It was heard throughout the entire ship. One word, echoed out of every speaker on every console. &quot;Surrender.&quot; the dissembodied voice said simply. Captain Salis was in full sprint towards C.I.C. He spoke into the comm on his sleve. &quot;Airlock, Captain. Boarding party scans come back clear?&quot; _Affirm, Sir._ &quot;Let 'em out. Tell Stine I need him on deck immediately.&quot; he barked, releasing the button. _Copy_ Emerging into C.I.C., Salis gazed at the the viewscreen. The Pillar was still listing out of control. There was no change in its posture. Debris still fell out of its broken shell. Engines were still off-line. &quot;Sit-Rep!&quot; he barked. A junior Ensign...didn't even know her name...replied from Ops. &quot;Transmission was heard on all decks, Captain. No change in The Pillar's status. Our engines are spooled.&quot; At that moment, all of space lit up in an impossible flash. A black behemoth hung infront of them, eclipsing the starfield. Then, a terrible pain hit somewhere behind his eyes. 2008-05-21T03:06:03Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/31176 <p>Great tense, gritty stuff. Poor no-name ensign too. Unbeatable villains can be hard to stomach, so I&#8217;ll see where this goes. Hmmmm, thoughtful pose assumed.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/31176?basename=63784 2008-05-21T03:06:03Z THX 0477 http://ficlets.com/authors/thx_0477 <p>This series has such a wonderful retro sci-fi feel yet it is fresh and enjoyable. I&#8217;ve <strong>missed</strong> stories like this. <br />Looking forward to the next sequel</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/31176?basename=63734 2008-05-20T23:41:15Z KevMullins http://ficlets.com/authors/kevmullins <p>Enter Star Trek &#8220;Doomsday Machine&#8221; music. Da da Da da DADA da da Da Da&#8230;</p> <p>This series is continuing to kick butt, keep it going bro! Kirk would be proud.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/31176?basename=63718 2008-05-20T23:22:21Z JLaughter http://ficlets.com/authors/jlaughter <p>Wow, this is getting freaky, as I expected. I love it.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/31176?basename=63693 2008-05-20T21:49:53Z thebetweenspace http://ficlets.com/authors/thebetweenspace