"We're out of range of their weapons, sir!" Vieirk called out as the USS Nexus retreated from the imposing Voth Fortress.
"Good!" Captain Anzyl Praxas replied, his voice sharp with a mix of relief and frustration. He leaned forward in his command chair, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts of concern for Nolan. "Engineering! I want to know how the hell they managed to teleport someone off our bridge with our shields up! Heluna! Get me Khitomer Command—I want Quinn now! Hell, I'll take the Delta Alliance as well!" His combadge chirped, and he quickly tapped it with authority. "Captain to Dr. Kayuli—report to the bridge. You're acting Chief Science Officer now!"
The bridge crew sprang into action, focusing on their respective tasks, when Tey'un's voice came over the comms. His tone was cool and analytical as usual. "I've figured out how they took Dr. Rivas, Captain." His voice didn't show a hint of emotion. "A micro-teleportation confinement beam, tuned to our shield frequency and timed just as the bands of our cyclonic shields spun by."
Anzyl gritted his teeth, the frustration clear on his face. "Like firing a needle through spinning fans and hitting the mark."
"Exactly," Tey'un confirmed, unfazed. "Engineering out."
Before Anzyl could respond, a flicker of light in front of him announced the arrival of Dr. Kayuli. The doctor appeared in his holographic Navi form, his blue-lit avatar shimmering in the center of the bridge.
"I'm here, sir, reporting for duty," Kayuli said with his usual outgoing self, his voice lacking any hint at the urgency of the situation. "I figured it'd be easier to materialize in Navi form than to stream my Tulkun form on—"
"You're station, Doctor!" Anzyl barked, cutting off the scientist's rambling. "Find out everything you can about that ship. I hope we were scanning it while it was glaring down our throats!"
"Aye, sir!" Kayuli replied immediately, moving to his console and tapping in commands.
Heluna, turning in her communications chair, spoke up. "I have Admiral Quinn for you, sir."
Anzyl stood, gesturing to his communications officer. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll take him in my ready room." He turned to Neil. "With me."
The two quickly left the bridge and entered the Captain's private office adjacent to the bridge. Anzyl sat at his desk and activated the view screen. Moments later, Admiral Quinn's face appeared, the veteran Trill's features set in a stern expression.
"Captain Praxas? What's with the hasty summoning?" Quinn asked, his voice betraying his weariness.
"The Voth just declared war—by forcibly kidnapping my Chief Science Officer from our bridge," Anzyl said, his anger bubbling beneath the surface.
Quinn's face twisted in shocked confusion. "Forcibly kidnapped from your bridge?! Why? How?"
Before Anzyl could burst with a response, Neil stepped in, his voice steady as he relayed the details. "Nolan was arrested and is to stand trial on their Fortress Ship for apostasy, heresy, and treason against their doctrine. They teleported him directly off the Nexus bridge through our shields."
Quinn slammed his hand down on the desk, frustration evident. "Gah! Those Voth are... Bah!" He shook his head, taking a moment to collect himself. "Hold on just a second, gentlemen. I'm going to tie in our Tactical Liaison for the Voth."
The screen flickered for a moment before a figure appeared. A Reman, draped in black Romulan attire, his face serious and unwavering.
"Gentlemen, this is Commander Shravuk, with the New Romulan Republic. He's our tactical expert on the Voth. He's spent more time studying their Fortress Ship than anyone I know," Quinn explained.
The Reman nodded solemnly. "Greetings, gentlemen. It's an honor to work with you both, though I had hoped for better circumstances. Our reports—"
He was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Dr. Kayuli, bursting through the ready room door. He held a data pad in his hand, looking flustered yet determined.
"I'm sorry, sirs! But you need to see this!" He rushed forward, handing the device to Anzyl, who accepted it with a frown.
"This information was left on Dr. Rivas's monitor when I took over," Kayuli explained, his voice hurried. "It took me a while to figure out what I was looking at, but apparently, he had old files on the Fortress Ship in his personal database for years. I can only assume he kept them in case something like this happened."
Neil quickly set the data pad on the scanner node, sharing the information with the others.
Shravuk's eyes widened as he scanned the contents. "Tactical schematics, shield frequency algorithms, weapon array frequencies, structural vulnerabilities… and with their arrogance, they never change anything if it works! This is everything we've ever needed to take that Fortress Ship down!"
Quinn nodded in agreement, his eyes narrowing in resolve. "Voth and Alliance relations are already at a boiling point. This kidnapping is the last straw. It's time the Voth recognize they are not the only sentient species in this galaxy!"
Shravuk slammed his fist on the table, his voice fierce. "And the Alliance has been running away every time that Fortress shows up, but no more!" His eyes burned with determination. "It's time to enact Operation Breach!"