Interphase

Posted on Nov 24, 2015 @ 8:24pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane

Mission: Civil War

"INTERPHASE"

(Continued from "Dust")

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Captain's Log, supplemental - my business on the Pendragon completed, I am returning to the Phoenix aboard the Babbage. There are twenty-one hours left until Marxx's deadline expires, and we are no closer to figuring a way out of this mess...

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Location: USS Phoenix, facing off against the Neo-Essentialist fleet
Stardate: [2.15]1125.0025
Scene: Science conference room - deck 8, saucer section


Michael Turlogh Kane listened carefully as Aerdan Jos explained the nanite idea. Also seated around the table were Jake Crichton, Cade Foster, and Ensign Lahav, the Tellarite Acting Chief Science Officer, but Kane wasn't looking at them. His eyes flitted from Aerdan's face to a holographic display that hung in the air over the conference room table. Rotating in the air was a representation of one of these Borg nanites, a deadly triumph of engineering over biology, that looked like a square computer chip equipped with several mechanical arm-like protrusions. These protrusions fulfilled various technological functions that were dependent on the nanite's particular function.

The construction of a nanite itself was relatively complicated for its size. There was a forward propulsion block, a miniature subspace receiver, a gyro block, a calibrator, a pair of reverse flow paddles, a cell membrane sensor and manipulator, a telemetry antenna, a forward motion sensor, and a crystalline articulator. Inside the main computer processor was an emergency dissolve system and a range of programmable logic circuits. All that was squeezed in to a device smaller than a human cell.

Kane looked at Jake. "This is like something out of a science fiction story. What's your take on all this?"

"I'm against the whole thing," said Jake. "I know that the Federation uses nanotechnology all the time. Hell, we have billions of them at work aboard this ship right now in our isolinear circuits. They can be used in damage control, surgery, scientific experimentation - anything you can think of. But our nanites - they're kept controlled. They're designed with numerous failsafes and cannot grow beyond their programming. We keep their software utterly basic to stop them extrapolating beyond what we want them to do. When we're done with them, they're irradiated with a gamma burst and incinerated. We have complete control."

"And we won't with these Borg nanites?" asked Kane.

Jake spoke slowly and deliberately, eyeballing Cade as he did so. "Captain, none of these Borg nanites should be in existence. They were supposed to be destroyed when the Zanders Collective was eradicated. They're a deadly weapon. Once they're deployed - and I remind you all that we still have not decided on how do even do that - they'll be completely uncontrollable. Not only could they reduce the Neo-Essentialist fleet to slag, but they can migrate through a vacuum and do the same to us. Their Borg adaptability means we'd be practically defenceless. It's like detonating a fusion weapon on a planet's surface - sure, you can avoid the initial blast and survive, but when the atmosphere burns off, you die too, no matter how far away from the detonation you are."

Kane frowned and looked at Aerdan. "He's making a good case, Commander. Rather than activate these things, it sounds like we'd be better off putting them in a bag and throwing them into the warp core."

"I know, sir." Aerdan gestured to Cade and Lahav. "However, both Doctor Foster and Ensign Lahav are confident that the proposed modifications to the nanites' programming will override their Borg imprint. That's how the Zanders Collective was ultimately defeated. Although we'll be programming them to target the Neo-Essentialist fleet through transponder frequencies, we'll include sub-routines that specifically exclude our fleet from their mission focus. They won't turn on us. Once the enemy fleet is disabled, we can blanket the system with high-level gamma radiation and eradicate the nanites."

Kane looked at Lahav. "Does gamma radiation pose any potential threat to either the people on Elandipole or to the personnel on both fleets?

The Tellarite shook his head - a strangely Human gesture he'd picked up somewhere. "Not this kind. High-level gamma bursts have very short EM wavelengths, shorter even than the diameter of an atom. They're also less ionising than the beta particles that the Amaterasu were giving off. Some forms of gamma radiation are utterly deadly to organic life, but as Commander Jos has said, we've considered all the potentialities."

Kane looked at the hologram again, watching it turn over and over like a planet orbiting a sun. "Approximately how many of these nanites would we be using?"

Aerdan tapped the control panel and an horrifically complicated mathematical equation appeared. It hurt Kane's eyes just looking at it. "At the beginning, just over a trillion. As they reproduce to invade the Neo-Essentialist fleet, their numbers would rise to somewhere over ten to the twenty-fourth power and increase exponentially."

The numbers were staggering. Kane licked suddenly dry lips. "If we are able to complete to necessary modifications and programming to these nanites, how would we deploy them in a first-strike scenario?"

The Andorian sat down. "Therein lies our problem. Delivery by a probe or torpedo has been ruled out. A particle beam is possible, but we'd lose too many of them in the transmission of the beam. Our best option is manual deployment." Aerdan touched another control, and the hologram changed again. Now it showed a metallic storage device shaped like an ice-cream cone, with a wide circular opening that tapered down to a point.

Kane looked at the dimensions of the device. It was made to fit into a humanoid hand's palm. "A monofilament point at the sharp end?" he said aloud. "An internal processor? What am I looking at, Mister Jos?"

"Our delivery system," said Aerdan. "It's still in the design stage, but this is what Commander Crichton has been able to hypothesise in the last hour. Jake?"

Jake took over on the control panel. The hologram animated - the circular end of the cone came away, revealing it to be a lid. "The cone's made of nitrium alloy. It has its own computer processor and miniature battery. The nanites go inside the cone," he explained. As he said it, the animation continued - tens of thousands of tiny holographic nanites appeared and spilled into the cone, filling it up from the monofilament point to the top. When it was full, the lid went back on and the cone's internal computer processor activated. "Once they're in, the nitrium cone's processor activates a dampening field that lasts for a set period of time. We're still working that detail out, but I doubt we'll be able to get enough power to keep the field from lasting longer than thirty minutes or so. While the dampening field is active, the nanites' computer program is inhibited - they cannot act and are inert."

"I'm following you," said Kane. "Go on."

The animation started up again. The nanite-filled cone inverted itself. Now the circular base was at the bottom of the display, and the pointed end stuck straight up into the air. The computer processor began to flash. Jake threw a thumb at it. "We place the cones like that. After the set time expires, the dampening field deactivates and the nanites' programming engages - to home in on and destroy the structures housing a specific subspace frequency."

"The enemy starships," said Kane.

"Right," said Jake. As they watched, the holographic nanites emerged from the monofilament hole and began to spill down the sides of the cone. "The monofilament point stops the nanites from flooding the cone's immediate environment. Through a controlled release, we ensure that their spread through the enemy starships is staggered, but unstoppable."

Kane watched the animation. The emergence of the nanites was like watching a volcano erupt. He sat back in his seat as the animation came to stop, then reset itself to show the empty nitrium cone.

Aerdan took over again. "Deploying the nitrium cones would be done manually. Lieutenant Barton and Major Thytos are finalising a boarding plan against the Century. With modifications, we could target any enemy starship. We could - "

" - we could kill over eighty thousand of our fellow Starfleet personnel," said Kane. "This is a doomsday weapon, Commander. If we're able to theorise a way to weaponise these Borg nanites in little over an hour, what do you think the Neo-Essentialists would do with them?"

Silence hung in the air.

Kane stood up. "Complete the design of the nitrium cones. Prepare the software to reprogram the nanites."

"Thank you, Captain!" exclaimed Cade. He was smiling with approval and looking at Jake, a note of triumph in his voice.

"Not so fast, Doctor," said Kane. "I do not mean to deploy these weapons if there is a way to avoid it. They're an ultimate resort, not a first-strike agent, and I refuse to countenance an unprovoked attack on the enemy fleet with these weapons. However," he swallowed hard, "we may have to take drastic measures if this turns into a shooting war." He looked at Jake and Aerdan. "My compliments on your ingenuity, gentlemen. Although I don't feel that now is the right time to deploy the nanites, I want you to continue with this project. It may give us an edge in the future, even if only a psychological one. How long do you need to complete design and manufacture of the nitrium cones?"

"I can have several dozen prepared in say, four or five hours," said Jake.

"And how long to write the nanites' software program?"

"Around the same," said Aerdan.

Kane nodded. "Get to it, then."

As one, they filed out of the room, the air full of possibilities.

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Location: USS Century, facing down the rebel fleet
Scene: Captain's ready room


Dexter Marxx watched Ronald Heydrich take his seat across the desk from him. The blond Human showed no sign of the embarrassment he must have felt at being physically accosted by Marxx earlier. Instead, his demeanour was professional, his language clipped and military. He had made no mention of the earlier incident at all.

Dex longed to see the deserts of Kesir-Tosharra. As good as it felt being in command again, something in him had snapped earlier. What had he been thinking? With a sinking feeling, he realised that Heydrich would be perfectly within his rights to haul Marxx before the JAG for assault. After all, Heydrich had not laid a hand on him, it had been the other way round.

By the All-Father, mused Marxx, am I getting old and crotchety?

"We've completed correlating the fleet's sensor readings," Heydrich was saying. He passed a PADD across the table. "It's as we thought - although victory is certain, much will depend on how quickly we can destroy the Phoenix."

"Neutralise, Commander."

Heydrich looked up. "Admiral?"

"How quickly we neutralise the Phoenix," said Marxx, knowing another disagreement was in the offing. "Misguided as they are, there are still twenty thousand of our fellow Starfleet comrades over there, yes?"

"They are the enemy," said Heydrich. "We've been though this, Admiral."

Marxx leaned forward. "No doubt your battle plan calls for the destruction of the Phoenix as the primary objective. Then you want the Pendragon and Stonehenge obliterated as secondary objectives, am I right?"

"The Phoenix is the most dangerous vessel in the entire Alpha Quadrant, Admiral."

"I'm not disputing that. Last I checked, Starfleet rules of engagement were that, if engaged in combat, a starship commander's primary responsibility is to remove the enemy's ability to fight. Not necessarily to shoot to kill. That means that, if this confrontation escalates into a fleet battle, we will target the enemy starships' weapons systems and shields. We will minimise the loss of life."

Heydrich looked pained. He tossed his PADD onto the desk with a clatter, and rubbed his temples with his index fingers. "Minimise loss of life? Admiral, if we do not target the enemy with hull strikes and torpedo attacks on their nacelles, we will be ensuring that we suffer thousands of additional casualties in an extended battle! Better to obliterate them quickly than to have our own people die!"

Dex sat back and steepled his rust-red fingers. "Weapons systems and shield generators, Commander," he said evenly. "Those are my orders."

"I'll try one last time, Admiral. You have been orders to destroy the enemy. Your proposed battle tactics would result in heavier casualties for this fleet. How can you justify that to the general public? Your legacy would be ruined. Your entire career spoiled because you refused to act decisively at the end. They'd laugh you all the way back to that desert rock you hail from."

Dex considered that. Why had he accepted Edgerton's call to arms? Was it because he was bored, or felt he had something left to offer? One last hurrah? Or, by the All-Father, was it ego? He shook his head. "That's not how we do things in Starfleet, Commander Heydrich. It never has been in all my career. We're not murderers." He looked at the Terran right in the face, daring him to disagree, his violet eyes flashing. "Weapons systems and shield generators. Am I clear?'

Heydrich set his jaw. "Very clear, Admiral," he said, his voice dripping with frustration. "Am I dismissed?"

Dex nodded, watching the other man rise and head for the door. He checked the chronometer. Twenty hours to go.

"Come on, Kane," he muttered. "Just quit and we can all go home."

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Location: USS Demeter, holding station near Elandipole IV
Scene: Cargo bay 2


Thoris P'Trell watched eagerly as Alexander Towers' marines deposited the chronoton artifact into the Demeter's cargo bay. The marine officer was talking to Marie-Claire Martine, both of them watching as the artifact was put into place. The black marble seemed to shimmer in the light, the rainbow-coloured veins flickering strangely at its new surroundings. He watched Towers tip a nod to one of the engineers, and a sky-blue forcefield appeared around the artifact, rippling like water.

Behind him, Sardak stood sagelike, his arms crossed under the voluminous sleeves of his brown robe. The Vulcan's face was unreadable, nor did his voice betray any emotion. "You have your wish, Mister President. The artifact is aboard. Are you satisfied?"

Towers and Martine started to walk toward them both as Thoris turned to Sardak, wondering what the Vulcan meant by choosing those words. "Indeed. I'm satisfied." As Towers and Martine reached them, he turned to the marine. "Well done, Colonel. How long until Admiral Marxx's deadline expires?"

Towers checked the chronometer. "Twenty hours, Mister President."

Thoris nodded. "To the bridge. It is time to make the opening move of this game."

Sardak frowned, and Martine and Towers looked surprised. "Mister President?" asked the Canadienne.

"I have decided to open negotiations with Admiral Marxx," said Thoris. "We will see if there is an alternative to his ultimatum. P'Trell to bridge."

[[Bridge here,]] came the voice of the Demeter's Efrosian Ops officer.

Thoris nodded, a smile on his face. "Engage impulse engines, Mister Fanail. Move us toward the Century."

[[Understood, sir.]] If the Efrosian was confused, he didn't let it show in his voice.

The sleeves of Sardak's brown robe fell down as the Vulcan moved his hands up in surprise. "I do not understand this new course of action, Mister President."

Towers pointed at the chronoton artifact. "Sir, you sent me to the Pendragon to pick that thing up because you wanted it kept out the battle! Now you're taking the Demeter forward into the arc of the Century's guns?"

Thoris looked at him pointedly. "That's correct, Colonel."

"Mister President," said Sardak. The Vulcan lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Thoris. This is most unusual. What is your plan?"

Thoris patted Sardak on the arm, a little germ of satisfaction sprouting within him as the Vulcan's face creased with displeasure at being touched. "Don't worry, my friend," he said. He rounded on Towers and Martine with a winning smile. "Don't either of you worry. This will all be over soon enough."

He moved toward the door of the cargo bay. Towers and Martine shared a glance, before obediently turning to follow.

Sardak wrapped up his robe and also moved to the door, but he did not follow them.

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Location: USS Pendragon, orbiting E-4
Scene: Captain's Quarters


The Pendragon was in darkness, and Peter tossed and turned in a restless sleep, seeing Matthew's face smiling at him in his mind's eye. Although the various starships of the fleet had synchronised their chronometers so that each ship's day/night cycle matched everyone else's, he had been so tired lately that sleep had been on his mind all day.

[[Bridge to Captain Aspinall.]] It was Izzy's voice, but she was so far away. She might have been standing over his bed murmuring, or have been speaking to him from beyond the grave.

Peter opened his eyes to the gloom. The shadows were long against his wall, and although his headache had disappeared, something didn't feel right. He wasn't even sure if he had even heard Izzy call, if he had been floating somewhere in the gray between sleep and wakefulness.

He decided to sit up and take a drink of water from the glass on his nightstand, and his life fell apart. As he extended his hand, he could see through it! It was all there, his skin, the hairs on his forearm, the recently filed and shaped fingernails, but now it was all transparent, like a reflection in a pane of glass.

As the shock of it hit him, Peter screamed aloud. He scrambled out of bed and looked around in horror. Everything in the room was the same, fading and coming back like his vision was becoming blurred.

[[Bridge to Captain Aspinall.]] It was Izzy's voice again. He definitely heard it this time, and called out anxiously in response.

"Izzy! Something's wrong in my quarters! Everything is just fading in and out of view!"

[[It's happening all over the ship, Peter. People are terrified. We can barely interact with the ship's systems! Science reports that we are slowly shifting in and out of this continuum, into something called spatial interphase. Has it got to do with the chronoton artifact?]]

Peter put his hands to his head, and almost freaked out when one of them passed right through his skull. He thought furiously, pacing to and fro as he organised his thoughts. Spatial interphase occurred when the fabric of space began to break up, lessening the boundaries between the myriad parallels of the multiverse. If that was happening now, aboard the Pendragon, then it was because the chronoton artifact was gone. Their earlier theory must have been true. Oh God, he wondered, are we about to fade out of existence?

Not without a fight! he screamed inwardly. "Red Alert!" he called, praying that his voice would carry. A moment later, the ship's klaxons blared into life. "Move us toward the Demeter! We have to get that artifact back or we're all dead!"

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Location: USS Phoenix, in the shadow of the enemy guns
Scene: Captain's Ready Room


Kane rubbed tired eyes. It had been a long day, and there were still nineteen-and-a-half hours until the deadline passed. He made a mental note to order Foster to start administering stim shots to the crew - if they were all going to be awake for another day, they didn't need to be fighting their own fatigue as well as the Neo-Essentialist fleet.

[[Bridge to Captain Kane,]] came Byte's voice from the bridge. [[Message from the Demeter. It is Vice-President Sardak, transmitting on a secure channel.]]

Kane frowned. "Put it through." The Vulcan's satanic visage winked on to the screen. "Mister Vice-President. What can I do for you?"

Sardak's face was calm, but his body language spoke of perturbations. [[Captain Kane, I am contacting you on a secure channel because I wish to speak to you about President P' Trell.]]

Kane leaned forward, thinking wildly. What was going on. "Go ahead, sir," he said.

Sardak paused a moment, as if wondering how to frame his thoughts. [[Captain Kane, it is my belief that the President is acting irrationally and means to - ]]

[[Bridge to Captain Kane,]] came Byte's voice again. [[Urgent.]]

Kane swore inwardly. "Stand by, Mister Vice-President," he said, quickly muting the screen. "Go ahead, Byte."

[[Captain, the Demeter is moving, and the Pendragon is following her. Moreover, we are receiving strange sensor readings from the Pendragon - she appears to be slipping in and out of spatial phase.]]

"In and out of phase?" Kane repeated, flabbergasted. "Where's the Demeter moving to?"

[[The Demeter is on a course for the Century, sir.]]

"What?" Kane exclaimed. He jabbed at his desktop monitor screen. "Mister Vice-President, the Demeter is moving toward the Century! Do you know anything about this?"

The Vulcan inclined his head. [[President P' Trell has decided to open negotiations with Admiral Marxx. I recommend that the Phoenix escorts the Demeter as she moves forward. Should the Admiral decide to open fire, he would - ]]

"I understand, Mister Vice-President," said Kane. "I'll see to it." He cut the connection and dashed for the bridge. "Yellow Alert, Mister Byte! New course - intercept the Demeter!"

As the doors to the bridge hissed open, he realised with a sinking feeling that if the Phoenix could see the Demeter moving toward her, then so could the Century.

The nineteen hours to the expiration of the deadline might not matter now.

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NRPG: What the hell is going on?


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX


"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.113

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