"How did those things get in?!"

That was the question which every man, woman and child asked themselves and others around them, repeatedly.

But few would be able to give any real answers.

The Commander and her men, along with several hundred Federation civilians had managed to make their stand in a massive Opera House, one of the square’s main attractions.

Several dozen soldiers armed with energy weapons. A hundred or so civillians wielding firearms. While the remaining three hundred were unarmed. At least half of the total were women and children, with nearly all of them being non-combatants.

The only reason that there were so many of them, was because they were able to protect themselves until the crewmen arrived.

However, almost everyone was injured or wounded in some way. Either from the initial accident, or this attack. Some were worse off than others.

And because there were no medical supplies left, they had to make do with torn shirts or nothing at all.

“Commander. We’ve collapsed all but one of the arches. It’s going to be the only way in and out of this place. Ammo is scarce, but thankfully their attempts to rush in have slowed."

“Good job." She nodded to the unfamiliar soldier's report. "Rotate the men watching the open arch. Also, make sure that a pair watches each of the collapsed arches, too. Just in case.”

Normally, it would be a terrible idea to have only one exit. But, since they were against a numerically superior enemy with questionable intelligence, a funnel would be best for conserving ammo.

“Understood, Commander.”

She wanted to keep a calm head and steadfast gait. But once she was left alone with her thoughts, her eyes wandered towards the constant blue flashes in the distance.

With every shot fired, the light was reflected off the enemy's glossy surfaces. However, it took several shots even from high caliber firearms to take down just one. Which is why they had to rely on their pinpoint laser-rifles.

However, these weapons had very little spread and the shots themselves were smaller than pistol bullets, so it was poor crowd control against the insects which kept rushing in by the dozens and their troops needed to fight prone in order to be effective.

However, that was a tall order to ask of even the toughest man in the military and rotations were very frequent. Not to mention the stench that reached all the way to where she stood.

'Could this really be my fault?'

*** *** ***

"A third of the ship is gone, Serenity is unresponsive and there's no way to contact the bridge or anyone outside. We don't even know if we've stopped moving, yet!"

Overlooking the evacuees from a floating terrace restaurant in the central plaza, wasn't helping ease the weight on her shoulders, either. There were at least 20,000 people already here. But many more were still coming in, and this wasn't even a tenth of the passengers.

Standing with her in the private booth that was their new base of operations, were the remaining Engineering personnel and the head of Internal logistics.

All of whom were arguing with each other on what to do. The sad thing was, these remaining engineers were the ones deemed incapable of helping with the earlier fuel decoupling attempt, and the head of logistics required Serenity to deal with the actual transport and cataloging.

But they were here because there was no one else that she could call upon. Since most of the high-ranking crew were either in or near the bridge when the area was sealed.

So many things had gone horribly wrong, in such a short time. Even now, she was struggling to process it all. They made her Commander, but the Commander still required orders from the Captain - nor did she possess the training to act as one.

It was only because she was next in line after the First Mate who was with the Captain.

"... damn it all…"

She cursed, and yet, when she glanced at her troops, at the civilians, and even at the bickering group - she pulled out whatever strength she had left in her exhausted body and slammed her fist against the nearest dining table.

"You're engineers, aren't you? Half of you, find a way to pry those blinds open. Just a little bit is enough so that we can confirm our situation. The rest of you, gather any civilians that have a relevant background and try to get back into the bridge. There's plenty of oxygen suits and helmets in the Armory."

"Y-yes, Commander!" The most senior of the group answered.

Then, she turned to the Head of Logistics.

"You, I want you and your people to work together with the civilians. Gather any useful supplies. Not just food and water, but beddings and even toys. I need the civilians calm, so supervise those that volunteer. Make sure that the three factions are separated, and they have to get the same things at the same time. Take into account how many of them there are, too. I do not want another war here."

"O-of course. But that'll slow everythi-"

"I know! Figure something out. Now get to it! Erik, lead the way for the engineers. Adam, stick with the Logistics team, along with a squad, just in case."

The two men that had been accompanying her, quickly nodded and went off with the others, leaving her by herself in the brightly lit room.

With that, she fell onto a chair and basked in the peace and quiet, for she knew that it'd be the only respite she'd have for a very long time.

As if to prove her right, there was a knock on the door.

"Private First Class Corteza, reporting."

"Come in."

And so, she did, with her first aid kit still in one hand. She then saluted her free hand, but the Commander just waved it away.

"Drop the formalities, there's not enough time for that. I'm sure that our prisoner is fine now? If so, go tend the other wounded. More just came in."

"Understood." Corteza nodded, before she pulled out a palm-sized bottle from her pocket and placed it on the table.

"An energy drink?"

"We all need one Commander. I've had three myself."

"So that's why you're so perky." She chuckled, noting Corteza's jittery index finger.

"Thank you. Now get back to work. I still need to figure out a script."

"Yes, Commander."

Now, she had no idea where the people she trusted most were. None of them would respond through the radios. Most likely, they were already dead.

Did she send them to die? Did her actions sign everyone's death warrants? If these things caused the hermetic seal and got through the doors that the engineers opened, then how come the oxygen wasn't getting drained?

Unless it was getting vacuumed into space and there was just too much of it. But the only way that made any sense was if these things were able to survive in a vacuum. Yet, how could insects do that?! How could they even grow that large?

She then turned to the two men manning the portable console. There were several of these things, meant for specific stations. This in particular, was for the Commander. It had almost every feature as the Count's, except the ability to contact the outside without Captain level clearance. Both however lacked the ability to access cameras remotely.

Another, much more limited one, was with the Head of Logistics when he left with Adam.

"Tell me that we have something." She tried saying it as a command. But couldn't hide the desperation in her tone.

The men didn't comment on it however. Instead, they glanced at each other, then shook their heads with a frown.

"Damn it. Keep trying. They've got to be reaching out by now."

However, little did she know, that while she walked away, they were listening to the Count's voice. Then, with a click of their tongues, they muted it.

Almost fifteen minutes had passed before one of them ran up to her, while she was on the stands.

"Commander…!" He gasped out.

"What is it? Couldn't you have told me over comms?"

"Im sorry, Commander. I thought I needed to… we have a evac site! It's Deck C, Southern Hemisphere!"

"Yes, finally!" A bright smile replaced her frown. There was actually a light at the end of this soul-crushing tunnel.

She was just about to tell all the other troops, but the soldier grabbed her arm before she could reach her ear.

"But Commander… the Count has seized it. Only Imperials have been allowed in. Those in the Command Deck can't do anything about it remotely, and there's no other way leave."

Just as she thought it would soon be over, the tunnel collapsed on top of her. Her smile now frozen in place as she grit her teeth.

But it wasn't because of what the Count supposedly did.

"Do I look like an idiot, Private? You would have me believe that the honorable Count dares to sully his name like that? The warhero? In a society where a man's reputation is above all?" She told the young man with a seething hatred, covered by a thin veneer of calm.

With frightening speed, she pulled out her side arm - a laser pistol - from inside her jacket and pushed the muzzle against his throar.

"If you'd told me that he's secured a ship and would only allow Imperials aboard. I would believe you. Because that is exactly what they would do. But how does he even convince our vessels to let only Imperials aboard, for example?"

This cold, grating hate was very different to the inferno she set upon Guila. Yet it was equal, or even worse than that. Even though, she understood where he was coming from.

Perhaps it was because she actually expected better from those who remained loyal?

But then, to jeopardize the lives under her protection?

The young man, probably driven by some sort of asinine ideology, rather than genuine anger towards the Empire, had already buckled. He'd hung his head and shruken away. Cold sweat ran down cheeks and spine, as his teeth chattered and his heart raced with fear.

"Since you want to start another war, while we are already surrounded by death. You can do so, outside. Now tell me what was actually said, before I kill you and your partner to find out for myself."

If this really was her fault, then she couldn't let the Federation act stupid and take any more blame.

She wouldn't. That was her duty as Commander. All the blame should be hers and hers alone.