The stars raced by impossibly fast, the USS Juno pushing warp 9.99, a speed the cruiser was built to maintain only in short bursts, but that they’d been pushing for three days straight. A lithe chief petty officer with beady eyes stood at the back of the bridge, quietly observing the others as they worked.

“I think Izzy’s gonna breathe a sigh of relief once we drop y’all off,” offered Lieutenant Asher Aaronson as he looked over at Chief Petty Officer Ayala Shafir. She was a curiosity. He didn’t really understand who she was, how she fit into all of this, or why everyone seemed to defer to her, from his own captain to the folks from the Polaris and Diligent, but when she’d said they needed to push it faster and harder, that’s exactly what they did.

“I find it curious that your engineer would breathe a sigh of relief at our departure,” Chief Petty Officer Ayala Shafir observed flatly. “Our departure simply means that you’re that much closer to the fight of your lives.” That was what the battle for Archanis Station would be. Even if she and her team were successful at disabling the station’s defenses, the latest sitrep from Captain Kioshi showed a fleet over Gorion VII would push the squadron to its limits. The best chance they’d have would be if other ships answered their call once the Blackout boundary fell, but that was anything but assured. Not with the galaxy in shambles.

“You seem strangely unbothered by all of this,” Lieutenant Aaronson observed. “Is this just how it goes with Polaris Squadron?” Since they’d linked up with Fleet Admiral Allison Reyes and her squadron, it’d been non-stop pedal to the metal. They’d lost fifteen from their crew in the battle beyond the galactic disc, but Polaris Squadron had lost far more, an entire Duderstadt cruiser with all hands even, yet onward they marched with no hint of slowing down.

“This is just how it goes with the galaxy,” Chief Shafir corrected. This operations officer she was talking to had to be at least thirty, so why hadn’t he figured that out already?

“That’s a dark way to look at it,” Lieutenant Aaronson frowned.

“Well, space is dark,” Chief Shafir shrugged.

As Lieutenant Aaronson stared at her, he wondered what had made her like this. He understood most people. It was kind of his thing. But he didn’t get her. She was pretty and put together, yet there was an iciness to her that made even Commander Sirona, their xB executive officer, look like a delicate flower. “Don’t you worry about what awaits you out there?”

“No, because I already know,” Chief Shafir replied.

“What?” Lieutenant Aaronson asked.

“Death,” Chief Shafir answered.

Around the bridge, the junior officers that’d been in earshot of the conversation glanced nervously at each other, and at the center chair, Commander John Castillo turned around. “Shouldn’t have asked her that, Asher,” he chuckled. He’d seen her kind before. “Because, as you’re about to tell us, Miss Shafir, that’s what ultimately awaits us all, isn’t it?”

“Yes, something like that,” Chief Shafir nodded. It wasn’t prescience. It was just fact.

Before anything else could be said, an alert went off at the conn.

“Two minutes out from the rendezvous point,” came the callout from Lieutenant Dash McIntyre.

“Conn, slow to warp 6,” Chief Shafir ordered as she stepped forward from the back of the room. “And ops, it’s time to darken the ship, emissions as low as possible.” It never hurt to be careful, even if the asteroid belt they’d be emerging into should have been well and truly unoccupied, an uninteresting place light years from anything of interest.

“Commander?” Lieutenant Aaronson inquired, looking over at Commander Castillo. It was his bridge, as watch officer, not hers.

“Who am I to argue with the lady?” Commander Castillo shrugged. “Do as she says.” Fleet Admiral Reyes had been clear with them that they should trust Miss Shafir’s instincts, and who was he to argue?

“Darkening the ship, aye,” Lieutenant Aaronson confirmed from operations. “All non-essential going into standby mode, killing all outbound sensors and signals, and reducing deflector to minimum operable levels. We are dark.”

“Slowing to warp 6,” Lieutenant McIntyre acknowledged from the conn.

Just as Chief Shafir was about to turn for the turbolift, the ready room’s door hissed open and Captain Anthony Knight stepped onto the bridge. “Who cut my feed of Housewives of Haydorian Prime?” he asked with a grin on his face. “It was just getting to the juicy part.”

“We’re on final approach,” Commander Castillo replied as he yielded the center chair.

“I figured as much,” Captain Knight said as he looked over at Chief Shafir. The fact he’d lost his uplink told him as much. And that meant his house guests would be departing momentarily. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Shafir.” 

“Appreciate the ride,” Chief Shafir nodded.

“Good luck to you,” Captain Knight offered. He understood what awaited her.

“To all of us,” Chief Shafir replied. She knew it would be no easier for them.

And then she was gone, down to the transporter room to meet Lieutenant Commanders Keaton Ryder and Kehlani Koh, along with the ten man team they’d selected out for this mission. From there, it’d be a quick jaunt to Kyban aboard the Lucre, and then a quick pop over to Archanis Station to open the way for the counteroffensive.

Once she’d departed, Lieutenant Aaronson shook his head. “I don’t get her at all.”

“Now you know how I feel when I talk to Reyes or Vox,” laughed Captain Knight.

But like it or not, they were in it now, and he just hoped that Allison Reyes, Dorian Vox and Ayala Shafir knew what they were doing because, if not, this might be the end for them all.