May Challenge - Final Moments

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction' started by Dancing Doctor, May 21, 2010.

  1. Dancing Doctor

    Dancing Doctor Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2006
    (It's been a while since I've written any Trek fan fiction (or fan fiction of any sort) but I thought I'd jump back in and try my hand once again.

    This is supposed to occur prior to/as if Yesterday's Enterprise hadn't occurred or had restored the timeline, or whatever. Time travel and temporal/linear mechanics aren't something I try to deal with.)

    The dog days are over.
    The dog days are gone.
    Can you hear the horses?
    Cuz here they come…


    Crap.
    That’s all she could think, which was funny, considering that her computer systems were capable of 90 billion operations per second and had access to the LCARS computer system and over 100 trillion pieces of information.
    But when four Romulan Warbirds, 2 D-7s and 2 of an unidentified class (large green vessels with hollowed-out spaces) turn en masse from the planet (sensors, navigational data, and information gathered from the crew members designated it as Narendra III) and, with no prior warning, begin firing disruptors (shields down to 75.19%, hull breaches on decks 19-24, SIF fluctuating, environmental and secondary operations consoles on the bridge completely slagged), what else could be said?
    Diverting some of her 90 billion operations per second to the bridge, she listened in.

    ”…and Captain, we’ve lost port thruster control. Impulse engines are down to 50% cababilty…”
    “Commander Bat-Levi reports that the warp core has been knocked offline. Preliminary estimates are it’ll be an hour before being back online…”
    “Lieutenant, get those shields up! And hail the Romulans again!”
    “Hull breach on deck 22, emergency forcefield has failed. Reports coming in of 3 crew members blown out.”
    “Doctor Stern reports sickbay has reached capacity, diverting casualties to emergency medical facilities on decks 4 and 12. 129 crew members dead, 143 severely wounded.”
    “Captain, we are receiving no response from any of the warships. Secondary communications systems have failed. The distress call coming from the planet has stopped. Sensors…whatever ones we were able to divert, are detecting no life signs on the planet.”
    U.S.S Hathaway reports that it is 5 hours away, Captain. Log buoy prepped for launch.
    Things sounds pretty bad, she thought, as disruptor fire managed to get through a gap in the shields and cause damage to the starboard warp nacelle. It was a brief reprieve before part of her attention was further called away.
    “Computer, silence klaxon.”
    ”Working,” she managed to reply in the standard voice known and heard throughout the Federation. According to the database, the voice was recorded sometime after the Excelsior-class starship was developed. A doctor, the person in charge of Starfleet Medical’s relief coordination, was chosen.
    But that’s neither here nor there. She felt odd. Without her warp core throbbing, she felt so…dead. Intellectually (funnily enough coming from a starship capable of massive amounts of information processing and deadly power) she knew that until there was a catastrophic meeting of matter and antimatter, she wouldn’t be “dead”. But, since the crew referred to it as her heartbeat…
    Humanoids…such interesting beings. Bags of mostly water, but highly useful.
    Referring back to her sensors, she saw that the crew had used her weapons systems to destroy one Romulan Warbird, and disable another one. If only we can hold out a little longer…
    Unfortunately, at that moment, her sensors detected the following:
    -An EM spike registered in Sector 123, which turned out to be one of the nacelles on the disabled Warbird exploding.
    -Incoming disruptor fire caused more scoring and hull breaches. The only consoles left unscathed on the bridge were ops, helm, and security.
    -Two more emergency forcefields failed.
    ”Computer, activate auxiliary bridge. Lieutenant Commander D’Astre, head down there and get some crew. Start coordinating any efforts to evacuate the civilians and non-essential personnel.”
    ”Working.” At that point, she turned her attention back to the battle. The disabled Warbird managed to restore some capabilities, and continued its attack.
    Wait, please! Ship to ship! Answer! Respond! It was out of desperation and, ultimately, was futile. The Romulan ships were intense, focused, predatory. Much like its humanoid crew.
    I’m going to…die. The thought was sobering, and, ultimately, unavoidable.
    Death: The end of life. The cessation of life. 2. The permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions. 3. cessation of all vital functions, traditionally demonstrated by "an absence of spontaneous respiratory and cardiac functions." 4. (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem is dead.
    “When death comes, he respects neither age nor merit. He sweeps from the earthly existence the sick and the strong, the rich and the poor.”
    “Death, so be it glorious? Tis a sunset.”

    As she continued to scroll through information on the cessation of life, the battle had continued to “rage”, if such a thing were possible. Over 40% of her systems were redlined or non-functioning, and the rest were borderline. More of her humanoid crew had perished; only 125 were left. Life support had begun to fail.
    And yet, the crew continues to fight on. Diverting some attention back to the bridge, she listened in.
    ”Captain, propulsion has failed. Weapons systems off-line, and we just barely managed to get our log buoy and other information out.” Both humanoids were hacking and coughing due to the smoke and burned polymers in the air. At that moment, a further disruptor shot from a Warbird rattled the ship. She could tell without listening to the conversation that shields had finally failed.
    ”Captain, what’s left of our sensors are detecting transporter signatures throughout the ship!”
    As Romulans beamed in through the now-numerous gaps in her defenses, she reflected further. It is doubtful that I will be towed, or left alone. Due to my deteriorated status, it is just as likely for me to be destroyed through the warp core containment field failing as it is that I shall be destroyed by the Warbirds… Her attention was diverted back to the Bridge, where sensors detected, in addition to the captain and remaining bridge crew member, 3 Romulans.
    ”Due to your violation of Romulan territory, your ship has been disabled. You will be taken prisoner and brought back to Romulus to face charges. However, since we are feeling merciful, your sentence shall be…lenient.”
    “And what if we should choose to not…accept your leniency?” Even when faced with overwhelming odds, the captain was defiant.” A pity it will ultimately probably prove to be her undoing, she thought.
    “Then…we have no other choice.” The Romulan speaking stepped back, and fired twice. The captain and crew member crumpled.
    “Beam us back to our ships. And as soon as we’re clear, open fire.”
    And thus they departed. She felt truly alone at that point. No life signs were registering throughout her ship, and more and more systems were failing. Her connections to the computer core were all but offline, and the only consistent system working was the red alert klaxon, which had failed to be taken offline. Her sensors, working sporadically, were able to detect surges of energy. Farewell.
    She could feel the disruptors tear into her hull, and more and more systems failed as the destruction ensued.
    Her last thought, as a barrage of disruptor fire penetrated through the hull and the warp core, was I hope they make an Enterprise-D
     
  2. fleetcaptain

    fleetcaptain Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2005
    Location:
    Virginia Beach, VA, USA
    Great store. Would of been interesting if you also included the alternate Natasha Yar as well.
     
  3. Dancing Doctor

    Dancing Doctor Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2006
    I had thought about adding Yar, but I decided I wanted the story to be as if Yesterday's Enterprise hadn't yet occurred.

    Thanks! :)
     
  4. TheLoneRedshirt

    TheLoneRedshirt Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    May 22, 2007
    Location:
    Here and now.
    I enjoyed the story! I would suggest adding a space between lines of dialogue to make for easier reading.
     
  5. Dancing Doctor

    Dancing Doctor Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2006
    I copy-pasted it from a Word doc, and I had forgotten how that affects the reading.

    Working on it now. :)

    Edit: Here we go:

    The dog days are over.
    The dog days are gone.
    Can you hear the horses?
    Cuz here they come…


    Crap.
    That’s all she could think, which was funny, considering that her computer systems were capable of 90 billion operations per second and had access to the LCARS computer system and over 100 trillion pieces of information.

    But when four Romulan Warbirds, 2 D-7s and 2 of an unidentified class (large green vessels with hollowed-out spaces) turn en masse from the planet (sensors, navigational data, and information gathered from the crew members designated it as Narendra III) and, with no prior warning, begin firing disruptors (shields down to 75.19%, hull breaches on decks 19-24, SIF fluctuating, environmental and secondary operations consoles on the bridge completely slagged), what else could be said?

    Diverting some of her 90 billion operations per second to the bridge, she listened in.

    ”…and Captain, we’ve lost port thruster control. Impulse engines are down to 50% cababilty…”

    “Commander Bat-Levi reports that the warp core has been knocked offline. Preliminary estimates are it’ll be an hour before being back online…”

    “Lieutenant, get those shields up! And hail the Romulans again!”

    “Hull breach on deck 22, emergency forcefield has failed. Reports coming in of 3 crew members blown out.”

    “Doctor Stern reports sickbay has reached capacity, diverting casualties to emergency medical facilities on decks 4 and 12. 129 crew members dead, 143 severely wounded.”

    “Captain, we are receiving no response from any of the warships. Secondary communications systems have failed. The distress call coming from the planet has stopped. Sensors…whatever ones we were able to divert, are detecting no life signs on the planet.”

    U.S.S Hathaway reports that it is 5 hours away, Captain. Log buoy prepped for launch.

    Things sounds pretty bad, she thought, as disruptor fire managed to get through a gap in the shields and cause damage to the starboard warp nacelle. It was a brief reprieve before part of her attention was further called away.

    “Computer, silence klaxon.”

    ”Working,” she managed to reply in the standard voice known and heard throughout the Federation. According to the database, the voice was recorded sometime after the Excelsior-class starship was developed. A doctor, the person in charge of Starfleet Medical’s relief coordination, was chosen.

    But that’s neither here nor there. She felt odd. Without her warp core throbbing, she felt so…dead. Intellectually (funnily enough coming from a starship capable of massive amounts of information processing and deadly power) she knew that until there was a catastrophic meeting of matter and antimatter, she wouldn’t be “dead”. But, since the crew referred to it as her heartbeat…

    Humanoids…such interesting beings. Bags of mostly water, but highly useful.

    Referring back to her sensors, she saw that the crew had used her weapons systems to destroy one Romulan Warbird, and disable another one. If only we can hold out a little longer…

    Unfortunately, at that moment, her sensors detected the following:

    -An EM spike registered in Sector 123, which turned out to be one of the nacelles on the disabled Warbird exploding.

    -Incoming disruptor fire caused more scoring and hull breaches.

    -The only consoles left unscathed on the bridge were ops, helm, and security.

    -Two more emergency forcefields failed.

    ”Computer, activate auxiliary bridge. Lieutenant Commander D’Astre, head down there and get some crew. Start coordinating any efforts to evacuate the civilians and non-essential personnel.”

    ”Working.” At that point, she turned her attention back to the battle. The disabled Warbird managed to restore some capabilities, and continued its attack.

    Wait, please! Ship to ship! Answer! Respond! It was out of desperation and, ultimately, was futile. The Romulan ships were intense, focused, predatory. Much like its humanoid crew.

    I’m going to…die. The thought was sobering, and, ultimately, unavoidable.

    Death: The end of life. The cessation of life. 2. The permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions. 3. cessation of all vital functions, traditionally demonstrated by "an absence of spontaneous respiratory and cardiac functions." 4. (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem is dead.

    “When death comes, he respects neither age nor merit. He sweeps from the earthly existence the sick and the strong, the rich and the poor.”

    “Death, so be it glorious? Tis a sunset.”


    As she continued to scroll through information on the cessation of life, the battle had continued to “rage”, if such a thing were possible. Over 40% of her systems were redlined or non-functioning, and the rest were borderline. More of her humanoid crew had perished; only 125 were left. Life support had begun to fail.

    And yet, the crew continues to fight on. Diverting some attention back to the bridge, she listened in.

    ”Captain, propulsion has failed. Weapons systems off-line, and we just barely managed to get our log buoy and other information out.” Both humanoids were hacking and coughing due to the smoke and burned polymers in the air. At that moment, a further disruptor shot from a Warbird rattled the ship. She could tell without listening to the conversation that shields had finally failed.

    ”Captain, what’s left of our sensors are detecting transporter signatures throughout the ship!”

    As Romulans beamed in through the now-numerous gaps in her defenses, she reflected further. It is doubtful that I will be towed, or left alone. Due to my deteriorated status, it is just as likely for me to be destroyed through the warp core containment field failing as it is that I shall be destroyed by the Warbirds… Her attention was diverted back to the Bridge, where sensors detected, in addition to the captain and remaining bridge crew member, 3 Romulans.

    ”Due to your violation of Romulan territory, your ship has been disabled. You will be taken prisoner and brought back to Romulus to face charges. However, since we are feeling merciful, your sentence shall be…lenient.”

    “And what if we should choose to not…accept your leniency?” Even when faced with overwhelming odds, the captain was defiant.” A pity it will ultimately probably prove to be her undoing, she thought.

    “Then…we have no other choice.”
    The Romulan speaking stepped back, and fired twice. The captain and crew member crumpled.

    “Beam us back to our ships. And as soon as we’re clear, open fire.”

    And thus they departed. She felt truly alone at that point. No life signs were registering throughout her ship, and more and more systems were failing. Her connections to the computer core were all but offline, and the only consistent system working was the red alert klaxon, which had failed to be taken offline. Her sensors, working sporadically, were able to detect surges of energy. Farewell.

    She could feel the disruptors tear into her hull, and more and more systems failed as the destruction ensued.

    Her last thought, as a barrage of disruptor fire penetrated through the hull and the warp core, was I hope they make an Enterprise-D
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2010
  6. Kaziarl

    Kaziarl Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2007
    Location:
    Portland, OR (Kaziarl)
    Very well done, and an excellent counterpoint to my own entry. I enjoyed it.
     
  7. Dancing Doctor

    Dancing Doctor Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2006
    I liked yours very much as well.

    I had originally thought about doing it the way you ended up doing it (only from the Enterprise-C perspective, but I figured this was the easier option.
     
  8. Whtstr314

    Whtstr314 Lieutenant Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2010
    Location:
    People's Republic of Camden, NJ
    Very good, I like the use of intraship communication to handle the continuation of the story.
     
  9. Mistral

    Mistral Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2007
    Location:
    Between the candle and the flame
    An interesting take on a starship's ruminations. Reminded me of Laumer's Bolo! in some ways.
     
  10. mari

    mari Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2009
    You've captured a vast sadness here in her inability to stop death from coming -- even her last-ditch effort to talk directly to the Romulan ships doesn't work, and her combing of the databanks for references to death in an attempt to understand is especially poignant. Well done.