It was heard throughout the entire ship. One word, echoed out of every speaker on every console. “Surrender.” the dissembodied voice said simply.

Captain Salis was in full sprint towards C.I.C. He spoke into the comm on his sleve. “Airlock, Captain. Boarding party scans come back clear?”

Affirm, Sir.

“Let ‘em out. Tell Stine I need him on deck immediately.” 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.

“Sit-Rep!” he barked.

A junior Ensign…didn’t even know her name…replied from Ops. “Transmission was heard on all decks, Captain. No change in The Pillar’s status. Our engines are spooled.”

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.