"Four ships approuching from port, secondary power relay on deck 2 is gone, we have hull breaches, warp drive is down. Civillian craft is making for the incoming raiders, their weapons are offline, shields seem to be rerouted to only foward arc. Husband they are going to ram them." M'Freya looked from from her mother standing at tactical to the view screen, a ship roughly the size of a bird of prey streaked past them arcing towards the four oncoming raider ships. Pulses of emerald disruptor fire hammered into the ships forward shields. They buckled after a second, cutting swaths into her hull. The civillian defence ship that had looked to be made of a pod with wings branching off in every direction tore through the hull of the first raider. The ships central section erupting in flame before exploading sending her wings and sections of the raiders ship crashing into the other three. Two of them becoming their own blazing balls of fire, the third just drifted lifelessly past the Wotan. There was silence on the bridge before shouting began again, with a section of wall exploding showering the bridge crew in sparks and smoke. The Wotan shaking hard from weapons fire. P'valla shouted from tactical that ventral plating was gone. The last of the raiders ships was looming before them, and old Orion slaver ship. Her hull breached and burning in places.
The hum of transporters started filling the air. J'prurr jumped from the captains chair, an old type 2 phaser in hand. The first of the raiders materialized his weapon moving up to aim. A streak of blue light pierced his chest throwing the alien back. Pivoting on his feet J'prurr fired off two more times crumpling an Orion and wounding another. A beam of scarlet shot over his shoulder hitting a klingon in the chest behind her father. The towering man stumbled, hefting his weapon to swing it down at M'Freya. She closed her eye hearing a muffled grunt and the feeling of something wet hitting her face.
Her eyes opened seeing her fathers body blocking her from the Klingon, his bladed weapon lodged into her fathers chest with one of the piercing ends protruding through his back. The last of his strength was spent pushing the phaser to the Klingons chest, a blue streak ripping from his back and pounding into the bulkhead behind him. Both slumped to the floor. She was frozen there as silence fell for her, turning M'Freya saw rage, blind rage in her mothers eyes. Scarlet beams ripped out into three more raiders one dropping near her without a head. Her mother had disruptor burns on her arm and chest. With the one good uninjured arm she shook M'Freya.
"Helm, man the helm get us away from them." She nodded weakly turning and fumbling over the controls till her eyes locked onto the view screen. "They have a tractor beam on us." Her mothers voice was shallow, fingers moved over controls. The Vulcan womans features fell her face turned towards her daughter. "Save the ship, save who you can.... I love you Daughter." Her mothers fist slammed into the control panel. Turning her head quickly to the screen as streaks of tealish plasma beam ripped into the breached sections of the Orion ships hull. The tractor beam vanished, M'Freyas relfexes moving the ship away with all the power she had left as the other ships began to tear itself apart. She never saw the explosion of the tactical console or her mothers body hitting the bulkhead behind her station. She heard it, and in her mind later formed the image to fit the sound. The young woman turned in her seat looking blankly at the spot where her mother had been standing. A scream started to rip from her throat.
M’Freya woke with a start, another nightmare; the same nightmare. She peered at the console, weary of life and the months of warp travel returning to Earth. The old Oberth class starship S.S. Wotan sailed silently threw the stars, her decks void of life save for the young girl of Caitian and Vulcan heritage, that rested slumped over the helm. The ship rigged for steady autonomous operation for the duration of the trip. The ship was M’Freyas home, the place of her birth and the death of the caitians parents. Both scientists, her mother a Vulcan observer from the federation and her father the owner of the starship a civilian deep space exploration leader.
The Wotan was crewed sparsely; her mission set for twenty years in five year increments based from the federations furthest most colonies in the Beta Quadrant. Over the duration of the mission the crew had become a close knit family everyone contributing to some of M'Freya's upbringing. Assigned to a devoloping deepspace station giving a federation presence in the middle of the Wotan's mission. In the seventeenth year of the mission tragedy befell the ship with an attack from colony raiders. The Wotan joined three other ships to battle the raiders, the older ship giving enough fight to make even the most confident of captains worry. She was joined by two civillian defence ships that had been purchased by the colony from Ferengi merchants.
In the years spanning the mission; the Wotan had received several updates purchased by her captain to better suit the region of space. Her old type six phasers replaced with Xindi made plasma arrays, her torpedo compliment exhausted years prior; now fitted with clusters of missiles purchased from Ferangi traders. She was fighting well, but well could last only so long with the numbers they faced. By the battles end her crew was a third less. M’Freyas parents among those that lost their lives in the fray. The Wotan and other defending starships won the day; though at a high cost of lives.
It was a year before she would be ready to leave for Earth with the aid of her parents Star Fleet contact who sponsered her entrance into the fleet; passing her entrance exam with aid from both the remaining crew and colony who continued to house her and fund repairs to the Wotan for the service it had provided. As the ships owner and now Captain she refused to leave the sector till a Star Fleet replacement vessle arrived. The voyage would be long with the remainder of the ship’s crew departing slowly along the tip till the final member left a few weeks prior to arriving at Earth. The ship was a ghost of her former inviting self, the moments of laughter from the young M’Freya followed by the eventual puzzled scowl of her mother; before her father would chuckle softly from the captain’s chair. Moments like those flashed in her memory, drawing smiles and tears from the young caitian.
The computers voice broke her from the string of memories, her voice filling the void of the bridge.
“Approaching the Terran system.”
M’Freya shifted sitting upright at the helm, her slender fingers moving over the old ships controls dropping her down to warp one. Transferring helm and most other bridge controls to the captain’s chair, she hesitated for a long moment before finally taking the seat. Since the day she lost her family she had gone to great lengths to avoid that chair. Now it was time for her past, her family and the ghost of that day to remain behind her in space. The Wotan was her ship, she was the Captain by all rights and soon she would be an officer in Starfleet. Her hand moved over a set of controls in the chairs armrest a soft chirp from the system acknowledging her.
“Starfleet control this is the S.S. Wotan civilian Science and Exploration vessel. I am requesting permission to dock.” Silence lingered for a moment before a youthful man’s voice came over the com.
“Wotan you are cleared for approach vector 005 civilian docking bay two of Starbase 1… Welcome back.” The channel closed and within the hour the Wotan was safely moored in the massive starbase.
M’Freya departed the ship her single bag of possessions slung over a shoulder, and a second bag of data pads clutched at her side. She stood outside the docking doors for her ship, setting one bag down she patched herself into the ships computer giving the order to power down all systems. Unsure she would be returning to the ship, or if this was goodbye M’Freya looked behind her once before entering the lift leaving the docking bay. The lift shot her quickly stopping as needed for personnel to come and go, eventually she arrived at the cluster of command decks. Navigating the maze of corridors and offices she found Captain Millians office.
Millian was the contact officer assigned to the Wotan, over the years he had befriended her family and over that last year spent a great deal of time working with the young Caitian. He had been waiting to hear word of the ships arrival, waiting to meet M'Freya in person finally. He was on the man that sponsored M’Freya’s entrance into Starfleet, and help the young woman build a new life. She strolled into the office standing still for a long moment before the bemused human stood coming around his desk and embraced the young Caitian.
“My dear, it’s good to finally meet you in person mi girl. I was starting to think something happened along the way here.” Stepping back from her gauging the surprised and then neutral face of M’Freya, resting his hands on the front of his desk.
“And you sir, I just finished docking the Wotan in the lower docking bays, and I have brought you all of her reports, logs, and final mission assessment. I am looking forward to starting fresh on Earth sir.” He studied her for a moment before taking the hefty bag of data pads; he could already see the kind of officer she may become in the future. Weighing things in his mind for a moment before asking, “Have you chosen a course of study and which path you plan to take at the academy?” Her response was quick with no hint of heavy emotion just determination “Command sir no other particular fields of study interest me.” He nodded before retaking his seat behind the desk.
Taking a moment to organize the bag of Data pads before reaching for one he had tucked away at the corner of his desk. Giving a thumb print to it before leaning forward to offer it to M’Freya, her body moving forward enough before reaching out and taking the pad. Her eyes scanning over it before looking up to meet Captain Millians own.
“Thank you sir, I won’t disappoint you.” Her body language was a little more at ease now, with her long tail flicking behind her. Millian watched amused silently, his cheerful voice filling the space between them.
“I am sure you will cadet, Take that pad to the warren officer on deck 10 and she will get you set up right, and as to that personal request from you I have cleared it with the academy. You are going to stand out M’Freya, the only cadet to have captain a starship, and own her own to boot. This may not make you many friends to begin and some false ones if you are not careful. Hold onto that sentimental side of yourself as well, it will serve you well. Dismissed and good luck.” M’Freya gave a crisp “Sir” starting to turn and leave before stopping with her shoulders slumping. She didn't turn to face him fully wanting to keep a stream of tears from being seen. “Thank you Captain, my parents thought highly and you and... and you have been a good friend to me sir. I wont let you down.” She left before a reply could be given.
The hum of the transporter faded away with the last few sparkles of the matter beam, depositing M’Freya in one of the Academies transporter rooms, her uniform clung a little tighter than she thought it would, the Caitian opted to remain barefoot feeling that the issued boots tripped her up a little too much. Her bag slung back over a shoulder now with a holster and an old type II phaser resting in it. Something that had to be argued for, and made as a personal request, the old phaser having been her fathers and the weapon he held when saving her life the day she lost him. She had promised herself to never let it go. Nodding to the transporter operator before leaving the room and finding herself a little lost the adventure awaiting her now just beginning.
