“Starting scans.”  Ensign Lita Morrison initiated the process on the USS Zephyr’s bridge.  This sector had seen plenty of Vaadwaur traffic. The process of seeking out the colonies and rimward populations that hadn’t responded to the Montana Station’s initial outreach was underway. Morrison was hopeful they’d find survivors or at least…something.  She sat at the Science II station on the right side of the bridge.  She preferred this console with the display screen above to the science console in the center command section.

Captain Samson Bradley sat in the center chair, his eyebrows furrowed.  Lita had learned to read his expressions gently.  Bradley was a calm CO.  It had been an adjustment from Captain Pantuso, who seemed to thrive on pressure tests with her senior staff. “Helm, intercept course with the planet.”  The Typohoon Class starship rumbled forward.

Lita looked at the reports coming back through the sensors and her team.  The Zephyr focused heavily on science.  Getting used to having a large staff had been another adjustment for her.  She checked the reports again, feeling a quiet dread coating her stomach, dragging it down.  “Captain, we’re getting results on the planet below.”  She checked them one last time and turned to face his furrowed brows.  “We’re reading no life signs on the surface.  The town shows signs of an attack from orbit and the ground.”  Another beep as she glanced to read the latest.  “Power systems are reading inconsistently.  Some signals are coming through, but we can’t clarify them.”

Bradley focused on her momentarily before shifting the ensign next to Lita.  “Ensign Bertrand, anything on the various bands?”  Morrison glanced at her fellow officer, hoping her nerves were settled.  She’d worked to befriend Alayna Bertrand since they’d shared a table in early March.  They’d gotten used to having breakfast in the morning before their shift and then winding down at night in the command lounge.

The voice of the head of the communications department replied with confidence, and Lita continued her work with a small smile in celebration of her friend.  “Nothing on the major and minor, sir.  There is something on the lower bands…we’re picking up a repeating radio signal from the planet.”  Her hands played across the console, and she adjusted the earpiece.  “It’s a local emergency broadcast with instructions on shelters and emergency operations.  It’s been broadcasting since the Vaadwaur invasion.”  Lita could hear the strength in her voice waver, “Nothing else has been detected.”

Bradley’s frown lessened.  “Commander Vargas, coordinate with engineering, security, and medical.  Assemble several teams to transport down.”  He turned to Lita, “Ensign Morrison – prepare several probes for the other planets and moons.  We’ll need to do a full evaluation of the system.”

“What a waste.”  Lieutenant Henry Longfellow was working through the bodies that littered the trading center on the planet.  At his side, assisting was Charge Nurse Lieutenant Hiro.  Across the broken and scorched ground worked a gaggle of medical officers and doctors dressed in protection gear from head to toe.  The bodies had been left to the elements.

Hiro shook her head in shock, “I did not imagine having to revisit the horrors of Vaadwaur so soon.” She worked with care for the dead as she scanned and examined each of them.  Many had been victims of the orbital bombardment.  Others still had survived only to take the brunt of the Vaadwaur invasion force.

Longfellow continued down the line, sealing what remained of each body into a long containment unit that would preserve it for the eventual autopsy.  He grumbled, “This is just the start, Hiro. The Vaadwaur are not particularly known for their treatment of anyone who stood in their way.”

She finished the work on her victim and secured the unit.  “How can it be worse than this, Sensei?”  Hiro gestured to the still and sprawled bodies scattered around the grounds.  “What is worse than death?”

Henry shook his head, “When we got out into space, we found out the hate – that ugly darkness that stains our souls…it isn’t unique to humanity.  Most of the aliens out in the universe had it.  Some had learned to master it…while others embraced it.  The Vaadwaur embraced it…but then they promoted it…fed is in the three daily meals.  It consumed them…it became them.”  He gestured to the bodies.  “This is the result.  This is what happens when an entire race turns itself over to the darkness.”  He kicked at the ground, “And I get to do clean-up duty.  And the Vaadwaur?  What do they get?”  He let out a sigh, grumbling, “Dammit all to hell.”

“I do not know the words to comfort you, Sensei.”  She stood by him, her feelings mirroring his own.

The doctor looked at the remaining bodies and said, “There is nothing to do but help them find rest. Let’s get back to work.”

“Shit.”  Lieutenant Seraphina Pearce stood at a large door that had, until recently, been concealed.  The science teams had been working with intensive scanning equipment, trying to locate any shelters or facilities that might contain survivors.  Instead, they had found what Seraphina believed to be a Vaadwaur facility.  The sigils on the dusty door came back as symbols from the language.

“That’s one of the words I would use.”  Lieutenant Kondo De La Fontaine spoke as he stood at her side.  “I’m starting to think they didn’t leave anyone alive.”

Pearce shuddered.  The sour feeling in her stomach hadn’t abated since they’d set foot on the planet.  Each turn around every corner revealed something further down the line of horror.  “Let’s get this over with.” The security teams worked on the door until it gasped open, and the stench filtered out, sending them scattering back.  Pearce caught a smell and fought her gag reflex.  She grunted, “Protective suits and hazard helmets for everyone.”

Ten minutes later, she walked into hell.  The floor was heavy with dried blood.  Each room off the main corridor displayed evidence of extreme torture.  Pearce worked on her breathing as the revelations of what had happened on the planet became clear. They reached the end and found another corridor sealed behind a heavy door.  “Open it,” she ordered.  She couldn’t imagine it would be worse than what they had walked through.

The door creaked open, and their tricorders erupted in alerts and signals.  Pearce cradled hers in her hand, feeling her throat tighten.  Was it even possible?  Several security officers bounded down the corridor, checking each room.

“They’re alive, Lieutenant!  We’ve got survivors!”