Zero to Sixty Tension
Posted on Wed May 7th, 2025 @ 12:36am by Lieutenant Noah Clarke & Captain M'Raz & Ensign Cameron Reed
1,137 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Resistance is Necessary
Location: U.S.S. Archimedes
Timeline: During Wolf 359 Meeting
Noah Clarke wiped away the sweat from his brow for the third time in recent minutes. The smoke filling the engineering department had stifled down to a mild, choking fog which undulated red every few seconds thanks to the red alert lights. Multiple console lights flickered with compromised power states, protesting the attack in their own way. One of them showed a tiny, static-filled image of space. Covering the distant, twinkling stars was a dark and ominous cube moved away from the camera.
The Oberth-class U.S.S. Archimedes drifted away, causing the haunting image on the screen to move off the edge of the visual feed at an angle. The whole confrontation had lasted a mere sixty seconds by his reckoning. His fingers moved frantically over the controls, willing them to work as he attempted to stabilize the warp reactor. The ship had taken a rapid and brutal pummeling from the alien vessel, leaving open the question of whether they'd make it out of this situation alive. He noticed a few crew members scattered around the compartment, unmoving. A couple more officers were coming to their senses, shaking off the shock and confusion.
[On the Bridge]
She'd been talking to the on-duty Operations officer about scheduling some down-time for an update when the first blast hit the ship. Her 5'2", one hundred pound frame was thrown against a console support and the world went dark for a bit. When she came to again, the red alert klaxon was sounding and everywhere she looked there were bodies. Heart pounding, as though it was trying to flee the meager confines of her body, she struggled to her feet and made her way around the bridge, checking for life signs, and finding none while tears slid down her cheeks, past the bruise blooming along the left side. With her right hand, trembling and blood-stained, she tapped her commbadge.
"Reed to Engineering," she said.
Clarke heard a familiar voice crackle through the air, which curled the corner of his mouth upward for a brief flash. From the jolts and explosions recently rocking the ship, he hadn't been confident that anyone else had survived outside main engineering. He brought down a closed fist onto the intercom control while keeping his blue eyes on the master systems display. The vibrations from the deck were definitely a cause for concern. Warning lights reflected off of his face as they told him of all the complaints the old girl was relaying about the situation.
“Clarke here,” he said. “I'm glad someone's alive up there.”
"Just ... me," Cameron said, her voice cracking slightly on the last word. "Captain, First Officer ... they're all ... dead." She pulled in a ragged breath and nodded to herself. "What did you need me to do, Chief?"
Clarke closed his eyes for a brief moment and swallowed hard. Captain Benitez had been a good commanding officer. He deserved better than a sudden, ignominious end. Noah couldn't worry about that right now. He had to keep fighting or there would be a sudden, ignominious end for the rest of the crew.
“Is that ship still attacking us? Give me a sit-rep of local space. Are there any other vessels in range?” He paused and then mentioned, “They hit us pretty bad. Main power is offline. Anti-matter containment is dropping. Environmental control is not looking good, either.”
"Right," Cameron said, "Just a moment, Chief." She worked her way over to where Jabon lay slumped over the security console. "Sorry," she whispered. "Sorry ... sorry ..." Using every ounce of strength she had, she moved him a few inches to the side. The console flickered in an out as she worked. "Please don't quit now," she whispered ... "Come on ... hang in there." And then she had it. "Chief, got it. The ship is moving off ... wait, there's another ship at the far edge of our sensor range. Federation. Transponder code says ... the USS Jane Addams."
The computer decided at that moment to give an update throughout the ship along with a hazard chime. “Warning: Life support system critical failure.”
Clarke grimaced as he worked at the damaged controls with mixed success. “We only have a few minutes of breathable air remaining. Send out the distress beacon. Can we hail the Jane Addams?”
The presence of another Starfleet ship within range was a blessing but they weren't out of the woods yet. So many questions filled his mind: Would they be able to contact them? Would he be able to maintain life support long enough for rescue? And just then, another wrinkle was added by the computer via another dire announcement:
“Warning: warp reactor core primary coolant failure. Warp core approaching thermal limit.”
Without the coolant injectors operating, the warp core was now overheating. It was only a matter of time before it led to a breach.
"What about the alien ship," Cameron said as she started working on coaxing a distress beacon out of the dying ship. "Won't that draw attention to the Jane Addams? Not that, you know, I'm opposed to getting rescued from the dying ship and all."
“We're in no position to worry about the ship but given that we're still here, I'm betting they're already leaving.” A loud hiss started at the far end of engineering accompanied by a large billow of white vapor. A coolant tank rupture was just the next progression to the inevitable. “Yes, send out the distress signal! It's all we've got! I estimate we're five minutes from a warp core breach!”
"They are," Cameron muttered under her breath, "already said that." And then, louder, she said, "distress beacon away, Chief." And then as she waited, one bloody hand pressed to her chest, she whispered in the general direction of the attacking vessel. "Nothing to see here. You just keep going to wherever you're going ...'
Ten seconds. Twenty seconds .... A minute ... and then, "Chief, they're answering the hail. Telling us to standby for transport."
“Don't worry about that,” he said with an air of sarcasm, hands working diligently to try holding off the explosion that would kill them all. Every time one light would go from red to orange, two would go from orange to red. Then he blinked as his hands started to shimmer in the familiar dance of the transporter effect, though for a split second he thought he was losing it, so intent was his focus on keeping them alive.
The shimmer claimed them, locking onto the surviving members of the Archimedes crew. Cameron had a moment to say good-bye, her first ship out of the Academy, and then it was gone, lost to the blue shimmer of the transporter beam.
Lieutenant Noah Clarke
Chief Engineer
(Formerly) USS Archimedes
and
Ensign Cameron Reed
Computer Systems Specialist
(Formerly) USS Archimedes
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