The water barely moved this far from the large continent-spanning estuary, algae covered pools of cloudy liquid gathered around the base of the tall rust-coloured reeds; the placed mirror surface reflecting the distant glimmers of pinprick lights billions of miles in a sickly reflection of the night sky. Beneath the shelter of the thick green plant life small fish darted through the marshes, their scales shimmering with tiny flashes of starlight as they mindlessly jumped between the familiar gnarled roots, grabbing broken morsels of vegetation in their chattering mouths as they danced around the large listless forms of the slowly grazing fish. The peaceful scene was suddenly shattered by the sound of a deep splash and crack of metal as a giant blue fist hauled a cage up from the water. 

“Got it!” Mitig cried, lifting the fat fish to his eye level. It wiggled lazily, its large gills flapping in a moment of fear before its dumb glassy eyes forgot its previous life and it began swimming lazy circles contentedly in the metal box.

“Let me see.” Najaal lept from the nearby boulder she had been using as an observation post, her slender crane-like legs barely piercing the water with barely a splash. “That’s a big one, brother!” she smiled, patting him on the back. “That’ll make for a good dinner.” Her mouth was already watering at the thought of mother’s special blend of spices, passed down in whisper and repetition from mother to daughter. One day it would be her turn to know the makings of what was widely regarded to be the best fish dish in Fivetides. 

Mitig clutched the metal box close to his barrel chest, despite his young age the boy was quickly gaining a man’s body and his gigantic arms held the water-filled box with ease. “No Najaal, you can’t!” He wrestled with the high-pitched voice of prepubescence, he took a deep breath, attempting to push his voice down into the muddy swamp that surrounded his bootless feet. “You can’t take this one.” he finished with a more confident tone. 

“That would feed the whole family, we’d have a feast. Mother could make those roast bessels” The woman alighted next to him, peering over his shoulder like a gannet, salivating. The large fish continued its mindless loop, bumping into the simple metal walls before it turned again, knocking its flat face into the opposite wall as it continued its aimless circuit. 

“I don’t want bessels.” Mitigs slumped bodily into a pout, his lips dropping to make friends with his barrel chest, his face disappearing into the wirey brushes of hair gifted to him by his Kazon ancestry.  

Najaal threw her head back in a cackle of laughter that echoed through the perpetual twilight, shaking the bushes and causing several winged denizens to take flight. “I know that’s a lie.” She slapped the young boy on the shoulder, “You’ve never refused a bessel, especially from dear old mommy.” She twisted her face mockingly. “Oh mommy, these are the best…. mommy please can I have…”

A deep rumble interrupted her teasing as the placid water began jittering with sonic vibrations, the glassy surface of the swamp now undulating with sharp peaks and troughs. The rumble, barely audible to the pair’s young ears, shook through the muddy ground sending what beasts remained scattering, silver-scaled fish and hidden predators alike. 

“What is that?” Mitig asked, turning his head to and fro to isolate the sound. “It’s everywhere.” 

Najaal took a step in front of the young boy, her thin frame unfurling to full height over the dumpy muscled boy, her eyes now lifted above the 6-foot-tall reeds and brushes. Spinning her head slowly across the horizon, she scanned the murky surroundings in the stilted moonlight. “I don’t see anything… maybe a quake…” A spark of light erupted into the sky, an orange rocket ascending impossibly fast, a trail of yellow and red flowers erupting in its tail, propelling it in a wide arc towards the river. In a breathless instant, the sky erupted with light as a miniature star briefly screeched into existence, illuminating the marshland for miles around. The two teens recoiled at the sudden light, their eyes long since adapted to the perpetual gloom they spent their days in. Mitig cried out in fear, raising an arm to shield his face, barely keeping hold of the silver fish in its case, which now thrashed wildly at the unfamiliar wave of heat and light. 

An eternity of blinding light and bone warming heat blazed across the vast city scale marshland. In distant villages eyes turned upwards from millstones and looms to witness the brief new star; from orbit mechanical eyes registered the multi-isoton explosion for what it was, sending warning klaxons through the halls of the planet’s unseen surveyor.

As stillness began to return to the cloudy marsh as Mitig lowered his forearm, the silver scaled pet returned to it’s calm loop, unaware the danger had simply taken a rest. Mitig rubbed his eyes, the dancing light worms swimming in his sight. “Najaal, we should go back home and tell father…” But Najaal was already racing towards the source of the rocket, her long legs carrying her over the shallow marshes with ease, her excitement a tailwind pushing her towards the glowing shape not far off. 

“Bahir?”

“We have detected an explosion in low orbit of the planet, initial data suggests it is a photonic explosion in the 15 isoton region,” Bahir announced, rising from the XO’s chair to meet the Andorian emerging from the turbolift.  

“Hostiles?” Bib’s antenna rose defensively. 

“CAP reports nothing in the area, runabout Pollux is repositioning for a better view of the surface region,” Bahir answered, returning to his customary position at tactical with an unreleased sigh, by rights he could remain in the XO seat but now was not the time to push protocol. 

“Oyvo, bring up the feed.” Bib stood at the front of the bridge’s raised command podium as the forward bulkhead rippled, presenting a live feed from the runabout’s bow camera as it skimmed the planetoid’s dark atmosphere. “We’re still relying on the perimeter ships?” Bib barely turned to David at the science station. 

“We’re in the process of bringing the primary arrays online but we’re only just through the initial testing of the repairs.” David offered with an apologetic expression. 

“So…?” Bib’s question hung in the air disappointedly.

“I’ll see what I can do.” 

“Pollux is in position”. Lieutenant K’Sal announced from the large oversight table at the rear of the bridge. “I am deploying additional assets to increase perimeter.” The tall Bajoran lifted several small craft from the holographic basket, the placement of their small models relative to the table’s surface map translated to instructions for the pilots departing the ship’s expansive shuttle bay.  

Everyone held their breath, watching the fine swirling clouds on the surface of the planet bubble with the ripples of the first detonation. All eyes keenly searching for any sign of a second object.  

“There!” Oyvo pointed with an outstretched arm, moments before an orange explosion erupted again amongst the grey clouds, flaring outward across a large area of marshland before fading away again. The dull green of the planet’s surface now barely visible through the cloudless portal, the thin grey clouds having been pushed away by the kinetic force of the detonation.  

“Another explosion, Pollux‘s sensors indicate it to be at least 10 isotons.” Bahir announced, his fingers jabbing at the console sharply as he tried to interpret the runabout’s limited data. “I am confident that we are seeing the detonation of photonic torpedoes.” 

“What is launching them?” Bib strode across the bridge to the curving science console where David sat. “Anything?” he implored quietly.

David shook his head. “Nikashri is mid-diagnostic, it’ll be at least 20 minutes before we can reconnect the primary arrays and get any readings.” 

“I believe that is the source of the launches.” Bahir nodded to the screen which now narrowed its focus to a grainy shot of a gigantic brown craft reaching up a hundred meters from the surrounding marshland. As the bridge watched, a spark of light raced out from the beak-like nose of the crashed ship, surging upward before exploding in an other brief lightshow. 

“Lifesigns?” Bib returned to the bridge’s centre. “Identity?” It didn’t look like any ship he was familiar with, though it was hardly in its usual setting. 

The silence that answered his question was a deafening sign of their communal lack of information. 

“Is Anyok back?” Bib asked, his eyes narrowing to try and pick out defining characteristics of the crashed ship. 

“They landed 10 minutes ago.” The Theta Squad chief had only just returned from their sadly failed search and rescue operation for Helena. 

“Have her prep a team to go down and investigate and stop the launches.” Bib looked back towards Bahir at his tactical console, his eyes searching for a second opinion. “Perhaps it’s a sign of life? Albeit a bit of a hostile one.” The Saurian slowly nodded his agreement. “David, as soon as sensors are online get as much information as you can.”

“I’ll ask Nikashri to hurry it up.” 

Bib took a few steps towards the coral-skinned officer, lowering his tone in consultation, “That’s a pretty aggressive way to say hello” he whispered under his breath. 

“Or perhaps the message is to stay away?” Bahir replied, his tone similarly hushed. 

“Let’s hope it’s just an accident. We’re awfully blind to have planetary artillery being fired at us.”

The two men share a concerned nod as a third orange explosion blossoms into life on the screen, a brief new light source in the perpetual twilight.