The Vaadwaur juggernaut loomed ahead, a vast but compact titan, its hull scarred but unyielding, still pouring fire toward the beleaguered Haakonian defence line.

From above, the Odyssey’s three sections flew in with coordinated precision. The chevron section banked hard to port, phasers lancing in concentrated bursts across the enemy’s dorsal shielding. The stardrive section flanked low and fast, unleashing a series of piercing quantum torpedo blasts that struck with seismic brilliance, rippling across the juggernaut’s weakened armor. And streaking down the middle, the Telemachus darted between the larger long enemy hull, nimble and fearless, its own phasers cannons carving deep into the Vaadwaur’s midsection.

A final barrage of quantum torpedoes erupted from each vector, converging on the juggernaut’s exposed power plant area. 

Impact. 

Bright and brilliant. 

A roar of light and fury. 

The Gaul-class juggernaut shattered in a series of explosions, its hull collapsing inward before disappearing in a fiery cascade.

On the Odyssey’s main bridge, silence held for half a heartbeat.

“They’re retreating!” Court announced at the top of his voice, the relief barely contained.

A cheer erupted from the rear of the bridge, a few officers exchanging high-fives or sagging back in their chairs with visible relief.

Duncan allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. “Finally.” 

After battling to invade Talax, the Vaadwaur had finally given up. The loss of their flagship and several battlecruisers left them vulnerable to the allied fleet, defying them. All that remained of their forces were a handful of escorts and their fighters. They weren’t strong enough to complete their goal.

“Confirmed, the remaining Vaadwaur ships are heading into the underspace aperture,” Reddick stated with optimism. She shared the same grin of victory that her comrades had plastered across their faces. 

The Odyssey’s main viewer flickered to show the enemy fleet racing away from the combined Haakonian-Talaxian-Federation fleet. Several more shots were fired at the departing ships. A few took damage, and two escorts exploded as they attempted to retreat. In mere seconds, they were gone. Nothing remained of their forces. 

“Sir, I’m detecting a large group of incoming warp signatures.” Keli’s fingers danced across her controls as she tried to work out who was approaching them. She then nodded with further relief. “It’s the Themis with twenty-one Rakosan cruisers.”

The tension on the bridge evaporated. Duncan stood, his shoulders dropping slightly.

McCallister exhaled through his nose, a smirk forming. “Well, it’s about time.”

Standing to see the sight of the Ross-class explorer finally arrive, flanked by the Rakosan fleet, Duncan grinned at the reinforcements towards McCallister. The two senior-most officers exchanged knowing looks.

“Finally, more good guys are here!” Paynkor almost cheered. 

“Maybe the Vaadwaur detected them and decided to leave before they were completely defeated,” Horin suggested.

“Sirs, Captain Cambil is hailing the entire squadron,” Bollwyn announced. 

McCallister deferred to Duncan to reply to his communication officer. 

“It’s about time she arrived,” Duncan muttered to McCallister before he told Bollwyn to put the Bajoran captain on the main viewer with the other captains. 

“I’m sorry we’re late to the party, everyone,” Cambil apologised. “The Rakosans don’t have a high warp speed like Starfleet. What did we miss?”

“Oh, just your basic evil empire rising from the dead, attempting to attack the innocent!” Krabreii replied in an almost sarcastic tone. 

Cambil smirked at the dry wit from the Efrosian captain. Off-screen, Niro’s laughter could be heard.

“So just a normal day in the Delta Quadrant?” Cambil quipped.

“You should’ve seen the Destiny dance through that skirmish,” Patterson added, grinning.

“The Vaadwaur were not expecting Starfleet to be here,” Reyas remarked.

“Your timing couldn’t be better, Bexa,” McCallister said, taking back control of the conversation. “I take it the Rakosans are happy to help with relief efforts?”

Cambil nodded. “First Minster Bennan sends his regards and hopes that the Rakosan presence will build further trust between his people, the Haakonians and Talaxians.” 

“The Haakonians are going to need it; their fleet and homeworld have suffered the most damage and loss,” Duncan said.

“How have the rest of you fared after that battle?” Cambil asked, checking in with the others.

“No serious damage to the Bellerophon,” Reyas shared.

“Same for the Constitution,” Horatio added. “Lieutenant Lonar is already bragging about her torpedo targeting.”

“The Destiny was barely scratched,” Patterson reported.

“Orion is still fighting fit!” Krabreii stated. “Also, I think our starfighter pilots enjoyed finally being able to undertake a joint operation.”

“For her first battle, the Astra ran rings around those Vaadwaur fighters,” Niro said, pride in his voice. “Our cadets performed flawlessly.”

“Good,” Cambil said, sounding pleased. “So where do we go from here, commodore?”

McCallister took a breath as he considered her question. “Let’s regroup and speak with the Haakonian leadership. We are visitors in their space. Bexa, I’m going to need Commander Flemen back.”

Cambil looked off-screen and smirked at Flemen before nodding back to the commodore. “Of course, I’ll have him beam over shortly.”

“Thanks,” McCallister smirked. “Everyone, let’s take up a defensive posture near the last coordinates of that aperture near Rinax, just in case the Vaadwaur try to return.”

Once the conversation was over, the viewscreen went blank. Immediately, Duncan ordered his crew to reintegrate the different sections of the Odyssey back together and asked Dalen to get him a full damage report. Duncan glanced at his bridge crew; many still were riding the high of survival. “Now that the Vaadwaur know we’re here,” he said in a low tone to McCallister, “have we just painted a bullseye on our back?”

McCallister met his gaze, his expression somber. “Possibly.”

Duncan nodded grimly. “Then we’d better ensure the Triton doesn’t face that target alone. Can I suggest we send a couple of ships to go and protect her?” Duncan proposed.

McCallister considered the idea for a moment and nodded in agreement. “I’ll speak to Horatio and Mo’Lee about heading out shortly. In the meantime, I want you to reach out to Haakonian officials to see if we can establish a rapport with them.”

“I’m on it,” Duncan replied, appreciating that McCallister was leaving an essential task with him. 

As the crew moved calmly around him, Duncan took one last look at the viewscreen where the remnants of battle faded into starlight. Against the odds, they had stood their ground. They had protected the Talaxians, defended the Haakonians, and held the line.

A quiet swell of pride rose in his chest. The Odyssey had done what it was built to do. And its crew had shown precisely why they wore the uniform.

Duncan allowed himself the briefest smile, then turned back to get on with his work.