A clash in the vacuum (Epilogue)

Location: Edge of Nos asteroid field

A single white capsule floated out of the maze of asteroids, still propelled by the final explosion between the two ships. Detecting that it was out of the gravimetric interference of the asteroids and no longer surrounded by electromagnetic residue from the battle, it extended a small transmission array. It maneuvered itself into optimum transmitting position with the attached navigational thrusters. Once in place, it began its transmission in a continuous burst, looping the transmission when it was completed. The final instructions it received was to keep transmitting till its internal batteries gave out.

++++++++++

2.3 light years away, an Alliance battlecruiser was already on its way to the asteroid field after picking up the the energy spikes from the battle.
The communications officer noticed a flashing icon on her touchscreen console.
"Captain, I'm picking up a transmission on emergency channel 4. It is coded as from the USS Fortitude, and it's source is traced from near her last identified location"
Feeling a sense of dread falling upon him, the captain typed in his command decryption codes into the computer system.
"Begin signal decoding and put the transmission on the main viewscreen"
A few seconds of static slowly gave way to the image of Captain Stephanes, commanding officer of the USS Fortitude, with a silently moving mouth. Tinkering with the signal, the science officer announced, "Adding audio to video feed".
"- By the time you receive this message, I and my ship will have been destroyed".
As the command staff on the bridge listened to the rest of the message, looks of disbelief and stunned horror were exchanged between one another.
"We've got to know for sure. Helm, set a course in the direction of the transmission. Maximum warp"
Maintaining his professionalism, the helm officer keyed in the coordinates and vector and off she went in a burst of flashing light. Captain Stephanes was now replaced by his first officer on the viewscreen. The captain turned his face away with the grievous foreboding that the USS Fortitude was gone for real.

~ ~ ~ ~ (THE END) ~ ~ ~ ~

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (31.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 7)

LOCATION: Imperial Vessel (IV) Fortitude, somewhere inside the Nos Asteroid Field

She had given all she had, but she was simply outmatched by her evil universe counterpart. The unrelenting bombardment of flashing energy bolts, bright red laser beams and green globes of concentrated light pummeled through her patchy shields to blast open gapping holes in her outer hull and decks. Lights, gun ports and torpedo bays shut off one by one as every square meter of the ship's body was hit in sequence. A cloud of debris trailed behind her like a morbid train. Deep groans creaking throughout her body was her feeble protest against so vicious a punishment. It was the death cry of the USS Fortitude.

Every single warning light on every console was lit in Engineering Deck, giving the smoke-filled air a reddish tint. Emergency lights flickered on and off as the power grid attempted to handle the distribution of electricity with multiple power line failures and limited back-up conduits. Chief Engineer Hamidi limped around on his bleeding left foot as he continued to bark orders to the surviving engineers and crewmen, keeping the power reactor, engines and shields online as long as possible. Just as many grim reports were flooding back to him, all demanding his attention.
"Emergency force-fields in place and holding on decks 3 to 16. Decks 1 and 2, 17 and 18 have fully imploded!"
"Coolant pumps are erratic and backflow is detected!"
"Micro fractures appearing all over the ship! Hull integrity is down to 55%!"
"Shield generators A and C have failed!"
Drowning in the litany of alerts coming in, Hamidi felt the walls closing in on him, each shallow breath not giving sufficient oxygen to his taxed brain. It wasn't everyday that one is handling a ship in the process of being destroyed. Kicking himself out of that involuntary pause, he leapt back into the fray, giving out yet another list of things to be done, parts to be replaced and systems to be re-routed. After all, someone had to hold the ship together. And ensure that the auto-destruct mechanism remained active. One last responsibility to fulfill.

The groaning of strained metal, popping sounds of exploding decks and rushing wind from decompressing corridors made the voices of the remaining crew on the bridge barely audible to each other. Little more than half the computer consoles were still active on the barely-lit bridge, and the metallic fumes were making each breath a torturous one.
"Gunnery control lost! Cannons are firing randomly" cried out Tactical Officer Travis.
First Officer Tellis was surprised at how long their weapons had lasted. "Shut down weapons and divert all power to forward shields!" She looked over anxiously at the captain and wondered what had caused him to suddenly have a complete nervous breakdown in the middle of their last battle.

In the face of impending death, Captain Stephanes had thrown off his mask of stoic endurance, allowing his crew to see his emotions openly for the first and last time. Bitter tears and choking sobs punctuated the roar of explosions, the cries of a man with innumerable regrets. Face to face with the fact of his soon-to-be demise, he finally acknowledged the sheer stupidity of his action, of rejecting all other alternatives besides mutual destruction because of dumbed down, tunnel-vision pride. He now feared what lay beyond the pathways of life, and didn't want to die, or his crew to die because of him. But this realisation was too late to be of any use; the USS Fortitude was being shot to pieces, too bashed up to survive battle or to try escaping. Now he could only complete his original idiotic plan to destroy the IV Fortitude with a head-on suicide ram.
He cried for the many years of life that now would never be; risks forsaken, troubles fled and roads not taken.
For his parents whom he had promised to take care of and love in their old age.
For the brother he had promised to accompany at his wedding and stick with through thick and thin.
For the faithful friends whom he cherished and would miss so much.
For failing the Fleet Admirality who had entrusted him with this ship and crew with a specific commission to fulfill.

Another violent shudder rattled the ship, and suddenly Stephanes began to feel weightless; artificial gravity had gone offline. Moments later, one more huge blast sent everyone on the bridge flying upwards, slamming into the ceiling. A scream was heard just before all lights deactivated. His arms flailing uselessly in mid air, he could only wait till gravity and emergency lighting returned a few seconds later, this time with everyone crashing back onto their seats. Ignoring his many bruises and cuts he ran over to the source of the scream; First Officer Tellis was dead, skewered through her back with one of the ceiling support pillars, with eyes already glazed over.

Helmsmen Rekov banged his console three times before it returned to displaying coherent information. So many red "FAILURE" signs filled it that he had to carefully scan for what was still working and for information on the IV Fortitude's movements.
"Captain, tractor beams are off-line and shields are down! The IV Fortitude is beginning to move!"
It had come to this; he would be the one to give the final order. First Officer Tellis was spared that dreaded task, at least. Suppressing his desire to throw up, Captain Stephanes forced his thoughts into order.
"Overload the engines. Maintain course heading till the end"
Pressing 2 buttons on his touchscreen interface, Rekov thought nothing happened at first. Until he was thrown back on his seat as the USS Fortitude dramatically accelerated rapidly. Its 2 engines lashed forth great streams of bluish plasma, being utterly consumed as they gave the ship one final push. The saucer section of the IV Fortitude grew larger with each passing moment, as it evidently tried to get itself moving fast enough to flee the incoming flaming hulk of twisted metal that was the USS Fortitude. But she had too much inertia to overcome in such a short time, and its twin was too close and too fast to be avoided. All their firepower was not enough to deal a fatal blow courtesy of its reinforced hull.

The collision countdown timer passed the 10 second mark. Stephanes closed his eyes, accepting the finality of death and letting his grief, regret and despair swallow him into a pit of endless darkness. A deafening crunching sound and the sensation of flying through the air indicated that they had hit the IV Fortitude. Moments before he was turned into a splatter of blood and body pieces against the viewscreen, he consoled himself that at least he succeeded in ensuring no one else would be destroyed because of his mistake.

The USS Fortitude sliced into the saucer portion of the enemy ship like a battering ram smashing through a city gate. Hundreds of burning pieces of debris flew in all directions and numerous spontaneous conflagrations created spectacular fireworks. Just as the fires of destruction began to fade, the reactor of the USS Fortitude completed it’s auto-destruct countdown and destabilized its matter-anti-matter containers. The resulting outburst of energy disintegrated the flotsam and jetsam of the saucer sections of both ships, and also incinerated the surviving engineering portion of the IV Fortitude in one tremendous eruption of blinding whiteness.

Light gave way to the blackness of space, an ever expanding cloud of ashes the only indication that battle had occurred there in the cold vacuum of space.

(TO BE CONCLUDED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (30.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 6)

LOCATION: Imperial Vessel (IV) Fortitude, somewhere inside the Nos Asteroid Field

Helm Commander Rekov& chuckled at the current speed of the USS Fortitude. Their earlier sabotage and the damage from the battle had cut down their top speed which was previously equal to the IV Fortitude's.
"Supremo, they are only at 80% of their top speed. Perhaps that is why they aren't escaping"
Supreme Commander Stephanes% thought hard as he watched the rapidly incoming damaged starship on the viewscreen. They still had enough engine power and agility to continue hiding around. And with only two-third's of it's weapons functioning, they would lose in any direct shoot-out; even with shields at max. Yet they were continuing their approach at their best speed.
Science Commander Diana summarized the results for their comprehensive scan of the surrounding area. "No thermonuclear devices or electronics within a 100 km radius, supremo. No booby traps whatsoever". That only served to mystify matters further.
"Weapons, launch a single spread of plasma torpedoes. Let's see how they react"
10 glowing globes of light shot out in a linear spread, heading towards the USS Fortitude. Immediately, its pulse cannons lighted up and fired in broad arcs, intercepting 8, with the other 2 absorbed by their shields.
"They fired to hit the torpedoes, not us. What are those fools doing?" questioned Stephanes% to no one in particular.
Secondary Commander Tellis# offered her insight, "Perhaps they are sparing their weapons and power for a close range strafing run? To fire only when within optimum firing range?".
"But heading straight for us?"
"Supremo" added Science Commander Diana, "we'll find out in 10 seconds if they were waiting to get their best shot at us".
The bridge fell into silence as the few seconds before they entered best firing distance ticked by. At the 0 second mark, 4 bright blue beams of pulsating light from the other Fortitude sent the IV Fortitude shaking violently. It continued for another 3 seconds, causing small explosions to be heard below, as Helm Commander Rekov& sent the ship into a hard turn to starboard. Just as the beams faded away, 4 flaring explosions could be seen on the USS Fortitude where their laser blasters were located.
"What in the blazes just happened?" screamed a furious Stephanes%.
"They fired their lasers with a scintillating pulse! That enabled them to punch through shields and cause damage!" reported back a shaken Weapons Commander Travis@.
"Can they fire that again?"
Looking at the replay of the event, Travis@ heaved a sigh of relief. "No sir, pulsating their lasers caused them to overheat and explode. They have just destroyed the last of their lasers blasters"

Satisfied that his bridge staff handled it well, he asked the next question. "What was damaged?"
Secondary Commander Tellis# took that question. "Supremo, we have moderate outer damage to decks 12 to 16, slight damage to torpedo tubes 3 and 4 and our transporter system has been disabled; for at least 4 hours"
"They took out transporters?!" shot back the Supreme Commander. A sprinkling of admiration entered his mind; they had taken out a specific system with that one remaining shot instead of firing blindly. With no transporters, they would have to board their ship via shuttlecraft. Admiration was replaced with frustration when the ship shuddered again.
"What now?!"
"Supremo, they've locked us in a full-strength tractor beam! At this range, it is stopping us from moving or turning!" answered Helm Commander Rekov&.
A dawning realisation came onto Stephanes%, which was confirmed when he saw the ever-enlarging hull of the USS Fortitude on the viewscreen. The revelation of their intended action caught him by surprise; they were desperate enough to stop them that they were willing to die in the effort.
"They're going to ram us! Helm, punch engines to overdrive, get us moving! Weapons, target everything we have and fire at will! Destroy them!"
A brutal hail of pulse bolts, laser beams and plasma torpedoes crossed the decreasing space between the 2 ships and hammered the USS Fortitude, its shields increasingly wavering under the onslaught but still maintaining their speed and heading. Maddeningly, its pulse cannons continued to fire in a full dispersal pattern, aiming only to lessen the number of bolts and torpedoes that will hit it. Infuriated that he had been the victim of so simple a scheme, Supreme Commander Stephanes% screamed at the top of his voice, "Take them down, TAKE THEM DOWN!!"

Though explosions began to appear all over its hull as its shields began to buckle and give way, the USS Fortitude persevered on towards its final destination.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (29.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 5)

LOCATION: Captain's Ready Room & Bridge, USS Fortitude, somewhere inside the Nos Asteroid Field.

First Officer Tellis walked into the captain's Ready Room in a huff, after having to wait outside for him to open the door. Her shock at seeing the captain's tear-streaked face left her at a loss for words. He was riveted to his seat watching a slide show of photo's as he tried to keep an impassive face. She recognized some as photo's of his family and Alliance Fleet friends. Gathering herself, Tellis tip-toed over to the captain's desk.
"Captain Stephanes, are you all right?". After a few deep breaths, Stephanes wiped away his tears with a handkerchief and motioned for her to sit down. "Yes, what is it?"
"Sir, the IV Fortitude broke off their search-and-destroy movements without warning about 2 minutes ago and are now headed directly towards us at top speed"
"But I thought they were still 30 minutes away before their search pattern reaches us?"
"Perhaps, but I think their sensors succeeded in picking us up, even at our minimum power levels. They will reach us in 10 minutes" Captain Stephanes slumped back at that news.
"10 minutes ... 10 minutes and it all ends" Realising too late that he was about to launch into another one of his monologues, Tellis shifted her mind to other matters while continuing the impression that she was paying attention.

"Everyone always said we had a bright big future ahead of us, that we'll achieve great things and help alot of people. They always made it sound inevitable, so definite. Worse, we unquestioningly believed their statements as facts. But unharnessed potential alone is never an accurate indicator of a future. We dreamed big, but looks like that's all that our hopes will be - just dreams". He was so into his own thoughts that he didn't notice her blank face, which hid a mind planning for the upcoming battle.
"One stupid experiment; just one impulsive order that opened a space-time tunnel from the evil universe into our own. A tunnel that let in the IV Fortitude and led to our current circumstances. A tragic, unnecessary mistake. Simply because the unknown was too mysterious and intriguing to resist".
Tellis concluded her 3rd set of battle plans and switched her mind back to the room. Reading the time, she was shocked to find 4 minutes had gone by. "Captain, we need to get the ship underway".
Having no clue that his first officer had completely blocked out his mini-speech, Captain Stephanes got up, smoothed his wrinkled uniform and walked out onto the Bridge.
"Travis, open a ship-wide channel". Upon receiving confirmation that he was on ship-wide broadcast, Captain Stephanes launched into his final words to his crew.
"This is your Captain speaking. My gratitude and thanks to all of you for doing your jobs with all tenacity and ingenuity. Now I ask of you to keep the USS Fortitude together for just awhile more. We are unable to defeat or escape the IV Fortitude, so we will execute General Order 17 to take it down via any method possible, which for us means destroying it in a suicide run. Keep the Fortitude running till we have taken down our enemy. Though we perish, at least we'll safeguard the Alliance from our evil universe counterparts. Honor our passing with the best you can give. It has been my personal pleasure to serve with men and women such as yourselves. Godspeed".

He waved his right hand, signalling for the broadcast to be ended. Looking around the bridge, he saw that everyone was as ready as they could be in the face of impending destruction. Though not everyone agreed with his course of action, at least they still maintained their loyalty to their commanding officer.
"Everyone, the same goes for you all as well; I am honored to have the privilage of serving with all of you". Taking his seat in the middle of the bridge, he ran through the necessary pre-flight diagnostics and integrity checks with his command staff. Satisfied that all systems were working, he gave the order to leave their hiding place. The grappling hooks disengaged from the asteroid's surface as the USS Fortitude fired its navigation thrusters to lift off that brown rock.
"Let's get this over with. Take us out Helmsman, best speed".
The USS Fortitude's engines returned to life, and it slowly edged out of the shadow of the asteroid. Just beyond a string of greenish asteroids, the light brown saucer section of the IV Fortitude was visible in the distance. Both ships now accelerated towards each other, towards their final clash in the vacuum of space.

"All hands, Red Alert! To battlestations!"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (28.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 4)

LOCATION: Captain's Ready Room, USS Fortitude, somewhere inside the Nos Asteroid Field.

The command staff of the USS Fortitude was assembled once again in the Captain's Ready Room. All of them looked haggard and messy from their strenuous efforts to patch up damage suffered in the last clash. Though the ship had been damaged so many times over numerous battles that many repairs were done with a big dose of anxious hope and with a prayer that it'll hold.
"Thank you all for coming on short notice. First Officer Tellis, please"
Taking the cue, Tellis read from the report on her data sheet.
"Sensors have determined that the IV Fortitude is systematically blowing up asteroids in a full search pattern to find us and force us out of hiding. Estimated time before they reach our area of the asteroid field is 5 hours".
Leaning forward, the captain now outlined his intentions. "Thank you, Tellis. Now, let me make this clear: the USS Fortitude cannot be captured by the Imperials to be manipulated, and neither can they be allowed to destroy us and masquerade as the Fortitude to wreck havoc on the Alliance. Since we aren't able to outrun or outgun them, I have decided to engage General Order 17. We will take them down with us by whatever the means necessary". Captain Stephanes looked around while he spoke, gauging the reaction of his people. "Does anyone have any objections?"
A few furtive glances shot back and forth, but his reputation in viciously crushing dissenting opinions among his officers kept them from voicing their doubts and differing perspectives. Former First Officer Gewissen's long incarceration in the ship's brig was a constant reminder on how far he was willing to go to make sure only his word ruled in the ship.

Taking the silence as agreement with his decision, he plunged into the details.
"My plan is to approach the IV Fortitude from behind to ram them or self-destruct close enough to destroy it. Helmsman Rekov, we need to reconfigure the engines so that we can achieve maximum thrust even if it means burning them out. Chief Engineer Hamidi, the shields must be able to run at optimum strength and the hull reinforced to withstand close range weapons fire. Tactical Officer Travis, move all remaining torpedoes to the front launchers and arm them, and also focus repairs on the weapons facing forward. First Officer Tellis, evacuate all the outer decks so that we we can avoid losing crew too quickly; we'll need them alive to keep the ship intact until we achieve our objective"
As the captain droned on about how to prepare the ship for its suicide run, Helmsman Rekov grew more nauseated by the minute. He didn't want to die meaninglessly simply because the captain was too proud to admit his failings and call for assistance from the Fleet Admiral and the rest of the ships of the fleet. But he had no courage to speak his mind; leaving him clenching and unclenching his fists to try to remain calm.

Thankfully finishing his instructions, Captain Stephanes concluded, "I hope all of you will conduct yourselves to the best of your capabilities to prepare the USS Fortitude for this final confrontation. As we will not survive this battle, you may take the time, as is possible, to prepare your final words and messages to your loved ones and friends. Please convey this to your crewmembers as well. This meeting is adjourned" The command staff got up with fearful and resigned expressions on their faces, discussing the plan's specifics while exiting the room. Except for Helmsman Rekov.
"You may leave, Helmsman" indicated Captain Stephanes.
Pushing aside his nervousness for the moment, Rekov spoke his mind as rapidly as his tongue could move.
"Captain, please, we need not do this. We are trapped, but we can radio for assistance from the rest of the fleet and Central Command. Surely they -"
A murderous glare from the Captain left the rest of his words stuck in his throat. Rising in a flurry of emotion, Stephanes lashed out his pent-up frustration and despair on the Helmsman.
"You DARE to dictate your opinions to me? No, Rekov, we will NOT contact them and that is FINAL! Now get out and make sure you follow my orders to the letter!"
The Helmsman stared at him in disbelief before running out of the Ready Room, barely avoiding the closing automatic doors.

Stephanes sat back down, instantly stung by regret. Rekov was a competent member of his staff merely expressing his point of view and had not deserved so severe a reprimand. He sat there with his thoughts turning darker as he considered their current situation and his choice of actions. He himself couldn't understand why he wouldn't choose the correct decision and had instead embarked on a fool's errand. A single tear flowed down his cold left cheek.
He whispered to himself, "How ... how did we end up like this?".
After a couple of minutes, Stephanes finally wiped his face and turned to his computer console.
"Computer, create 2 new 'TRANSMISSIONS' folders, 1st folder 'FAMILY' and 2nd folder 'FRIENDS'. Activate video and voice recording, save as file name '1.1' in folder 'FAMILY' ".
The neutral-toned computer voice replied. "Acknowledged. Folders and file created. Beginning recording"
Clearing his throat, Stephanes looked at the video recorder. And hoped he could keep his melancholic emotions in check as he dictated his last messages to his loved ones.

"Hello father, it's me, Stephanes. Please sit down and keep calm, dad. By the time you receive this message, I and my ship will have been destroyed"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (26.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 3)

LOCATION: Ship's Brig, USS Fortitude, somewhere inside the Nos Asteroid Field.

"Your prediction was right. They ambushed and cornered us. That last altercation with our evil universe counterparts has left us limping and trapped. Weapons, engines, shields ... now we're too weak to hold them off and too slow to escape". Captain Stephanes lowered himself slowly to sit at the entrance of the brig cell. After ensuring no guards were in sight, he put his face into his shaking hands as he let out a long, tired sigh through pale and quivering lips. The loneliness of command was an abstract concept taught in the Academy, but now he knew it too well for comfort. He had to remain in charge, keeping everything moving and the ship remaining in one piece. However, the current situation had pushed him to the end of his resources and wits. His crew was similarly strained; but they had him to look up to and trust in. While he had only the blank ceiling to stare at. There was no one he could talk to any longer; his string of failures had left his standing tattered among the crew.

Throughout the years he had been imprisoned, former First Officer Gewissen had seen the captain walk into the brig with all sorts of moods, ranging from the happy to the sad to the angry. This was the first time he was so openly dejected and broken. That he hung out his inner turmoil on his sleeve was a sign he was losing his grip on the collapsing scenario.
"Stephanes, why have you come to tell me this?".
The captain's mouth opened like he was about to say something, but stayed open without any words for awhile. "I don't even know why I came here" was his forlorn response.

"Then let me tell you what I think, Captain". Gewissen took a measured breath to stay collected and calm, hoping that he would frame his words well. Under these circumstances, this might be the last time he could talk with the Captain.
"You are telling me this because you know we are not supposed to be stuck here, trapped in this asteroid field by that Imperial ship. We have been given an important commission by our Fleet Admiral; to travel amongst the stars as a representative of the Alliance; to make first contact with others, to work together with the rest of the fleet; aiding the newer ships and learning from those who've come before us. To take on this commission, the USS Fortitude has been well equipped, our men drawn from the top half of the Academy, and the knowledge and information necessary to carry out our purpose is also readily available. But here we are, being chased around space rocks, with nowhere left to hide".

Seeing no visible response, he went straight for the jugular. He bent down and shouted "CAPTAIN!". Stephanes didn't jump; only turning his head slowly to look at Gewissen. "You know that we don't have to be boxed in by the situation! We may be in dire straits, but it is not the end! We can't fight alone any longer but we don't have to! Get back in contact with the Fleet Admiral, send a mayday for reinforcements, let the rest of the fleet help us!".
Even as he said those oft-repeated words, he saw the familiar hardheadedness creep back into the Captain's eyes, that stubborn look return to his face. Regardless, he had to try if this was his last chance to convince him. "Stephanes, PLEASE, for once, listen to me! You don't want our situation to remain like this, yet you're too scared and risk-averse to make a decision; to do something concrete about it. I think you come here often because you hope that somehow I would "make" you choose what you already KNOW is correct. But I can only remind you ... I can only advise you of the facts. You-are-the-CAPTAIN! The top-ranking commanding officer and decision maker on this ship! Just hearing and agreeing with the truth isn't enough, you must make your choice and act on it ".

A minute or two ticked by as former First Officer Gewissen anxiously waited for his reply, hoping that he'll do something different from all the previous times.
"I have made my choice. I will never allow this ship to be captured and be used by the Imperials against other Alliance ships. With nowhere to run, insufficient guns left, so ...". The captain left his sentence half-finished.
Gewissen looked out his cell's window port to hide the eyes dripping with disappointment as he completed the sentence, "So you'll go down with guns blazing, taking them down with you if possible, to die the honorable death of a soldier". A single nod of the captain's head affirmed the accuracy of his words. And caused him to laugh mockingly, laughter that painfully echoed off the narrow walls of the brig.
"I pity you, Captain. This is no dead end but one of your own creation. You've been on your own and on the run for so long that you are too dead set in your old ways to change direction now. This is not bravery but cowardliness hiding behind the veneer of bravado. A pointless waste of good men and a good ship"
Seeing that he would only get a new series of biting criticisms, Captain Stephanes got up without another word and walked away. As he exited the brig, Gewissen shouted one last line of words. "Go back to your bridge Captain; knowing that this is not how it should end, but you just wouldn't choose against the flow of life's river"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (24.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgment of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 2)

LOCATION: USS Fortitude, somewhere inside the Nos Asteroid Field.

The USS Fortitude was grappled onto one of the asteroids with multiple harpoon tension wires. With its reactor running at minimum capacity and shields deactivated, the gravimetric distortion of the asteroid's mass was enough to make it invisible to all but close range broad-spectrum comprehensive scans. A good time to take stock of the situation and plan ahead.

The captain sat at the head of the conference table inside the captain's Ready Room. 1 hour of endless variations of bad news had him staring into his empty 7th cup of synthetic coffee.
"Portside engine is still at 74% but the starboard engine is down to 33%; hitting the throttle to overdrive thrust for 31 minutes with only 4 coolant coils replaced ... it's totaled" continued Chief Engineer Hamidi's update. Earlier, he had tried to put an optimistic tone to his descriptions but gave it up when everyone's faces only went gloomier by the minute.
"How fast can we go?" inquired First officer Tellis as she continued to rub the bruises on her left arm.
"Factoring in our heavily damaged aft section, I'd say 55% of our top rated speed. No more"
The chill factor of the room dropped another notch. Trying one last time to improve the mood, Hamidi shifted immediately to the final item on his list. "Sub-engineer Evans managed to filter out the nucleon contaminants from the power reactor, so at least we will have full power available".
A short chuckle from the front sent everyone turning their gaze there.
"With only three-quarters of our shields, two-thirds of our weapons, half of our maximum sublight speed, dysfunctional targeting arrays, destroyed hyperlight drive and compromised hull integrity?" was Captain Stephanes' bitter retort.
He waited for someone to say anything but there were only downcast faces. Even Hamidi had run out of his usual store of jokes, gags and acts. Finding the depressing atmosphere too much to bear, he dismissed the Emergency Department Head's meeting before marching out to the nearest turbolift.

Former First Officer Gewissen heard the approaching footsteps first before he saw his shadow fall across the door of his brig cell.
"So, what happened this time for me to have the honor of the Captain gracing the door of my prison cell?"
If it was a normal day, Captain Stephanes would have marched out and ordered his rations to be cut in half for a week. Not so this time.
"Your sarcasm never changes, does it Gewissen?" began Stephanes.
"I'm sure this has to do with the explosions, power black-outs, ominous shuddering and numerous alerts that ended awhile ago. I wait with bated breath for your next words". Gewissen turned to return to his hard cot.
Stephanes slammed his fists against the cell's transparent hybrid-metallium door. Anger boiled within him, but the cords of despair subdued the foul words about to be thrown at Gewissen. His mind constructed a sentence, but his mouth had to be forced to utter it.
"You were right, Gewissen".
The captain's rare admission saw him stop half-stride and slowly turned back to face the Ccptain with a lifted left eyebrow in surprise.
"I'm listening"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (23.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (Part 1)

LOCATION: Imperial Vessel (IV) Fortitude, periphery of Nos Asteroid Field

Supreme Commander Stephanes% looked upon the view screen with satisfaction. The image of the fleeing USS Fortitude was pitiable and so was their curtain of covering fire which bounced harmlessly off their deflector shields. His earlier plan to secretly transport out the crew members of the USS Fortitude and replace them with their evil universe counterparts had been thwarted, but not before the crippling sabotage of their main systems.
"How much longer can their spluttering engines carry them?" mused Stephanes%. "Time to laser blaster range?"
"I minute, supremo" replied a tense Weapons Commander Travis@. Too many of his plasma torpedoes were being cut down to pierce through the USS Fortitude's shields. He kept his eyes glued to his computer console to avoid the impatient stares of the other commanders on the bridge.
Secondary Commander Tellis# laughed mockingly at Travis. "My dear commander, this time make sure you hit them bulls-eye and hit them hard. Or I'll throw you out the nearest airlock as the target of a weapons accuracy test!"
Stephanes% left Tellis# to keep his crew in line while he relished the thought of long-elusive victory. A cynical grin formed as he observed the USS Fortitude make a series of cartwheels and turns to avoid the continuous stream of plasma torpedoes. Though the asteroid field up ahead posed a problem, his ship's arsenal of weaponry would take care of that. And having challenging prey makes the chase even more satisfying.

The larger, black-coloured IV Fortitude rapidly reduced the distance to its target with its engines at full burn. Laser turrets opened and aligned their sights while their pre-firing chambers charged with terawatts of power. The moment they entered range, all 8 laser blaster turrets lanced out bright red beams. The aft section of the USS Fortitude was illuminated for a couple of seconds as its shields held out until a series of explosions indicated that they had been punched through.
"2nd salvo in 15 seconds -" began Travis@. Suddenly the engines of the USS Fortitude flashed a brilliant blue, and it shot forward with increasing speed into the asteroid belt. It succeeded in putting enough kilometers between itself and its hunter to avoid another laser barrage.
"After them!" bellowed Stephanes%.
Both ships continued their cat-and-mouse game into the hazardous Nos asteroid field. Sweeping between 2 small asteroids the USS Fortitude had just passed, the view screen of the IV Fortitude flared momentarily before displaying static. Everyone remained frozen in surprise till the ship lurched up without warning, sending most people tumbling out of their seats.
"What happened?!" choked out Supreme Commander Stephanes%.
Helm Commander Rekov pulled himself back up and did a quick scan of the area.
"2 asteroids we were passing were booby-trapped! Thermonuclear explosives! Shields absorbed the shock wave, but we have a huge cloud of disintegrated rock heading our way!"
"Travis@, make yourself useful and keep our ship from being damaged! Rekov&, get us out of danger!"
The view screen came back online moments later, revealing a USS Fortitude shrinking into the distance as it ran deeper into the asteroid field. Groups of in-rushing asteroid chunks blocked the way forward. A hail of energy bolts, torpedoes and laser beams swarmed outwards from the IV Fortitude as it began blasting its way through the shroud of many-sized rocks. Not fast enough though. The distant now-pinhead-sized USS Fortitude took a left turn and disappeared out of sight.
"Good try, Captain. But we'll get you".

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (21.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, intentional or unintentional, to those inside the official Trek Universe.

A clash in the vacuum (prologue)

LOCATION: USS Fortitude, periphery of Nos asteroid field.

2 identical-looking spaceships zip across the dark vacuum of space, one firing upon the other in a classic cat-and-mouse chase.

Captain Stephanes clung on to the sidebars of his seat as the USS Fortitude rocked violently under the ferocious bombardment from its evil universe twin, the Imperial Vessel Fortitude.
"Aft shields collapsing!" screamed the tactical officer.
Making a snap decision, Captain Stephanes raised his voice above the din of quavering metal. "Divert power 75% from forward shields and 50% from starboard & port side shields to aft shields! Helmsman, are we at maximum speed?"
"Starboard engines are overheating; we're only at 85%" groaned Helmsmen Rekov.
"Do we still have weapons at aft section?"
"Yes, but only -" began tactical officer Travis before he was cut off by a string of plasma torpedo impacts. The lights went out for a few seconds as overloaded power conduits failed and short-circuited all over the Bridge.
First officer Tellis read the grim reading from her unstable console display. "Hull integrity is down to 75%. Can't take this for too long, Captain"
Red emergency lighting came on and the computer consoles stopped their erratic flashing.
"Aft weapons?" repeated Captain Stephanes.
"Yes, but just half are still online"
"Divert power from other weapons to aft pulse cannons, and set them on full dispersal firing pattern. Stop those torpedoes!"
With a quick nod, T.O. Travis shut off all other weapons and programmed the aft pulse cannons to maintain a wall of fire to cover their retreat. Another wave of incoming plasma torpedoes was quickly cut down, with the one sole survivor barely dissipated by the reinforced aft shields.

"Sir; they're catching up. We'll enter firing range of their laser blasters within 3 minutes" warned Rekov.
"And our shields wouldn't hold" chipped in Travis.
"Noted" said Captain Stephanes as he opened a channel to Engineering Deck.
"Chief Hamidi, can you restore the starboard engines?"
The sound of men shouting orders and clamoring for tools in the background indicated just how much work was needed to keep the internal systems of the USS Fortitude running in the midst of the battle.
"Yes, but 6 of the coolant coils and distributors need to be replaced; I'd say in 10 minutes" came Hamidi's tired voice.
"You have 2 minutes or there wouldn't be an engine left to repair!"
A stunned silence greeted the Captain's snapped words. Fierce whispers followed as Chief Hamidi quickly discussed possible short-cuts and stop-gap steps with his subordinates.
"Sir, we can make it in at least 6, or 5 minutes tops. Not 2" was his hesitant reply.
Captain Stephanas controlled his rising frustration and bit his lips to stop a tirade of angry words from bursting out.
"Just get it done"
He issued orders for more aggressive evasive movements and for the aft sections to be evacuated of non-essential personnel. Having done all he could, Stephanes locked his gaze upon the asteroid field up ahead, where his ship had a chance of survival with its nimble maneuvering abilities. And they had a little surprise in there that might just balance the odds.

If they could reach it in time.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

COPYRIGHT of MICHAEL LIM (20.7.2009)
p.s. acknowledgement of ideas gleaned from the Star Trek series of books. Characters and ships are not related in anyway, deliberate or accidental, to those inside the official Trek Universe.