Carpathia IV: Episode 274 - Cyto Bomb
NCCS Chrono Blade
The Chrono Blade charged through space as fast as it could go and the engines were more than a little off-song. Behind was a Vashta ship, also damaged, but still giving chase. On the bridge, the crew shook in their seats as the bridge vibrated violently around them.
Ivy: Engineering, what's going on down there? I'm being shaken off my bridge up here!
Sauron: That last shot damaged the quantum differential. We're adjusting manually while we do repairs.
Ivy: Keep me informed. Bridge out.
Ivy closed the comm to Engineering and addressed the bridge.
Ivy: Where are we on weapons?
Sena: Still down to less than 50% power. I'm working on rerouting power from non-essentials to weapons but we need to buy time.
Riku: The Vashta ship is closing, Captain.
Revenant: They'll be in weapons range in two minutes.
Teren: How far are we from Cytosia?
Riku: At present speed, just shy of 16 minutes.
Teren: Change course for Cytosia. Captain, I have an idea. We'll just need some extra speed temporarily.
Ivy: I'll get on with Engineering. You do what you have to do.
The ship lurched, straining the seatbelts in everyone's chairs. Not weapons fire, but from whatever they were doing in Engineering. Ivy went to contact Engineering again while Teren began implementing his plan.
Teren: Kau, put me through to the Cytosia communication station.
Kau: Contacting Cytosia. Looks like we might have to boot someone else out of the call.
Teren: Do what you have to do.
Kau got to work and, in short order, had a split screen on the viewer, one side a crowd of cytos gathered around the big screen that the Shadowdancer installed months ago. On the other, a researcher from the Carpathian Xenolinguistic Institute. Teren stood and centered himself in front of the viewer.
Teren: Sorry, emergency situation.
The researcher only had a moment to register her surprise before disappearing from the screen, leaving only the cyto crowd behind. Some of them waved and bounced, likely out of recognition.
Teren: Quickly, do any of you have authority?
Silence, for a time, while the cytos cast glances around at each other, until a blue appendage suddenly stuck out from the middle of the crowd. The blue cyto bounced through the others until they were front and center.
Teren: We're in trouble. We have a Vashta ship chasing us and we need a place to hide while we make repairs. Can we use the asteroids around your planet?
The blue cyto hopped, squirted, and wibbled while the subtitles said that they would be back in a moment. The blue cyto left. Teren didn't have much time to wonder when they would be back, for they returned quickly with four others, a little crew of multicolored gumdrops. The ship shuddered again, shaking Teren nearly to the floor while the cyto crowd gasped. The cyto group in the front all communicated at once, throwing subtitles all over the screen. It didn't take Teren long to get the gist of the conversation. "Of course we will help!"
Teren: Thank you so much! Please tell the cytos in the asteroids to evacuate. We don't want anyone getting hurt.
The group of cytos acknowledged with two hops and bounded away. Teren returned to his chair as the viewer powered off.
Ivy: Good thinking. Engineering got the extra speed you needed, but it's only temporary. They will be able to fix the differential much faster while we're powered down to thrusters in the asteroids.
Teren: Time to Cytosia.
Riku: Six minutes now, Commander.
Cytosia
The Chrono Blade slowed just before the asteroid field and Riku quickly found a hole to enter. Right away, Engineering began expedited repairs. To nobody's surprise, the Vashta ship followed them in. The Vashta took shots at them, but the Chrono Blade presented a difficult target with so many asteroids in the way.
Revenant: There are still cytos out here.
Ivy: What? Put the Cytosia comm station back on.
Kau: Yes, Captain!
The Cytosia comm station appeared on the viewer again with the same four cytos on the screen.
Ivy: There are still cytos up here! It is far too dangerous to be nearby!
One of the cytos started to wibble and hop while Ivy waited for the subtitles to appear on the screen.
Ivy: Some of them... didn't want... to leave... They wanted... to watch us. Oh, for fuck's sake. Close viewer!
Kau: Closing comm.
Ivy: What area is least populated?
Revenant: Another quarter hemisphere ahead should do it. I'm not reading any there.
Ivy: Helm, stay on...
A loud bang and strong lurch rocked the bridge.
Sena: Direct hit just aft of the bridge. Should we send repair teams?
Ivy: No. Seal off the affected section. We need full priority on engines.
Revenant: Captain, I'm reading cytos, a lot of them, converging on the Vashta ship.
Kau: He's right. Hundreds of them and they don't look very happy.
Without prompting, Kau put the cytos on the viewer. Hundreds of little bits of colorful candy surging toward the Vashta ship, propelling themselves swiftly through the asteroid belt. It did not take them long to catch up to the Vashta ship and when they did, they launched themselves straight at the hull. First one, then more. Soon, hundreds pounding on the hull over and over, bouncing back and forth between the vashta ship and whatever asteroid was convenient.
Riku: I think they're damaging the hull.
Teren: Zoom in.
Sena: Their core is destabilizing. I don't think they can recover from this.
Ivy stood and positioned herself at the center of the bridge.
Ivy: Kau, put myself on viewer split screen with a cyto translator bot. Project image as close to the Vashta ship as you can.
Kau got to work before Ivy even stopped speaking and asked a question as he did.
Kau: On it, Captain. Mood of the cyto bot?
Ivy: Alarm. Danger. Whatever you want to call it.
Kau nodded and kept working, deftly tapping and swiping at his screen.
Kau: Ready, Captain.
Ivy: Project now.
On the Blade's own viewer, all watched as a massive video image, almost as high as the Vashta ship itself, appeared near the cyto onslaught. On one side, Ivy, and on the other, a computer-generated cyto to translate her words.
Ivy: Attention! Attention! Danger!
The split screen cyto bot bounced and wibbled erratically as she spoke. First, one cyto noticed and the news spread as each directed the others' attentions at the display.
Ivy: That ship will explode! Run away! Run away!
A pause, while the cyto bot finished the translation, then they all bolted as fast as they could away from the Vashta ship.
Revenant: Not a minute too soon. It's going to blow any second.
Ivy returned to her chair and collapsed into it.
Ivy: Kau, please convey our thanks.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Colourbrand
Falke2009
