Things Past – Death of a Goddess
by Arrival Augustus Cyphadrus
Post Details
Prologue:
The weary souls of the Runabout Cumberland were sleeping soundly. Their capital ship, the Prometheus Class vessel, USS Athena had been tasked with identifying the boundaries of Borg Space in the Delta Quadrant after the USS Voyager's return precipitated the destruction of the Transwarp Hub. The small vessel had just scouted the remains of the Hub and was heading back to the Athena when...
On:
In the middle of the night, the small ship shuddered with severe turbulence, throwing Captain Cyphadrus out of his bed and to the ground.
Collecting his faculties, Augustus got to his feet with difficulty after a second impact caused the artificial gravity to overcompensate. He spared an instant to look out the viewport before rushing to the front of the runabout, clad only in his sleep attire.
"Report!" He shouted hurriedly over the computer's verbal warnings that lacked any enlightenment.
Lieutenant Tristan hurried to analyze the readings before her, "Sir, I think we just passed through active transwarp corridors. Headings put them on an intercept course with the Athena!"
Augustus' heart sank in his chest. His theory as to the total lack of Borg activity this far into the Delta Quadrant was about to be confirmed. "Accelerate to maximum speed. What's our ETA?"
"We're still ten minutes out."
An eternity passed as Augustus stared into the vortex of stars passing by. "Intercept is imminent Captain." His gaze did not waver, but his focus diverted to be ready to act.
The runabout emerged from warp to find itself on the outskirts of a battle zone. The telltale green glow of Borg vessels dominated the region. In the distance, erratic beams of orange lashed out at the green. "Sir, I'm reading 11 Borg vessels out there with dozens of transwarp signatures inbound. I can't get a solid fix on the Athena sir, she must be in assault mode."
"Go dark Lieutenant. Do not attempt to hail the Athena." He squinted to try and find the Athena in the cacophony. He finally spotted three distinct sections of a Prometheus class heavy cruiser. They danced about the lumbering Borg ships. Zooming in on the console in front of him confirmed his fears. Only the mid-section was firing on the Borg, the other two were getting distance from the battle, unopposed. At last a green beam reached out from a cube and rooted the mid-section in place. It ceased after only a few seconds, leaving the mid-section motionless.
"Sir, what's happening?" The officer asked with fear in her voice.
Augustus watched as the three sections began to rejoin. As they came into proximity the shields united, flickering a nightmarish green. He forced himself to look away and opened up a set of remote commands on the console.
"Captain?"
"Computer, stand-by auto-destruct sequence: Omega. Recognize Augustus Cyphadrus, authorization Delta-6-2-Theta."
The Lieutenant rushed over to Augustus as the computer stood by for the final order "Captain, what are you doing? We can still save them!"
Augustus grabbed the woman's arm, "There's nothing we can do for them now. We have to destroy the Athena before the Borg can assimilate its technology." She looked down and nodded, trying not to break out in tears. "Return to your post and standby. Computer," The machine beeped in acknowledgement, "Destruct."
Both officers rushed to looked out the window to confirm the explosion, but nothing happened. "Computer, acknowledge destruct order."
"Auto-destruct is offline; secondary command processors have been deactivated."
Just as soon as the computer finished its sentence, the Athena roused and made a break straight for the runabout with several Borg vessels joining formation.
"Get us out of here now!" The console view of the Athena's bow disappeared from view as the Lieutenant engaged maximum warp. Several moments passed where one could hear both their heartbeats pounding violently in the cockpit of the runabout. After collecting themselves, Augustus and the Lieutenant snapped back to their horrible reality. He tried to reassure himself and the Lieutenant, "They won't pursue two souls on a runabout." It offered little consolation.
"Heading sir?" She asked as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Set course for the Tremere Wormhole and engage at Warp 7." He fell back into a chair and held his head in his hands as the woman frantically entered navigational commands. After completing the inputs, she buried her face in her arms on the console and began to weep. Silence betrayed Augustus as his mind raced, thinking about what just happened. He couldn't stand the emotional waves that sought to drown him, so he leaned over to comfort the soul suffering next to him.
As soon as he put his arm behind her, she fell into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. As he consoled her, he tried to remember Lieutenant Tristan's first name. Last names were easy on a ship of two-hundred-seven, but first names tended to be eclipsed by an officer's rank. Luckily his mind was able to recall her first and only bad performance review from when the Athena had just shipped out for the Delta Quadrant. She had come a long way since then.
"Selene." Her weeps continued for a few seconds before she registered him addressing her. She lifted her head up from the damp spot she made on his uniform and silently looked into his eyes, tears glistening in the light. "I understand the pain you are in right now, I share it with you. But we need to promise each other right now that their memories will not be forgotten. It is now our duty to let others know the truth, to know our friends' courage and sacrifice."
Celine nodded her head slightly, "I promise Captain."
He smiled and gently swept away a tear from her cheek with his finger, "To hell with rank on the Cumberland."
"Aye si..." A feint smile appeared on her face, "Augustus." Her head then returned to his chest and soon they both succumbed to sleep amongst the rushing starscape.
:Off
by Arrival Augustus Cyphadrus
Post Details
| Title | Death of a Goddess | |
| Mission | Things Past | |
| Author(s) | Arrival Augustus Cyphadrus | |
| Posted | Sun Jul 10, 2011 @ 6:58am | |
| Location | Runabout Cumberland, Grid 986, Delta Quadrant | |
| Timeline | Stardate 62631.1 |
The weary souls of the Runabout Cumberland were sleeping soundly. Their capital ship, the Prometheus Class vessel, USS Athena had been tasked with identifying the boundaries of Borg Space in the Delta Quadrant after the USS Voyager's return precipitated the destruction of the Transwarp Hub. The small vessel had just scouted the remains of the Hub and was heading back to the Athena when...
On:
In the middle of the night, the small ship shuddered with severe turbulence, throwing Captain Cyphadrus out of his bed and to the ground.
Collecting his faculties, Augustus got to his feet with difficulty after a second impact caused the artificial gravity to overcompensate. He spared an instant to look out the viewport before rushing to the front of the runabout, clad only in his sleep attire.
"Report!" He shouted hurriedly over the computer's verbal warnings that lacked any enlightenment.
Lieutenant Tristan hurried to analyze the readings before her, "Sir, I think we just passed through active transwarp corridors. Headings put them on an intercept course with the Athena!"
Augustus' heart sank in his chest. His theory as to the total lack of Borg activity this far into the Delta Quadrant was about to be confirmed. "Accelerate to maximum speed. What's our ETA?"
"We're still ten minutes out."
An eternity passed as Augustus stared into the vortex of stars passing by. "Intercept is imminent Captain." His gaze did not waver, but his focus diverted to be ready to act.
The runabout emerged from warp to find itself on the outskirts of a battle zone. The telltale green glow of Borg vessels dominated the region. In the distance, erratic beams of orange lashed out at the green. "Sir, I'm reading 11 Borg vessels out there with dozens of transwarp signatures inbound. I can't get a solid fix on the Athena sir, she must be in assault mode."
"Go dark Lieutenant. Do not attempt to hail the Athena." He squinted to try and find the Athena in the cacophony. He finally spotted three distinct sections of a Prometheus class heavy cruiser. They danced about the lumbering Borg ships. Zooming in on the console in front of him confirmed his fears. Only the mid-section was firing on the Borg, the other two were getting distance from the battle, unopposed. At last a green beam reached out from a cube and rooted the mid-section in place. It ceased after only a few seconds, leaving the mid-section motionless.
"Sir, what's happening?" The officer asked with fear in her voice.
Augustus watched as the three sections began to rejoin. As they came into proximity the shields united, flickering a nightmarish green. He forced himself to look away and opened up a set of remote commands on the console.
"Captain?"
"Computer, stand-by auto-destruct sequence: Omega. Recognize Augustus Cyphadrus, authorization Delta-6-2-Theta."
The Lieutenant rushed over to Augustus as the computer stood by for the final order "Captain, what are you doing? We can still save them!"
Augustus grabbed the woman's arm, "There's nothing we can do for them now. We have to destroy the Athena before the Borg can assimilate its technology." She looked down and nodded, trying not to break out in tears. "Return to your post and standby. Computer," The machine beeped in acknowledgement, "Destruct."
Both officers rushed to looked out the window to confirm the explosion, but nothing happened. "Computer, acknowledge destruct order."
"Auto-destruct is offline; secondary command processors have been deactivated."
Just as soon as the computer finished its sentence, the Athena roused and made a break straight for the runabout with several Borg vessels joining formation.
"Get us out of here now!" The console view of the Athena's bow disappeared from view as the Lieutenant engaged maximum warp. Several moments passed where one could hear both their heartbeats pounding violently in the cockpit of the runabout. After collecting themselves, Augustus and the Lieutenant snapped back to their horrible reality. He tried to reassure himself and the Lieutenant, "They won't pursue two souls on a runabout." It offered little consolation.
"Heading sir?" She asked as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Set course for the Tremere Wormhole and engage at Warp 7." He fell back into a chair and held his head in his hands as the woman frantically entered navigational commands. After completing the inputs, she buried her face in her arms on the console and began to weep. Silence betrayed Augustus as his mind raced, thinking about what just happened. He couldn't stand the emotional waves that sought to drown him, so he leaned over to comfort the soul suffering next to him.
As soon as he put his arm behind her, she fell into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. As he consoled her, he tried to remember Lieutenant Tristan's first name. Last names were easy on a ship of two-hundred-seven, but first names tended to be eclipsed by an officer's rank. Luckily his mind was able to recall her first and only bad performance review from when the Athena had just shipped out for the Delta Quadrant. She had come a long way since then.
"Selene." Her weeps continued for a few seconds before she registered him addressing her. She lifted her head up from the damp spot she made on his uniform and silently looked into his eyes, tears glistening in the light. "I understand the pain you are in right now, I share it with you. But we need to promise each other right now that their memories will not be forgotten. It is now our duty to let others know the truth, to know our friends' courage and sacrifice."
Celine nodded her head slightly, "I promise Captain."
He smiled and gently swept away a tear from her cheek with his finger, "To hell with rank on the Cumberland."
"Aye si..." A feint smile appeared on her face, "Augustus." Her head then returned to his chest and soon they both succumbed to sleep amongst the rushing starscape.
:Off