When Błyskawica, an aging Polonia Prime destroyer, encounters a refugee shuttle fleeing Caliphate space, a routine patrol becomes a test of courage and innovation. Bosman Król, the ship's veteran engineering warrant officer, must trust his former student Ensign Maria Roszak's risky modifications to their power systems when a Caliphate destroyer demands the refugees' surrender. 
As the outgunned Błyskawica stands its ground, crew experience and technical ingenuity face off against superior technology—with innocent lives hanging in the balance. Their choices will resonate far beyond this chance encounter, marking the first open conflict between Polonia Prime and the expanding Caliphate.

"First Thunder"

by Miles Phoenix