On The Assault - Part 6 - No Time to Mourn

Posted on Fri Jul 10th, 2026 @ 1:24am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Ensign Syaro Kirimi & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Zachary Addams & Petty Officer 1st Class Alexis Aenera
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2026 @ 1:25am

2,211 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Flight Of The Valkyries
Location: Various
Timeline: March 18th, 2397

[USS Tokyo Engineering]

"All primary damage control teams to the saucer section," Zach said his voice hard, but controlled as he rushed through Engineering. "Secondary teams to deck seven and eight, tertiary teams to decks four and five." There was controlled chaos as they worked to reroute power around the damage. The shields they'd worked so hard to restore were down again, and now with intruders, every engineer just became a security officer as well. Every engineer from every shift was now on duty, and while some were fatigued, having been roused from sleep, everyone was focused and intent. No one wanted them to be the next ship lost.

He looked up quickly as movement next to him caught his eye. He saw Alexis coming up to him and, despite his governor being active, had to resist the impulse to hug her with relief. "I'm pleased you are all right," was as far as he'd indulge the moment, then pointed to the secondary MARC console. "If containment fluctuates past five percent above normal, inform me immediately. While you're monitoring, see if you can get power shut off to the non-critical areas of Deck Three. I'm having trouble rerouting."

“Yes, sir.” Came the automatic reply, then her eyes widened as six figures just appeared, flashes of light already shooting out of some staves as the one pointed in their general direction shifted slightly to align better, but she didn’t wait to see what happened, grabbing the front of Zach’s uniform as she bowled him over and landed on him. The flash of energy shot over them, but her momentum didn’t cease as she tucked herself inwards and rolled in that direction. She saw the staff twitch towards her as other screams and flashes continued around them and she’d left the cover of the console. She pushed off as her body went into automatic, the best hand to hand instructors in the Empire had drilled her reflexes into muscle memory and she rolled in under the tip of the staff as the Herald tried to lower it enough to shoot her and one stiff arm hooked a leg as her own legs drove upwards, flipping it awkwardly onto its side, barely holding onto the staff.

Alexis didn’t think, driving down with a gravity assist to slam her elbow into its sternum, preventing its reflexive attempt to prop back up. Her free hand reached for the knife in her boot and jammed it into the neck, again not waiting for any satisfaction before turning the blade and ripping it out as she drove her shoulder into the back of another Herald, knocking it off balance and taking them both to the floor. Her legs flashed out and her upper body twisted, lower body following as she tangled another set of Herald legs before she pushed off with her hands and landed in a crouch on her feet.

Zach rolled away, then jumped to his feet, breaking into a run. "Evacuate Engineering! Computer, lock down all Engineering consoles and establish a level ten forcefield around the warp core," he said as he ran. The computer beeped and the forcefield sprang to life. Now having established himself as the one in charge, a Herald focused on him and gave pursuit. Zach didn't worry about that one but instead targeted another who was chasing Ensign Kirimi. He reached into his uniform jacket quickly, then threw out his arm. The Herald let out a cry of surprise and pain as his arm was suddenly cuffed to the MARC railing he'd been passing. Zach kept running, now changing direction to flag the one following him, heading towards a replicator.

Kirimi managed to get out of the way, she gave him a quick nod of thanks before ducking under the nearest console.

Still in fluid motion, Alexis brought her arms up in a combat stance, amethyst eyes flicking about while her body moved to the cadence that her brain didn’t bother to transmit to her consciousness. A slash to one of the two remaining Herald’s arms, followed up by a roundhouse kick to the head that flowed into a grapple that spun her and the Herald around to throw it into one of the two that was scrambling back to it’s feet. A slash of the other staff found empty air as she seemed to anticipate it and her toes hit the console, automatically flexing to grip it and let her momentum take her atop it.

The toes flexed. The boot they were in did not. She slid off the console and fell hard to the floor, all momentum lost now and she stared in horror as one of the staffs swung towards her and she knew she’d just run out of time and motion.

The Herald suddenly flinched and his face began to bleed as he looked up and saw Zach standing with a metal card between his fingers. Zach shot his arm out and snapped his wrist and another card flew, striking the Herald in the face, the corner lodged his cheek. He let out a grunt of pain and turned his weapon but Zach unfurled a large piece of fabric he'd replicated and swirled it in front of him, then around him, obscuring him from view. As the Herald opened fire, the fabric dropped to the deck empty, and the Herald's beam disintegrated his compatriot who had been standing behind Zach, lining up his own shot.

As the Herald turned back to Alexis, he paused, seeing Zach kneeling over her. Before he could swing his weapon back into position, Zach pulled Alexis' face to his chest, reached into his uniform again and pulled something out, slamming it on the ground. There was a bright flash, making the Herald cover his eyes, then both humans were gone.

Alexis had squeezed her eyes shut as the staff had started to glow and it was only as Zach pressed her face to him that she jerked in surprise. She opened them again and found that they were now back behind the main console again, but her knife was no longer in her hand and she realised she'd dropped it when she'd fallen. She exhaled deeply and surveyed the situation and Zach right there with her, "Phaser rifles?" She whispered to him.

"We'd never get to them in time," he said under his breath, pulling out his hand phaser from its holster. "This'll have to do." He set it to heavy stun, but the sound got the attention of the Herald, who swung around to aim at them. Zach reached out and aimed quick, firing directly at the Herald, striking him in the chest and sending him staggering back. Zach quickly fired again before the Herald could recover, and quickly put him on the ground.

He stood up slowly and came around, then looked where the other Herald was still chained to the railing, his arm dislocated. He fired point blank, putting that one out cold as well. "Secure the doors," he said, just before another group of Herald beamed in.

---

[USS Ark Royal]

Maple gripped the edge of the arms of her seat as the Ark Royal began to shake. Pulses of the Heralds weapons fire making it through what was left of the Akagi and bouncing against the ship's armour. Finally there was a large jolt as one section of the armour failed.

"Captain. Heavy damage to deck six, section three through twelves. Multiple hull breaches," the voice of her chief engineer echoed throughout the bridge over the comm system.

The Captain looked at the woman next to her, the look of frustration and sadness in her eyes. They hadn't managed to rescue all the remaining souls aboard the Akagi yet. "Their warp core is going critical. Breach in two minutes."

"Captain, we're going to need nearly every second of that to get to a safe distance," James said, already plotting a course away.

Maple bit her lip, hard. Her face scrunched as she inhaled a long breath. She sat back in her chair and let her shoulders relax. The inhale was held, burning in her lungs before she released it. "Raise shields. We've done everything we can here. Helm, get us out of range, there's no point in rescuing people if we end up being destroyed regardless."

She looked over at Sally. The woman next to her nodded slowly. Her best friend since High School, they had been through a lot together. However, this was by far one of their hardest moments. "Do it now." Sally called out, her eyes still locked with Maple's. "Don't let them die in vain."

There was a dreadful pause that seemed to go on for an eternity before the CSO's voice cut through the tension like a knife:

"Shields raised, Ma'am," she reported, though the trembling in her voice evidenced that she too was rattled about consigning several dozen officers to their inevitable deaths.

"Rerouting power to the engines," Ops said, a lump in his throat.

James's hand had hovered over the console and the moment he heard Sally's voice he pounced. He arced hard, steering them away from the ship at their best speed, the ship groaning slightly as inertial dampeners strained to keep up.

Maple looked down at the deck before closing her eyes for a brief moment. She then returned her gaze to the viewscreen. "Continue the fight. All weapons free on the Starbase."

[Graf Zeppelin]

Captain Loid Forger kept his eyes on the wreck still tumbling on the main viewer, jaw tight. "Tactical, give me a status. Ze Akagi, ze rest of ze fleet — everyting."

The tactical officer didn't look up from her console, fingers moving quickly. "Akagi's warp core is going to breach, Captain. Ark Royal's pulled back to a safe distance — they got as many off as they could, but not everyone. Akagi's a loss." She paused, scrolling. "Ark Royal took hull damage covering the evacuation, multiple breaches on deck six, but she's stable and clear of the blast radius. Armitage and Broadsword are holding position in the main formation, still engaging. Tokyo—" She hesitated. "Tokyo took a direct hit from the station's primary array, Captain. Saucer section. Multiple hull breaches reported, and now they're showing signs of an active boarding action." The Tactical officer reported with tension in her voice.

Loid's hands tightened on the armrests of his chair. There was nothing more that could be done for the Akagi. The ship was already gone, whether the core breached or not. "Zen we do not waste effort on a ship zat is already lost. Focus forward and get us clear of the blast radius" He ordered to his Helm officer with deliberate firmness.

"Adjusting our heading now," Lieutenant Threll reported, voice even despite the warning chimes blaring around him. He banked the Graf Zeppelin away from the drifting wreck, opening as much distance as the formation allowed without breaking from the main line.

He sat back for half a second, the weight of it settling, then looked towards his Ops Officer. "Ventuk, get me a channel to ze Tokyo." His voice was quieter now, the accent thickening with the strain underneath it. "I want to know who is still alive over zere."

Captain Loid Forger leaned toward the comm panel, voice lower now, the strain bleeding through the accent. "Graf Zeppelin to Tokyo, zis is Captain Forger." A short pause, jaw tight. "We saw ze hit you took, and we are reading signs of a boarding action on your ship. I need to know your status, Commander — do you require immediate assistance?" Another beat, quieter, more pointed. The seconds dragged with no response from the Tokyo, the silence on the comm channel saying more than words would have. Loid's jaw tightened.

"Zat silence is not a good sign." Loid kept his eyes on the static-laced channel a moment longer, voice dropping to something only Helmuth could hear. "If zey are not answering, zen zey are either too busy fighting for zeir lives, or zere is no one left on zat bridge to answer." He straightened, pushing the thought aside. "Either way, we do not leave them to it alone."

He turned from the comm panel toward his security station. "Tell Security to gear up and beam directly to ze Tokyo — counter-intruder operations, priority one. I want zat ship back under control before we worry about anyting else."

"Aye, Captain," the security officer replied, already keying in the order.

Posting by:

Lieutenant Zachary Addams
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Tokyo

Petty Officer 1st Class Alexis Aenera
Engineering Officer
USS Tokyo

Ensign Syaro Kirmi
Engineering Officer
USS Tokyo

Captain Maple Shipman
Commanding Officer
USS Ark Royal
(Played by Captain Taiga Aisaka)

Lieutenant Hazel Ballard
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Ark Royal
(Played by Commander Chisato Nishikiji)

Lieutenant James Erickson
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Ark Royal
(Played by Lieutenant Zachary Addams)

Captain Loid Forger
Commanding Officer
USS Graf Zepplin
(Played by Lieutenant Jased Yuvek)

 

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