Shards (Transformers Prime, Shattered Glass)

Prolouge

The deep silence of the recesses of the universe was cut through by sizzling bolts of energy, poured across the folds of space and time from battered ships that barely held together beneath the onslaught of the other side.

Suddenly, one side broke away from the fight, nothing left of their armada but one warship and two sister support ships, the rest of their fleet scattered across the abyss. Every engine straining, the remnant tore through a cloud of gas, losing sight of their pursuers for a moment, but as they came through the other side, a massive shadow followed through, the rest of the enemy ships' scanners scrambled by the distortion from the cloud.

But there wasn't any hesitation from the routed ships. They where set and locked on a single set of coordinates.

A space bridge, constructed millennia ago as a last resort, now the only thing between the ships and utter obliteration.

Fear drove the broken battered ships forwards in a dogged gamble for survival and blind hate pulled the second one after it, for no other reason than revenge.

As the dwindling armada careened closer to the Space Bridge, the remaining two sister ships took a hit, almost simultaneously and burst into a thousand fragments that rattled on the hull of the warship.

Shouts of rage and grief tore from the throats of the bridge crew as the remnants of their friends spattered against the veiwing port and battered against venting stations, like a hailstorm of dark stones.

There was no time even to process the pain, no time to even imagine attempting a rescue for those who possibly survived

as the portal lit up in a blaze of green and white and the nose of the ship entered into the light.

Another shot rocked the ship and the spluttering of a dying engine echoed all too clearly as they slowed to a painful struggle, half-in half-out of the Bridge.

But the enemy didn't slow, apparently their own engines damaged during the battle, and at full speed rammed into the smaller ship.

The momentum carried them both through the portal while simultaneous explosions tore the portal frame apart around them and sent them hurtling through far from the set coordinates.

As the light disintegrated around them, all anyone could see was the approaching surface of a planet, that wasn't supposed to be there.