S3 - M2 The Butterfly Effect Pt. II

[Hrafn Falleg]

USS Healy - In Combat near the Subspace Conduit

Solluk nodded with appreciation as Rayek's torpedo gambit paid dividends.  It was a masterful attack, coordinated with sciences to blind the enemy at the vital moment.  They might otherwise have pounded the well-armored Thinker Cruiser for minutes on end with little result.  But with this attack, Rayek had struck them in their vulnerable backside, tearing into them in a way a frontal assault never could.

Unfortunately, the Thinker Cruiser had also dug deeply into the Healy before the crucial attack had been completed.  Even in the Healy's moment of triumph, the crisis deepened.  News came to the bridge that Goodspeed was injured, and the situation in Engineering seemed dire.  Solluk had been counting on the spunky, aged Goodspeed to pull miracles from the ether.  Now the miracle worker was out of action, and the supply of miracles seemed likely to dry up just when they most needed them.

Solluk touched an icon that opened a channel to Engineering, Understood, Engineering.  The ship's function must be maintained for the duration of this conflict.  No matter the cost.   It was rare that the Vulcan openly asked his men to die.

Rayek gave new orders, and Solluk might have smirked if the situation was not so dark and dangerous, "Aye, Sir," he affirmed, letting his second know that in this situation, Rayek was in charge.

Sub-phasic weaponry was entirely unknown to Solluk, but he could see on sensors what the weapon was actually doing as it penetrated the shields.  The beam seemed to move in and out of standard dimensional space as it travelled, descending deep into subspace before returning to the normal realm, like a sine-wave that moved between dimensions.  The beam moved at FTL speeds, and had the added benefit of 'skipping' intermittently through space such that it could mostly escape the barrier which the shields presented.  This was why the shields had only presented marginal effectiveness, despite the new upgrades.

There was little time to dwell on it, as he needed to carry out Rayek's orders.  He tapped the controls, but the ship barely seemed to respond.  "Helm is very sluggish.  I don't know if we'll be able to maneuver around them."

On the viewscreen, the enemy cruiser had been listing.

Now, the enemy ship seemed to come back to life.  Burning plasma plumes trailed it, indicating substantial engine damage, but it maneuvered and accelerated nonetheless, moving gradually into a new firing position.

"One of our own warp pods is trailing un-ignited warp plasma," Solluk said, "If we ignite it, and shape the shields to catch the expanding wave of hot gas, we might be able to use the force of the detonation to maneuver behind them."

Essentially, he was advocating the use of the shields as a sail to catch the plasma-fire winds.[/size]

Lt Cmdr Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Healy - Deck 1 - Bridge]  [DAY THREE]

Hrafn's response, in answer to his request for some sort of defense against the subphasic beams, wasn't the solution he'd been hoping for but would provide yet another offensive option.  He nodded.  "Start on that modification, Lieutenant."

With his focus having been on getting the high-yield torpedoes to their mark on the backside of the Thinker ship, and then responding to Lt Falleg,  Rayek hadn't acknowledged that his programmed phaser attacks had stopped firing in the wake of the Thinker attack.   Yet before he could, the power to the phaser array returned.  Rayek's precisely, calculated phaser attacks, resumed their concentrated, narrow beams strikes on the enemy ship's weapon battlements.

The Captain's acknowledgement of his 'order' to bring them around, was appreciated; the response diffusing Rayek's momentary hesitation.   Yet when the Captain attempted to move the ship, she was slow in responding.    And slow at that moment could cost them all their lives.   Rayek had no time to attempt to figure out where the problem stemmed from, he was busy sending out another spread of interdiction torpedoes in an attempt to provide some manner of cover for the next wave of subphasic beams.

Then Solluk called out a possible solution.  Rayek nodded as he brought up the control for the shields to his chairs console.  "Am on it." he called out.

It didn't take long to alter that dorsal and ventral shields into 'sheets' in order to 'catch' the impending blast.  Rayek toggled the ships comm once done.
"All hands - Brace for sudden thrust."

With a well-placed phaser shot towards the Healy's aft,  Rayek lit the trail of warp plasma.  The plasma ignited in a flash of green flame.  The detonation wave caught at the shields, which were positioned so to make use of its force to propel the ship towards the rear of the Thinker ship.  They had forward movement.  Now all that was left was for Solluk to fine tune that movement through thrusters and what little engine power they had.

Rayek prepared for his attack...  almost eager to deal the Thinkers a more lethal strike.

[Bridge - USS Healy - DAY THREE]

"Already on it, Commander." Hrafn answered already having semi-pre-empted his response.  Those few seconds could be crucial, but also it was a useful thing to have.

She clutched the console in front of her as the order came to brace for sudden thrust. Once that evened out a little she checked in with those modifying the torpedo, the parts for which were easily replicated.  The CSO beamed when she saw the response.

"Torpedo modification will be ready in under 5 mins, Sir." she said with a smile.  "Not that I had any doubts but, I think we need to book a table at a nice restaurant back on Katra for when we get back... we of the Healy are a canny crew!"

[Finn Moreno]

[Wonderland]
Where his hand couldn't get, the weird floating white liquid found a way. Instead of getting sucked out, it froze and sealed the crack. At least for now.
Finn didn't trust that this would hold for long, especially nit if the ship went faster. He was worried faster speeds would make the crack larger.  But if there was a planet with atmosphere they needed to reach it. It was a gamble.

The human turned in the weightlessness and looked at Juraan in disbelieve from his suit. "Did you see that? Incredible. We need to fix the stabilizers if we want to get to this planet....or ...I have an idea."

Zero gravity made getting back to the cockpit harder. Finn used the small handles along the ceiling to move forward.

In the cockpit he manouvered to the captains chair and pull himself down to buckle himself in.
The pressure against his back made him groan. It felt like something was stuck there.

Then he switched off the stabilizers on the other side as well. "I'm going to try to use the thrusters to stop the roll."
His attempts slowed the rolling motion of the Wonderland but didn't stop it. Then he adjusted a little too much and send it in the other direction but finally got it somewhat under controll, making it sway back and forth only a little. Like a ship at sea.

[Kirok]

OCC

"Aye, Sir" Zex replied.  She logged off the duty station she was using.  "Goodnight, Ensign" she said to her new friend before leaving.

Then the Deltan did as instructed.  She ate and then headed to her quarters.  "Hey Eydis.  I've had a busy day and an early start tomorrow.  How did your the shake down cruise go on your new ship?" she asked over the lattis.

Katra Station - Deck 22 - Medical lab

"Aye, Sir" Zex relied after tapping her com badge.  She was excited to see what the commander had planned for the diplomatic officer today.  She arrived later with two cups of morning beverage, one for Tess and the other for herself.  Luckily the door swished open when she arrived in the med lab.  "I brought your favorite, Sir" she said upon seeing Tess.

[Solluk]

USS Healy - Near the Subspace Conduit

With the shields properly deformed to catch the exploding warp plasma behind the Healy, Solluk was able to add the lateral movement that the thrusters were unable to provide by themselves.  Swinging the vessel about, the wounded starship was able to position itself behind their adversary, giving Rayek the angle of attack he needed to- if they were lucky- finish off the Thinker Cruiser.

While the specially modified torpedo would not be ready for minutes, yet, there were still standard weapons systems ready to go thanks to Goodspeed's vital interventions before she'd succumbed to her injuries.

The Thinker Cruiser was still sluggish itself as the Healy came about.  The plasma leaking from their engines had stopped, but solving that problem had involved shutting down 3/4 of their impulse drives.  She no longer had the legs to avoid the Healy in this dogfight.

"Firing position... now," Solluk announced triumphantly.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Lt Cmdr Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Healy - Deck 1 - Bridge]  (near the Subspace conduit) [DAY THREE]

[Bridge - USS Healy - DAY THREE]

"Already on it, Commander." Hrafn answered already having semi-pre-empted his response.  Those few seconds could be crucial, but also it was a useful thing to have.

She clutched the console in front of her as the order came to brace for sudden thrust. Once that evened out a little she checked in with those modifying the torpedo, the parts for which were easily replicated.  The CSO beamed when she saw the response.

"Torpedo modification will be ready in under 5 mins, Sir." she said with a smile.  "Not that I had any doubts but, I think we need to book a table at a nice restaurant back on Katra for when we get back... we of the Healy are a canny crew!"

Rayek grimaced at Hrafn's projected time line on the modified torpedo.  The Romulan didn't intend to let this battle continue that length of time.   The massive damage done due to the Thinker's subphasic weapons fire so far had missed any critical areas on the ship.  But with its ability to by-pass the Healy's shielding, it was only a matter of time before the Captain's luck and piloting skill ran into trouble.

No.   This needed to end swiftly.

He had studied the Starstalker's logs closely in preparation for this moment, looking for the Thinker ship's weakness - it's Achilles' heel to use an Earth term.  Yet for all his time spend pouring over the logs, the Romulan honestly was no closer to knowing his enemy's weakness than before.   He had 'lucked out' with his reasoned assumption that the flank would be less protected. Now that had been proven true Rayek intended to make use of that knowledge to the extreme.

USS Healy - Near the Subspace Conduit

With the shields properly deformed to catch the exploding warp plasma behind the Healy, Solluk was able to add the lateral movement that the thrusters were unable to provide by themselves.  Swinging the vessel about, the wounded starship was able to position itself behind their adversary, giving Rayek the angle of attack he needed to- if they were lucky- finish off the Thinker Cruiser.

While the specially modified torpedo would not be ready for minutes, yet, there were still standard weapons systems ready to go thanks to Goodspeed's vital interventions before she'd succumbed to her injuries.

The Thinker Cruiser was still sluggish itself as the Healy came about.  The plasma leaking from their engines had stopped, but solving that problem had involved shutting down 3/4 of their impulse drives.  She no longer had the legs to avoid the Healy in this dogfight.

"Firing position... now," Solluk announced triumphantly.

The triumphant tone to the Captain's announcement was answered with the rapid-fire launch of another 10 torpedoes each containing the maximum yield possible.   Rayek ensured these torpedoes made it to their mark unhampered by targeting the few rear facing weapon arrays that the Thinker ship had.  Shot after shot he fired barely giving the phaser array time to charge before letting loose with another.  Then just as the torpedoes were about to strike, Rayek concentrated the phasers into the center of the blast, drilling through shields and engines into the heart of the vessel where his best guess had figured the ship's engineering core was. 

[John Saxon]

'Huginn' to USS Starstalker>

Saxon spiralled back into physical matter, and immediately felt the small ship lurch to port, then starboard, with all the hallmarks of manoeuvring thrusters at combat levels. One of the Engineering technicians, Larkin or something, more or less pounced on the old man at materialisation, looking terrified. "We've got to get out of here! The platforms have gone live!"

That explained things succinctly. If not a hugely comforting update.

Nodding, and fighting off another wave of exhaustion (for a moment, he secretly wished he'd had taken the advice of that smug lad in Sickbay), 'Century' fired off a nod and strode to the forward cabin. Clearly the Orion pilot had his hands full, and despite the urge to call for a report, Saxon instead made his way to one of the auxiliary console. From a brief look, they were only just outside detonation range. It was time to put his plan into action. "Here we go" he muttered to himself. He turned to the Engineer that had followed him in. "When I give the word, I want you to deactivate the Heisenberg compensator." A nod at a wall panel, to the transporter controls, punctuated the end of the sentence.

A frown at this request appeared, then immediately disappeared at the assault of Saxon's penetrating, impatient gaze. "Aye sir". A rapid series of taps, bleeps and chimes followed the work before continuing. "Ready."

John's strong, calloused fingers jabbed at his console.

Within the sentinel platforms, deep within the central core of the primary warhead, the small component Saxon had placed within, sparkled with a transporter effect. This component was the subspace transceiver array, or STA, a primary part of the combadge that was both a data transmitter, and low-power subspace field emitter. Ordinarily, this tiny part would be powered by a small sarium krellide crystal within the wider housing, but in emergencies could be sustained for a short time by a residual charge. With the STA, data could be transferred between two combadges, or from ship to shore.

And usually between two different STAs.

But given the lack of time, Saxon had to make good on the rumours surrounding his capabilities. To complete the mission against all odds.To achieve the impossible.

As the STA dematerialised, the lack of Heisenberg compensator - which enabled beamed objects to be placed in a position of absolute quantum certainty - failed to cement whether the STA was at its original point, or at its intended destination. Thus, the STA was - momentarily - at both points at the same time. During normal operations, any sentient subject would - on some level - feel this discontinuity for themselves, but that was more for the realm of philosophers and poets. In practical terms, short of a transporter reflection, or matter replicator, one object merely drained away and filled the space of elsewhere.

Here, without the compensator, one object existed in the universe in two, entirely different, places.

And through this momentarily duplication, the command signal to detonate was transmitted, bypassing the usual quantum-entangled communication through the internal computers, otherwise locked out by some nefarious hack; now, as far as the warheads were concerned, each other had received the required confirmation from the other to act upon their ultimate role - to destroy the Thinkers' anomaly by destroying themselves.

The explosion ripped through space-time at distances beyond the visible bloom. The compression of the aperture into the foundations of dimensional reality crushed it into oblivion as surely as a neutron star fell upon itself.

But, at a timing that was incalculable to the Human mind, from the cosmic conflagration sprang a pure white stream from the Thinker anomaly - a lance of anti-neutrinos of such ferocity and intensity that it seemed to be from the very stars themselves. The beam narrowly avoided the Starstalker, and continued on, towards the Gamma Quadrant terminus of the Bajoran wormhole, striking it with unnerving accuracy - if sensors would be believed - in the very centre of its dormant threshold.

[Tess tLhoell]

Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 22 - CMO office] - DAY THREE, gamma shift, around 2400 hours

Katra Station - Deck 22 - Medical lab

"Aye, Sir" Zex relied after tapping her com badge.  She was excited to see what the commander had planned for the diplomatic officer today.  She arrived later with two cups of morning beverage, one for Tess and the other for herself.  Luckily the door swished open when she arrived in the med lab.  "I brought your favorite, Sir" she said upon seeing Tess.

Tess looked up, a smile showing on her tired face. "Oh, thank you. You saved my life right now", she said and stood up to take the beverage from Zex. "It's gonna be a long night."

"Please, have a seat", Tess said, gesturing for Zex to sit in one of the seats in front of her desk. Tess walked around the table and sat down before she took a sip of the coffee and then looked over at the Deltan.

"You remember our conversation on the OCC earlier today? You found the Dord's transmissions around the time they beamed down to the planet Meridian." Tess sighed. "Of course, diplomatic transmissions are off limits to us. But the situation is different now than it was at the time up at the OCC today", Tess said ominously. She then told Zex all about the research she had done for the new bacterial strains and her discovery of the unknown species of bacteriophages.

"The chance of bacteriophages evolving in this direction, both of them present in different areas at that, is so unlikely that it is virtually impossible that it could have happened naturally. And that means that we are almost certainly dealing with a specially designed pathogen. The findings so far involve only animals. But I don't even like to think about it, if they have an agent up their sleeve that affects humans."

She paused to let what she had said sink in. And also a little to catch her breath for what she was about to say.

"Under the circumstances, I think the developments are urgent and threatening enough to warrant decoding and listening to the diplomatic transmissions. I would like you, Zex, to be present as a witness."

NPC Ambassador Virahk Jarok - Romulan Free State
[Tholian vessel Etain] - DAY THREE

Ambassador Virahk Jarok, and Ambassadorial Aide Rhienn tr'Hei. It is a pleasure to meet you both. It will be some time before the director is willing to meet. That being said I do have something of some interest. Well perhaps it is a display of this new vessel of the assembly. Eydis would pause as they reached the command bridge of the Etain.

The assembly would like to have access to some technologies that your current government has access to. We have some  things we took from suliban aggressors. I invited you both here to see the maiden voyage of the Etain if you wish.
I have also detected a peculiarly asteroid in the asteroid belt of this system. I mean to go there and investigate it further. From what the two cruisers detected on the asteroid, the value of it is subjective to say the less. I don't think many humaniods would react positively to it. But time is off the essence. I plan to be underway by 0700 the day after next. If you would care to endure the environment suits a little longer it may prove to be a enlightening experience for you 
Eydis would wait until the two had taken their leave and bowed hir head to them as gesture of respect. Before shi spoke over the lattice to his friend zex the deltan

It has not occurred as of yet, I have schedule it at 0700 and invited the romulan ambassador along as well. I have mapped out a asteroid marked by the two tholian cruisers that helped defend the station for further investigation. If you could make it that would be lovely as I might need a buffer between myself and the romulans

Eydis seemed to get straight to the point and Jarok appreciated that. As an ambassador, he had to learn to live with formality and practice it himself.  However, he preferred interlocutors who were straightforward.

Rhienn had already informed him that the Tholians were interested in Romulan technology. However, Eydis remained vague about which technology she meant exactly. In any case, the prospect of Suliban technology was not entirely uninteresting, and Jarok took the mention of it as an indication of what technology they could expect in return. But that was anything but certain. At the moment, it was pure speculation.

Then, rather abruptly, Eydis offered to join them on the maiden voyage of the Etain. The destination of the voyage would apparently be an asteroid in the asteroid belt where Tholian cruisers had found something. It seemed Eydis wanted to downplay the value of the discovery, but it seemed of enough interest to investigate it further. Jarok glanced over at Rhienn. Had he known about all this?

"It all sounds very interesting", Jarok replied. "I appreciate the offer to be present for your ship's maiden voyage. When would feedback regarding the offer be acceptable? I did not expect to be on an extended voyage in the next few days and would need to check my schedule and make other arrangements if necessary. Also, I would be interested in more details about the technologies mentioned."

NPC Juraan Ren
[Wonderland]

Juraan watched Odelot perform his milk trick and he was absolutely stunned. It was brilliant. A little stinking, but brilliant. In any case, no worse than meatloaf farts.

The Bajoran nodded his approval to Finn and then immediately followed Odelot and also Finn back to the bridge. When the gravity was back on, Juraan patted Odelot appreciatively on the shoulder. "You're being smart."

Juraan had overheard the conversation regarding the planet and was glad that a planet was relatively close. There, hopefully, they could repair the damage to the outer hull - and anything else that had been broken.

The groan from Finn's direction made Juraan look over at him. "Is something wrong? Your back?" he asked, getting up to walk over to him.

[Kirok]

Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 22 - CMO office] - DAY THREE, gamma shift, around 2400 hours

Tess looked up, a smile showing on her tired face. "Oh, thank you. You saved my life right now", she said and stood up to take the beverage from Zex. "It's gonna be a long night."

"Please, have a seat", Tess said, gesturing for Zex to sit in one of the seats in front of her desk. Tess walked around the table and sat down before she took a sip of the coffee and then looked over at the Deltan.

"You remember our conversation on the OCC earlier today? You found the Dord's transmissions around the time they beamed down to the planet Meridian." Tess sighed. "Of course, diplomatic transmissions are off limits to us. But the situation is different now than it was at the time up at the OCC today", Tess said ominously. She then told Zex all about the research she had done for the new bacterial strains and her discovery of the unknown species of bacteriophages.

"The chance of bacteriophages evolving in this direction, both of them present in different areas at that, is so unlikely that it is virtually impossible that it could have happened naturally. And that means that we are almost certainly dealing with a specially designed pathogen. The findings so far involve only animals. But I don't even like to think about it, if they have an agent up their sleeve that affects humans."

She paused to let what she had said sink in. And also a little to catch her breath for what she was about to say.

"Under the circumstances, I think the developments are urgent and threatening enough to warrant decoding and listening to the diplomatic transmissions. I would like you, Zex, to be present as a witness."

[Katra Station - Deck 22 - CMO office] - DAY THREE, gamma shift, around 2400 hours

"I figured as much.  So why the private meeting?  Something must be a foot" Zex said.

She passed the hot coffee to Tess.  Took a seat.  Then focused on Tess.

The news that the bacteria had been manufactured did not shock her.  She had, though, not taken it to it's next possibility.  That it would be used on humanoids.

"Of course.  I would be happy to help however I can.  Do you want to do it here?  Now" she asked curiously.

[Solluk]

USS Healy - Defending the Demolitions Team

The torpedoes detonated, and this seemed to create a chain reaction within the Thinker cruiser.  A multitude of tiny explosions erupted just beneath the surface of the hull, sending flashes of light and plumes of debris that were visible to the Healy.  Then, as if these small explosions had reached a critical mass, the entire vessel erupted into a brilliant fireball.  The conflagration lasted but for a moment before all available fuel and oxidizer was consumed.  Then it collapsed in on itself, leaving only lifeless structural debris and a multitude of incinerated Squari bodies.

Solluk lifted a fist in triumph, "Excellent shooting, Number One!"

Things could have very easily gone a different way.  The Healy had arrived in a poor shape for this fight, and without its most formidable armaments.  It had been the use of superior tactical maneuvers, and not superior firepower or capability, that had won them the battle this day.

Almost simultaneously with their victory, the two sentinel installations astride the subspace conduit detonated.  Even from millions of kilometers away, the bright flash of thousands of isotons of explosive energy was visible.  But before the conduit was forced closed by the demolitions charges, a bright beam of astonishing power vomited forth from the conduit's usually invisible aperture, easily eclipsing the brightness of the explosions.

Sensors would show that the beam was in the Exawatt power range, encased within the most powerful annular confinement beam anyone witnessing it had ever seen.  Presumably, the beam had been fired from some distant locale.  The subspace conduit had apparently been used like the barrel of a gun, directing this mighty magic bullet of anti-neutrinos towards its distant target.  It was a bullet that, despite their best efforts, the Healy and Starstalker crews had failed to stop.

This beam only lasted for less than a second before the collapse of the subspace conduit strangled it.  It went past the Healy, hurtling towards the Bajoran wormhole a bit less than a light-year away.

Task Force 12 - Just completing transit through the Bajoran Wormhole

Task Force 12 had just transited the Bajoran wormhole successfully, much to the relief of everyone on the bridge.  While there was no particular reason to believe that the towing of their cargo through the wormhole should prove problematic, it was rare that such a wide load was carried through.  There was always the niggling doubt in the back of the mind that something might go wrong.

Fortunately, it had not.

"Sir," Kota spoke from the Sciences station, "That sensor echo seems to be gone, now.

"Most likely the change in subspace topography from our transit through the wormhole has cleared it up," T'Sil suggested, glancing to the Ops station, "Advise Deep Space Nine that our transit was successful."

"Aye, Captain.  Transmitting message... they wish us safe travels to New Bajor."

"Captain," Kota interjected, "I'm reading an inbound energy source... in the exawatt power range, Sir.  Approaching at high-warp speeds."

"Captain, I'm also getting a subspace message from the USS Healy.  Priority One."

"Shields up," T'Sil ordered, "Put the message on screen."

The figure of Captain Solluk, commanding officer of Katra Station and the USS Healy, appeared on screen.

Attention all Federation and Starfleet Assets in the vicinity of the Bajoran Wormhole: A moment ago, we observed a powerful anti-neutrino beam exiting a subspace conduit less than one light-year from the wormhole.  It is moving only slightly slower than subspace communications signals.  I estimate that you have only 5 minutes or less to react to the beam after receiving this message.  I am not entirely sure how such a beam can be disrupted, but it's possible that a tri-cobalt device might create a subspace disruption that can scatter the beam.  I know some auxiliary cruisers are scheduled to come into the quadrant.  If you have any such device, I recommend deploying it and detonating it in the beam's path.

It is possible that a beam of this amplitude could damage the wormhole, or possibly even kill the entities who live within.  If there is any means to stop it, an effort must be made."

"Sir," Lieutenant Shelley spoke from Tactical, "We do not have any tricobalt devices.  We only load them aboard for special demolitions work."

"Most likely Captain Solluk hoped- but did not expect- that such a device would happen to be available to Starfleet forces in the region." T'Sil observed as the message ended.

"Helm, move us directly between the beam and the wormhole.  Order all task force elements to follow suit.  All power to forward shields."

"That's suicide," Lieutenant Shelley exclaimed, "A beam of that magnitude would shred us like paper."

"Quite correct," Captain T'Sil nodded,  "We are almost certain to be destroyed.  And there is no time for an evacuation.  But our shield envelope and the mass of our hulls may attenuate the effect of the beam somewhat, and preserve the wormhole aliens.  It may also prevent this beam from passing through and injuring the Bajoran system."

There was a moment of silence, as everyone realized they were quite literally being asked to die.  It was not what any of them had expected the service to require from them when they'd woken up today.  But they were all Starfleet officers.  Good ones, it turned out.  They did their duty.  Numbly, perhaps.  Shocked.  Shaken.  But they did it.  And they did not complain.  Every ship of the Task Force obeyed its orders, moving into the direct line of annhilation.

"It has been an honor-" T'Sil began, but she could not complete the sentiment.

The ships of the Task Force lit up with bright energy and were violently shaken by the anti-neutrino beam.   The entire crews of the ships were killed instantly, the organic molecules in their bodies breaking apart under the intense particle bombardment.

As the beam passed through the ships, it lost some cohesion before impacting with the mouth of the wormhole.

The wormhole opened obligingly to receive its doom.

Then, as though coughing on swallowed poison, the aperture of the wormhole sputtered and closed.   Damaged and de-populated starships and massive shipyard segments remained, tumbling through empty space in the wake of the attack.

[Beja]

Katra Station - Etrosian Refugee Camp

Adryel of course asked the million latinum question that Beja hadn't been able to answer herself, but asked it her entire life. Why were Klingons so bloodthirsty? Why couldn't they ever see past the shine on their bat'leth?

"œKlingons have always been warriors. But they were not always so fanatically focused on being the best warriors in the galaxy. Our culture suffered greatly under an invasion and occupation by an alien race called the Hur'q. They beat us and took our greatest treasures. Since then, we have compensated by building an Empire upon the bones of our enemies. Now, Honor and battle go hand in hand with the Klingons," Beja explained to Adryel. "œAnd you are correct in your assessment that I don't fit that mold."

"œMost Klingons do not find me acceptable. I spent my youth bringing shame to my house because of my lack of interest in battle and being a warrior. I just always was curious, wanting to learn about other things, more than just how to strike down an opponent on the battlefield. It's rather ironic since my name actually means Daughter of Peace in Klingon. Klingons do not value peace as much as the ability to wage war."

"œMy uncle came to me when I was a teen, and asked me to perform the Hegh'bat, in order for my house to remove the stain of my dishonor from it. The Hegh'bat, is a Klingon ritual of sucidie. It was part of our laws, that when one is no longer or able to stand as a warrior, that they do what is right, so as not to become a burden to their house.

I was happy of course to do so, but my father stopped it. It was then that he helped me to gain entrance into Starfleet Academy, "œ Beja stated matter of factly to Adryel. She did her best to keep the pain and hurt that she had felt all those years ago from her voice. She did not want Adryel to feel the pity that so many had given her when she was young, for never measuring up to what it meant to be Klingon.

"œThose that broke away from the Klingon Empire, and created the Republic of Kahless are hoping to forge a future forward where being a warrior is not the only thing that is held up in high regard. To have a future where the Klingons can be creative if they wish to, to be artists, warriors, teachers, scientists. People who are brave, but can want so much more than just constant battle. Time will tell if they will be able to do so. I fear that war is upon us, and that it will shatter my people forever," Beja confessed to Adryel her fears for her own peoples' future.

Beja smiled with sadness in her eyes to Adryel, "œPerhaps your Wise One Above can help us too." She shrugged her shoulders before she added, "œYour temple here is very serene Adryel. You and your people should be proud of the work you are doing here. Building a new future, a new home, where you can find the acceptance and happiness you are all deserving of."

[Rayek trLhoell]

Lt Cmdr Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Healy - Deck 1 - Bridge]  (near the Subspace conduit) [DAY THREE]

USS Healy - Defending the Demolitions Team

The torpedoes detonated, and this seemed to create a chain reaction within the Thinker cruiser.  A multitude of tiny explosions erupted just beneath the surface of the hull, sending flashes of light and plumes of debris that were visible to the Healy.  Then, as if these small explosions had reached a critical mass, the entire vessel erupted into a brilliant fireball.  The conflagration lasted but for a moment before all available fuel and oxidizer was consumed.  Then it collapsed in on itself, leaving only lifeless structural debris and a multitude of incinerated Squari bodies.

Solluk lifted a fist in triumph, "Excellent shooting, Number One!"

Things could have very easily gone a different way.  The Healy had arrived in a poor shape for this fight, and without its most formidable armaments.  It had been the use of superior tactical maneuvers, and not superior firepower or capability, that had won them the battle this day.

Almost simultaneously with their victory, the two sentinel installations astride the subspace conduit detonated.  Even from millions of kilometers away, the bright flash of thousands of isotons of explosive energy was visible.  But before the conduit was forced closed by the demolitions charges, a bright beam of astonishing power vomited forth from the conduit's usually invisible aperture, easily eclipsing the brightness of the explosions.

Sensors would show that the beam was in the Exawatt power range, encased within the most powerful annular confinement beam anyone witnessing it had ever seen.  Presumably, the beam had been fired from some distant locale.  The subspace conduit had apparently been used like the barrel of a gun, directing this mighty magic bullet of anti-neutrinos towards its distant target.  It was a bullet that, despite their best efforts, the Healy and Starstalker crews had failed to stop.

This beam only lasted for less than a second before the collapse of the subspace conduit strangled it.  It went past the Healy, hurtling towards the Bajoran wormhole a bit less than a light-year away.

Rayek watched the multitude of small explosions spread across the hull of the Thinker ship, in a bit of amazement.   While not what he had expected from his attack, the chain reaction seemed to be building - which could only be good news for him and the Healy.  And then... the Thinker ship erupted into a massive conflagration.    Rayek blinked in surprise.  Had they actually managed to defeat the superior ship?

He heard the Captain's praise and looked up from his console to see Solluk's fist, raised in triumph.

Yes!  Now they just needed to shut down the worm hole.

And as if summoned by his thoughts of it, another explosion, or rather pair of explosions swallowed the sentinel installations... and a moment after that, before the conduit could collapse, a bright beam issued forth near blinding Rayek with its intensity.  It took a moment before he could read his sensors and call out to the Captain its stats and more importantly its destination.

In a turnabout that seemed typical of the Thinkers, the Healy's victory turned to ash.

NPC Latihk tr'Kheiin
[RFS Narvasam - cloaked - on approach to the Bajoran Wormhole]

Task Force 12 - Just completing transit through the Bajoran Wormhole

Task Force 12 had just transited the Bajoran wormhole successfully, much to the relief of everyone on the bridge.  While there was no particular reason to believe that the towing of their cargo through the wormhole should prove problematic, it was rare that such a wide load was carried through.  There was always the niggling doubt in the back of the mind that something might go wrong.

Fortunately, it had not.

"Sir," Kota spoke from the Sciences station, "That sensor echo seems to be gone, now.

..

"Captain," Kota interjected, "I'm reading an inbound energy source... in the exawatt power range, Sir.  Approaching at high-warp speeds."

"Captain, I'm also getting a subspace message from the USS Healy.  Priority One."

"Shields up," T'Sil ordered, "Put the message on screen."

The figure of Captain Solluk, commanding officer of Katra Station and the USS Healy, appeared on screen.

Attention all Federation and Starfleet Assets in the vicinity of the Bajoran Wormhole: A moment ago, we observed a powerful anti-neutrino beam exiting a subspace conduit less than one light-year from the wormhole.  It is moving only slightly slower than subspace communications signals.  I estimate that you have only 5 minutes or less to react to the beam after receiving this message.  I am not entirely sure how such a beam can be disrupted, but it's possible that a tri-cobalt device might create a subspace disruption that can scatter the beam.  I know some auxiliary cruisers are scheduled to come into the quadrant.  If you have any such device, I recommend deploying it and detonating it in the beam's path.

It is possible that a beam of this amplitude could damage the wormhole, or possibly even kill the entities who live within.  If there is any means to stop it, an effort must be made."
...

There was a moment of silence, as everyone realized they were quite literally being asked to die.  It was not what any of them had expected the service to require from them when they'd woken up today.  But they were all Starfleet officers.  Good ones, it turned out.  They did their duty.  Numbly, perhaps.  Shocked.  Shaken.  But they did it.  And they did not complain.  Every ship of the Task Force obeyed its orders, moving into the direct line of annihilation.
..

The ships of the Task Force lit up with bright energy and were violently shaken by the anti-neutrino beam.   The entire crews of the ships were killed instantly, the organic molecules in their bodies breaking apart under the intense particle bombardment.

As the beam passed through the ships, it lost some cohesion before impacting with the mouth of the wormhole.

The wormhole opened obligingly to receive its doom.

Then, as though coughing on swallowed poison, the aperture of the wormhole sputtered and closed.   Damaged and de-populated starships and massive shipyard segments remained, tumbling through empty space in the wake of the attack.

Exiting the wormhole, Latihk didn't waste a moment in putting distance between his ship and the Federation vessels.   The potential of his ship's cloak being detected, and their odds against multiple enemy vessels meant it was too great of a risk.

The Narvasam had barely slipped away when the ship's sensors picked up something very odd.   A powerful anti-neutrino beam heading directly towards the wormhole they had just exited.  Powerful was actually a rather poor description of its intensity.  The exawatt power range was just insane!

And it seemed the insanity continued because rather than get out of the way of the incoming beam, the Starfleet vessels he had used as cover to get him through the wormhole, lined up - acting as a barrier with their shields at max, as if they could hope to block the incoming beam.

For a moment the Romulan hesitated, knowing that those four ships in a line would do little against the intensity of that beam.  Part of Latihk wanted to forewarn the Federation ships but that would alert them and others to his presence on this side of the wormhole.  No, there was nothing he dared do other than get out of the way, which he did.

He said nothing to Kemala and Taheen, hoping they had their attention elsewhere and wouldn't notice his fleeing the area.

NPC Cathy Daniels
[SS Wonderland - Bridge] [DAY THREE]

[Wonderland]
Where his hand couldn't get, the weird floating white liquid found a way. Instead of getting sucked out, it froze and sealed the crack. At least for now.
Finn didn't trust that this would hold for long, especially nit if the ship went faster. He was worried faster speeds would make the crack larger.  But if there was a planet with atmosphere they needed to reach it. It was a gamble.

The human turned in the weightlessness and looked at Juraan in disbelieve from his suit. "Did you see that? Incredible. We need to fix the stabilizers if we want to get to this planet....or ...I have an idea."

Zero gravity made getting back to the cockpit harder. Finn used the small handles along the ceiling to move forward.

In the cockpit he maneuvered to the captain's chair and pull himself down to buckle himself in.
The pressure against his back made him groan. It felt like something was stuck there.

Then he switched off the stabilizers on the other side as well. "I'm going to try to use the thrusters to stop the roll."
His attempts slowed the rolling motion of the Wonderland but didn't stop it. Then he adjusted a little too much and send it in the other direction but finally got it somewhat under control, making it sway back and forth only a little. Like a ship at sea.

NPC Juraan Ren
[Wonderland]

Juraan watched Odelot perform his milk trick and he was absolutely stunned. It was brilliant. A little stinking, but brilliant. In any case, no worse than meatloaf farts.

The Bajoran nodded his approval to Finn and then immediately followed Odelot and also Finn back to the bridge. When the gravity was back on, Juraan patted Odelot appreciatively on the shoulder. "You're being smart."

Juraan had overheard the conversation regarding the planet and was glad that a planet was relatively close. There, hopefully, they could repair the damage to the outer hull - and anything else that had been broken.

The groan from Finn's direction made Juraan look over at him. "Is something wrong? Your back?" he asked, getting up to walk over to him.

It took Finn's experience to get the ship stabilized again after which Cathy took back the helm.  "I got this, boss. Let Juraan check you over."  Then directing her next comment to the Pakled family, "It'll take us a few hours to reach the planet I have in mind.  Get some rest while you can.  Let Joey or Juraan take a look at you if you are at all injured cause once we land, I think we're gonna be grounded for some time doing repairs."

NPC Ambassadorial Aide Rhienn tr'Hei (Telmuk tr'Lhoell undercover)
[Katra Station - Saucer 2 - Tholian ship - Etain]

NPC Ambassador Virahk Jarok - Romulan Free State
[Tholian vessel Etain] - DAY THREE

Eydis seemed to get straight to the point and Jarok appreciated that. As an ambassador, he had to learn to live with formality and practice it himself.  However, he preferred interlocutors who were straightforward.

Rhienn had already informed him that the Tholians were interested in Romulan technology. However, Eydis remained vague about which technology she meant exactly. In any case, the prospect of Suliban technology was not entirely uninteresting, and Jarok took the mention of it as an indication of what technology they could expect in return. But that was anything but certain. At the moment, it was pure speculation.

Then, rather abruptly, Eydis offered to join them on the maiden voyage of the Etain. The destination of the voyage would apparently be an asteroid in the asteroid belt where Tholian cruisers had found something. It seemed Eydis wanted to downplay the value of the discovery, but it seemed of enough interest to investigate it further. Jarok glanced over at Rhienn. Had he known about all this?

"It all sounds very interesting", Jarok replied. "I appreciate the offer to be present for your ship's maiden voyage. When would feedback regarding the offer be acceptable? I did not expect to be on an extended voyage in the next few days and would need to check my schedule and make other arrangements if necessary. Also, I would be interested in more details about the technologies mentioned."

With introductions made, Telmuk looked about in curiosity at the Tholian ship, memorizing details to be able to report on later; while Ambassador Jarok and the Tholian Commander talked.   The mention of Suliban technology was unexpected, as was the mention of an altercation between Tholian's and the Suliban.  Was this another veiled threat by the Tholian Captain?   If so Telmuk didn't know what to make of it;  especially when not long after the Captain invited them on the Etain's maiden voyage.  Telmuk suspected the Tholian was up to something.

Ambassador Jarok's non-committal answer suggested to Telmuk that the other Romulan also thought something was off about the offer.

As Rhienn, Telmuk remained silent letting the Ambassador speak while he stood ready to assist should he be called on.

[Solluk]

SS Wonderland - On approach to Star System KH-113

Time passed gradually as the Pakleds settled into the environment of the Wonderland.  Asile and Aldo found auxiliary consoles to sit at.  Odelot was hard at work, helping the crew of the Wonderland to fix what damage it was possible to repair.   One of the impulse drive units was down, but the plasma leak from a ruptured EPS line had been repaired.  Spray-polymer patches had been used to reinforce the milk-patches initially applied, but even they would not hold for long.

Unfortunately, main power was still offline.  The partial collision had caused the dilithium crystal in the reaction chamber to crack.  So, even with the EPS line rerouted, they were operating on minimal power.  This was enough to limp them to a nearby star system with a planet they might land at.  Only then would they be able to attempt re-crystallization and more permanent repairs to the ship's systems.

The Wonderland needed a major overhaul at a drydock.

Unfortunately, It wasn't going to get one.

Haphazard repairs on an alien world were going to be the best they could hope for until they could get to New Bajor.

Odelot came onto the bridge, looking at the viewscreen.  "We are maybe probably going to be living," he gave his professional assessment.

Asile nodded to the viewscreen "We are passing through the Oorty Cloud now," she noted.

Aldo looked up from his adopted station, "This ship is not being very strong."

Odelot shot a glare at his brother-in-law, "It is doing its best that it can be doing.  It is for sending stuffs, not for fighting stuffs."

Aldo dipped his head, "I am being sad that the Yadyam is gone."

Asile shuffled over to her husband, "Me too.  Odelot and I were living many years on the ship, since we were being little."

Odelot turned away.  He could not say how he was feeling.  But his eyes were wet with his emotions.

Tess' Office - Katra Station

When Tess and Zex listened to the contents of the messages, they would learn the following:

Dord Priority Transmission to the Obsidian Lord, Before their visit to Meridian
Director Boz has gained 50 pounds since taking residence on Katra.  This has necessitated a higher dose for xir viral-suppressant medication.  Now, xir medicine has run out prematurely.  Xe requests that the Obsidian Lord divert back to Katra with a medical synthesizer so that xe can create more medicine as needed.  The replicators on station will not replicate pharmaceuticals without a doctor's authorization, and xe does not wish to tell the Katra staff the details of xir medical history.

Dord Transmission to the Etrosian Refugee Colony on Meridian, Before their visit to Meridian
Director Boz looks forward to xir scheduled visit with the Etrosian representatives to discuss ways in which the Dord might assist the Etrosian settlement.  The date and time of the visit is confirmed.

Numati Priority Transmission to the Numati Homeworld, After their visit to Meridian
The Numati representative expresses concern that the Dord are visiting the Etrosians, and request permission to reach out to the Etrosians and discover what the Dord are saying to them.  Moreover, the Numati representative suggests that the Numati should offer aid to the Etrosians to offset any goodwill the Dord may be trying to generate with them.

Dord Priority Transmission to the Obsidian Lord, After their visit to Meridian
Director Boz insists that the Obsidian Lord increase its speed, and use emergency power to reach the station sooner, no matter how many servants are killed by the strain.  There has been an illness on Meridian, surrounding the dirty Etrosian colony, and Boz is deeply concerned about having medical facilities available in case xe should fall ill.

[Tess tLhoell]

Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 22 - CMO's office] - DAY THREE, gamma shift, around 2400 hours

[Katra Station - Deck 22 - CMO office] - DAY THREE, gamma shift, around 2400 hours

"I figured as much.  So why the private meeting?  Something must be a foot" Zex said.

She passed the hot coffee to Tess.  Took a seat.  Then focused on Tess.

The news that the bacteria had been manufactured did not shock her.  She had, though, not taken it to it's next possibility.  That it would be used on humanoids.

"Of course.  I would be happy to help however I can.  Do you want to do it here?  Now" she asked curiously.

At Zex' question, Tess nodded. "Yes, right here." She sought Zex' eyes. "This is a breach of regulations. Under the circumstances I have just told you about I see the necessity to commit that breach. I must ask you secrecy while at the same time I ask you to be a witness to what we're about to hear." Surely Zex knew all this, but Tess wanted to be sure it was mentioned.

Tess called up the encrypted messages, the same they had seen on the consoles at the OCC earlier that day. Luckily, Rayek had decrypted them, though not read them.

"Computer, play messages."

Tess' Office - Katra Station

When Tess and Zex listened to the contents of the messages, they would learn the following:

Dord Priority Transmission to the Obsidian Lord, Before their visit to Meridian
Director Boz has gained 50 pounds since taking residence on Katra.  This has necessitated a higher dose for xir viral-suppressant medication.  Now, xir medicine has run out prematurely.  Xe requests that the Obsidian Lord divert back to Katra with a medical synthesizer so that xe can create more medicine as needed.  The replicators on station will not replicate pharmaceuticals without a doctor's authorization, and xe does not wish to tell the Katra staff the details of xir medical history.

Dord Transmission to the Etrosian Refugee Colony on Meridian, Before their visit to Meridian
Director Boz looks forward to xir scheduled visit with the Etrosian representatives to discuss ways in which the Dord might assist the Etrosian settlement.  The date and time of the visit is confirmed.

Numati Priority Transmission to the Numati Homeworld, After their visit to Meridian
The Numati representative expresses concern that the Dord are visiting the Etrosians, and request permission to reach out to the Etrosians and discover what the Dord are saying to them.  Moreover, the Numati representative suggests that the Numati should offer aid to the Etrosians to offset any goodwill the Dord may be trying to generate with them.

Dord Priority Transmission to the Obsidian Lord, After their visit to Meridian
Director Boz insists that the Obsidian Lord increase its speed, and use emergency power to reach the station sooner, no matter how many servants are killed by the strain.  There has been an illness on Meridian, surrounding the dirty Etrosian colony, and Boz is deeply concerned about having medical facilities available in case xe should fall ill.

After the first message, Tess did listen to what was coming after that, but there was one thing that struck her so much that she barely could focus on anything else. Virus-suppressant medication? Details of medical history?

She noted the apparent intent of the Dord to stay in contact with the Etrosians. Tess wasn't sure what this could be about. She looked to Zex. "I wonder why the Dord are so interested in the Etrosians", she shared her thoughts. "And why the Numati think they need to intervene. Did anything come through the diplomatic circles about an interest of the Dord in the Etrosians?", she asked Zex.

Tess took another sip of her coffee, though she was wide awake now despite the late hour. "Director Boz is on some medication that suppresses a certain virus", Tess mumbled in thought. "This is tricky, because apparently the Director has no wish for anyone outside his embassy to know about it." For a moment longer Tess stared at the wall in thought to maybe come up with way to find out about the secret virus without having to tell the Dord they knew about the situation.

"I know what we will do", Tess finally said and looked back to Zex again. "We will need to take a scan of Director Boz, that step would have been due anyways. I would like you to join me, this is not only a medical matter but a diplomatic one as well."

Adryel of Etros
[Planet Meridian - Emerald Peninsula - Ihmana Refugee Camp - Temple]

Katra Station - Etrosian Refugee Camp

Adryel of course asked the million latinum question that Beja hadn't been able to answer herself, but asked it her entire life. Why were Klingons so bloodthirsty? Why couldn't they ever see past the shine on their bat'leth?

"œKlingons have always been warriors. But they were not always so fanatically focused on being the best warriors in the galaxy. Our culture suffered greatly under an invasion and occupation by an alien race called the Hur'q. They beat us and took our greatest treasures. Since then, we have compensated by building an Empire upon the bones of our enemies. Now, Honor and battle go hand in hand with the Klingons," Beja explained to Adryel. "œAnd you are correct in your assessment that I don't fit that mold."

"œMost Klingons do not find me acceptable. I spent my youth bringing shame to my house because of my lack of interest in battle and being a warrior. I just always was curious, wanting to learn about other things, more than just how to strike down an opponent on the battlefield. It's rather ironic since my name actually means Daughter of Peace in Klingon. Klingons do not value peace as much as the ability to wage war."

"œMy uncle came to me when I was a teen, and asked me to perform the Hegh'bat, in order for my house to remove the stain of my dishonor from it. The Hegh'bat, is a Klingon ritual of sucidie. It was part of our laws, that when one is no longer or able to stand as a warrior, that they do what is right, so as not to become a burden to their house.

I was happy of course to do so, but my father stopped it. It was then that he helped me to gain entrance into Starfleet Academy, "œ Beja stated matter of factly to Adryel. She did her best to keep the pain and hurt that she had felt all those years ago from her voice. She did not want Adryel to feel the pity that so many had given her when she was young, for never measuring up to what it meant to be Klingon.

"œThose that broke away from the Klingon Empire, and created the Republic of Kahless are hoping to forge a future forward where being a warrior is not the only thing that is held up in high regard. To have a future where the Klingons can be creative if they wish to, to be artists, warriors, teachers, scientists. People who are brave, but can want so much more than just constant battle. Time will tell if they will be able to do so. I fear that war is upon us, and that it will shatter my people forever," Beja confessed to Adryel her fears for her own peoples' future.

Beja smiled with sadness in her eyes to Adryel, "œPerhaps your Wise One Above can help us too." She shrugged her shoulders before she added, "œYour temple here is very serene Adryel. You and your people should be proud of the work you are doing here. Building a new future, a new home, where you can find the acceptance and happiness you are all deserving of."

Adryel listened attentively to Beja. Although she tried to hide the pain that her story apparently still caused her, the tale of being an outcast and not belonging was enough in itself to give him an idea of how difficult these years must have been for the Klingon.

Even though Adryel still couldn't comprehend how one could live a life devoted to war, he could understand how this thinking had come about in the first place. His own people had not been killed directly, but indirectly and they had been lied to and taken advantage of. The Klingons had been harmed by another race. It might be that this entailed an everlasting chain of revenge.

Although, perhaps not eternal after all. Those who had founded the Republic of Kahless seemed to want to break this cycle. Beja feared, however, that it would not work without a war. From the description she had given of her people, Adryel thought so too.

Quietly, he looked at her face, which now showed the sadness and pain after all. Adryel felt with her. When he met her gaze, he gave her a smile. "I will plead with him for you and your people. I hope that one day there will be a path for your people that you have already taken. I have even greater respect for you now." It was truly extraordinary what Beja had accomplished.

As she spoke of the temple, Adryel's smile widened as he also glanced around briefly. "Thank you, Beja of Starfleet. This is the way we build our temples. We might not have built our homes yet, but from what I hear, most are glad to be here, free from the ceremony that brought pain with the joy. Now, the pain is gone and only the joy remains. I've never seen so many infants and pregnant women in our villages." He smiled. With the sacrificial ceremony abolished, the Etrosians experienced a veritable baby boom.

Adryel made a gesture to invite them to go back outside. "Tell me, Beja, how are children regarded in your culture?"

[Finn Moreno]

[Wonderland]
The little freighter was tumbling and bucking like an old Bronc. The flight was anything but pleasant, even with the crack preliminarily fixed and the gravity back on.
Finn shook his head in desperation while sweat was building on his forehead. He was too busy to acknowledge Juraan and Cathy's worries with anything but "Not now." Whatever was going on with his back (it was probably just a cut or something) wasn't lethal.

He got up and flicked several switches and pushed a few buttons on the side panel. When the panel went black, he smashed his fist against it and magically brought it back to life, then sat back down. There was no time to take off the suit, only the mask over his face.

"I don't know if we even have enough power to run everything we need to get to the system." He told Cathy. Jugling the thrusters on both side, switching the side stabilizers on and off and using a good amount of calculation and hand balancing the ship was hard. Finn didn't want to hand that over to Cathy. "Sorry Cath, I've been flying this ship for almost a decade now. I know her inside out. Can you just make sure that we get to that planet and I'll try to keep her level. We need all the power we can spare on the backbord side to deflect anything that could make that crack larger. I'll shut off all internal systems except for life support. The gravity plate needs too much power, so buckle up."
He briefly looked around making sure that everyone was safe before he shut the internal gravity of the ship off, leaving everyone weightless again.

Then he looked to Cathy, who was incredibly calm considering the terrible situation. "Sorry, you holo massage buddy is offline, too."
A little joke to lighten the mood.

To Juraan he said. "Whatever medical stuff needs to be done, will be your job, good old fashioned handy work. How's the head?"
The Bajoran still had crusted blood in his blonde hair and on the side of his face.

He then motioned for the Paklets to get their attention.  "Don't be sad, you're still here. You were incredible. So creative! I also need one of you guys to focus on getting in touch with the Fleet or New Bajor or whoever you can get a message out to. Put your heads together. The main transmitter is busted. Maybe you can come up with another way."

Finn was trying to stay focussed and appear like a captain should when deep down he wasn't sure that the Wonderland would break through the middle and they'd all be lost before they could even reach any planet.

[Netha-Sar Murselas]

[USS STARSTALKER | Helm] | DAY 3

Nevertheless, after forcing the issue with a not-unsubtle reminder of time being of the essence, the assembled technicians reluctantly acknowledged the prospects of success; it was as good as he was going to get, so John chalked that up as a minor victory on the scoreboard. " Lt Saxon to Starstalker" he began, "Mister Murselas: we will have need of some of your more avant-garde style of piloting very shortly. Please proceed to initiate transport of the technical team; I need to stay behind for some moments longer, but I'll need you to extract me while on the move; you'll need to track my lifesigns directly, as my combadge will be...elsewhere. Give me 60 seconds from sign-off. "

Acknowledged

A million questions began burning through Netha-Sar's mind. He immediately displaced his previous thoughts about a way to weaponize the platforms themselves and within two seconds of receiving the order had already begun beaming members of the away team back aboard the Starstalker. One of the scientists seemed to be in a tizzy, attempting to explain the problem they had run into aboard the platforms. "Not an engineer," he hissed as he turned to shoot the man a sharp glare. "My orders are get you out. You're out."

There was no time for debate for questioning. He had, now 54 seconds, to beam the rest of the away team aboard the ship and to somehow also lock onto to Saxon using only his vital signs. Fortunately for everyone the system didn't need to be set up. Netha-Sar wasn't as paranoid as his father or older brothers, but paranoid enough to have been checking the immediate area for any signs of life. He really didn't like surprises.

'Huginn' to USS Starstalker>

Saxon spiralled back into physical matter, and immediately felt the small ship lurch to port, then starboard, with all the hallmarks of manoeuvring thrusters at combat levels. One of the Engineering technicians, Larkin or something, more or less pounced on the old man at materialisation, looking terrified. "We've got to get out of here! The platforms have gone live!"

That explained things succinctly. If not a hugely comforting update.

Netha-Sar's eyes flickered between the appropriate beaming calculations for a moving target and the consol displaying the life signs that he knew to be Saxon's. He would get his full sixty seconds as requested, but not a millisecond longer. When the timer dropped below five seconds, his hands stayed steady over the set command to bring him back to the Starstalker, while his eyes laid firmly on the life signs. A small beep was the only indication that the time was up and he beamed him off the platform, engaging the thrusters simultaneously.

"GOT HIM!" called out one of the more amenable members of the returned away team shouted as Saxon re-materialized. Netha-Sar immediately plunged the ship opposite the direction of the platforms, completely disregarding whatever it was Larkin (or something) was saying about getting out of there. He bit his tongue, reminding him that he was Starfleet now. And even though he was just a crewman it was probably bad form to turn around and snap 'Oh thank you I hadn't noticed'. Instead he settled on "Grab something if you can!"

USS Healy - Defending the Demolitions Team

Almost simultaneously with their victory, the two sentinel installations astride the subspace conduit detonated.  Even from millions of kilometers away, the bright flash of thousands of isotons of explosive energy was visible.  But before the conduit was forced closed by the demolitions charges, a bright beam of astonishing power vomited forth from the conduit's usually invisible aperture, easily eclipsing the brightness of the explosions.

Sensors would show that the beam was in the Exawatt power range, encased within the most powerful annular confinement beam anyone witnessing it had ever seen.  Presumably, the beam had been fired from some distant locale.  The subspace conduit had apparently been used like the barrel of a gun, directing this mighty magic bullet of anti-neutrinos towards its distant target.  It was a bullet that, despite their best efforts, the Healy and Starstalker crews had failed to stop.

This beam only lasted for less than a second before the collapse of the subspace conduit strangled it.  It went past the Healy, hurtling towards the Bajoran wormhole a bit less than a light-year away.

"It has been an honor-" T'Sil began, but she could not complete the sentiment.

The ships of the Task Force lit up with bright energy and were violently shaken by the anti-neutrino beam.   The entire crews of the ships were killed instantly, the organic molecules in their bodies breaking apart under the intense particle bombardment.

As the beam passed through the ships, it lost some cohesion before impacting with the mouth of the wormhole.

The wormhole opened obligingly to receive its doom.

Then, as though coughing on swallowed poison, the aperture of the wormhole sputtered and closed.   Damaged and de-populated starships and massive shipyard segments remained, tumbling through empty space in the wake of the attack.

He turned the Starstalker, angling it as if it were nosediving towards the ground, but in the direction of the platforms. They had made it out of the blast zone before the initial explosion and though Netha-Sar had fully intended on piloting them far away from the platforms going back in seemed to be the safest route. Rather than test out the Starstalker's ability to run away in its damaged state, Netha-Sar hurtled it towards the eye of the storm. Which, in his experience, was generally the safest place to be.

Despite the weightlessness of their current circumstance he managed it well. And when the platforms destroyed themselves, shooting a beam into the wormhole it was this action that eased the stress on the poor spy ship. Instead of working against the explosion, Netha-Sar used it to his advantage. He flew parallel with the beam for a few moments before turning away from it at a smooth nearly ninety degree angle. He used the inertia he had built up during the nosedive to redirect the ship almost like a slingshot away from ground zero.

The momentum flung them away from the incident faster than any piloting of a damaged ship could have. The quick-thinking that had led him to use the beam rather than attempt to outrun, evade, or withstand it had paid off. As quickly as it begun, it was over. Once again reminding everyone that he was a pilot and not en engineer. He didn't know much about reactions beyond what was needed to get the engines, thrusters, and warp core going. "Was that supposed to happen?"

It most certainly was not.