The attack on the Excelsior didn’t stop in the cargo bay. In engineering, four most unusual-looking humanoids materialized right in front of the engineering team. They were hideous. Their bodies were long and muscular, but what was immediately noticeable was that they looked like they were skinless, and their red muscles were clearly visible. Furthermore, certain portions of their chest, arms, and face appeared to be protected by an exoskeleton. From the back of their skull, it looked like a single Annecta organism served as its center for cerebral function. No mouth on their face was visible, and their eyes were grey and lifeless.
But lifeless, they weren’t. They marched towards the engineers, who stood helpless and scared. The strength and physical prowess of the alien humanoids were incredible. One grabbed an engineer by the chest and threw him twenty feet away. Another violently smashed the head of another engineer against the computer console. Engineers were not trained to handle this kind of situation.
The Chief of Engineering immediately tapped his combadge. “We need a security team down in engineering, NOW!” The engineers that remained drew their phasers and fired at them where they could. But the phaser fire had little effect against their protective exoskeleton.
One of them threw something against the wall. They could only be described as small, sticky organic beads that began to swell and expand. After growing to their limits, they vibrated violently as if they were about to blow.
“Organic explosives…” The Chief thought to himself, without even having to check his tricorder. Oh my God. “That’s near a power grid. Everyone, back away!”
But it was too late. The explosives blew the wall asunder, and the lights all around Engineering flickered on and off. The Chief flew back several feet, hit his head against a computer console and collapsed to the ground. His vision blurred as he fought to maintain consciousness. But he could still make out where the humanoids were walking.
They were headed towards the warp core.
