any other crew member aboard.

"I suppose I'm having trouble coming to grips with... well... just how primitive humanity is compared to our stellar neighbors," Keith responded somberly, while placing a hand against the window surface. "How will my kind ever establish itself within the universe if we can barely maintain a single fragile space station... that is now nothing more than a floating debris field."

Lumina's expression took on a thoughtful look as she considered his statement. She tried to see the situation from his viewpoint; an astronaut who only a week ago had accepted the delicate International Space Station as humanity's crowning achievement in space exploration, only to have his world turned upside-down and end up here aboard Arastos. The whole ordeal was nothing short of overwhelming.

"Well, that is where we come in to the picture," the A.I. replied with a heartfelt smile. "When your kind has accepted our existence, we wish to extend an invitation for humanity to join the Federation."

Keith was stunned!

Sure, he had hoped the Federation would prove helpful allies for Earth as his race labored fervently to join the stellar community. But, to actually become part of the alliance, well he had never considered that particular outcome.

"Really?! I can't even begin to fathom how that would work out," Keith blurted out in amazement.

"Honestly I don't know what will happen either," Lumina replied with a hint of apprehension. "We'll have to make it up as we go along. But, no matter what, the Federation is obligated to help humankind become a spacefaring race."

"That is great to know. I can say that the development of my kind won't be easy, and I know for certain there will be difficulties along the way. I am glad that I have friends like the crew and you to rely on in that respect."

"Oh, I'm just a construct," Lumina countered dourly. Her kyree hologram suddenly looked down at the white fur of her hand. "Nothing here but light projections and databanks of computer code."

Her abrupt despondency caught Keith off guard. It pained him to see her expression twist with grief and anxiety as she continued looking at her own hand sullenly. It would seem he had inadvertently brought up an upsetting subject with Lumina, that being the abstract question concerning her individuality.

"Nonsense, you are just as much my friend as everyone else," Keith replied earnestly, placing his hands on his hips in mock irritation.

"How can you say that when I'm just the ship's supporting A.I.?"

"Because you are unique," Keith added with a warm smile. "You have wit, charm, and a wicked sense of humor. You have the essence of a young individual longing for adventure, striving to learn and develop. When I stand right here at this moment talking with you, I feel comfortable... as if I am speaking with a truly special friend. You have your strengths, and your faults... but every individual does. It is what defines our personality, and gives us character."

Lumina regard Keith with a baffled expression, her muzzle ajar as she tried to absorb his passionate statement. Her cognitive subroutines actually blanked out for a full two seconds as she stood there next to him. Never had anyone ever talked to her in this manner... complimenting her personality, sincerely acknowledging her individuality. Sure the crew regarded her as a valuable colleague, but never had anyone directly recognized her as a truly unique individual. Keith had to laugh at the kyree's stunned silence.

"There is more to you than just simple circuits and data," the human continued, still smiling sincerely. "So don't ever think of yourself as anything less than a true living individual."

Still Lumina was silent, a reflective expression painted across her muzzle as she gazed keenly at Keith.

"You know I'm right," he added compassionately.

Finally, Lumina allowed herself a genuine smile, her tail wagging happily as a massive weight seemed to lift off her shoulders.

"Thanks Keith," she said appreciatively. "...you don't know how much that means to me."

"It's no problem. That's what friends are for."

"Here I appear to help you with your troubles," Lumina chuckled with a shake of her head. "...and instead you end up helping me with my own."

Keith simple grinned in response as the bridge door swooshed open behind them, announcing the arrival of another crew member. Both individuals turned to greet the newcomer, finding Yanashi coming through the threshold.

The grey-furred kyree wore a pleasant smile as Yana came to stand nearby. She seemed... more energetic this morning, with her features almost aglow in exuberance.

"Ah... there you are Keith," she spoke, while leaning against the captain's console with a playful look. "I've been searching all over the ship for you. I couldn't get ahold of Lumina, and you weren't in the guest quarters. So I figured you'd probably be here."

"Sorry about that Yana," Lumina replied, her ears splayed back in embarrassment. She had completely forgotten her awareness was still entirely concentrated into her holographic form. "We were having quite the interesting talk before you entered. I suppose I got... distracted."

Yana cocked her head to the side in surprise at the A.I.'s words. Usually Lumina's perception was spread out across the various sensors of the starship, her subroutines infused directly within the circuitry network. However, her awareness appeared to now reside completely in the hologram matrix, a feat Yana had no idea the construct could accomplish... no wonder Lumina hadn't responded to her inquiry earlier.

"Oh... well... that's alright," Yana replied as she turned her attention back to her human friend. "I came looking for you because I wanted to know if you felt like taking an excursion off-ship today."

"Excursion?" Keith inquired hesitantly.

"Just a simple trip to Federation Headquarters. The crew is going to hit up a nice restaurant for some good eats, and we wanted to know if you felt like coming along. You can only stay cooped up inside this starship for so long before you start going stir-crazy."

The human contemplated Yana's request. The prospect of stepping off-ship was intimidating to say the least... but Keith's overwhelming curiosity to explore the massive space station quickly overrode his initial reluctance. Besides, he had always been one for trying new foods. Surely any new alien cuisine he tasted was no worse than some of the questionable food items he had sampled during a past visit to China some years ago.

"Sounds interesting... I'd be happy to come along," Keith responded, causing Yana to smile as her fluffy grey tail wagged cheerfully behind her figure.

"Great!" the kyree exclaimed joyfully, clasping her hands together. "This restaurant is my favorite; you will like the cuisine. But, before we leave the ship, I have to perform some medical scans."

"What for?"

"To ensure your medical wellbeing," Yana responded while pointing a finger toward Keith. "I need to make sure you aren't harboring any debilitating diseases or that your physiology isn't susceptible to any known pathogens that might be floating about inside the station atmosphere."

"Why wasn't I scanned when I first came aboard?" Keith asked.

"The crew was vaccinated against known pathogens on Earth when we first arrived a month ago," Yana answered, motioning to herself for emphasis. "In effect, our immune systems were acclimated to tolerate illnesses that might exist on your planet, while eliminating any pathogens within us that possessed just the tiniest possibility of being fatal to humans. So when you boarded the ship, there was no need to medically scan you at that time."

"Fascinating," Keith breathed, shaking his head in wonderment. "You possess the capability to manipulate biological immune responses on such a widely varying scale?"

"Indeed. As this starship's appointed medical physician, I received several years of training to accurately assess and treat crew members in this regard."

The human had never considered sickness as a barrier to interstellar relations between intelligent races. However, the more he contemplated the problem, the more Keith realized how crippling this complication could be. A slight cough to him could actually be fatal to another species. This lethality was certainly illustrated by Native American causalities at the hands of European disease some centuries ago. However, in this case the repercussions could be felt on a planetary scale... possibly resulting in a global pandemic if not counteracted.

Yana motioned over her shoulder toward the door behind. "If you still feel up to embarking off-ship, we can go down to the medical bay right now and bring your body up to speed," the kyree added readily with a warm smile. She made the matter seem so... trivial to Keith.

"Alright then, let's get this over with."

Yanashi nodded in agreement, before turning her attention to the A.I hologram. "Are you feeling ok Lumina?" she added with a hint of concern. "I've never seen you withdraw yourself fully into your persona like this before."

"I've never felt better," the construct replied with confidence, a broad grin splayed across the white fur of her muzzle.

Lumina winked to Keith, who smiled in return as the A.I.'s hologram slowly phased out of sight. Yanashi couldn't help but wonder what conversation had taken place before she arrived. Nonetheless, the matter was none of her business. With a small shrug, the grey-furred kyree turned to move for the doorway.

Together Yana and Keith crossed into the corridor behind the bridge, with the human taking note of his companion's demeanor. She appeared... livelier, more animated... definitely more talkative. Up until this point she had hardly spoken with him at all since Keith had come aboard. The normally quiet and composed kyree before him now had a certain bounce to her step; her tail perkier as it swished rhythmically behind her form while she walked, her pointy wolfish ears seemingly more alert.

"You seem to be in quite a good mood this morning," Keith said, noting how Yana's ears swiveled back toward the sound of his voice as she continued walking. "Have a good night's sleep?"

"Hmm... oh... erm... I guess you could say that," the kyree answered modestly after a moment's deliberation.

The human thought he caught a subtle undertone in her reply... a nuance implying that perhaps maybe more amorous deeds had transpired the night prior than just a simple night's sleep. That would definitely explain her chipper mood this morning. Keith smiled to himself as he continued following the grey-furred kyree down the corridor. Maybe someday he would work up the courage to ask his alien friends about their sex life... but not today.

"That's good to hear," he spoke contentedly. "I myself slept like a rock."

Quickly Yana came to stand next to a down chute.

This simple apparatus took the form of a hole cut into the decking along one side of the corridor. At this particular position an unassuming pole was mounted between the ceiling of the upper section, and the deck of the lower. In effect the arrangement was that of a firemen's pole, which allowed for quick access between levels in cases of emergency. The ship did possess stairways and several lifts... but it was much quicker, and considerably more fun to just use the chute.

With skillful ease, Yana wrapped her arms and paws around the unassuming pole, before the kyree quickly disappeared below the threshold of the deck floor. Keith was right behind her, as he mimicked her action and slid swiftly downward with a "BONZAI!"

Arastos had a total of three decks within the confines of her hull. The bridge and crew quarters belonged to the upper level; while the second deck contained the armory, medical bay, mess hall, shuttle hangar, and smaller utility rooms. Lastly, the lower deck belonged to the cargo holds, engineering compartment, and various storage tanks. In terms of fleet size, Arastos was fairly small by comparison, but the up side to this compactness was the ease of traversing the interior without having to walk a lengthy distance.

With a soft thump, Keith's feet again found solid decking to rest upon. Yana had made sure to quickly vacate the pole after reaching the lower level, since it wouldn't have been pleasant for both of them had the human's butt ended up firmly planted on her furry head. Both individuals now stood on deck two of Arastos, with the medical bay just a few steps aft of their position.

"Have fun eh?" Yana giggled, as Keith made a show of dusting himself off after stepping away from the chute.

"But of course," the human replied with mirth. "I always wanted to slide down a fireman's pole... and I got to do it while in space, who'd of thought."

Yanashi just shook her head with a smirk, before she turned to pass through the doorway into the medical facility. As Keith followed her through, he came to find himself standing within a room completely unlike the rest of the ship.

Over the past week, Keith had become accustomed to the functional drab grey features of the starship bulkheads. Aside from the crew quarters, the vessel interior was by no means aesthetically pleasing to the eye, being a military ship and all. However, the medical bay was strikingly dissimilar in this regard. The space was... white... completely whitewashed. Perhaps this was to provide a patient with the air of cleanliness and purity. The space certainly appeared immaculate at first glance.

Keith gazed about the pure white bulkheads of the medical facility, taking note of the various machines situated about the room. A rather large operating table sat in the one corner of the space, with a multitude of equipment positioned nearby. Along the opposite bulkhead, three patient beds were situated flanking one another, while a humble desk adorned the space close to the doorway.

As Keith took in his surroundings, Yana quickly padded over to a console station located near the large operating table. "Please come and lie down on the imaging bed," the kyree said, while punching in various commands to warm up the scanning equipment. He couldn't help but note how her soft charming voice quickly changed to a professional air he had come to associate with a doctor instructing a patient.

"Exactly what are you going to do Yana?" the human replied nervously, suddenly on edge.

"I need to capture a full-body scan of you before I can make a diagnosis."

The kyree motioned to the operating table next to where she stood. "This device will thoroughly scan your body and provide me with the appropriate information," she added, noticing how her words didn't seem to put Keith at ease. "The procedure is completely harmless. Trust me."

Yana patted the cushion of the bed as she smiled reassuringly. With a heavy sigh, Keith cautiously moved toward the device. The situation was bringing back unpleasant memories of the astronaut's vigorous physicals and examinations prior to his trip up into space.

Carefully, Keith placed a hand gingerly atop the cushion surface of the table padding. For all intents and purposes the material felt just like any ordinary examination table belonging to a doctor's office. The human shot a quick glance toward Yanashi, who continued smiling disarmingly while making a motion to proceed. Satisfied that the device appeared harmless enough, Keith deftly vaulted himself up to sit comfortably atop the table padding, before gradually adjusting his body's orientation to lie flat across the scanning bed.

The soft pliable material yielded slightly to his body's weight, before seemingly adjusting to conform with the contours of his figure... actually this was quite comfortable. Keith imagined he could easily fall asleep atop the examination table, if not for the exceedingly bright lighting of the room. With a sigh of content, he closed his eyes and began to relax.

"Alright, now let's get the anal probe ready," Yana stated in her professional doctor's tone.

Her words interrupted Keith's comfort like a swift kick to the groin, causing his eyes to snap open in a flash. Quickly, the human involuntarily shot upward to sit on his elbows, while turning to regard her with an expression of outright terror.

"Kidding! I'm just teasing," Yana added hastily, bringing up her hands to fend off an attack while trying to hold back laughter at Keith's alarmed appearance.

A brief silence ensured, before the kyree couldn't stand it anymore and busted out in fits of giggling.

"Oh... that was evil!" Keith exclaimed, eyeing Yanashi with a withering glare as she tried to stop laughing. This was most certainly not the Yana he had come to know over the past week... she had turned into a little demon!

"Come on Keith," the kyree chuckled, after calming down somewhat. "...I had to do it. The opportunity was just too golden to pass up."

She fixed him with a playful expression, her wolfish golden eyes sparkling with mirth. "You humans have always had this unfounded fear of alien probes. Our equipment is slightly more sophisticated than a butt thermometer."

Keith uttered a deep sigh of relief, before collapsing back down on top of the bed surface. "Unfounded the notion may be," he spoke wearily, "Nevertheless, I've had my fair share of strange adventures this past week, and the notion of being probed for medical purposes doesn't seem all that farfetched to me at the moment... however that fear probably stems from my subconscious dread of doctor visits."

"Well, I'm done with your body scan, so you can sit up now if you like," Yana responded gently, while she set about punching commands into her console to process the incoming information.

"Already? But nothing happened."

"The procedure only takes about one second," the kyree replied, her concentration still focused on the data output of the equipment. "The bed basically takes a snapshot of your body from hair follicle to toenail. Once I have that information, I can analyze the data for pathogens or any other type of ailment that might waylay you."

As Keith slowly brought himself to sit upright sideways on the bed, Yana reached over to grab a blank data pad. With expert precision the medical physician entered a series of commands into the pad while simultaneously doing the same on the main console. Nodding in satisfaction, the kyree then reached over to hand the small device to Keith, who accepted it curiously.

With a gasp, the human gazed at the data pad to see himself... completely nude. The detail was extraordinary. The visual depiction was photo-real, portraying Keith with his arms and legs extended to show each and every subtle muscle group in vivid detail. Moreover, there appeared to be several menu options he could choose from.

Curious, Keith touched an icon on the data pad screen, causing the visual display to change drastically. Now the human's body was portrayed with the skin transparent, allowing his muscle patterns to stand out fully.

"This is quite interesting," Keith spoke with rapt fascination, continuously cycling through the various viewing options to see his body in different respects.

"Every aspect of your physique is stored within that data pad," Yana replied with a smile, her attention still riveted to the console screen. "At first glance you appear to be quite the healthy human specimen."

Keith suddenly realized his naked figure was displayed fully for the kyree to admire. The notion was uncomfortable to say the least. However, Yana was a doctor, albeit one of alien origins. Surely she was accustomed to examining every private detail of a patient, while maintaining a sense of detachment crucial to a physician's professionalism.

"You certainly are quite well-endowed for a human," the kyree added matter-of-factly.

Or not...

Keith felt himself blush furiously while Yana continued her work, doing his best to focus his attention squarely on the data pad as his cheeks reddened. After a few moments of awkward silence, the kyree finished her analysis.

"Well, you are indeed quite the healthy specimen of humanity," Yana spoke with mirth, a mischievous gleam in her golden eyes. "However, there are just two possible problems I need to address. I'll need to build up an immune response to delvan Stralomos, and render the strain of Streptococcus bacteria in your system inert."

Keith's expression took on a quizzical look. "But I don't have any symptoms of Strep throat."

"In terms of severity, this particular strain is only invoking a relatively mild reaction with you... only a slight elevation in your body temperature. Your immune response is attacking the infection quite voraciously, and will probably have the bacteria completely nullified within a day or so."

"But this strain could be deadly to other races?" Keith asked tentatively, while subconsciously rubbing his throat with a hand.

"The likelihood of a fatal infection is quite low," Yana answered as the kyree moved toward another workstation, before beginning to fiddle with several handheld devices. "However, since the treatment is fairly easy to perform, it is best to air on the side of caution."

"And what is Stralomos?" Keith continued. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

"Well, that is a particularly nasty virus that originated with the delvan. The specific variant currently circulating about the station has a nasty tendency to cause painful swelling in the body's extremities... all of the body's extremities."

It took a moment for her words to fully sink in. Keith actually flinched as he realized just what the kyree was referring to. That was definitely an experience he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"In any case I have the inoculation ready," Yana proclaimed with triumph, holding a portable injection spray in hand. The grey-furred kyree quickly padded over toward Keith. "All I have to do is inject this into your carotid artery, and you will be good to go."

"Will it hurt?"

"The injection process is completely painless," Yana responded reassuringly. She then expertly reached over and slapped a cartridge into the bottom of the roughly cylindrical device with an audible click.

Keith hesitated a moment. However, the kyree's disarming smile quickly persuaded him. With a slight nod of agreement the human leaned back slightly as she moved closer. He tensed up as he felt the smooth flat top of the injector lightly contact his skin along the side of the neck. Depressing a button, Yana activated the spray.

Quickly the smooth metal surface in contact with Keith's skin created a light suction, briefly locking the spray to his body. At that same moment, a scan was conducted by the device to locate his carotid artery.

Within a fraction of a second, the target artery was located as the injector adjusted the trajectory orientation of the microscopic tubules. Once the calibration was complete, several of these tiny injection conduits pierced quickly into his skin, avoiding nerve endings that caused pain while each contacted the outer surface of the carotid.

Only half a second after Yana had first pushed the activation button, the injector cartridge was expelled with a perceptible hiss, pushing the medical remedy through the tubules and directly into Keith's bloodstream. After a few moments, the device withdrew swiftly from his body to leave hardly a trace... except for the reddening of his skin around the inoculation site, as a result of the suction.

"All done," Yana proclaimed jauntily, as she moved to dispose the injector spray into a decontamination machine. "Normally there are no side effects to inoculations, but let me know if you start to feel lightheaded or experience any symptoms that are out of the norm."

Keith rubbed the side of his neck where she had administered the vaccination. "I hardly felt a thing... just a slight tingly sensation."

"Such is the advantage to modern medicine," Yana replied proudly.

Abruptly, her expression went serious, as the kyree's wolfish ears flattened back in apprehension.

"However, I have an offer for you that if you accept won't be as... painless," Yanashi added gravely, putting Keith on guard. "I'm sure you remember how surprised you were to hear us speak English so perfectly back when you first came aboard."

"Oh of course. I couldn't believe it at first."

"To learn new languages, we use that apparatus over there to literally shove a dialect into a fur's head," Yanashi continued, while motioning to a halo type device that rested atop another unidentified piece of medical equipment. "That little bastard of a contraption is quite a nasty piece of technology."

"How so?" was Keith's simple question. He couldn't begin to fathom how a language was "shoved" into someone's head... however the notion of forcefully adding any bit of knowledge into one's mind augured to be quite unpleasant.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. I only know the device literally writes new synaptic pathways into your mind... using a predefined language template to basically copy and paste the knowledge."

"How the process doesn't scramble your brain is beyond me," the kyree continued with a shrug. "But, I do know the procedure is completely safe. However... a side effect can be one hell of a headache. When I used the halo to learn English, I was literally knocked out cold for about half an hour... and my head felt like it was going to split in two afterward."

Keith wasn't happy to learn this bit of information. The ordeal sounded quite horrid. Nevertheless, the technique must've been the only way to quickly learn, speak and write new languages without the need for extended learning... why else would the crew have endured the pain?

"You don't have to go through with this procedure if you don't feel comfortable," Yanashi spoke sincerely. "Conversely, if you feel up to it, I can give you our primary language... Federation Basic."

The human mulled over her words carefully, weighing his options. Once he stepped off the ship, not one alien he came across would be capable of speaking or understanding English. Furthermore, the crew had apparently all undergone this process to learn his dialect... it was only fair that he endure the same discomfort to become capable of speaking their own tongue.

"I'll do it," Keith replied with outward confidence, belying his growing nervousness. "Is now a good time? I'd like to get this out of the way before I change my mind."

"Certainly. Just let me warm up the equipment."

As Keith watched with captivated attention, Yana moved to the language dubbing apparatus. Again her hands worked expertly across console inputs, laboring to import the scan data of the human's body. Quickly the computer chewed on the information, analyzing Keith's brain patterns to map out a linguistic copying template for the procedure.

Once the equipment was properly programmed and the information double checked, Yanashi moved to remove the halo from its holder, before padding over to place the mechanism gently atop Keith's head.

"You'll want to lie down on the bed for this," the grey-furred kyree spoke with a somber expression, her pointy ears folded flat in concern.

Keith gave a curt nod of understanding as he shifted his body back on the bed to lie completely flat.

"Are you ready?" Yana asked hesitantly, after she had reassumed her position behind the console.

"As I'll ever be."

The human focused his attention up toward the white ceiling, attempting to pick out a spot he could focus his eyes on. The halo felt heavy as it rested just above his ears, seemingly pinning his head down onto the cushion with its weight. Keith wondered if there would be any warning. Would the device start to hum? Perhaps even heat up noticeably? He had no idea what to expect...

Slowly consciousness fought its way back into Keith's awareness, bringing the human back to the waking world... albeit through a haze of agony and overwhelming discomfort. At first he tried to open his eyes, but the blinding light only resulted in searing jolts of pain throughout his head... best to keep them closed for the time being.

God, it felt like someone was ramming a jackhammer into his skull. Keith couldn't help but utter a deep moan of anguish as his mind tried to fight through the crushing pain.

"Welcome back Keith," Yana's voice spoke compassionately, from somewhere off to his side. "Are you in pain?"

"Ugh... YES... this is... unbearable!" Keith moaned in anguish, still keeping his eyes tightly closed to shut out the painful light of the medical bay.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Keith!" Yanashi exclaimed in alarm from his side. "Lumina can you dim the lighting down to its lowest setting?"

The human sensed the bright light diminish drastically. Slowly, he reopened an eye to notice the space was now almost completely dark. Only the faintest outlines of objects were recognizable to Keith, as he allowed his vision to adjust.

"Sorry about that," Yana continued sympathetically, the vague outline of her figure just barely visible standing alongside the bed. "Here, let me give you this to alleviate the pain."

Keith abruptly felt another injector spray press up against his neck. Without pause a familiar hissing sound indicated he was being given some sort of medication.

The affect was almost instantaneous as the medicine swiftly spread throughout his bloodstream, dampening the throbbing pain gradually. After roughly a minute, Keith's headache was almost completely gone, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That should be much better," he heard Yana proclaim. "You'll be slightly woozy for a few moments, but that should wear off quickly."

"I feel considerable better. My head doesn't want to explode now."

Gingerly Keith moved to sit upright, before turning his body sideways to allow his feet to dangle over the side of the bed. With his eyes adjusting to the darkness, he could now make out Yana's wolfish appearance next to where he sat... and she was wearing quite the sassy grin.

"What is it?" the human asked inquisitively, wondering why the grey-furred kyree was smirking.

"Haven't you noticed?"

The revelation suddenly smacked Keith across the face... he was speaking in Federation Basic! In fact, the human could easily distinguish the entire language clearly in his mind... as if he had spoken the dialect for years! The words didn't feel alien to him at all.

Essentially, each expression felt as if it was stored neatly in his mind, filed alongside its English language counterpart... both tongues readily accessible to Keith depending on which dialect he wished to speak.

Yanashi watched her friend's facial expression shift through a variety of emotions; from shock, to wonder...melting into startled amazement, and finally outright awe. The kyree couldn't help but giggle at Keith's fascinated look as he went momentarily speechless.

"Quite the interesting experience eh?" Yana spoke in Basic, as her golden eyes twinkled with amusement. "You were out for about 20 marks."

"Yeah... lucky I had you to help with that nasty headache. I never want to go through that experience again if I can help it."

Yana mirrored Keith's warm smile, as the human carefully moved to stand upright beside the scanning bed.

"Come on Keith," the kyree continued, rubbing her stomach with a hand. "I'm hungry, and I'm sure you are too. Shyla is cooking up quite a grand breakfast in the mess hall. Care to join me?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

The airlock compartment was somewhat cramped with 7 individuals occupying the meager space. Upon entering a few moments ago, Keith had immediately recognized this particular room... how could he forget the life changing experience that had first brought him here roughly a week prior.

A long simple bench bisected the space lengthwise, while equipment lockers adorned both bulkheads on either side. As the human looked around, several handholds could be seen protruding out from the walls and ceiling at regular intervals. Obviously the design of this compartment took into consideration zero gravity conditions, with crew members floating about in bulky spacesuits.

The entire complement of the ship's crew stood together with the lone human, excluding Lumina. There was Riyla and Kanolos, the vessel's mated kyree pair of captain and helmsman respectfully; the mated couple of Shyla and Yana, the kenseng and kyree tactical officers; and the mated pair of Eriras and Taylo, the two kenseng engineers.

Keith had to admire the crew's attire, as they sported their military uniforms in quite the imposing fashion. The apparel consisted of two distinct layers, with the inner clothing comprised of ankle length, loose-fitting black pants and a relaxed fit grey shirt... tight-fitting apparel was quite uncomfortable to the kyree and kenseng as the cloth rubbed irritatingly against the fur.

To complete the uniform, a light grey trench coat covered the first layer of clothing, with a fluffy veneer of insulating black fabric wrapping loosely around the neck. Each fur's tail poked out comfortably through a hole along the backside of both apparel layers, while the bottom hem of the pants were neatly tucked into a pair of black combat boots. The uniform vaguely reminded the human of German officer apparel prevalent during World War II.

Form what Keith could observe, it appeared the rank of each crew member was displayed along both lapels of their respective coats. As captain, Riyla sported two eight-pointed stars on each collar, which shined the same beautiful metallic blue hue as the starship's outer hull. In contrast, the rest of the crew displayed only a single silver four point star, except for Kano who's lapels were adorned with one eight point of the same striking color as Riyla. It appeared the helmsman retained a higher rank than the others.

While the military attire appeared overly snug and warm to the outside observer, the exact opposite was true. To provide the wearer with the upmost comfort, the clothing was designed with small microprocessors woven right into the material fabric.

By monitoring a fur's body temperature along with exterior weather conditions and humidity factors, the apparel was capable of adjusting the insulating factor of the fabric in conjunction with the changing conditions. As a result, the uniform provided the wearer with the same degree of comfort in conditions of tropical or bitter cold origins... a feat quite handy for Federation crews who routinely ventured to diverse alien worlds.

In contrast, Keith's clothing included only a simple white collared shirt and matching NASA cargo pants, since that had been the only attire available to the astronaut during his brief stay on Earth as Ambassador Ramirez. Thankfully, Lumina had shown him how to keep the apparel clean using a sonic cleanser... since he only had one pair of clothing to call his own aboard Arastos. Keith couldn't help but feel out of place among all of the crisp uniforms.

"Ready to go Keith?" Riyla asked, speaking in Basic.

Now with their human friend capable of conversing in Federation dialect, the crew had returned to using their own tongue. Keith wasn't bothered in the slightest, as he could easily switch between the two languages like the flick of a switch.

"Definitely," the human replied with a hint of eagerness. "Just lead on."

Keith had certainly been excited to finally venture off of the ship and explore the wonders of the massive space station, after Yana had first suggested the idea earlier in the morning. Now with the ship's clock reading just about noon, the crew was ready for a nice wholesome lunch at the Stellar's Delight, arguable the best eatery in the enormous orbiting platform.

With a nod, Riyla turned to open the airlock hatch, which happened to be the very same doorway Keith had first stumbled through roughly a week prior. As the door slid sideways into the wall, the human was overcome with surprise... and a sudden wave of disorientation.

The hallway beyond... actually twisted sideways in a corkscrew fashion, with the opposite end having the floor situated along what was the right wall where he currently stood. The perplexing construction baffled Keith. That is, until he recollected that Arastos was docked to the station at a 90 degree offset from the deck orientation of the space station. Keith wondered if the artificial gravity followed the curvature of the docking extension, allowing the crew to traverse the space without their feet leaving the floor.

As it turned out, this was exactly the case. One by one, each crew member left the airlock space to cross over the docking extension toward the outer hull of the station. Keith went last, noting how the twisting of the floor he walked upon gave the awkward illusion that the entire corridor was rotating around him. Soon the group reached the far end.

Shooting a quick glance toward Keith, Riyla punched the hatch keypad to open the doorway. Quickly the two sections of the entry separated, and swiftly rotated into the wall, revealing the space beyond.

The corridor opened up into a much larger passageway, which connected to the docking extension perpendicularly. The space was positively swarming with activity as aliens of numerous races moved about, each individual retaining a task to be completed and a place to go.

The sight was completely overwhelming to Keith. There were countless individuals moving about; some of species he recognized from Riyla's description the day before, and many more he had no knowledge of origin. Most wore the distinctive uniform much like his kyree and kenseng friends, although there appeared to be several variations in terms of color and fabric design.

In addition to the pedestrian traffic, numerous vehicles hovered about. Many carried containers atop a flatbed surface while the transport navigated down a narrow cordoned off strip of the rather large corridor... much like a two lane highway. The foot traffic kept well clear of this section, since the hovering vehicles were moving at quite a rapid speed. No doubt all of this activity was essential in maintaining a vast and powerful starship fleet.

Keith turned to look down one length of the corridor, observing that the passageway continued onward for quite a distance while bending around to the right, until the inward bulkhead obstructed any further view. All along this inner wall existed numerous doorways and hatches. It was here that station personnel quarters, machine shops, ammo storage rooms, and other ship-supporting compartments were located... all within a short walking distance to the berthing ports of the Axis vessels.

He then spun around to look down in the other direction to find the corridor extending down to the left in the opposite fashion. It was probably safe for Keith to assume that this particular pathway existed around the outer circumference of the circular docking hub.

He then caught sight of Riyla, who had moved toward a strange alien standing nearby. The creature possessed stunningly pale-white smooth skin, while the facial features were roughly human in appearance. Yet, the alien lacked hair, with its head and body exhibiting streamlined features. What was most striking was the tail, as it was definitely aquatic in nature. The fins were similar in shape to that of a dolphin, which is what the creature reminded Keith of. Judging by the lack of a feminine physique, the alien was probably male... so this was a raloman.

Riyla continued talking with the alien, although Keith couldn't make out her words over the din of noise from the swarm of activity around him. After a few moments, the raloman produced a large data pad, before the black-furred kyree pressed her hand fully onto the display screen surface to be scanned.

Once she removed her hand, the raloman gave a slight nod of thanks. Not wasting any time, he then quickly turned and melted into the throng of pedestrians, while Riyla moved to rejoin the group.

"I asked the lead supply engineer if he could spare a crew to look over the number three slipstream nacelle," the captain spoke, raising her voice to be heard over the ambient noise. "Unfortunately, he couldn't spare any labor on such short notice. Instead, they're going to load some spare parts aboard while we're gone... just in case."

With that the crew of Arastos began to slowly worm their way through the throng of military personnel. Keith had no idea where they were going. His only goal was to keep track of Eriras's feline tail, as it flicked about while she moved through the crowd in front of him.

Keith could sense the eyes of countless aliens watching him traverse the corridor. The feeling of others scrutinizing him made his skin crawl, as he worked to keep up with the crew. No doubt everyone who glimpsed his presence was wondering what the hell a human was doing aboard the space station... if they even knew what one looked like.

After an eternity seemed to pass, the Arastos crew came to what appeared to be some sort of tram system, with the rail ending along the circumference of the docking hub. Evidently this transportation method was designed to bring personnel quickly and efficiently to the center of the space station structure.

As if on cue, a tram appeared off in the distance, travelling at a high rate of speed toward the platform where Keith stood. With an audible hiss the brakes soon applied, while the train slowed gradually to a stop.

Once the transport was stationary, a flood of pedestrians vacated the tram vehicles along the one side while Keith and a surge of new passengers boarded on the other. The familiar routine of cramming into the train brought back uncanny memories of riding the subway in New York, except now he was packed in with unfamiliar aliens. At least the human was sandwiched between Riyla and Yana, with the captain's black fluffy tail poking between his legs... was her fur ever so soft.

Sounding an audible warning, the tram swiftly departed the platform, building up speed at a steady pace. Keith did his best to gaze out the window as the transport barreled toward the massive central structure, the bulkheads passing by in a blur of motion too quick for him to discern in any real detail.

As quickly as the ride began, it was over. Gradually the transport slowed with the hissing of the brakes again resounding beneath the vehicle, before coming to a halt at the end of the rail. After stepping onto the tram station platform, Keith came upon a sight that left him breathless.

The human currently found himself at the very heart of the orbiting space station, presented with a scene unlike the drab military décor of the docking hub. Here, a massive circular atrium of flora decorated the inner structure, with an abundance of plant life scattered throughout the vast open space. Meanwhile, a main central column jutted out from the center, providing support for the station structure as well as desirable office space for the higher commanding officers of the Axis fleet.

Looking around, Keith took notice of the various merchant shops and food venues spread out on multiple levels around the outer circumference of the atrium space. The area almost reminded Keith of a large indoor mall. Obviously this central location was the focal point of military personnel recreation while docked to the High Command station. Surely the merchant and restaurant owners lucky enough to have real-estate here made a killing as a steady flow of starships came and went from the orbiting platform.

"Hey Keith," Kanolos called, snapping the human out of his thoughts. "Stellar's Delight is two decks up. So we have to take some escalators. Let's get a move on."

Together the Arastos crew worked their way up two decks, as Keith tried to take in the scenery while keeping up with the group. After some twists and turns in the path, they finally reached their destination.

Stellar's Delight turned out to be a quaint little restaurant perched overlooking the vast atrium space below. Looking around, Keith couldn't help but admire the stunning view of the flora flowing across the expanse; while the crew procured a rather large booth nestled up against the window.

He just could not begin to fathom the technological innovation of such a sizeable space station. Not only was this structure mindboggling in terms of size, the builders had actually thought to hollow out the central hub of the platform for purely aesthetic purposes.

And to think Keith had considered the ISS a cutting edge marvel of engineering triumph... HA!

Lunch actually turned out to be quite delicious for Keith. After scrutinizing the electronic menu, he had settled on a vegan dish consisting of strange diced vegetables mixed in with some sort of pasta-like noodles, and covered in a generous amount of a thick creamy white sauce. The meal actually tasted roughly like portabella mushrooms.

Kanolos had attempted to talk Keith into trying a meat oriented dish, but the human wanted to start out with a simpler cuisine... lessening the chance his stomach might disagree with the alien food. Thankfully, his taste in cooking wasn't overly dissimilar to that of the kyree and kenseng.

The notion was striking to Keith as to how familiar this quaint little restaurant was to that of any eatery found back on Earth. The venue consisted of various tables and booths situated about with a multitude of alien races occupying the space, most wearing the distinct Federation uniforms. The atmosphere was abuzz with the din of conversation while waitresses and waiters moved about serving the patrons, putting Keith at ease as he enjoyed the ambiance of familiarity.

"...and I just couldn't help but laugh at the sight," Riyla spoke with a chuckle, while she recalled quite a humorous tale at the expense of Kano's dignity. "I wish I could've snapped an image of his furry butt and tail sticking helplessly out of the jammed maintenance hatch. I'd have framed it and mounted the picture to our bedroom bulkhead."

Kano for his part, hid his face in a hand while his mate continued her story, his ears folded flat with embarrassment. That particular incident hadn't been enjoyable in the slightest; first getting stuck trying to change out a circuit relay in the maintenance passageway, and then having to endure Riyla's hoots and hollers of laughter from the other side of the stuck hatch.

At that moment, the group's waitress returned with the bill in hand. As a delvan, she was fairly small in stature, standing no taller than Keith's waist. Her figure was reasonably analogous to a human, although she possessed cat-like pointy ears, a fluffy tail not unlike the kyree, and a small feline nose. Additionally, her fur was a striking bluish-purple hue, allowing the delvan to stand out noticeable amongst the patrons.

Using a gravity belt around her waist, the waitress slowly hovered off the deck to float at eye level with Riyla. The device was crucial in allowing the delvan to serve customers, since she couldn't effectively reach the table surface while standing next to the booth.

"Here is your check captain," the waitress spoke modestly, while reaching out to hand the black-furred kyree a data pad.

Riyla accepted the handheld pad with a nod of thanks, before she reached into her uniform coat pocket to produce a small key-like device, which was her personal Identification tag. Quickly the captain inserted her I.D. into an open slot on the data pad, before she entered several commands to pay off the standing balance of the crew using her personal monetary account. Once the transaction was completed, the kyree removed her tag from the pad, handing the bill back to the floating waitress after she was finished with a warm smile.

The delvan quickly accepted the handheld device with thanks. She then floated back down onto the deck and padded off to serve some patrons at another nearby table.

"You can thank Commander Chali for this superb lunch," Riyla spoke with praise. "He transferred currency into my account with a note stating I should treat you guys, Keith included, to a nice meal."

That statement caught the others by surprise. Not often did a Regional High Commander take time to personally look after one of his captains... let alone treat her and her entire crew to a nice lunch.

"I hope he returns soon," the captain continued with a hint of concern creeping into her voice. "Something tells me that the reason behind his hasty departure yesterday is far more serious than the commander let on."

Once lunch was finished, the Arastos crew elected to wander around the various merchant stalls of the atrium space, since there was still the better part of a day to kill before the Commander's return to the station. One particular item caught Keith's eye, which happened to be a small holo emitter programmed to display Earth revolving slowly in full photo-real detail... the projection being roughly the size of a basketball.

Riyla had noticed her human friend's fascination with the ornament, and promptly purchased the holo device on the spot to his protest.

"Consider this a gift," the captain declared sincerely, deactivating the mechanism before placing the emitter in Keith's hand. "...from the crew to you, for helping us and becoming our ambassador."

Keith eyed the small holo device keenly as he tried to form words. After a brief pause, he slowly closed his hand around the gift.

"Thank you," the human replied gratefully with a warm smile. "Maybe someday I can pass this gift on to my grandchildren, and tell them a remarkable story on how mysterious aliens appeared to rescue their grandfather in a time of dire need. Surely they would think me for a senile old fool who enjoys telling farfetched tales."

The captain returned his heartfelt smile. "A senile old fool perhaps, but a wise one nonetheless," she replied, with a gleam in her wolfish eyes. "In any case, first you need to settle down with a mate before you can contemplate grandpups."

"Hey, I'm young, hip, and spry. And now I have my pick from any number of hot alien races. I'll find that perfect someone soon enough."

"Maybe I can lend a hand as matchmaker," Riyla spoke with a grin, before she abruptly moved off to leave Keith contemplating her words.

Could she really find him a date? Perhaps when time allowed, he'd pursue the idea more.

The crew browsed around for a few moments longer, soon returning to the tram platform they had arrive at for a return trip back to Arastos. According to Riyla's wrist computer, Eastern Standard Earth time was now 3:34pm. Meanwhile, Federation time was roughly 5:30am, meaning the majority of fleet operations were preparing to ramp up for the day.

Thankfully restaurants and shops on the station were open around the clock, day and night. Else the Arastos crew would've had to wait until 10:00pm Earth time for lunch!

The ride back toward the outer docking hub was uneventful, save for Keith having his body jammed up against the soft white fur of Eriras. He certainly enjoyed the feeling of the kenseng's silky coat.

With the tram reaching the far end of the line the passengers quickly piled out of the vehicles, to stand along the circular corridor bordering the outer circumference of the docking hub structure. The same organized chaos of vehicles and pedestrians still existed within the confines of the passageway, perhaps being slightly more congested than earlier. The walk wasn't much further to reach the docking hatch leading to Arastos.

"Alright," Riyla spoke, while the crew started to move toward the ship. "I'm going to talk with the engineer to see if..."

The captain's words cut off as her wolfish ears suddenly twitched perceptively.

A soft rumble echoed faintly throughout the bulkheads of the station, just barely audible above the commotion of activity. Riyla stopped walking, causing the others to freeze in her wake while her ears swiveled about, attempting to locate the origin of the strange sound. Her sudden unease startled the crew.

"What is it?" Kano asked alarmingly, noticing how his mate's body had tensed up.

Another rumble resonated across the station; loud enough to bring about abrupt silence throughout the corridor as all activity suddenly ceased... something was very wrong...

Unexpectedly, Riyla's wrist computer came to life with the panicked cry of Lumina.

"CAPTAIN!"

And without mercy... all hell broke loose.

The station deck suddenly and viciously heaved upward, hurling the crew savagely into the air as a deafening explosion roared across the bulkheads. Warning sirens blared while the lighting abruptly cut out, throwing the corridor into sickening darkness.

Power conduits overloaded and failed in cascades of horrendous electrical flashes. Unsecured cargo launched treacherously as deadly projectiles, sparing no sympathy for any personnel perilously caught in its path. Transport vehicles were flung about like toys, to the horrid screams of the unfortunate occupants caught within their deadly confines. The corridor was plunged headlong into utter... complete chaos.

Riyla regained consciousness abruptly, her head swimming in crippling pain as she tried to assess just what had happened; she could distinctly taste blood, which wasn't a good sign. The captain found herself lying painfully on her side against the cold unforgiving surface of the station decking... unsure of how she had ended up in that position.

No wait... there was an explosion... but... why?!

Gingerly, the kyree brought herself up onto hands and knees, her ears ringing while she tried to figure out just what the hell had transpired. The corridor was utterly dark, with Riyla unable to make out any noticeable details. Meanwhile foul acrid smoke flooded her nose, announcing the presence of fire nearby, although she couldn't see any evident flames.

Oh... Riyla wished that incessant ringing in her ears would just go away!

Suddenly the emergency lighting kicked on, illuminating a scene of utter horror in a ghostly red hue. The kyree's muzzle fell open in shock as she gazed out to the chaos around her.

Crates and containers were strewn about across the deck, some with their contents spilled out in massive heaps. Occasional electrical arcs lit up the space irregularly as power conduits shorted, while transport vehicles rested awkwardly on their sides or overturned completely.

In a sickening sight, bodies lay scattered about across the corridor, some of which were unmoving in awful stillness. Slowly Riyla's hearing returned, bringing with it the horrifying screams for help and moans of agony that cried out over the relentless droning of the station alarms... what ungodly hell had she fallen into?!

Her head still ringing with waves of pain, Riyla vaguely took notice of a fox-furred kyree resting motionless on his back in front of her...

Oh God... It was Kano!

Desperately the captain crawled toward her mate's figure, collapsing back onto the deck alongside him as a wave of dizziness overcame her awareness.

"Kano!" Riyla cried pitifully, her heart filled with dread as she forced herself back onto hands and knees.

Placing a hand against his chest, she came to notice his steady breathing with an utter sigh of relief... Thank goodness he was still alive! At that very moment, her mate opened his eyes slowly.

"Oh good grief, do I have the biggest headache," Kanolos breathed hoarsely, his brow furrowed in pain. "What happened?"

"I... don't know," Riyla replied anxiously. "All I know is that we need to get to our ship. Can you move?"

In response, Kano slowly came to sit upright along the deck. With a twitch of pain he felt along the back of his head, noting how his hand came away covered in blood. At that moment the kyree took notice of his surroundings with a gasp of horror.

"Did the station suffer an explosion?" he sputtered in absolute shock.

Immediately, Riyla's wrist computer came to life again.

"Captain! Are you ok?!" Lumina's voice cried out in anguish from the small device.

Riyla had to shake her head to clear some of the cobwebs. "Yes... I'm ok," the black-furred kyree replied unsteadily. "What the hell is happening?"

"We're under attack!"

"From who?!" The captain exclaimed with alarm, the debilitating haze still clouding her consciousness.

"I don't know!" Lumina's voice cried. "I'll explain later, just try to get aboard Arastos!"

"Lumina, initiate a core crash start... and warm up the ship's systems quickly," Riyla commanded, while she helped Kano to his feet unsteadily.

"Yes ma'am."

Lumina had never interacted directly with the starship's engineering and tactical systems, since that was a job reserved for the flesh and blood crew. However given the sudden dire circumstances, the captain had to rely on the A.I.'s prowess to quickly spin Arastos up into a standby state, crew or not.

Standing as best she could with her head still throbbing in intense agony, Riyla turned to find the rest of her crew.

Keith was sitting up next to where the captain stood, with a nasty cut evident across his forehead and an obviously dislocated shoulder. His face was the definition of utter confusion. Just behind him was the rest of their contingent, each fur quickly coming to grips with the gravity of the situation while assessing their own broken bodies carefully. At least they were all conscious.

Riyla knew she had a concussion, but she still had a job to do. There was an enemy out there somewhere who had attacked her. As such, her place was aboard her ship, standing strong to counter any incoming threats. They had to get aboard Arastos quickly.

"Come on," Riyla called out. "We need to move."

At that moment, the artificial gravity failed completely with the station power reserves being depleted. As a result the crew, along with every other free standing object, lifted off of the decking in the sudden null conditions.

Thankful for the stroke of luck, Riyla delicately pushed off a floating cargo container nearby, propelling the captain toward the docking gate... she was certainly in no condition to walk at the moment.

The rest of the group followed suit as they used nearby objects to float toward their ship's berthing port. The null gravity was quite a welcomed help for the others as well, since Taylo's leg was broken and Shyla had several broken ribs.

After slowly floating through the debris field toward the ship for several long agonizing moments, the injured crew finally reached the docking extension leading to Arastos. Leaving the corridor was a respite in itself, since the group had floated by several eerily motionless bodies along the way... it was a grim indication of just how lucky they all had been.

Fortunately a rescue effort was being swiftly organized by station personnel, as engineers and medical staff set about tending to the injured and unresponsive. They were performing their duty, now it was time for the ship's crew to assume their role, however beaten up they may be.

"Lumina... power down the gravity... aboard the ship," Riyla commanded weakly through her wrist computer, while the group slowly navigated through the docking extension. "I don't think any of us... are fit to walk in gravity... at the moment."

The captain was having trouble holding her concentration, as her head continued to throb painfully. Damnit... she just had to hang in there till they could evaluate the situation and determine what course of action, if any, was needed.

One by one, the crew made it back aboard Arastos, floating about the ship's airlock in a tangled mess of broken bodies. The moment everyone was safely through the threshold, Lumina immediately shut the ship's airlock hatch.

"Captain, the vessel is configured in a standby state," Lumina's disembodied voice reported professionally. "The core is idling at ten percent power, weapons arrays are online, and shield emitters are charged and ready. I am bringing thrusters online now."

"Threat analysis?" Riyla managed to stammer.

"Sensors indicate no hostile threats. However, we need to get away from the station as soon as possible."

"Just what the hell is going on outside?!" Kano suddenly blurted out in frustration. "What sort of attack could cripple High Command so severely, and by whom?"

"The fleet is in disarray," Lumina replied coldly. "I need someone on the bridge NOW to help me get us away from the turmoil. I'll explain matters once we are out of danger."

Kanolos recoiled slightly at the A.I.'s icy response... the situation outside the ship must be far worse than the kyree had first thought. He quickly stole a glance at his mate, who was fading in and out of consciousness. They were certainly in bad shape themselves.

"Yana how badly hurt are you?" Kano asked the physician quickly, deciding he had to assume command of the ship with Riyla incapacitated.

"My tail is broken, and I sprained my paw badly... but I can still treat the others," the grey-furred kyree replied, catching on to what Kano was planning.

"Good, take Riyla, Shyla, Keith and Taylo to the medical bay and take care of them please."

The helmsman turned his attention to Eriras, who was fairly banged up herself with several nasty bruises across her face and body. "Can you make it to the engineering bay?" Kano asked the kenseng engineer. "I need someone to monitor the systems in case we have to slug it out against an enemy.

"Yes, I can make it down there," Eriras replied earnestly.

"Ok, help Yana get the others down to the medical compartment on your way there."

As Kano moved to float out into the corridor, Yanashi abruptly stopped the kyree. "Before you go, let me take care of that nasty cut first," she spoke with concern, while holding an emergency medical kit that had been stored within the airlock.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Kano allowed the grey-furred kyree to slap an emergency bandage across the laceration on the back of his head. Quickly the trauma dressing adhered itself to his skin under the fur, while clotting agents imbedded in the fabric began to stem the bleeding. He uttered a sigh of relief as a distinct cooling sensation gradually cut through the pulsating pain, while the bandage released painkillers into his wound.

"Once I stabilize the others, I'll come back to patch you up better," Yana added dismally, turning her attention to her patients. Riyla had already slipped back into unconsciousness as her body drifted about in the airlock motionlessly... she needed prompt treatment.

Not wasting any time, the physician grabbed hold of the captain's arm and expertly began maneuvering the kyree's figure out into the starship corridor. The others followed suit, pushing off of walls and adjusting their trajectories carefully in the null gravity. Even with a dislocated shoulder, Keith was able to keep up; as he called upon months of experience the human had accrued in the weightless conditions of the ISS.

Kano grimly watched his mate's unresponsive body drift silently down the passageway under the care of Yana, the captain's tail floating limply beneath her form. Riyla was in good hands... and now it was his job to assume command of Arastos and ensure the safety of the crew.

Skillfully, the kyree rotated his body around, and pushed off a nearby bulkhead to float down the corridor in the opposite direction from the others. After drifting down the passageway length for some distance, he came into contact with the opposite side bulkhead. Kano again reached out to push off the solid surface, changing his trajectory as he repeated the motion in a crisscross pattern between the two walls, slowly working his way toward the bridge.

As he finally reached the far end of the corridor, the bridge door whooshed open, allowing the fox-furred kyree to glide through the threshold into the space beyond... unexpectedly throwing him into a whole new representation of his worst hellish nightmare... a scene portrayed that left Kano stunned in absolute horror.

Slowly he drifted toward the viewing window of the bridge, his muzzle agape in shock... observing for the first time the death and destruction of the Federation fleet.

Starships floated in mangled pieces throughout the station exterior, twisted and blown apart in drifting masses of sickening wreckage. Everywhere shattered hulls sat lifelessly; several venting plumes of crimson fire that rose up to be extinguished by the vacuum of space, the keels of others broken and fragmented in misshapen heaps. Debris choked the space in a suffocating cloud of splintered metal and disintegrated hull sections. The horrid sight made Kano's stomach turn nauseatingly.

"What... happened?" The kyree breathed in quiet dread. God... every one of those destroyed vessels had crew personnel aboard... his fellow counterparts in military uniform.

"It was a suicide attack," Lumina's disembodied voice echoed from the bridge bulkheads.

"By who?!"

"I don't know," the A.I. continued dismally. "After checking the sensor logs, I counted a total of 19 cargo vessels used in the suicide run. The attack was definitely coordinated as each ship appeared to have a certain target. The massive blasts indicated the presence of thermal-kinetic explosives aboard each spacecraft, timed to detonate in synch with a forced core breach."

The anxiety was clearly evident in Lumina's tone.

"Sensors showed no abnormal activity," the construct's voice echoed with stark confusion. "Before I could figure out what was going on, explosions started ripping through the fleet. No Axis vessels were able to raise shields in time... I was caught completely by surprise."

"How was the suicide attack not detected beforehand?" Kano asked in disbelief.

"Again, I don't know," Lumina replied tersely. "Each cargo ship was a registered merchant transport with the Federation from what the records state, the planets of origin being various neutral colony worlds. Most were under Alliance contract to ferry medical supplies between HQ and several different neutral settlements. All of the ships were orbiting near the station beforehand, seemingly waiting for cargo... and then suddenly each powered engines and flew in all directions, before detonating near the fleet."

"My God, there are countless souls on all of those decimated starships," Kano spoke softly, still trying to understand the gravity of the destruction. "Who could justify sacrificing their life to cause so much heartless devastation and death?"

Looking out the side of the bridge window, the kyree could see where a cargo vessel explosion had ripped through the bottom central structure of the massive space station, destroying the platform's life support facilities and power generators. The resulting force had caused the station's orbit to decay as the enormous structure was thrown into a gradual rotation... affecting his viewpoint as it shifted slowly with Arastos remaining docked to the platform.

That would explain the violent motion from earlier, which had injured the crew so badly. To cause a structure of such immense mass to spin in so prevalent a fashion required a great deal of kinetic force. Obviously the bomb used was meant to cripple the station completely.

A powerful secondary explosion quickly shifted Kano's gaze over toward the massive hull of the Axis vessel Keyla, the pride of the Federation fleet. The giant starship had absorbed a direct impact from one of the suicide vessels, the resulting explosion ripping her keel open like a can opener. Ultimately, the ship's size saved her from total destruction, although a number of decks lay open to the vacuum of space in a giant gaping hole across her side.

The whole situation was completely overwhelming for the kyree, as he drifted aimlessly next to the bridge panoramic window.

Apparently Arastos's small size didn't warrant her as a viable target for the suicide assault... lucky for the crew.

The ship had survived without a scratch, thanks largely to the scout vessel docked alongside her. It was this unlucky neighbor who had absorbed the splintering hull fragments from the explosions, which pierced her like shrapnel.

Serenely, Kano spoke a quick silent prayer for those unfortunate to be the first victims of what would eventually become all-out war. His chant of safe passage to the otherworld was a ritual of the kyree's distant ancestors, an invocation to aid fallen warriors on their final journey to the afterlife. The prayer seemed only fitting for his fallen counterparts. For a few peaceful moments, the bridge went silent while the kyree wished his comrades a long and happy existence in the next world.

Suddenly, Kano's mourning was cut short as he caught sight of a heavily damaged cruiser coasting slowly out of control toward Arastos, roughly half a mile ahead of her bow.

The cruiser had sustained serious damage along her port hull, with an explosion energy wave buckling the outer hull inward. The larger vessel was venting a copious amount of atmosphere as the remaining crew labored vehemently to slow her velocity. However, the effort was in vain, as a particularly savage fire on the ship breeched the protective bulkheads around an ammo storage compartment.

To Kano's outright horror, the huge vessel was abruptly consumed by a silent devastating explosion, severing her keel cleanly across the ship's midsection. Quickly the two pieces of the hapless starship diverged in their trajectories... with the bow section careening directly toward Arastos and the berthing port!

Collision alarms suddenly blared throughout the ship, as the ambient lighting dimmed down to a threatening crimson red. The ship had detected the incoming massive object, and promptly wanted the crew to move her out of harm's way.

"Shit!" Kano cried, while he pushed off the bulkhead wall to swiftly soar over toward the helm console. "Disengage the docking locks Lumina!"

"I can't release the docking latches without power from the station!" the construct cried with helplessness.

"Fuck!"

Slowly the massive hull of the cruiser grew larger in the bridge window, while Kano frantically racking his mind for ideas at the helm controls.

"Are you still tied into the tactical systems?" the kyree asked suddenly.

"Yes I am fully integrated."

"Destroy the docking extension arm!" Kano commanded swiftly. "We'll take the docking hatch with us if we have to."

With haste Lumina tapped into the weapons array of Arastos, before she selected a plasma turret along the port side. This particular weapon served primarily as a defensive measurement, designed to intercept incoming missiles with a short-range continuous beam of plasma. However, in this case, the armament would prove invaluable with breaking the ship away from the space station.

The turret alignment was swiftly refocused to the anticipated target, while energy was charged into the power coils. Once the building energy levels reached optimal strength, the weapon cut loose with a concentrated beam of superheated plasma. Being careful not to breech the integrity of the inner station structure, Lumina rapidly traversed the brilliant lance of blue energy across the docking arm.

And just that quickly Arastos was freed, as the outer extension segment attached to the ship parted neatly from the base structure along the cut line the construct had made. Kano wasted no time punching the maneuvering thrusters to full power along the port side, causing the ship to quickly sidestep away from the space station with the berthing hatch still attached to her airlock.

The crippled cruiser hull section passed right through the space where Arastos had sat docked, before plowing headlong into the ill-fated scout ship nearby. In stunned silence, Kano watched on a viewing display while both doomed ships spiraled out of control away from the station platform.

"Is everything alright up there?" came the worried disembodied voice of Yana over the bridge speaker. "I couldn't help but notice the collision alarm blaring down here in the medical bay."

Kano thumbed a button on his console to open a voice channel down to the space below. "Yes, I have everything under control. We are safe now."

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure."

A sudden wave of anger unexpectedly overcame Kano. With a growl of fury the kyree pounded his hand atop the dash of his work station. Damnit... he felt so helpless. He just wanted to find whoever had committed this horrendous act of murder... and tear out their throat!

"I'm sorry Kano," Lumina's soothing voice echoed. "I understand your pain. I myself feel nothing but pure anger for what has happened."

The kyree sighed deeply as he tried to calm himself down. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he allowed his temper to get the better of him.

"Thanks Lumina... this is just... too much for me to try and cope with."

Slowly Kano brought the starship away from the debris field of the space station to establish a perimeter with the other Axis vessels undamaged by the attack. There was no chance another wave of suicide ships was going to slip through while they stood vigilant.

Soon Arastos was positioned along a high orbit around the planet Sora, guarding against further hostile actions as a rescue effort was hurriedly organized. While the ship orbited above the chaos below, Kano suddenly had an idea after bleakly considering his options.

He had to do something besides sitting here waiting for orders, while whoever had attacked his colleagues slipped away into the shadows... and the construct was going to help him in that regard.

"Lumina, can you do me a favor," the fox-furred kyree asked, as he gazed out into the surrounding space with an empty expression.

"What is it?"

"We need to find Commander Chali," Kano added dourly. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling the commander might know who was behind this atrocity."

What he was asking of the A.I. wasn't exactly legal... but the situation was dire, and answers needed to be found with haste. The elder commanding kenseng had mysteriously departed Federation HQ two cycles ago, to a destination unknown by the crew of Arastos. However, it was established that whatever issue had called him away dealt directly with Keith and humanity's introduction to its stellar neighbors. Thankfully, Lumina saw the necessity behind Kano's request. She too, wanted answers.

"Give me a moment," the construct's voice replied. "The military network is in complete disarray, so it will take a little for me to access the right information."

Collecting her awareness, Lumina launched herself into the confusion of the Federation network. With Headquarters out of commission, the electronic pathways she could take were somewhat restricted.

Before long, the construct encountered the first of a series of firewalls along the exterior parameter of HQ's planet-side backup servers. Electronic espionage was Lumina's specialty to such an extent that she deftly defeated this simple barrier within five nano-cycles of her thoughts. The subsequent protections fared no better, allowing the construct to gain access to every facet of High Command's net.

Now that she was in, Lumina worked her awareness through the filing system, soon coming across Command Chali's personal directories. All she needed to find was some sort of data referencing where the commander had departed, or maybe even information directly stating why he had been called away.

That particular useful information quickly turned up in the form of a note detailing the ID number of Chali's shuttle.

Searching further, Lumina uncovered the transport's destination... which was a direct trip to Helmos, the drala home world... an odd flight plan to say the least.

The drala were a fairly industrious race in the midst of revolutionizing their domain. The species exhibited characteristics of a reptilian nature. Although lacking a tail, the race did almost resemble a lizard, with a distinctive scaly appearance. A further noticeable trait of a drala was a series of cranial ridges across the forehead. Their home world of Helmos was quite polluted and overpopulated... not exactly a desirable place to call home.

Now that she knew where to look, the A.I. reached out with a subspace thread toward the distant planet, feeling for the hanging end of the communication fiber that belonged to the particular shuttle... until... there!

Carefully, she strengthened the subspace link between Arastos and the transport, while a part of her consciousness wove its way into Chali's shuttle systems. The small delta-shaped craft was currently located inside the hangar of a military installation, with no crew or passengers aboard. That was certainly strange, since at least one member of the crew was obligated to remain aboard a vessel while in foreign territory.

Curious, the construct delved into the shuttle's history logs, pulling up video records from over the past cycle. Starting from the beginning, Lumina swiftly worked her way through several hours of data; first showing Commander Chali boarding with several other High Command officials, the subsequent short flight to Helmos, followed by a smooth landing at a drala embassy on the planet surface.

Followed by...

The A.I.'s subroutines suddenly froze up in shock.

No... there just was no way this was possible... no way that the sight she had beheld actually transpired. But, the more she reviewed the record, replaying the video feed over and over again, the more horrified the construct became.

The video clearly showed Commander Chali and his lesser staff meet a drala political delegation within the confines of the shuttle. Greetings were exchanged... and then... out of nowhere, guns appeared.

Lumina was forced to watch the merciless assassination of Commander Chali in vivid detail, the elder kenseng and his counterparts all unarmed... all of the crew and passengers gunned down without remorse before they even had a chance to react.

How could this have happened? What ungodly being would kill a defenseless victim so heartlessly?!

The A.I.'s awareness swelled with unbridled rage, as she watched the assassins casually check over the bodies of their targets after the vicious massacre. For a moment, she could not figure out what to do. Never had her consciousness become so overwhelmed with raw emotion... oh she would make them pay for this ruthless crime!

Quickly Lumina accessed the shuttle's main computer network. Presently the transport resided within some sort of hardened drala military complex. She would make them pay alright.

The construct activated the shuttle's self-destruct sequence, before she withdrew her awareness from the transport's systems. A few moments after she terminated the link, the small spacecraft's core breeched, resulting in a concentrated explosion that completely enveloped the facility.

Payback was a bitch.

Back on her own starship, Lumina's kyree hologram abruptly materialized next to Kanolos. Her sudden appearance caught him by surprise, as he eyed the construct knowingly... something was very wrong.

"What happened?" Kano asked hesitantly, noting how upset Lumina appeared. "Were you able to locate Commander Chali?"

His words stung her, as she recoiled away from him visibly. The construct buried her face in a hand, sighing deeply to steady her nerves.

"He is dead," the A.I. breathed. "I watched him die... I watched the drala murder him."

"What?! How?" Kano exclaimed, his emotions suddenly filled with dread.

Lumina dismally relayed her observations, while her hologram gazed blankly out of the bridge window. It hurt for the A.I. to recall the horrendous event, but Kano had to know.

"He appeared to be on a diplomatic mission of some sort," the construct concluded with a hollow tone. "He was unarmed when they gunned him down."

"Why would the drala do this?" Kano questioned in disbelief, still unable to grasp what had happened. Like a smack across the face, everything unexpectedly came together in the fox-furred kyree's head.

All of the events that had transpired; Arastos being called back from Earth, Chali's departure to Helmos for undisclosed reasons, the crippling sneak attack against the Federation fleet, and now the commander's assassination... all were related to one another. The revelation was nothing short of horrifying.

Earth... that was the focal point of everything. In some way, shape, or form, the act of rescuing the human crew from their damaged space station had set into motion this chain of events. And the ruthless bastards behind this surreptitious underhanded attack were that of the drala, one of the Alliance's supposedly neutral territorial neighbors.

The Drala Domain had always aggressively expanded its borders, although the empire made sure to respect Federation territorial claims. Now however, it appeared they had literally run out of space and resources in recent years for their region to grow and develop.

Only a short time ago, intel had begun to surface that indicated the drala's interest in expanding their region to annex Earth. But this information had been shrugged off, since the human world was under the protection of the Alliance... wait... that had to be the reason.

Until now, Earth was merely a primitive standalone planet, with a blanket of protection from her stellar neighbors to help the race grow and mature. Now with first contact made and a chance for humanity to join the Alliance as a full member of the coalition, the Domain must've seen this opportunity as a chance to undermine Federation influence on the developing race, and possible bring about a shift of power into their favor.

Perhaps the drala had voiced resentment toward the Alliance for circumventing the established doctrine of pre-warp civilization isolation with Earth. That act would explain Commander Chali's departure as part of a Federation envoy to hear the Domain's grievances and work toward a peaceful solution.

Assassinating a diplomatic envoy was a serious violation of stellar relations, which ran the risk of angering all of a region's neighboring territories. Not only that, but performing the heinous crime was an outright declaration of war to the offended party.

The Federation bolstered quite an imposing armada of starships and military capability. To anger such a powerful foe was by no means wise or strategically sound. So logic dictated a plan to remove an enemy's capacity to wage war. In this instance, the appalling suicide attack by the inconspicuous cargo vessels was an extremely ruthless, yet effective method to do just that.

No one would think to investigate these particular ships, since each was under contract by the Federation to transport supplies from the massive space station. The covert assault only necessitated the removal of the normal merchant crew... to be replaced by military volunteers, eager to sacrifice their lives for the honor of the Domain. After that, the only matter to address was a precise plan of where and when to strike.

However if a power wished to deal a crippling blow to their adversary, that particular territory would have to move fast, in order to accomplish the ultimate goal that had called for the preemptive attack. In this case, Earth appeared to be the underlying reason. So the next strategic move by the drala would probably be to park a powerful starship armada right on humanity's doorstep, to discourage an Alliance counterattack.

Suddenly, Kano snapped out of his grim thoughts. They had to act now!

"Lumina, we're heading to Earth," the kyree spoke dourly, while he set about repositioning the ship for a slipstream jump.

"Why?" the construct replied in confusion.

"Because we need to beat the Domain fleet there."

He quickly filled the A.I. in on what the kyree had figured out, throwing Lumina into shock.

"You can't be serious?!" she spoke with incredulity. "Why would the drala risk interstellar war to lay claim to a new planet?"

"I don't know for sure, but you have to admit the reasoning makes a certain amount of sense."

Swiftly Arastos climbed away from Sora, while Kanolos programmed in the necessary information for the jump back to Earth. He realized the rest of the crew was still unaware of what the helmsman was doing, but there was no time to linger. Surely at this very moment, the Domain armada was mobilizing. In a blinding flash of light, the four sub-ether nacelles of Arastos tore open the fabric of space; hurling the starship into slipstream, leaving the chaos of the space station behind.

Within a minute, the vessel reemerged back into normal space, the panoramic window of the bridge suddenly filled by the splendor of planet Earth. At that moment, Lumina's kyree hologram perked up noticeably.

"Slipstream incursions detected," the construct stated alarmingly. "I have confirmation on 237 known starship signatures... projected trajectory termination located opposite the planet from our current position."

Lumina regarded Kano with an anxious expression. "It would seem that your reasoning was right on the money," she added forebodingly, while a holographic map materialized across his HUD detailing the inbound fleet's course.

"I was hoping I was wrong in this case," the kyree replied, the anger beginning to creep back into his voice. Earth was the target after all... and all the Domain had to do first was kill countless defenseless military and civilian personnel in cold blood to reach their objective.

"So what are we going to do now? Arastos can't exactly duke it out against an armada of capital warships."

"We will hide for now; lick our wounds... and when the time is right, counterattack with fangs bared," Kano responded in a menacing tone.

With those words, the kyree rapidly angled the starship down to enter the atmosphere below. War was upon them, and already the enemy had the advantage. The crew was battered and beaten, but not out of the fight... not by a long shot.

When the time was right they would counterstrike... with the upmost fervor, hatred, and outright fury.