Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent

The copper-skinned woman gazing from the viewscreen was like no officer you have ever seen before. Instead of the dark-uniforms with epaulets and gold trim of the UTF, or the heavy plates of the reptilian Draykchin armor, the black-eyed officer wore a sheath of scarlet cloth that strained to cover her generous breasts and ended high on the thighs of the striking woman. When she rose gracefully to her feet the cloth shimmered as tiny feathers covering the dress like little scales fluttered in the swirling air. She spread her arms outward in a graceful greeting and you took in the golden bands that were wrapped around her slender wrists and the matching headpiece that towered above her jet black hair.

"Welcome to Teocalli." She smiled easily as the angle of the viewscreen widened to show more of the great room. It was not the bridge of the ship that you were expecting, but a large circular room dominated by an alter of polished obsidian. There were several other women moving about the large room dressed in similar uniforms, but under the circumstances, you didn't have much time to study them.

What was most alarming about the scene was the grey-haired man bound tightly and stretched out on the ominous black stone. The man was bare-chested, but he wore the familiar leggings of a UTF officer, and even though his eyes were lifeless as they struggled to focus, there was something very familiar about him.

"Your Ambassador Hallens," (that's why the man looked familiar) "has explained that you come in peace and that every possible accommodation will be made to secure our alliance." The woman picked up a large curved knife and lifted it over her head, and although you knew what was about to happen, you could not look away.

"The great Coyolxauhqui has accepted Ambassador Hallens' sacrifice." With that, the curved blade plunged into the weakly struggling man's chest and, in a combination of graphic savagery and practiced surgical skill, the woman carved the still twitching heart from the unfortunate ambassador's chest." Even blood-splattered, her face was serenely beautiful as she intoned ritual words of gratitude, and then she turned to meet the camera still holding the dripping heart in her hands.

"The Moon Goddess delights in this life-soul, I look forward to concluding our negotiations and celebrating our new alliance with even greater offerings of star-travelers." You have no idea which ship fired first on the flagship, but you are neither surprised nor upset at this response to this blatant show of evil. For several minutes the UTF attack was sporadic and disjointed with only a handful of ships taking part, they broke from the line firing half-hearted salvos of missiles and blasts of energy weapons.

Even with your limited experience as a command officer, it is clear that it had not been the intention of the admiralty to start a war with the inhabitants of this lush M-class planet. There was no battle plan in place, no strategy, not even a tactical doctrine to follow. In fact, even as the first few attacking ships were overwhelmed and disabled, orders to stand down and disengage were blasted through fleet-wide coms; but as Admiral Caldwell was trying to maintain control over his fleet, the planet's defending ships had no such constraints. They left the first wave of ships crippled hunks of twisted metal and accelerated forward in a well-coordinated attack.

It is impossible to fight when you have been ordered not to return fire; you decided to use the Gorgon to provide a shield to screen the Aereon as the great carrier tried to retreat from this rapidly deteriorating cluster-fuck. You are not alone, and although several missiles streaked by you and slammed into the retreating command ship, much of the fire intended for the Aereon never reached its original target.

The torpedo that had locked-on to your agile corvette was one less piece of ordinance that would reach the flagship. The real question on your mind now is: was your ship the price you'll have pay for your noble attempt to defend the retreating ship, or do you still have a chance at survival?