August 2942
Celestial Unity
Virtus System
The next round of missiles slammed into the front and side of the Idris' shields, setting of warning klaxons and buffeting the ship with debris from the exploded ordinance.
"Damn it, I want them on comms now!" Matthias shouted.
"Should we return fire?" the weapons officer inquired, his voice cracking with panic.
"No! Under no circumstances are we to fire!" Matthias replied.
"Wait, I have an idea. That Xi'an we are carrying, he's in a burial pod in the cargo hold right?" Gedion asked.
Matthias looked at him with some confusion, but nodded.
Gedion took off out of the bridge, running towards the cargo hold. "Prepare to receive and image to broadcast on all frequencies!" he called though his comms system back to the bridge as her ran.
He burst into the cargo bay at full speed and almost overran the burial pod sitting on top of a few crates. Gedion popped the latches on the side and flipped the top open, revealing the dead Xi'an pilot inside. He was dead, and visibly as a result of great physical injury, but his body had been carefully, almost lovingly, cleaned and bandaged. Gedion hopped up on an adjacent crate and used to mobiglass to take capture an image of the body.
"Sending you the image now!" Gedion called over comms.
Back on the bridge, Breckage, the comms officer, began broadcasting the image on all frequencies, and placed it on the main screen on the Idris bridge as well. Matthias calmed and sat back down in his chair. If this didn't grab the Xi'an's attention, nothing would.
"Sir, they've dropped missile lock. They've stopped firing!" Breckage reported excitedly. "Message incoming from the Xi'an cap ship."
"Go ahead," Matthias replied. Gedion re-entered the bridge panting heavily. He stood with his hands on his knees, catching his breath.
"This is Trr'enth, commander of the 14th Xi'an battlegroup. Explain, what is this image," the Xi'an on the screen began. He was old and weathered, and had that tough military look that transcended race and species.
"We picked him up near the jump point to Indra in Horus. A small Xi'an fleet had been ambushed there and he was the only survivor. We did all we could to save him but…" Matthias' voice trailed off.
"I will board your vessel and take him. Then we will speak." Trr'enth dictated. Then the screen went black.
Moments later, a small Xi'an shuttle departed from the cap ship and headed towards the Celestial Unity. Matthias and Gedion stood ready to receive Trr'enth at the airlock.