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current_story:the_sword_of_ophiuchus_part_3 [2021/03/17 17:22] cromwellcurrent_story:the_sword_of_ophiuchus_part_3 [2021/06/02 01:37] cromwell
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 The cloaking field of Gamma Serpentis Base extended to a sphere almost six kilometers in radius around the colossal station.  It had been operating non-stop for the life of the station, which began shortly before the Dominion war, prior to the decision of Captain Sikso of Deep Space Nine to mine the Bajoran wormhole that guarded against a buildup of Dominion forces on Cardassia.  Since then, Gamma Serpentis was cutoff from material support from the Alpha Quadrant, and was left to its own devices.  Literally.  While the cloaking field remained in place, the paltry antimatter generator was barely enough to maintain station operations, and so, then-Captain McCain chose to refurbish the base using the only assets he had left: a handful of starships with which to plunder the Gamma Quadrant of its cultural riches. The cloaking field of Gamma Serpentis Base extended to a sphere almost six kilometers in radius around the colossal station.  It had been operating non-stop for the life of the station, which began shortly before the Dominion war, prior to the decision of Captain Sikso of Deep Space Nine to mine the Bajoran wormhole that guarded against a buildup of Dominion forces on Cardassia.  Since then, Gamma Serpentis was cutoff from material support from the Alpha Quadrant, and was left to its own devices.  Literally.  While the cloaking field remained in place, the paltry antimatter generator was barely enough to maintain station operations, and so, then-Captain McCain chose to refurbish the base using the only assets he had left: a handful of starships with which to plunder the Gamma Quadrant of its cultural riches.
  
-Technology and artifacts were bountiful throughout the quadrant, and by using a series of snatch-and-grab missions following observational analysis by cloaked science probes, collected hundreds of unique and powerful devices that allowed them to survive.  The station itself grew in stages from an old 500-deck Alamo-class defense outpost to the 2000-deck monstrosity is was today over the span of only five years.  Despite its forbidden existence via the Polaric Test Ban Treaty of 2268, a polaric ion reactor of Romulan design breathed new life into the complex.  Using subspace mediation crystals of Dominion origin to mediate the petawatt-level power signatures, the enormous energy output was balanced with the dampening effect of the cloaking field to maintain concealment from any passing space probes or system-wide sensor scans.  Left to operate continuously without the need for human intervention, the cloaking field's control was autonomous and independent, decoupled from the station's main computer core, and provided a means to ensure that Kostya's surreptitious facility would remain hidden for years to come.  However, it's polaric ion power source was not infinite, and the crew of the USS Republic nee Asgard weighed the prospect of pulling the plug on the cloaking field to power the enormous verteron array one last time.+Technology and artifacts were bountiful throughout the quadrant, and by using a series of snatch-and-grab missions following observational analysis by cloaked science probes, collected hundreds of unique and powerful devices that allowed them to survive.  The station itself grew in stages from an old 500-deck Alamo-class defense outpost to the 2000-deck monstrosity it was today over the span of only five years.  Despite its forbidden existence via the Polaric Test Ban Treaty of 2268, a polaric ion reactor of Romulan design breathed new life into the complex.  Using subspace mediation crystals of Dominion origin to mediate the petawatt-level power signatures, the enormous energy output was balanced with the dampening effect of the cloaking field to maintain concealment from any passing space probes or system-wide sensor scans.  Left to operate continuously without the need for human intervention, the cloaking field's control was autonomous and independent, decoupled from the station's main computer core, and provided a means to ensure that Kostya's surreptitious facility would remain hidden for years to come.  However, it's polaric ion power source was not infinite, and the crew of the USS Republic nee Asgard weighed the prospect of pulling the plug on the cloaking field to power the enormous verteron array one last time.
  
 "Isn't there any way to keep the cloaking field up?" Deuce asked while maintaining watch from the apex of the tactical arch on the Galaxy-class bridge.  "Every subspace buoy within twenty five light years will pick us up as soon as the field drops." "Isn't there any way to keep the cloaking field up?" Deuce asked while maintaining watch from the apex of the tactical arch on the Galaxy-class bridge.  "Every subspace buoy within twenty five light years will pick us up as soon as the field drops."
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 Meanwhile, on the bridge, the control center was bathed in red light while alarms and warnings sounded.  Blimpy frantically went from workstation to workstation, adjusting settings and responding to computer alerts while the turbulence outside increased exponentially. Meanwhile, on the bridge, the control center was bathed in red light while alarms and warnings sounded.  Blimpy frantically went from workstation to workstation, adjusting settings and responding to computer alerts while the turbulence outside increased exponentially.
  
-"Warning," the female computer voice annunciated throughout the bridge as it jostled about.  "Lethal radiation limits exceeded.  Evacuate all personnel immediately."+//"Warning,"// the female computer voice annunciated throughout the bridge as it jostled about.  //"Lethal radiation limits exceeded.  Evacuate all personnel immediately."//
  
 Unlike a humanoid standing on the floor of the bridge, Blimpy's magnetic drive units kept him stable as he levitated around the bridge while it shuddered about in the tempestuous magnetic eddies.  If anything, it was the jarring, random movements of the operating consoles that made accessing the controls difficult for him.  As the Republic maintained course into the Geodesic fold, the orange light of the star emanating from the monitor in front escalated to blinding levels.  The searing stellar energy enveloped the entire ship as it flew into the abyss just as the verteron beam's termination point reached the location, followed shortly thereafter by the powerful shockwave from the exploding space station.  By the time it had arrived, Republic nee Asgard was gone. Unlike a humanoid standing on the floor of the bridge, Blimpy's magnetic drive units kept him stable as he levitated around the bridge while it shuddered about in the tempestuous magnetic eddies.  If anything, it was the jarring, random movements of the operating consoles that made accessing the controls difficult for him.  As the Republic maintained course into the Geodesic fold, the orange light of the star emanating from the monitor in front escalated to blinding levels.  The searing stellar energy enveloped the entire ship as it flew into the abyss just as the verteron beam's termination point reached the location, followed shortly thereafter by the powerful shockwave from the exploding space station.  By the time it had arrived, Republic nee Asgard was gone.
current_story/the_sword_of_ophiuchus_part_3.txt · Last modified: 2021/06/13 15:29 by cromwell