Joyful Gathering, Deadly Surprise III
Posted on Mon Nov 20th, 2023 @ 8:48am by Lieutenant Commander Annalise Faulkner & Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Marikit "Kit" Urso & Captain Ivan Petrov & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Lieutenant Sovas Nyseth & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken & Warrant Officer Ahira Kasamoto & Lieutenant Asher Stagg & Lieutenant JG Jonathan Forrest & Lieutenant JG Corvin Hartjin & Lieutenant JG Orion Wolff
Edited on on Sun Nov 26th, 2023 @ 11:46pm
Mission:
S1 Episode 6: Joy and Ashes
Location: Various
Timeline: Date 2371-09-06 at 2145
7391 words - 14.8 OF Standard Post Measure
ISS Vengeance: Sickbay
The doors to the Sickbay were already in a locked open mode when Daniel arrived, red lights leading his way. Not surprisingly, only a couple injuries had made their way to Sickbay and those were the walking wounded at the worst. “Computer, display casualty reports.”
The command caused the closest monitor to shift and several lists appeared from different departments. Standard triage color coding showing more yellow and red and green. Unsurprisingly the computer wasn’t programmed to designate black as the programmer didn’t want to be blamed for someone to be ignored. Daniel knew it would be up to him and his department to make those calls.
Hitting his badge, Daniel started giving orders to redirect the triage teams from their standard deployment in emergencies. “Triage teams one and two, report to Engineering. Team five, get to the bridge yesterday!” The rest were moving through the ship and already the lists were updating and getting progressively darker. Daniel turned to direct the medical personnel already in Sickbay. “Anyone that can walk can wait in After 11, we should be receiving incoming any moment.”
Barely had Daniel stopped speaking before the hum of an emergency transport announced the arrival of more critical patients, bright red badges affixed to every one of them. A deep breath and his brain switched into surgeon mode and he moved to the main bio bed and got to work as his staff did their jobs to bring new patients to him and other doctors that were arriving. He didn’t know what was happening, but all he needed to know was to keep the crew alive until they stopped coming.
[Gladius - Bridge]
The bridge of the Gladius was smoking, and, while they hadn’t taken as much damage as Vengeance, they had certainly had their share of explosions and rockings. The XO gave a frustrated glance at his sensor readings.
“Shields are down to twenty three percent, Vengeance is in a tailspin with multiple hullbreaches and no method of escape, and the Banean ship is venting atmosphere into space.” He started, and then swiveled his chair toward the center of the bridge, his hard eyes resting on Faulkner. “Fine, I’ll be the one to fucking say it. We need to get the hell out of here or we’re going to die right along with them.”
Annalise brought her eyes to Stagg, annoyed at first and then filled with disappointment. She knew the man had his issues and she had done her very best to help him with those and instill confidence that he was capable of being a good officer; he hadn’t disappointed her until this moment.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am serious!” He said, his tone elevated due to the stress of the situation and the noise of combat. “And don’t give me the duty and honor spiel, Captain. We have survived this far in the Delta Quadrant, fighting for our lives against aliens and elements, and we absolutely should not end here with some group of people we just met. As soon as Vengeance is destroyed, and it will be fucking destroyed, their going to turn every last gun they have on us. Our engines still work right now, our hull is still intact. We have to go while we still can.”
Some might suggest that he was just being a coward, but others would understand his perspective on the matter. Their job was to protect the lives of the crew beneath him.
“We need to stand with the Vengeance,” Orion spoke up, while he didn’t like the idea of dying but he despised the idea of dying after they ran away. “We leave now, we die tired and alone, at least here if we die, we die with our people.”
He paused for a moment, his gaze settling on Stagg. “As you said we’ve made it out of worse and I’m certain that the crew of the Vengeance has faced their share of troubles. We’ll make it out alive, Asher.”
“But we haven’t made it out of fucking worse, Orion! This is the worst it can be.” Asher said looking angrily from the Science Officer to the Captain. “We’re about to die, all hands on board, for nothing at all except the feeling we’re dying with people we just met! We can’t help them at this point! We should fucking go while our people are still alive!”
“They are Terran.” Annalise’s voice was cold, a tone that she had rarely displayed in front of the crew. Her blue eyes settled on Stagg. “They are our people as much as any and we will not abandon them. You know as well as I do that we will not survive without assistance in this quadrant. We won’t even survive this regardless of if we leave and you know that too; they’d hunt us down after they destroy the Vengeance, we do not have enough resources to outrun them and hide both.”
“We are staying together and we will get through this.”
Asher frowned, his harsh gazing falling on Annalise. He hated this decision, and in another world and a different set of circumstances, he may have felt the need to plunge his dagger into her belly and take command of this ship. The biggest problem with that in this case was she was right. Not about the loyalty so much as the fact they would never survive this by running.
“Well I guess we die here then.” He said in irritated acceptance as he turned back to his console. His life had never been more to him than smokey bars, nights with women, and fights in the mud. It was right for him to die in a hopeless blaze, in a way.
Alexandria II
Mad Dog sat at the helm of his shuttle, his only remaining natural eye burning with tears. Just after the captain had asked him to board his high tech shuttle and prepare for a life-saving mission, he learned that his wife had been killed in an explosive decompression of intelligence headquarters. His love, the woman who had found him so far away from home, was dead and their child with her. His fists were clenched in sudden rage, but he knew she wouldn’t want him to quit now. The fleet needed him.
“Mad Dog to Bridge. I’m ready to launch. Let’s just get this over with..”
“You have permission to launch, my friend.” Sounded Ivan’s voice gruffly. “Good hunting. You’re our last hope.”
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
“Sovas, monitor his progress. Inform the rest of the Fleet: whenever a marker makes contact with a ship, they are to concentrate fire there. We have no time to waste waiting for him to finish. If he’s good at what he does and we’re good at what we do, we can quickly reduce the danger to us.” Ivan ordered. “Lyra, standby on weapons. Andrei, position us behind the Numiri vessels for some cover. Make sure we can still fire though.
Sovas was quiet for a moment as he began to carry out his orders, syncing his systems up with the beacons on the small vessel that Mad Dog was piloting. Once he had confirmation that the systems were synced up, he began to transmit the information to the rest of the fleet and sending them the beacon details so they could track them as well if something should happened to the Vengeance. The half-Vulcan looked up to Ivan and nodded. “Ready Captain, our sensors are synced to the beacons, information transmitted to the rest of the fleet, I’ve received acknowledgements from every ship still capable of fighting.
“Standing by.” Lyra’s eyes moved over the new information on her display keenly. Her mind continued to try to figure out a better solution.
The Alexandria exited from the Shuttlebay and immediately assumed its unusual light-bending cloak. It disappeared from sensors, but Vengeance had the frequency of the cloak, so they could track it without difficulty. As the shuttle arched toward the nebula, the Fleet waited in tense anticipation of what was to come. Weapons fire still impacted the ships at similar rates as before.
“Ahira, take the damage control station. That’s the best way for you to protect the Captain right now.” Andrei ordered from the auxiliary console.
Shoving any personal thoughts and fears out of his mind, Ahira moved to comply. He’d only had some very rudimentary training from his Imperial training, he’d had some from when he was a merchant. He was by no means an expert, but his skills would have to do. They had no other choice. He crossed the distance to the station to comply with the XO’s command.
“We’ve lost one of the Banean ships, it's breaking apart but the crew managed to jettison the warp core.” Corvin monitored the fleet as another warning pinged on his systems. “The shields on our Numiri shadow are buckling, their hull is starting to take direct hits.”
“Damn.” Ivan said, leaning forward in the Captain’s Chair. This disruption seemed increasingly hopeless by the second. Not a second after he completed that thought, the ship purged violently again and the sound of metal scraping and sliding could be heard even on the Bridge.
“Fuck me,” Ahira said as the readings started to come through. “That noise we just heard was an explosive decompression in the Shuttlebay. We’ve taken significant damage especially on our port side There are hull breeches on Decks 14-15. Containment fields are holding for now. I’m not sure how much longer that will be.”
“The rest of our pilots were almost certainly down there.” Andrei said over the sound of sparks and steam.
“We have one beacon showing live!” Sovas declared, sending the targeting information to Lyra’s station as more beacons started sending information. “We have three, no five beacons live now.”
“Targeting solutions acquired and uploaded to the fleet.” Lyra spoke, her dark, glittering eyes lifting to look at Ivan.
Ivan lifted his head to the first decent news of the battle. It was a chance, but he hoped it wouldn't be too little too late.
“Fire!”
The word had barely even escaped Ivan’s mouth before Lyra complied with the order. The Vengeance and the ships they were in communication with still opened fire on the first signal. Streaks of brilliant orange shot into the nebula at a rapid pace while the hidden fleet continued to rain hell onto their prey. Lyra scowled after a moment, about to give up and move to another one when finally the pinkish hue of the nebula shifted briefly to a bright orange in the area they had been firing on. Lyra’s hand curled briefly into a fist.
“Sensors can’t pinpoint exactly, but the beacon is gone; I believe one has been destroyed.” She was cautious in her optimism though. “Continuing fire.”
Corvin wanted to give at least a small exultation of victory at taking down one enemy, but it was quashed by further rocking of the ship and he focused on his task of laying down fire from the Vengeance.
“Working to clean up the sensor feeds using the beacon data.” Sovas announced while working, trying to get them a better idea of the exact position of the enemy vessels and their states, along with numbers.
It was chaos. The ship still rocked and bucked, more damage taken but at least now damage was being given. Another plume of orange filled the nebula and Lyra wasted no time in switching to the next target. They had no way of knowing how many were inside. More beacons were activating, then very suddenly they all vanished. Another burst of reddish orange filled an area of the nebula closer to the Vengeance.
“I’ve lost contact with the Alexandria and I’m unable to connect to any of the beacons.” The Ops Chief confirmed grimly, though he continued to work trying to bring them back up.
“Godsdamnit!” Ivan said, balling his fists again.
“Sir, I remember two of the coordinates of the other beacons and a rough idea of three others.” Lyra offered, bracing herself against her station when the ship shook then recoiling when the panels sparked up angrily toward her. Thankfully it didn’t catch her in the face and had only singed her uniform, but she wasn’t sure how much more the ship could take.
“It’s the best we’ve got.” Andrei said, looking back toward his lover. For a moment, he wondered if this was it for them; if this was how it all ended. He felt his heart sink, but he willed the rare feeling away. “Take your shots, Lieutenant. And don’t miss.”
Lyra’s gaze finally left the display and moved up to Andrei. Her dark, intelligent eyes rested on his face and both of his eyes - both the visible and patched one as if she could see right through the obstruction; they communicated a depth of feeling reserved for Andrei alone for a brief moment.
“I won’t.” She promised and looked back to her work.
ISS Gladius: Bridge
The Gladius was still faring better than the larger ships of the fleet due to her size and maneuverability in the hands of a skilled pilot. Their luck was beginning to wane however. They’d maneuvered behind the Klandell to take cover from the fire, protected by the bulk of the massive ship. The problem was with its position, it suddenly became the target of the hidden fleet’s complete ire. Already damaged heavily, the onslaught shattered the ship's hull; large chunks of debris began to break off and gouts of flame appeared in the ever widening cracks.
“Jon, get us away from the Kazon ship now!” Annalise barked out in alarm at the first sign of the Klandell failing.
Jon didn’t even think of attempting the maneuver he’d talked about earlier. It would have caused catastrophic results. He did just as the Captain had ordered, he was getting them the hell away from there, or at least he was trying.
The Gladius rushed away from the ship just seconds before it succumbed to the damage, breaking apart in large, dangerous chunks and flames. Unfortunately, the force of some certain explosion had enough behind it that it sent a large piece of debris toward the Gladius. The impact was hard and the little ship quaked dangerously. Power relays popped like balloons, consoles sparked, but everyone on the bridge had been able to maintain their seats.
“Minor hull breach on deck three, emergency force fields are holding.” Gardner spoke up from ops. “I’ve also been able to re-establish a link to the Vengeance.
Annalise gripped the arms of her chair. Her blonde hair had tumbled out of the updo she kept it in on duty and it had fallen over her shoulders and into her face. Annoyed, she brushed it away. “Good work.”
“I hope the gods fuck you invisible devils and this nebula in the ass!” Orion declared in a rather uncharacteristically crude outburst as he thumped his station, ignoring any looks he might have received as his own attention turned to Annalise, taking a moment to compose himself. “I have an idea off the data I’ve been pulling on the nebula, we could destroy it using a tricobalt device set to a high yield detonation.”
“And everything in it…” Annalise said mostly to herself.
“That’s a great plan. The only problem is we didn’t launch with fucking tricobalt devices. We were just supposed to be out for a few weeks.” Asher responded, furrowing his intense brow as he looked at Orion and Annalise.
“The Vengeance might though. Gardner, hail them.” Though usually she would have stood, this time the woman remained seated.
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
“Incoming hail from the Gladius, sir.” Sovas spoke up, bracing himself against the station as the Vengeance rocked and shuddered again, electrical sparks falling from the ceiling and steam venting into their air around him.
“On screen.” Ivan ordered through the smoke billowing on the Bridge.
The image of the beautiful blonde woman appeared on the sparking view screen of the Vengeance. She was relieved to see Captain Petrov still standing there. “Captain, my science officer believes that a tricobalt device could be used to destroy the entire nebula and everything in it. Is your ship equipped with one?”
“Yes, we have tricobalt devices.” Ivan said, his mind glancing over the idea, referencing his own extensive weapons experience. “If we set the yield properly, a chain reaction could occur.”
“It could work but…” Lyra interjected then hesitated. Her hands moved over her console deftly and her face was a mask of concentration. “The oxygen content inside of the nebula isn’t high enough to promote a significant detonation. We would need to send in a payload of more oxygen with it. The timing would need to be right, and the payload needs to be fired at a closer range to the nebula.”
She paused. “This is a large risk. The detonation will be massive.”
And they had no engines.
“Even if we were able to get our shield back up to even half strength, I don’t believe the Vengeance would be able to survive the shock wave of the explosion due to the extensive damage we’ve taken.” Sovas chimed in, looking to Ivan and glancing at the captain of the Gladius on screen.
Corvin considered the situation and the proposed plan, he didn’t really have anything to add, or at least nothing positive to add, though he did frown at the thought that this could be the end of the path he’d started walking so many years ago.
“If we detonate the nebula and divert everything we’ve got to aft shields, we’d have an increased chance of surviving the blast.” Andrei said, running a scenario on his screen and viewing it through the mirroring function on his eyepatch. “Captain, I think this might be our only chance.”
Ivan listened to the back and forth between his officers and seemed dissatisfied.
“We’ll break up in the escape. The device needs to be launched by another ship. One with stronger shields. That, or a shuttle.”
“It should be the Gladius.” Lyra spoke loudly from her station to be heard over the chaos. “They are small and maneuverable. Have them preceded by our remaining Krowtonian ship to take the brunt of the incoming fire. We should also have our Banean vessels move to shield the Vengeance from the blast. Their adaptive shields are better suited to that kind of absorption.”
And if they died, who really cared in the end. They were cannon fodder for all she was concerned.
Ivan looked to the viewscreen where Annalise still sat and nodded.
“You heard it. We’ll have the tricobalt device beamed over for you to install. Let us know when it’s in and we’ll send you right at the nebula with a small force of fleet ships to block you from incoming fire. As soon as you’re close, turn and fire your payload from your aft launch tube, then gun it out of there.”
Annalise frowned slightly, obviously not loving the idea of putting her ship into the line of fire in this way, but she dutifully gave a nod. “Very well.”
The comm between the two ships disconnected again so they could both prepare.
“Lyra, get the yield set on the device and then work with Ops to get it sent over.” Andrei said from the makeshift helm as he shifted the Vengeance in a lazy arch to avoid a torpedo hurling toward it.
“Aye.” Lyra replied, slightly distracted though only because she had already started the process even before Andrei had issued the order.
ISS Gladius: Bridge
Annalise flexed her hands on the arms of her chair again. The trust Petrov was asking her to have in this decision was great, but time was running out for the Vengeance and by extension the Gladius herself.
“Jon, take us behind the remaining Kazon ship for cover so we can drop our shields. Leah, coordinate communications with their ops officer to make the transfer as quickly as possible.” She addressed Forrest and Gardner.
The helm was acting sluggish, which caused Jon to curse under his breath. He compensated for it, however and moved the Gladius into the position the Captain had ordered.
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
Given her early anticipation even before the decision had really been made, it was only a brief moment later that Lyra looked up and across to Sovas. “The device is ready to be transferred to the Gladius.” She then looked to the back of Andrei’s head. “I’m also transmitting the measurements of the needed oxygen payload to send with it.”
“Ready to complete transfer.” The half-Vulcan acknowledged Lyra’s confirmation as he stood at his station, just waiting to press the necessary commands. He still had his doubts about this plan but they would either be dead or they would survive. It was as simple as that.
“We are ready as well.” Annalise spoke up on the screen.
Ivan’s heart beat faster, but he was old and experienced; he’d faced death many times before.
“Do it.” He ordered simply, and then sat back.
ISS Gladius: Bridge
“Drop shields.” Annalise ordered.
“Shields down. I have men standing by in the aft armory, Vengeance. Beam over quickly. We’ve got our pants down over here.” Stagg said with tension in his voice as he monitored his console.
“Commencing transport Gladius,” Sovas confirmed as he hit the single button he needed after having set everything up beforehand. “You can pull your pants back up so you can feel more secure, Lieutenant.”
His snark wasn’t necessary but he also felt Stagg’s reminder of the dire of the situation wasn’t necessary either and it wouldn’t make anything go faster or smoother.
“Transfer complete.” Gardner spoke up from her station.
“Shields up. Asher, Orion, get the payload set up as quickly as possible.” Annalise grit her teeth as the Gladius shuddered again. “Let’s get this over with.”
Stagg studied the layouts they’d been sent by the Vengeance CoS and quickly clarified everything was as it should be. He wasn’t as quick about it as she would have been, but he was still good at his job.
“They’ve got the casing open down there for the oxygen payload. Orion, verify these numbers for me so this actually works.”
“Already working on it,” He replied crisply to the XO, he had already been reviewing the specifications for the oxygen component for the payload, he knew the situation and he knew the science, so it only took him a moment, but one that would have felt like an agonizing eternity, for him to finally speak up. “Payload is good, we have everything needed to turn this nebula into a nuclear hellscape.”
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
“Cladvinar, Barrak, and Polinru, form up on Gladius and protect her from fire during her approach to the cloud.” Ivan said with a frown. “I remind you that, as per our mercenary deal, the explosive charges installed around your warp cores will explode at my command. If you fight for us, as agreed, you may survive and be wealthy men. If you abandon us, however, you will die screaming.”
He breathed as the alien ships signaled their compliance with a few other choice words for him. He didn’t give a fig about any of that. The entire thing was now out of his hands. He just had to trust that his people could cash the check they had all just written.
Lyra finally lifted her head from her station for more than a moment. She was frowning slightly, but besides that she betrayed no feeling outwardly to the situation. Inwardly, she was frustrated and worried; there was a very real chance they would die here… that they would die at the hands of some vile alien creatures not worthy of existence. At her core, she was furious. She didn’t want to die here - she had so many plans for the future. Her eyes moved to Andrei again as he worked to maneuver the ship out of harm's way as best he could, but it was a losing battle.
Andrei worked the console, but his job now had been relegated to keeping them behind cover. He felt a weight descend upon his heart; the years he would not live and the victories he would not win. His ambitions stung him to his core like open wounds, gaping and crying like open mouths. For a man who was nothing more than a strong will and an able body, this was a little death in itself.
He turned his face and made eye contact with Lyra. His eyes said everything his lips refused to say. He wanted to go to her, to embrace her, to kiss her, and perhaps to die with her in his arms. But the determination he had to prevent this calamity was stronger, so he remained at his post. He turned his eyes away from her and back to his work.
Corvin frowned as he contemplated the situation, what was likely to be his last moments alive in a galaxy where he’d just discovered a different sort of purpose. His gaze drifted to Lyra, lingering there a moment as he considered his feelings towards the woman before compartmentalizing them to the back of his mind. He had nothing to offer her and he couldn’t earn anything that could ever come close to matching what she wanted. So he again contented himself with duty and service. As his thoughts turned from Lyra, he felt disgust churning in his stomach and even the bitter taste of bile in the back of his throat as he considered they could die at the hands of aliens who barely had the ability to think or properly govern themselves, though he did remember an old Terran phrase, set enough monkeys in front of typewriters and you’ll eventually get Shakespeare.
Not that he understood the saying, but he felt that these degenerate aliens had banged rocks together enough to figure out something that resembled this plan.
Sovas was numb. He of course felt outrage that this could be where he was going to die. But it felt like those feelings belonged to someone else. They felt distant and cool, though he certainly wasn’t in a place of the supposed vaunted Vulcan logic. It just seemed like his emotions were trapped behind a locked door, little trickles of them came through but otherwise they were separated. He considered the chances of success for their plans, of being able to survive one more day, to one up his father’s disdain and hatred for him. So he stood at his station silently willing the universe and praying to any of the gods that would listen to allow him to live and his crew to live.
Ahira, who only a few moments ago had been trying to hide the panicked expression on his face, felt a calm that he did not understand. If he was going to die, and it seemed inevitable that they were, he wouldn’t go out a coward.
ISS Gladius: Bridge
“Both the tricobalt device and the oxygen payload are loaded in the aft tube. We only have one, so we’ll have to fire one after the other once we come about.” Asher reported loudly from his station. “Let’s do this thing while we still can. If the gods are good, maybe it’ll even fucking work.”
A slow breath escaped through Annalise’s lips as she looked to the viewscreen and the ships that had formed up in front of the Gladius. She projected calm confidence despite her internal feelings on the matter - she couldn’t give into those right now. They would help no one, especially not her crew in this crucial moment. She licked her lips and looked to the back of Jon’s head.
“Gardner, signal the escort to begin moving. Jon, keep us covered behind them as best you can. Stagg, get ready to fire as soon as we are in range.”
“Aye, Captain.” Gardner spoke up from her station. “Signal sent.”
Jon was a confident officer, and an excellent helmsman, he wouldn’t have been chosen for this assignment if he had not been. He’d faced more than one chaotic situation in his relatively short career. Outwardly, he looked just as calm as he always did. Inwardly, however it was a different story. He fought against the bile that rose in his throat.
He put the Gladius dire situation as much out of the way as he could and focused on doing his job.
The Gladius soared toward its destination under the hand of its young pilot. Using the alien ships as a physical barrier seemed to be working well enough, but the Gladius wasn’t coming out completely unscathed. It shuddered and rocked as weapons impacted directly or glanced off the waning shields, but their escorts were faring far worse. The pink of the nebula claimed more and more of the viewscreen until it dominated it. This would either be their moment of triumph or destruction - there was no middle ground.
“We’re in range. Helm, bring us about full and prepare to gun those impulse engines on the mark. We’re going to have a lot of fire up our ass after detonation.” Asher ordered toward Jon. His heart was pounding in his chest as he met death with eyes open. Unlike many of the others he wasn’t sad and he was barely nervous at all. It was going to be a wild ride.
The danger was far from over. Instead, it was at its peak, but the facade of calmness had become reality. The ship changed direction almost as soon as Asher spoke.
“I’ll be ready,” he replied Jon , his voice calm without infliction.
Annalise was keeping an eye on her readouts and the viewscreen, and when they finally reached the optimal distance, she pulled her eyes up and focused on the back of Stagg’s head.
“Fire, Asher.”
Asher tapped his console before the words had fully left Annalise’s mouth. He felt a pang in his stomach, but certainly not out of fear of death. He was mourning never having gotten to sleep with her. He shook his head, realizing how stupid this was, but not caring.
“Oxygen payload away.” He said as the torpedo casing which was pressurized with air shot out of the aft tube at a relatively slow pace and accelerated itself up to the programmed distance before stopping. He hit the button again, and the tricobalt device sped out of the tube after it, careening toward the payload. “Tricobalt device away! JON, GO!”
The young pilot didn’t need a second invitation. He was already prepped and his hand danced over the controls thrusting the ship forward at its maximum speed.
Behind the retreating Terran escort, the tricobalt device made contact with the payload. The initial spark was small, but the breaking of the torpedo casing released the oxygen needed to fuel the inferno. The fire expanded, and the chain reaction with the nebula was immediate.
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
The viewscreen’s pink image was replaced by a flash brighter than 100 Suns as the nebula became a fireball. The view screen was quick to compensate, lowering the brightness considerably. It was still too bright to look at comfortably. In the corner of the screen, the escort vessels which were sent to accompany Gladius broke up like eggs whose shells were cracked, scattering metal, dust, and alien bodies into the fiery void of space. The Terran ship, on the other hand, remained intact.
Ivan stood and raised his hand in the air in a Terran salute, born of passionate energy.
“Glory to the Empire!”
“Glory to the Empire!” Corvin exclaimed, caught up in the energy of the moment as he made it as an exaltation of their survival. He stared at the view screen for as long as he could before looking away, his attention going to Lyra to see her reaction or if she betrayed anything at all.
Sovas stood in stunned silence as he watched the explosion on screen, shielding his eyes from the intensity of it all. Even with the passion of the moment, he still only felt a brief surge of relief and happiness. He blinked and took a seat as if he was suddenly a marionette whose strings had been cut. He would need to ponder this detachment from his emotions, but for the moment he was alive. He had survived.
“Incoming shockwave.” Lyra spoke up in the midst of the exultant voices. She didn’t seem particularly alarmed about what was coming, the ships that had been moved to provide the Vengeance with cover would bear the brunt of it for them. It was only a few seconds later that the Vengeance gave one final shudder; a few more power relays sparked and popped in dying protest, and then everything was quiet and still. It was only after a few beats of that silence that Lyra’s shoulders dropped, the tension finally leaving them. Her dark eyes moved over the damaged bridge and the few people there. She finally looked over to Corvin to make sure her good doggie had come through it, but inevitably her eyes went back to Andrei.
She wanted to go to him, but for the moment she remained where she was.
“Good work, crew.” Andrei said, sounding calm and self-assured, like he never feared they would die at all. “My only regret is that they won’t be feasted upon by buzzards and worms out here.”
As he spoke, he made eye contact with Lyra. He smiled a tense smile and walked past her back to the command level. They would live to fight another day; their future was restored.
ISS Gladius: Bridge
As the Gladius retreated to safety, relief washed over Annalise and she allowed herself to give a quiet sigh that reflected the moment. In truth she had been afraid that this whole string of decisions had been wrong even if they were the logical and correct ones on paper. She didn’t want her last moments to be ones where she knew she failed the remaining people of her crew.
“Jon, form us up with the Vengeance.” She prompted the young man and then spoke out to the rest. “I need damage and casualty reports as soon as possible. Well done, everyone.”
Jon was smiling, partially because they had survived what could have been a catostophic failure and partially self congrtatulatory because of his part in it. Now came the easy part. He aligned the ships and brought them side by side.
“Curbside service ma’am,” he said a bit cheekily.
“Casualties are at a minimum. We fared far better than others. Some cuts, some bruises, and some broken bones. That’s it.” Asher said from his console before standing up and moving toward the middle of the Bridge.
“Good.” Annalise nodded, though watched Asher as he stood and began to move. She remained sitting, though there was a bit of wariness in the way she was holding herself. She had no desire to have it out with him right then and there - or anything else he might have been planning. This had been a trial and they all deserved at least a few moments of peace.
Orion leaned over his console, loosening his grip as he realized they had survived, his gaze shifting toward Annalise and Asher, already sensing the tension in the air. He didn’t make a comment as it wasn’t his place but he didn’t think that their XO and Security Chief’s actions should be ignored. He was gathering data on the explosion and the resulting impact that was already showing within the nebula. It was fascinating but he wondered what was going to come next.
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
Ivan stood from a seat and started a slow procession around the bridge, his eyes falling on the damaged consoles and the place where his daughter had fallen. She had been unaware of her status as his offspring, until very recently, but the revelation had changed their relationship irrevocably. Now he thought of the years she would never live and felt his eyes burn. Before he could cry, however, he turned and looked at the crew gathered on the bridge.
“Now, we heal, we repair, we mourn our dead, and we put this fleet back together.” He said simply. “Lyra, you’re officially reinstated. Get on the line with Gladius and schedule a time for Faulker to come over for a meeting with me. Andrei, work with Operations and Engineering to get a repair schedule posted. I’ll…I’ll be in my ready room.”
He had paused, forlorn, before turning and exiting the room.
Lyra had watched Ivan much like a predator would have watched the old, weak member of a herd of prey. Her expression was neutral and relaxed, but behind those dark eyes was a fiery intensity that would be hard for most any to discern at a distance. She watched him look at Kassandra, watched the slight slump of his shoulders and the way his eyes lingered. When he turned to face the bridge in general, she could see the glassy reflection in his eyes that signaled emotion. She heard his orders and acknowledged with a nod, but was far more interested in observing. The catch in his voice, the lack of confidence in his step. Was he going into his readyroom to cry over Kassandra?
The single thing in life that a man could reasonably weep over in life - be it joyfully or mournfully - was his family. Kassandra was his daughter, yes, but he hadn’t known that for more than a few months. Had he really formed that much of a bond with her? She doubted that given how the woman had acted, and yet she had seen the emotion there. She couldn’t grasp such a thing at all. The only thing she saw was Ivan once again embracing his bastard child and in turn slighting his wife and legitimate children. How Yana could love such a man was beyond her.
Though maybe she didn’t really. Maybe Yana was simply going through the motions masking her way through her life for some end goal; it wasn’t an unreasonable theory to Lyra. Slowly her eyes drifted toward the back of Andrei’s head and she found herself wondering if she too might be in that position one day and what she might do. She was like Yana, but she wasn’t Yana in the end.
She looked back down to her console to carry out her orders while also speaking to her second. “Corvin, get a casualty report of our men and then set up teams to work deck by deck to locate the wounded and dead.”
“Copy that Lieutenant.” Corvin replied, he’d noticed the way the Captain’s gaze had lingered on their Intel Chief’s corpse, he knew of the relationship, but to him the idea of family was a foreign and all together dirty concept that left him wondering why the Captain cared. People died, it was the way of the universe. He didn’t really know much about Kassandra and with her death he wouldn’t have that chance but, perhaps selfishly, he used her death to silently celebrate that he was alive. He set about his task to gather up a casualty report and then to set up the search and rescue teams to either retrieve corpses or find those still clinging to life.
Sovas looked to Ivan as he began to make a circuit of the battle damaged bridge, noticing him pausing at Kassandra’s body and for a moment he felt a pang of sympathy for the man as he seemed to consider the lifeless form. The half-Vulcan’s thoughts turned to his half brother, their contentious relationship and the bloody, inevitable end their father had orchestrated. He found the feeling curious as it was both painful and satisfying in a way to him. He was pulled from his thoughts by the order that Andrei would be working with Ops and Engineering to set up a full damage report and repair schedule, which made the halfbreed man turn back to his console as he started to get a full reporting from his people to see who was still with them and to start organizing tasks for them.
After having completed her assignment within a moment and making a quick check on another matter, Lyra stepped from her station and motioned for Corvin to take her place. Given the current chaos, medical was quite likely neck deep in casualties, so tending to corpses wasn’t really high on their list. She rounded the stairs down to the flight control area first and knelt by the burnt remains of McMillan. Undaunted by what was in front of her, Lyra’s gloved hands shifted the woman around with respect and surprising care until she had been maneuvered into a gentle repose, lying peacefully on her back with her hands laid gently over top one another on her middle.
“Mors certa, hora incerta.” Lyra murmured so quietly the only one who might have had a reasonable chance of hearing her would have been Andrei if he had been paying attention. She let the words sit for a single beat and then reached down to McMillan’s commbadge, giving it two taps then stepping away as blue light engulfed the woman to carry her away to await the inevitable funeral.
Immediately she crossed the bridge over to Kassandra and repeated the process. Despite her feelings toward the other woman’s circumstances, Lyra was no less respectful with her as she worked to untwist Kassandra’s body from the awkward way it had fallen. She shifted Kassandra’s hands to rest, the woman’s pale bare fingers standing out against the black of her uniform. Lyra spoke the words quietly once more, tapped Kassandra’s commbadge, and moved away as she disappeared. This time she removed her gloves and tucked them away into her pocket to have them cleaned later. Her eyes found Andrei again and then she finally moved back to her station. The next few days were going to be decidedly unpleasant for most.
Andrei watched Lyra as she tended to the dead, one of which was his sister. He felt nothing for the woman, and his only inclination was to pity his father for having such an attachment. Such a relationship had weakened the man, but now, in Andrei’s mind, he was free of his shame. He hoped his father would come to see it that way some day.
For now, however, he focussed in his work. He walked over to the Ops station and rested a hand on the top.
“Gather your diagnostics, Lieutenant, and let’s get down to Engineering. Now we repair as ordered.”
END
