CV

CV

All weapons have failed. Our last bastion of defense is gone. Only our battered hull stands between us and the enemy.

The ship sped through space, closing the distance between itself and it's target. The navigation officer slowly opened the throttle as the engines roared.

'What's our status?'

'Not good, Buzz.' XR replied. 'If we hold this speed for much longer the engines are going to give.'

We're going to die. God have mercy upon our souls, upon my crew.

'Booster! How's the scan coming?'

'Nothing positive yet, Buzz.' The Jo-Adian replied. 'Long range scans can only prove one thing.'

'And what's that, Ranger?' Buzz asked.

'Whatever it is, it's huge. And there are two of them.'

God, have mercy.

'Mira, we need more speed on this thing.'

'Throttle at maximum, Buzz, we can't go any faster!' Mira recomputed the course layouts as quickly as she could. At this velocity the slightest deviation could add up.

'Correction.' XR noted. 'Now re-diverting non-essential power to engines…' He pushed a few buttons. 'Main galley, weapons control…' XR continued at his task. 'Refrigerating system, auxiliary launch support… Got it!' He hit one last key and with a dramatic flourish and a 'Tada!', the lights went out.

This is it.

All hands brace for impact.

'Thanks, XR.' Mira managed her most penetrating tone. 'Thanks a lot.'

'Well, so-rry. I thought red was lights.' The lights came back on.

'Booster, how are those scans?' Buzz reran the transmission they received earlier in his head.

'I need to reboot my system from the power failure. Gimme a minute.' He tapped his screen, and the image returned. 'Uh oh.'

'What is it?' Buzz asked.

'The ships are gone.' Booster said. All eyes turned to look at their leader. Buzz's eyebrows furrowed.

'Buzz?' Mira asked.

'Continue on course.' Buzz said. 'We've got to find out what happened to that ship.'

Repeat, to any ships receiving this transmission. This is a top-priority distress call. We- Here the transmission faltered a bit. Repeat, this is the- Arh!

The abrupt distress signal that they had earlier received caused a hurried Buzz Lightyear to abort the mapping mission and proceed with maximum alacrity to the source of the signal. After fifteen minutes, they had still not even halved the distance between them and the- whatever it was.

Buzz ordered a slowdown before the cruiser gave into the stress, and their little ship continued to hurtle onward to their destination.

'And the ship?'

'As you ordered.'

'Good. Very good. Proceed with the preparations. We need more than just the Armerant.'

It was a full forty minutes before they arrived at the source of the transmission. The sensors were not perceptive at light speed, so when they slowed down to manual power, the sight that greeted them burned itself into their minds.

Pieces of a ship. So many of them that little clangs could be heard as bits of twisted and broken metal struck their cruiser. There was one extremely large piece, completely charred, but they could still see the reinforcement barriers on the inside section. What appeared to be a chair floated past the ship, and what remained of a power conduit bounced off the cockpit.

'Oh no.' Mira said slowly as she took in all that she saw. Another few bits of metal floated past as the cruiser slowly swam past the piles of debris.

'It's gigantic.' Booster said as he looked down at his screen. The field of death carried on for over three kilometers in every direction: Up, down, everywhere.

'Was gigantic.' XR said. 'How big was this ship?'

'According to scans, more than a kilometer long. We're talking something at least half the diameter of Star Command.' Booster said.

'How many people?' Mira said, trying to digest everything. 'A thousand? Two?'

'Even more importantly, what had the power to destroy a ship this size?' Buzz said.

'There were two of them.' Booster remembered. 'Maybe this debris is from two ships?'

'No, the radial point of the debris starts here.' Buzz pointed at his screen. 'One ship.'

'There's a hole in the field.' XR said, looking at Booster's screen. 'That would mean that the second ship would have been there.' Upon hearing this, Buzz immediately snapped to command mode.

'Booster, find the energy trail for that ship. It can't have gone too far. XR, recharge the engines and prepare for light speed. Mira, I need you to work with Booster. Find out where that other ship went.' Buzz opened his commlink. 'I'll contact Star Command.' He stopped when he noticed something. 'Mira?'

The Tangean stood, one hand on the cockpit glass looking out at the remnants of the ship. The emotion in her eyes was all too clear.

'Who could be capable of this?' She asked.

'We'll find out.' Buzz replied.

'Another ship. Where the last one was.'

'Damn. They must not tell anyone! Jam the entire sector! I want them destroyed!'

'This is Cruiser 42, Star Command, please read.' Buzz said. 'Star Command, this is Cruiser 42, in Sector Gamma Omega Nine. Respond, Star Command.'

'No luck yet, Buzz?' Booster asked.

'No.' Buzz shut his commlink.

'Ya know, we are way out of Alliance space here.' XR said. 'The transmissions could take a while to-'

'Not this long.' Buzz said, standing. 'XR, I want engines online. We're getting out of here, now.'

'Gotcha.' XR began to move towards the hatch when a loud explosion came from the back of the ship. The crew was thrown forward as the power went off yet again.

'Everyone alright?' Buzz managed. There was another explosion just as he finished the sentence. Mira felt her entire body fling into the control panel and her mind detonated in a haze of pain. Before she blacked out the last thing she felt was a burning sensation.

'It was my fault, Buzz. If I'd been watching the sensor screen we would've seen it coming.'

'The impact warning never kicked in, though.' XR said. 'I wonder why.'

'Never mind that now. The both of you see what you can do about the engines. I'll continue to attempt contact with Star Command.'

Mira heard footsteps and a chair being pulled to the side of wherever she was. Then a beep, and Buzz's familiar voice.

'Star Command, this is Buzz Lightyear of Cruiser 42, please respond.' A pause. 'Star Command, do you read?' Another pause. 'Damn it!' Buzz slammed his commlink shut just as Mira opened her eyes.

'What happened?' She asked, getting up. 'Agh!' She stopped as a slicing pain cut through her side.

'Take it easy.' Buzz said. 'You bruised your ribs pretty badly when you hit the control panel like that.'

'What happened to the ship?' She spoke through the pain, being careful not to touch her side.

'A piece of debris got lodged in the engines. Booster and XR are on it now.'

Mira sank back down slowly. 'So we're stranded here.'

'For about the better part of the day, yeah.' Buzz said.

'No luck contacting help.'

'None.'

Mira closed her eyes. 'Buzz.'

'Yes?'

'Just now, I could almost feel them.'

Buzz looked at her slowly. 'Who?'

'The crew.' She said, returning Buzz's quizzical expression with her best controlled look. 'Of that ship.'

'Ah.' Buzz said.

'I imagined I was with them. In their final moments before they-' She stopped.

'Died.' Buzz finished.

'Yes.' She said. 'I felt all this grief, and, and sorrow, and complete…' She trailed off. 'Hopelessness.' Buzz said nothing, so Mira continued. 'Like all of them just realized that they were going to die, and there was nothing they could do about it.'

Buzz sat in silence as he confronted this feeling. Death was a consideration all rangers took when they joined but never had he faced it on this large a scale.

'We've got to find out who did this.' Mira said, tears rolling down her pale blue skin. 'Tell me we will.'

There was a long silence as Buzz decided what to say. There was a beep.

'Eh, Buzz?' XR said over the commlink. 'Sorry to bother you, but Booster and I were working on the engines when something happened to float by…'

'What is it, XR?'

'It's, ah-' XR looked over his shoulder at something, then seemed to reconsider. 'I think you should look at this.'

'Well, show me!' Buzz said.

'Aaah, no.' XR said decidedly. 'You've got to see this.' XR leaned forward. 'And I mean with your two little eyeballs.'

'I'll be right out.' Buzz stood up and headed out the door.

'No.' Buzz said as he forced himself to rethink the impulses that his brain was giving him.

'Exactly what Booster said.' XR pointed to Booster, who was hurriedly working on the engines. 'I locked down the piece, and called you.'

Buzz kept looking at Booster. The alien seemed to be trying not to look in his direction.

'But it can't be!' Buzz said. 'I know all the records and there's no such thing as-'

'But it's here, Buzz.' XR pointed. 'I matched the rest of the debris with this. It's definitely part of the ship.'

Buzz looked. And looked again and again.

Mira was supporting herself on the doorframe when the hatch opened and Buzz stepped in. He saw her.

'Mira, what are you doing out of-'

'What.' She said. 'Is going on?' She demanded. When Mira was in this mood there was no arguing with her. Buzz sighed.

'Get your helmet.' He said as he turned and opened the hatch once more.

'No.' Mira said as she forced herself to rethink the impulses that her brain was giving her.

'See? That's what Buzz said. I say, all you carbon-based life forms are exactly alike. No variety whatsoever.'

'It's-' Mira started.

'It's a nameplate.' Buzz said. Mira read it for the tenth time.

CV BALTIMORE

COMMISSIONED: 2025 AD

TERRA THREE SPACE FLEET

No one needed telling what 'Terra Three' was.

'I haven't heard the term 'Terra Three' since the Academy.' Mira said in pure shock, her earlier pain forgotten. 'This is one of ours!'

'But there is no Space Fleet.' Buzz said. 'Never was. The ship designation CV doesn't exist. Baltimore was a place in America.' He thudded the metal. 'Nothing else!'

'What's America?' XR asked.

'Look at this date.' Mira ran a finger over the middle of the painted zero. 'This ship is centuries old.'

'Heh. No wonder it blew up.' XR said. 'Maintenance alone would've cost an arm and a leg.'

'But we didn't have the technology to build this-' Buzz waved a hand at the floating debris. 'At this time!' He pointed at the date. 'Even now our ship building capability is limited to Star Cruisers. How on Earth did we find enough power to propel a ship this size?'

'Maybe someone's just yanking our chain.' XR said.

'The nameplate's in English.' Mira said. 'Alliance protocol states that all ships must bear names in English, and their own language.'

'So maybe it's not an Alliance ship.' XR suggested.

'Then if it's not-' Buzz said. 'Somebody somewhere has the power to create a ship of this magnitude.'

'And somebody somewhere has the power to blow it up.' Mira said.

'Wow.' XR said. 'You know, I've been thinking.'

'You have.' Buzz said.

'Yes, I have.' XR defended. 'Judging by the size of the ship and the radius of the debris, I'd say that this battle went on for a long time.'

'Why?' Mira asked.

'If the ship blew up in one giant explosion, the debris would be a lot more spaced out, you know? But looking at this, and by this I mean this gargantuan amount of destruction, I'd say that the Baltimore got pounded over time, causing little bits to fly out, and then when the ship finally gave in, the debris got spread out a little more.'

'I get it.' Mira said, hope sparkling in her eyes. 'If the battle took a long time, then at least the Baltimore would've caused some damage!'

'XR, I want a scan of every last piece of debris here. If any of it doesn't look like it belongs to the Baltimore, then I want it hauled into science lab.'

'Sir.' XR replied, boosting back towards the hatch.

'Booster, how are those repairs coming?' Buzz came over.

'Goind fie, Buzz.' Booster replied, half his body up Number Two Engine. 'Nedd a liddle felhp fere.'

'Right.' Buzz grabbed the toolbox which was floating beside Booster. 'Where do I start?'

'No… nope… nada… zip… zero… zilch… naught… nil… nonexistent…' XR muttered as he continued to scan. Mira, who was standing behind him opened her mouth to inquire as to his progress when he cried out 'AHA! Gotcha!' He brought his finger down hard on a button, and a small piece of debris filled the center of the screen. Little readouts began to display on either side of the image, too fast for Mira to comprehend. 'No match whatsoever. Material's different, size dimension is different, diffusion patterns, laser burns, yep.' XR said. 'We have our bogey.'

'My God.' Buzz said. 'Ten minutes with a laser saw and not so much as a scratch.'

The almost square piece of brown metal was being subjected to as much testing as the team could muster. So far, they hadn't been able to so much as dent it.

Lying beside the piece was a part of the Baltimore, also being subjected to the same testing. The results were even more appalling.

Both hulls were composed of unknown alloys, and both were stronger than anything the Alliance scientists had yet to come up with. These were obviously ships of war.

Structural analysis and testing had proved one stronger over the other, which made the team come to the horrible realization of the scope of what they were dealing with.

The hull section of the Baltimore was almost twice as strong as that of the other ship.

Obviously, the ship had either got the jump on the Baltimore, or opened fire first. Or maybe they had some secret weapon, some trump card that allowed them to completely devastate a ship with twice their armor and get away with only minor damage. But that would disprove XR's theory on the amount of fight the Baltimore dished out before she blew.

Or maybe.

'Shields.' Mira said, suddenly. 'That's got to be the only answer.'

'Answer to what?' Buzz asked.

'That's how they managed to one-up the Baltimore.' Mira said in realization. 'Of course!'

'As in energy shields?' Booster said. 'That technology is pretty recent, and nothing at this level.'

A shield powerful enough to protect a ship of this size long enough for it to completely destroy the Baltimore.

Star Command would be rendered completely helpless.

'What do we do now?' Booster asked.

'We get out of here.' Buzz said.

'But-' Mira protested.

'It's too dangerous to stay out here for long.' Buzz said. 'Our mystery ship might come back. And if the Baltimore couldn't handle it, what chance do we have?'

A ship. Amidst the wreckage. Small, white, gleaming.

And totally paralyzed.

'XR, how goes it?' Buzz asked.

'Last few power couplings.' XR replied. 'Nothing much else besides some weld work and some new paint.'

'Need a hand out there?' Booster asked, over Buzz's shoulder.

'Nah. I'll be done in three.'

'Good.' Buzz said. 'Over and out.'

'Buzz, something tells me we should stay here.' Mira said from her position. 'The answers are in here somewhere. We're just not looking hard enough.'

'Well, something tells me that we're not going to have much luck finding those answers if we're in too many pieces to do so!' Buzz sat down. 'Lay in a course for the closest comm relay. We need to-'

'Buzz!' Booster called. 'We've got a ship incoming fast! It's dead ahead!'

Mira felt her heart sink.

'How big?' Buzz dreaded the reply.

'Ten meters long.' The relief was almost audible. Buzz immediately opened a channel.

'Unknown vessel, this is Space Ranger Lightyear of Star Command. Identify yourself immediately.'

No response.

'Unknown vessel, identify yourself. This is Space Ranger Lightyear of Star Command. Repeat, identify yourself or be fired upon.' The ship was visible now. It was obviously a one-man craft, judging from the cockpit, but the configuration was alien to him.

Then it fired. A volley of lasers streaked across the side of the cruiser, causing the whole ship to shake.

'XR!' Buzz shouted into his commlink. 'Get those engines online!'

'As you command.' XR said as he entered the flight deck. 'Punch it, Mira!'

'You got it.' Mira opened the throttle as the ship began to turn towards their attacker.

'XR, lock weapons and fire to disable.' Buzz said. 'This may be our key to unlocking this enigma.'

'Eat this!' XR fired a brief fury of laser after laser into the small ship, which was circling around the Star Cruiser. Not one met its mark.

'That thing is fast!' Booster said.

'Buzz, I can't face him!' Mira said as she wrestled the controls. 'He's running circles around us!' The ship rocked again as the fighter unleashed another stream of lasers unto the aft section and pulled ahead of the cruiser.

'Outer hull breach!' Booster yelled.

'Whatever that thing's packing, it's going to tear us apart soon if we don't stop it!'

XR, meanwhile, was lining up a shot.

'Gotcha!' He fired one shotgun burst of lasers in the general direction of the fighter. Its shields gleamed blue as the lasers were harmlessly absorbed.

'No.' Buzz repeated as the ship did a complete turnaround and headed straight back towards them. XR fired again, in vain. In slow motion, a small cylindrical object floated out of the fighter, as the small ship banked away. Mira remembered looking at the white tube for what seemed to be eternity before the missile's engines ignited.

'Evade!' Someone screamed. Buzz? Booster? She didn't know. The controls moved before her brain even registered that she'd moved them, and the cruiser sped upwards and away.

The missile disappeared from view as it went under the belly of their ship and connected with the ceramic armor plates.

Time resumed its normal speed as the crew was thrown forward. XR realized the opportunity and released a hail of fury upon the fighter.

The oncoming barrage proved too much for the little ship as its shields faltered, then failed. One last shot slammed into the fighter's hull with a resounding finality as it exploded, the ejection pod streaming out into space, fire in its wake.

'Damage report.' Buzz managed as he looked behind him. His crew seemed alive.

'Outer hull damage. Nothing too bad.' Booster said. 'There's a small breach of the inner hull in cargo bay four, but that's sealed up.'

'What the hell was that thing?' Mira said. 'It had more firepower than we did!'

'And shields.' Booster pointed out.

'We'll deal with that later.' Buzz said, looking at the eject pod. 'Right now we've got to save the pilot.'