Primordius Genesis

Posted on Sat Mar 30th, 2019 @ 9:47pm by Commander Rita Paris & Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Commander Sonak & Lieutenant Asa Dael & Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy & Death & Hera

Mission: Primordial Mysteries
Location: USS Hera, Deck 1, the Bridge
Timeline: 2396, genesis of the Dedjoy system

Stepping out of the turbolift onto the bridge of the USS Hera was Commander Rita Paris, in all of her out-of-date glory, with Lieutenant Dox in stride beside her. The redheaded Romulan headed for the helm to relieve the current shift, even as Paris approached the Captain's ready room.

Ominously, the door opened as she approached, letting her walk in as if she owned the place. Enalia was sitting behind her desk, her head held in her hands and her elbows on the arms of her chair, slumped. She had obviously been up most of the night from the number of coffee cups on her desk. It was also obvious that her wife was the one that put dishes back in the replicator for her - a habit that she picked up growing up and easily slipped back into in married life.

As the buxom Commander entered, the curvaceous captain looked up from her brooding. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

“Bad news. Always the bad news first, Cap’n.” It was evident from the dark circles under her eyes that clearly the fulsome first officer had slept poorly if at all, but her usual indefatigable good cheer was evident, which was a good sign. “We’re about to do something that violates all sorts of legal and moral standards, so it’s bound not to be pretty. What sort of court martial should I be preparing, ma’am?”

As she spoke, Paris had begun reflexively clearing the Captain's desk of leftover clutter, carrying the first load to the replicator to be recycled. It was, after all, second nature to her as a product of her time.

The spotted woman rubbed at her temples, oblivious to the cleanup her first officer was doing. "Apparently none. The bad news is that the Commodore has authorized whatever it takes and will take the fall for whatever happens. The good news is that we're in the clear to use those Genesis torpedoes in any manner we like for this mission because of that. On top of that, the singularity that Gaia opened collapsed a few minutes after we reported in."

“Both bits of good news, then! Sonak has been working the calculations, but given the size of the Titan involved and the sheer mass, we may need all 4 torpedoes. Plus it would put us free and clear of being an ongoing hotspot for the future if it is clear there are no more such torpedoes in inventory. Thoughts?” Paris made a second trip, balancing the plates and cups with the aplomb of a waitress as she moved.

"Of that we agree. The only reason we had them is because there was literally nowhere else better to store them than in our pod. If we can both dispose of them and make use of them..." Enalia leaned back in her chair and gawked at the balancing act Rita was doing as she fed the coffee cups into the replicator.

“Also, I don’t know if you have had a chance to read the report, but we saved Yeoman Dedjoy. Mostly,” the fulsome first officer offered. “Her physical form was a bit too ravaged to be salvageable, but she’s inhabiting a partially constructed android chassis that might or might not be incorporating elements of a certain time-traveling granddaughter of yours who happened to leave some detailed schematics lying about, as if she knew we’d be needing them soon enough. So that is not the best of news, but it’s good news. She said to tell you hello, and that she’s fine.”

Enalia let out a sigh she didn't know she had been holding in. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. She's been like family to me since she came aboard and I have no idea what I'd do without her. Seriously, I have no idea where any of my paperwork is or where any of these coffee cups came from."

“They came from you overworking and never bringing a cup back to the recycler,” Rita admonished playfully in a tone that sounded somewhat parental in nature. “I understand, though. I owe Dedjoy- she put me together when you found me here, and she worked out how to send my communicator back. She saved my life twice and… even just partially getting her back, I’ll settle for, because I owe that scared kid too much to let her down when she needs me.” There was considerable emotion the first officer was choking back, but it was abundantly clear that she too was greatly relieved to have rescued the danger-prone Ilarian.

“She will be out of commission for a bit, but it would probably mean the world to her if you would go up to the pod and have a few words with her, Captain.” The mess cleared to her satisfaction, Rita Paris lowered herself into the chair opposite the captain’s desk with a bit more weariness than usual. It was clear now that she’d been up all night helping rescue Dedjoy, and she was powering through the day because she was needed and sleep could wait til she was dead. “She’s been through it and this isn’t an ideal situation, and she is going to need a lot of support and compassion over the course of the next few weeks, so we need to be there for her.”

"Once we're done with Primordius I'll head up there and see her and make sure she has access to her music collection." Enalia finally smiled a bit as the thought of the Illaran's favored 'musical' instrument came to mind. It reminded her that in all the galaxy, there had to be a few races that had to have music so dreadful that most other races considered it a form of torture. It was rumored that even grass died when Illarans played full orchestrations of their Mortepus.

“We’ll need to get her some hands. But that’s all being worked on as we speak,” Paris got back up, fetched two cups of coffee from the replicator- one for the Captain and one for herself. Delivering them, she sat back down, picking up where she left off. “I think we might want to assign Doc for some counseling… while this was a choice on her part and it didn’t jump her on a mission, Dedjoy’s always been a bit delicate. Losing her corporeal form may mess with her head quite a bit, and I’m determined that we not fall down on it. She single-handedly saved the entire ship- which, medals for her and Dox, by the way, assuming you are ahead of me on this one- but death has always been a terror for her, and coming back in this second life… not every Starfleet hero shrugs it off and moves on, Captain. So we need to watch her and be there for her, aye?”

"Especially since her people barely got past agrarian pre-industrial economics before the Ferengi introduced them to the rest of the galaxy." Enalia waved one hand in the air, obviously not a fan of the Ferengi. "As for awards, I had planned on promoting her two grades and giving her something like the bronze star. Your thoughts?"

“Promote one grade at a time or it cheapens rank in peacetime is the rule I was taught. I was thinking Medal of Honor, myself- she sacrificed herself to save the entire ship, and paid a hell of a price for it. Purple heart too, of course, although it seems inadequate for loss of her biological form.” Paris paused to rub the sleep out of her eyes and drink a few sips of coffee. “It’s been a real ordeal for the crew, ma’am. Not sure if we should keep going at it hard and fast or take some time to slow down and let them breathe before we charge back into the fray again, whatever it may be this time. Hopefully if we can stop Primordious and survive, that should end the threat of the Clash of the Titans.”.

“Provided we survive the next twenty four hours..." Enalia made a few notes on a PaDD as she spoke. "One rank... And a purple heart. Now... How are we going to ensure that our genesis warheads are going to do the trick? Wasn't there something about a theory about mental energy guiding the path of these things?"

“And a Medal of Honor. Dedjoy seems to feel that she may have some influence there, as she had time and motivation, and she was aware of what we’ve been up to, even if she couldn’t participate. Her exact words were, ‘Tell Enalia I’ve got it covered’ and to trust her, so… I’m gonna take this one on faith.” Paris shrugged broadly. “Worst case scenario they are all asshole planets like Gaia made. Well, worst case we all die, but worst case for planetary formation is they are all planets of the destructor and they are all hostile to humanoid life. Which means they might become hunting resorts for Klingons or something, who knows.”

"Then let's program them for maximum yield and leave the rest to her," replied Enalia, adding a few more notes to the PaDD. "Is there anything else we need to plan for?"

“Very little we can plan for to my mind, ma’am. Just time to charge one more unto the breach,” Paris admitted. “I’d like to address the bridge crew to give them a chance to lodge a protest of they like, but I think better to do what we’re going to do and anyone who wants to lodge an objection can do so after the fact. So, unless you have anything else you’d like to cover… we’re ready for you on the bridge, Captain.”

“We should at least forewarn them and let them know that everything is under orders and anyone objecting should step aside. Also, everyone should know what's at stake." The spotted and curvaceous Captain sighed heavily. "You're better at this kind of speech, but it would definitely be better coming from me. Wish me luck?"

“Mention duty and honor and the sacrifice made by those who came before, and maybe point out that he’s going to eat Romulus, Andoria Vulcan and Earth and that might lend your speech a bit of impact,” Paris joked darkly. “I’ve got your back, Captain Telvan, and we have the best crew in the fleet. Luck, like the man says, is merely the rational mind attempting to grasp concepts larger than oneself.”

"Good advice, thank you," Enalia replied with a smile, Standing and tugging down on her uniform top. "Well, no time like the present."

Leaving her office, the Captain led the way out onto the bridge with her First Officer in tow behind her, to take up a position in front of her chair. "First things first, have there been any replies to any of our communications attempts in any way?"

The operations Ensign shook her head. "No, Ma'am. Unless you count eating a dwarf planet as an attempt at communication."

"I do not..." Enalia muttered, looking back from the Ops station around at the rest of the bridge. She then pressed the ship wide comms so she could address the entire crew. As she did so, a whistle sounded, announcing her.

"Gentlebeings of the USS Hera, we are faced with a difficult issue. This being Primordius threatens the very core existence of the Romulan Empire and Federation. Projections estimate that unless it is stopped here and now, it will grow more powerful and consume every star in its path, which includes Romulus, Earth, Vulcan, Tellar, Trill, Andor, and thousands of other systems."

"We have a plan to use a power that is the counter and theoretical opposite of Primordius's. We've been carrying around four Genesis warheads and they're close enough to Gaia's energies that we can shut him down for good if we use all four."

"Yes, Genesis and proto-matter technology is banned by just about every alliance and treaty we have. If you're not comfortable with this mission, please feel free to step aside now. However, these actions have already been approved and the orders are already signed. No one here will have to face any repercussions for taking part in this operation."

“That being said, we have an honor bound duty to ourselves and the people of the rest of the galaxy to do everything in our power to make sure that life continues on all those worlds. We have the best crew in the fleet... In the galaxy... And I have faith in every single one of you."

Pressing the comms button again, she ended her ship wide broadcast and sat down in her command chair. "Red alert. Arm and load all four Genesis warheads. Authorization Telvan delta sierra foxtrot yamka niner niner."

The computer processed the order as the bridge lighting turned red and the red alert klaxon went off. "Captain approval confirmed. Awaiting First Officer approval for removal of safety interlocks."

“Authorization Paris, R, LTCDR, 867-5309,” the faithful first officer replied from her station, where her firing resolutions for the four torpedoes and her proposed flight plan came up on the main viewer.

From the helm, Lieutenant Dox quickly entered Commander Paris' flight plan into the controls and brought up the manual interface. As she did, she turned back over the shoulder and nodded to the Captain and First Officer, "Course laid in, Captain."

"Sick bay, Standing by," Doctor Dael reported in.

Standing at her station with the launch sequences targeted and primed, her finger hovering over the onscreen button, Commander Paris turned to Captain Telvan.

"On your command, Captain. All hands standing by... is the order given?"

"Almost... Wait for it..." Enalia leaned forward in her chair, waiting for the right moment as Primordius lined up with the system's sun and began slowly streaming it into its giant maw. The Hera was lined up not to be in the way of the stream but had a clear shot into that same maw that was now opening up wide. "Now the order is given. Fire at will, Commander."

In a career that had spanned decades, firing genesis torpedoes at a sun-eating Doomsday machine that was actually a primordial titan, which was likely going to start a galactic incident was still a first. With the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders, Commander Rita Paris did not debate nor hesitate. The needs of the many in this case included Romulus and most of the core worlds of the Alpha Quadrant, including her own home planet, Earth.

The few, as represented by the crew of the Hera, were willing to make the sacrifice for the one, in this case represented by the titan whose sole purpose was destruction of entire solar systems by eating any planets in it’s path, carving them up with an anti-proton beam, then swallowing their suns.

In the end, there was no choice at all.

“Torpedo one away. Miss Dox, if you please?” Paris ordered from her station, waiting for the ace pilot of the USS Hera to move them into position for the next shot, putting them on a trajectory to launch the remaining three torpedoes.

Following Paris' flight path exactly, Dox brought the mighty Starship quickly into position for thd next volley. "Aye, Commander. In position, zero point three two sevvvvveennn... MARK!

While they lined up for the second torpedo, the first one hit and the change inside Primordius was immediate. A green glow erupted inside the giant maw and a shockwave spread out from it slowly. It barely slowed the beast's hunger, though - the stream of matter from the sun continued unabated from the sun into the deadly ice cream cone of doom.

In her VIP quarters on Deck 8 of the starship that bore her name, the goddess Hera looked up, realizing what was happening as a smile crossed her face. "Oh, you clever, clever women..."

Next door, Death herself looked up, shrugged, then went back to what she was doing. Life overwriting life meant little to her, as it was merely transformation, not the cycle in which she served an integral and generally inescapable role.

The second torpedo launched, the bright red twinkle in the black of space lost in the chaos of a star-consuming titan’s hunger. The Hera did not dally, however, as she moved into position for the third torpedo launch, then the fourth.

“All right Miss Dox, get us out to a safe range to watch the fireworks, if you please,” Paris ordered as the last torpedo was away. “Let’s see if crazy ideas from back in my day still work on monstrosities from before time, shall we?”

"Aye, Commander." Dox replied as she quickly pulled the Hera around, zipping the Starship to a safe distance.

As the torpedoes hit, the green glow intensified and the pulses expanding from the impacts radiated outward faster. The fourth one flashed blue and the light within Primordius flared out. Outcroppings of growth crept out across the neutronium body of the great Titan behemoth as it gave one last twitch of death, rolling into what could possibly be a semi-stable orbit around the star. The genesis waves themselves flared outward, searching for more planets in the system and finding each one, spawning more life in the ideal nature guided by the ghostly hand of one Ila Dedjoy.

Soon, all of the inside and outside of the now motionless body of Primordius was now covered in lush greenery and blue waters - a veritable tropical paradise with an ideal atmosphere somehow supporting it even in the odd shape it was in.

"Can I cook or what," Paris muttered from the fire control panel, then she raised her voice back to bridge Command level. "Let's have some sensor readings, people. What's happening- is our sun-eater truly reformed? How are those Genesis waves doing on the sister planets, and tell me the Genesis wave is going to run its course? Cap'n needs answers, people."

The Ensigns at both Operations and Science both conferred between themselves for a moment before announcing their conclusions, Ensign Finneon at science going first. "We've determined that something that matches brainwave patterns of the late Yeoman Dedjoy's has overpowered that of the being before us and is guiding the progress of the Genesis wave."

Then the Ops Ensign Goldeen took a turn. "The initial warheads were programmed to simulate Gaia's energies in order to cancel out the primordial energies, but now they've taken on a more kind and peaceful tone to them and that pattern is the only viable explanation we can find."

Then back to Ensin Finneon. "Projections show that all seven solid worlds in this system will harbor at least some semblance of symbiotic life forms, the planet in the sweet spot becoming a sort of paradise. As for Primordius himself, we're detecting zero life from the actual being and instead, an outpouring of life from inside where the warheads hit, covering approximately seventy percent of the outer surface."

Then back to the Ops Ensign, Goldeen. "We're detecting massive levels of growth in both flora and fauna. It's as if the whole interior and exterior was terraformed into a perfectly balanced ecosystem with an atmosphere and all in the span of... Just over six minutes. It's now resting and settling right before our eyes."

"I hereby declare this to be known as 'the Dedjoy System' in honor of the brave young woman who laid down her life for this to be possible, and whose hand guided the creation of these worlds. Individual planet names to be determined, mark it in the log, Ensign Goldeen," Commander Paris declared as she approached the main viewer, captivated by the sight of the rapidly terraforming system. "That's... that is just one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever seen. Kinda makes you feel young again, eh Captain?"

"That it does..." Enalia also stood and took a couple steps towards the viewscreen. "I wonder if this is what Kirk felt when he laid eyes upon the Genesis planet all those years ago. If this isn't the definition of new life... The very thing that Starfleet is dedicated to seeking... Then I don't know what is. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this system spawns a race that leads to a civilization similar to that of the Illarans eventually."

"Congratulations, everyone. We've once again turned certain death and destruction into a fighting chance for life." Grinning like a leopard that ate her Miradonian helm officer, she turned to her voluptuous first officer. "Now how about we launch some long term probes and a subspace relay so we can monitor this from back home?"

"Aye Captain," Paris put in the orders to program the probes. While she didn't personally know the protocols for modern systemic monitoring probes- hell, she didn't even know what model probes were available anymore... class 10 maybe. What she did know how to do was delegate to people smarter than her whose jobs it was to know all of that, set expectations and mission parameters and wait for them to report back that it was ready. Then she just needed to order the launches, and away they'd go... which she could do all from a PaDD, as being stuck to a station tended to irk her if she didn't need the seatbelt.

"We may have started an intergalactic incident which could have far-reaching consequences," Paris said as she sidled up beside and behind the captain, just off her right elbow. "But it sure looks like we did the right thing to me. Heck, maybe we even restored balance to the universe in doing so. Gaia's worlds will be filled with dangerous, hostile lifeforms to humanoids. Whereas the Dedjoy system will be a paradise... or, at least as much as our Miss Dedjoy feels is a such, given her hand in it. As she's a geologist, these worlds should be... interesting."

"If I may say, well done, Captain. Well done to us all. People might not see it that way, but I think we may just have saved the known universe."

That's when Ensign Finneon piped up from the science station. "Captain I'm getting some odd readings from all genesis bodies. It's like our sensor readings are being reflected around before bounced back at us. Calibrating... That's not working... Ah, The special sensor package can detect what's going on. Captain, if these sensors are right, the more dense materials are slowly forming black crystal formations. This is growing into the second known deposit in the galaxy."

Enalia's eyebrows shot up and she moved over to look at the science console readouts. "Yeah, I recognize those readings. As soon as you find a stable deposit, beam aboard a sample. Let's see if it's as pure as the other one."

"I think we have conclusive proof of more than one theory today and I think I have someone to pay a visit to." Enalia was grinning ear to ear as she knew this would bring a certain level of peace and comfort to the android bound Ila Dedjoy. "I'll have to let the Commodore know first, but right after that, I'm off to the pod. And let's come up with some good names for these planets, too. The original survey mission named them NGDF4156456 A through H and H got eaten."

"Black crystals... her signature discovery. We might just have changed the face of the galaxy a bit more," Paris mused. "I believe I have excellent names in mind, ma'am. Leave it to me. Please give Ms' Dedjoy my compliments, as well as the Commodore. I have the conn, Captain, by your leave."

"Let's see now..." the curvaceous commander eyed the developing worlds with a hint of mischief in her eye. Name some planets, eh? That desert world closest to the sun, we'll name that one Sonak... then Dael and Dox for those two sibling planets... that water planet, we'll name Clemens... that jungle planet we'll name Paris, then the giant planet with all the moons we'll name Telvan, then the coldest planet furthest from the sun, that's sh'Zoarhi."

Looking around the bridge, Paris shrugged broadly. "Sherman discovered Sherman's Planet. If the universe is going to be mad at us, we may as well make a mark on history while we're at it. I mean, technically speaking, we did just discover the Dedjoy system..."

"We'll consider it part of the mission log then," Enalia commented as she vanished into her ready room with a wink.