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The Hvar'Kaan groaned around him, its whines of anguish echoing through the bridge as the old battleship tumbled into the blackened Abyss. The yawning blackness consumed the viewscreen until it flickered off, swallowing the entire bridge as main power died. The emergency lighting did little to banish the approaching blackness, bathing every frightened visage within the circular command center in a bloody glaze, a crimson harbinger that seized the hearts of each Human, Avian, Reptillian, and Feline in his field of vision. The flagship of the Sky Navy, specifically designed to enter the Slipstream and the Abyss beyond, had been rendered powerless within a matter of moments, and Ensign Jonas Ryder hadn't even been able to catch a signal glimpse of their adversary before the sensors failed. He could only wait as a ghastly chill crawled up his limbs, forced to swallow his guts before they erupted from his throat. The pride and joy he'd felt at such a prestigious assignment had faded into memory, firmly stamped out by the oncoming waves of dread, the ever-dwindling probabilities of success and survival within a crippled, powerless hulk of a ship-

"Status report." A low, gravelly voice rolled in the wake of silence, and Commander Seh'lann rose from his chair, his footing sure even as Ryder's stomach fumbled amid the flicker of the artificial gravity. The black-furred feline's tone remained calm as his emerald eyes flickered from station to station, settling first upon Major S'gor, at Engineering. The swamp-green, hunchbacked Reptillian flickered his tongue, regaining his composure even as he nervously drank the scents mingling in the air.

"Main power isss offline. Sssecondary relaysss were unprepared for the power drain." He added, glancing back to his dead console as if a specter lurked within, "Never have I ssseen a method ssso potent."

The Commander nodded, allowing a din from the murmuring junior officers near the back to persist as he moved on to Communications, prompting a ruffled of tawny feathers from Lieutenant Atris, "What's the status of our comm system? I need a line to Engineering."

Her beak clicked once in frustration, her crest falling while static flooded through her headpiece, her feathered digits tapping at the controls in vain, "Not a word, Commander. We should be getting reports from all decks, but there's nothing at all on internal signals. And out there..." She paused, a momentary flick through the frequency bands preceding a shake of her head. "Nothing at all, sir."

A tap upon his shoulder nearly forced a yelp from Ryder's throat, barely managing to stifle the frightened outburst into a flinch. A soft snicker sent him snarling under his breath, his back pressed firm against his seat, "Gods damn it, Darren..."

Besides him, Ensign Darren Wilson, junior tactical officer, slapped his shoulder again, blonde curls framing the smug grin that didn't so much as flicker under the circumstances or Ryder's supposedly-withering glare, "Frak Jonas, lighten up. You look like a corpse already."

"Lighten up? You're out of your mind, Darren." Ryder hissed beneath his breath while the Commander made his way about the bridge, "This isn't supposed to happen. This is the flagship, and they just drained us like a cheap battery. How in the hell are we supposed to scout the Abyss, a black, starless nothing, in a powerless starship, let alone actually _live_long enough to make it back to Kir'ell?"

As his friend and former classmate fretted beside him, Wilson merely reclined, gesturing towards the Commander, "We'll make it. That's why Command sent him along, him and the rest of the crew from the Strahka." He snorted, "Do you just not read reports before signing up for potentially dangerous expeditionary assignments?"

"I read them!" Jonas shot back, growling louder as he focused his glare upon his fellow human, "But they only got main power back online after half the ship took heavy damage and boarding parties that are _still_classified killed nearly half the crew! You can't possibly tell me that Seh'lann alone is enough to-"

"Ensign Ryder, report!"

Ryder choked and gagged mid-sentence, managing to sputter a reply before his breath left his lungs, whirling around to face the gravelly voice that suddenly sounded much less calm, "S-sir?"

Those emerald eyes pierced through the startled paralysis that seized his brain, flanked on either side by those of the other officers, all drawn by the swell in volume. Ryder hadn't thought of the skinny-framed, rather short feline as intimidating, his rank and considerable achievements aside. Upon the receiving end of that stare, however, Commander Seh'lann became a threatening spectre, the glint of the sharp fangs he briefly let show driving home his repeated order.

"Give me your analysis of the sensor readouts prior to the blackout."

"W-well, s-sir, I-I, ah, I-I didn't really have much to go on, ah-"

"What did you see, Ensign?"

"N-nothing at all, sir. Th-that's sort of what caught me off-guard about the whole thing, sir." Ryder finally managed to regain some level of composure, his blood rushing in rapids beneath his cheeks as he could hear Wilson's silent snickers beside him. "S-sensor readings within the slipstream remained in line with what I'd expect to see, b-based on your mission, sir. But just before the power went out..." He fumbled for a moment, finally managing to stare the feline down himself, "Sir, there's usually some sort of indication of an external power drain. A weapon discharge, an EMP burst, some sort of spectrographically-identifiable surge, but I saw no indications prior to the blackout. If I had, I'd have warned you, sir."

Commander Seh'lann halted for a moment, leaving Ryder to nervously watch the long length of tail that sprouted from the backside of his uniform as it flickered back and forth. Then, with a nod, he answered, his voice tempered by a measure of tranquility, "We didn't receive warnings during the discovery of the slipstream, either. It appears our research and development teams failed in designing a suitable sensor suite."

He turned away, and only then did Ryder loose a trembling sigh of relief. He could hear Wilson still chuckling beside him, "Nice save, Jonas. I think he likes you."

Ryder nearly groaned aloud when the Commander's voice surged back into his ears, "All right, listen up! The power drain has disabled primary and secondary power, and save for emergency lighting and sparing lift controls, we've got nothing. Assuming Main Engineering requires our assistance, and due to our present inability to coordinate with other decks, our goal should be to send a team down to E Deck to assist in repairs. If we can utilize what's left in the secondary power batteries, we should be able to keep our present gravity sphere intact."

Another series of creaks and shudders rocked the ship, and Ryder nearly felt his ass leave his seat before gravity took hold again. "If that sphere destabilizes, we'll be in a whole lot more trouble than a few of you losing your lunches. Slipstream entry will be impossible, and I can assure you the Abyss is not the place you want to find yourself trapped within. There are creatures out there, beyond our hull," A heavy boom rippled through the hull, the impact sending its shivers through the deckplates as it punctuated the feline's words, "And you'd be best never meeting them face to face."

Emerald eyes swept over the array of officers and species before him once more, and with finality he called out, his words chilling Ryder's blood ice cold, "Major S'gor, grab your kit. Ensigns Wilson and Ryder, you're with me. Communications, keep scanning for any signals, internal or external. Helm, attempt to regain attitude control at the first sign of thruster response. Everyone else had best keep their sidearm at the ready. What's out there can and will board this vessel, and I expect every member of my crew to be prepared." He gestured to Ryder and the others, his other hand slipping an old, scuffed plasma pistol from its holster at his side, "To the lifts. We'll only get one ride before we restore power."

Ryder swallowed and managed to haul himself to his feet, his fear of disobeying his commanding officer somehow overriding the terror of perishing in the blackness that had swallowed the entirety of the Hvar'Kaan. Falling into place behind the hulking behemoth of the major, he could only wince as Wilson slapped his shoulder once more.

"See? Told you he likes you. Don't worry, it's just a quick run down to Engineering. Hey, who knows what's even down there, right?"

"Yeah." He answered before stuffing himself into the crowded lift, keeping silent and glancing up at Seh'lann as the doorway hissed shut before them.

Who knows?

The trip through the darkened hallways had nearly scared Ryder out of his skin. Not just because to the shadowy blackness creeping in from all sides, or that the pitiful emergency lighting could barely break its opaque fog enough to stumble forwards by. The black, yawning passages were completely empty, and aside from the hull's low moans and untraceable rattles and shifts, there wasn't presence besides their group. Ryder quivered with relief when the party finally reached Main Engineering, speaking up amid the silence as the doorway hissed open.

"Thank the Gods...I thought we'd never make-"

His words caught within his throat, the contents of his stomach nearly taking their place. Ahead of him, S'gor gave a piercing hiss of repulsion, his forked tonguetip retreating within his jaws as Wilson flinched and balked in silent horror. Only Commander Seh'lann stepped forth into Main Engineering, wading into the scent of death and decay, stepping over a trio of forms that had failed to reach the doorway, puddles of their blood splattering beneath his boots. All along the ring of consoles lining the gravity sphere's great reactor, bodies of every species, savagely punctured, lay strewn like spilled food, great, gaping holes coating the deckplates in gore. The consoles and entryways lay pristine apart from the occasional spatter of blood, and the reactor chamber itself remained untouched.

"Oh Gods..." Ryder's pistol arm trembled, forcing him to lower the weapon while he remained transfixed by the panorama of savagery. "H-how many people were in here?"

"Three dozen." Commander Seh'lann answered, the ever-present calm in his voice marred by a grim twinge. His gaze affixed itself not to the bodies, but on the ceiling, and in a whisper that baffled Ryder more than anything he added, "I wonder..."

Cutting himself off, the short, scrappy feline gestured to one of the consoles that still flickered, "S'gor, start on rerouting power back to the gravity sphere. I'd imagine we've lost a few relays. Ensign Wilson will remain with you for protection and assistance." He turned back to Ryder, pointing, "You and I will provide cover during the repairs. Main Engineering has only one way in or out. We'll watch the door from the cover of those consoles."

"Aye sssir."

"Aye sir."

Ryder belated nodded, tearing his face away from the bodies and following the feline towards his post. He chanced a quick glance back towards S'gor and Wilson, the latter flashing him a quick grin he wished he could summon himself. He took his position beside the cat, struggling to recall his tactical training while his hands clung tight to his pistol. Bracing himself against the cover of a thankfully-unoccupied console, he fixed his eyes upon the doorway, staring into the bulkhead as he waited...and waited. Seconds turned to minutes, and apart from the murmur of Wilson and S'gor, silence permeated the room.. His breathing began to fill his ears, the stench of gore choking every inhale, beads of sweat dislodged as his exhales sent his limbs quivering-

"Calm yourself, son. You'll hyperventilate if you focus on it too much."

Ryder flinched as the Commander broke the tense silence, letting out a shaky sigh, "S-sorry sir. Just..." He shut his eyes for a moment, trying to blot out the splashes and glows of crimson before the lights and blood merged together in his head. "What the hell happened here, sir? Wh-why...what got past our shields? What boarded the ship, an-and killed half the Engineering staff?"

Seh'lann paused, and Ryder thought he heard a growl in his throat. "The blackness, Ensign. The Abyss killed the staff, though I'll admit that how it gained entry is still a mystery. We've brought in no samples this time..." He snorted, "Perhaps they've done some planning of their own since I was last here."

"S-sir?"

The Commander turned to him with a momentary frown, an ear flicked forwards in mild confusion. Then, with a realizing smirk, he answered, "Ah, right, classified. Well, to put a long story short, the _Strahka_didn't actually encounter anything in the Abyss for the first five hours or so. Just total blackness, and a split-second sensor readout with a mass-spectrum we'd never seen before. My commander made the decision to sample the matter surrounding us, for study. That's when the blackout hit."

He shook his head, seeming to fumble for a moment, "It's...it's alive, Ensign. Or at least, some of it is. The Abyss is composed of phaseless matter, opaque and able to absorb radiation of all kinds, light included. When one of our collectors burst open inside the ship, we'd merely assumed the stuff was volatile, but the black cloud writhed and flailed, launching itself at anything alive." He pointed towards one of the corpses, shivering, "I saw plenty of crewmates looking like that. We're not entirely sure why the wounding pattern remains a form of impalement. But it got half the crew before we managed to corner it and concentrate fire. Ingenious, really; it dissipates all power from the ship on contact, rendering any invader harmless. We might not be the first civilization they've encountered."

Ryder swallowed nervously, though he nodded in understanding. The explanation did help...sort of, anyway. "So we're back to try and make contact again?"

The Commander snarled openly, gritting his fangs and letting the grip upon his pistol tighten. "Based on our surroundings, I doubt we can, Ensign. It's been theorized we could close the slipstream from its origin...or we could use our weapons to just clear space of the matter itself, if we can." He glanced back at the human, "Don't hesitate to blast it. You'll be doing us all a favor."

Before Ryder could nod, a heavy, thunderous _clang_echoed through the bulkhead, and his cheeks went pale as he recognized its direction, "Th-that's from the turbolift."

"Status of the gravity sphere?" Seh'lann called out. More clangs and thuds echoed in the hallways, and he snarled between breaths. "They're breaking in through the lifts...they probably breached the hull in one of the outer sections-"

"I've got the relays fixed, sir! S'gor's working on re-initializing the power transfer systems."

"Essstimated two minutes, sssir."

The heavy, thunderous impacts reached the door, and without a lockout they hissed wide open. Ryder beheld exactly what Seh'lann had described to him: a black, shapeless mass, somewhere between a mist, a liquid, and a blob, looming in the archway. Soundless save for the whisper of air, it poured forth in a great, dark flood, streams warping into thick tendrils as they snaked through the air. Blood halted within the cavities of his heart as the flood of darkness consumed the room, trapping them within, prey to a predator. In his ears, the Commander gave a final cry.

"FIRE!"

Ryder could hear himself screaming as his finger jabbed itself down upon the trigger of his weapon. The pistol bucked and leaped in his grip as a salvo of green bolts hurtled into the blackness, the massive splotch recoiling and undulating beneath each deafening whine and superheated impact. It gave no shrieks of anguish beneath the disintegrating hail of plasma; it lurched forwards, lunging towards those that, if it truly was intelligent, might be its intended targets.

His pistol ran dry with the commander's simultaneously, and his fingers leaped for his second powerpack. His eyes darted back up from his belt as he slammed the pack into the pistol's grip. He heard the squelched of pierced flesh and the gurgling gags of pain, the thunderous, snarling roar, the wild discharge of plasma bolts into the creature. And on the deckplating, beneath the black mass and the towering frame of S'gor blasting away, Wilson writhed and twitched, blood rushing from the void where his heart should have been.

Ryder stood up from cover, the angry snarls from Seh'lann distant noises in his ears. The commander didn't matter. He wasn't afraid of disobeying an order, or even the black, rippling mass of nothing writhing forth to claim his life like so many others strewn about Main Engineering. Not if it meant burning it from the face of the universe. He raised his weapon high, and fired away.

He could barely see the ghastly cloud beneath the hailstorm of neon pulses, but as S'gor and the Commander's fire concentrated with his, the cloud itself dwindled, disintegrating amid the scent of something burning, the triumphant cries of plasma fire rocketing from pistol barrels, and the hot blaze of superheated air. The cloud turned from S'gor to him under the blazing inferno, lashing out with ever-dwindling tendrils, its available mass shrinking exponentially beneath the assault. Even as it lunged forth, its mass tumbled away, black, phaseless matter dissociating as it recoiled against shot after shot, until the plasma bolts blasted against the deckplates. The cloud dispersed, no longer opaque as it flowed away like wisps of smoke, unable to keep its shape, whatever power holding it together seemingly vanquished.

The silence that followed nearly deafened Ryder, broken only by the rush of panting as the remaining three stood over Wilson's limp corpse, each attempting to avert their eyes from the still-bleeding frame. S'gor finally moved, tapping a few keys. Brilliant, white light bathed Main Engineering.

"Power ressstored, Commander..."

Ryder glanced to the feline as Seh'lann nodded, "Very good, Major." He paused, glancing between them, a weary, grim sigh escaping his lips.

"Welcome to the Abyss."