8 months after first contact...

Shiva gripped her chair tightly, her eyes frantically darting from one screen display to another. The battle was nearing its end and the Imperial Flagship was in sight. The fresh wrecks of Imperial and Federation ships littered the system, lifeless bodies drifting through the void of space. Only but a handful of Federation ships remained against the still far more numerous enemy.

"All ships, focus fire on their flagship and cut the head off of this snake!" Shiva commanded, her determined gaze standing as an inspiration to her crew.

The federation fleet split off into three groups, smaller and more nimble ships moving toward the sides of the Imperial formation while the larger and more durable vessels moved ahead to lock them in combat. The Imperial battleships stood their ground against the Federation assault, escort and destroyers breaking off to meet the flanking force in combat. Shiva gritted her teeth and brushed her dark hair out of her eyes.

The Victoria carefully navigated the debris field, escape pods darting through the ruins. The immense hulls of the ruined Imperial vessels were just as dangerous as one that was fully operational. Shiva saw clouds of Imperial crewmen leaking out of a bisected Imperial destroyer, those who had not died already were suffocating. Shiva tried to pay these men no mind.

"Captain, Imperial vessels are now in combat formation!" A crewman shouted, Shiva nodded and ordered her ship to remain on course. Shiva could easily see the grim expressions on her crew members faces, the odds of death no mystery to them. Shiva grunted, her eyes fixated on the vast flagship ahead of her. The ten other vessels in her group fed her constant updates on their situation.

Shiva noticed the flanking force had encountered the Imperials' skirmishers, the bright lights from their weapons illuminating the two sides in the blackness of space. The fighting was vicious, neither side choosing to budge. The Federation vessels worked their way around the enemy skirmishers, surrounding them. This move proved costly, however, as two vessels had already been rendered to scrap in a blazing inferno.

Sweat poured profusely down Shiva's face, she would only have one chance to strike the enemy flagship. Her group had exited the debris field and was within range of the Imperial fleet. Their largest and most powerful ships maintained their position and awaited for the Federation to get within range, but the escorts loosed a torrent of torpedoes toward the Federation fleet. Shiva and the rest of her force scrambled to get out of the way, loosing a barrage of photon torpedoes in response.

The attack was absorbed by the enemies shields vibrant colours of orange and pink flashing around the site of the impact. The Imperial capital ship fired a salvo from its prow, a vessel beside her erupted in flames, sending shards and debris in every direction. It's shields were completely overwhelmed by the blast. Shiva slammed her fist into her captain's chair.

"Get out of their firing arcs! Surround them!"

The group split off and sped to the flanks of the Imperial fleet, peppering the Imperials with phaser blasts. Their battleships turned to face the ships but were unable to track the movements of the quick Federation ships and instead replied with their broadsides. Shots were traded and no progress was made by either side. Shiva grew frustrated.

"Where is our flanking force!?" Shiva asked, squeezing her fists.

"They couldn't eliminate the Imperial skirmishers, they have withdrawn." A crewmember promptly responded. The Ship in front of shiva exploded into flames, hit by another of the Imperial battleship's prow-mounted cannon. The Victoria narrowly missed collision with the ship ahead of it. Imperial vessels, now finished skirmishing converged on her position, surrounded and with no escape she could only await the inevitable.

"Computer, turn off the simulation." a soft voice said from behind Shiva. The bridge and everyone in the room slowly faded into nothing, leaving a large barren room, devoid of any personality save for the grid covering its entire surface. Shiva panted heavily, dropping to her knees. She looked behind her to see Claire Adley, her ship's Chief Medical Officer standing in the doorway.

"What do yo think you're doing?" Shiva asked, picking herself up from the floor, "I have to be ready for the next time they show up!"

Claire sighed deeply at Shiva's angered outburst, walking towards her distressed superior. She was much shorter than Shiva, her silky black hair flowing down her upper back.

"Captain, you haven't rested in two days, if the Imperium does attack I don't think you'll be lucid enough to fight them," Claire replied, a weak smile barely noticeable on her face. Shiva paused for a moment, considering what she had been told before shaking her head in refusal. Her hair stuck to her sweaty face and her hands were curled into balls.

"I don't need to sleep, I need to learn to beat these damn Imperials," Shiva responded, recomposing herself and shooting a glance at Claire. Claire merely shook her head in response.

"Fighting the Imperium in the Holodeck isn't going to win us the war, you shouldn't try so hard," She said reassuringly, and leaned against the doorway. Shiva approached her, muttering under her breath.

"You know what has happened since this all started right" Shiva said as she exited the Holodeck, Claire following close behind. The repetitive grid structure of the Holodeck giving way to the sleek and streamlined corridors that connected the rest of the ship. Shiva's hands had not yet finished shaking, the adrenaline from her simulated battle having yet to wear off.

"Ever since Delos IV we run away to the next system, the Imperials come out from god knows where and we have to retreat again. We don't even have any warning that they are coming, they just- appear from thin air…" Shiva looked forlorn, her frustration giving way to depression. Claire placed her hand on the captain's shoulder, though it was quickly slapped off.

"You are doing the best you can, captain, don't blame yourself like this." Claire said, Shiva merely waved her hand in response and turned to the Medical Officer.

"My 'best' has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, I have no excuse for losing!" she spat back, bile rising in her throat. Her guilt for her lack of potency throughout the war weighing heavily on her mind.

Her train of thought was interrupted, a voice emitting from her communicator summoned her to the bridge. With a hurried pace, she navigated the corridors of The Victoria. Claire, moved to follow her.

The blast door to the bridge opened and Shiva took her place in the Captain's chair. The brightly lit room was buzzing with activity, chatter echoing from all sides of the room. She took a moment to orient herself then motioned for her crew to quiet down.

"What's the situation?" Shiva peered out into the vastness of space, yet saw no immediate threat.

"Captain, our scanners are detecting a large flux of energy ahead of our location, it's growing in intensity!" Shiva froze, while she was expecting an Imperial attack, she was not prepared for one to arrive so soon. She barked orders to the crew to immediately assume their battle stations.

Sparks of energy shot out from several locations in front of her ship, rapidly growing in intensity. Soon holes split open, the swirling colours inside of the portal sickened Shiva to even look at. Nearby crew members exhibited similar reactions to the unnatural phenomena before them.

An imperial vessel was thrown out from the anomalous tear in reality. The vessel displayed all of the hallmarks of surviving a battle, gaping holes dotting the hull. With the portal closing behind them, the imposing Imperial vessel limped within range of Shiva's ship. Despite the Imperial Vessel being in firing range itself it did not fire its guns

Shiva froze, her guts churned and her heart felt as though it had shrunk multiple sizes. She had been preparing for the Imperials for days, simulating every situation, every variable yet her thoughts halted. Every instinct told her to fire, finish the enemy before they could bring more Imperials to the system. She saw first hand the callous destruction the Imperials were capable of.

She opened her mouth to give the order, yet not so much as a murmur came out. She felt helpless, her body refusing to obey any command. She knew that Starfleet would never permit destroying a passive, wounded vessel, even if it was one from the Imperium. Even so, her body screamed to act quickly. The Imperials would doubtlessly be en route to retrieve their vessel- a beacon leading them to yet another world of innocents to purge and subjugate.

"Captain, your orders?" one of her bridge crewmembers piped up, freeing Shiva from the web of thoughts entangling her.

She looked around herself, the crewmen working busily to monitor the situation. Some, however looked back at their Captain with concerned expressions, having just witnessed their leader paralyzed, for how long, Shiva could only guess. She attempted to recompose herself and salvage her stern demeanor. Shiva's mouth was dry, but she would allow herself no more pauses, she stood up from her seat and addressed her crew.

"Attempt to open comms with the Imperial vessel, offer their crew safety in exchange for their surrender!" Shiva shouted.

One of her officers typed furiously on a computer, after many moments he turned to the Captain with a bewildered expression.

"Captain, we've been put through, but there is no response from the Imperial ship." He reported, a pit grew in Shiva's throat.

"I managed to scan their ship," another officer interjected, "there are signs of life scattered throughout, but most of them seem to be gathered around a strange energy signature in the ship's core."

"I'll report this to comman-" a third crewman said, quickly cut off by Shiva.

"Report nothing yet until we have a proper grasp of the situation, do we know the nature of the energy signature?" Shiva aked, a plan of action now formulating in her head.

"Negative, though the signature seems to have the same properties as the gates the Imperials use for travel."

Shiva balled her hands, and pushed past her irrational anxiety, this was the perfect chance to redeem herself for her past disgraces.

"Prepare to beam onto the Imperial vessel, I will be leading the expedition." She said with fiery resolve.