Intruder Alert

A second later, the alarm blared, "Warning! Intruder Alert! Warning! Intruder Alert!" Anzyl crawled up to the captain's chair, his hair and uniform in shambles, with a gash on his forehead. "Computer, display the intruder alert on the main screen."

"Captain!" Keten yelled, "We have a single hull breach from deck 1 all the way down to deck 16."

The screen illuminated, revealing not only a massive claw and sword penetrating the center of the ship but also a vertical gangway. But gushing into the halls, rooms, and galleys like a flood, were hundreds of Fek'ihri warriors. They moved with the ferocity of ravaging zombies or demons from horror films, running at inhuman speeds, crawling along the walls and roofs, and digging their claws into every surface. They poured into the ship like savage beasts, tackling and ravaging any unfortunate crewmate they encountered.

"Captain to all hands!" He tapped his combadge, "Intruder Alert! We're being boarded. All hands, prepare for close-range combat!" He repeated his message as he got himself up, examining the damage on the bridge. "Zide'Mok!" He yelled, turning to his Jem'Hadar chief of security, "Victory is Life. Get those things off my ship!" he demanded. Zide'Mok flared his nostrils and headed to the teleport pad, the tube connecting his chest armor to his neck pumping the Founder-made drug Ketracel White, sending him into a blood fury.

Anzyl and the bridge crew gazed in horror as scenes of brutal savagery unfolded throughout the ship. The Fek'ihri swept through, assaulting and ravaging every person in its path—men, and women, none were spared from the abominations on his ship.

Unable to bear it any longer, Anzyl recalled something he had hoped never to use again in his quarters. "Computer, emergency armaments to all staff. Authorization Praxas-Epsilon-7." Anzyl, with fury and determination in his eyes, marched to the teleporter pad. On top of each crewmate's console, a phaser rifle materialized. "Captain's Quarters," Anzyl commanded and disappeared.

---

On his deck, it seemed the Fek'ihri had not yet reached, but he heard noises farther down the hallway. Time was running out. He sprinted into his cabin and checked his bedside table drawer, finding nothing. "Computer, locate Captain's inventory item '113-MMD'." "Item located," the computer replied, and a light flashed on in his living room, pointing to a box on the shelf. Opening it, he retrieved an odd pair of mechanical gauntlets and a three-prong sensor.

He swiftly put on the gauntlets, resembling metal Mixed Martial Artist gloves, and placed the sensors on his face and the back of his neck. The device lit up, emanating energy that pulsed through Anzyl's body. "Thank you, Dr. Stamets. Thank you, Discovery Legends Expeditionary force." As he clenched his fists together, sparks of blue energy crackled.

Anzyl emerged from his quarters to witness a horde of half a dozen Fek'ihri charging down the hallway—an embodiment of Klingon nightmares. Their Klingon body and bone structure were heightened, featuring darker brown skin, cranial ridges extending into horns, and spikes atop black, matted long hair. With glowing red eyes and rows of razor-sharp teeth, they ruthlessly attacked, sinking their claws and teeth into anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path.

Having had enough, the captain tapped into the blue electrical energy channeled and infused from the mycelial network. As he sprinted, energy emanated from his hands and feet, propelling him at superhuman speeds. A Fek'ihri was on the verge of attacking a helpless Ferengi crewmate when a flash of blue electricity revealed Anzyl standing over them. His extended palm delivered a lightning-speed punch, sending the Fek'ihri crashing into the opposite wall with a caved-in head, instantly killed.

This drew the attention of the remaining Fek'ihri, prompting Anzyl to assume a horse stance.

To counterbalance the copious amounts of sugar, butter, and pastries he consumed, Anzyl was a proficient black belt in Chen Style Tai Chi and Xing Yi Quan. These martial arts styles served to calm, balance, and control his mind and, when necessary, became lethal when combined with his Mind Meld Device.

The Mind Meld Device, a distinctive three-pronged contraption adorning his head, was a generous gift from the Discovery Legends Expeditionary force. This force was initiated by the holographic reincarnation of Dr. Paul Stamets, a hologram character created from reconstituted logs and files of the long-deceased doctor. Originally designed as an assistant program for Anzyl's team researching the mycelial network, the holographic program gained sentience when the mycelial network recognized Dr. Stamets' vocal patterns, restoring his memories and feelings.

In gratitude for the groundbreaking discoveries in the Mycelial network, Stamets presented Anzyl with plans for this unique device, collaboratively crafted by Burnam, Tilly, and Stamets himself. Intended to allow one person to control another's thoughts and actions, a master engineer taking over a cadet to do intricate repair work, for example. It tapped into the wearer's cerebral network and nervous system, linking them to the mycelial network. While it didn't excel at connecting minds over great distances, the device turned the user into a mycelial-powered superhuman, accessing the strength and power of the entire network. Anzyl, a skilled martial artist, pledged only to use the device in extreme emergencies. Now faced with the most dire emergency, he reluctantly activated the device.

One by one, Anzyl blitzed through the hallway, emanating a flash of electrical blue energy with each blow that crushed and shattered the bones of the Fek'ihri.