"Helm, whats the status of that ship," Marcus turned to face Ensign Powell. He grabbed the arms of his seat as another torpedo volley impacted on the shields.
"They are retaliating sir, the Pasteur is taking a beating." Powell replied.
"Tell Doctor Maxthor he's doing an excellent job, how far are we from the station?"
"Almost within transporter range Admiral," Josh Kaye reported from his console, "I am detecting a strange sub-space emission field however; it is totally surrounding the station."
"Can you modify our transporters to compensate?" Marcus turned to face Kaye.
"I can, but it may take several more minutes."
"Get too it Lieutenant," Marcus ordered. He stood up from his chair and crossed the command deck to the helm. Admiral Wilder was deep in concentration as he attempted to regulate the shields and fire back at the assaulting ships. "Whats our status Admiral?"
"Shields are holding for the moment Marcus," He began, "But that version of the Avalanche is continuously modulating her weapons, we have taken some damage."
"Just try and hold us steady," Marcus turned to the bridge crew, "Lieutenant Kaye,"
"We are now within transporter range, I have altered the configuration to pass through the energy field, you should be able to get on board."
"Assemble the away team, Captain Wade you're with me." Marcus turned on his heel and exited the bridge.
***
Five minutes later, Marcus stood in transporter room one, his away team gathered on the transporter pad. Victoria Wade stood wielding a pulse rifle and wearing her sleek black combat armour. Along side her stood Lucas, wearing similar armour and holding a blaster rifle and medical hub. The third and fourth members of the away team were not members of the Avalanche's crew but friends who had helped Marcus defeat the rogue A.I. Sayne Jadyn had programmed.
Kurt Manning, the Bounty Hunter struck an intimidating first impression. The man wore his ankle length leather coat and steel toe capped combat boots with his twin stubbers crossed across his back in readiness. A neatly trimmed goatee finished off the look, adding a touch of malevolence to his appearance.
Klaus Reinhardt had known Marcus for a lot longer than Manning. Marcus had once blamed the Rheinlander for the capture and death of his father, but it had been proven that another was responsible, and Reinhardt had helped Marcus bring justice to those concerned. Since then, the two had developed a mutual comradeship. Reinhardt was ex Rheinland Military, the former commanding officer of the RNC Tirpitz who fought during the Nomad war. At least, he had done in their home dimension. Reinhardt wore an old stone coloured knee length coat. Its frayed edges indicated that it had seen better days.
The two other members of the team were hand picked marines selected by Victoria from the Avalanche's compliment of armed response troops. Sergeant Wilkinson and Sergeant Major Stuart had both seen their fair share of combat and had served in the Imperial Conflict in Marcus' unit during the liberation of New London.
Marcus had kitted himself out with his old favourites; his black boarding marines gear, flak jacket and combat boots armed with an RPL submachine gun and an M9 'Enforcer' bolt pistol.
"Firstly, I want to thank Klaus and Kurt," Marcus began, "This isn't your fight gentlemen, dragging you through time and space is one thing, I cannot expect you to devote yourselves to my cause."
"Please, Marcus," Reinhardt raised his hands, "We've come this far, we are devoted."
Marcus smiled and nodded, appreciating their selflessness.
"Now, we've detected a number of signatures on board the station that matched the readings from the wraiths that attacked the Avalanche several hours ago. There is also an anomalous signature on board, it could be a survivor, it could be something to do with the rift manipulator, I must stress extreme caution."
Everyone looked at Marcus with determination; Victoria loaded her weapon for emphasis. Marcus nodded, feeling satisfied.
"Good, this is going to be a dangerous mission, stick together and follow my orders," He stepped around the transporter operation console and tapped in the coordinates. "I'll see you on the other side."
"Hold on a moment," Admiral Wilder entered the room, checking the pulse rifle in his hands. "Didn't think you were leaving without me did you,"
Marcus grinned and gestured to the transporter pad. The two men stepped up and stood at the front of the away team. Marcus looked over to the operator and nodded.
"Energize,"
Nothing stirred on board Doctor Wilcox's station. The air was cold and the deck was quiet. A faint blue glow broke through the darkness, gradually building in intensity until the outlines of eight humanoids began to form. Within a matter of seconds, the transporter beam was complete and Marcus and his team stood in the cold corridor. Marcus instantly flicked on his wrist mounted lamp, angling it in front of him. Its beam cut through the blackness, lighting up the walls ahead.
"Split up into teams and be mindful of your palm computers, we don't want the wraiths knowing we are here," Marcus ordered, turning to Admiral Wilder and Captain Wade. "Jayce, Victoria, you're with me, we'll make for the rift manipulator. Lucas, take Klaus and Kurt to main engineering, Sergeant Major, you and Wilkinson head for the command centre."
After a number of acknowledgements, the three teams set off in separate directions, Sergeant Major Stuart's team following Marcus for a moment before diverting down an adjacent corridor.
"We need to find out what caused the accident," Marcus advanced slowly, keeping his voice down. "Ideally I could have done with Doctor Wilcox here, but Doctor James and Doctor Colicos will have to do. Hows our link?"
Victoria checked a the communicator at her wrist and nodded, "Green sir,"
"What's your status," The raspy voice of Doctor Colicos crackled over the communicator.
"We are proceeding to our target, nothing yet." Victoria replied, holding a switch on the communicator, "We'll keep you posted."
"The rift manipulator was housed in the central gantry, right at the heart of the station," Marcus informed the others as they reached a junction in the passageway. "This station is circular, the outer circumference housing the labs and other miscellaneous modules. We need to get to one of the main central access tubes."
"I have downloaded a schematic of the station," Wilder said, holding up his palm computer. He tapped the interface several times before pointing to their right. "The nearest access point is down here,"
"Lead the way Admiral," Marcus stepped aside, allowing Wilder to step past. He gave Victoria a quick reassuring smile; she returned it and stepped by him cautiously. He watched her go for a moment before shaking his head and falling in step behind her.
***
Biomolecular forms, the wraith sensed the humans on board and transmitted its telepathic message to its brothers and sisters. They are here to silence us and free our prey, stop them!.
The wraith twisted through subspace and emerged in the reality the humans knew and accepted. It spun around and swooped into an air vent, its misty essence dissipating around the bars. The captive must remain, the humans must be destroyed.
***
An angry fire burned in my heart, madness driving at my sanity. It felt unbearable; the containment, the prison to which I had been subjected too! The pressing claustrophobia, the inability to do anything. I unleashed a howl of anguish that reverberated across subspace, scattering the puny void-beings in fear.
"I am Zeta! You cannot keep me here!"
The burning in my heart subsided momentarily as I yelled into the blackness. It granted me several seconds of clear thought, several vital seconds of clarity. There was another presence, I could feel it.
Humans, I let out a sneer for a fraction of a second before twisting in my grave. They would no doubt be responsible for this debacle, to blame for my entrapment. Why else would they be on that confounded station?
My ticket out of here? I could do nought but wait and see. Perhaps the humans would be able to discover means for my escape, if the wraiths did not discover them first...
Marcus had to pry the bulkhead open manually; the power across the entire station was out. So far they had come across dozens to dead crew members, sprawled across the deck without any trace of trauma. Marcus knew what had claimed them, and it made him extra on-edge. After a few long minutes, Marcus and Victoria had arrived at the entrance to the gantry holding the rift manipulator and after several attempts had failed to open the large bulkhead. Now Marcus was cranking it slowly but surely into its berths with the manual access lever. Victoria and Jayce stood close by, their pulse rifles at the ready. The dim glow from the emergency lighting on Victoria's combat armour was casting strange reflections across the entire corridor.
"Got it," Marcus finally breathed as he began cranking the lever. The bulkhead slowly began to slide open, creaking as it went. "Take point,"
Victoria turned around and aimed her pulse rifle through the increasingly widening gap. She set it steadily against her shoulder and sighted down its length. Jayce followed her through, taking careful steps as he went. Marcus continued to heave on the lever as she advanced into the room. Once the door was wide enough apart, Marcus swung his RPL back around into his grasp and followed them through.
The gantry was even darker than the corridor they had just left, illuminated only by the emergency lighting and the eerie glow from the rift manipulator. The rift manipulator took up most of the centre of the wide room; a large cylindrical tower joining the deck with the ceiling. At its centre, a blue energy ribbon fluxed and pulsated, visible through a strengthened band of Plexiglas. Surrounding the manipulator were several consoles, each one blank thanks to the lack of power. The edge of the room was laced with other consoles and generators. A series of thick tubes and cables snaked their way across the floor, joining the rift manipulator along with the haphazard equipment that lay about the chamber.
Marcus walked across to one of the consoled by the base of the manipulator and placed his submachine gun on top of the desk. He began tapping at the controls, however to no effect.
"Damn it, we need power," He grunted under his breath, turning around to look for a source of energy.
"Admiral, Reinhardt here," His communicator crackled as he spotted an energy cell. "We've arrived at main engineering."
"What can you tell me Klaus," Marcus stooped to pick up the energy cell.
"Main power has been tripped, I can get it back online but it might take a few minutes."
"Alright get too it," Marcus set back towards the manipulator, carrying the energy cell. "I've found a source of power but it won't last half an hour with the amount of drain it will receive, hurry it up."
"Roger that Admiral," The comm. channel went dead as Reinhardt cut the link.
Marcus looked over to Jayce. "Give me a hand with this would you,"
Admiral Wilder nodded and shouldered his pulse rifle, making over for where Marcus stood.
The two men eventually managed to plug the energy cell into the main power conduit of one of the consoles next to the manipulator. Marcus wiped his brow and set to work powering up the console. It took several seconds for the energy to circulate.
"Its not full power," Marcus commented as he began to access the logs, "But it will do."
Jayce stood by the adjacent console, "I'll run a diagnostic on the manipulator, see if I can pick out any errors."
"Understood," Marcus replied as he accessed the first log. It was dated two days before the accident, as Marcus was running a checkup.
He remembered it like it was yesterday, it seemed like only minutes ago since he had stood at that very console along with Doctor Wilcox and run a diagnostic himself. Nothing had been out of the ordinary, nothing. So what must have gone wrong?
"Admiral," Jayce's voice sounded uncertain.
"What is it Jayce," Marcus stepped across to the other console.
"Take a look at this," Wilder pointed at the readout from the diagnostic. "An anomalous reading from the energy ribbon,"
"But, that looks like a life sign..." Marcus said, baffled. He looked up at the slowly gyrating ribbon of warp energy.
"It seems to be trapped inside the void, as if the warp ribbon were acting as a barrier." Jayce said as he tapped away at the console.
"Could this be what caused the accident," Marcus mused to himself. He turned to Jayce, "Run a back-check on this anomaly, it definitely wasn't here when I ran my pre-checks, I want to know when it occurred."
Kurt Manning stepped into engineering, one of his stubbers gripped tightly in his hands. He checked his surroundings thoroughly, sweeping the weapon around in readiness. He had entered what seemed to be a wide room, most of which shrouded in darkness. He could make out the forms of rows of consoles and computer banks by the dim light from the stars filtering in through the far wall. The entire wall was a view port that looked out into space. The outer rim of the station was just visible against the void.
"All clear," He said finally, stepping to one side.
Klaus Reinhardt stepped in behind him, closely followed by Rear Admiral Anderson. Lucas held up his palm computer and ran a preliminary scan of their surroundings before proceeding over to the nearest console.
Main power is out, He said as he activated the console, must have happened when the rift manipulator overloaded.
Can you bring it back online, Reinhardt asked as he peered into the darkness before them.
I think I can get the lights on, auxiliary power cells are still operational. Lucas tapped away at the console for a moment before looking up, There,
Ahead of them, the overhead lights flickered into life, illuminating the entire chamber. The room was a vast hub of desks and consoles, a central column dominating the middle of the room. However, the cylindrical reaction chamber was dead. The interior seemed to be incomplete, cables and tubes criss-crossed the room and ran in between the consoles, several of the units seemed to be lacking any metallic coverings and there were no seats. Kurt knew that the station had been rushed to house the manipulator, but he had no idea that they had quite literally skimped out on all forms of luxury and comfort. The room seemed to have the bare essentials and nothing more.
Kurt and Klaus stepped around the console and into the room, walking in between the racks of computers. Lucas remained at his station, interfacing with the console.
I think I can route some of the power down to the manipulator chamber, She said as he tapped away at the console. He brought one hand up and held it to his ear, Admiral, are you there?
Fire away Lucas, Scarecrows voice replied through his earpiece.
I can give you a bit of power, but the station has been drained, I think its from the manipulator being activated.
Understood, any sign of the crew? Marcus asked.
The station had been left with a skeleton crew who would have been picked up after the rift jump had been completed. However thanks to the turn of events, they hadnt responded to the Avalanches previous hails.
Ive not seen anyone Marcus, they might have Lucas was cut of short as Reinhardt whistled from across the chamber.
Ive found them sir,
Hold on a minute Marcus, Lucas stepped away from the console and made his way over to the Rheinlander. He stopped and looked down at the prone figure lying on the floor in front of Klaus. Yeah, weve found a crewman.
Who is it, Marcus asked.
Lucas reached down and removed the mans identity tag. He removed his palm computer from his belt and plugged the small chip into one of its sockets. A dossier appeared on its screen, showing an image of the mans face and a brief overview of his details.
Ensign Darrow, Lucas reported. He was serving on the Avalanche.
Yes I remember Darrow, Marcuss voice sounded thoughtful. Can you patch him through the comm., He might help us find out what happened.
Lucas looked across at Reinhardt, his face blank. Hes dead sir,
There was a brief pause before Marcus replied, Can you see the cause?
Hes rigid, stone cold, and the expression on his face is one of sheer terror. Marcus paused and took in a deep breath. Marcus, I think the wraiths were here too.
Great, how long do you think hes been dead for? Marcus sounded bitter.
A good while, several hours at least,
The shields arent online; if they discover us then we may have a problem. Re-route me that power and whilst youre doing so, see if you can charge the shield emitters. Marcus ordered, keeping concise. Oh, and keep checking your scanners, as soon as any wraiths appear, let me know.
Understood Admiral, Anderson out, Lucas cut the link and looked at the others. We dont have too much time, Klaus; see if you can divert any spare energy to the shields, Ill take care of the manipulator chamber.
And me, Kurt asked, looking over at the other two.
Lucas gestured to the doorway. Keep watch,
Manning swung his other stubber into his free hand and grinned, making for the bulkhead.
"I've managed to isolate the life form," Wilder reported from his console,
"Can you extrapolate it?" Marcus asked as he struggled to bring the rift manipulator online.
Ill need full power in the reaction chamber before I can drag the life form through; it appears to be stuck in the void,
Ill see what I can do, Marcus tapped his combadge, Scarman to command centre, status?
Weve almost got full power restored Admiral, Lucas voice crackled over his earpiece, Give me a few more seconds,
We dont have the luxury of time Lucas, Marcus pressed him.
Several long seconds ticked by before Lucas replied again, There, got it, Ive routed as much power to the manipulator as I can spare, but that means draining power from other active systems such as shielding and life-support. I suggest you get your masks on.
Understood, Marcus fixed his oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and tested the communicator. Once he knew it was working, he gestured for the others to do the same.
He walked across to another console and tapped at its controls.
Im initializing the startup sequence; Lucas managed to give us enough power to activate the manipulator,
Ill run a diagnostic as you do it sir, Victoria stepped up to another console and began tapping at the screen.
Good idea Captain, Marcus smiled at her, but then realized she wouldnt be able to see him through his mask. She looked at him anyway, her gaze seeming to soften.
Engaging main power, Marcus said, Jayce, check the energy balance,
Im on it,
Bring it up slowly, dont want to fuse the power cells, Marcus moved the dials up the console slowly, being careful not to destabilize the power matrix. The manipulator was powered by an essential mix of two different types of radiation, if one type of radiation were to take precedence within the reaction chamber for even the smallest fraction of a second, the entire reaction would fail and both types of radiation wall fall inert as a safety protocol came into operation.
Once the two dials were at their highest point, Marcus turned to the console next to him and entered his command code, ordering the startup procedure. A synthesized voice echoed throughout the chamber. Caution, radiation imbalance detected, compensating,
Marcus heart skipped a beat. Radiation imbalance rectified, initializing activation procedure,
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back from the console. The rest was up to the central computer. Activation sequence completed, device charging up,
The central column began to glow a low blue hue, sending cascades of flickering light dancing across the room. Rift Manipulator is running within optimum tolerances,
Okay Captain, Marcus turned to Victoria, Run that diagnostic,
After a few seconds, Victoria began to frown. The console was showing everything being in working order, however the manipulator's rift shearing sequencer would not engage. She thumped the monitor angrily and tried a different solution.
"Computer, identify fault in the shearing sequencer," "Sequencer will not activate," the computer's maddeningly calm voice replied.
"Why," Victoria growled. Please clarify inquiry,
Damn it, Victoria slammed her fist into the console again, Computer, please specify the error in the shearing sequencer, Dimensional matter has already been sheared,
What, Victoria stared at the readout in despair. Then it began to piece together in her mind. Admiral Wilder, that life form, did you say it was still in the void?
Bizarrely, yes it is, Jayce called from across the room, Im not entirely sure how
Thanks, Victoria turned back to her console and began running her fingers rapidly across the keypad.
What is it Captain, Marcus voice came from over her shoulder.
Victoria replied without turning, I think I know why the manipulator wont work, and I might be able to identify the cause of whats happened here.
She continued tapping away at her station before leaning back and turning to the console to her left. I think that the life form trapped in the rift stream was dragged in when the manipulator was first engaged,
That would explain why the life sign was Zeta, they are automatically attracted to dark matter, kind of like a moth to a light, Marcus nodded.
Exactly, Victoria replied, and the manipulator toys with dark matter. Its like their Achilles heel; the Zeta would have been sucked in the moment the manipulator reached out for the void.
Dragging it into the energy ribbon and throwing all of the computers calculations out of balance. I think weve found the source of our catastrophe, good work Victoria,
Marcus patted the Captain affectionately on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled at him, their eyes meeting for a brief second before Admiral Wilder interrupted.
This is good news, now how are we going to get the poor sod out of there?
Sergeant Major Robbie Stuart looked behind him cautiously, gripping his pulse rifle tightly. Sergeant Jack Wilkinson stood over one of the consoles, monitoring the power flow from engineering along with the energy balance of the rift manipulator. The two men had swiftly taken the command centre, having faced no resistance. The large room was eerily quiet, the main lights dimmed to their lowest setting. Consoles and holographic projectors flickered and beeped to themselves idly as the two marines secured the stations primary systems.
Life support is functional, Wilkinson reported from his console. He took his pulse rifle from where he had placed it atop the console and moved onto the next, Now Ill see if I can get these damned lights back on.
Wait a minute Jack, the Sergeant Major held up a gloved hand. He had heard a brief whistling sound coming from behind him, back down the corridor they had previously come through to access the command centre. It almost sounded like the wind rustling through the trees back in his home town on Denver.
What is it sir, Wilkinson picked up his pulse rifle and hefted it, facing the direction of the corridor.
Quiet, Stuart silenced his comrade, I thought I heard something.
He listened more intently, trying to distinguish the noise from the hum of the computer banks. He heard it again, a faint whistling drifting about the air vents.
I heard it that time, Wilkinson said, raising his rifle to face the air vents. The oxygen pumping systems dont make that sort of whistling sound,
My thoughts exactly, Stuart charged his pulse rifle and retreated further back into the command centre. Wilkinson followed him.
What do you think it could be, Jack asked, turning around. The sound seemed to be surrounding them now, drifting through the air vents around the command centre.
Im not sure Stuart trailed off as a wispy black mist began to drift out of one of the air ducts. It spiraled gracefully through the metal grid work and floated into the wide command centre. Wilkinson trained his pulse rifle on it, swallowing hard.
Behind them, another black mist began to drift through one of the vents, spinning lazily in the still air.
Stuart tapped his communicator and patched himself through to Admiral Scarman,
Admiral, Sergeant Major Stuart here,
Go ahead Sergeant Major, Scarmans voice replied over the communicator.
Sir, weve got a bit of a problem here, Stuart watched in terror as the misty form began to take shape.
In the manipulator gantry, Marcus gave Victoria a worried look.
What is it Robbie,
Something is coming through the vents, Stuarts voice sounded strained. The air, cant
The communicator crackled for a moment longer before cutting off completely. Marcus looked wordlessly over at Jayce.
Wraiths,
Marcus cursed and quickly patched over to Lucas in engineering. Lucas, this is Scarecrow, do you copy?
Anderson here, what is it Marcus? Lucas replied, his voice quizzical.
Wraiths Lucas, they are on board, Marcus spoke fast, Get ready to defend yourselves, and see if you can route any power to the shields.
Understood Marcus, Anderson out, The com channel went dead.
Marcus turned to Victoria. Quickly, see if you can extract that Zeta, we may need his help.
Jayce checked his pulse rifle and stepped around his console to face Marcus. Scarecrow, I ought to head to the command centre, see if I can help those two.
They will be dead Jayce; I appreciate the offer but
With all due respect Admiral, Im still not under your command. It would be a logical decision to send me to the command centre, we need someone up there and there isnt anything else I can do here in the manipulator bay.
Marcus sighed and stepped to one side. Be careful Admiral, they can be dispersed with a shot from your rifle, but it wont send them packing completely.
Dont worry, I can handle myself. With that, Jayce made for the exit.
***
Hard to starboard, Doctor Maxthor shouted as another volley slammed into the Pasteur. His medical ship was a modified Bretonian Destroyer; however the designers hadnt had combat in mind when they had made the adjustments. With only four turrets and limited shield capacity, the Pasteur was no field vessel.
Damage report,
Hull breeches on decks eleven through fourteen, starboard defense turret is offline and shields are at eighteen percent, Helm control reported.
Hail the Avalanche, Maxthor stood before the viewscreen, gripping the rail beside him tightly.
An image of Lieutenant Kaye came into focus on the large screen, lights flickering and columns of smoke rising behind him. The old Dreadnought was taking a beating as well it seemed.
Lieutenant, Im going to have to fall back, my ship cant take the punishment.
Understood Doctor, Kaye nodded grimly, Hang back along with the Sygnus, well try and hold them off a little while longer so the Admiral can complete his mission.
I just hope he hurries, Michael cut the link, nodding to his helmsman to back off.
Michael sat down in his command chair, flicking the image on the viewscreen to an external shot of the battle. The alternate version of the Avalanche was turning on Scarecrows Avalanche. Good, Michael thought to himself. At least they would have some time to limp away and make repairs to the shields.
An explosion expanded across the flank of the hostile Dreadnought, engulfing several of the port turrets. Michael watched in disbelief as the fire dissipated into space and the hull began to repair its self. It looked like hundreds of millions of minute insects were swarming over the ships hull. In truth, they were. Nanomachines swarmed across the hull, repairing the breeches and reconstructing the damaged turrets.
Which ever dimension this version of the Avalanche had come from, Doctor Maxthor thanked whatever gods there were that they hadnt been thrown there instead of where they had ended up. The technology looked alien, whilst the Dreadnought was obviously human. Something terrible must have happened to that ship, even worse to her crew. Michael shuddered at his thoughts and turned his concentration back to getting his ship out of harms way.
Hows it coming Victoria, Marcus called across the gantry, sounding urgent. Edge frantically tapped away at her console, trying to work out how to reverse the effects the rift manipulator was having on the trapped Zeta life form.
Im getting there, she called back, trying to hide the doubt in her voice.
Youre a poor liar Wade, Marcus replied.
The Admiral was stood over at the other end of the room, half buried in the wall with a series of wall panels scattered about him. He was trying to reroute some of the available power to the internal shield network. If he could just establish a force field around the manipulator gantry, he and Victoria ought to be safe from the Wraiths. He cursed and shielded his eyes as a conduit sparked close to his face.
This is hopeless, He muttered to himself as he stared at the burnt out conduit.
Pulling himself back out of the gap in the wall, he sat back and called across to Victoria once more. Were going to have to defend ourselves, I cant erect a force field with the power we have.
I think Im on to something, Victoria called back, seemingly ignoring Marcus comment entirely.
Scarecrow stood up and quickly made his way across to her, Explain,
If I can reverse the polarity of the warp ribbon, then maybe the Zeta will be ejected from the void, dragged back into reality by the counter effects of the ribbon.
Marcus looked at her blankly, Im not very well versed in dimensional mechanics,
Think about it, if it was the warp energy that dragged the Zeta into the core in the first place, then logically if I reverse the polarity of that energy, it ought to throw him back out.
I think I understand, Marcus nodded, Its worth a shot.
Victoria nodded and turned back to the console. She began tapping away at the keys once more,
If I just A look of concentration crossed her face, furrowing her brow. Marcus watched her work, for a moment feeling affection rising from his stomach. Her pretty eyes seemed to glow as she focused on the task at hand. Marcus quickly shook the feeling off and looked across at the console. Something began to happen as Victoria worked away at the controls. Behind them, the ribbon of energy that fluxed in between the two manipulator nodes began to fluctuate and flicker. It began to turn from its normal serene blue to an angry red, gradually getting darker and darker. A Bolt of energy lanced out of its heart, shattering the cylindrical Plexiglas screen and striking a console. The computer bank exploded as the bolt of raw warp energy cracked into it, splitting it open.
Easy, Marcus yelled over the growing noise.
Victoria grimaced as she began to reverse the polarity, grabbing hold of a dial with her fingertips and slowly turning it anticlockwise.
The entire room began to shake as the ribbon flowed a foreboding shade of blood red in between its binders. The hum of power began to increase as the energy level rose.
Its polarising, Edge shouted over the noise. Just a few more seconds
Get down! Marcus grabbed her and flung them both down onto the metal decking below. Just an inch behind them a bolt of energy flung its self from the ribbon and smashed into the station Victoria had been working on. The console exploded in an angry fireball, singing Marcus back as he protectively rolled on top of Victoria.
There was an agonising howl and what sounded like a million starships detonating at once, and then everything fell quiet.