Debris floated off their bow. Klingon or Vaadwaur, it was impossible to tell. A price had been paid, one in blood, but the enemy had been felled. For now, at least. Unfortunately, the early warning system they’d deployed within the corridors of the Underspace told them more were on the way, and they really needed to finish this before those reinforcements arrived.

They had journeyed beyond the galactic plane to destroy a critical Vaadwaur command and logistics center, a massive station that monitored the flow of ships and information across the Underspace network. If they took it out, it would be a major blow to the Vaadwaur, rendering them as blind in the Blackout as everyone else. But the problem was that the hub was phased out of normal spacetime by a pair of ancient arrays gifted to the Vaadwaur by some unknown benefactor, and those arrays – at least one of them – was still in place, meaning the hub was still beyond their reach.

Until then, the makeshift fleet of Starfleet and Klingon assets, hastily assembled in the ruins of K’t’inga, sat there idly, their fingers on the trigger but with nothing to shoot. Nothing at all. Not even the smallest bits of space dust. The array’s effect had rendered a swath of space about ten thousand kilometers wide completely invisible to them, but at least that lack of particulate told them where to aim as they waited.

Fleet Admiral Reyes looked over at the trio of scientists standing at the back of the bridge. The senior astrophysicist and the managing director of the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity were deep in conversation with the lead astrophysicist from the Klingon Science Institute on Mempa V, trying to devise a way to overcome its effects. “Any updates?” she asked.

“Spacetime fluctuations remain as they have been for the past few minutes,” Commodore Olivia Larsen reported as she looked up from their work. “We’re confident those fluctuations indicate one of the arrays has fallen, but we don’t believe it will phase back into normal spacetime without the second one falling as well.” And there was no promise of that.

“Any luck with a workaround?” Fleet Admiral Reyes asked, still hopeful the wizards in the lab might come up with a way to strike the station even while it still remained phase shifted.

“Allison, I’m going to be honest with you,” Dr. Brooks admitted. “We could have our teams work on this full-time for a week, a month, or even a year, and I still don’t think you’d get a solution.” And they didn’t have weeks, let alone months or years. They had not even half an hour before the enemy armada would be upon them. “This science, it’s far beyond anything in our time.”

Fleet Admiral Reyes raised an eyebrow. The way he’d said in our time, there was something else there. “What about you, Tom?” she probed, aware of that which the aged astrophysicist held close to the chest. “Do you have an idea? We really need it right about now.”

“No clue,” Dr. Brooks lied, for the answer was not suited for this time in this way. He dared not tinker like that. An early introduction of this scale could have dramatic implications. “We’re just going to have to wait for Lewis to do his thing.” He still had no doubt the good captain would bring that second array down. None of them were going to die today. Of that, he was certain. Little did he know the cards had fallen a different way.

While they spoke, Fleet Captain Gérard Devreux stared at the data coming off the sensor buoys they’d strung together on their way in. The enemy was coming fast, and they’d have no chance against what those readings showed. They’d barely managed to handle two Gauls. They’d never be able to handle five. “This may be an unpopular opinion, but we need to consider the possibility that Lewis failed,” he offered, knowing it had to be said, even if the others didn’t want to hear it. “And if so, we really need to think about getting a move on.”

“Do not dishonor Golroth’s death that way!” Voragh scoffed, his eyes locking on the Polaris‘ executive officer. “The general did not give his life to be a fart in the wind!” This mission had to have meaning. If all those lives had been lost and no victory was achieved, it would be quite a shame on them all.

“The window of opportunity to depart is quickly closing,” Captain Titus Bishop counseled. He was not willing to take as firm a stance as Fleet Captain Devreux, given that he was new to the crew, but if he was honest with himself, he found himself of a similar mind. “If we wait much longer, even if we choose to flee, we may run headlong into them in the Underspace.” And nothing good would come of that, a pitched battle within the chaotic turbulence. He’d almost rather fight them here in open space.

Voragh was right, Fleet Admiral Reyes thought to herself. They’d already paid such a price. For all those lives to have been wasted for nothing, three thousand in total, if not more, that was a hard pill to swallow. But Devreux was right too. To throw ten thousand more away, every last soul across their squadron, she couldn’t do that. “Titus, how much longer do you estimate we have before our exit path is cut off?”

“Eight minutes max, assuming ASTRA’s mapping of the local corridors is accurate,” Captain Bishop shared. “After that, they’ll be close enough that we’ll have no branches to take that will avoid a direct confrontation with them.”

“Then we wait another eight minutes,” Fleet Admiral Reyes resolved. She wasn’t ready to make a final determination just yet. “And then we’ll decide…”

An alert began to go off at the science station in the back.

“I don’t think we’re gonna have to wait that long,” Dr. Brooks announced as he eyed the data, an ear to ear grin coming across his face. “It looks like Lewis managed to pull it off after all.” 

Neither Dr. Brooks, nor any of the others, had any idea of the price that had been paid.

Everyone looked towards the viewscreen as a massive space station materialized before their eyes. Slate gray with a deep violet underglow, the monstrosity was at least twenty kilometers in diameter, antennas, dishes and instrumentation protruding from all over its surface. This was what they had been waiting for, the hub that the Vaadwaur had been using to monitor and signal across the Underspace network.

“Material composition is consistent with Vaadwaur construction, and emissions patterns match what one would expect for signaling and monitoring,” Captain Bishop reported. “She’s armored, and she’s armed, but honestly, a bit light for something of this size. Nothing we can’t handle. If I were to guess, I’d surmise it’s so lightly equipped because they made the assumption it would remain out of phase, beyond our reach.” Like with so many aspects of their war machine, the Vaadwaur used precisely the resources they needed, and not one resource more. But in this case, there was something they hadn’t counted on: Captain Lewis.

Fleet Admiral Reyes looked over at Fleet Captain Devreux. “Sometimes, Gérard, you just gotta have a little faith.” Especially when Captain Lewis was involved. He hadn’t let her down yet. Not when it really mattered.

“Ma’am,” Lieutenant Commander Mattson reported. “Incoming audio transmission.”

“Play it,” Fleet Admiral Reyes nodded, curious what they might have to say.

Lieutenant Commander Mattson hit play.

“Federation and Klingon forces, the Supremacy does not permit your presence here. Leave at once, and we shall allow you to go. Attempt to harm this place, and for each torpedo you fire, we shall level a city in your lands.”

Fleet Admiral Reyes shook her head. That’s not how this was going to go. “Tell the others,” she ordered, fire in her eyes. “It’s time to end this.” She was undeterred by their threat. There was no way they were leaving after all it had taken to get here.

“What about what they said, ma’am?” Lieutenant Commander Mattson asked warily. Their threat was personal to her and her family.

“If the Vaadwaur want to level our cities, they’ll do it regardless of what we do here,” Voragh chimed in unsolicited. This line of questioning seemed foolish, and he hoped the others would not entertain it. “They’re not waiting for us to blow up their station to decide what to do.”

Lieutenant Commander Mattson did not look satisfied by the answer.

“As long as the Vaadwaur hold our worlds, they can kill anyone at a moment’s notice,” Fleet Admiral Reyes jumped in a bit more compassionately, recalling the conversation they’d had where Lieutenant Commander Mattson shared that her parents were on the now-occupied world of Alpha Centauri. “The best way to protect your parents is to take back the galaxy. And that starts by crippling their logistical capabilities with the destruction of this hub.”

She was right, Lieutenant Commander Mattson knew.

“But just for good measure,” Fleet Admiral Reyes added. “Dr. Brooks, start jamming anything you can, and Captain Bishop, target initial fire at the large communications systems on the surface of the station.” It might not work, but it couldn’t hurt.

Dr. Brooks hustled to an auxiliary station and got to work, while Captain Bishop passed the instructions along to the tactical officers of the fleet. Meanwhile, Fleet Admiral Reyes turned back to the viewscreen, her eyes forward and focused.

There was only one thing left to do. Fleet Admiral Reyes tapped her combadge: “Reyes to all ships. Break and attack!”