Zar'thra

Deep within the Orbital Space station, 3 Zandari sat in a ring formation around a holo-gram map of the star system. Each of them gave off the aura of a regal king. Pure white robes with gems and gold creating intricate patterns over the back and sides of their robes. In Zandari culture your standing was shown by the amount of wealth one worn. These 3 were some of the highest of nobles. They were given the honor of capturing the Battleship York and earning merits within the Empire. 

"Something is wrong" the fattest of the Zandari spoke. "Why was the ship able to fire at our fleet and why is the shields up?" Even with the few words he spoke he was out of breath. 

"Hush Tr'tho" the smallest and most weasel looking spoke with a nasally voice. "Everything is alright! Our operative must be giving the crew a false sense of hope before snuffing it out. AHAHAHAHAA" he laughed manically just thinking about torturing the stupid humans once he got his hands on them. 

"SILENCE!" The one in the middle commanded. Out of the 3 of them he looked the healthiest and most wise. Additionally he sat on a chair slightly higher than the other 2 signaling he was the head of their small group. 

"Tr'tho is correct Kl'nklo. Something is indeed off. MY operative should have contacted us about his new plan." He turned he head to one of the many many attendants in the room. "Someone contact our operative and find out what's going on!"

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Back on the Battleship York, after getting a call from the Admiral, NCO Keda left the shuttle and headed to the heart of the battleship. Instead of taking an elevator she took the stairs. In the stairwell she could see all 20 floors going straight down. Looking down she knew she only needed to descend 10 floors to get to the middle of the ship. Being on a time crunch she jump!

As she fell she summoned her electric powers in the form of whips. She used them to get a grasp on the stairs railing before swinging herself onto the floor she needed to be on. As she landed 2 guards stood at their post in awe of her acrobatics. She fixed her uniform before informing the guards of her task.

The roused themselves out of their stupor of shock and heeded her command. The two guards turn around pulling out two physical keys from their pockets. They used them on either side the door to open it.

The door opened revealing a much larger room that houses the very power source of the battleship. Floating in the air were two spherical structures with 8 rings of various sizes spinning around them. Electric bolts occasionally sparked between the rings and across to the structure.

NCO Keda made her way to the pedestal that stood directly between the two structures. As soon as she stood on the pedestal two rods slowly rose from the ground. She outstretched her hands placing them on the balls adorn on the rods.

Her eyes began to turn a bright blue hue as lighting erupted from them and her hands! She focused her electrical power into the rods using all the energy in her body!

The electricity she channeled from her body into the rods proceeded to jump from the rods to the structures. As soon as the structures were touched by the electricity they lit up in a blue hue. The rings around the structure began to spin faster and faster till they became a blur for a mortal's eyes.

HUMMMMMM

The structures started to hum louder and louder as they were given more power.

In the Command Deck they were getting reports of an overcharged core! The ship was getting more and more power that could be used for the ship. Admiral Halto ordered all extra power to be directed to the engines.

The crew got to work following his orders. With a brief glance he estimated that their travel time would be reduced to 6 hours. It wasn't what he was hoping for, but any more power and it would risk blowing up the ship. Now it became a waiting game.

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Back in space the Zandari fleet continued their mission and slowly began to encircle the Battleship York. Although there was another command given to avoid the Gas Giant. 

"Zar'thra, are you sure we should allow the Battleship York to travel towards the Gas Giant?" Tr'tho asked nervously.

They could see the battle unfolding before their ears. The ships were so far about that they wouldn't be able to capture the Battleship York for another 10 hours. Though, the projections from their magical system showed that the Battleship York was heading towards Gas Giant. They viewed it as suicide!

Zar'thra remained silent as he watched the hologram. One of his attendants had given him a report that they had lost contact with their operative aboard the ship before it arrived in the star system. He contemplated what could have transpired, but at the end of the day it did not matter to him if he lost the operative or not. There were thousands of others under his command eager to serve him in a similar capacity. 

"It matters not if our operative was found out or not. Nor does it matter if they believe using the Gas Giant to sink their ship will stop us. We can simply fish her out once the crew is dead and retrieve our scroll. The magic around it is powerful enough to survive falling into a star." Zar'thra didn't simply speak but commanded. Every word he spoke he truly believed would happen. 

The rest of the room smiled and nodded their heads in agreement to their master. If he said it doesn't matter than it didn't! He was their master for a reason. Anyone of nobility in the Zandari Empire naturally stood above others and granted their wisdom to those below their position. Even Tr'tho and Kl'nklo nodded listening to Zar'thra, as he had the highest position among them. 

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NCO Keda stood resolute on the pedestal channeling her power through the rods and into the power generators. She had spent the last few hours channeling as much power as she could into the ship, but it was draining. She only had so much to give. Giving as much as she could for hours on end she knew if she gave too much she would be left in a comatose state. Knowing she had more to do she maintained a 10% reserve of energy for herself before stepping off the pedestal. 

She pulled up her communicator and called the Admiral. "Admiral Halto. That's as much energy as I can give" her voice a little horse with a tone of defeat. She wanted to give her all, but knew he had more to do. 

"NCO Keda I thank you for your work" the Admiral praised her. " Although we both know your job isn't finished yet. Go back to the shuttle and wait for Tyler to give word. I don't know what to expect both entering and inside the Gas Giant. I'll do all I can to keep the ship together."

She nodded her head in agreement. Once she got her new orders she quickly made her way back to Hanger 11 were the Crusader was stationed at. It took her only 10 minutes to reach the ship. Once on board she noticed Ensign Adam and Tyler were patiently waiting for their moment. She sat down in her seat with a thud. She was nearly exhausted from using so much of her power.

Both Tyler and Ensign Adam noticed her disheveled appearance, but they remained silent. They both had other things on their mind and they figured she wanted to rest before they needed to move. 

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The Zandari watched patiently. Only a few hours had passed, yet they were no closer to capturing the Battleship York. They also noticed that it had increased it speed. It has originally startled they as they didn't know the ship could move that fast. It was only an hour or two away from the Gas Giant.

Their ships could move at that speed, but it would require lowering their shields and channeling their magical energy to the engines. Zar'thra decided against ordering his ships to take such a course. Even with the speed increase the Battleship York never stopped it's onslaught of fire.

He watched with calculating eyes. Even if he viewed humans beneath him, he was impressed with the skills the commander of the ship showed. The more he thought about it the more his imagination went wild. He couldn't wait to capture the Battleship York and enslave those aboard. As much as he wanted the information hidden on the ship he was more looking forward to enslaving the humans!

For him it would be a symbol of power. If he was able to enslave Supers of another race his rank in the Zandari would skyrocket. Especially if the Super he managed to enslave with magic had a very rare power. His biggest hope was to get his hands on a Mechanic. His race were mainly Supers of Mages, Pugilists and Espers. There were no Mechanics or Psychics in the Zandari. Although they did try to enslave other Galactic races, but quickly learned their place. 

He was a young mage in the their first Interstellar war. The Zandari had attacked another Galatic civilization and learned the meaning of defeat. They had originally thought they were infallible and could never lose, but they bit off more than they can chew when they attacked one of the 5 Great Powers. They were taught a huge lesson and just how weak their empire truly was. 

Once they were taught their lesson the Zandari Empire began to target weaker civilizations. Some they didn't even bother with as many other civilizations they found were either too weak or had little value to the empire. Though that changed when their scouts had found the Federation. 

Zar'thra had done his best to move up the ranks of the Zandari Empire's military to become the leader of the vanguard. With his new role he was very eager to be the first of the Zandari nobility to have a powerful Super as his slave! With the Battleship York in the system and unable to flee he sat back content. He didn't care if the ship went into the Gas Giant, he'd still get scroll and then enslave those on the ship.

Just as he thought about it his eyes widened in sudden realization! If the ship went into the Gas Giant the entire crew would die! They'd be dead! He wouldn't have any Super slaves! He slammed his hands on the arms of his chair giving out a single command!

"CAPTURE THAT SHIP! DON'T LET IT ENTER THE GAS GIANT!"