“Sir, we have enemy contacts on the long range scans! Five just came out of FTL.” reported the sensors officer in a flurry of words. “Signatures indicate they’re frigate class sir.”
“Dammit” muttered the captain. “I was afraid of this. Sound general stations!”
“Yes sir” replied the comms officer. “All hands to battle stations. I repeat all hands to battle stations. This is not a drill.”

“Sir, enemy frigates are powering weapons!”
“Shut down all non-essential systems and divert power to engines. Lock rail guns on the first frigate and target two more with missiles from A-rack!” ordered the captain firmly. “Helm, prepare evasive maneuvers, we’ve got to go!”
“Uh, sir, we still have three research shuttles out there. We can’t just abandon them! The bastards will torture them” the helmsman said stoically.
A grim line cut across the captain’s face as he set his jaw. “Set a course that puts us between the frigates and the research teams. Order them to return to base ASAP! Prepare for combat!”