Carpathia IV: Episode 163 - Booby Trap
Bridge, NCCS Shadowdancer
Aire leaned forward in his chair, hands clutched together in his lap, as he spoke to Admiral Zhang on the holopad.
Aire: Lamia and I have agreed that it's best to separate the groups from the Vashta ship. We've had some problems with violence and many, particularly the vashtari women, are going to need a significantly more intensive training before we can even consider introducing them to Carpathian society. The vashtari men and the komodo are likely to be far more receptive to what our culture has to offer.
Admiral Zhang nodded.
Admiral Zhang: I see what we have here are not the same as the willing refugees we rescued before. They haven't even considered what a free society might look like.
Aire: That's the short version, yes. It's going to be a long road for many of them.
Kuro poked her head into the hologram field with Admiral Zhang, producing an amusing image of a disembodied head floating next to hers.
Kuro: We've asked Ryuu for a report on the results of his mind reads. Our first task will be to do individual evaluations on each one.
Aire: They will be in capable hands, for sure. One more thing to note. I offered Lamia her swords back at the end of our last meeting, but she turned them down. She said she wants to leave the old ways behind.
Admiral Zhang: That is interesting to know, Captain. Thank you for the update. We will see you tomorrow. Zhang out.
Admiral Zhang fizzled away from the holopad while Aire leaned back in his chair with a sigh and turned to Joust.
Aire: I'll be looking forward to a soak in the sento when all this is...
An explosion and a violent shake nearly threw Aire out of his chair. Automatically, the ship's lights switched to condition red status.
Aire: Nalma, status!
Nalma: The Vashta ship has opened fire. Hull breach on Decks 10, 11, and 12, sections 37 through 44. No critical systems damaged. I've raised shields.
Aire: Helm, evasive. Kit, get me Sylvar, now!
Kit: Having trouble raising Neptunus. I think there's something wrong with their system.
Aire: Get me Azrael, then, and keep trying.
Another explosion, but this one significantly more muffled and the ship gave only a mild shake.
Nalma: Shields holding.
Neptunus
Though Sylvar enjoyed his time hamming it up on the chaise at the top of the plinth in the center of the bridge, work beckoned. There was a lot to do, combing through every line of code little by little, disabling traps and anything else that might look nefarious. He'd already gotten the sorts that he knew of. Harder were the ones that he didn't know of. The start of his troubles came, unexpectedly, from Teek.
Teek: Captain, I think I've lost helm control.
Sylvar's ears twitched. This was not what he wanted to hear, for it was not unusual for one booby trap to lead to another. This, he thought, could be the beginning of something. Right away, he abandoned what he was doing and rushed to the helm.
Sylvar: Explain, Teek.
Teek: I was supposed to make a slight course correction as we passed that black hole a bit ago, but I am unable. I can't change speed or direction.
Teek demonstrated by attempting to make his course correction, but the helm refused to accept his inputs or even acknowledge that he was making any inputs at all.
Sylvar: Ivy, have you noticed any issues?
Ivy: Everything seems normal from here, Captain.
Sylvar: Start running systems checks and start with helm. We need to track this down.
Sylvar rushed up the stairs to the top of the plinth and held the engineering call button.
Sylvar: How is everything down there?
Ramei: No problems to report. Is there something wrong?
Sylvar: There's an auxiliary helm control station near the main entrance to engineering. See if you can access that.
Ramei: Understood. I'll contact you from there.
Sylvar plopped down on the chaise, a nice place to relax, but rather awkward for working, and he pulled the command console toward him to examine more code.
Ivy: Captain, I recommend we contact Shadowdancer and Cerberus. They'll need to know what's happening.
Sylvar, already engrossed in schematics, didn't even look up from his console.
Sylvar: Do it.
Sylvar continued working, but, moments later, Ivy called out more news.
Ivy: Communications not functional.
This really did make Sylvar stop scrolling and his eyes widened. It was spreading, just as he feared. He pushed the engineering call button again.
Sylvar: Ramei, forget the helm. Do whatever it takes to shut down the engines.
Ramei: I was just about to contact you. The weapons systems are powering up!
Sylvar growled, pressing both his hands up against his head, as though squeezing his brain might make him miraculously come up with a solution.
Sylvar: Rrgh! Do whatever you can! Destroy whatever you have to!
Sylvar leaped down from the plinth to the communications station with Ivy.
Sylvar: We have to warn Captain Valro and Captain Azrael!
After frantic swiping through the ship's schematics, Sylvar saw something different flip by and slammed his hand on the console. He scrolled back to what he saw.
Sylvar: That's it! The weapons control node is usurping the other systems. I must have triggered a trap when I was getting rid of suspicious files! It's firing already!
With Sylvar almost in a trance, watching the weapons node system spread through other areas of the ship, he reacted with a start when Ivy reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
Ivy: Calm down. Solve problem first. Could the Shadowdancer or Cerberus destroy the weapons node?
Sylvar shook his head, as though shaking cobwebs out of his ears.
Sylvar: Um... Yes, they could, but how do we tell them where to shoot?
Ivy nodded.
Ivy: I have an idea how to communicate with the other ships. Is it safe to go to the officer's quarters just below the bridge?
Sylvar: It is. They don't put traps there.
Ivy: I'll keep a comm link open. You'll need to tell me what to say when I get there, alright?
Shadowdancer
The Shadowdancer so far held its own against the suddenly rogue Vashta ship. Rather, it wasn't so much that the Shadowdancer did well, but the Vashta ship did poorly, soaring around drunkenly through space and shooting clumsily in all directions. Occasionally, a shot hit the Shadowdancer or Cerberus, but with little damage.
Aire: What do you think, Commander?
Joust: Something has gone wrong over there. That's obvious enough. Problem is, we can't count on it to be inept forever and Sylvar and the others might be in danger themselves.
There was another hit, this time a much harder shudder than the usual, causing Aire to instinctively grip his armrests hard.
Joust: Okay, that one was no joke.
Nalma: That hit way too close to the shield generator. If that ship was drunkenly firing before, it is sobering up now.
Aire: We need options. Any way to disable the ship without destroying it?
Kit: I'm getting something, Captain, but we need to keep on the Neptunus's port side.
Aire: Helm, keep the port side in view!
Mikado: Yes, Captain!
Kit: I'm getting semaphore lights from the superstructure. "Lost control of ship. Need to destroy weapons control node." Now I'm getting a list of numbers.
Aire: Send to Phobos.
Kit: Sending now.
Phobos: Got them. I'll find out what they mean.
Another shudder, just as strong as the last. Indeed, whatever AI controlled the Neptunus now was getting better.
Phobos: These are the coordinates of the weapons control node on Neptunus. I'm putting the mark on the schematics and sending to Nalma.
Aire: Send to the Cerberus too.
Nalma: Coordinates received. Ready on weapons, Captain.
Aire: Nalma, target coordinates as precisely as you can with a plasma stream and fire when ready. Mikado, keep that location in Nalma's trajectory.
Nalma: Understood, Captain. Targeting coordinates.
Through the window, Aire watched the plasma stream as it impacted the shields of the Neptunus. Nalma did his best to keep the stream on the ship, constantly switching between the ship's plasma strips as the Neptunus flitted in and out of range of each firing point. Nalma fired with great care, lighting up the Neptunus's shields in the exact same spot with every shot. Soon, the Cerberus swooped in and also fired. One more shot from Neptunus hit the Cerberus in its dorsal section near the navigation dish. For a brief moment, it stopped firing while it recovered and then rejoined the fray.
After a solid minute or two burrowing into the same spot, the Neptunus's shields finally flashed and their shots made it through and there was an explosive flash where the superstructure meet the wing. The Neptunus seemed to shut down almost entirely, lights flashing, engines disengaging. Now, it floated through space like a drunken walrus. As Aire plopped back into his chair, lights flashed again from the Neptunus.
Kit: Neptunus sends their thanks and apologies.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
