Mariner was lively as the ship was in orbit of Mogotis, and a female Romulan was on the screen at the Mariner Bridge; she smiled softly, “Thank you so much for responding to our call. We are glad that we can build on the Federation for their ongoing support in this matter,” she stated, nodding to a fellow Romulan who had passed her a note.

“The honor is ours; our presence here is, however, temporary, as we need to return. But we hope the supplies we deliver today will be enough for your colony to develop further. Did the Romulan Republic contact you to aid you in this colonization project?” Sazra leaned back in her chair.

The woman shook her head slightly. “Not yet, but we have sent messages regarding this colony project. We do hope that they will respond soon and be able to provide the needed defense against the aggression of the Klingons. These savages are going back to their primal nature, conquest and suppressing those that they can and steal their resources.” The woman shrugged. “But I hope the Republic will respond soon so they can relieve you from your protective duties.” 

Protective duties were not how Sazra would describe the situation; she remembered the words of Captain Takato quite clearly. Not to interfere or provoke the Klingons in any attack. This would unpack itself quite nasty for the Federation if they would. Sazra knew this would be a delegated matter to deal with. She smiled in the direction of the screen. “Understood, we will keep in contact about anything that is happening. Mariner out.” With that, the woman nodded as the screen returned to the starport view. 

“She is assuming quite a bit, Captain,” Asipa said, shrugging from her seat.

“The Federation’s presence in this neutral zone area puts everyone on the edge. With the Starfleet here, the Klingons might think twice about attacking this colony. On the flip side…” Miki shrugged at his other conclusion.

Sazra shrugged. “It can also be a perfect situation drafted for minor houses to prove themselves. Take on a Starfleet vessel and bring honor to your house.” Sazra saw Miki look, knowing exactly what he was thinking. “However, the reports state that the raids used old bird of prey’s, so that would be a suicide against a modern Pathfinder class ship.” 

“Don’t underestimate their ship tactics. They are quite willing and cunning to achieve their goal of getting a free ticket to their halls,” Miki pointed out bluntly. It is in Klingon’s nature to fight for what they believe in and die trying to achieve it. 

Blinking at the interaction, he sighed. “Captain, the first batch of cargo has been transported to the surface,” Drata reported. “We should be done within a few hours. I recommend patrolling through the system to get our bearings on the surroundings. I think Lieutenant Miki will be happy if we do that.” Drata gives Miki a wink, and he rolls his big eyes at it.

Giving a nod, “Sounds like a plan, Lieutenant Taritt. Get that transporting done. K’Nala works with Lieutenant Miki on a patrol route. Communications, keep that line with Mogotis open in case they need something from us.” Sazra gave out her orders as if it were second nature to her. She had been in this chair for years now, and even though she had changed ship a few times, she hated to admit to it but enjoyed the ride. 

A unified “Aye” came from all the officers on the bridge as Sazra looked at some data on her PADD. An offer was made to her that she was considering. Time changed, and even though this ship had been her home for the last year, it felt that she had been on travel for years. This offer would change everything’s dynamic. Looking upwards and letting the idea sink in to settle down with Silina would be comforting. Until her thoughts were interrupted by someone.

2 minutes and 46 seconds…

“Captain….” Drata’s voice echoed behind her as she looked in his direction. “Captain?” 

“What’s wrong, Lieutenant?” Sazra saw him looking at the screen of his panel with confusion.

He taps on the console and shrugs. “I don’t know, it’s Mogotis…” 

“On screen,” Sazra saw the view change to the beautiful planet; nothing wrong was seen, “It looks normal to me?” She looked over her shoulder at Drata.

Shaking his head, “It’s not on the surface….I notice an anomaly below it. A build-up of something?” Drata looked at the screen, getting the data. “I can’t seem to pinpoint it, but it’s definitely coming from below the surface, and it is rising….quickly” 

The bridge crew looked at the screen. Sazra turned her head to the screen. The beautiful sight of the planet was on the screen as purple pulses were visible in orbit; she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. Suddenly, the surface broke apart, and the bridge crew saw the colony getting ripped apart by an unknown force. Sazra pupils went bigger “EVASIVE MANEUVERS!” 

K’Nala didn’t wait for a second, as the planet’s debris was on an intercept course with the Mariner. With quick moves and using the full ability of the engines at her disposal, K’Nala did her best to avoid getting hit by the large junks of planetary pieces. The bridge crew did their best to keep themselves at their station, but the difficult and complex moves that the Mariner had to perform made it almost impossible. Debris hit the shields of the Mariner, shaking the crew from left to right. 

“Get us out of here!” Sazra orders, having difficulty holding onto her chair, “Miki, full power to shields!” 

“I am trying, Captain. Therrre are too many objects!” K’Nala complains, sliding her hand from left to right, from up to down, as the Mariner squeezes through tight spots. They were too near the space event that was taking place.

1 Minute and 4 seconds…

Make changes to the alert to red and press the communication “Red Alert, Red Alert, everyone to battle stations….” But without a warning, Miki gets shoved away from his console and slams into the back panel, falling onto the ground. The ride was taking its first wounded, but getting out there alive was priority one, and Sazra couldn’t focus on the wounded right now. 

“K’Nala, get us out of here…you can do it, girl!” Sazra held onto her chair as another debris hit the shields and slammed into the hull.

Looking panicky at the controls, K’Nala says, “No…No, no, no, don’t do this to me….engines are not responding…” Meanwhile, the last debris that hit the Mariner severely hits the right engine as it starts to leak warp fuel into space. The Mariner gets caught in a gravitational pull from the space event. “We’re getting dragged into the event horizon….” Then another alert goes off, and K’Nala looks at it and gasps, “Captain, huge planetarrry debris incoming!” 

Seeing the data and path of the debris, “Drata shields fully to the top of the Mariner now!” She tapped her communication to shipwide “BRACE, BRACE, BRACE! HOLD ON!” The bridge crew gets into a position of holding on to whatever is possible and awaits the incoming doom. The beeping sound kept everyone on the edge of the bridge. Meanwhile, outside, the large planetary debris gets closer to the Mariner as the shields blink brightly blue, showing the best ability of their shields. Then, the debris hit the ship with a loud bang as it broke off into pieces. 

The bridge crew is thrown through the bridge as the impact hits them. Panels spark brightly, and a few explode, and part of the bridge ceiling collapses because of the impact’s pressure. Darkness hits the bridge, and the only sound that can be heard is the cracking metal. The Mariner, severely damaged, half out of power, its engine damaged, dragged into the ripped open space that thorns Mogotis into pieces. Disappearing into the unknown…