They rippled across the fabric of space, the voices singing like a choir of long forgotten spirits coming slowly back to life again.

He would save them.

He would save them all.

The Talosian would have smiled if he were human. It wasn't that he felt any sort of happiness; emotions were drastically different for his kind. But he felt a sense of calm. A sense of content satisfaction. He would save his kind from the ruins. They would no longer be subterranean, mindless drones feeding off their own abilities of mind reading, caring nothing for what they had been.

He would fix their fate. He would fix all of it.

An alarm began to blare on the console. His eyes opened, but he knew they were there before their grainy images appeared on the security feed.

You won't stop me, He told the two men entering the room. You are trying to give your crewmen enough time to deactivate the device.

Kirk and Faaren made their cautious way forward.

The Talosian stood to its full height, its head tilting to the side as it studied the them with mild curiosity. You cannot stop destiny.

Kirk's eyes narrowed. "Try me," He said, firing the weapon.

The Talosian was suddenly beside him, its hand reaching out and snatching the phaser away. Before Kirk could react he was flying backwards through the air, slamming painfully into the back wall.

The Talosian tilted its head to the side as five more white clad figures echoed throughout the room. Faaren tried to swing at one of them, but it merely ducked out of the way. There was a blast of white and he slammed into a nearby console, the display shattering beneath the impact.

You cannot stop this.

The Talosian walked over to the nearest console and began to reroute the power controls.

"No!" Kirk yelled through gritted teeth. He forced himself to his feet, but it felt like a massive weight was holding him down. He had to move. None of it was real, he reminded himself. None of it was real. None of it, he repeated over and over again.

He grabbed his dropped phaser.

The Talosian turned to the captain in alarm just as he pulled the trigger. It suddenly stood across the room, having moved out of the way just in time. Several other Talosian's suddenly surrounded him, the flickering reflections leering over the helpless captain.

You will perish here today, James Tiberius Kirk. You will die and all those under your command will die with you.

Captain Kirk grimaced. "I wouldn't count on it. Better men than you have tried."

Kirk was about to fire again when a tall humanoid at the center of the room cried out in pain, dropping to its knees. The echoed figures of the Talosian turned in unison to the center of the room. Their images flickered for a moment before they all vanished. Faaren had already reloaded and held the phaser rifle at ready.

A humanoid suddenly reappeared back at the console, but it was very different. It was smaller, a sickly grey color, large branching blood vessels bulging from its swollen skull. It held a hand to the smoldering fabric covering its chest. Its grey eyes looked up at the captain.

It's gaze was full of sorrow as it clutched the console.

I am sorry, a hollow voice echoed in their heads. I failed my people. I failed them...

It slammed its hand into the console control before sinking to the ground.

Kirk stepped over to the crumpled body. The small, awkward looking humanoid was dead.

CONTROL SETTINGS SAVED, a voice on the console announced. REPLICATING ACTIVATION SEQUENCE.

"No," Kirk ran to the display, uncertain as to what to do. "No, no, no, no, this is bad, this is really bad..." He mumbled to himself, reaching for his communicator. "Scotty!" He yelled just as a group of guards charged into the room.

Kirk ducked as they fired at them. A volley of shots suddenly flew over his head, slamming into the console and shattering the displays.

"What is goin' up there?!" Scotty demanded.

"He did something with the settings!" Kirk yelled, returning fire. "He pushed a button and now it's all screwed up!"

Captain Kirk could hear Chekov talking to the chief engineer over the communicator.

Faaren and Kirk fired at the guards, but their numbers were quickly growing.

"Keptin! The activation sequence is replicating in almost every system in the ship," Chekov told the captain.

A shot barely missed Kirk as he fired back at the guards. "Can you fix it?!" He yelled, helping Faaren shoot at the rest of the guards.

"We don't have time captain!" Scotty replied. "We need to abandon ship!"

"It is possible, keptin!" Chekov interrupted Scotty. "But it will take time!"

"We don't have time!" Kirk yelled, shooting at the guards. "Get to the escape pods! Now!" There was an open door on the other end of the room. He jerked his chin in the direction, signaling for Faaren to follow.

"Go!" Faaren told him, standing and providing cover fire.

Kirk dashed through the door, Faaren following closely afterwards. They quickly forced the sliding doors shut behind them. It wouldn't keep the guards out for long, but it would be enough.

Faaren and the captain turned, only to be met by small group of kids huddling against the wall behind them. None of them looked older than perhaps ten, and they were all scared. One boy with a head full of coppery curls looked up at the captain, his big eyes glistening with tears.

"We're here to help," Faaren told them, slowly lowering his rifle.

There was an explosion on the other side of the door and the sliding metal began to warp inward. The kids cowered, huddling together and whimpering in fear.

"Come on," Kirk said, helping a little Andorian boy to his feet. "Everything's gonna be okay, kid."

The little boy clutched tightly to his hand as they started to run down the narrow hallways. Seconds later, the door blasted inward and the guards entered, firing at them.

One small boy suddenly yelped in pain, falling to the ground.

"No!" Kirk yelled, about to run back. Faaren pushed him back, he himself running back for the injured child.

He yelled as he fired at the guards, going to his knees and scooping up the skinny kid and tossing him over his shoulder. Kirk tried to provide him with cover, but with all the guards, there wasn't much he could do.

Faaren suddenly stumbled, a shot tearing through his leg. Kirk went to his side.

"Keep going!" Faaren told him as he forced himself to rise to his feet. "Whatever happens, don't stop!" He yelled as he brought up the rear of the group.

The passage eventually opened up into the shuttle bay. Crowds of people were rushing to the nearest escape shuttles. Jaylah was there. Three Jaylahs that is, all fighting a group of very confused guards.

"James T!" She yelled, slamming her staff against one of the guards. The refractor image faded in a flicker of electric blue.

"Help me!" Kirk said, crossing to her and lowering the boy against one of the large engine pieces.

"He is hurt bad," Jaylah commented, taking the little boy.

Kirk stood and started to run back the way he had come. "Get them to the shuttles!" He instructed as he ran back to help.

✵✵✵

Faaren felt the hot sear of pain rip across his flesh. Warm blood wetted the front of his shirt. Every part of him hurt with almost unbearable pain. He clutched his phaser rifle tightly in his hand. The power indicators flashed with the low power. There were more guards flooding into the hallway, and he was the only thing standing in their way.

A dark smile tugged at his bloodstained lips and he almost laughed to himself. Not the only thing, he thought, glancing back at the control panel on the wall behind him. Leaning heavily on the crates, he rose to his feet and headed towards the control console.

A sharp pain tore through his shin and he stumbled, climbing slowly back to his feet.

Nyah smiled as he helped pull her curly hair back from her face. Her deep brown eyes lit up as she turned around to look at her father.

"This is for you," His words slurred together as he reached the controls, bringing it into lock down.

"No!" Captain Kirk cried as the heavy metal doors slid shut in front of him.

There was a loud cracking noise and the ship buckled beneath their feet, the doors warping and one falling from its frame. Part of the hallway was becoming dislodged as the interior of the ship began to cave inward. Captain Kirk ran forward, helping Faaren. Shots tore up the walls and ground around them.

"What are you doing?!" Faaren demanded as the Captain slung his arm over his shoulder.

"No one dies today," The captain said, pulling the larger man back into the cargo bay. "Now on my watch."

The floor began to fold forward, crumbling under the strain like a sheet of tin foil. A few of the guards made it out before the hallway pinched shut. Sparks fell like golden rain from the ceiling and the tremors were tearing the ship apart. They were running out of time.

Captain Kirk struggled to help drag Faaren back towards the escape pods.

They barely minutes left to escape. He could only hope Scotty and Chekov had found a way to stop the device.

Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter of Star Trek Oblivion. The image above is sort of how I picture the hallways inside of The Oblivion. Thanks for reading!

Live long and prosper,

↠ Ellie