Plan Z

Posted on Wed Dec 19th, 2018 @ 5:11pm by Captain Mrazak & Captain Jeanette Armitage

1,304 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: S1E2: Half Past Dead
Location: USS Phantom
Timeline: MD 3 | 0200

"Captain Armitage and the Marine Fire Team have successfully boarded the Eros. Engineering reports their survey of the wreck have shown only a 30% chance it will fall apart during towing. And Tactical have detected no new movement from the Eros infection," Ferrofax's disembodied voice echoed from the speakers. "Current system-wide Clock Maker activity has returned to levels consistent with your return from the colony. Without a more thorough data set, I am unable to say if they are aware of our plan."

There was a pause.

"Then again the likelihood of them calculating we would use a nearly destroyed starship to precipitate the collapse and rapid stellar expansion of a star, one of which we will be mere light milliseconds beyond the blast wave of, is astronomically high. Though I believe closing your eyes during the latter parts of the plan might improve both your well being and, oddly, the statistical likelihood of success."

"Wait, we're doing what?" shouted Master Chief Ortiz, the Tactical officer filling in at the conn for the critically wounded Lieutenant Zork.

"You heard the Combat Automate." Mrazak stared stoically at the viewscreen. "We're going to suckerpunch the Clock Makers. Steady as she goes, Chief."

Ortiz scoffed and turned back to the helm. There really wasn't much more for him to do. Ferrofax had the ship on all but autopilot. In fact, there wasn't anybody else on the bridge but him and the Commander. Evidently that meeting did not go as well as he'd hoped.

The conn beeped in notification that they'd arrived over the coordinates.

"Engage tractors," Mrazak ordered. "Full power, maximum distance."

Ortiz made no argument. Even though it would decrease the efficiency of the tractor beams, it was believed they would be out of range for any make-shift projectiles like last time.

For his part, Mrazak kept a ready eye on the sensors. Whatever the superstructure on the other side of the sun was supposed to be, it had increased at an exponential rate. Before long, it would be nearly planetoid status. And then it dawned on him.

"Dyson sphere," Mrazak said. "Those little bastards are building a Dyson sphere." His green Vulcan blood ran cold. Blowing up a Dyson sphere could prove disastrous. "Ferrofax, double check the calculations again. Even a split second delay could doom us."

"And to think I was using the Quantum Cray processors in the main computer to finally get to the end of Pi," Ferrofax said in a bored tone. "All ship functions are locked into automatic mode, Marine Fire Team on the Eros has met no significant resistance. It suggests that the Clock Maker's had used up the readily available matter they could convert easily. Might be a means of negating some of their advantages if we see another infection. Impulse drive is maximum, and we are on course."

On the viewscreen, the image pivoted around, and soon the blinding yellow star at the heart of New Far Florence filled the view screen.

"Huum...no reaction from the Clock Maker swarm," Ferrofax said, eyes narrowing. "I'm increasing sensor resolution. My threat analysis software is refusing to shut down."

"That's because I'm refreshing the sensor suite every 10 seconds," Mrazak said from the Science console. "I will not be caught with my pants down twice. Just make sure you don't shake hands with any strange signals."

"I don't tell you how to process complex protein chains, please don't tell me how to process simple autonomous functions either," Ferrofax said in a somewhat waspish tone.

"Nearing target position," Ortiz reported. "Shall I disengage tractors?"

"Not yet!" Mrazak barked. "Not until we get confirmation from the fire-team."

The operations console lit up next to the conn.

"What is that?" Mrazak asked.

Ortiz shot the commander an angry look. It would have been more efficient with Shvnerik there, but Mrazak had insisted on an empty bridge save a helmsman. "Checking now." Ortiz leaned over the conn to get a read on the comms panel. His face paled at the sight. "Looks like the Marines are pinned down. Heavy fire. Lots of comms interference."

"On screen."

A garbled mess of audio and video filled the screen with nearly indecipherable glitching of both. Mrazak stepped away from the command chair and leaned over the comms console. "I'll see if I can't clean up the feed."

For his effort, a corner patch of the screen solidified to show a Marine getting rent in half by a jagged black crystalline scythe.

"Captain Armitage! We're in position! Activate the engines and we'll beam you out!"

=/\="Negative on the beam out!" Armitage's static garbled voice crackled from the speakers. The Clockmaker Soldier Form back up from cleaving the Marine in two, and was cut down into a snow storm of black shards by the remains of the fire team. But even as they did that, two more were appearing from the wall, pulling themselves out of it like sharks out of taffy. "Position is tenious! We leave and this bugger's will kill the engines in seconds!"=/\=

"Commander, I'm detecting movement in the outer system. You'll want to see it," Ferrofax said. The view screen shifted, and a fuzzy long-range telescopic image appeared there. It showed one of the outer gas planets, or at least what was left of it. Something like a coiled mass of black glassy tendrils was unspooling from the grey and ochre clouds of the planet, tearing it apart in the process as the CLockmaker machine within. "Both gas giants are dissipating, revealing those...things. Purpose and function unknown at this time, but statistically not good."

=/\="Armitage to Phantom, we're pulling the pin on this thing now. Heart of Midlothian just burned all the safeties out on the warp control system, so we're firing it up. T-minus 5 minutes until the light show, I'd think about getting the hell out of here. I'm the selfish type, I want the little secret memorial plaque at Starfleet HQ to have only my name on it!"=/\=

Mrazak briefly weighed his options. There was really only one. "As you say, Captain."

He cut the channel and turned to Ortiz. "You heard Armitage. Take us to an observational position outside the system."

"Setting course," Ortiz said.

The Phantom hummed as it flew away from the derelict toward the system's edge.

"Ferrofax," Mrazak said, "lead us out."

"Copy that. I've had the QSD navigation system in a constant update cycle. In putting our entry coordinates, spooling the drive now."

The lights flickered for a moment, as power diverted into the Quantum Slipstream Drive, and the small ship vanished from reality into the hurried waters of subspace. It was only a small hop, a terrible waste of energy and the life time of the components involved. But it moved them out of the star system and into the interstellar void. A trip of hours turned into seconds.

"Sensors on full active mode...I'm detecting no trace of Clockmaker matter or activity. We've jumped out 1 light year from New Far Florence. Gravimetric sensors are detecting fluctuations in the star's magnetosphere consistent with our projections," Ferrofax commented. "We could stay to watch the fireworks, or leave behind a probe to monitor the event? Either from out here, we won't see any visible changes for a year and a half. Even the light we're seeing will be of a colony, and not the ruin we left behind."

The AI was right. For all the destruction the Phantom had laid down upon the New Far Florence system, for all the sacrifices made by those who had given life and limb, for all the effort from everyone to bring them to this point, victory amounted to nothing more than a negative blip on long-range sensors.

"Launch a class 4 probe," Mrazak said. "Then take us home."

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