24 hours before Zero Hour

The only sound was that of the flickering emergency lighting. The room was quiet, except for the few Vaadwaur who worked on maintaining their cover. By now, the Ferengi had gotten the remaining Vaadwaur off the ship and been “paid” for his involvement. It had been a considerable risk, but using the ion damage as a cover was perfect. The invaders had managed to move into position across the station with little to no interruption.

Tucked into various maintenance access areas, the Vaadwaur waited for their signal.

Near the back of Cargo Bay Three, a tall armored soldier tugged at his jacket. Pulling a small metal device out of his pocket, he pressed a button, “Cargo Bay secure, teams are in position, proceed.”

One by one, the almost three dozen Vaadwaur emerged, fast and silent. By the time the teams had reached the environmental systems, most of the deck had been secured. Sensors were blind, and security had been sent out on various tasks. Eos was an easy target.

Relik nodded to Keln as he worked. He removed a panel, exposing a nest of optical fibers. His fingers moved, rerouting key environmental systems. With a final switch, the readouts dimmed. The air filtration began to cycle in erratic pulses. It would seem like a minor systems glitch to the station crew. But in truth, it masked the Vaadwaur’s presence.

Team Three moved quickly through an abandoned maintenance corridor, avoiding the hazard lights and occasional pool of coolant. In front of them were two Starfleet Officers, inspecting a blown panel. The Vaadwaur’s reaction was swift.

A blade flashed, and before either crew member could respond, they were dropped without a sound. Their bodies never hit the floor; dragged into a nearby access panel before a sound could be made.

Within minutes, they reached the Promenade. It was quieter than usual. Most of the civilians had returned to their quarters during the storm. There were a few people who remained. In a crowded cafe, however, no one was aware of the predator that lurked in the walls.

The Vaadwaur moved, ducking between unlit corridors and disabling systems as they moved. Sealing doors behind them, they disabled anyone and everything in their wake. Then, with a flash and a bang, the Vaadwaur appeared. Their movement was lethal. They eliminated anything that stood in their way.

A mother looked up from her table and screamed, tapping her comm badge. Nothing. The Vaadwaur were prepared, setting up jammers along the way, ensuring that all communications were blocked.

Within minutes, every exit point in the civilian district was sealed. Security panels dead. Doors locked. Emergency lights dimmed. The civilians began to panic, but there was nowhere to run.

No alarms had been triggered. No shots were fired.

The Promenade was theirs. They had taken the heart of the station before the station even knew what had happened. Relik tapped his communicator. “Control achieved,” he said, “begin Phase 2.”

Outside the station, it seemed like space itself was being torn in two. A bright blue light seemed to fill the area around the station as several apertures opened. Then came the ships. Vaadwaur warships, dozens of them dropping into perfect formation around the station.

Eos’s systems, still half-fried, didn’t even have time to register something. It was too late. Gab looked out the window, he didn’t need a view screen for this, “what in the hell.” He had ordered shields just as Malik had returned to Ops. The exchanged look said everything.

“Shields are holding, Captain,” Malik stated, “But we’re surrounded. We’d be lucky to get out a warning shot.”

Gab didn’t respond; he just looked out the largest window as more ships seemed to pour out of the portals. From the comm panel, a single tone sounded. A transmission request had forced its way through their system despite attempts to block it.

“Put it through,” Gab ordered.

“Commander William Gabriel Harris,” Dovral stated from the lead ship. “Excuse me, Captain. Congratulations. I apologize; things have escalated quickly, and I am sure you are confused.”

Gab said nothing.

“We are the Vaadwaur Supremacy,” Dovral explained, “and before you get the idea of resistance…” the screen split into two on the left Dovral and on the right was an image of the Promenade.

Gab let out a gasp.

“I’d like to show you something, Captain.” Dovral nodded his head as images from the Promenade bean to show the faces of several people. Families, children, it didn’t seem to matter.

Gab’s heart dropped.

Dovral raised his hand as a large Vaadwaur soldier came into view. Stepping behind a group of civilians, he raised his weapon. A scream sounded before the first blast was even fired.

One. A mother collapsed to the ground.

Two. A human bartender fell dead.

Gab tried to turn, but he couldn’t. He could feel the heat building up in his cheeks.

Three. Four. Five. The last was a small Bolian child.

“They just killed a kid…” someone whispered.

It was like someone had dropped a hammer on him; he was just silent. He couldn’t speak.

Dovral’s face returned to the screen. “You people brought this on yourself. Let this serve as a reminder. For every act of defiance, there will be an answer.” Dovral stepped closer to the screen, “I will give you thirty seconds to surrender, full command transfer. Let’s not escalate this, Captain.” The screen went blank.

“Sir,” Malik looked at Gab.

Gab swallowed hard. “Raise internal communications or whatever we have left. I want a full lockdown on all command decks. Secure the medbay and reroute all available power to weapons, shields, and communications. Someone get a hold of Tindal on the Yeager loop him in.” He started to bark out orders.

Malik blinked. “Sir, he said…”

“I know what he said, Commander,” Gab answered before Malik could finish. “I also know that if we give him the station now, those five people won’t be the last. He doesn’t want a surrender. He wanted to send a message.”

“Now let’s give him a message of our own.”