Prologue
A fiery maelstrom of crimson light swirled
in the starry heavens as a pair of Cardassian warships blasted through the
smoldering remains of an Elorg destroyer.
The ragged yellow phaser beams sliced in half the ancient destroyer, and
the vessel exploded instantly in a cataclysmic burst of fire and debris. Both Cardassian ships swiftly charged
through the roiling crimson flames, already in search of a new target…
And
there were plenty to choose from.
Nearby
loomed more than a hundred Elorg vessels, all of them intent on the destruction
of Cardassia. Most of the hulking
destroyers were already engaged in fierce combat. The orbital defense grid ceaselessly pummeled the invading Elorg
with a potent barrage of plasma torpedoes; hundreds of agile Cardassian
warships danced across the raging battlefield, easily laying waste upon the
ragged Elorg fleet…
• • •
Legate
Brunel was almost tempted to chuckle as he watched the Elorg lines crumble
before his very eyes. When news of an
approaching armada reached his desk, the Legate was immediately concerned;
after all, less than a year had passed since the Elorg managed to launch a devastating
attack on Earth. Considering the
multitude of intelligence reports that indicated a constant buildup of Elorg
forces, Brunel had been expecting an attack of epic proportions. But this was almost laughable.
“Our
shields are down to eighty-six percent,” announced the young glinn at tactical. “Weapons are still near maximum, and we have
sustained no structural damage to the hull.”
A
smile finally managed to crack Brunel’s face.
He couldn’t help it. “The Elorg
underestimated us,” he happily mused.
“When they set out to invade our territory, the Elorg saw a weak, beaten
people on Cardassia Prime. They weren’t expecting this sort of resistance.”
Even
the glinn could see the beauty of the situation. “And now the Elorg will pay for their ignorance,” he
quipped. “We have destroyed seventeen
of their warships; nine others are heavily damaged… and their starboard flank
is beginning to crumble.”
“Good,” said Brunel, watching intently as two
Cardassian attack wings converged upon the Elorg’s starboard flank. By his estimate, the entire battle would be
over within the hour—and never again would the Elorg dare challenge the mighty
Cardassian Union… Brunel suspected that
he would soon find himself promoted to the head of the Cardassian First
Order. “Should we break out the kanar now…
or wait until the last Elorg vessel has been destroyed?”
The
glinn at tactical chuckled in response, but kept his attention primarily
focused upon his constantly bleeping workstation. With so many vessels approaching and exploding outside the ship,
it was almost a symphony of harsh, computerized notes…
…And
as Brunel watched the Elorg’s starboard flank go up in flames, that symphony
suddenly hit a sour note. Something was
wrong. “What is it?”
Brunel
was expecting reinforcements, or something similar, but given the baffled look
upon the young glinn’s face, the trouble was something else entirely. “I can’t be certain,” he said, shaking his
head in confusion. “There is some sort
of intense gravimetric distortion forming off our port bow…”
Intense
waves of gravimetric energy were already slamming into the ship, rattling the
deck and disturbing the prevalent sense of triumph that had pervaded the
bridge. Brunel grabbed hold of his
command chair. “What sort of
gravimetric distortion?” he demanded.
The
entire deck suddenly trembled, and the lights flickered in response. “It’s a singularity of some sort,” gleaned
the glinn from his console. “And it’s
massive! More than four-thousand
kilometers in diameter!”
“What?” For a moment, Brunel thought his ears
betrayed him, but when he saw the data for himself, it could not be
denied. There was a massive
anomaly of unknown origin forming very nearby…
Colossal
distortion waves spread from the center of the blossoming anomaly, obliterating
anything and everything nearby. Dozens
of Cardassian ships simply exploded as the verdant waves of death blasted
across the raging battlefield—but this pestilent shockwave was only the
beginning…
Massive
tendrils of energy suddenly surged through the swirling epicenter, violently
ripping a giant hole into the very fabric of space—and from this new gateway
came forth an evil unlike anything known to exist. An enormous, hellish sphere burst through the chaotic threshold,
spewing death and destruction in every conceivable direction.
A
massive wall of roiling fire swept across the battlefield, consuming Cardassian
and Elorg ships alike—and when all was said and done, not a single ship
remained. Cardassia Prime once again
teetered on the brink of destruction…