Preserving The Past (Part 1)
Posted on Tue Sep 30th, 2025 @ 1:27pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Fubuki Kuchikukan 'Snowflake' & Lieutenant JG Silica Tetsuhiko 'Twin-Tails' & Commander Thomas Johnson & Commander Jennifer Daxer & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Commander Casey Washburn & Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Nezuko & Lieutenant Teneca Quinn & Lieutenant Nyxala Valentine & Lieutenant Ralen Trellis & Lieutenant Takina Inoue & Lieutenant Mizuki Nakahara & Lieutenant JG Connor Carey & Lieutenant JG Nozomi Kusuda 'Gemini' & Lieutenant JG Aika Thompson & Lieutenant JG Vyse Ingelbard
Edited on on Tue Sep 30th, 2025 @ 1:46pm
1,325 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Preserving The Past
Location: January 26th 2397
Silica gripped her sticks, guiding her fighter as she maintained position en-route back to the Tokyo. She was at the rear of the diamond shaped formation. They would be back at the Tokyo in the next ten minutes or so. Frankly, she was looking forward to getting back aboard ship and having a nice long relaxing bath. The blips on her screens in the system over was still there, holding position, still unconfirmed.
Suddenly the proximity alarm began screaming out. But they were in the middle of space, with nothing but void around them. "What the hell..." she questioned. However soon she got her answer.
Directly in front of them a huge circular puple 'hole' appeared in space. It seemed to shimmer and shine. Then, through this 'hole' a ship emerged. It was huge, with long sharp spines off the hull. It dwarfed the small fighter group and loomed over them. As it emerged the purple 'hole' dissolved in on itself, closing.
The five Valkyrie fighters were now face to face with a Herald dreadnought.
"Holy..."
=A=All units, evasive maneuvers!=A= Nozomi radioed frantically as she immediately recognized the danger they were in.
The wing scattered, pulling away at intense speeds away from the Herald ship. Then it started its assault. Purple beams darted across towards the starfighters, narrowly missing them.
However one shot did hit.
Silica swore out loud as the Herald beam struck her port wing.
"I'm hit!" Silica called out. However she got nothing on her comms but static. The screens in her cockpit turned red, flashing warnings. Alarms blared out and the fighter began to swirl.
"No response on controls!" Silica called out as she struggled with her controls. She could smell electrical fire, and smoke began to fill the cockpit. She coughed, as she began to breathe it in, filling her lungs. "F...F...Fire..." She coughed and spluttered.
"Warning, power failure." The computer called out. Silica lent forward whilst covering her mouth and nose with one hand. "Come on..." she begged as she tapped on the screen which was flickering and clearly broken.
"Come on. I need to get out of here..." she spluttered. The Valkyrie shook again as another purple beam grazed the starboard wing. Her attention was drawn to the wing. Fire burst out of the hull, bellowing out into space.
"Twin-Tails to Tokyo. Mayday... Mayday..." she coughed as her fighter began to drift. The stars around her began to spin, she was out of control heading straight towards the Herald ship, right into the mouth of the monster.
She grasped the controls as she fumbled in her cockpit as more smoke began to blind her vision. She was spinning, in a side barrel roll. "I need to activate the escape pod..."
Silica sat back into her seat. She reached behind her and pulled the lever down behind her chair. It came down with a simply 'klunk', but nothing happened. She was expecting for the chair to be pulled back into the mini-cramped escape pod behind the cockpit. But that didn't happen.
"No.. no..." she cried out. She pushed the lever up, and pulled it back down again. Another 'Klunk'. "Why aren't you..." she coughed. The systems status screen ahead of her showed the worst words anyone could see in this sort of situation. 'Emergency Systems Offline.'
Her eyes darted forward, she could see what looked like a phaser array powering up on the Herald ship. It seemed to shine, becoming a brighter purple. Time seemed to slow down for Silica, she was looking down the barrell of the gun. There was nothing she could do, she couldn't regain control, she couldn't escape.
"Mum... Dad... I'm sorry... I Lo..."
The purple Herald beam struck the Starfighter. There was a blinding explosion as Twin-Tails Valkyrie was destroyed. Twin-Tails, Silica Tetsuhiko; was gone.
=A=We just lost a fighter!=A= Nozomi was quick to alert her squad-mates. =A=All units, I need an ID on that craft!=A=
Her instruments told her that only one starfighter was missing, Twin-Tails.
=A=Gemini to Twin-Tails, please respond!=A= Nozomi attempted to radio Silica.
...
=A=Gemini to Twin-Tails, answer me, damnit!=A=
...
The silence was all the pilots needed to confirm their worst fears:
Silica Tetsuhiko was dead.
"Shit," Nozomi muttered as she slammed her fist against the instrument panel. "Shit shit shit shit shit..."
“No.” Aika tried to keep calm but her HUD confirmed what her ears were telling her. “No no no.”
“Not good,” Vyse agreed, trying his best to keep calm. This could not be happening. But it was. And he would grieve, but right now they needed to survive. Defer to command. “Orders, Flight Leader?”
=A= Get... Out... Of... =A= Static
[USS Tokyo - Bridge]
The alarms sounded on the Tokyo as the ship went to Red Alert. The doors of the ready room opened and Taiga walked out. "Report!" she called out.
Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek's ridged hands moved with practiced efficiency across his console as the proximity alarms wailed. His pale eyes narrowed as the readings appeared, and his typically controlled Cardassian demeanor showed cracks of genuine alarm.
"Ma'am," he said, his voice maintaining the measured cadence typical of his species, though with an underlying tension. "I am detecting energy signatures..."
He methodically worked through his instruments, his analytical Cardassian mind trying to process the impossible data. "Fighter Wing Alpha has gone silent. Long-range sensors detected a spatial anomaly at their coordinates - some form of artificial rift through which an unknown vessel emerged." Yuvek's neck ridges became more pronounced as stress tightened his features.
His voice took on the clinical tone Cardassians often used when reporting dire situations. "We received a distress transmission from Pilot Tetsuhiko before communications ceased entirely. Sensors are detecting a debris field where Wing Alpha should be..."
Taiga stood in the center of the bridge. "All hands to battlestations." She called out. "Have all Starfighters return to Tokyo immediately." she ordered as she made her way over to her chair and lowered herself down.
"Tokyo to Kanna, and away teams. Herald ships inbound. Prepare for immediate extraction." She said tapping on the arm controls of her chair.
[Preserver Cave]
Everyones comm badges called out Taiga's message. Shauna looked around at them all. "We've got to go people!" she shouted out loudly. "Everyone to the extraction point now!"
Chisato turned her attention to the Preserver.
"Come with us," she implored, offering him her outstretched.
The Preserver shook his head. "I cannot leave. We do not involve ourselves in conflict." He told her simply.
"They're not like you remember them," Chisato pleaded. "They're going to kill you."
"If the Iconians wish to seek us out. Then they should do so. However, we are peaceful. We do not pose a threat against them. We shall not involve ourselves with conflict." The Preserver stated to Chisato.
"Now, you listen here-!" Takina began before Chisato quickly raised an arm to stop her.
"While I'm probably going to hate myself for the rest of eternity," Chisato reluctantly conceded, "If it's what you wish, then it's not our position to force you into anything you're not keen on doing. All I will say is..."
She moved over and pulled the Preserver into a hug.
"Thank you again for everything," she expressed. "And I promise that we won't forget this."
The preserver remained still and didn't move. He didn't say anything in response, just stood there with a blank look on his face.
With that, Chisato broke the hug and looked over at Takina. "We've done all we can here, Takina-Chan; let's move."
Takina stole one last glance at the preserver, but nonetheless heeded Chisato's orders and began making her way towards the exit.
To be continued...
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