This story was originally published for the USS Maximillian.
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Chapter Ten: Revenge
Admiral Lyon stood alone in the captain's ready room, adjacent to the bridge. He frowned, looking around, calming down. He suddenly felt a twinge of dread at the thought of returning to the bridge, of taking the command seat, of attempting to reverse decisions that never should have been made.
He did not blame Captain Septaric. None of this was her fault. Indeed there was nothing that any member of the Maximillian could have done to salvage this. He knew that the blame could only rest with one man.
The blame was his and his alone.
He shook off the dread. He was Admiral Robert Stephen Lyon. The highest ranked admiral in all of Starfleet. He had served aboard many ships named Maximillian, had faced and outwitted threats too numerous to mention. In addition, he had successfully negotiated first contact situations too many times to count, often diffusing issues that threatened entire systems, to say nothing of the Maximillian itself.
He was the great Admiral Lyon, a name that echoed through history as one of the greats of the fleet. And now, he would prove his ability.
As the ship shook from a nearby blast, he marched with all the dignity and confidence he could muster out of the ready room, facing the music.
"Starblade to Maximillian, beam me up!" As Lyon re-entered the bridge, he heard the call. A moment of anger crossed his face, as he wondered why they should risk bringing Lieutenant Commander Starblade back, considering it was his own doings that had caused his current situation. He shook off that thought. He was now in command of this ship, and Starblade was a member of his crew. All would and must be sacrificed for his crew, for this ship.
"Bring him back!" He barked, and heads throughout the bridge snapped to look at him. Their opinions buried deep, they executed the orders as Lyon moved towards the…his chair. He glanced, noticing Captain Septaric had not left the bridge, as he had half-expected. Instead, she was showing her true spirit, something that Lyon supposed was due to her Klingon heritage. She would stand and fight, not for her Admiral, but for the Maximillian itself. She was silent too, though a look of surprising anger and hatred, emotions that he never associated with the woman, shown in her looks and gestures. She reluctantly moved from the chair, and whispered as she passed him, "They don't know." She then moved to the operations panels, gazing over the nervous young ensign, glancing at the statistics coming in. She spoke to Lyon without looking at him, and also to the computer, and the crew. "Transfer Command to Admiral Robert Lyon, Authorization Septaric 2-04." She turned and stared at him. "The ship is yours, Admiral."
The crew was surprised, but they did not show it. The tension was building, however, the stress of being amidst the battle and the bridge conditions aggravating the conditions. Admiral T'Kill approached Lyon's side, speaking softly. "Are you out of your human mind?"
"I know what I'm doing, Turock."
"Here we go again." Blobbin said, as Turock returned to his side, choosing not to argue with Lyon. Not here, not now. "Batten down the hatches, Rob's going to try and lose another ship."
"Status, Captain?" Lyon said loudly, though he could see what was happening by merely gazing at the viewscreen. The object had now moved close to the homeworld, not quite entering the atmosphere yet, and had slowed, mopping up what little resistance remained.
"The vessel has slowed, and looks to be preparing to enter the atmosphere. Kragnar is in Engineering."
He nodded. "Fine. We strike. Break off escort, charge all phaser banks and prepare torpedoes." He glanced at Blobbin, and then continued. "Prepare the Erresdorian shielding and torpedoes."
Even Blobbin was surprised, though a tooth-filled grin spread over his face. He let out a war-whoop, and his body changed into the colors of an Indian brave uniform, complete with three bright purple feathers over his head. "GERONIMO!" He yelled, and quickly moved to a console, forming hands so he could input the correct commands.
Turock was less impressed, and lost his temper for a quick moment. "You can't! They've been barely tested, and never in a battle situation! We have no idea if it'll have any effect, if it'll even protect the Max!"
Blobbin didn't turn from where he was hurriedly punching the screen in front of him, assisted by a security officer. "Of course it'll work! The calculations came from my mind, you know." He formed a third arm with hand, and pointed at his head as he said this.
Turock grimaced. "Consider the source!"
"ADMIRAL!" Lyon bellowed, and Turock quieted quickly. "I have made my decision. We have stood by long enough; we cannot risk this planet's destruction, risk failure. The object must be stopped, and it must be stopped here. We must use everything at our disposal to succeed."
"Destruction?" Captain Septaric turned, giving up all pretense of not listening to the conversation. "You think it can destroy…"
"The Gorn Homeworld, Captain? I know it will. It's what it's here to do. Destroy. Kill every life in this universe, and beyond."
"How do you know? How can you possibly know this?"
Lyon was silent a moment, delicately preparing his answer. "Because I know. And I know what I'm here to do, what we're all here to do. So let's do it." He glanced up at the viewscreen, glanced at the object which was now slowly sinking into the planet's atmosphere. "Pursuit course, helm. Prepare a spread of Quantum Torpedoes at my mark, to detonate when I give the word. Go."
The great ship Maximillian gained momentum, and followed the object into the clouds, soaring as the sky rushed by it, as the fires attempted to ignite on its hull from the heat shield. A ship overdue for an overhaul, a displaced Captain, a worn down crew, and a vengeful Admiral all dove towards the planet's surface with the same drive and purpose. The torpedoes launched, and the battle began.
Lieutenant Commander Starblade walked across the catwalk, and gazed below him. It seemingly was a sort of bridge, connecting portions of this ship. Below him was nothing, at least that's what the looks of it were. His vision, even zoomed in, could only make out the barest glimpses of other catwalks, other walkways, and other devices that he could only begin to guess their meaning and purpose. The bridge went on for a long while, a half-mile if his calculations were correct, but Starblade knew the creature had come this way. He was caught in a game now, he knew it, but he knew it was a game he could win. He had hurt the humanoid, chasing it off. He should be cautious, he knew. The old adage came to his mind, nothing being more dangerous than a wounded animal. And that's what this was, an animal, feeding off of death and destruction like it was a full-course meal. He glanced up, and saw clouds rushing by. He couldn't guess the purpose of the object, which now seemed to be a machine, self running and correcting. He put it out of his mind. He had to focus on the task at hand.
As he moved forward, he found his first clue that things were not as they seemed. The metal pole lay in the middle of the walk, glistening with silver ooze on one end. The humanoid had recovered, it appeared. As he picked up the pole, investigating and scanning it, he was interrupted by a voice, the same voice that they had all heard echoing through the ship before. The voice of the humanoid.
"YOU HAVE COME." It spoke, loudly echoing off the unseen walls of the vessel. Starblade shook off the noise.
"YEAH! SHOW YOURSELF!"
"YOU HAVE INVADED MY VESSEL."
"AND YOU'VE INVADED MY UNIVERSE!"
"YOUR…" The voice stopped, sounding shaken, even a bit confused. "YOU DON'T REMEMBER."
Starblade stopped, and his voice was no more than a whisper. "Remember what?" He tried to track down the owner of the voice, tried to get back to a position where he held the advantage, but was distracted by a reflection off of a beam, a bluish star, growing larger…
The torpedo came through the ship, just as the weapons had done before. However this time was different. As it rushed overhead and past Starblade, it suddenly burst. The android was blinded for an instant, followed by a rush of fire and power, surging through the ship. Starblade was sent off of the catwalk, grasping a side, hanging on with one hand for his life. The Quantum torpedo had burst in a perfect spot, not seriously damaging anything, due to the different frequencies. He silently gave thanks for that fact, then cursed himself for not simply beaming in a torpedo, thereby changing the frequency, allowing it to be a part of this ship, and trying to blow it apart that way. He attempted to pull himself up, when he saw the legs of the humanoid above him, who had like Starblade and the ship, though the sudden vibrations had caused many sparks and loose wiring, survived no worse for wear. Starblade's eyes scanned upward, and stopped at the face. He blinked. The humanoid let a smile creep across its own face. Starblade shook his head. It couldn't be possible…
The humanoid was, in every way and every look, identical to Critch Starblade.
The doppelganger chuckled a bit to himself, stared down, and offered a hand of assistance.
Thoughts flooded Starblade's mind, thoughts of what this could mean, of what this must mean, of what he could and could not do next. He chose what he couldn't.
The doppelganger simply said, quietly. "Welcome home."
The android let go of the grating, and dropped into the darkness below.
"Fire! Fire at will!"
With Admiral Lyon's command, the torpedo spread shot out of the launchers and encircled the object.
"Detonate!" The torpedoes exploded in a ball of blue blaze. The ship seemed to ripple with the shockwaves, and slowed more.
Those on the ground could not forget the sight. The Crystal ship exploding out of the clouds, a Sovereign-Class vessel hot on the object's tail. They flew close to the ground, as close as they dared, above the mountains and forests, and the Maximillian's hull markings, were it to slow down enough, could be plainly read from the surface. As the object flew, a section of plating on its backside facing the Maximillian began to shine brightly. As the smoke gushed of the superheated ship, fresh from the heat shield, Admiral Lyon shouted, "Brace yourselves!"
The object fired a single beam from its rear, striking the Maximillian on its bow. The command staff flew from their positions, Blobbin in the rear shouting, "GAH! I'm buckling, Admiral!" his form bouncing around the bridge. "STATUS!" Lyon yelled from the floor.
"SHIELDS HOLDING! DOWN TO 75%!"
The object, nonplussed with the Maximillian's resistance to the weapon that had destroyed everything it had previously come into contact with, continued to fire. Again, and again, at the same spot it had struck. At the same time, there seemed to be motion at the bottom spire of the object. Panels slid as it opened up, and a sharp yellow beam erupted out of the newly created hole. It struck the planet's surface, digging deep into it, burning instantly through rock and rubble.
As the ship shook, and sparks began to rain down upon them, the crew of the Maximillian stood defiant to the last. "KEEP FIRING!" Lyon ordered his beleaguered crew, even as he punched the panel himself, having moved towards a control console, not satisfied with the smaller version on his chair. Septaric, shaken, angry, yelled out across the bridge. "WE HAVE TO PULL BACK! SHIELDS ARE COLLAPSING!"
"WE CANNOT FALL BACK! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!" Lyon was lost in the moment, lost in the possibilities of destroying this thing. He was so close.
Turock yelled from where he was assisting Blobbin, "DO YOU WANT TO LOSE ANOTHER MAXIMILLIAN?"
It hit Lyon hard, the reminder of what had occurred the last time he had taken such a large part in the command of a starship. He had forgotten what it truly meant, forgotten in favor of a life in the Admiralty, a life behind a desk, directing war games and fleet movements as though they were army soldiers in a backyard sandbox.
The final reminder came quickly. Captain Septaric had seen her console, had seen what was coming, and knew the overload that Lyon was causing by endlessly firing would take out half the bridge if she didn't stop him. She knew what she had to do. Not for Lyon, not for anyone here, but for the Maximillian. Her first and only command. She rushed at Lyon, screaming, and before he could react, she shoved him out of the way, using every bit of her Klingon strength. As he flew to the floor, the console erupted with a powerful blast. The fire that seared forth caught Septaric's body. The console exploded, sending Septaric backwards, against the First Officer's chair.
Lyon moved to his feet, dreading, knowing, remembering, and wishing for a different outcome, ANY outcome but this. His wishes did not come true, as he saw the scarred and burned body of Captain S'Quid Tai Septaric. Dead.
Shaken, cold, shocked, Admiral Robert S. Lyon rose to his feet, unsteadily rocking as pieces of the bridge collapsed in a corner. He rasped out a few words, too quiet to hear.
"Admiral…?" Commander Ayers asked, having regained her post in the Communications chair.
"I SAID FALL BACK!" He yelled, angrily, and sank into the Captain's chair. No. His chair.
The Maximillian pulled up, and was further damaged by the stress of exiting the planet's atmosphere so quickly. The beam from the object continued for another full minute, and if the object was concerned with the Maximillian, it made no move. Instead, it closed its bottom panels once the beam ceased, and broke off from its low orbit. It peeled into the atmosphere, much more gracefully than the Max, and moved past it, not even bothering to attack the smoking severely damaged vessel. As the ships moved away from the planet, the rut made by the beam began to glow with a bright yellow haze. Lava erupted from it, but soon even that was overshadowed by the light. The planet began to spin faster. Intense quakes rocked the entire globe. Beams of light began to break through the crust and the ground. The Gorn Homeworld spun and spun until it could spin no more. A bright flash of yellow light and fire flew from the planet, rocks and debris spreading through the once proud system. And after the light dissipated, nothing remained of the world.
Uncaring, unimpressed, and emotionless, the object disappeared as it moved into the void, silent, and soulless.
HE KNEW.
The information that was coming in was off the charts, what little he could read as the light overshadowed everything else in the room. The Admiral had dropped to the floor, attempting to protect his vision. But the young Captain no longer cared. He felt fear, for once in his life, actual fear at what this other place was capable of, of what it had done before.
And now that they were aware of him, of the Federation, of all of this, he was afraid of what it would do again.
He thought quickly, as the panels and computers began exploding around him. He sent the destruct signal. He would later swear that he had not sent the probe in, that he had no control over it, and he would be absolved of any responsibility. But he knew the truth. He had to get close to the anomaly…closer to knowing more.
Half in and half out of the anomaly, the probe self-destructed. A bright flash took place, and then simply, everything was gone. There were no records remaining on the ship, every system and back-up system fried in the feedback. The only one who knew what could happen was Lyon.
And he knew that if anything was to happen, it would be his fault.
His responsibility.
And his alone.