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Bane sighed softly as he stood at his duty post. Bane was the chief tactical officer of the Terrain flagship Titan. He had joined the Terrain space command when he was old enough to be on his own. He had grown up in one of Earth’s space colonies. He was descended from a long line of proud servicemen. His father had served on a deep space dreadnought and had retired with honors. No member of his family had ever achieved the rank Bane had, but then things were different when his father served. Furs had historically been an oppressed people. A lot had changed after the great revolution, but it took another century for real equality to be achieved. Even then some bias remained. In modern times furs and humans lived together as equals.

Bane’s job aboard the Titan involved risk management and analysis. He oversaw analyzing potential risks to the ship and crew then to propose solutions to the captain and first officer. His duty station during a red alert situation was on the bridge at the defense terminal. During normal ship operations he had his own office on deck one near the bridge. Bane was also in charge of ship security. All security staff reported directly to him. However, it was rare to have a real security issue. True from time to time there would be an argument that got out of hand or a lover’s quarrel. As a whole though it was fairly tame stuff. In addition, it was rare to really have red alert situations. The Titan was a deep space exploratory ship. War ships hadn’t been in rotation for quite some time.

Roughly a century ago there was a great civil war among the four races. The majority of the records for the time were lost. Afterwards the war fleets had been mothballed and a new governing body had been formed, called the Unified Governing Body. Since that time, conflict had gradually subsided until it was eventually eradicated. Most of Bane’s time was spent looking over reports and creating theoretical battle models. Bane looked up as the doorbell alerted him to someone at the door.

Bane pressed the release button and smiled as Ron stepped into the room. Ron chuckled as he looked at the wolf sitting behind the desk, “even on a routine mission you sit there doing your duty. Don’t you ever just take a day off?” Bane chuckled at the fox, “Ron you’ve known me most of my life. Have you ever known me to turn away from my responsibilities?” The fox smiled, “You ready to go get some dinner? Its late and Scott is waiting on us.” Bane nodded, “Yeah I was just wrapping up anyway.”

They walked through the corridors of the ship together in silence. The two were more like brothers than shipmates. They had met each other at the academy. Both were young and had just moved away from home for the first time. Bane had been happy to be out on his own for the first time but Ron had a rather difficult time at first. For Bane it was a chance to make his own name. His father was rather famous in his home colony, so growing up he was always in his father’s shadow. Always his father’s son and never just Bane. However, at the academy he was simply Bane. Nobody cared that his father had served because many of the other student’s fathers had served also.

Ron’s case was a little different though. He had joined not because he wanted to but because there really was no other choice. His home colony had been much different than Bane’s. Ron was from a poor family. His father had died when he was young and his mother had been in and out of hospitals all of his life. He had a brother but he was in jail. Everybody looked at Ron as a reprobate and nobody was willing to take a chance on him with employment. So as soon as he had graduated from high school he enlisted and never looked back.

As the pair entered the cafeteria, they spotted Scott sitting in a corner table looking at his tablet. Both Scott and Ron had been equipped with connected tablets. Both lead an emergency response team. In disaster situations they lead an emergency repair team who’s job it was to keep the ship operational for as long as was possible. The program was originally designed when battles were common and an operational ship meant the difference between life and death. They responded mostly to ship accidents. Space technology had been around for centuries and was considered safe. However, that did not mean that the odd accident didn’t occur from time to time.

The pair got a tray of food and walked over to the human and took a seat. Scott smiled at his friends. The human didn’t really have the same struggles as Band and Ron. Scott had come from a good home. His family was wealthy, and he was an only child. The fact was that Scott was a made man. He stood to inherit a fortune when his parents passed away. He didn’t have to work and didn’t want for anything. He had enlisted not because he needed to but because he wanted too. Despite his background Scott resented the money and the entitlement that came with it for the rest of his family. He wanted to make his own way but he couldn’t do that any ordinary way. So he enlisted and never looked back. He hadn't met Bane and Ron until he transferred to the Titan.

The three sat and ate together. This was a ritual they stated shortly after they met and had kept it up ever since. Despite what was going on, they always kept the ritual. To them it helped keep them grounded. As they ate the subject of conversation passed from topic to topic. They had a rule about not discussing work related topics. This was their time to relax and reconnect. After the food was finished Bane was enjoying a cup of coffee when he noticed Scott and Ron looking at him. The wolf chuckled, “What, is there something on my face?” Scott rolled his eyes, “Oh come on Bane, we have been at yellow alert for days now. We set a new course but nobody seems to know what our destination is. There’s an information blackout from the bridge and the navigational system has been locked out by your codes. You can’t blame us for being a little curious.”

Bane sighed and rolled his eyes, “You both know that I can’t comment on something like this. The captain has his reason’s and you will have to trust that he knows best.” Ron sighed, “Well just so you know, its got everybody on edge. I don’t mind admitting that its got me concerned too.” Bane nodded, “Look guys, I can appreciate how you're feeling. Yes, I know what’s going on. I have been briefed about it. Yes, I locked the nav system out. Currently our mission is need to know, however its probably not what your thinking. All I can say is that I would never willingly put either of you in danger.”

Bane yawned widely as he stretched his body. He, Scott and Ron spent another hour in the cafeteria after their brief discussion of the current mission. In truth, he fully understood their reservations. In fact, he shared them. He was not overly thrilled with their current mission himself and he disliked the information blackout the captain had placed on the ship. During the staff meeting where the current mission was discussed, he had openly opposed it. In his opinion it only opened the floor up to wild speculation and rumors. He always preferred to head this off and ensure that everybody was on the same page. The captain had outright chosen to dismiss his concerns.

As Bane got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, the com system chirped. He picked his communicator up and acknowledged the incoming call. Captain Adam’s voice greeted him with, “Good morning Bane, I hope I didn’t wake you?” Bane chuckled, “Good morning sir, no I just got up. Do you need me on the bridge?” “No, nothing like that. I’m reaching out to let you know we will be at the site within the hour. There’s no need for you to rush through your morning routine though.” Bane sighed softly to himself, “Have we gotten any preliminary scans of the area?” “Yes and unfortunately it doesn’t look promising. We are detecting a debris field. We won’t know more until we get there but from what we can tell it’s the Tesla.” Bane shook his head, “Damn! Are we picking up any other ships in the area?” Captain Adam’s paused for a moment, “No and that’s what worries me the most. We really won’t know more until we are able to examine the debris. The scanners should be able to detect the warp trail of any other ships that have been in the area and the only one we are seeing is the Tesla’s. I want you to brief Ron and Scott on the details of this mission. Ordinarily the chief engineer would but I have him on standby in engineering.” “Yes sir, I’ll see to it shortly.” With that the conversation ended. Bane sent a quick message to his friends to meet him in his office then got ready for the day.

Scott and Ron walked quietly through the corridors on their way to see Bane. It was strange for him to ask to see them in such a formal way. Their hope was that the meeting would shed some much-needed light on their current situation. As they walked through the door Bane sealed it behind them. They both took a seat around Bane’s desk as Scott and Ron eyed Bane with concern. “Ron, Scott you are here because Captain Adam’s has asked me to brief you on the current mission. Approximately six days ago the Tesla arrived at nebula 6158. Its mission was to study the nebula. We have since had no further communication with the ship once it arrived. Our mission is to investigate and see why the ship has gone quiet.

Late last night we came in scanner range. We picked up a debris field where the ship should be. There is no sign of any ship in range or that any ship has been in range aside from the Tesla. We will be arriving at the coordinates shortly.” Scott and Ron listened to the briefing with interest. It had been decades since a ship had been lost. Accidents happened but there were many redundancies that prevented a ship from detonating. It would take a truly catastrophic series of events to cause the destruction of a ship. The ship shuddered as it dropped out of warp. Ron and Scott’s tablet beeped almost instantly. Ron looked at Scott, “Scott do you see these readings?” Scott nodded, “Yeah this is odd, I don’t know what could be causing it.”

Bane sighed “You're going to make me ask aren’t you?” Scott turned his tablet so Bane could see it, “The power waveform is off. The power generated by the ships crystal reactors have a very specific wave form. What I’m reading is off, marginally so but off nonetheless.” Ron pulled out his communicator, “Ron to bridge, come in bridge.” Captain Adam’s responded, “Yes what is it?” Ron was taken aback a moment that the captain himself answered. “Sir myself and Scott are seeing an odd waveform in the power network. I recommend that we switch to emergency systems until we can pinpoint the issue.”

The Captain paused then replied, “Ron engineering has detected the issue but assures me that its well within tolerance. I see no reason to power down at this point.” With that he terminated the connection. Scott groaned, “Why do they give us these positions if they insist upon ignoring us.” Bane chuckled, “Guys I’m sure if this was a serious issue, engineering would handle it.” Scott shook his head, “Doubtful. If they are assuming it's within tolerance they won’t be paying attention to it. The only reason it caught our attention is the information you provided to us.” Bane blinked, “I don’t understand what you mean. How do those two things relate?” Ron replied, “Well truthfully, we aren’t sure. However, if the waveform is different enough, it can cause a system wide reset.”

Just as Ron finished his sentence the entire ship shook then went dark. Alarms all over the ship sounded then went silent. The three sat in complete darkness as Ron added, “Kinda like that!” Bane sighed as he fished a flashlight out of his desk. He switched it on and retrieved two more, handing them to Scott and Ron. As soon as they could see again, they consulted their tablets. Scott was the first to speak, “Bane, there was a waveform spike that caused a massive power surge throughout every system. It caused a system wide reset.” Bane nodded, “Alright, we need to get to the bridge.” Ron chuckled, “To what end Bane? There isn’t enough power right now to power a toaster let alone open your office door. Even if we could get it open every bulkhead and emergency door has slammed shut across the ship. You may get into the hallway but you won’t get to the bridge.”

Bane slammed his hand on his desk, “Damn it, we have to do something!” Ron nodded, “Bane, right now the best thing we can do is sit tight. Engineering will reboot the system shortly. Once they do we should be able to get a better idea of what’s going on.” Bane nodded as the power came back on. Alarms sounded on Scott and Ron’s tablets that made Scott go pale. Suddenly the entire ship shook and was filled with an ear splitting blast. The trio were knocked out of their seats and to the floor. Sparks flew from the lighting as the sound subsided. Bane groaned as he picked himself up, “What the hell was that?” Ron sat motionless as he looked at his tablet. Scott looked at Bane, “Bane, one of the ships secondary reactors just exploded. The ship is severely damaged, four decks have been opened up to space.”

Bane nodded, “Alright, you two get to what's left of engineering and see what you can do to help. I’m going to get to the bridge and see what I can do to help.” Ron shook his head and said, “Bane, it's too late for that. An overload is already building in the main reactor. Engineering is trying to bleed off the excess power but the charge is still building. There’s nothing we can do to stop it. At this point not even a shutdown will work. We have to abandon ship, it’s the only choice at this point.” Bane shook his head, “No, we won’t abandon our posts. We have jobs to do and we have to do them.” Scott shook his head, “Bane your not hearing us. There’s nothing we can do to stop this. Even if we were in engineering right now it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.” Bane sighed, “I’m not prepared to tuck tail and run. I’m just not that kind of wolf.”

As the trio were discussing what to do, the captain’s voice came over the intercom. “Attention all hands. At this point I am ordering a complete evacuation of the Titan. Please proceed in an orderly manner to the nearest escape pod.” As the captain finished his sentence the ship shook again with another explosion. The captain’s voice vanished as the lights dimmed again.” Ron groaned, “There goes the weapons bay. We are losing this ship, one deck at a time.” Bane nodded and grimly asked, “Alright, what's our best play here? The nearest escape pod is on this deck behind the bridge.” Scott shook his head, “No, that’s not an option. The bridge is gone. The airtight bulkheads are holding but I don’t know for how long. Our best play is the shuttle bay. Its six decks down but the maintenance tubes should still be in one piece.” Bane shook his head, “No! We need to get to an escape pod.” Scott groaned, “Damn it Bane, try to think! Even if we were in one right now, I’m not sure we could launch. Systems are going offline all over the ship and we don’t have time to debate this so lets move!!!” Bane nodded, “Alright let's go, if you feel that’s what Is best.”

As the trio crawled their way through the ship it was rocked with explosion after explosion. Scott had explained that it was all secondary explosions caused by the initial damage. Ron was closely monitoring the main reactors power level. As they crawled out of the maintenance access on the shuttle bay level he announced that they were quickly running out of time. The trio ran to the access door only to find it sealed. As they arrived the power once again went out. Bane cussed loudly as he squatted down and pulled the access panel off the manual release for the door. The ship once again shook violently as Ron looked up at the wolf, “I hate to rush this but we are out of time. The core is going critical, we have to go now!”

Bane nodded as he pulled a circular device out of his pocket, “Good thing I brought a universal key.” Scott eyed the device, “Is it such a good idea to use a shape charge right now? I don’t know what condition the shuttle bay is in and it could ignite any gasses that may be leaking.” Bane chuckled, “Right now we are out of options. The manual release isn’t working and this is our only way out. Either we wait here and die when the reactor goes or we take this chance and possibly die when the possible gasses ignite. I will take possible death over certain death every time.” Scott nodded, “Alright, you need to put it in the exact center. This is a blast door but this charge may be just enough to open it.” The trio took positions on either side of the door as Bane placed the device then put his paws over his ears. The device detonated and shattered the door.

They ran into the shuttle bay to find one shuttle left. They quickly climbed into it. Bane took his spot in the pilot's seat as Scott and Ron plugged their tablets into the shuttles systems. Bane growled, “I can’t get the bay doors open. There’s no power going to the servos. Ron can you see if you can reroute any?” Ron tapped his tablet before looking up at the wolf, “Bane, powers dead on this deck. We have to go now, use the pulse cannons on the shuttle. I’ll reinforce the shuttles shields. Scott as soon as we have a way out you need to overclock the snot out of the engines.” Bane took aim at the bay doors and fired. Without the shields reinforcing them they crumpled under the barrage. Bane then opened the sublight engines up all the way and they shot out of the bay like a bullet from a gun. As soon as they were clear that was a blinding flash of light from the ship as the main reactor detonated.

A massive shock wave impacted the shuttle and tossed it like a leaf in a hurricane. The shuttle then lurched backwards as Scott gasped, “The explosion has ripped a whole in subspace. There is a massive anomaly behind us Bane, you have got to jump to warp!” Bane laughed, “Are you crazy? We can’t engage the warp engines in a nebula!” Scott shook his head, “If you don’t, we won’t make it.” Bane gritted his teeth and engaged the warp core. The shuttle shook violently as their backward velocity slowed. Ron pulled up the outside view on his tablet. The anomaly was massive and was sucking in everything around it.

Scott' paws danced across his tablet as he shut down everything they didn’t need and rerouted the power to the warp core as he shouted, “Bane go to maximum warp!” Bane pushed the drive as hard as he could and the little shuttle shook like it was coming apart.” Ron growled, “It's no use. we are caught in its pull. The shuttle can’t take much more of this, structural integrity is at 12% and dropping.” The shuttle shook violently as the warp core went offline. The shuttle lurched backwards as it fell into the anomaly. Bane groaned, “We aren’t dead yet hold on everyone.”

He fired the thrusters and turned the shuttle directly towards the anomaly. “Okay guys, forget escaping. We don’t have the power. Instead, reroute every scrap of power we’ve got into the shields. If we go in, we need to thread the needle. Maybe, just maybe we can pick up enough speed to veer away at the last moment and slingshot around it.” They nodded as their hands frantically danced across their tablets. Bane gritted his teeth as they plummeted into the spiraling abyss. Scott took a deep breath as he leaned back in his seat. The shuttle shook violently as the sublight engines sparked then went offline. Bane closed his eyes, “I’m sorry guys I’ve done all I can.” There was a blinding flash of light as the shuttle hit the anomaly. The three felt a searing pain in their heads as they lost consciousness.