The USS Enterprise is the first Starfleet vessel to successfully navigate the Necro Cloud Nebula and travel farther into uncharted space than any other Federation ship has ever gone before. Which is why a cryptic distress signal from an unknown plan...
Jaylah and Captain Kirk stood in the lift, staring at the red dawn outside the glossy windows as they descended. Hordes of people were already on the streets, this time armed with makeshift weapons.
A group of men struggled with a guard, trying to yank the weapon from its hands. Flashes of green energy shot across the streets, cracking the glass on the buildings. The lift shuddered to a stop at the bottom. Kirk looked at Jaylah for a long moment, memorizing every detail of her face in case that was the last time he ever had the chance to see it.
The door to the outside rushed open, the warm and hazy air instantly replaced by the chilly morning. The cries of battle, the smell of laser burning away at the concrete and glass, the sounds of shooting and yelling.
They ran across the street just as a group of human men were able to subdue the guard and take his weapons. Jaylah and Kirk ducked behind the edge of a building as more guards dispatched a group of humans.
The guards began marching forward, their visors scanning the area as they made their way towards Kirk.
Jaylah dashed out from around the cover, yelling as she attacked the first guard, stabbing him in the neck with the knife Dara had given them. The guard crumbled to his knees.
Before the other guards could react, Kirk was there. He shot two of them and Jaylah quickly dispatched the third.
"Good work," Kirk said as he watched her recover her knife.
"You are not bad yourself James T," she told him with a grin.
The two moved on, heading through the chaotic streets, dodgingfire and taking out as many of guards they could. A lot of the people in the city had picked up weapons and were now able to push the retreating guards closer and closer to the citadel.
Kirk and Jaylah helped where they could, but stuck mainly to the quieter streets away from the majority of the fighting. There were several groups of civilians rushing across the street towards the battle.
Suddenly a group of guards rounded the building in front of Kirk and Jaylah. Captain Kirk fired his phaser, hitting one square in the chest.
Before he could fire again, the phaser was knocked away, a clawed hand swung over Kirk's head. He ducked and rushed at his attacker, grabbing its gun and trying to pull it away.
The guard slammed the gun forward, hitting Kirk in the chest. The air was knocked from his lungs, but he didn't release his grip.
Jaylah's pale lips curled back into a snarl as she fought. The sounds of gun fire and shouting, the sounds of battle echoed loudly throughout the city streets.
The guard pulled Kirk close to him, slamming its helmeted head against his. Kirk staggered backwards. The weapon slipped from his grasp. The guard slammed his hand around, hitting the captain and sending him flying into the wall of a building. His head cracked against the glass and he dropped to the ground. Jaylah saw what happened and called out his name.
Captain Kirk could barely hear her voice. He could barely hear much of anything. His vision smeared together, the slowly moving shapes around him coming in and out of focus. He weakly steadied himself as he lifted his heavy body off the concrete.
He looked in front of him watching the blurry figure moving around. Kirk let out a deep breath, listening to the sound of it echoing in his skull. There was a familiar shape lying on the ground in front of him. It was important, but his aching head couldn't understand why.
Jaylah dispatched the guard she had been fighting and quickly rolled across the ground just as a blast of laser left a burnt crater where she had been standing. The guard slammed the end of his gun against her face. She stumbled back and the guard began an onslaught of strikes, Jaylah unable to block them all.
Captain Kirk's vision was still blurry, but he suddenly recognized the phaser on the ground. He looked over at Jaylah and then remembered everything. He wouldn't be able to hit the guard around the corner, but Jaylah could. He reached forward and picked up the phaser, tossing it in her general direction.
Jaylah dove for the phaser, catching it in her hand and shooting just as the guard fired. Fire spread across her side. She gasped, staggering backwards as she fired several more shots.
The guard fell forward as Jaylah stumbled against the smooth surface of the building, holding her side. Warm blood rushed through her pale fingers.
Kirk crawled to his feet, his vision clearing a little. The first thing he saw was Jaylah. He went to her and dropped to his knees. Jaylah's amber eyes looked down in shock at the light blue staining her jacket.
"It's going to be okay," Kirk told her, placing his hand against her cheek. "It'll be okay."
Jaylah shook her head, handing the phaser to him. "James T," She said through gritted teeth. "You need to get to Citadel." A tear rolled down her cheek.
Kirk took the gun from her, but did not want to leave.
"You need hurry," She groaned.
Kirk leaned in and laid a gentle kiss onto her forehead. "I'll come back, I promise."
Jaylah swallowed, flinching as a wave of pain rushed over her. Kirk didn't move. He wanted to stay with her.
"Go!" She ordered, crying out in pain as she pushed him away. "Go, now!"
Kirk stood. "I'll be right back, I promise," He told her.
Jaylah nodded as Kirk leaned over and grabbed the guard's dropped weapon. He handed it to her and then turned and left the square.
Jaylah leaned her head against the dark glass of the window, watching the captain vanish into the chaos on the street.
Her amber eyes drifted closed. One last breath sighed between her parted lips and the gun dropped from her limp hands.
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