Bridge 

The ship made some crazy moves to avoid the incoming blast from the four Devore ships. They were unleashing everything they had to capture their newly found prey. Sparks flew off some consoles on the bridge as another hit smashed onto the shields. The alerts went off on the consoles “We are losing shields rapidly. I got 21%!” Rami yelled, trying to lock again on the next Devore ship to show them no mercy. Even though the battle was lost before it began, everyone in the Damascus knew that. The Damascus was not built for war, and the current condition it was in right now didn’t help either. 

“Tell me something I don’t know! Divide power to shields and weapons. But when Valerio gives the signal, switch it to engines so that we can get the hell out of here!” Another hit as Silina was almost slingshot out of her chair. “This is not a good day to die!” Silina said out loud to calm her own nerves in the given situation. 

“Shields are dropping to 13%” Another pulse of phaser shots was sent as visible on the screen, hitting the Devore ship. Rami shrugged, seeing that it had little effect. “Why did they not give us a bloody Galaxy-class ship!” 

“Because those ships also do not affect the enemy ship with that much” A lone scientist spoke out loud, trying to help redirect the shields in power flow. “Recent studies of these ships have shown that they are skilled engineers to put their priority to hull and weapons” 

Rami shrugged “If only we could get an SOS signal out” But those were damaged during the encounter with the Blood Crystalline Entity. With the final blow hit, not only came Damascus to a halt, the shields were now also down. “We have no shields anymore!” Confirmed Rami grabbing his phaser. “Bloody arm yourself as these people know no mercy!” 

Moments later, Rami’s words were still echoing into everyone as the truth was revealed right in front of them as a pack of Devore soldiers beamed onto the bridge. Everyone rushed to arm themselves and started to get involved in the fight. 

Engineering

The sparks flew around as another overload happened. “Get to that!” Adrián yelled, pointing in the direction of the console that was overloaded. “They bloody took out the main grid with their pounding of weapons” Adrián shrugged as he noticed the ship was getting overwhelmed, and the intruder alert went off “Arm yourselves now!” He quickly grabbed his phaser and kneeled, turning around and seeing some bright lights behind him as he shot down the first soldier. “Take them out!” 

Shots hit the metal as another Devore soldier hit the floor. “Ensign, get to the Lieutenant and give first aid!” Adrián orders as others take the fight to the invading forces trying to control the situation. Leaning against the console,, “We might be a small ship, but the small also matters” He pep talk to the other officers. “Fight for Damascus! Protect your colleague on your side! Fight for Captain Praugol!” Adrián leaned over the console and aimed, firing another shot and taking another Devore soldier down. 

The situation was getting grim by the second. The ship is damaged, the people are injured, and the rescued folk are afraid. They were now being invaded by the Devore soldiers, who had no taste in showing mercy to anyone resisting them.

Sickbay

“Captain, you should lay down!” The nurse almost begged to try to stop her captain from walking away.

Sazra’s eyes narrowed, and she looked at the nurse. “Stand aside, or I will make you stand aside. The ship is under attack, and I am in no mood to deal with medical protocols right now” Sazra pushed her aside as she wanted to walk to the door, but Kossaal stepped in front of her. “For crying out loud, doc, I have no time for this!” 

“And as your Chief Medical Officer, I disagree with your blunt statement. Do you realize we have performed a few hours of surgery on your brain?! You should be resting, not standing up, and get ready to enter the next battle!” Kossaal was spreading his arms. “You need to stay here and go back to your bed right now” He points with one hand toward where Sazra had come from. 

Taking a big breath as she suddenly pushed the doctor against the glass wall. Flickering red eyes came back into Sazra’s eyes as they looked directly at Kossaal. “I don’t like that you are trying to prevent me from doing my job. I am very much grateful that you put me together. But right now, my ship, crew, and every damn soul on this ship is in danger and my responsibility!” 

“But my responsibility is your life as well as any other on this ship, Captain” Kossaal was not going to back down. “Your eyes are flickering red, meaning the blood dilithium still affects you. You need to stand down and take rest!” Kossaal pushed Sazra’s hands down so that he could take the floor on his own strength again. “Now let go!” 

But she would not give in on this man with a slight attitude problem to any superior officer. “I will get out of that door” Her eyes redirected to the direction of the sickbay exit. “And you will be very wise not to interfere with my exit, or you will feel the wraith of those red eyes” She looked back at him and saw a certain chill go through him. She lets go of his uniform and straightens it out, then gives a soft clap on his cheek. “Good boy” 

Sazra made her way to the sickbay exit without Kossaal following her. The moment she opened the door, she noticed an armed person and quickly grabbed the person by his neck and pulled him into the sickbay. With a swing, she manages to put him to the ground. “To arms! They are here!” Sazra orders as she looks down at the Devore soldier and slams him a few times in his face until he is knocked out. 

It is a fraction of a few seconds. Soldiers tried to get into the sickbay as the medical staff had taken to arms as ordered. Some of the injured crew that was able to function took defensive positions also. Sazra had taken out two other Devore “ I am so freaking glad I took close-quarter combat in the academy” 

Bridge

Another soldier dropped to the floor as Silina’s phaser was still aimed. The bridge was cleared for now. “Get those shields back online!” She looked at Rami, who was wounded but still standing. “What is the ship’s status report regarding these Devore invaders?” 

“We are facing them on most key essential decks. They are in Engineering, they are at the Cargo bays, and now also at the Sickbay” Rami was breathing heavily, looking back at Silina. “Shields are out without Adrián getting the power back onto those systems” They were vulnerable, and being captured was now an ever more scenario. 

Narrowing her eyes as Silina lowers her phasers, “So we have to face the fact that this ship will be captured. We need to continue our struggle, and by any hope, we might be able to survive this whole situation. Computer” Silina heard the bleep “Put Damascus Protocol Lockdown to effect. By direct order of the ship’s Executive Officer, Commander Silina Ruslanovna” Another bleep came as a confirmation “88-Delta-134- Bravo” The final bleep came when the authorization code was given.

Every console changed its display to a lockdown logo and the word access denied. “This ship will not fall under their command. Starfleet has given us clear orders to do whatever is needed to protect the integrity of our organization. Meanwhile, we shall hold the line and give Commander Valerio the required time to fix up those engines” Silina lifted her phaser again. 

Some Corridor

A soldier slams onto the console. “This bull crap again. They lock the ship’s systems, sir” The man was frustrated with the given situation now presented to them. “The USS Ulysses also did this move when they were intercepted and impounded” 

The officer growls at that comment, “These insects dare to resist our control. How dare they insult us” He was not amused with the situation. “Find me that, Captain, and we can squeeze the information out of her. The bridge team is not responding, so we can only assume they are gone” The man noticed movement to his right. But too late as a phaser hit his side, making him drop to his knee as the second shot let him drop to the floor.

“Well, congratulations, you found the Captain.” Sazra fired again as other officers behind her joined up to open fire. “Take them out. I want this trash off my ship” She did notice her behavior being more aggressive toward the enemy. Was Kossaal speaking the truth about her behavior affected by the blood dilithium? Sazra noticed that her eyes were changing to red “Keep pushing!” then Sazra stopped, still with her phaser aimed high. She now saw a girl with black hair appear in front of her “You…” muttering in disbelief about what had happened before her. 

The girl smiled at Sazra. The other officers didn’t notice her. “We have come to complete our debt. But this is also seen in your terms as a guilty pleasure for what they have done to us” With that said, the ship shook heavily as everyone tried to get something to stabilize themselves. The girl looked up. “We have arrived. Let’s get started” 

Outside Damascus

The Damascus was surrounded by the other four Devore ships in their attempt to take control of their new price. But suddenly, a large Blood Crystalline Entity jumped out of warp hovering above the ships. It immediately started to open fire with the energy beams and tentacles grabbing two ships. The Devore ships started to spread out, those that could and opened fire upon the newly arrived target.