Eight months ago…

The Federation ship was relentless. The Sovereign-class banked hard to the right. As it came to bear on the Keldon-class Korvarek, it unleashed a volley of quantum torpedoes and a barrage of phaser fire.

Gul Gulan Voskar was tossed to the deck as his whole world had chosen to be torn apart. Consoles ruptured, showering the bridge with sparks. The placid male voice of the computer relayed a series of warnings that Voskar didn’t pay any attention to.

Glinn Siana Mirel was picking herself off the deck as Voskar turned to his tactical officer. “Weapons offline, Sir. Shields are down.”

Dukat promised us that this would be a quick war… I can see he has underestimated the Federation. He was always a shortsighted fool, especially at the Military Academy, Voskar thought to himself.

“Gul, life support is failing,” Operations officer Rika Narin announced.

Good ol’ Rika, Voskar thought. As Two Mokar at the Bamarren Institute, he was part of a successful overthrow of the First Level students. Always resourceful he is.

“I still have a response from the engines. There’s an M-class planet not far from here,” the helm officer added to the cacophony of reports.

“Sir? What are your orders?” Mirel asked.

I need to say something, the Gul thought, but for some reason, he could not find the words. He was so tired, and it felt like he had drunk an entire bottle of kanar. His head swam, and his vision closed in around him.

“Sir, what are your orders?” Mirel repeated.

“Sir, are you okay?” Rika asked.

Voskar fell to the deck; his knees no longer able to support his weight. As the Gul lay on the carpeted floor, scattered with the ruined bits and pieces of his ship, his vision shrank to a single point. He stared at a chunk of something black until his vision blurred to black.

I think I’m dying, he thought as the last of his consciousness left his body.

Colonel Grelar Ironfang stared down his long snout at the nearly hairless creature lying on the metal autopsy bed. He, at least Ironfang assumed it was a male, had strange neck ridges from his oddly round ears to the edge of his shoulders. His face was misshapen with bumpy ridges and a spoon-shaped divot in the center of his forehead. The only fur the creature had was a shock of straight black strands on the top of his head.

“Is it real?” the Colonel asked.

“Yes, very much so,” the doctor replied. “Its anatomy is nothing like what we have seen on our planet.”

“So it’s an alien?”

“I am still waiting on the results of the genome test, but yes, I can safely say this being is of extraterrestrial origin.”

Ironfang let out a low growl of annoyance. “This cannot leave this room. Understand me?”

“Of course, Colonel.”

“If this gets out, there could be panic in the streets. The wreckage of their craft is beyond our scientists. I just hope this isn’t a prelude to an invasion.”

The doctor let out a low growl and held his head low in an act of submission. “Medicine is my domain. Strategy is yours.”

“Then you best remember that if you ever want to talk about what you’ve seen today.” With that, the Colonel marched out of the morgue where four soldiers were waiting. Two with flamethrowers entered as Ironfang walked out. The other two flanked their colonel as he marched down the corridor with the fire alarm blaring and smoke billowing out from under the morgue doors.