U.S.S. Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna”
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
“Silent Storm – Part II”
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Seconds after Captain Ramius had issued the commands to evade, the Corsair was thrown sideways by an incredible force as if an invisible, titanic bat had slammed into the starboard side of the ship. The noise of the impact was deafening as the battered shields struggled to cope under the intensity of the stress. Decks groaned and shook under Ramius’s feet and every surface of the ship seemed to resonate and vibrate. Slugged by an invisible fist, the Corsair pitched wildly its dampening and gravity systems straining to cope with the sudden impact. Chairs rolled and toppled over, panels sparked, and the white lighting on the bridge flickered and failed replaced by an ominous deep, pulsing crimson. The alert klaxon droned on amidst the chaos pointing out the obvious. The Corsair was in serious trouble.
“REPORT”, Ramius shouted regaining his footing throwing himself into his command chair for something to hold as his ship violently pitched around him like a sailing vessel caught in a turbulent, angry sea.
“We’ve been hit by some form of high energy beam of immense power with characteristics similar to that of our own deflector and tractor beam systems”, his OPS officer shouted over the noise and confusion on the bridge. “The beam is many times stronger than our own systems! My guess is they use it to keep the area clear of rocks and debris given the hazards of the system!”
Ramius wasn’t taking chances. They had to back off – at least for now. “ALL ENGINES FULL REVERSE! 180 DEGREES HARD ABOUT!”
“HELM NOT ANSWERING SIR”, the helmsman shouted back. “NO RESPONSE!”
“GO TO BACKUPS!”
“SORRY SIR, NOTHING!”
“SAI”, Ramius barked turning to stare at his chief engineer.
“IMPULSE SYSTEMS AT 110% OUTPUT. WE JUST AREN’T MOVING SIR. WHATEVER WE ARE CAUGHT IN HAS US PINNED IN PLACE!”
“STANDBY TO GO TO WARP”, Ramius ordered the deck violently pitching beneath his feet.
“NEGATIVE SIR”, Kusinagi shouted from his engineering station. “THE STRESS WOULD RIP US APART”, “WARP SPEED NOT POSSIBLE! I’M BARELY KEEPING HER TOGETHER NOW!”
“WE’RE BEING PUSHED BACKWARDS CAPTAIN. I THINK THEY’RE TRYING TO FORCE US INTO THE DEBRIS FIELD. IMPACT IN FIVE MINUTES”, the OPS officer shouted from his console.
“ROTATE OUR SHIELD FREQUENCIES!”
“ENERGY BEAM TOO POWERFUL! SHIELD MODULATION HAVING LITTLE EFFECT!”
Ramius was quickly faced with a life or death situation. He had to act fast to save his ship and crew whatever the cost.
“OPEN A CHANNEL TO THE FIGHTERS”, Ramius yelled over the vicious vibrations that were shaking his ship apart. The noise was almost unbearable on the bridge as his crew struggled against an unseen and lethal opponent.
“CHANNEL OPEN!”
“RAMIUS TO COMMANDER EVERIC – NO TIME TO EXPLAIN – ATTACK THE STATION AND DESTROY ITS DEFLECTOR SYSTEMS! YOU ARE AUTHORIZED TO USE ANY AND ALL FORCE REQUIRED!”
Ramius couldn’t hear a reply due to the extreme noise, but his communications officer nodded indicating the fighters had acknowledged the message. Moments later he could see the four Valkyrie fighters break formation and rapidly speed toward the station to begin their attack. Four fighters against a station were poor odds and the chances of breaching the shields of the station in five minutes were slim, but if anyone could do it, Everic and his cutthroat band of pilots could pull it off. At least Ramius hoped they could.
“TACTICAL ARE WE IN WEAPONS RANGE?”
Lt. Redstone, clinging to his station amidst the increasing vibration and noise shouted back, “AFFIRMATIVE SIR. STATION IS WITHIN TORPEDO RANGE! PHASERS WOULD BE INEFFECTIVE AT CURRENT DISTANCE!”
“LOAD A FULL SPREAD OF QUANTUM TORPEDOES”, Ramius shouted tightly gripping his command chair armrests. “YOU MAY FIRE AT WILL UNTIL THE STATION TERMINATES ITS ATTACK!”
“TORPEDOES AWAY”, the tactical officer roared slamming his fist upon the firing button of his console. A bright silver string of eight quantum torpedoes four breaking to the port and starboard raced away from the Corsair and rapidly closed in on the station. Moments later a crimson band of standard Mark VI photon torpedoes followed as the full fury of the Corsair’s long range artillery was unleashed upon the station. Fresh off the lines of the Second Dominion War, the Corsair was bristling with weapons and stockpiles of torpedoes. She was a front line warship built to wage war against any enemy that no longer posed a threat.
“HELM, ANY CHANGE?”
“NEGATIVE SIR, ENGINES AT MAXIMUM THRUST. I AM UNABLE TO MANUEVER!”
“TRY TO TURN US INTO THE BEAM! IT MIGHT BUY US SOME TIME!”
Gripping his console the white knuckled OPS officer and everyone else aboard was having extreme difficulty operating controls with the intensity of the vibrations coursing through the ship’s hull as it was dragged through space towards a deadly fate. “THREE MINUTES UNTIL CONTACT WITH DEBRIS FIELD”, he yelled out.
“CONTINUE FIRING”, Ramius shouted as he watched the fighters begin their attacks. The station was fighting back, but appeared to have only minimal defensive capabilities with which to hold off the aggressive and highly skilled fighters. Everic’s best plan was to stick close to the station and attack where its weaponry would be far less effective.
“TORPEDOES TUBES RELOADING SIR”, the tactical officer yelled over the vibrations and noise.
Ramius stood bracing himself against the base of his chair as his ship was being slowly pushed into the deadly debris field which loomed on the viewer moving ever closer. “CHIEF, IS THERE ANY WAY TO DEFLECT A DEFLECTOR BEAM? WE CANNOT ALLOW THEM TO SIMPLY PUSH US INTO OBLIVION.”
Ramius could see the fear in his engineer’s eyes and could smell it in the air emanating from his entire bridge crew. Death seemed inevitable as there was little chance the fighters and their limited weaponry would have the firepower needed to breach the station’s shields in time. While the specter of death seemed to hover on his bridge eagerly waiting to claim its victims, Ramius was fiercely determined to survive. He would not allow death nor NeoDyne to end his life let alone his crew’s here. He had far too much to accomplish in this life than to pass on to the next and so long as he drew breath he would fight.
“THERE…THERE MIGHT BE A WAY”, the chief shouted as the bridge and his ship were being crushed under the iron grip of the powerful deflection beam.
Sparks exploded from overhead as the crimson lighting rapidly flickered bathing the faces of the bridge crew in blood red light. Stations failed while the unyielding noise and vibrations continued. The hull groaned under the stress as the forward areas of the ship warped and deformed its steel skeleton failing under the crushing forces in play against it. Hull plates buckled, conduits exploded, and electrical systems failed as the superstructure absorbed forces never anticipated by its designers.
“WE’RE LOSING STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY”, the OPS officer nervously shouted. “HULL BREACH IN PROGRESS ON DECKS 3, 4, and 5! EXTERNAL PRESSURE IS EXCEEDING HULL DESIGN LIMITS!”
The viewer clearly showed shiny, silver fragments of the hull breaking away as bent bulkhead panels drifted away from the Corsair and out into space. Areas of the internal hull were visible as the breech crept slowly across the saucer section and toward the ship’s registry and namesake. The bridge itself was only moments away from destruction as her captain and crew looked on powerless to stop the unconventional system turned weapon from destroying their ship and with it their own fragile existence.
[ To Be Continued … ]
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Captain Taverain Ramius
Commanding Officer, USS Corsair
Commander Sai Kusinagi
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Corsair
Lt. Alex Redstone
Tactical Officer, USS Corsair
(APB Tav)
