Licking Wounds

They had never seen it coming.

They had almost arrived at Arcadia.  So close to delivering Paul Thunder to his home.  So close... and then, they got attacked.  A new Starfleet ship; one nobody had encountered before.  It was equipped with quite possibly the best cloaking device they had ever seen.  They struck without warning, and their first shot got them good.

The Dinaqa and her crew hadn't laid down and played dead.  They fought back.  Even when they realized that Thunder had been taken (somehow transported through their shields).  They fought their hardest.  While they didn't stop the ship that took Thunder, that ship knew it had been in a fight.

Cerina had been thankful to see that Arcadia was unharmed.  Apparently, Milla Q had kept her end of the bargain.  Thunder's home planet was undamaged.  And the Starfleet vessels that had been dispatched to attack it were nowhere to be seen.  Destroyed?  Turned into something else?  Transported to the far reaches of the galaxy?  With Milla, who truly knew.  But, with that handled, new problems had arisen.

It had taken Cerina and her crew almost two weeks to make it back to Bartokian space.  The damage they had taken had been fairly severe, and nobody anticipated receiving any assistance from the Arcadians.  The repairs were almost complete.  And Cerina sat in her quarters, wondering what would happen next.

The door chime interrupted her thoughts.  "Come in."

Korrine Blail, her first officer, entered the room.  "Cerina."

"Korrine.  Status report."

"The fleet engineers say we'll be ready to head out in less than twelve hours."

Cerina nodded.  "Good.  Is the crew ready?"

"Everybody is at stations... and we picked up a few new members to fill in for the injured."

"Any word on our status with the Federation?"

Korrine's face grew grim.  "It's not looking good.  I know we've severed all diplomatic ties.  I've heard a few mumbles about actual declarations of war."

Cerina sighed.  "We can't fight both the Khalindarians and the Federation.  It would be hopeless."

"Ah... but what if there was a way?"

Cerina and Korrine turned to see...