“Tang, evasive,” the tense voice of Commander Raelin Korvath spoke from the center chair as the USS Relentless dove away from a barrage of phaser fire. The mission had been simple: meet up with the new squadron. Do a meet and greet. Have a relaxing Sunday on a shiny station. Stumbling into the middle of a raid on a colony had interrupted their plans. “Anything from our new friends?”

Ensign Tang Hualing gritted her teeth as her hands worked the Defiant-class starship’s engines. Six months ago, they had all received their assignments here. She had been fresh out of the academy. It was a baptism by torpedo fire. Tang’s fingers slapped at the communications screen on her console. “Denver reports they are on the way, but thirty minutes out. Perseverance and Mackenzie haven’t responded, but Denver says they’re having issues with their communication systems.” Tang spun the Relentless into a dive, avoiding a fresh batch of phaser fire. “I could use some cover fire.”

At tactical, the lithe and patient form of Lieutenant Charlotte Pelletier replied with her ever-smooth nod. “I am attempting to distract them with phasers. I suspect I will need to indicate our reply with heavier firepower.” The light rural French accent had invited jeers to her face in her younger years. Learning to fight had made a difference. Discovering swords had tipped the scales at last. “Commander?”

Raelin grimaced. They only had so many torpedoes on board. Their first outing in their new operating theatre was breaking all kinds of records. “Hit ‘em hard, Char. We need some room to breathe with all five of them moving in on us.” The deck shook as phaser fire found purchase. “Hit ‘em harder if you feel the need. I don’t like it when they mess with our girl.”

The Relentless bobbed and weaved through the phaser fire while dodging the increasing volume of torpedoes. Blue quantum torpedoes blasted forth, crashing into the main Orion ship, crackling across the shields. Pelletier reported, “Their shields are down to 40%. Keeping at it. Tang, find me an opening at these coordinates.”

The helms officer accepted the message on her console, squishing her face as she worked the controls with what she could see in front of her and on the screen. She shouted, “Found one. Coming to in 3…2..1…”

Another slew of bright blue torpedoes sailed through space, crashing into the main ship, smashing the shields apart. The ship drifted, disabled. Charlotte re-tasked her sensors. “One down, four to go.” The deck shuddered. “They are not patient, these bastards.”

Raelin held onto the arms of her command chair. “Tang, you find an exit yet?”

The helm officer growled. “They’re doing a damn good job of keeping us boxed in. Every time I get a glimpse of a chance, they block it up.” The deck shook again.

The annoyed voice of their chief engineer, Lieutenant Nakatani, came over the speakers. “They’re focusing on our shields. We’re holding at 70% but I can’t keep it there.”

At science, the XO had been monitoring the sector. Lieutenant Commander Beatrice Estrada exclaimed, “Commander! Two new contacts breaking through the interference. Coming in awfully fast!”

Raelin bit her lower lip. This was turning out to be a really shitty start to this fresh start. “Tang, I need you to take some risks to get us out of this mess.”

A maniacal smile crossed the woman’s lips. “You want me to ignore the margins? All the margins?”

The CO grumbled a sigh. “I’m going to regret this, but ignore the damned margins.”

Estrada turned in her chair, “Starfleet signals! Mackenzie and Perseverance are…” a bright flash cut her off as the large Excelsior-II class starship and the smaller but still sleek Pathfinder-class dropped from warp.

A strong and stern voice broadcast across all channels. “This is Captain Wren Walton of the Federation Starship Mackenzie and Perseverance. Get the hell away from our people within the next five seconds or you will be fired upon. 5…4…3…2…well, you aint moving. Boring conversation anyway. Relentless, we’ll take it from here.” The two new arrivals jumped into action as phasers lashed out across the four remaining ships, and fresh launches of torpedoes filled the air.

Commander Raelin sat forward, not satisfied. “Tang, Pelletier. Let’s help our new squad finish the job.”

The two turned back to their consoles, smiles tugging at their lips.