Leaving Amerind
Posted on Thu Oct 9th, 2025 @ 7:36pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Thomas Johnson & Commander Jennifer Daxer & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Nezuko & Lieutenant Nyxala Valentine
Edited on on Thu Oct 9th, 2025 @ 7:37pm
1,939 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Preserving The Past
Location: USS Tokyo Bridge
Timeline: January 27th 2397
Taiga stepped out onto the bridge. There was still evidence around her eyes that she had been crying, yet no one dared to mention it. "Helm. Set a course for the edge of the Amerind System. Best speed, engage at warp speed once our warp drive is back online." She ordered simply.
"I want a full damage report. Now." She said sternly as she looked around at the bridge crew.
Jasad rose from the helm, though the subtle stiffness in his movements betrayed fatigue more than he would ever admit aloud. The hum of the Tokyo’s wounded systems underlined every breath like a heartbeat struggling to stay steady.
“Ma'am,” he began, his voice steady but edged with the weight of too many calculations made under fire, “helm control is intact… though barely. The ship is beaten to hell.”
He keyed a sequence into the helm. A schematic of the Tokyo flickered to life on the auxiliary display — jagged red lines spiderwebbed across the nacelles and impulse sections, while entire decks pulsed in amber where power grids faltered. “Impulse engines are operating at fifty-two percent. The port housing took a direct impact. Thruster control is uneven—starboard aft in particular. I’ve compensated manually, but our maneuvering is imprecise at best.”
He glanced briefly at the warp indicators, their status lights dark. “Warp systems remain offline. Engineering is stabilizing the nacelle lattice, but even once restored, we’ll be limited to low warp. I’ve plotted a course to the system’s edge, but we’re not going anywhere quickly.”
His eyes lingered on the schematic for a beat too long. the outline of the Kanna flashed in his mind — how he had relayed to the Helm officer to stay within the Tokyo's shield shadow and match their ascent rate out of the planet's orbit.
His instructions couldn't be anymore clearer.
Cardassians did not romanticize death; they catalogued errors. And this one had been avoidable. A simple failure of discipline.
Jasad’s hands tightened behind his back, the only outward sign of the memory’s sting. When he turned back to Captain Taiga, the mask of composure was firmly in place again.
Thomas sat down in his seat, having been over to the engineering station with Nezuko, and the engineer on duty. Handing her a pad. "Heres the full list of damage currently. " He turned to the Lt. Lt Nezuko, care to fill the Captain in."
For her part, Nezuko started inputting damage reports into her text-to-speech program. “All Transporter systems offline and cannot be restored soon. Power fluctuations on multiple decks. Power surges threatening computer functionality but can stabilize quickly. Life support hit but stable.”
"All forward weapons are down, and so are half the shield generators." Daxer said, looking at her console. "I'd estimate most of a day to get them back online."
Taiga let out a sigh. "Lets focus on getting back to Starbase 234. The dry docks there can assist with repairs better than us 'on the go'." Taiga explained. She looked around at her bridge officers. "You've all been through a lot. Have your stations relieved then go get something to eat and drink and rest a little. Take a couple of hours." She said. "Consider that an order."
"Request a shuttle for shore leave, there is a nearby tropical planet that I would like to relax and finish a proper honeymoon we were interrupted from."
Taiga looked over at Thomas. "There's one thing we need to sort out first." She said. "Jen, Talia. Please join us in the briefing room." Taiga said indicating for them and Thomas to join her.
[A few hours later]
Taiga stepped back out onto the bridge. The last couple of hours had been busy. She had discussed the future of Tahuna with Daxer and The Johnsons; authorised and transferred Doctor Valentine from the late USS Kanna to the Tokyo as their new Chief Medical Officer and allowed Talia and Thomas the opportunity to go and have their honeymoon.
The bridge was quiet, but was starting to look better. Engineers and Operations officers were busy with repairs. "Hows our warp drive looking?" Taiga asked.
Lieutenant Yuvek looked up from his console as Captain Taiga asked about the warp drive. His ridged features remained composed, though the subtle tension in his shoulders betrayed the fatigue he wouldn't acknowledge aloud.
He had tried to rest during the ordered break - had even made it to his quarters. But the thought of engineering teams recalibrating his helm controls, adjusting his thruster configurations without his oversight, had driven him back to the bridge within ninety minutes. Better to be here, ensuring the repairs were done properly.
"Warp drive is back online, Captain," he reported, his voice steady and measured. "Engineering has stabilized the nacelle lattice, but we're limited to warp four maximum. Any higher and we risk cascade failures in the plasma transfer conduits."
Taiga smiled, it was good to head that their warp drive was now ready and back online, even if it was limited to a low warp speed. She made her way over to her chair and lowered herself down. "Engage warp speed."
Jased's fingers moved across the helm controls - controls he had personally supervised during the repair work, unable to simply trust the specifications to others. "I've plotted an optimal course to Starbase 234. At our current maximum speed, we're looking at approximately four days' travel time. I've factored in periodic drops to impulse to allow the warp coils to cycle and prevent overheating."
Four days limping through space in a crippled ship, he thought, adjusting a thruster response curve that the engineers had left slightly off-calibration.
"Finally. Now we can get back to Federation Space." Relief was clearly in her voice as she sat back in her chair. "Lets continue with repairs and..."
A sound emanating from the Operations station interrupted the Captain’s train of thought. Nezuko examined the readings on her screen and typed a report. “We are picking up a fleet wide Priority One transmission.”
Chisato's eyes went wide and her complexion visibly paled. "Priority One... but, Captain, that means..."
"On screen," Taiga said simply.
The viewscreen switched to show a Starfleet Admiral. She sat behind a desk clearly at Starfleet Headquarters, the Golden Gate bridge could be seen through the window on her left, to the right the Federation flag hung on a pole. The woman in her mid fourties had long brown flowing hair and a stern expression on her face.
"This is Admiral Williams." The woman said simply. "This is a priority one message to all Starfleet Ships, Starbases and Installations." She spoke, her voice clear and serious.
"Sixty eight minutes ago. Twelve Herald warships from the recently re-emerged Iconians attacked Starbase Twenty Four in the Orion Sector. The Third Fleet engaged the Herald Warships and reported that the Starbase was destroyed along with twenty eight Starships out of their thirty strong defence." Williams reported. "Herald ships have also attacked and destroyed Federation Colonies Lillia Three, Selena Colony and the Utopias City. Initial predictions suggest a loss of life at approximately twelve million."
There was a slight pause. "The Federation Council held an emergency meeting about these attacks which ended moments ago." She paused briefly again. "As of this moment, The United Federation of Planets have officially declared war on the Iconians. All Starfleet Starships, Starbases and Installations are to report to their sector Commander. Fleet orders will be relayed by Starfleet Command shortly." Williams leant forward slightly behind her desk. "Starfleet will not allow the Iconians and their Heralds to take more lives. If you encounter any Herald warships that are threatening or attacking any Starfleet or Federation asset, you are to engage and defend with all force available. I am placing a fleet wide Red Alert into effect, immediately."
"Starfleet Command will be relaying fleet orders shortly. In the meantime, report to your sector or fleet commanders and prepare your crew for war." She paused for a brief second. "Williams out."
An eerie silence settled across the bridge as the words that no one thought they would have to hear ever again echoed eerily in the recesses of their minds.
War, Jased's mind repeated. Not skirmishes. Not border conflicts. War.
He had seen what the Iconians could do. The Kanna had been destroyed in seconds. An entire planet sterilized in minutes. Twelve million dead across multiple worlds in just over an hour.
His fingers moved across his console in a familiar pattern - checking thruster alignment, verifying power distribution, confirming navigation parameters. The same checks he'd been running obsessively since the engineers had finished their work.
Chisato, for her part, was completely beside herself; half-hanging over the side of chair, her forehead nestled in her fingerpads and her eyes wide with equal parts disbelief and underlying dread, one could only imagine what was racing through her mind at that very moment.
"I guess I will be rescinding my request Captain." Thomas replied as he leaned back. "Captain, my brother was part of that fleet, the USS Iroquois was leading the charge."
"Lets hope they made it out," Taiga replied softly.
Nyx had arrived on the bridge with an update on the patients still in sickbay, just in time for the all-hands announcement by Admiral Williams. It wasn't anything she hadn't already figured, given the death of Kanna, but this just made it official now. She let the PADD in her hands drop to the console she stood next to as she remembered all of the combat she'd already been in. It was time to do it all over again.
Nezuko’s eyes were wide in horror at the description of events by Admiral Williams. She had just witnessed the death of a planet and a starship, and the casualties were numbered in the thousands. But this report… twelve million. The largest cities on Amphei Prime weren’t that big. That night she would need to message home. This life of adventure was suddenly a lot more dangerous.
Twelve million, he thought, his fingers still moving through their diagnostic routines on autopilot. A number so large it becomes abstract.
But Amerind wasn't abstract. He had piloted them through the chaos of its destruction. Had felt the gravitational distortions as the atmosphere ignited. Had watched an entire world burn to ash in minutes while he fought to keep the Tokyo on course.
Starbase Twenty-Four. Twenty-eight starships. Twelve million across multiple colonies.
All in just over an hour.
Lieutenant Yuvek made another adjustment to the thruster configuration, his movements deliberate and controlled even as his mind catalogued the new reality. The Iconians didn't need to outmaneuver them. They didn't need superior tactics. They just appeared through their gateways and erased targets from existence.
War, he thought again, the word taking on a different weight now.
He pulled up the navigational display again, studying their course to Starbase 234 with renewed intensity. Four days of travel in a damaged ship. Four days where those purple gateways could open at any moment, anywhere along their route.
Taiga remained seated in her chair. "Well, this is it people. We're at war."
Posting by:
Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer
Commander Thomas Johnson
Exeutive Officer
Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Second Officer
Commander Jennifer Daxer
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson
Chief Counsellor
Lieutenant Nyxala Valentine
Chief Medical Officer
Lieutenant Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer
Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek
Chief Helm Officer
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