A lot of answers are in this next segment. Though, you may not like them. 
*****
CHAPTER 14
Supplemental
USS Independence, Main Bridge
H’Kan System
Bin Nadal steadied himself on the free-standing tactical station as another missile impacted the shields. The console proved otherwise useless to him, despite his continuing efforts override the attack program. The Independence’s tactical systems targeted various Vuke vessels. He found it interesting, however, that no more photons had been launched and the phasers were operating at 25% power. Whoever, designed this program wanted the Indy to lose this battle.
Captain Aurelia felt equally useless. “How much longer can our shields take this?”
Luckily, Karim’s display still worked. “Shields are at 88%. I’d guess we have just over a minute before they fail.”
Ensign Weston volunteered from the helm, “Should I set a course, Captain?”
She considered a moment. Her mission was all but a failure at this point. Her priorities now were to prevent Section 31 from getting Easton. She didn’t have to stay here to do that. The bridge rattled again. “Yes, get us out of the system.”
“Standby, ma’am.” He reported, “There are a lot of moving ships out there. It will take a moment to plot an escape vector.”
Supplemental
USS Independence, Deck Seven
H’Kan System
The android turned into the final corridor to the brig. As he rounded the corner he saw seven security personnel right next to the reinforced brig hatch. All of them already had their phasers trained on him. To make matters worse the group was several meters away. There was no way he could rush them. He did the calculations. There was only a 5.7% chance he could successfully subdue all seven of the guards, even though he was now armed, without being disabled by phaser blast himself.
Phaser bolts and beams began to fly. The Soong-type android immediately retreated back into the adjoining corridor. The fire narrowly missed him and left scorch marks on the bulkhead. He tapped his compin, “Lore to Philadelphia.”
“Damn it Lore, radio silence!” was the response from a male voice.
“Like it matters now,” came from the android. “I can’t get to Easton. I’m pinned down. I need a beam out.”
“Their shields are still up and they’ve somehow managed to eliminate the directorate’s embedded override.”
More phaser shots rang out. The security force was advancing on his position. “I’ve taken care of that. Computer, initiate programs ‘Escape Gamma’ and ‘Escape Delta.’”
“Standby, we’ll have to phase back to normal space for transport.”
Supplemental
USS Independence, Main Bridge
H’Kan System
The shield impacts were so constant now, that there was a low, continuous tremor on the deck. The main viewer showed a graphic display of the Steamrunner-class ship with several smaller ships circling it like flies.
“Another Vuke ship has been destroyed,” Karim called out from tactical. “Shields at 48%.”
“Weston,” prompted Aurelia.
Each time the helm officer saw an opening through the Vuke vessels, it was closed up again by strafing fighters. “I can’t guarantee we’ll avoid a collision, Captain.”
A sound came from Sintina. It could have been a chuckle. “Then, ahead one-quarter impulse; they’ll move.”
A slightly disapproving, “Aye,” came from the helm.
“Captain!” said Lieutenant Tang Zian from the science station, “There was a slight…something.”
“What?”
He elaborated, “To find the stealth ship, I set the computer to run a constant visual scan of the surrounding space and to report any anomalous light.”
Aurelia clutched her armrests as the ship shook, “Get to the point.”
“Sunlight is reflecting off an unknown surface,” he finally reported, “The object is off the ventral side.”
“On screen.” A second later, it became very clear what the object was. Though, it was jet black, there was no mistaking the silhouette of a Sovereign-class starship.
Karim read her mind, “Could that be the Philadelphia?”
Weston commented, “I thought she was destroyed.”
“We don’t have time to explain it,” harped the captain. “Target…” ‘Damn!,’ she remembered, ‘We see it, but we can’t fire at the damn thing!’ She whispered to herself, “Easton.” She said louder, “Faltyne, report.”
“We have the intruder pinned down. I’ll transport a stun grenade to his location in a second.”
“Good. Aurelia out.”
An alarm sounded behind the captain. Bin Nadal franticly said, “Captain, our shields are down.”
The next tremor wasn’t a tremor at all, but a massive jolt.
He updated her, “Hull damage, deck six, dorsal side. No breach.”
“I thought we had more time!” barked the captain.
“We did!” retorted Karim. “The shields were turned off.”
She cursed in frustration, “God damn it!” ‘They are getting away with it again!’ She fumed, ‘No, I won’t let them.’
“Captain,” began Weston as he tapped at his console in confusion, “The engines…they just stopped.”
Another intense quake rushed over them. The hull and been breached. The seasoned officers knew exactly what that felt like.
Karim said something about force fields in place somewhere. Sintina pressed the ensign, “What do you mean, just stopped?”
“Warp and impulse engines aren’t responding.”
The captain went to the helm and tapped the controls herself. It was an act of desperation. Surely, this wasn’t happening. It was some sort of illusion. She didn’t mind dying in battle, but not like this – not helpless. It wasn’t fair. An unyielding voice inside her bellowed, ‘It’s happening again. They’re going to destroy my ship again!’
“Faltyne to Bridge.”
“Go,” said Sintina under clinched teeth.
“The intruder and Mr. Easton were beamed off the ship.”
The captain had to adjust her footing in response to another hull breach. For a moment, she considered sitting down in her command chair and just…waiting. There seemed little else to do. In fact, she did sit down again. She said quite calmly, “Is the self-destruct still online?”
The solemn response from Karim was, “Yes.”
‘At least Section 31 will still let me kill myself,’ she grimly thought.
“We’re being hailed,” started bin Nadal, “it’s unclear where it’s coming from or the sender.”
‘What’s to lose?’ “On screen,” she said. A light-skinned, human male filled the monitor. ‘That face. That face! Collins!’ Without thinking, she blasted, “I’m going to kill you!”
Captain…well, former Starfleet Captain Zackary Collins seemed amused. “Nice to see you too, Captain.” He added sardonically, “You seem to be in quite a predicament.”
“Fuck you.”
The man seemed to be even more pleased to see he had gotten under her skin. “Well, since that wasn't an SOS, I have other places to go. Good luck with the Vuke, Captain.” He added as a deliberate afterthought, “Oh, if I were you, I wouldn’t be caught alive. I’ve heard the Vuke don’t bother killing their victims before they start eating them. Philadelphia out.”
*****
CHAPTER 14
Supplemental
USS Independence, Main Bridge
H’Kan System
Bin Nadal steadied himself on the free-standing tactical station as another missile impacted the shields. The console proved otherwise useless to him, despite his continuing efforts override the attack program. The Independence’s tactical systems targeted various Vuke vessels. He found it interesting, however, that no more photons had been launched and the phasers were operating at 25% power. Whoever, designed this program wanted the Indy to lose this battle.
Captain Aurelia felt equally useless. “How much longer can our shields take this?”
Luckily, Karim’s display still worked. “Shields are at 88%. I’d guess we have just over a minute before they fail.”
Ensign Weston volunteered from the helm, “Should I set a course, Captain?”
She considered a moment. Her mission was all but a failure at this point. Her priorities now were to prevent Section 31 from getting Easton. She didn’t have to stay here to do that. The bridge rattled again. “Yes, get us out of the system.”
“Standby, ma’am.” He reported, “There are a lot of moving ships out there. It will take a moment to plot an escape vector.”
Supplemental
USS Independence, Deck Seven
H’Kan System
The android turned into the final corridor to the brig. As he rounded the corner he saw seven security personnel right next to the reinforced brig hatch. All of them already had their phasers trained on him. To make matters worse the group was several meters away. There was no way he could rush them. He did the calculations. There was only a 5.7% chance he could successfully subdue all seven of the guards, even though he was now armed, without being disabled by phaser blast himself.
Phaser bolts and beams began to fly. The Soong-type android immediately retreated back into the adjoining corridor. The fire narrowly missed him and left scorch marks on the bulkhead. He tapped his compin, “Lore to Philadelphia.”
“Damn it Lore, radio silence!” was the response from a male voice.
“Like it matters now,” came from the android. “I can’t get to Easton. I’m pinned down. I need a beam out.”
“Their shields are still up and they’ve somehow managed to eliminate the directorate’s embedded override.”
More phaser shots rang out. The security force was advancing on his position. “I’ve taken care of that. Computer, initiate programs ‘Escape Gamma’ and ‘Escape Delta.’”
“Standby, we’ll have to phase back to normal space for transport.”
Supplemental
USS Independence, Main Bridge
H’Kan System
The shield impacts were so constant now, that there was a low, continuous tremor on the deck. The main viewer showed a graphic display of the Steamrunner-class ship with several smaller ships circling it like flies.
“Another Vuke ship has been destroyed,” Karim called out from tactical. “Shields at 48%.”
“Weston,” prompted Aurelia.
Each time the helm officer saw an opening through the Vuke vessels, it was closed up again by strafing fighters. “I can’t guarantee we’ll avoid a collision, Captain.”
A sound came from Sintina. It could have been a chuckle. “Then, ahead one-quarter impulse; they’ll move.”
A slightly disapproving, “Aye,” came from the helm.
“Captain!” said Lieutenant Tang Zian from the science station, “There was a slight…something.”
“What?”
He elaborated, “To find the stealth ship, I set the computer to run a constant visual scan of the surrounding space and to report any anomalous light.”
Aurelia clutched her armrests as the ship shook, “Get to the point.”
“Sunlight is reflecting off an unknown surface,” he finally reported, “The object is off the ventral side.”
“On screen.” A second later, it became very clear what the object was. Though, it was jet black, there was no mistaking the silhouette of a Sovereign-class starship.
Karim read her mind, “Could that be the Philadelphia?”
Weston commented, “I thought she was destroyed.”
“We don’t have time to explain it,” harped the captain. “Target…” ‘Damn!,’ she remembered, ‘We see it, but we can’t fire at the damn thing!’ She whispered to herself, “Easton.” She said louder, “Faltyne, report.”
“We have the intruder pinned down. I’ll transport a stun grenade to his location in a second.”
“Good. Aurelia out.”
An alarm sounded behind the captain. Bin Nadal franticly said, “Captain, our shields are down.”
The next tremor wasn’t a tremor at all, but a massive jolt.
He updated her, “Hull damage, deck six, dorsal side. No breach.”
“I thought we had more time!” barked the captain.
“We did!” retorted Karim. “The shields were turned off.”
She cursed in frustration, “God damn it!” ‘They are getting away with it again!’ She fumed, ‘No, I won’t let them.’
“Captain,” began Weston as he tapped at his console in confusion, “The engines…they just stopped.”
Another intense quake rushed over them. The hull and been breached. The seasoned officers knew exactly what that felt like.
Karim said something about force fields in place somewhere. Sintina pressed the ensign, “What do you mean, just stopped?”
“Warp and impulse engines aren’t responding.”
The captain went to the helm and tapped the controls herself. It was an act of desperation. Surely, this wasn’t happening. It was some sort of illusion. She didn’t mind dying in battle, but not like this – not helpless. It wasn’t fair. An unyielding voice inside her bellowed, ‘It’s happening again. They’re going to destroy my ship again!’
“Faltyne to Bridge.”
“Go,” said Sintina under clinched teeth.
“The intruder and Mr. Easton were beamed off the ship.”
The captain had to adjust her footing in response to another hull breach. For a moment, she considered sitting down in her command chair and just…waiting. There seemed little else to do. In fact, she did sit down again. She said quite calmly, “Is the self-destruct still online?”
The solemn response from Karim was, “Yes.”
‘At least Section 31 will still let me kill myself,’ she grimly thought.
“We’re being hailed,” started bin Nadal, “it’s unclear where it’s coming from or the sender.”
‘What’s to lose?’ “On screen,” she said. A light-skinned, human male filled the monitor. ‘That face. That face! Collins!’ Without thinking, she blasted, “I’m going to kill you!”
Captain…well, former Starfleet Captain Zackary Collins seemed amused. “Nice to see you too, Captain.” He added sardonically, “You seem to be in quite a predicament.”
“Fuck you.”
The man seemed to be even more pleased to see he had gotten under her skin. “Well, since that wasn't an SOS, I have other places to go. Good luck with the Vuke, Captain.” He added as a deliberate afterthought, “Oh, if I were you, I wouldn’t be caught alive. I’ve heard the Vuke don’t bother killing their victims before they start eating them. Philadelphia out.”
