The Death of a Star

    Mindwave, Dr. Bruno Von Otto, and the crew of the Star Fist have been assigned by the Empress to explore the Sigma Quadrant... the region of space just "east" of Morgoth territory on the galactic map.  Data on this quadrant is both old and not at all detailed.  The Empress is interested in a detailed study of this area of space so that she can determine the practicality of trying to contain Morgoth expansion.  Seeing this as a good test of Mindwave's abilities, the Empress detached the Star Fist and her crew and put them directly under Mindwave's command.  A short while later, the Star Fist was on its way to the Sigma quadrant to carry out its mission.
    Though delayed slightly in their mission by the discovery of a very old, sublight colony ship, Mindwave and her crew finally approached the edge of the Sigma Quadrant.  Just inside the border of the quadrant, the group detected a trinary star system (marked in yellow on the galactic map), and given the rarity of such an occurance, Mindwave and Dr. Bruno decided it would be worth investigating.  As the Star Fist approached the system, something strange was detected.  The smallest of the three stars was flaring violently at regular intervals, and each episode of these massive flares ate away at what little remaining life the star had in it.  What was worse, the fourth planet of the system was populated by a race of somewhat primative humanoids.  The destruction of the star would shift the habitable zone of the star system enough to destroy the existing plant and wildlife on the planet.
    After some consideration, it was decided by Mindwave, the Doctor, and the command crew of the Star Fist that nothing could be done to save the star, but it might be possible to bio-engineer a sturdier form of plant life that would survive in the reduced temperatures and light after the star collapsed.  Dr. Bruno, working together with Lt. Kaar, the ship's science officer, set about engineering new plants, based on samples taken from the planet itself by an away team.  Without too much time left before the star collapsed completely, the new seeds were loaded into the ship's shuttles and distributed into the areas that were most likely to support the new plant life.  Having distributed the seeds, there was little left to do but wait...
    Alarms started going off on the bridge about two hours before the star collapsed completely.  Another ship was detected that had previously been hiding behind the star.  Mindwave immediately ordered the Star Fist into action, and the crew approached the alien ship.  In order to avoid detection for as long as possible, Captain Tarna kept the dying star between his ship and the unknown ship for as long as possible.  When they were as close as possible to the dying star, the Star Fist began a fast orbit to try to catch the unknown ship off guard.  It worked.  As the other vessel came into line of sight, scans revealed what appeared to be a new type of Morgoth vessel.  Though massive, the ship appeared to be more of a platform than an actual warship.  Scans revealed the enemy vessel had limited maneuverabiltiy and only defensive weaponry, with one notable exception:  The enemy vessel was seen firing what appeared to be antimatter torpedoes into the star.  It was these antimatter torpedoes that were causing the star to collapse.  Battle ensued, and a short time later, the Star Fist had disabled the platform.  Preparations were being made to board the enemy vessel when the Star Fist detected a buildup of antimatter in the middle of the ship... the Morgoths were about to detonate one of their star torpedoes...

Mindwave shouts, "Take us out of here!  All ahead full!"
Ens. T'ja has the ship underway before Mindwave finishes the order. Captain Tarna says, "Transfer all remaining power to the aft shields!"  The Star Fist begins moving away from the enemy vessel, but gets caught in the blast as the antimatter torpedo explodes.  The Star Fist begins to tumble out of control as the computer announces, "Warning: Aft shield penetrated. Hull breaches on decks seven and eight. Main power offline. Shields offline. Radiation leak detected in engineering."

Mindwave uses her TK power to hold herself in her chair, "Are we in a gravity well?"
Ens. T'Ja reports over the wail of sirens and alarms, "Yes, the collapsing star still has a considerable gravity field..."
Mindwave says, "How long do we have?"
Lt. Kaar reports, "Roughly twenty minutes. There is still a considerable amount of antimatter in the star's core, it's very unstable"
Mindwave turns to the Captain, "Captain, we have 20 minutes to get main power back on-line..."
Lt. Cmdr Jazone's voice comes over the comlink, "Bridge, Engineering has been evacuated. We took quite a bit of damage down here."
Bruno smirks, "Somebody get me a sealed suit and show me the shortest route down there..."
Mindwave turns to Bruno, "Doctor, there is a radiation leak down there..."
Captain Tarna listens to the reports coming in from all over the ship. Most of the aft end of the ship got pretty beat up from the sounds of things. He nods to Mindwave and says to Jazone, "Commander, we need main power back online as quickly as possible."
Bruno smirks, "Like I said, get me a sealed suit. If we don't get the power back up NOW we never will."
Mindwave says, "very well...."
Captain Tarna adds in his message to Lt. Cmdr. Jazone, "Dr. Bruno will be down to assist in the repairs. We have fifteen minutes and we have to be underway. Make it happen, Commander." A curt, "Aye Captain" is the only response from Engineering.
Bruno fumbles around with the gimmick, and sets the forcefield up. It probably won't stop radiation, but it never hurts to at least HOPE that it does.
Mindwave says, "viewscreen on..."
After only a couple of minutes, Bruno is in a space suit (which does have radiation shielding) and is down in Engineering. Cmdr Jazone is also in a space suit, ready to make the repairs. Everyone else clears out of the area as the pressure doors leading into Engineering open... Jazone says, "We need to get the leaks stopped first. Then we can flush the compartment and get everyone back in here to get main power online... You start over there, I'll start over on this side."
Bruno stays in communications with the bridge. "Triage here Commander Jazone, what do we need to do first? Leaks...that I can do. Er...the compartment is still flooded with radiation, would it be wise to bring everyone back in?" He shrugs and sets out to his task at hand, however.
Jazone talks as she works, saying, "We'll get the leaks fixed, then blow out the compartment. It won't get rid of all of the radiation, but it'll get rid of enough to make the working conditions tolerable for short periods."

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 2 1 3 Body: 2 Stun: 6
The repair work goes quickly. Bruno and Cmdr. Jazone have no trouble repairing the leaks. Jazone finishes about the same time Bruno does, and she reports, "Done... let's go!" and she heads back out of the compartment.
Bruno scans around quickly, looking for anything they might have missed, before leaving.

Back on the bridge, Lt. Kaar reports, "Ten minutes until the star collapses, Warlord. It looks like it is most definitely going to go nova. There's not much left in it, but we're still in danger."
Mindwave says, "Commander Jazone, you have 10 minutes...."

In Engineering, the pressure door closes as Bruno and Jazone step through it. A few moments later, the engineering compartment turns into a whirlwind as the compartment is opened up into space, blowing out the atmosphere in the compartment. Once it's cleared out, the compartment is sealed back off and the atmosphere is replaced with semi-fresh air. The doors open back up and the engineers move in.
Mindwave looks around the Bridge, then back to the viewscreen.
Repairs are underway in Engineering. Panels are torn off to expose the equipment behind them, the engineers work frantically to repair the crippled ship. Jazone works along side Bruno on the main drives...
Bruno sighs and looks back into the engineering compartment through the plexiglass or whatever the heck it is.  He frowns...thinking to himself, "this is going to be cutting it FAR too close even if everything DOES go right..."

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 4 3 6 Body: 4 Stun: 13

Jazone hands Bruno a couple of cables and says, "Here, connect these in those ports there..." she points to a couple of sockets that the cables will fit in as she continues. Time ticks on... two minutes remain, when one of the engineers calls out across the compartment, "Main power restored!" Jazone quickly keys the comlink and says, "Bridge, main power back online"

Back on the bridge, Mindwave turns to the helm, "Ensign, get us out of here. Best possible speed."

Bruno hrrrrmmms and looks around. He sets the comptuer to a quick diagnostic.   Ever the pessimist he assumes there's something they missed.

Ens. T'ja engages the engines. Never one to disappoint Bruno, Fate shows its ugly face, as the ship lurches forward for a moment then pitches forward as the main engine gives out again. Roughly a minute and a half remains...

Mindwave says, "Damn, Commander Jazone, we have 90 seconds..."

Bruno sighs and nods, "OKay...let's reroute all power to the engines for the moment...Life support should hold on internal heat and what air we have for at least an hour...."
Jazone reports, "Aye, Warlord. Things are pretty slagged down here, we'll get it running somehow though..."

Mindwave looks back at the viewscreen of the collapsing star.
One of the engineers looks up from a console and says to Bruno, "No luck, Doctor... those power conduits are melted... we're going to need some way to reroute the physical circuits..."

Empress says, "OK, Bruno, you were doing your analysis, roll computers for that"

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 4 4 5 Body: 3 Stun: 13

Back on the bridge, the star looms ominously on the viewscreen... shrinking down at a rate that is noticable to the naked eye.
Lt. Kaar says, "That star's going to collapse in on itself, then the antimatter is going to blow it apart again... one minute remaining."

Bruno sighs and grabs a tech who's running by. "You see that thing right there?" He points to some small thingy with lots of flashing lights and dials, "That needs to be replaced, NOW..." The engineer looks at the device attached to the main drive and pales slightly as he sees the problem. He immediately runs off to one of the side compartments where spare parts are stored...

Mindwave looks at the Bridge chronometer, and back at the viewscreen...

The Engineer reappears in the door a moment later holding several pieces of deformed, slagged parts, saying, "These are no good either!"
Jazone yells, "Bring them over here!"
Bruno smirks, "Okay, then we improvise..."

Empress says, "roll inventor, Bruno :)"

Bruno rolls 3 dice and gets: 1 4 2 Body: 2 Stun: 7

Bruno sees exactly what to do. Removing a peice from one of the slagged replacements, and another from a different, he quickly throws together something that, while it wouldn't pass an inspection, it does look like it will work...
Bruno gives a wild grin, flying by the seat of his pants now THIS is how it should be!

On the bridge, the last flickers of light from the star burn out as it begins collapsing in on itself, forming a dark ball of matter sitting in space...
Mindwave says, "Doctor, it's now or never..."

Bruno grins and looks up at the monitor, then looks Mindwave straight in the eye via the video link, "Ach Captain, I cannae do it, I need more time..." and even as he says it he plugs the device in and the main engines are back online...
Mindwave sighs.
Mindwave says, "Ensign, move us away, now, best possible speed."

As Bruno plugs in the device, the main drives hum back to life. Ens. T'ja engages the engines and the ship pushes forward. A brief moment later, the antimatter reacts with the collapsed star matter and blows the remains of the star apart. Tactical shows the Star Fist moving away, and a sphere expanding from the star representing the shock wave... it slowly cloes on the Star Fist...
Mindwave says, "Brace for impact....Sound Collision!"

Mindwave rolls 3 dice and gets: 2 1 4 Body: 2 Stun: 7

The Star Fists engines strain, moving the ship as fast as possible. The expanding ring on the tactical closes, but grows dimmer as it moves out. It finally catches up with the ship, and the ship lurches and tumbles a bit, but that's about the worst of it. The computer reports minor damage to the hull and one of the particle accelerator batteries is destroyed, but other than that, the ship seems to be in good shape.

Mindwave whews.
Mindwave says, "Good work, Engineering"
Jazone's voice returns over the comlink, saying, "The Doctor is the one who saved the ship, Warlord."
Mindwave says, "Ensign, take us back to the planet, standard orbit... we'll complete repairs there."
Mindwave says, "Doctor, nice job..."
Ens. T'ja smiles and says, "Aye, Ma'am. Laying in a course for the planet."

Mindwave turns to the science station, "What effect is the nova having on the system?"
Lt. Kaar studies the sensors for a few moments, then says, "Well, the explosion itself didn't even reach the first planet in the system, so that was nothing. As far as the changes, it's a little early to predict right now, but we can probably expect to see the habitable zone of the system move inward, and the orbits of the planets will most definitely be changed now that there are only two gravity wells affecting them."
Mindwave says, "interesting indeed......"
Mindwave says, "I would like to get an analysis of changes to the planet."
Kaar says, "That will take some time, of course. I'll work on it while we're repairing the ship."
Mindwave says, "Excellent, Lieutenant, thank you."
Mindwave says, "Communications status?"
Ens. Par'tagh reports, "Communications are mostly online. Our subspace arrays got knocked out of alignment in that last blast, but that shouldn't take long to realign."
Mindwave says, "Ensign, let me know when the array gets realigned, I want to send a report as soon as possible."
Ens. Par'Tagh nods and says, "Aye, Warlord. I'll get right on that."
Mindwave says, "Any other vessels on sensors?"
Lt. Kirana shakes his head, saying, "Negative. Nothing on tactical. Long range sensors also reporting clear."
Mindwave says, "very well...."
Mindwave starts to compose a report, "Captain, I'll want a shuttle readied to head down to the planet, but I will not need it for several hours."
Ens. Par'tagh reports, "Warlord, subspace arrays are realigned. Communications has been restored to full"
Captain Tarna nods and says, "Any special mission parameters for the shuttle, Warlord?"
Mindwave says, "No Captain....though a squad of marines should be assembled. I want to see the changes to the planet myself."
Captain Tarna says, "The changes are likely to be gradual, Warlord. I suggest leaving a probe in orbit of the planet to record changes while we continue our mission. We'll have to pass near this system again on the return trip to Earth, and if need be, we could make a special stop."
Mindwave says, "Very well, ready the probe."
Lt. Kaar nods and says, "Aye Ma'am." She types some things on her terminal and a few moments later, a probe is ejected from the ship and settles into orbit around the planet. Lt. Kaar reports, "Probe launched... its orbit is stable. It should hang there for quite some time before its orbit decays."
Mindwave says, "Excellent....still, there are many questions I have about what the Morgoths were doing."
Captain Tarna speaks up, saying, "Perhaps the environment of the planet wasn't to their liking..."
Mindwave says, "an extreme way to change the climate of a planet" Mindwave says, "perhaps they were working on a weapon of some sort, something to affect a star"
Lt. Kaar says, "Perhaps it wasn't this planet they were trying to change..."  She brings up a map of the system on Tactical. The next planet toward the stars is centered in the display. She says, "This planet appears to be quite rich in resources, but it's too close to the stars to be even partially habitable..."
Lt. Kaar adds, "But take out one, or maybe two of the stars..."
Mindwave says, "and you have a habitable planet with an abudance of   resources....and in a remote system"
Captain Tarna nods and says, "Makes sense to me..."
Mindwave says, "but what kind of weapon could have done that to a star?"
Lt. Kirana says, "Well, from what we were able to gather, they seem to be using antimatter to kill the star. As you know, most stars are made up of hydrogen, which is fused into helium. Antimatter is, in theory, a negative hydrogen molecule. Put the two together and they destroy each other, or more correctly they change each other into energy... quite violently."
Mindwave says, "How much antimatter would it take?"
Lt. Kaar says, "It's hard to say for sure, we don't know a whole lot about antimatter. Theoretically speaking, it would take the same mass of antimatter as that of the hydrogen left in the star, but that doesn't take into account the accelerated fusion reaction caused by the energy released from the initial matter-antimatter reaction."
Mindwave says, "Is there a record somewhere of the Morgoths doing this before?"
Captain Tarna shakes his head, saying, "Not that I'm aware of... I'm sure something like this would have been reported if anyone in the Empire knew about it."
Mindwave says, "Then I should report this right away....if the Morgoths can do this here, they might do this elsewhere."
Ens. Par'tagh asks, "Would you like me to open a channel back to Earth, Warlord?"
Mindwave turns to Ens. Par'tagh, "Yes Ensign....I'll have report ready in a moment"
Mindwave continues to input the report into a datapad
Ens. Par'tagh nods and says, "Stand by..."
Mindwave turns to the science station, "Lieutenant, I will want to include all sensor data in my report."
Lt. Kaar nods and says, "I will make the necessary adjustments"
Ens. Par'tagh says, "I have a clear channel, Warlord."
Mindwave returns to her command chair, "This is Warlord Mindwave, aboard the Star Fist. We have engaged and destroyed a Morgoth vessel in the Sigma Quadrant."
An image of the Empress appears on the main viewscreen. She stands in the command center at the palace on Earth. She nods and says, "Grettings, Mindwave. You've encountered Morgoths already?"
Mindwave says, "Yes, Your Majesty, we have. The Morgoth vessel was engaged in destroying the smallest star of a trinary star system. We did not detect the vessel at first, and thought the star was naturally dying out."
Empress's eyes widen slightly for a moment as she hears that. She asks, "It was destroying a star? Please elaborate, Mindwave..."
Mindwave says, "The Morgoth vessel was, we suspect, bombarding the star with antimatter. The star went nova a short time ago. I am including all sensor data in this transmission."
Empress nods and asks, "Were you able to ascertain their purpose in doing that?"
Mindwave says, "I was just discussing that with my command officers. There is one planet in this system that is rich in natural resources, but was far too close to the stars to be habitable. If one or more of the stars were eliminated, then that planet would be habitable. Another thought was that this effort was an experiment being conducted on a weapon, or new procedure."
Empress nods and says, "Very well. I will bring this before the other warlords. For the time being, continue on your mission as planned, and transmit any data you find regarding this incident, no matter how irrelevant it appears to be."
Mindwave says, "Acknowledged, My Empress. My ship will remain in orbit of the fourth planet of this system for a couple of more days to effect repairs. In my report, you will find information on the inhabitants of this world, and my interaction with them."
Empress nods again and says, "Very well, Mindwave. Continue your mission as planned. We must have information on the Sigma quadrant to contain the Morgoth expansion."

Mindwave says, "Acknowledged, My Empress. Star Fist, over and out."
The image of the Empress is replaced by an "End of Transmission" message, then a moment later, the main viewscreen returns to a forward external view.
Mindwave says, "Captain, keep me update on the progress of the repairs. I will be in my quarters."
Captain Tarna nods and says, "As you wish, Warlord."