Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive ^{Beam me up, Scotty.}

Chapter Text

The Star Beagle Adventures                                                
Episode 12: Close to the Edge Part I - The Solid Time of Change
Scene 5: The Swarm

And take away the plain in which we move
And choose the course you’re running…

12.5
The Swarm

“Summon Captain Carter.” 

Ensign John Sevork, in command of the U.S.S. Escort’s swing watch, had a pronounced Texas drawl, earned from a childhood in Laredo. Which, even to the crew who had served with him over the past year, still sounded weird as hell coming from a vulcan. It was strange enough simply talking to a vulcan named John. 

“Aye sir,” Flight Engineer Abra Kahen replied without turning from the “eyes” station. 

“Belay that,” said Sevork, rising from the command chair.

“Sir?” Kahen asked, turning from her station only to see Captain Rhonda Carter taking the chair and lowering her wraparound viewscreen. “How does she do that?” Kahen muttered, almost inaudibly under her breath.

“Any good captain knows when her ship is in trouble, Mr. Kahen” Captain Carter replied. Then, under her own breath, she muttered, “I can feel it in the deck plates.”

“Variations in the artificial gravity,” Sevork added, equally quietly.

“Report, Ensign,” Carter croaked. She had been keeping silent to allow her voice to heal, but it still sounded (to others) and felt (to her) as if razor blades were flying around in her throat every time she spoke.

Ensign Sevork stepped forward to the pilot’s station. “Specialist Davi, please switch to aft view.”

The primary viewscreen displayed the trinary star system, with the view dominated by a gas giant that was receding as Escort traveled away from it. Swirling particles could be seen in what was essentially a ring system around the planet. The outer ring was elongating, pointed toward Escort, and still getting closer.

“We’re at maximum impulse, best possible angle of escape, shields up?” Carter asked.

“Aye, Captain,” Sevork replied. “But I don’t like their vibrational pattern. Identical to our shield frequency.”

“Meaning that when they catch us, they’ll pass right through our shields as if they weren’t even there,” Carter continued. “What do you think our welcoming committee wants? Defending their turf?”

“They register as biological,” Sevork responded. “I think their purposes are similar to ours.”

“They’re hungry,” Carter concluded.

“And Escort is a big, healthy serving of energy,” Sevork added.

“Have you tried modulating the shield frequency? Polorizing the deck plates?” Carter asked.

“I didn’t want to let them know we could do those things, yet,” the vulcan ensign replied.

“You’re one of Zizira’s people, aren’t you?” Carter asked, looking at the young vulcan more closely. He was about 5’10”, with dark skin and dark hair, the latter in the bowl haircut often seen among vulcan men.

“She recruited me from the academy, sir. This is my first post.”

Carter regarded the young vulcan with an appraising look. “There could be a future in this business for you, John. You might want to update your hairstyle. Tell me about these space bugs.” 

“A reasonable analogy,” the young vulcan ensign replied. “They exist partly in relative space and partly in subspace. Given their small size and generally light construction, and the fact that they propel themselves through relative spacetime by their movement in subspace…”

“They are far faster and more maneuverable in this planet’s gravity well than we are,” Captain Carter concluded. “They’re going to catch us before we can get to a safe distance to go to warp. And if they get through our shields…”

“Analysis of their movements indicates they are primarily interested in our nacelles,” said John Sevork, his calm, vulcan demeanor contrasting weirdly with his pronounced Texas accent. “If they get into the nacelles, they could prevent us from going to warp. Unless you want to disable the safety mechanisms and risk a warp core breach.”

“Not my first choice,” Carter mused. “How long until they get to us?”

“2 minutes, 23 seconds…”

12.5