Star Trek: Theurgy

Chapter 4: Mission Objective: SHOW UP AND DON'T BLOW UP

May 18, 2025, 10:45:08 PM

[Lieutenant Alistair Leavitt | Shuttlecraft "Rosalind Franklin" | Hobus ]

ATTN: @Brutus    @RyeTanker  @ob2lander961   @Tae    @Eden    @Sqweloookle   @Griff    @Eirual  @Dree 

TIME: Day 2, 0800hrs

It was a strange experience indeed to be inside a shuttlecraft packed to the brim with people, stranger still, for them all to be armed. Indeed, some hasty work had been done on the Theurgy to convert the shuttles into impromptu troop transports, and there had been some grumbles in the aft compartment about the seats, but it was too late to do anything now. Within minutes, the Erudite would arrive at Hobus, and the near-suicidal mission to save Romulus would begin.

In the forward compartment, Alistair (now clad in a rather gaudy gold exosuit) wondered idly how the Romulans would respond when they learned that Starfleet saved their capital world. He only let the train of thought go on for a few moments before cutting it off. He (by some strange cosmic irony) was in command. He needed to focus.

An abrupt beeping broke the thick tension in the shuttle, and Alistair answered it immediately, seeing an unfamiliar Savi appear on the screen. This one looked horribly pale and drawn, but for Savi, that might simply be normal.

"Lieutenant Leavitt, our approach has been detected," the Savi said. "However, enemy defences are much weaker than expected, and we have lost sensor contact with the dreadnought Panacea. Our tactical analysis suggests a trap. Do you concur?"

"I concur," Alistair said, feeling the unease in his stomach build. "Even so, it's an opportunity, one that we cannot ignore. They'll have a much harder job fighting us on the station instead of in space. I guess the diversionary mission worked, at least somewhat." He hesitated, looking around him at the people who might die in the coming minutes and hours, the people who probably would die. "We're going in. Take us out of warp as scheduled, please."

The Savi bristled. "You understand that the survival of the Erudite is paramount? If necessary, we will leave you, human. We certainly will not die for you."

Alistair couldn't help but smile solemnly at the screen. "That was never in doubt, trust me. It's been...uh..." he paused, deciding on the truth rather than a polite lie. "It's been an interesting experience working with you. Leavitt out."

All that was left to do was wait. It didn't take long. With the huge hangar doors already open, the Starfleeters could actually see the transition to normal space. As soon as the stars were visible, Alistair pressed a control, the final line of the checklist...the final opportunity to back out. A bright blue beam flashed past the Erudite within an uncomfortable close, surely a graviton beam lance, the same weapon that had so effortlessly penetrated a Borg cube's defenses. The Erudite couldn't have dodged the monstrous weapon by much. It was time.

"All Starfleet ships, launch, launch, launch."

~~

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Aboard the USS Lindstrom (Type 11 Shuttle) | Space between Hobus Station and Erudite]

It was certainly an impressive light show as the pair of shuttles dodged through space as bright energy fire lanced around the shuttle. It definitely seemed like the arrival of the Erudite was unexpected as the return fire was uncoordinated and focused on the Savi Dreadnought. Lieutenant Zark didn't really like the plan. Their available strength had been cut down by a last-second addition that had taken Lieutenant zh'Wann off to another unexpected station in system, leaving her in charge of the security detachment and down by about a third of their leadership.

Now, they were going to break into a hostile station, not knowing what to really expect from a technologically superior opponent. But they had an edge. As technically peaceful as Starfleet was ,though, its personnel were still far better equipped in creating havoc that a species of scientists, and Lt.Zark had lots of experience to draw on.

The shuttle shifted and pulled the Andorian out of her ruminations as the formation of small craft maneuvered to avoid some of the fire and aimed for the entry point. This part was tricky as getting the Savi to agree to accept instructions from a less advanced species had been a major effort on the part of the one diplomat with the team. The principal was going to be brutally simple. The Erudite would focus all it's fire at a specific point to induce local shield failure while the fighters and shuttles would go through the gap before the backups could cover the gap.

Once through, the fighters would provide cover while the shuttle docked with the station, and a breaching charge would blast a hole in the hull, allowing everyone in quickly. From there, it got more tricky as one team led by Ensign Milly Dubois would seize the data node and power centre in what would be an attempt to access the station's systems while trying to cause sections of the station to overload. Lieutenant Zark, in the meantime, would lead the team specialists deeper into the station to access primary systems and cause some real damage.

A tight pattern of blue energy smashed into the station, and the shields flared for a moment under the relentless assault.

"Here goes nothing." The pilot sounded out loud as he watched the LCARS panel as energy flooded the area, sending sensors into high-range readings while trying to determine if the shields had collapsed. The result could be seen soon as another pattern of blue fire made it through and explosions tore the hull in a mass of fire and metal.

That was all the sign Lieutenant Zark needed as she heard herself say, "Punch it." and the shuttle lurched for the gap.
~~

[Ensign Sylvain Llewellyn-Kth | USS Lindstrom | Approaching the Hobus Station | Hobus System]

Sylvain’s eyes were a blur of white and hazel, his pupils flickering from panel to panel as his fingers danced a jive across the console before him, a dizzying array of activity that barely afforded him a moment to breathe. It was taking everything he had just to keep on top of the litanies of information that the sensors were feeding him, his hands bringing the ship into a moderately tight lurch in response to an incoming round of disruptor fire; they hadn’t taken a hit, yet, but he didn’t entirely trust that the shuttle’s shields would be able to weather much of an impact from the Savi’s superior weaponry…

Regardless of his own concerns, however, the Ensign had little time to consider them, a small hiss of breath escaping from his mouth as he re-adjusted their wayward trajectory and realigned their shuttle with their target, guiding them dangerously close to the perimeter shields of the Hobus Station, and onwards towards their objective.

Truthfully, had he not required the entire breadth of his brain power to be fixated on the task at hand, his wandering mind might have blanched at how bafflingly risky their plan seemed to be...

It had been a fair amount of time since he’d actually served in his capacity as a pilot, having spent the past few months being ferried across Federation Space on Admiral Anderson’s orders, so, in a way, it was a welcome return to find himself back behind a helm again. On the other hand, he’d never been in a situation where the odds were stacked so vehemently against him before, and the knowledge that their tiny shuttle was currently hurtling towards a shield whilst an alien space station and dreadnought tried to blow each other into the void, wasn’t providing much in the way of making this a gentle reunion for him… Still, he knew what he was doing, and getting the boarding party aboard the Hobus Station and making sure their escape route remained safe was probably the easiest job of those who were aboard.

“Here goes nothing…” He barely breathed, eyes fixated on his sensors even as his pale skin was bathed in a dazzling array of blue light, the data spiking to inordinate levels in clarification that the Savi shielding had failed, verified further when a volley of energy from the Erudite lanced into the side of the Hobus Station and carved a small section out of the hull.

If he needed further confirmation that it was time to move, it came when the Andorian beside him quietly instructed him to ‘punch it’, and whilst Sylvain typically understood that command as an instruction to go to warp, he was fairly confident that he understood what the Lieutenant meant.

Pale fingers flooded across the LCARS panel as he maneuvered the shuttle into a tight turn, dodging around a fragment of debris that the Erudite's weapon fire had torn loose and threading the shuttle into the breach in the Station’s shields with an artisan’s proficiency. The ship sailed the final kilometers without issue, the few bundles of debris far less concerning than the fusillade of energy weapons that had been threatening them previously, affording Sylvain enough time to rush up a docking procedure that would bring them in line with a port that was shadowed in some of the twisted metal that clawed away from the hull, hopefully providing them a little extra cover. Their scans indicated that the atmosphere of the station was still present on the other side, so with any luck, the next part would proceed smoothly.

“Docking sequence initiated…” He calmly called out, his clear tone cutting through the relative silence of the ship as his fingers input the final few instructions, the computer instantaneously calculating the descent velocity, and their combined efforts resulting in a solid thud echoing up through the hull of their shuttlecraft. “You’re up, Lieutenant…” Sylvain gently turned to the Andorian as he spoke, trying to offer up a moment of calm to those who would be entering the station themselves. “I don’t know what sort of interference there will be, but I’ll keep the transporters on standby and get a lock on you all as soon as the shields are down…” He wasn’t any particular savant with transporters, but he knew how to tell the computer to get a lock on any non-Savi bio signs, at the very least. “And I’ll make sure you all have a shuttle to come back to when you’re done.”

Sylvain’s confidence in the second clause of his promise was one he felt far less confident with; an encounter with a Savi response team wasn’t something he should reasonably be expecting to survive after all… Still, he could only trust that the boarding parties and the fire from the Erudite would collectively cause enough chaos that the Savi wouldn’t have spare security teams available to come and hunt their shuttle down… If they did, he had a phaser, a knife, and a transporter; having witnessed first-hand the genocidal intentions of the Savi who were supposed to be the good guys, Sylvain felt far less uncomfortable with the prospect of having to kill something than he might have been a few days prior…

He twisted his chair and adopted himself into a new position, granting him better access to the transporter controls, and haphazardly drew his phaser, twisting his body in the direction of the docking port, where two Officers were mounting a breaching charge against the Hobus Station’s airlock… Despite his semi-confident thoughts, he’d never fired one at a living thing before, and as much as he wanted to believe he would be able to do it, truthfully, he didn’t know what would happen if something was on the other side of that door.
~~

[Ens. Via "DixeBee" Wix | Wolf-16 | Seconds to Hobus Station | (Hobus System)]

“How did my dumbass get into this…” Via exasperated quietly to herself as she waited anxiously in the seat of her cockpit.

The crews did all they could to patch up her scorched fighter. It would’ve been vaporized no thanks to her replacement RIO, who was sitting timidly behind her with a black eye. There weren’t many of them, the crew. Most were spread around the other vectors of the Theurgy or a part of other operations. Any repair equipment they did bring was only capable of getting moderately damaged Valkyrie or Valravn up to operational strength. Via’s fighter was lucky in that regard, while during the cluster fuck that was the last mission, she took some hits and got thrown around where the concussive impact from hitting her console gave her a massive gash on her forehead which was hastily healed by the medics on board.

Via was sure the wound opened up again, but she didn’t have enough energy to care. They didn’t have any time for anything more. The ship was supposed to leave warp any second now. It was times like these that Via missed her sister the most. She always knew what to say, what to think, what to do. Right now, all that Via wanted to do was cry, but she couldn’t. There was always something in the back of her head telling her “stop bein’ a lil bitch” that just wouldn’t allow her to feel…to process. So like usual, she leaned on her fortress that is her personality and lashed out, then recused herself. No time to think, no time, to process, no time…

Via heard the call from her flight leader and got to work. She began the combat startup, which was her favorite kind of startup. Skipping a bunch of redundant and unnecessary takeoff checklist items and throwing full power to her impulse drives. She kept noticing the scorch marks and blood on her armored gauntlet as she went around, pressing buttons and flipping switches. The last mission nearly cooked the both of them…almost spaced them.

The sharp, heavy feeling came back to her chest where her implant was. “Stop it…Stop it…”

“What?! Stop what?” her Bajoran RIO threw her arms up in an anxious panic.

“Not your dumbass- j-just do your job and shut your ass up, ok” Via said firmly but with defeat in her voice. The RIO quickly resigned herself to he own tasks. The tension was still alive between them.

Once the young pilot finished getting her fighter spun up she reported she was ready for her flight lead. Suddenly, the stars that had been white horizontal streaks running across her vision finally returned to normal.

With an abrupt and sudden roar, the Starfleet fighters boosted out of the Alien Savi hanger, turning toward the front of the Erudit,e hugging against its superstructure until they overtook it. The flight of Wolves seemed to dance around each other while they speeded with aggression towards their target. The massive eerily ancient station was slowly increasing as they went closer. Via’s HUD, which was showing everyone's status and location, linked up to another one of their objectives. The USS Lindstrom, a shuttle carrying the boarding party, was several AU ahead closer to the station. At the Valravn’s speed, Via and her wingmen would easily be able to close the distance. The problem was the shields were still up.

“Uh…ain’t them savey guys ‘spose ain’t takin them shields down?” Via spoke in comms, but as if the Aliens heard her (which they probably did) a tight beam of energy erupted from behind the formation, flying just over their heads and impacting the station dead center. The Valravn’s proximity sensors blared in the young pilot’s ears, which only pissed her off. “Fuck off”! She yelled, taking the act as a slight against her. Their opening, however, was clear now but rapidly closing.

As planned Via’s RIO put all power into the impulse drive, and the flight speeded head towards the gap. “Comeon- Comeon- Comeon!!” The gap in the shields was getting narrower and narrower, the shuttle made it and a few of the other wolves. There was no way she was going to die as a metaphorical fly hitting against the windshield of a hovercar.

“We ain’t goin’ fast enough reroute the air!” Via yelled to her RIO who’s eyes widened. “Prophets I-” “I SWEAR” Via’s anger returned and the RIO got the hint. With life support rerouted the Valravn jolted forward faster. The inertial dampeners were at their limit as Via felt her suit’s G layer activate putting pressure on her body and sending her back to her seat.

The eye in the shield was looking more like a pinhole every second Via was certain they were done for…then they crossed the threshold. “YES!! FUC-” They were going a bit too fast they were coming up on the Station’s hull, prompting Via to quickly cut the engines, throw on RCS, spin her fighter around, and light up her engines again, bringing the Valravn to a quick but abrupt stop.

Both Via and her RIO panted, partly from stress and partly from having life support off for a few seconds. The RIO started praying to her gods which only got a sigh from Via. That was all her skill he thought as she returned in formation with her wingman Chaos.

It was surreal being under the shield and watching the battle unfold outside. Via kept to her lead side as she looked around. “I ain’t none of them sneaky guys gettin’ my ass again” she spoke as she made a visual scan of their surroundings. As of now, their main objective was protecting that shuttle from all hostile threats. Via didn’t know if she was going to face the same combatants as the previous station. She wasn’t looking forward to if she was…

"Anyone see anythin'"? she spoke with a hint of hesitation which came up as aspiration.
She was terrified.
~~

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Aboard the USS Lindstrom (Type 11 Shuttle) | Space between Hobus Station and Erudite]

It was certainly some fancy flying as the shuttle threaded the needle through all the fire then pulled off a non-textbook docking maneuver to connect the small craft to the hull. Hopefully, the intel on the makeup of the station's skin was accurate in that it was standard hull material. The medic stood by and focused as she hefted her rifle while a couple of security personnel attached the beehive charge. It was a non-standard way to enter a ship, but it had the advantage of being far less intensive than using a cutter or phaser. It didn't take long as a crewman slapped the charge on, then ran a hand along the frame, breaking the thin film that released the adhesive.

"Charge set," He confirmed.

The medic could feel the Deputy nod behind her as she quickly took in the data and framed it against the cutting models.

"Set level 6. Stand back, everyone!" The other Zhen commanded as the crewman set the charge control to six, then backed up and activated a forcefield.

A segment of the docking collar was detached and the sound of rushing air quickly indicated a leak that sucked out all the air that could cause concussive damage to both the shuttle and the people standing inside. Zark stood by with a canister of fire suppressant as Lt. zh'Wann yelled

"Fire in the Hole!" A brief flash could be seen the charge went off in what amounted to silence except for the reverberation of metal as the shock transmitted itself through the structure of the hull to the docking collar.

"Reattaching docking collar." A crewman called as the magnets re-engaged to provide an air tight seal.

The Deputy didn't even wait for the whole time as the enviro systems kicked into overdrive to replace the lost atmosphere as she dropped the forcefield.

Lieutenant Zark didn't wait either as she moved forward and sprayed the edges of the whole to cool them off. Others in exosuits didn't bother to wait as they jumped into the hole to secure a foothold for the rest to follow. "Breach secure. No hostiles." came the clipped report and the rest of the Security detail followed, leaping in seemingly unhesitatingly into the breach. The medic soon followed when the canister jumping in feet first. Her vision soon changed from on of soothing Federation standard to something dark, foreboding, and decidedly odd that reminded her once again of the Erudite that had brought her to this point. It definitely brought on odd sense of foreboding. The medico shook off the feeling quickly and brought up the map that led deeper into the bowels of the station.

 "Okay, I have a route towards what the Savi are guessing is central computing location." She turned her helmeted head towards Alistair, Mia, Nara, and a few others. "Stick close." With that warning, the lithe armoured figure moved off.

[Lieutenant Ida zh'Wann | Outer maintenance corridor | Hobus Station]

Ida watched as her medic led the actual infiltration team into the station and took a breath, as took up a position slightly back as the rest of the security team made its way towards an outer power node. Whatever was going on, it didn't seem like they'd set off any alarms as they advanced. This made the Deputy more concerned as the larger group seemed to move at will through the station, but there was little they could do now since the mission was committed.

Hearts raced as they approached the power room and the Andorian's confusion only grew as they got closer. There were no detectable security systems, nor even any personnel in the area. It was completely vacant. The point man reached the door and looked back at Ensign Dubois. The human hesitated for a moment since she was getting the same readings.

"Let's go in nicely." She finally answered and the point man nodded as he raised his rifle while the officer punched in the sequence to enter.

On the last button, she looked at the point man one more time and saw that he was entirely focused on the room ahead. She punched the last button, and the door opened silently. The point man entered, and Millie followed soon after. The room was deserted. As everyone filed in, Lieutenant zh'Wann's sense of paranoia grew, but it looked like the initial part of the plan had gone off without a hitch. Too good to be true for sure, but they had ways of making sure it stayed that way.

As she approached the centre of the room, the Deputy began issuing orders. "Bring those crates in and get the transport inhibitors set up. Make sure the doors are barricaded and lets settle in. Engineering, Science, and everyone else see what you can make of the computer systems."

~~
[Ensign Sylvain Llewellyn-Kth | USS Lindstrom | Hobus Station | Hobus System]

A searing plume of energy lanced into the aft shielding of the Erudite, illuminating the Ensign’s trembling hands with a fallow glow that shone through the viewscreen of the Lindstrom, his pale skin almost iridescent under the light as his fingers swept across the panels beneath them. Sylvain’s trembling form was enrolled in a flurry of activity, his entire body riddled with anxiety as he made a desperate attempt to find something, anything, to do, that might prove at least somewhat useful. Or keep him distracted at least… He was running sensor sweeps of the adjoining sections of the Hobus Station, trying to follow the biosigns of the Starfleet crew as best he could, monitoring the Erudite’s status and maintaining an open comm system… Yet none of it could stop the adrenaline from making his fingers vibrate like a malfunctioning inertial damper. None of it could make him feel useful. None of it could stop the feeling of dread that was creeping down the back of his spine.

He was the pilot. His job was to get the team into the station, and get them out again when they were done; he definitely had the easy job. Sure, he’d flown the ship through a battlefield, dodging disruptor blasts and torpedoes coming from every-which-way, but that was the easy part compared to what the boarding teams had to contend with… The engineering and science teams were carrying the weight of Romulus on their shoulders, the security teams were ready to protect their colleagues to the death; he was a glorified chauffeur in comparison. Hell, his piloting wasn’t even the hard part when compared to what he had to do; wait.

Nobody told him how agonising the waiting would be…

The boarding teams were on a communications blackout, a tactical effort to help delay the Hobus Station’s security from locating their exact positions; even if it only provided the boarding teams an extra couple of seconds of anonymity, they needed to use every advantage they had… Sylvain fully understood that, yet he begrudged how it kept him in the dark, his only confirmation that the boarding teams were even still alive, being the occasional confirmation from the sensor sweeps, familiar biosigns blinking in-and-out of focus as the team descended deeper into the belly of the beast. Other than that, he was blind to what was going on outside of the Lindstrom’s hull, isolated from the perilous circumstances that the rest of the team had thrown themselves into... It was only natural that he was desperate to find a way to help.

Thus his eyes were glued to the sensor readings, monitoring both the boarding parties and the status of the Erudite, making sure that if the plan somehow derailed, he would be able to react… How, he didn’t quite know, but Sylvain was keenly aware that they were currently operating on something of a ‘make-it-up-as-you-go-along’ basis, and despite his severe discomfort with the idea, he understood that this was a time where he needed to embrace a little entropy. It wasn’t as though they didn’t have a plan; they did. The Savi had provided them with schematics, they had a goal set before them, the Erudite and the Theurgy’s fighters were doing a stellar job keeping the Hobus Station’s eyes elsewhere… But still, the universe had a way of disregarding even the most well-prepared plans in the heat of battle, and it was no secret that there were quite literally thousands of things that could go wrong…

It took the Ensign a moment to notice, his expertise in stellar phenomena not having much of an overlap with biosignatures, but the pilot was a natural analyst, and he never failed to notice when something just wasn’t quite right… There was only a slight discrepancy in the sensors, something awry with the data that was being received on the Lindstrom’s end, a distortion a few sections away from where the boarding party had begun setting up… His brow furrowed for a moment, his hazel eyes flicking across the data-telemetries to determine whether the discrepancy was due to a glitch, or whether it might be due to…

“Oh no…” A tone of absolute horror fled from his mouth as he gasped around his words, lurching forwards, his eyes alight in alarm as the sensor sweep turned up the same glitch again, though this time half-a-section closer to where the boarding team were located. Sylvain’s pale hand flew to his chest in a heartbeat, trembling fingers thundering into his combadge, his desire to alert the boarding parties almost overcoming his acknowledgement of their radio silence… Almost. His hand balled quickly into a fist that he pressed hard against his mouth in horror; if he alerted the boarding team, the signal could give away their exact position, if the Savi weren’t aware of it already… Yet on the other hand, if he did nothing…

Sylvain wasn’t one to curse, but if there was ever time for an expletive, it was now…

Re: Chapter 4: Mission Objective: SHOW UP AND DON'T BLOW UP

Reply #1 – May 18, 2025, 10:48:09 PM

ATTN: @Brutus   @RyeTanker  @ob2lander961  @Tae   @Eden   @Sqweloookle  @Griff   @Eirual @Dree @Ellen Fitz
~~
[Ens. Via "DixeBee" Wix | Wolf-16 | Seconds to Hobus Station | (Hobus System)]

There was a moment of calm

An eerily stillness filled Via’s cockpit as it hummed forward in the internal superstructure that was the Savi station. Her senses all flared up as the primal instincts that all humans have inherited from the days when they were hunters and gatherers from Earth began to take hold.

It lasted only a moment…

“CONTACT”!!

Via didn’t know who said it at first but immediately gunned the afterburners of her Valravn hoping to avoid whatever trap they found themselves in. 3 contacts appeared on her RIOs spatial sensors. Two were located both directly above and below the formation of fighters, one located behind. They were the same configuration of fighters as before, initiator-class Interceptors who had just decloaked and fired their armaments as the Starfleet pilots. The first one to go down was Via’s lead Chaos. The Savi fighters made him their initial target, with the ones both above and below the group working in concert with their graviton beam emitters and pulse cannons to annihilate his shields and vaporize his hull. There was no possible way for him to react fast enough to get out of dodge. Only enough time for him and his RIO to let out a blood-curdling scream through the comms from the fighter before it got cut abruptly. That scream was burned into Via’s ears.

“Wolf-16 Engaging!”

She didn’t even realize he got destroyed before reacting by sharply turning upward to fight the northern target.

Flipping off the safety, Wolf-16’s targeting system locked onto the Savi fighter who as if caught off guard suddenly turned to run in a physics-defying maneuver that Via still could not understand. The shouts and callouts from her wingmen through comms went straight to background noise as the young pilot aggressively pushed her spacecraft towards pursuing the bogey.

At the same time, the Savi fighter behind the formation was able to engage Emerald with its graviton emitters. It grazed her fighter, just barely but enough that it caused her Warp core to surge, overheat, and suddenly detonate, violently sending debris toward Archon’s Fighter at breakneck speed.

Via gritted her teeth as though a combination of her Valranns advanced navigation systems and her skills as a pilot, she danced the craft in between various spires, antennae, and whatnot while staying on the Savi fighter’s end. Blasts from her phaser array’s impacted the obstacles as they both flew through the station's interior. The ones that managed to impact the fleeing Savi fighter did no damage, which due to Via’s previous experience, was not surprising but annoying.

“Screw this dumbass!” She unlocked the safeties on her last Hellhound cluster bomb and surged power to the impulse engines. She was going to close the gap between her and the Savi fighter so it had less of a chance to avoid a barrage of several micro torpedoes on an automatic timed fuse. Her hope was it would take out their shields which then she could follow up with a mass diver attack. As soon as she pressed the trigger the hellhound was released from its hardpoint and streamed straight towards the Savi fighter. It released its complement of micro torpedoes which engulfed the Alien ship in a stary fire. Via then fired a mass driver volley which went true to the target. Whether by luck on her part or some sort of malfunction on the Savi’s the Mass driver slugs impacted a critical system on the Alien fighter causing it to spiral straight into one of the spires of the Station.

~~
[Ensign Sylvain Llewellyn-Kth | USS Lindstrom | Hobus Station | Hobus System]
“Okay… Fuck… No, okay… Think…” Words fled his lips in a tumble as his attention hurriedly returned to the console in front of him, fingers trembling enough that they blurred as he navigated through to the transporter system, cursing once again when the transporters failed to get a lock on any of the boarding party; he knew that they’d been intending to deploy transport inhibitors, but he’d hoped that perhaps they hadn’t got that far yet… “Okay, right… What can I do…”

He felt panic begin to bubble up into his throat, a red heat scalding behind his face, a sickening feeling of fear and guilt brewing within his chest at the thought that a group of hostels were heading right for the boarding team, and he was powerless to do anything about it…

“What have I got…” He breathed through gritted teeth, fingers shaking as he navigated through every panel at once, bringing up weapons, propulsion, navigation, sensors, nothing that would help the away team… He muttered incoherently to himself as he flicked through the same array of systems once again, miraculously finding nothing that would help, the same as he had the first time…

He couldn’t very well launch a torpedo at the station when he was docked with it, nor would he have the time or expertise to recalibrate the sensors to compensate for whatever scrambling tech the Savi might be using… Noises of equal parts stress and horror fled his lips as he navigated the same few systems once more, weapons, propulsion, navigation, sensors, transporters… Sylvain knew that he wasn’t a tactician, nor was he someone even remotely seasoned in the arts of battle; he was a pilot, and this wasn’t a situation that a few evasive maneuvers could solve…

He was ridiculously out of his depth… A common theme of the past forty-eight hours apparently…

Sylvain froze still as a statue as that thought bloomed within his head. He’d told Cora the same thing not twelve hours ago… That he was out of his depth, that he wished that someone else could make the decision for him; they hadn’t been able to then, and they couldn’t now. Thoughts rambled through his head in a high-pitched screech as he turned the transporter systems back towards the Erudite, wincing at the thought of what he was about to attempt, how many Starfleet codes he was about to violate… It would cost him his career under any normal circumstances, but they weren’t under normal circumstances…

Both the Hobus Station and the Erudite’s shields had been battered, redistributions and focussed fire leading to narrow gaps that were just wide enough to sneak a transporter through. He brought up the tricorder readings that he’d taken the previous evening as a reference, his other hand directing a tumultuous connection to the transport enhancer he’d stashed on the side of a vat somewhere in the bowels of the Erudite’s research deck… Sylvain tried desperately hard not to think about what he was doing, to just act, to follow the logic in his head that this was the most efficient option available to him, as disturbing as it might be… Violating a few dozen Starfleet codes was better than leaving his colleagues to the mercy of a possible Savi ambush. Violating a few dozen Starfleet codes was better than risking the fate of the billions of lives at stake, if the mission failed…

Nausea flooded his system as he recalibrated the transport lock again and again, desperate to get a lock on the three dozen biosigns that were in reach of the enhancer, hands trembling as he swallowed bile around Cora’s earlier words ‘how does that make us any better than them, Sir?’... It did… It had to! Sylvain wasn’t doing this to commit genocide, like the Erudite would have, like the Hobus crew were currently doing… It was to save lives. It was a distraction; even if it only bought the away team a couple of extra seconds, it was a few seconds they could use to help stop the destruction of an entire planet… His fingers kept sweeping across the panels even as his mind screamed complaint, identifying a location on the Savi schematic that was marked as potentially being one of their security control centres, narrowing the annular confinement beam as he tried not to think about what would happen on the other end…

The reality of what he was doing was sick, heinous, and he couldn’t believe that he’d ever formed the idea within his head, much less actually executed it! Sylvain wouldn’t have done something like this in a holodeck programme; he wouldn’t have even been in a programme where something like this could be done… Two months ago, back aboard the Bowman, he wouldn’t have even imagined something like this, and yet suddenly, he was trying to justify something that he was pretty sure could be considered a war crime… Yet he’d come up with the idea, and as much as he didn’t like to trust what his own mind conjured up, maybe it was meant to be? Perhaps his precognitive centres had caught him in a loop of cause and effect, giving him the very idea that was necessary for the future him to execute.

Fuck he hated temporal mechanics.

“I’m sorry…” Sylvain breathed out through quivering lips, every bulwark of his willpower clamping down over the dubious moralities of what he was about to do, as his eyes stared adamantly at the transporter coherency, ears filled with the sound of his own blood pumping as his fingers hovered over the execute command. As soon as transport coherency was established, the Ensign gave himself no time to think, fingers inputting the command that would hopefully buy the boarding teams a little more grace… If it ended his career, so be it. Everyone’s career ended if the parasites won.

“Energise…”

[ Savi Test Subjects CCXXVII through CCLII | Security Control Centre | Hobus Station | Hobus System]

“Moopsy!”
~~

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Hobus Station]
The Security exosuit wasn't exactly quiet, but it wasn't too loud either as Lieutenant Zark took the point in leading the small team deeper into the station. Her breathing was steady and calm, though she could hear elevated levels from the others behind her. This she paid no mind though as she focused on the readouts on her helmet's HUD as well as her gut instinct. Prior to the introduction of the exosuit, her gut was the main sense she had to go on and it had served her well during her time Dominion war service. The fact that she was alive and many Jem'Hadar were not was a testament to that skill. Still, it wasn't that easy as the station was constantly shaking under the persistent bombardment from the Erudite. The group had to pause a couple of times as something big exploded and shook the entire station. The alarms blaring throughout the station seemed to pick up additional urgency and tension after each blast.

The Security medico didn't really know where they were headed as she followed Lieutenant Leavitt's instructions. Mia and Nara seemed to be holding up well though they were visibly nervous. The lights flickered for a moment and Zark motioned for the group to hug the wall as she peeked around a corner and was greeted by the sight of several Savi passing in a parallel corridor going who knows where. The Andorian waited a couple of prudent minutes before waving her hand for everyone to follow. It didn't take too much longer for the group to reach a room that had potential because of the amount of power being directed into it. Zark looked at Alistair to confirm this was the room he wanted then took a moment to close her eyes and collect her thoughts as she stacked on the opposite side of the door. She waited patiently as the door was hacked and when she got confirmation it was ready to open, she pulled a flash bang off her belt. "Full room scan." The medico ordered and a sensor pulse hit the room. Her antennae tried to shoot up straight in shock as she took in the results. The Savi in there were no surprise as she was looking to see where her targets were going to be, what was surprising was the various other life signs inside the room. What was even more shocking was that they were clearly a Federation assortment. Humans, Andorians, Vulcans amongst many others. "There's Federation species in there, open the door Alistair and cover my back." She gave him a moment to overcome his shock before the door opened and in went the pyrotechnic canister.

The grenade bounced in a rolled for a second much to the surprise of the Savi scientists inside, the next fraction of a second saw righting microjets fire then the central small jumping charge activated and the bomb bounced to somewhat above standard sentient head height. The action caused many to look and wonder what the object was, so they were looking right at the flashbang when it went off and the room was bathed in bright white light for just a moment. Screams of optical pain caromed around the room and Zark flowed into the chaos with eyes colder than the glaciers of her home as the rifle came up. Her HUD filled in the details of where the barrel was pointing and it she could see the outline of all the targets that her sensors had picked out and she was merciless as she chewed her way through the occupants. The screams of agony were only cut short as a phaser bolt or two of maximum stun energy sent aliens crumpling or flying depending on how they were hit. She wasn't the best shot in Starfleet history, but she was more than capable under these circumstances, and the room soon fell silent as all the Savi present were on the ground unconscious. "Room secure, get to work." The Zhen commanded as she turned to first secure the door then turned towards the long corridors with solid closed doors.

The medic could feel the tension in her body as her antennae tried to traverse forward. The readings on the people ahead of her were becoming more clear and details like gender and health status started to become clearer. Her lips began to twist into a snarl as she saw the ragged status on the sensor readout as many showed anywhere from yellow of unhealthy, to red of critical, to even a few black of people who were dead. Not quite up to dealing with the dead, Zark stopped in front of a random door of someone who was somewhat green and another who was yellow. There was no hesitation as she brought up her arm mounted tricorder interface and began typing for a basic door hack, then activated the program. Working at electronic speed, the cell door obliged and light spilled into the cell totally contrasting with Zark's temper quickly rising as her heart sank. "Ronan." she whispered harshly.

The medico took her helmet off as the dark haired petty officer blinked for a moment and moved grimy hands to shield them. It took a moment for him to adjust before he got a good look at the doffed suit of armor walking into his cell and the look of disbelieving relief cascaded all over his face. "Lieutenant Zark?" he asked hesitantly as if he didn't believe his own eyes. "Is that really you?" The Andorian ignored the wretched smell that assailed her nostrils and gathered the man in her alloyed arms. "Yes Ronan, it's really me." As she gathered the man in her arms, she looked over to see a green haired woman and it took her a moment to place the face before offering a soft smile. "Ensign Kreshkova, it's good to see you too." Lieutenant Zark pushed away from the weeping man before tapping the communication button. "Lieutenant Zark to Lieutenant zh"wann and Erudite. I have survivors from the USS Cayuga here. They're in bad shape. I need the ship brought in closer to commence an evac of the survivors. How copy?"
~~

[ Lieutenant Ida zh'wann | Near Hobus Station Breach]
The first Idea that something was amiss for the Savi was when the security team guarding the engineers and scientists fired into the ones sent to investigate the anomaly in the power node and their bodies were sent sprawling all over the deck. Nobody had gotten away, so that bought the assault force some time. Hopefully. When the medic broke radio silence with her report, the Deputy's antennae tried to go through her helmet as she processed this completely unexpected news and complication to the mission. Still, the mandate of action was clear. "Concur, can the Erudite be brought closer to begin transporter evacuation of the USS Cayuga survivors?"
~~
[ Lieutenant Elro Kobol | Hobus Station ]
The unsettling absence of Savi or Romulans in the airlock and surrounding areas gnawed at Elro’s thoughts as they advanced through the station. Their progress toward the power room, unopposed and eerily smooth, only amplified his growing sense of unease. He couldn't shake the possibility that they were walking into a trap—or perhaps the station truly was abandoned. Neither answer offered much comfort. Still, the mission demanded they press on, leaving retreat out of the question. The uncertainty of the situation was a heavy weight, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Elro kept his hands busy, assisting with the setup of transporter inhibitors and the relocation of crates. His movements were deliberate, aiming to stay out of the way of the more tactical team members while contributing where he could. Securing his medical tricorder in its holster with a satisfying clip, he ensured it wouldn’t slip free should a sudden movement jar it loose. However with his phaser, he continued to hold it awkwardly as he worked. The oppressive silence of the station crept under his skin, eroding his calm with each passing minute.

To distract himself from the eerie atmosphere, Elro lent a hand with the computer hacking efforts. The task provided a brief reprieve from his spiraling thoughts, but it wasn’t enough. The uneasy quiet of the station lingered, a constant reminder of the unknown dangers that could be lurking just beyond their perception. Abandoning the terminal, he busied himself with a quick inspection of his medical kits, checking and rechecking the supplies for readiness. It wasn’t long before his attention was drawn to a small team preparing to head deeper into the station. Without hesitation, Elro joined their ranks, falling into step as rear guard alongside one of the Security officers. Together, they moved with vigilance, scanning every intersection and corridor for signs of ambush. Still, nothing.

The periodic rumble of bombardments from the Erudite above provided an unsettling soundtrack to their unchecked infiltration. The station shuddered under the onslaught, a testament to the skill of their Fighter pilots. Elro couldn’t help but wonder how injured they might be when he returned to the ship. He pushed the thought aside, blinking as Lieutenant Zark’s signal brought the team to a halt. Stretching out with his senses, Elro felt it—a faint yet unmistakable presence. The Savi were near.

Moments later, the team breached their destination. Elro’s telepathic awareness confirmed what his medical intuition had already guessed: Federation species were inside, and not all of them were stable. His instincts took over, edging him closer to the front as the team prepared to neutralize the room. The flashbang detonated, and Elro reflexively shut his eyes against the brilliant burst. The sharp crackle of phaser fire followed, but he trusted the others to maintain control. His role was clear.

As the flash subsided, Elro’s focus shifted to the critical task at hand. With the room declared secure, he moved quickly toward the injured captives. A brief scan of the room confirmed his suspicions—some were in dire need of care. He knelt beside the nearest patient, his medical tricorder now in hand, conducting rapid scans to prioritize treatment. Zark’s recognition of one of the captives reached his ears, but Elro stayed focused. It was good to know they had saved crewmates, but his concern lay with their immediate survival.

Working swiftly, Elro treated open wounds and worked to stabilize the most critical patients using supplies from his kits. He knew he could only do so much here; the goal was to get them out alive, not perform miracles. Around him, the team was already preparing for extraction. He let their determination fuel his own, methodically moving from one injured person to the next. Each breath, each pulse he stabilized, was a step closer to ensuring their mission’s success. Whatever horrors this station held, Elro would face them head-on—with every ounce of skill and resolve he possessed.
~~
[Ens. Via "DixeBee" Wix | Wolf-16 | Seconds to Hobus Station | (Hobus System)]

“Suck Vacuum savvy!!” Via mocked, but as if the spirit of the station heard her, its defenses suddenly lit up and began targeting her.

“ShitShitShitShit” The young pilot took her Valravn and dove down into the trench superstructure. Flying through it she knew the turrets would have a harder time locking onto her. The only downside was she was essentially trapped dodging stray beam shots from token defenses within the trench.

“Give me something to get our asses out of here!” Via yelled back at her RIO while trying to pay attention to not getting shot or crashing into something.
“Im tryingImtrying!!” She cried in response as she used the fighter’s computer and fusion sensors to analyze the Station’s systems.

“Uh…uh…prophets…OK! There is a power subsystem node at the end of this trench. A well plac- New Contact!!” Another Savi fighter decloaked behind Wolf-16 and fired its beam narrowly missing the Starfleet fighter.

“Yeah! My ass sees that” Via cut her off knowing what she was about to say. She used her panel to authorize the release of the torpedoes. “I'm busy tryin’ to not get our asses killed. Your ass flyin’ the torpedos. Don’t miss.”

“But!” The Bajoran hesitated which was followed by a near-direct hit by one of the Savi beam turrets which sent over temperature alarms and sparks flying throughout the cockpit.

“I swear I my ass dies because you-” Via snapped before the RIO programmed and launched a formation of 4 quantum torpedoes which she manually guided through the trench system. They bobbed and weaved together around various flak and AA defenses until one was destroyed by a stray. The other three continued on until they were guided toward a small porthole near the end of the trench. One after another they followed each other down the shaft until…

‘EEEEEEVROOOM!!!”

One main explosion followed by a web of secondary explosions came across the trench superstructure and surrounding superstructures of the station. The entire section went up in flames destroying the pursuing Savi fighter nearly engulfing Via’s as she pulled up leaving the carnage behind her.

It was a success

Too much of a success.

The defense turrets all blew up connectedly but so did power relays, conduits, power reserves, and banks. Wolf-16 just removed the main power regulator for that entire station section. The amount of power the Savi’s were pushing out to maintain their defenses (more importantly their shields.) was immense. Without the main regulator power systems and grids throughout that section of the station would overload and explode creating giant shuttle-sized holes into space and vaporizing anyone unfortunate enough to be close to a conduit. Via could see the web of secondary explosions spread out from its epicenter from her bird's eye view. That web however kept continuing with its radius encroaching towards the bordering party’s location.

“What did our asses just do?” Via asked worriedly.

“RIO, we targeted the station's sub power regulator…it must have been tired directly in the station's power grid and overloa…Prophets…”

Comms suddenly lit up

"Lieutenant Zark to Lieutenant zh"wann and Erudite. I have survivors from the USS Cayuga here. They're in bad shape. I need the ship brought in closer to commence an evac of the survivors. How copy?"

"Concur, can the Erudite be brought closer to begin transporter evacuation of the USS Cayuga survivors?"

“Their asses are about to be cooked!” Via turned her fighter around and started heading towards the Boarding party’s infill point chasing the web of explosions as she did. There was a good chance they hadn’t felt the explosion just yet due to the advanced Savi dampers but even they were about to shut down.

“Boarding Party Wolf 16, get your dumbasses into cover now!!” the RIO spoke into comms. Whether they reacted in time was completely up to them.

Re: Chapter 4: Mission Objective: SHOW UP AND DON'T BLOW UP

Reply #2 – May 18, 2025, 10:51:18 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Hobus Station]
The station shook suddenly and violently as the Andorian medic led the survivors from the Cayuga out of their imprisonment. It was a little iffy for some of them as they were weakened from long captivity and malnourishment. There wasn't a lot of sense in feeding future broken down bio mass after all. There had been a moment where Lieutenant Zark had grappled with the idea of slitting the scientists throats and leaving them to suffer in retribution for what had been done to her crew. It had felt like a long struggle despite being mere moments. She was not a woman without her passions and the snarl on her face that emerged from the depths of the frozen hells was a good sign that she was very intent on painting the room in fluid bio matter.

That was until the comm system activated and a very relieved voice came on, piercing the white hot rage that clouded her vision. "....will commence transport in two minutes. Zark? Lieutenant Zark? Please answer me." The medic stopped as her nostrils flared hard, her hand unconsciously squeezing the hilt of her dagger. She tried to respond, but her voice wouldn't work and the medico cleared her throat before trusting herself to continue. "Faye, please repeat." she gritted out, her voice flat, cold. There was a moment of hesitation before her friend and lover's voice repeated itself with a n edge of worry in it. "The Erudite is locking on to the Cayuga's survivors, they'll begin transport in one minute." The station shook once more and some of the more civilian crew members screamed while Lt. Zark stared at bound and huddled Savi laying face down on the floor and closed her eyes as she took began breathing deeply to regain her control. "Zark? Are you there?" "Yeah, yes. Acknowledged. Transport to begin soon." The deck beneath her feet shook again, this time more violently. "Faye. What's happening?"

"One of the Wolves hit something important. We're showing feedback overloads going through the station for something that looks like an overload."

Zark's eyes widened at this news.

Oh Shelat, we're gonna die.

"The Savi here say it looks barely contained since there's sections of the station blowing up all over the place, but there is energy being vented into space from other ports. They can't tell if......"

"Enough of your interference you insignificant insects!" Something screamed and the Zark's antennae tried to push through her helmet as she recognized the timber. Her eyes turned as the hulking form on a Scion with flowing eyes tore its way through the hatch. "Fuck!! Infested!" The medic yelled and her instincts took over as she raised her rifle, flipped the power setting as high as she could make it and pointed it at the abomination. The beast dodged one way, then threw off the medic's aim by changing directions in an instant and the room exploded in sparks as level 8 phaser bolts smashed the room apart. The thing was fast though as people ran away from the madly charging Scion and it jumped in the air just as a console exploded under its feet. "Hahahah! Excellent!" It yelled as it landed behind another console and crushed a couple of the bound Savi on the ground, send a mad splatter of black ichor in all directions. The thing didn't even flinch to look as it drove a claw down and the terrified frozen Nara Neuve screamed then gurgled as the limb drove itself through her upper torso, splashing blood and bone out the back of her tactical vest as if it was tissue paper. The Scion lifted the mortally wounded scientist and laughed as she coughed out her dying life force, spraying the beast with hot red blood, all the while whimpering in pain. The beast chortled at its victim. "This ones death is excquisite, and so will be yours as well!" Zark merely snarled and adjusted her aim slightly. The Scion's arm snapped to toss the dead woman off and it opened itself up to a barrage of fire that peppered its chest. Sparks and chittin blew off the the carapace and all the thing did was laugh as everyone in the room was sure its pain receptors were flaring. "Magnificient! Your little annoyance!" It yelled loud enough to be heard by all and the entire room stared at the smoking creature in disbelief. Nothing that had taken that amount of damage should be alive, but not only was the Scion still up, it seemed to be shaking with almost sexual excitement.

"What??! That's it? More! More!" the creature yelled as it leapt over a console and charged the Andorian. Zark had a brief moment for her eyes to widen in surprise before her instincts took over and she tried to roll out of the way. Her opponent didn't miss a beat as Zark felt her leg get snatched out and she was tossed like a rag doll. There was a grunt as the back her armour smashed into a console and she rolled over the other side, landing in a heap on the deck. Zark's HUD flared with damage reports as she commanded her body to get up, but it was slow responding. "Yeeees, Yeeees!! You are now my play thing bug and I shall enjoy squeezing the life from you." It intoned as it shrugged off the phaser fire that peppered its back while vaulting over the console. Zark felt herself being picked up then momentum shifted for a moment before she came to a literal crashing halt against a wall. "You will suffer! Hahaha!" and the Andorian grunted as her vision began to spangle as she was slammed into the wall several more times while trying to pry off the claw holding her in place. Her rifle was obviously lost and an arm beat uselessley against the Scion, which seemed to amuse the enemy no end. The beast pulled the dazed Andorian in and seemed to gloat at its victory that was the moment that Zark needed as she pulled her non standard vibro blade from its sheath and rammed it into the beast's shoulder, slicing deeply and sending ichor spraying into the air.

The Scion screamed but seemed to tighten its grip on his Andorian opponent as if no amount of damage was going to rob it of its moment. Lt. Zark oofed as she hit the deck hard, then yelled as the beast hammered her torso faster than was supposed to be biologicalyl possible. Her body rattled on the ground with each hit, limbs flailing as the room echoed with the impacts of chittin on alloy; and the armour tried to compensate, but the blows were more than it was ready to handle and the Andorian could feel her innards being pounded by the Scion.

An animal scream of female fury rang out in the room and the pounding suddenly stopped as another set of alloy exosuit arms grappled themselves around the wounded beast's neck and pulled back hard. The battered medic coughed and felt something warm and wet on her face as she saw the other exosuited figure hold on for dear life to the madly swinging Scion. The medico saw the other figure reach into the wound and pull the knife out, letting it fly off to rattle on teh ground before pulling something off its belt, then shoving it into the gaping wound. That's when the figures luck hit a bump and the Scion got a hand on the offending creature and tossed it. Zark heard Ida yelp, then grunt as she crashed through another console in a shower of alloy and sparks while everyone was scrambling to find something akin to safety. Zark grimaced as she leaned on an elbow while Ida groaned as she rolled to a stop and she could see the Deputy moving her arms to try to get back up. She let out another grunt as the Scion rushed forward and a powerful leg smashed the other Zhen into the air like a football where she hit the ceiling hard. This was the move that saved her though as a hollow fwump filled the room and the Scion's head exploded as the grenade inside its neck went off. Lieutenant zh'Wann grunted as she hit ground and moaned in pain. The lower half of the Scion stoood there for a moment as if unsure if it should be dead, then its legs buckled and the thing collapsed. More exosuits poured into the room as the sound of transporter beams shimmered as the survivors were being beamed out. "Oh Shit. Administering aid, start with the pain killers." some unidentified security exosuit called. "Erudite I have several more injured and dead incoming. Emergency transport to the aid station!"
The last part was a little echoey to the medic and she felt her strength slip as she fell back on the deck before coughing up more blood. She couldn't figure out who, but someone was also calling on the comm wide band. "Attention all Wolves. We can't get access to shut the station down permanantly, but I'm sending out schematics of station to the core. Someone needs to fly inside and knock it out!"

The last part was a little echoey thought the medic and Zark passed out with a final thought of Damnit! Not again.
~~

[ Lieutenant Elro Kobol | Hobus Station ] OOC: Hope this is okay??
Faye’s voice crackled over the comms, informing the team that the Erudite was about to beam the survivors out in a minute. Elro barely registered the relief; his focus was entirely on stabilizing one of the captives—a woman whose name he’d soon learn was Sashenka Kreshkova. Her condition was precarious, but he managed to get her to the point where moving her wouldn’t worsen her injuries or, in the worst case, kill her. His hands worked quickly, methodically, shutting out the chaos around him.

Then came the news that drove a spike of dread into his chest—the station was collapsing. Structural or power systems, it didn’t matter. Feedback from the fighter attacks was ripping the station apart. The firepower that was helping ensure the mission’s success was also sealing their doom if they didn’t get out in time. Elro felt no anger toward the pilots. This was, after all, the ultimate goal: destroy the station. They just had to survive the process.

He was just finishing packing his equipment back into his kits when a deep, thunderous voice reverberated through the room, freezing him in place. His gaze snapped to the doorway as a Savi Scion entered, its monstrous presence filling the space with dread. It roared its displeasure at the Theurgy crew’s interference, its words thick with malice and contempt.

Elro barely had time to register the creature’s charge before it was upon them, its first victim brutally clear—Nara Neuve. The scene unfolded in horrifying clarity: her body flung like a ragdoll, blood spraying across the room. Elro’s stomach lurched, but he forced himself to stay focused. The Scion’s sheer brutality made his instincts scream to retreat, but retreat was not an option.

Phaser fire lanced out from multiple places of cover around the room, joining his own as he aimed at the towering abomination. Even at maximum settings, the Scion shrugged off the assault with a chilling laugh. Fear gripped him tightly as he realized the futility of their weapons against this Infested monstrosity. When the Scion turned its attention to Zark, Elro’s heart clenched. He saw her ragdolled across the room, her resilience the only thing keeping her alive thus far.

The battle raged on, but Elro stayed where he was, low to the ground beside Kreshkova. His body instinctively positioned itself between her and the Scion. He knew he was no match for the Infested—there was no illusion of heroics—but he’d be damned if it got to his patient without a fight.

Through his periphery, he noticed the carnage left in the Scion’s wake. The Savi they’d secured earlier now lay in crumpled heaps, their lives snuffed out by the Scion’s brutal entrance. The blood—Savi and Starfleet—painted the room in chaos.

Then, in a blur of movement, Ida engaged the Scion from behind. Elro didn’t see the entirety of the struggle—it was happening too quickly—but the explosion that obliterated the Scion’s head told him everything he needed to know. Ida had managed to plant a grenade on the creature. The sight of the massive being finally collapsing was a strange mixture of horror and triumph. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips despite the carnage; their Security officers truly were remarkable.

But there was no time to dwell on victories. The station was still on the brink of collapse. With Kreshkova stable, Elro rushed to Ida’s side, his medical tricorder already scanning. Her injuries were significant, but nothing he couldn’t handle. His hands moved with precision, administering trauma care to stabilize her. The urgency of their situation sharpened his focus as he worked swiftly to ensure she could either move on her own or be ready for transport.

Once he'd done all he could for Ida, Elro turned his attention to Zark. He took over her treatment from a Security officer, his medical training guiding his actions as he assessed her condition. Her torso was severely damaged, and he worked as quickly as the limited time allowed to mend her injuries enough for extraction. A brief smile flickered across his face as he reassured her, though she was unconscious by the time he finished.

Elro packed his kits once more, his movements efficient and deliberate. He gestured to the Security officer to assist with Zark, silently hoping she’d regain consciousness before their time ran out. The station trembled around them, a stark reminder of how little time they had left. But for now, Elro had done all he could. He steadied himself, ready to face whatever came next, his determination unwavering.
~~
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Bridge | Erudite ] Attn: all
Never, not once, had she been so scared. So bone shakingly, gut clenching scared. Fear that had cold sweat pouring down the back of the exosuit she wore, one lone Betazoid in a room full of Savi she could not read. Ashen gray in the face, where normally her skin was lightly tanned and cheeks rosy and full of mirth. Watching as the Erudite swung over a long, bowel loosening close arc across the Hobus station, grim faced Savi stoically in place. Feeling the terror, the exhilaration, and the sheer grit of all the Starfleet personnel down there, a mass of emotion that threatened to undo her. No, Faye Elio-Danvers, Ensign in the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps, late of the USS Theurgy, had never quite known terror like this.

That was saying something, considering she had faced down the Borg at the Azure Nebula less than two months past.

How did my life get so utterly fucked? She asked herself silently, swallowing and turning to the Savi next to her. Barpin qi Erudite In truth she was certain he barely tolerated her presence. And yet he had, more than once during the combat, elicited her opinion. Asked for her input. Deferred to her insight. Maddening. And now he stood, head on a swivel as the ship pulled up and away. She thought he was frowning, but Faye would be the first to admit that she wasn't the best at reading Savi expressions, even after being in close proximity to them. Not being able to feel their emotions was trying at times like these. Probably for the best overall. She had enough to deal with.

"It won't be long now," Barpin noted in the Federation Standard, looking at her. "Your people have wreaked utter havoc inside the station. The star is stabilized and many internal systems have failed," he seemed to shake his head, as if in disbelief. It had not been without cost to the Erudite and yet here they were all the same. Faye licked her lips, throat dry, and gave a terse nod.

"Thank you," She said, quietly, "For beaming away the hostages we discovered. I know it was not without risk." As she spoke she saw the first blooms of true explosions cycling down the length of the station, rapidly shrinking in their wake. She overheard one of the technicians note that the last shuttle had made it back into the hangar. "For waiting long enough."

Barpin shrugged, or as close to one as Faye could make out. "You abided by the agreement. And we have dealt a crippling blow to the enemy." Funny that you care about the enemy more than saving the homeworld of an entire species, and the heart of an empire that may never know what Starfleet personnel did for it. Faye didn't say it aloud, and hoped that with her training, it didn't show on her face. The screen behind them went brilliant white for a moment, then faded back to normal, showing a ring of debris falling slowly into the corona of the Hobus star.

Just like that... she mused. Or not. Before Barpin could respond, one of the other technicians called out again. "Multiple vessels in pursuit. None are undamaged." A pause. "Perhaps our...allies can assist with thinning their number before we can make the jump?" The Savi turned to look at Faye, as did Barpin. What more could they expect?

"Alright," Faye moved over to the console that Barpin stood in front of, the gray specter of an alien stepping back. She punched up the comms controls - having been taught that by the Savi - and spoke briefly. "Ens. Danvers to Wolf teams. I know you all are more than ready to pack it in, but if we want to get back to the Theurgy, we need one more sally. The Erudie has been heavily damaged, and needs a bit longer before we can jump away. It is being pursued by - here she paused long enough for a confirmation from the technician again, "- three enemy vessels. Well, more like enemy hulks. There are so many holes in those ships that you could fly a Defiant class through them."

The humor fell flat on the Savi, but even over this distance she could pick up trace amusement from those Starfleet officers and crew listening in over the channel. She smiled, surprised that her face could form the feature. They'd lost so many already, and untold thousands had just died in that explosion. But Billions had been saved..."Please be so kind as to swat those flies for us, Wolf Squadron."

~~
[Ens. Via "DixeBee" Wix | Wolf-16 | Hobus Station | (Hobus System)]
The fiery cataclysmic wall of explosions burned bright under Wolf-16 as the fighter flew over toward the unaffected part of the station. According to the sensors, the chain reaction itself seemed to have been contained ever so slightly, preventing the vaporization of the away team but the Station’s structural integrity was quickly deteriorating. Via went in a holding pattern over the away team’s location taking a few seconds of reprieve to figure out where the rest of her flight and what she was supposed to do next. It was only then she noticed/processed more like the life signs of all of her wingmen which she could see on her heads-up display, were all lost except one Archon whose heart rate was spiking through the roof. He was in danger clearly but just as Via was about to turn her craft to head toward him to assist, she received priority communication from the away team.

“Anyone that is still flying out there. We found the specs to take out this station once and for all, but uh… it's going to be a little dicey. Uploading now. We are running out of time!” the communication cut as if radio communications suddenly became jammed.

“Prophets…” Via’s Bajoran RIO eye’s widened. This can’t be right, how are we supposed to travel there?”

The RIO shared a holographic overview of the schematics straight into Via’s HUD. The reactor was a massive oversized Zero Point Energy Reactor in the middle of the station still supplying immense stable and efficient power even after all the stress it was subjected to. Even though she didn’t know how they were going to take it out, she had to try. There were only two wolves left including herself, and Archon was in trouble. They were running out of time however and making the choice between the mission and between a comrade sent a stabbing pain straight to her heart. As much as she didn’t want to admit she was the only one capable of completing the task, she was the only one. Everyone she trained with since she joined this rogue group of misfits is either dead or dying from what she could tell.

Someone had to do it…

“Fuckin’ Fuckfuckfuck!!” Via conceded to the logical choice in her head, destroying the station herself, and started thinking. “Use the dumbass computer to plot somethin’. Station gotta have somethin’”

With that idea prompted to the RIO, the Bajoran made the fighter’s computer run an analysis. It only took a few seconds before it came back with a detailed yet risky flight plan. Risky enough to give the RIO some pause.

“We won’t make it…prophets the computer is saying there is a power conduit relay system under construction that leads straight to the reactor. There is a 35% chance of succeeding.” She shuddered knowing there was a good chance Via was going to go ahead regardless of the odds.

“35%? Ain’t that like basically 55%? And ain’t that like…75%?” The woman joked slightly, her concept of percents was a bit skewed
“What? No!” the Bajoran exclaimed with confusion.

“All by ass heard was succedin’. It ain’t like we don’t gotta choice…” Via said resigned, terrified, and yet content with the possibility this could be her last minutes alive. “I dunno bout you, but my ass ain’t gonna let some skinny ass Savi win!” Via inputted the flight plan into her navigation console and fired the afterburners.

The next 2 minutes were somewhat of a blur for the pilots of Wolf-16. The fighter danced as it did before around spires, trenches, and other station superstructures before reaching the unfinished conduit trench where it would narrowly fly through tight turns and hidden defenses. It would be an absolute testament to the Pilot’s skill and sheer luck that the Valravn didn’t crash and burn before it reached the massive interior housing that contained the Station’s Reactor. Once in weapons range the small yet powerful fighter strategically released its explosive torpedo complement against critical power regulators surrounding the reactor causing the quantum containment field to destabilize and collapse sparking a chain reaction the chased Wolf-16 as it flew in a last-ditch maneuver to survive into a exhaust trench leading out of inside the station into greater space.

The fighter shot out of the station like a comet, fire trailing behind it as it pierced through the vacuum of space only overshadowed by the crumbling superstructure of the Hobus Station. The station itself exploded through conventional power overloads before the Zero Point Reactor began to cannibalize what would’ve been an outward explosion. Fire, debris, everything in the station was compressed to a single point then suddenly and quite violently exploded outwards in a sharp and defining explosion which for all intents and purposes could not be felt or heard in space.

Luckily, the Erudite and Wolf-16 were both out of range of the blastwave. However, the latter suffered from overheated systems, scorched circuits, and heavily concussed and bruised navigators. They just barely limped back to the Savi supercarrier for a quick and dirty field before Archon, who survived the battle, assisted in mopping up the last stragglers trailing the wounded Savi Vessel.

The operation was a success, thousands of Savi lay dead, and billions were saved including prisoners who were rescued by a valiant away team who made it to the Erudite just in the nick of time. The mission wasn’t over, however. The culminating battle was just upon the crew, one which would decide the fate of many who would participate. Till then, the Starfleet officers of the Theurgy would have time to process the past and plan for the future in whatever way they so deemed fit.

---

NARRATOR: Leavitt’s assumptions were accurate; the multi-pronged attack by way of attacking the alternative bases had worked in their favor, spreading out enemy forces and allowing the Erudite and its Starfleet fighters closer quarters before launching into the fray. Though there were losses among their forces at the alternative base, there was also the unexpected hope in the guise of rescued members of the lost Cayuga’s crew. Quickly working to rejoin the Erudite as it launched into its fight against the Scions around the Hobus station, these survivors and their rescuers had yet to sigh with relief as it was yet to be determined if they would successfully prevent the star’s explosion. Through combined efforts and continued sacrifice from among Theurgy’s crew  and even among the Savi themselves, the Hobus station was successfully breached, the crisis of exploding Hobus avoided, and the Scions routed. Too badly damaged to lay in a continued pursuit course for those Scions who survived, the Erudite gathered what remained of her scattered fighters and forces and limped back toward the Triangle, where, upon arrival, they were to find themselves once more on the edge of the knife of mayhem…

AND NOW THE BATTLE AT THE TRIANGLE COMMENCES…