Carpathia V: Episode 3 - Fireworks
Polaris Sector, NCCS Chrono Blade
It's over, Ivy thought. There were no orders to give. Nothing to do. Whatever they could do was already done. Ivy reached up and patted her first officer gently on the back, an unspoken but unmistakable appreciation from his captain. It was all she could do in the ten seconds they had before the ship would be destroyed.
Rather than gaze out the bridge window for her impending destruction to arrive, Ivy preferred to cast one last glance of each of her living bridge crew who remained. Revenant. Sena. Kau. Riku. And, of course, Teren. Each still working hard to prevent the inevitable disaster. Because her focus was elsewhere, she did not notice the third ship that rocketed in and halted between them and the Vashta ship.
Kau: Neptunus!
Ivy looked up and indeed it was the NCCS Neptunus, unmistakable in its shape and color. A class of one, as a captured Vashta ship, stripped and repurposed with Carpathian tech and paint. A second later, Neptunus opened fire with every port-side weapon it had, aimed squarely at the Vashta ship. Wisely, it peeled away to hunt another quarry.
Kau: Incoming transmission from Neptunus.
Alka appeared on the viewer, but only the ones who knew Alka could guess. His image was heavily artifacted to the point that it resembled modern art more than a viewer image. At the same time, Ivy could see the Neptunus shifting itself to the stern of the Chrono Blade.
Kau: Sorry, but that's the best I can do.
Alka: That was a close one! We still have to deal with your dumped core, though. We can take the brunt of the explosion.
Alka turned his head for a few seconds, seeming as though someone started talking to him and he was listening.
Alka: Ops is telling me that the core is going. Hang onto something!
With the rest of the bridge crew seated, only Ivy and Teren had to quickly find something to grip. There wasn't much. Both of the command chairs were broken from their pedestals, thrown somewhere amongst the debris, as were their consoles. Seeing nothing, both threw themselves to the deck.
Not a moment too soon. Only a precious two seconds between the core detonation and the shockwave elapsed, sending a pronounced shudder throughout the ship, which would have been enough to knock them off their feet had they remained standing.
When the shuddering ceased, Ivy and Teren stood, brushing dirt from their uniforms, while Sena gave his report.
Sena: Neptunus absorbed 91% of the shockwave, Captain.
Ivy looked up, finding that the comm channel had not been cut and Alka still on the viewer.
Ivy: Your assistance is welcome, Alka. We are in no fit state to fight anymore.
Alka: My tactical officer tells me your sensors are in a terrible state. I can fill you in on what you don't know if you want. My officers will stay on top of the tactical situation. We'll deal with any Vashta who dare come poking around.
Ivy: Much appreciated. Everything that happened since the Blood Agony was destroyed. We know that Lazmaedia disappeared, but not much more than that.
Alka: Understood. Shadowdancer and Cerberus followed Lazmaedia into the wormhole before it collapsed at this end. They could be anywhere now. The dragon ship is helping us pick off the Vashta leftovers. Two Vashta ships have already surrendered. The battle is winding down, but it's still very dangerous out here.
Ivy: Just need to hold out a bit more then. We'll keep the channel open while we assess the ship.
Alka: Agreed. Tend your ship. We have your back.
The viewer went dark, leaving the remaining officers on the bridge alone to survey the carnage.
Kau: Comm link to Neptunus stable, ready to unmute. Piggybacking on sensors.
Revenant: Confirmed access to Neptunus sensors. Readings are much clearer now. No incoming threats. NCCS Tengu is sweeping the area nearby.
Ivy: Good. Riku, stay on course. Revenant, stay on tactical. Sena, start assembling a damage report.
A chorus of "Yes, Captain!" rang throughout the bridge.
Ivy: Teren, you and I will see if anyone else is still alive.
Teren: Understood. We can tell Dr. Raad where to go when he gets here.
Ivy nodded and turned around, the first time she had a good look at the bridge since the last strike knocked her on her head. She quickly realized that she was lucky, for little of the debris was concentrated around the command area. Around her, she didn't even know where to step. There was little bare decking past her immediate area to put her feet. Debris. Dead Vashta lay strewn everywhere from when they were boarded. Was it cruel of her to think that she didn't care a bit about them? Perhaps, she thought, but she quickly decided that she didn't care about that either. All she wanted was to find her tactical officer and security team.
After sifting through some debris behind the command station, she found a leg protruding from underneath a piece of panelling. Quickly she shifted it aside to find her tactical officer, eyes wide open and a chunk of console frame embedded in her forehead. She checked for a pulse, but knew it was only a formality. With death confirmed, Ivy gently placed her fingers on the officer's eyelids and slid them closed.
Before she could look for more, the lift doors slid open, revealing Dr. Raad and his team. For a second, they didn't know where to step either, until the doctor simply started stepping on the crumbled parts.
Dr. Raad: Pretty bad up here. Orders, Captain?
Ivy: Start by seeing if any of our own need help. Lieutenant Andersen is already dead.
Teren waved from near the stairs on the other side of the bridge.
Teren: Over here. I think some of our people are under these dead Vashta.
Raad nodded and pointed to three of his nurses in rapid succession.
Dr. Raad: Right, you, you, and you, fan out and flag any living Vashta. Bag the dead ones. The rest of you with me.
Raad and his team clambered over the debris to the spot where Teren stood near the stairs while the other three did as they were told, fanning out around the bridge. For a moment, Ivy considered which group to join. With Teren, Dr. Raad, and a team of nurses all clustered near the stairs, she determined that there was no more room for more and went to help the other three.
With one eye and ear open to new developments inside and outside of the ship and the other eye and ear on the three nurses, Ivy moved about helping to clear debris so that they could properly scan each body they found. Most bodies beyond the stairs were Vashta and they found none alive. A shout from the chief nurse, however, brought hope near the stairs.
Noctus: I got a live one here!
Every head turned. Everyone working the stairs rushed to Noctus.
Dr. Raad: Outta my way!
Ivy struggled to get close, craning her neck to see who it was. She was relieved to discover that the live one was one of her own, one of the junior security officers, and she watched carefully as Dr. Raad examined her.
Raad: Moderate internal bleeding. Broken pelvis. Concussion. Severe, not critical. Safe for transport. Get a gurney, Noctus, and get her sent to sick bay.
Noctus: Yes, Doctor.
Dr. Raad took a jet injector and pressed it against the security officer's neck. Pain medication, Ivy guessed. Still, she remained out of the way, so as not to interfere while Noctus and two other nurses got her on the gurney. While Noctus returned to the task of sifting through bodies, the two nurses rolled the security officer into the lift.
Ivy returned to her task, pleased to have at least a bit of good news amidst all the carnage. She wasn't able to do much, however, before another called out.
Revenant: Captain, the remaining Vashta ships are shutting down.
Ivy did a double-take, the second landing on her first officer, who was the first to ask for clarification.
Teren: All of them?
Revenant: Aside from the two that surrendered and ejected their cores, all of them at precisely the same time.
Alka reappeared on the screen, clearly having noticed the same thing.
Alka: Ivy, without power, the Vashta cores are losing containment. We can expect multiple microsingularities in this sector in the next few minutes.
Ivy: Are any close enough to affect us?
Alka: We're calculating now, but we don't have grapplers installed. There's not much we can do anyway.
A flash of light and the Tengu appeared just off the Chrono Blade's bow, having warped close in a hurry.
Kau: Tengu calling. Putting on viewer.
A moment later, Captain Lucero appeared on the viewer, split screen along with Alka.
Guillermo: We're ready with tractor beam, Captain Tyler.
Brand new tech, only installed on the Tengu for testing, and Ivy found herself unsurprised that she'd forgotten about it. Though doubtful that the technology was ready for this, the risk, she thought, was acceptable. She responded to Captain Lucero with a strong nod. He immediately turned and gave the order in his characteristic booming voice.
Guillermo: Activate beam!
And then he disappeared from the viewer. At the same moment, a shimmering green light came from the back of the Tengu. An instant later, they started to move.
Riku: Speed, 10% induction speed... 20%... 50%...
Sena: Structural integrity is holding.
Teren: Stay sharp on the structural integrity and report any drops immediately!
Sena: Still holding.
Riku: We are steady at 90% induction speed.
Ivy: Are we clear?
Sena: As long as none of them go big, we should be fine.
Revenant: The Vashta ships are starting to detonate. Possible shockwaves incoming.
Out of the windows, it was a very grim fireworks display indeed, as Vashta ships exploded one after the other. Periodically, a small shockwave hit the Chrono Blade, but only causing a mild shudder. With the Chrono Blade safe, Captain Lucero discontinued the tractor beam.
Alka was still on the display, alternately observing the explosions and the Chrono Blade bridge.
Alka: The battle is over. We stand ready to assist.
Ivy: Thank you, Captain. Everything you can spare. Teren, prepare all departments for incoming assistance.
Teren: I shall begin with the shuttle bay, Captain.
Commissioned art in Carpathia from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Colourbrand
Falke2009
Nalaxa Art
