The Battle of Sector 189 (Part 5 of 5)

Posted on 02 Apr 2024 @ 7:03pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Serran & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Vren Vral & Petty Officer 2nd Class Donald Andrews & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral

2,600 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: Pleiades Cluster, Sector 189, Grid 02
Timeline: MD 03, 2239 hrs

Previously, on The Battle of Sector 189 (Part 4)...

"Master Chief," continued Tarin, "ready aft phasers and prepare to target our reactor once it's away - we'll need at least 30 kilometers of separation before we detonate it, but that artificial black hole should suck it in and do the work for us." Tarin stood from her chair again, this time quickly addressing her entire bridge crew. "We can't outrun this and we need a push. I'd rather take our chances riding a matter/anti-matter shockwave than be pulled into a gravitational singularity and disintegrated. Once our warp core goes critical, we're going to full impulse and ride that blast wave as best we can. We're going to need all emergency, auxiliary, and primary power diverted to the fusion drive, aft shields, and the structural integrity field. Standby to execute on my mark. Understood?"

Caradec readied the NAV system to switch to full impulse once the warp core was ejected. He could ride a wave, but riding a blast wave was unpredictable at best. Thankfully, the Galileo-A as well as the B were aerodynamically built, to some degree. That would help...but would it be enough? Would the blast be enough?

Toren tapped the console a few times, preparing a target lock and a set of parameters to keep the distances within requirements. "Aye, sir, ready an' waitin'," his voice growled. He'd been aboard a vessel attempting this manoeuvre decades ago... it had not gone well. But needs must when a black hole is involved.

~Like surfing~ Serran thought to himself, ~with a kick~

"Our forward shields are at 20%, I've diverted their power to the aft shields. I took the liberty of diverting the structural integrity field as well. Standing by to execute the rest of your order on your command."

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

USS Galileo-A - Deck 7, Engineering

Down in Galileo-A's engineering bay, Donald was feeling overworked and extremely underpaid. Having the entire two-level engineering space entirely to himself would be manageable under some circumstances but a space battle was not one of them and now the call had come to eject the warp core.

"Computer begin warp core ejection sequence." He called out while in the tiny lift that took him down to the main level.

"Warp core ejection process requires approval from senior command officers." the computer replied.

"I know, she's on her way begin the process anyway."

"Unable to comply."

"I installed your entire ejection system myself. Surely that is approval enough to start the process," Donald almost shouted. "All she needs to do is say yes."

Allyndra arrived and overheard Donald. "Computer, Command authorization, Allyndra Alpha Zeta Zeta." She skidded to a halt. "If there is anything left we need to put the aft shields with as much as they can hold. I'm guessing that the captain is probably going to detonate the core and ride the blast wave. We're about to get a big kick in the rear."

The ship's computer responded to the second officer's command authorization then promptly replied, "Warp core ejection sequence authorized. Primary magnetic servos unlocked."

"What is next? How come it isn't moving?" Allyndra looked over at Donald.

“It usually takes a few seconds,” Donald replied as he began to move around the other side of the warp core. “Check the maglock on that side, the hatch is just to your left on the floor, if it says primed or unlocked push the handle down till you hear a clunk. if it says anything other than that, hit the four buttons underneath in this order 4,2,1,3. Then turn the handle clockwise 180 degrees then push it down. If that doesn’t do it, something has gone seriously wrong somewhere.”

Allyndra followed what Donald told her to do. There was a shudder and then the lights flickered as the ship switched from the power from the core to the impulse reactors.

"It's away. We need to divert everything we can in terms of shielding to the aft shields."

“Second console on your left, fusion generator controls, move all three bars to the right. You’ll get a warning message but ignore it, she can take it for a while.” Donald moved to another console and poured every drop of power the ship would allow him to straight into the shield generators.

In space, the small Mark II Nova-class' underbelly retracted its hexagonal inner and outer hull hatches designed to contain the powerful matter/anti-matter reactor. Within a matter of seconds, the vessel's full warp core assembly was forcefully ejected downward from the vessel and out into open space. The tall and lengthy magnetic constrictors continued to pulse with blue and purple hues while the matter and anti-matter injectors still pumped their remaining fuel into the primary reaction chamber. The warp core lingered for only a fraction of a second below Galileo-A before slowly tumbling end over end while forcefully drawn into the center of the artificial singularity by the intense gravitational forces.


USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Bridge

The captain's console suddenly displayed a flashing red pulse within the main engineering section on its small orthographic display of the starship. There was also a noticeable shudder within the vessel which confirmed to Tarin that the warp core was now away. She raised her right hand and its index finger, then pointed to the main viewscreen and the space beyond. "Mark!"

Rafe's hands swiftly danced over his console and the impulse engines took over. "We are at maximum impulse, Captain, standing ready for the blast!", Rafe stated.

On hearing Rafe speak Serran completed the rest of the Captain's order diverting the Galileo's primary and auxiliary power to the fusion drive.

Toren scrutinised the core as it drifted away, dancing it's last few pirouettes through the void. 27. 28. 29. 30km. He engaged the phasers and watched on.

Galileo-A's main viewscreen perspective had shifted aft to focus in on its small warp core assembly which was no longer a part of the science vessel. It continued to tumble into the artificial black hole's abyss before a sudden streak of bright tiger-orange phaser fire emanated from the Nova-class' aft starboard array then directly struck it. A small explosion of the warp core's components ensued followed by a blinding burst of white light which forced Tarin to cover her eyes and turn her head away from the source.

The warp core's matter/anti-matter containment fields had been destroyed and when the two sets of molecules collided, the resulting explosion was a unique and terrifying force of physics which now produced an expeditious shockwave throughout all three dimensions in space.

"All hands," shouted Tarin with the most extreme urgency in her voice, "brace for impact!"


USS Galileo-B - Deck 1, Bridge

Back within the Mark III Nova-class' command center, the sounds and shudders of ship-to-ship combat with the two Romulan scout warbirds had ceased following the -A's bold maneuver and subsequent destruction of the lead enemy vessel.

Luke's gaze dead fixed to the console before him, where a new alarm blared urgently, cutting through alarms, chatter and sparking conduits. His heart skipped a beat as he read the distressing message flashing across the screen: the Galileo-A was ensnared in the gravitational pull of the artificial quantum singularity core's implosion field, struggling to break free.

"Lirha," Luke's voice rang out over the comm system, his tone urgent yet controlled. "The Galileo-A is trapped in the implosion field of the artificial quantum singularity core. They're struggling to escape."

"The Galileo-A's warp core has been ejected," Marisa exclaimed, keeping a close eye on her display. "It is heading toward the singularity and…was detonated." It was a bold move, and also the most effective. Again, her respect for Commander Tarin went up. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed, then went back to monitoring.

Vren watched impassively for a moment as the other Galileo was engulfed by the shockwave of its own core exploding. Reckless behaviour, only to be expected. He barely registered the outcome, instead focussing on the other Romulan ship, "Admiral the trailing warbird has disengaged. They are cloaking," his voice betrayed no emotion, a ship escaping just meant more would be on their way sooner or later.

The relief the Orion rear admiral experienced now that the battle was over lasted only fractions of a second before she was consumed by a much more existential problem. "Show me the Galileo-A on screen, now," was Saalm's terse command to her vessel's computer. The main holographic viewscreen blinked then shifted its view to display the antiquated Nova-class slowly being pulled rearward into the heart of a distinctive Romulan warp core breach's singularity just before a sudden bright flash erupted in space near the center of the artificial quantum anomaly. Tarin, are you insane...?

"Helm, full impulse, clear that blast wave...and let's hope our sister vessel will survive and hasn't doomed us all."


USS Galileo-A - Deck 1, Bridge

The matter/anti-matter shockwave rapidly expanded in the depths of space and its leading edge slammed into the aft section of the tiny Mark II Nova-class before enveloping the planetary science vessel and carrying it along a chaotic yet predictable path at high velocity.

Within the bridge, Tarin's fingers were suddenly ripped from her chair's armrests as the impact hit with enough force to send her flying from her station across the deck plating, rolling past the conn station, and impacting the forward-most bulkhead just below the main viewscreen.

Caradec's face slammed against his LCARS console, crushing his left orbital bone, blood flowing from his nose. Yet, he held himself in place, trying to keep the ship from tumbling end over end. Thankfully, due to its design, the blast caught up with the bow of the ship pushing it up. The ship effectively acting as a surfboard. Rafe began entering course correction after course correction. They accelerated past full impulse, yet still far away from warp. However, it seemed when they initially initiated warp speed, they were close to the event horizon. This blast, thanks to the captain's quick thinking, pushed them beyond and to safety, although, with some minor repairs to be made due to some fairly extensive stresses put on the longitudinal beams of the ship.

Toren grabbed his console and remained a rock in the storm, his knuckles white from the pressure of his grip. He'd learned long ago that it was better to ride a wave than face it, so he liked their chances.

Serran could feel, well disguised, fear around him. He was feeling a little of that himself. He wedged himself against the console and braced for impact.

Allyndra looked at Donald and quipped, "Sorry." She then jumped into the air and used her wings to repel against the rapidly approaching wall when the impact came. She thought to herself, "This is going to hurt anyway, but not as much as losing footing and hitting a console."

Donald made a dash for one of the chairs of the lower level, the last shockwave he'd been subjected to left chunks of his skull splattered across the engineering bay floor

The starship's deck plating trembled and shook with intense curiosity - so much so that it was a small miracle those still remaining at their stations were able to physically monitor their consoles and input commands. Time seemed to slow throughout the palpitating endeavor which lasted an excruciating-long 11 seconds before the blast wave finally dissipated and released Galileo-A from its grip. And once it had, the sudden ceasing of movement and silence within the bridge presented an unnerving dichotomy where the only momentary sounds were the running chirps of the LCARS consoles and their respective systems-status warning tones.

Commander Tarin slowly blinked then got to her feet, albeit with a stumble along the way. Her head rang and her vision was slightly blurred, but she was able to make out the rest of her bridge crew and process the reality that they'd survived. Her left ear and the side of her neck suddenly felt wet. She gently brought a hand up to her temple which came back slick with an abundance of warm crimson blood. "...All stations...report," she groggily queried, then inhaled and exhaled a deep breath before gingerly walking back to her command chair as if on autopilot.

Feeling the wave dissipate, Caradec quickly moved to the Captain, grabbed her hand and put his arm around her waist, helping her up. Once she steadied herself, she seemed fine and he released her as she made her way to her chair. Getting back to his console he addressed her. "Captain, it seems that worked. We are clear of the blast wave and the event horizon."

Toren almost surfed the wave unscathed. He'd braced, he'd remained stoic at his station, and had held out through the crest of the shockwave. As it disappated though he relaxed a fraction too soon, the final shudder of the wave threw him hard against the station next to him, and pain rippled from his chest.

Grunting, he hefted himself back to station, trying not to lose too much time. After a deep breath he ran through reports, "Captain," another deep breath was required, "Shields, weapons... offline. Sensors still intact..." One more breath. Laboured, "Second warbird's gone. B is... B remains. Holding position..." He felt faint. Not ideal.

There was just a hint of emotion, of fear in Serran's voice."Our primary power is offline. We are running on auxiliary. Structural field is at 28.25% We've got some minor hull fractures across the aft sessions. Nothing we can't handle."

"On the bright side, our life support is intact."

"Our first priority is restoring warp power. I can work with Engineering to restore power, but it could take two hours. Possibly more."

=^=Captain, this is Allyndra in engineering. A little bruised but otherwise functioning. I haven't had time to check on the rest. Umm.....I sort of cheated the impact.=^=

Tarin pressed her commbadge to reply to Main Engineering's report. Bruised. Weren't we all? It could have been much worse. "Understood, doctor. I need..." she rubbed her fatigued eyes, "...I need a medical team to report to the bridge. We have injuries here."

Allyndra rubbed her offended nose. "On my way, immediately!"

=^= Blake to bridge, I take it we're clear to return? =^= Scarlet's voice was strained with the effort of clambering back onto her feet, from where she'd been thrown to the floor down on deck 4. She looked across to Turell, who was in a similar state, while she tested out the movement in her body.

Squinting at the viewscreen in an attempt to eliminate her blurry vision, Tarin recalled the recent events of the battle then simply replied, "Yes, Number One. Your torpedo configurations were successful and," she exhaled a tired breath, "we're in the clear."

Scarlet let out a long, tight breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, looking across to Turell with an expression that said 'see, no sweat', but with a healthy dose of sarcasm laced with the silent comment. =^= Great work...we'll make our way back, let us know if you need us anywhere else. =^=

[OFF]

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Primary and Secondary Characters
Various Positions
USS Galileo-A

Primary and Secondary Characters
Various Positions
USS Galileo-B

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