U.S.S. Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna”
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
“The Key To Hell's Gates - Part XI”
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Phaser fire erupted within the cavern as dozens of armed marines opened fire on the humanoid male that had appeared in the center of the massive underground cavern. Sealed inside by the wily designs of Dr. Artimis Ballentine the marines had been forced into a fight against a genetically augmented creature with abilities that far outclassed any normal being of flesh and blood. With no escape and no where to run the only option was to fight or become victims of NeoDyne’s gross experiments.
“OPEN FIRE”, Ramius yelled taking up position behind several equipment crates. His marines quickly heeded their commander’s call. Within seconds then entire room was alight with the orange and reddish hues of phaser energies. Ramius, no stranger to close quarters combat, also fired his rifle yet despite the hailstorm of fire something was wrong. Phaser beams intersected, crossed, and raked the center of the room sending up clouds of shimmering, iridescent embers which filled the air. The glass tube which housed the humanoid shattered under the assault and collapsed to the floor in a white cloud of frost and escaping refrigerant gasses. White hot beams tore through metal, ripped into the polished floor, and damaged everything standing in their path.
After thirty seconds, Ramius shouted the order to cease fire as the center of the room had become a cloud of dust, flying debris, and burning embers. For several seconds the entire cavern was deadly quiet as everyone waited and watched with uneasy breath to see if they had stopped their target. The dust twirled and the cloud dissipated softly at the edges as its opaque center slowly became translucent in the bright overhead flood lights that surrounded Ramius and his men.
“You’ve done it”, one of the more unstable looking scientists shouted standing from his position behind a large generator. “They actually did it!” His voice was filled with eerie glee akin to the laughs of the hysterical. Ramius caught a glimpse of the man’s wide eyes which fluttered in the light with inappropriate, anxious excitement. They brimmed with the tell tale signs of insanity.
“Get down doctor”, Ramius gruffly shouted from his position motioning for the two marines nearby the man to restrain him.
The scientist looked at Ramius with a smile. “You’ve beaten him”, the man shouted. “You..you stopped him after all he has done! The terror has ended! We’ve won!” The cavern was suddenly filled with the scientist’s bizarre laughter.
Ramius bowed his head in silent prayer. The pressure and stress of being forced to perform the unconscionable upon the living had obviously ruined the man. Years of therapy would never completely erase the damage done and the mental scars which were now painfully obvious. He was just as much a victim as those who had died. A living survivor trapped in a hellish mental prison; the scientist was no better off than the hundreds who had died at NeoDyne’s hands.
The nearby marines dragged the man to the ground who struggled and kicked still laughing in a euphoric bliss that only he and he alone could comprehend.
The moment was interrupted when metal clanged loudly against the floor at the center of the cavern. Ramius diverted his attention from the scientist and peered into the cloud of dust which had yet to fully dissipate. A sudden wave of foreboding overcame him although his eyes detected no movement and his ears heard no additional sound.
A sudden shriek from the scientist captured everyone’s attention again as the man pulled himself from the marine’s grasp running out into the center of the room laughing with wild abandon.
“DOCTOR, GET BACK NOW!”, Ramius shouted. Raising his rifle he quickly fired a warning shot in the man’s path, but it did nothing to deter him from running into the dusty cloud. A few seconds passed and the man’s laughter again cut through the air filling everyone with an unsettled, tension. Ramius stood his rifle ready as the dust finally subsided. The scientist appeared out of the white miasma his leg resting on the fallen body of the humanoid as his laughed with nervous giddiness. “YOU SEE”, he proclaimed from the center of the room. “YOU DID IT! YOU VANQUISHED THE DEMON! Ballentine wanted a key to the very gates of hell and succeeded in creating this monster. With more time he might have even been able to use the demon to open the doors and summon the Devil himself from the bowels of hell! But you stopped him!”
The scientist aimed his arm at Ramius and pointed at the captain. “Behold Gabriel and his army of angels has appeared to vanquish the evil that has for so long infested this place!”
Ramius was no saint, nor angel. He was far from a knight in shining armor his hands too stained with blood both as a soldier and in his fight against NeoDyne.
“DOCTOR”, Ramius shouted having had enough of the man’s theatrics, “GET OUT OF THERE NOW!”
The man only looked upwards as if in prayer in deep thankfulness for what had been achieved.
“DOCTOR, YOU MUST…”, Ramius shouted, but his words quickly died out as his eyes grew wide. The center of the cavern reflected off his dark pupils as fate unfolded before him.
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Captain Taverain Ramius
Commanding Officer, USS Corsair
