"We're in range, sir." McKenzie reported.
"Fire photon torpedoes." Allensworth said.
While at warp, the Alexandria-A fired a group of photon torpedoes that were aimed at the mirror ship's warp nacelles. Two torpedoes hit the starboard nacelle while one hit the port nacelle. It was enough to drop them out of warp. The Alexandria-A followed. In a flash of light, the Alexandria dropped out of warp and came about to fight their warp disabled enemy.
"Now that we're in the middle of open space, disengage tractor beam." Allensworth said.
Merriell pressed a few buttons on his console and the Alexandria released the subspace disruptor. The reason Allensworth had latched onto the disruptor with a tractor beam and then gone to warp was due to the warp field's effect on subspace weapons. Subspace weapons are disabled when they are inside a starship's warp field. The only way to detonate it now is manually.
The ISS Alexandria opened fire with phasers and photon torpedoes. The USS Alexandria did its best to dodge the torpedoes but the phaser beams drilled into its shields with a vengeance.
Without affording himself a single coherent thought, Lieutenant Dowey guided his fingers over the helm with nothing more than pure instinct. A giant flash of orange light swept across the somewhat busted viewscreen. The deck shook violently again and before he knew it, Dowey was holding on to the helm to keep himself from being ejected out of his seat.
Allensworth pushed himself from the deck and looked at the transformed bridge. An eerie crimson haze hung in the air and a mess of EPS conduits dangled from the ceiling. Adrenaline rushed through him as he got to his feet.
"TARGET THEIR GOD DAMNED WARP CORE!" Allensworth shouted.
McKenzie did as she was told and the Alexandria fired more photon torpedoes with an escort of quantum torpedoes. The line of photon torpedoes crashed into the shields of the mirror starship, creating enough mayhem in the shield grid for the quantum torpedoes to get through and bang into the ship where the primary and secondary hulls combine. The mirror starship fired aft phasers and struck the underside of the saucer section just past the captain's yacht and moved down into the secondary hull near the deflector dish and the engineering section. More EPS conduits exploded as everyone met with the deck once again. Flames erupted in engineering as people were tossed from their stations. People on the upper levels of engineering weren't so lucky from being thrown from their stations and practically across the room.
"Report." Allensworth ordered.
"Shields are down to forty-seven percent." McKenzie said.
"Fire ventral phasers." Allensworth said.
The Alexandria fired from its phaser array on the underside of the saucer section, striking multiple sections of its counterpart. The phaser beams penetrated their shields causing even more damage. Consoles exploded from every station on the bridge of the ISS Alexandria.
Doctor Plumley walked into main engineering at the request of Commander Zofchak. There were people who were badly injured and couldn't be taken to sickbay.
"Dustin, report." Allensworth said through the comm. system.
Zofchak stumbled a bit and held onto a console for support as he tapped his communicator badge. "We no longer have warp power. We just have impulse. We can't get to the core due to the radiation that is building…"
Dustin stumbled back and was about to fall to the deck if Plumley had noticed his distress and caught him. She pulled him back and sat him down carefully against the wall.
"Their shields have failed." Merriell reported.
"Target their starboard nacelle and fire." Allensworth said.
Two torpedoes flew out into space and impacted with the mirror ship's starboard nacelle, breaking it off from the rest of the ship. A giant explosion rocked the bridge sending the mirror crew to the deck.
Allensworth sat calmly in his chair and looked over to his communications officer. "Hoshi, signal the Alexandria and tell them to surrender or be destroyed."
Hoshi pressed a few buttons on her console and opened a channel to the bridge of their counterparts' ship. "Attention crew of ISS Alexandria. Stand down or be destroyed."
The mirror Allensworth got to his feet. His face was bloody, his uniform torn, and no one else on the bridge was getting up. He was the only bridge officer left. He stumbled over to the Ops station on the bridge and pulled the body of the dead officer out of the chair before sitting down.
"We have no reason to stand down." He said in response. "I knew what you would do the second I planted that subspace disruptor. I knew that you would tractor it and bring it to the final battle between us. I knew that we had taken more damage than you and we wouldn't last in a fight so I planted the disruptor, knowing you'd bring it with you to save the fleet. What you failed to realize is what I planned to do all along. I keep telling you this, Jermaine but you never listen. I can still detonate this subspace disruptor and without warp engines, you will suffer the same fate as your counterparts." He then cut the transmission.
"Computer, set auto destruct sequence. Authorization: Allensworth eight seven beta echo. One minute silent countdown."
"He cut the transmission, Captain." Hoshi said.
"Sir, I'm reading a build up in the Alexandria's engine core. It seems he has set the ship's auto destruct sequence. That explosion will be enough to detonate the subspace disruptor."
"How much time do we have?" Sparhawk asked.
"My guess a minute at most since that is the least amount of time allowed for auto destruction." Merriell said
Allensworth pressed a button on the arm of his chair. "Dustin, I need warp speed or we're all dead."
No response.
At that moment, Sparhawk got up from his chair and entered the turbolift.
"Dowey, get us out of here, best possible speed."
"Aye, sir."
The Alexandria swiveled around on full impulse and moved away from the mirror Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Commander Sparhawk entered main engineering. He saw Zofchak leaning against a wall with Doctor Plumley tending to him. Plumley didn't notice Sparhawk until he was approaching the forcefield that kept all the radiation near the warp core. She stood up and grabbed his arm.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" She demanded. "That radiation is lethal."
"I was just merely observing, Doctor. I came down here to help in any way I can."
"Fine." Plumley said. "Hand me that hypospray with the hyronalin in it." She said pointing to her group of hyposprays that were in her carrying case.
"This one?" Sparhawk asked.
Plumley looked over. "No, that's an ambizine hypospray, the one next to it." She turned her attention back to Commander Zofchak. The next thing she knew was the almost inaudible hiss of a hypospray pressed up against her neck.
Sparhawk gently lowered Plumley to the ground and tossed the ambizine hypospray to the deck. He then walked over to the controls and entered a few commands. A transporter beam whisked him away and took him to the other side of the forcefield.
Zofchak regained consciousness and got to his feet, seeing the first officer in a room full of lethal radiation. He ran over to forcefield.
"COMMANDER, GET OUT OF THERE!" He shouted.
Jason just ignored him as he operated a control panel and used a coil spanner to fix the plasma injectors. By then he heard another voice join Zofchak's, it was Plumley's voice.
Together the two of them shouted for Jason to get out of there but it was to no avail. They could do nothing but watch.
Aboard the bridge, the crew watched with high tension as their ship slowly moved away from the ISS Alexandria. Suddenly, the navigation console gave Lieutenant Dowey the signal that warp drive was available.
"Sir, we have warp drive." Dowey said.
Allensworth suddenly felt the adrenaline rush through his body as he stood up from his chair. "Helm, warp one, hit it."
The Alexandria's nacelles flashed and the ship warped away only seconds before the ISS Alexandria exploded, causing the subspace disruptor to explode. The omega particle inside detonated, no longer allowing starships to use warp drive in that area of space.
The officers on the bridge of the Alexandria relaxed. Jermaine touched the button on the arm of his chair. "Great job, Dustin."
"You better come down here, Captain." Dustin said solemnly.
"On my way." Allensworth said. He turned to Jason to tell him to take the bridge but his first officer wasn't there. "Alex, you have the bridge."
Allensworth entered the turbolift and headed for engineering as Merriell sat down in the center chair.
Moments later, Allensworth turned the corner into engineering and saw Zofchak, Plumley and Kazarick standing in front of a forcefield. He hurriedly approached them and saw Commander Sparhawk lying on the ground past the force field. It was him who had saved the ship at the cost of his own life. He ran towards the forcefield, not sure what he was going to do. His mind wasn't thinking clearly. It appeared to others that he was just going to lower the forcefield and go the side of his fallen friend.
Plumley, Zofchak and Kazarick stopped him before he could do anything. Plumley and Zofchak each grabbed an arm as Kazarick wrapped herself around the captain's waist.
"No, Captain. You can't lower the forcefield." Plumley said.
"But…" Allensworth began.
"Sir," Zofchak said. "He's dead."
The three felt Allensworth ease up and they felt it was okay to release him as the thought of his first officer dying sink in. Commander Jason Sparhawk would no longer walk the corridors of the USS Alexandria-A.