“Status report?” Admiral Viran asked, choking on the dust particulates in the air in Ops, piercing his eyes through the haze, sparks flying in his line of sight. He still stood around the situation table, which also included Fleet Admiral Ramar, the Romulan Admiral Tolak, and the station’s first officer, Commander Feld.

“Shields just came back online, but the Vaadwaur fleet inflicted significant damage to the station while the shields were down. The Dreadnought has been able to cut down four more of the Vaadwaur capital ships. The Devoras just launched several shuttles towards the station and have sent message that they are deploying troops and repair teams to help. Some good news is that my security teams are reporting that with the help of the Gorn, they’ve been able to drive the Vaadwaur troops from the Promenade and are currently rooting them out of other sections of the station,” Lieutenant Idrin let out an anxious sigh.

“I’ll take that as a win. Send a message to Commander Hale about having a repair team look into the life support systems,” Viran simply ordered. As the Andorian turned back to the viewscreen, it brightly pierced through the noise and air in Ops. He watched the view as the Dreadnought, flanked by the allied vessels, continued to engage with the Vaadwaur fleet. From the bottom of the viewscreen, he could see as the station’s weapons continued to fire against the enemy fleet. However, even with the constant retaliatory assault, the Vaadwaur seemed to be relentless and steadfast in their goal: they wanted the station.

Deep Space 2 groaned under the strain as another volley from the Vaadwaur fleet slammed into its shields. More sparks rained from an overhead panel in Ops, the lights flickering as systems strained to keep up. The shields were still holding, only barely.

“Shields down to sixty three percent!” Lieutenant Idrin yelled, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Viran stood firm at the center of Ops, hands gripping the railing of the situation table. “Keep firing all turrets,” he continued the standing order.

The station’s turrets rotated with fury as they continued carving into the flanking Vaadwaur ships, which had maneuvered behind the allied fleet. Viran watched as a torpedo slammed into a smaller Vaadwaur cruiser, shearing its nacelle clean off. As it spun out of the frame of the viewscreen, it was replaced by two more that closed in from behind it.

Another hit rocked the station as consoles sparked.

“Sir, we have a problem. I’m reading a buildup at the Underspace aperture again. It looks like it’s about to open,” Lieutenant Feld reported with a heavy tone in his voice.

“This is it,” muttered Lieutenant Ren at communications, his voice tight with fear and worry.

Viran didn’t flinch. He turned to Fleet Admiral Ramar, who was also steadfast in his body language. The two shared a familiar look. They were both veterans of the Dominion War, and certainly no Vaadwaur attack was going to shake them.

The Andorian stared at the tactical readout, watching the enemy converge. Viran saw as dozens of new ship signatures appeared from Underspace. The tension in Ops had risen to almost unbearable levels.

Then, just as one of the Vaadwaur capital ships began to power up the same weapon that brought the station’s shields down previously, a bright flare burst from seemingly within the belly of the ship itself. Looking up at the viewscreen again, Viran watched as the ship appeared to implode, debris raining towards the station with intentional velocity.

Before he could physically react with a new order, the admiral realized that the Vaadwaur ship was destroyed by the new arrivals.

A dozen Romulan vessels dropped from warp in perfect formation, weapons armed and shields flaring. Joining the Dreadnought into formation, the combined fleet surged ahead, unleashing a punishing barrage that caught the Vaadwaur off guard.

“Reinforcements!” Viran shouted, eyes wide with disbelief, as he slapped Admiral Tolak on his back.

Fleet Admiral Ramar allowed himself the briefest smile. “About time.”

Outside the station, the tide turned. Phaser and disruptor fire lit the darkness of space as it slammed against the Vaadwaur vessels. The sheer size of the Romulan ships was an imposing backdrop against the Vaadwaur fleet. The Vaadwaur fleet, once poised for a killing blow, now scrambled as the cavalry arrived… just in time to save Deep Space 2 from the brink.