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current_story:the_sword_of_ophiuchus_part_3 [2021/03/14 15:56] – cromwellcurrent_story:the_sword_of_ophiuchus_part_3 [2021/06/13 15:29] (current) – cromwell
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 The cloaking field of Gamma Serpentis Base extended to a sphere almost six kilometers in radius around the colossal station.  It had been operating non-stop for the life of the station, which began shortly before the Dominion war, prior to the decision of Captain Sikso of Deep Space Nine to mine the Bajoran wormhole that guarded against a buildup of Dominion forces on Cardassia.  Since then, Gamma Serpentis was cutoff from material support from the Alpha Quadrant, and was left to its own devices.  Literally.  While the cloaking field remained in place, the paltry antimatter generator was barely enough to maintain station operations, and so, then-Captain McCain chose to refurbish the base using the only assets he had left: a handful of starships with which to plunder the Gamma Quadrant of its cultural riches. The cloaking field of Gamma Serpentis Base extended to a sphere almost six kilometers in radius around the colossal station.  It had been operating non-stop for the life of the station, which began shortly before the Dominion war, prior to the decision of Captain Sikso of Deep Space Nine to mine the Bajoran wormhole that guarded against a buildup of Dominion forces on Cardassia.  Since then, Gamma Serpentis was cutoff from material support from the Alpha Quadrant, and was left to its own devices.  Literally.  While the cloaking field remained in place, the paltry antimatter generator was barely enough to maintain station operations, and so, then-Captain McCain chose to refurbish the base using the only assets he had left: a handful of starships with which to plunder the Gamma Quadrant of its cultural riches.
  
-Technology and artifacts were bountiful throughout the quadrant, and by using a series of snatch-and-grab missions following observational analysis by cloaked science probes, collected hundreds of unique and powerful devices that allowed them to survive.  The station itself grew in stages from an old 500-deck Alamo-class defense outpost to the 2000-deck monstrosity is was today over the span of only five years.  Despite its forbidden existence via the Polaric Test Ban Treaty of 2268, a polaric ion reactor of Romulan design breathed new life into the complex.  Using subspace mediation crystals of Dominion origin to mediate the petawatt-level power signatures, the enormous energy output was balanced with the dampening effect of the cloaking field to maintain concealment from any passing space probes or system-wide sensor scans.  Left to operate continuously without the need for human intervention, the cloaking field's control was autonomous and independent, decoupled from the station's main computer core, and provided a means to ensure that Kostya's surreptitious facility would remain hidden for years to come.  However, it's polaric ion power source was not infinite, and the crew of the USS Republic nee Asgard weighed the prospect of pulling the plug on the cloaking field to power the enormous verteron array one last time.+Technology and artifacts were bountiful throughout the quadrant, and by using a series of snatch-and-grab missions following observational analysis by cloaked science probes, collected hundreds of unique and powerful devices that allowed them to survive.  The station itself grew in stages from an old 500-deck Alamo-class defense outpost to the 2000-deck monstrosity it was today over the span of only five years.  Despite its forbidden existence via the Polaric Test Ban Treaty of 2268, a polaric ion reactor of Romulan design breathed new life into the complex.  Using subspace mediation crystals of Dominion origin to mediate the petawatt-level power signatures, the enormous energy output was balanced with the dampening effect of the cloaking field to maintain concealment from any passing space probes or system-wide sensor scans.  Left to operate continuously without the need for human intervention, the cloaking field's control was autonomous and independent, decoupled from the station's main computer core, and provided a means to ensure that Kostya's surreptitious facility would remain hidden for years to come.  However, it's polaric ion power source was not infinite, and the crew of the USS Republic nee Asgard weighed the prospect of pulling the plug on the cloaking field to power the enormous verteron array one last time.
  
 "Isn't there any way to keep the cloaking field up?" Deuce asked while maintaining watch from the apex of the tactical arch on the Galaxy-class bridge.  "Every subspace buoy within twenty five light years will pick us up as soon as the field drops." "Isn't there any way to keep the cloaking field up?" Deuce asked while maintaining watch from the apex of the tactical arch on the Galaxy-class bridge.  "Every subspace buoy within twenty five light years will pick us up as soon as the field drops."
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 "Last chance to abort," he announced looking from face to face of the people around him.  "Is everyone still okay with this?" "Last chance to abort," he announced looking from face to face of the people around him.  "Is everyone still okay with this?"
  
-Theo/Forrest remained silent in the first officer's chair to St. John's right, as did Lieutenant Anderson, Deuce, and Petty Officer Louise Clayborne at the ops station.  While Saal and Brian Burke were still in sickbay with Blimpy, overseeing his modification of the medical transporter for the unconventional diagnostic loop to protect them from the Geodesic radiation, Ensign Carson Jenson was listening in on the open com channel from the verteron control station back on Gamma Serpentis Base.+Theo/Forrest remained silent in the first officer's chair to St. John's right, as did Lieutenant Anderson, Deuce, and Petty Officer Louise Clayborne at the ops station.  While Saal and Brian Burke were still in sickbay with Blimpy, overseeing his modification of the medical transporter for the unconventional diagnostic loop to protect them from the Geodesic radiation, Ensign Carson Jensen was listening in on the open com channel from the verteron control station back on Gamma Serpentis Base.
  
 //"Standing by for power transfer,"// he announced.  //"Cloaking field will drop at your command."// //"Standing by for power transfer,"// he announced.  //"Cloaking field will drop at your command."//
  
-In the darkened control room, Jenson waited nervously in his EVA suit, gripping tightly to the railing overlooking the expansive viewport above the verteron array.  The only sources of light were the array's control console, his illuminated helmet visor, and the incoming light from the red giant outside.  A more muted glow came from the aquamarine overhead lighting in the nearby single-person lifeboat bay; it's segmented hatch rolled open, awaiting the ensign's embarkment.  He didn't like the idea of having to rely on the escape pod, but due to the purposely-designed scattering effect of the station's hull, beaming out was not possible.+In the darkened control room, Jensen waited nervously in his EVA suit, gripping tightly to the railing overlooking the expansive viewport above the verteron array.  The only sources of light were the array's control console, his illuminated helmet visor, and the incoming light from the red giant outside.  A more muted glow came from the aquamarine overhead lighting in the nearby single-person lifeboat bay; it's segmented hatch rolled open, awaiting the ensign's embarkment.  He didn't like the idea of having to rely on the escape pod, but due to the purposely-designed scattering effect of the station's hull, beaming out was not possible.
  
 //"We're good here, CJ,"// came the order over the subspace radio.  //"Let's get this show going."// //"We're good here, CJ,"// came the order over the subspace radio.  //"Let's get this show going."//
  
-At the sounding of the order, Jenson pulled down on a trapezoidal handle that actuated a hydraulically-primed master switch.  While the jury-rigged power transfer conduit would have made a resonating 'boom' as the reactor's primary energy feed switched from the cloaking field to the array, the vacuum of space prevented the perpetuation of sound in the control suite.+At the sounding of the order, Jensen pulled down on a trapezoidal handle that actuated a hydraulically-primed master switch.  While the jury-rigged power transfer conduit would have made a resonating 'boom' as the reactor's primary energy feed switched from the cloaking field to the array, the vacuum of space prevented the perpetuation of sound in the control suite.
  
 "Power transfer complete," he announced as a soft amber glow formed at the tips of the thousands of different verteron emitters within the array's dish.  As the emitters came to life, their energy swelled into elongated globes of brilliant orange light that swirled into a vortex of verteron plasma.  Coalescing within the concavity of the dish, the countless beams spun faster and faster as each tiny emitter combined their energy into a gigantic swirling particle fountain that spanned the entire half-kilometer diameter of the array's circular profile.  The enormous verteron beam erupted from the surface of Gamma Serpentis like high-velocity lava spewing skyward from an erupting volcano, and within seconds, a massive glowing ray reached out from its cradle into space at superluminal speeds with a direct linear trajectory towards the distant red giant star. "Power transfer complete," he announced as a soft amber glow formed at the tips of the thousands of different verteron emitters within the array's dish.  As the emitters came to life, their energy swelled into elongated globes of brilliant orange light that swirled into a vortex of verteron plasma.  Coalescing within the concavity of the dish, the countless beams spun faster and faster as each tiny emitter combined their energy into a gigantic swirling particle fountain that spanned the entire half-kilometer diameter of the array's circular profile.  The enormous verteron beam erupted from the surface of Gamma Serpentis like high-velocity lava spewing skyward from an erupting volcano, and within seconds, a massive glowing ray reached out from its cradle into space at superluminal speeds with a direct linear trajectory towards the distant red giant star.
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 Moving at ninety-five percent of lightspeed, Republic nee Asgard smoothly followed the linear verteron beam towards the red giant star known as Ophiuchus 42 on the Starfleet Gamma Quadrant charts.  It was a short twelve-minute flight where the nine crew members of the Galaxy Class starship made final preparations for their journey to the Delta Quadrant.  Doctor Yezbeck and Crewman Baker had already beamed themselves into the modified buffer of the closed-circuit medical transporter in sickbay, set into the same repeating diagnostic loop that allowed Blake St. John and his team to survive three years after Gamma Serpentis was exposed to lethal levels of Geodesic radiation.  Now, with minutes to spare before the Republic was subjected to a similar predicament, St. John had handed control of the ship over to their dutiful exocomp named Blimpy while the rest of his team made their way to transporter room five on deck fourteen. Moving at ninety-five percent of lightspeed, Republic nee Asgard smoothly followed the linear verteron beam towards the red giant star known as Ophiuchus 42 on the Starfleet Gamma Quadrant charts.  It was a short twelve-minute flight where the nine crew members of the Galaxy Class starship made final preparations for their journey to the Delta Quadrant.  Doctor Yezbeck and Crewman Baker had already beamed themselves into the modified buffer of the closed-circuit medical transporter in sickbay, set into the same repeating diagnostic loop that allowed Blake St. John and his team to survive three years after Gamma Serpentis was exposed to lethal levels of Geodesic radiation.  Now, with minutes to spare before the Republic was subjected to a similar predicament, St. John had handed control of the ship over to their dutiful exocomp named Blimpy while the rest of his team made their way to transporter room five on deck fourteen.
  
-"Nervous?" Blake asked Theo, as Jenson, Anderson, and Deuce silently followed them through the corridor while the red alert tracer lights pulsated along the walls.+"Nervous?" Blake asked Theo, as Jensen, Anderson, and Deuce silently followed them through the corridor while the red alert tracer lights pulsated along the walls.
  
 "Not at all," the man formerly known as Doug Forrest remarked with a touch of sarcasm.  "This is the fourth time in the past week I've flown directly into a star.  At least this time I won't have to be watching out the window while it happens..."  The sarcasm went unchallenged as the quintet of officers rounded a corner and went through an open doorway. "Not at all," the man formerly known as Doug Forrest remarked with a touch of sarcasm.  "This is the fourth time in the past week I've flown directly into a star.  At least this time I won't have to be watching out the window while it happens..."  The sarcasm went unchallenged as the quintet of officers rounded a corner and went through an open doorway.
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 "Tactical display," St. John ordered hurriedly.  "Show me the whole picture from the subspace relay network." "Tactical display," St. John ordered hurriedly.  "Show me the whole picture from the subspace relay network."
  
-As the image switched to a digital computer map of the star system, the highly-elliptical orbit of Gamma Serpentis Base around the red giant came into view on a grid-patterned visual.  The verteron beam that was creating the Geodesic pulse was portrayed with a pulsating yellow line that ran straight and tangential from the base's current orbital location directly to the star.  A numeric readout in the lower right corner depicted the time to intercept of Republic with the Geodesic fold.+As the image switched to a digital computer map of the star system, the highly-elliptical orbit of Gamma Serpentis Base around the red giant came into view on a grid-patterned visual.  The verteron beam that was creating the Geodesic pulse was portrayed with a pulsating yellow line that ran straight and tangential from the base's current orbital location directly to the star over twenty million kilometers away.  A numeric readout in the lower right corner depicted the time to intercept of Republic with the Geodesic fold.
  
 "Destruct trigger on my mark," he raised a finger while watching the time tick down to contact with the fold.  Louise's hand hovered over a blinking red button on the transporter console as the timer approached the one-minute mark, causing St. John to verbally count down the seconds.  "Three... two... one... mark!" "Destruct trigger on my mark," he raised a finger while watching the time tick down to contact with the fold.  Louise's hand hovered over a blinking red button on the transporter console as the timer approached the one-minute mark, causing St. John to verbally count down the seconds.  "Three... two... one... mark!"
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 Meanwhile, on the bridge, the control center was bathed in red light while alarms and warnings sounded.  Blimpy frantically went from workstation to workstation, adjusting settings and responding to computer alerts while the turbulence outside increased exponentially. Meanwhile, on the bridge, the control center was bathed in red light while alarms and warnings sounded.  Blimpy frantically went from workstation to workstation, adjusting settings and responding to computer alerts while the turbulence outside increased exponentially.
  
-"Warning," the female computer voice annunciated throughout the bridge as it jostled about.  "Lethal radiation limits exceeded.  Evacuate all personnel immediately."+//"Warning,"// the female computer voice annunciated throughout the bridge as it jostled about.  //"Lethal radiation limits exceeded.  Evacuate all personnel immediately."//
  
 Unlike a humanoid standing on the floor of the bridge, Blimpy's magnetic drive units kept him stable as he levitated around the bridge while it shuddered about in the tempestuous magnetic eddies.  If anything, it was the jarring, random movements of the operating consoles that made accessing the controls difficult for him.  As the Republic maintained course into the Geodesic fold, the orange light of the star emanating from the monitor in front escalated to blinding levels.  The searing stellar energy enveloped the entire ship as it flew into the abyss just as the verteron beam's termination point reached the location, followed shortly thereafter by the powerful shockwave from the exploding space station.  By the time it had arrived, Republic nee Asgard was gone. Unlike a humanoid standing on the floor of the bridge, Blimpy's magnetic drive units kept him stable as he levitated around the bridge while it shuddered about in the tempestuous magnetic eddies.  If anything, it was the jarring, random movements of the operating consoles that made accessing the controls difficult for him.  As the Republic maintained course into the Geodesic fold, the orange light of the star emanating from the monitor in front escalated to blinding levels.  The searing stellar energy enveloped the entire ship as it flew into the abyss just as the verteron beam's termination point reached the location, followed shortly thereafter by the powerful shockwave from the exploding space station.  By the time it had arrived, Republic nee Asgard was gone.
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 On the main front monitor, a tactical display of the Ophiuchus 42 system showed the telemetry downlink from the Gamma Quadrant subspace buoy network.  As with the previous visual on Republic's transporter room viewer, the same elliptical orbital of Gamma Serpentis around the red giant star showed the digital rendition of the pulsating yellow verteron beam overlaid on a grid-patterned background.  Accentuated by an offset text box, the words "USS REPUBLIC" showed the location of the distant Galaxy class starship as it loomed ever closer to the Class-K star.  Starfleet personnel sprinted to different stations as the ship was brought to red alert, and the helm station prepared to break orbit. On the main front monitor, a tactical display of the Ophiuchus 42 system showed the telemetry downlink from the Gamma Quadrant subspace buoy network.  As with the previous visual on Republic's transporter room viewer, the same elliptical orbital of Gamma Serpentis around the red giant star showed the digital rendition of the pulsating yellow verteron beam overlaid on a grid-patterned background.  Accentuated by an offset text box, the words "USS REPUBLIC" showed the location of the distant Galaxy class starship as it loomed ever closer to the Class-K star.  Starfleet personnel sprinted to different stations as the ship was brought to red alert, and the helm station prepared to break orbit.
  
-Suddenly, the computerized dot that represented the gigantic attack platform in the system vanished, immediately followed by an expanding red ring representing a class-ten shockwave.  It followed the termination point of the yellow verteron beam all the way to Ophiuchus 42, reaching the star moments after the Republic disappeared.  As the wavefront surpassed the star, it eventually made it's way to the nearest subspace monitoring buoy, causing the entire screen to flicker into fits of static before going black.+Suddenly, the computerized dot that represented the gigantic attack platform in the system vanished, immediately followed by an expanding red ring representing a class-ten shockwave.  It followed the termination point of the yellow verteron beam all the way to Ophiuchus 42, reaching the star moments after the Republic disappeared.  As the wavefront surpassed the star, it generated a subspace interference field so strong, that it overloaded the sensors of the nearest subspace monitoring buoy two light years away, causing the entire screen on the Chancellor's bridge to flicker into fits of static before going black.
  
 "... What just happened?" stared the captain, gawking at the blank screen as the rest of the crew stood speechless.  For his part, the red-haired first officer also took notice of the event, standing up to gape at the unexpected loss of signal. "... What just happened?" stared the captain, gawking at the blank screen as the rest of the crew stood speechless.  For his part, the red-haired first officer also took notice of the event, standing up to gape at the unexpected loss of signal.
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 "Where?" a rising temper flared within the captain.  "WHERE did she go??"  He stood up and leveled his fuming rage towards the science station behind him.  "Lieutenant!" he gritted his teeth. "Your next few sentences had better include a set of destination coordinates..." "Where?" a rising temper flared within the captain.  "WHERE did she go??"  He stood up and leveled his fuming rage towards the science station behind him.  "Lieutenant!" he gritted his teeth. "Your next few sentences had better include a set of destination coordinates..."
  
-"Based on my rough estimates of the straight-line direction of the Geodesic fold, along the intensity of the verteron beam, my best guess is that the target star was somewhere in the Delta Quadrant.  Possibly the Messier 53 globular cluster.  That's about thirty-five thousand light years away."+"Based on my rough estimates of the straight-line direction of the Geodesic fold, along with the intensity of the verteron beam, my best guess is that the target star was somewhere in the Delta Quadrant.  Possibly the Messier 53 globular cluster.  That's about a hundred and thirty-five thousand light years away."
  
 "COORDINATES LIEUTENANT!" bellowed the captain, causing the rest of the crew to flinch in surprise at the outburst. "COORDINATES LIEUTENANT!" bellowed the captain, causing the rest of the crew to flinch in surprise at the outburst.
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 "Well you won't... ensign..." the captain remarked coldly, withdrawing his smile in exchange for an icy glance of admonishment while simultaneously demoting the officer.  "I'll make DAMNED sure of that.  Now get OFF my bridge..." "Well you won't... ensign..." the captain remarked coldly, withdrawing his smile in exchange for an icy glance of admonishment while simultaneously demoting the officer.  "I'll make DAMNED sure of that.  Now get OFF my bridge..."
  
-//(to be continued)//+//([[current_story:return_from_innocence|to be continued]])//
  
 **OFF** **OFF**
current_story/the_sword_of_ophiuchus_part_3.1615737366.txt.gz · Last modified: by cromwell

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