Planet Killler Stardate 2259.309

Sofia felt her cheeks start to burn from embarrassment at being called out by Kirk like this. That had never happened before and she didn't like the feeling she got from it. She only nodded and didn't say anything to him. She gave out a few orders to her team before she went to go find Scotty. 

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Scarlett looked at Spock. "Have you ever heard of a Doomsday Machine? It's a weapon built primarily as a bluff. It's never meant to be used, but it's so strong that it could destroy both sides in a war. Something like the old H-Bomb was supposed to be. That's what I think this is. A Doomsday Machine that somebody used in a war uncounted years ago. They don't exist anymore, but the machine is still destroying. The most terrifying part though is that if this machine continues on its current course, it will travel right through the most densely populated section of our galaxy."

"And with the Anti-protons inhibiting long range scanners we know its ahead but not how far, I will go speak to the Doctor about the Commodore," Spock said as he stood up. "Fiona, take the con," he said as he stood up and left the bridge. Kal blinked upon hearing that Fiona would take the con. This had to be the first time. He watched her stand up, straighten her uniform and head toward the chair. Were her knees shaking? He wasn't certain.

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Scotty had had trouble and Sofia had to lend him one of her team to help get the controls rerouted to Engineering. The bridge being destroyed was a huge problem for ships like these and there was so much damage. If the ship was less than what it was, it would have likely been destroyed completely.

Fiona had never been asked to take the con before. She looked over at Spock just to be sure she had heard him correctly. She swallowed hard and then slowly stood up and straightened out her uniform. She walked over to the Captain's chair and sat down. Just sitting there she felt an immense sense of pressure and she hadn't even done anything yet! 

Before Spock even reached sickbay, he would be able to hear Dr. Lagasho arguing with Commodore Henley. 

"Sir, I must insist that you remain in sickbay. Our crew has everything well in hand."

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Elyse stood there with Kirk as they waited to get some sort of power back. She had been quiet for a while before finally speaking softly. "I can't imagine losing your entire crew. What Commodore Henley must be feeling right now...."

"I don't know if I would have done what he did but hindsight is 20 20. Attacking something like this without learning more about it...He was always trigger happy but during the war, with that ship. He gave the Klingons a pasting they'll not soon forget. He intercepted a fleet and though he lost 2 ships he took out 9," Kirk said. "He's not an explorer though, not like we are," Kirk said as they watched men and women climb over railings, crawl under consoles and blooms of sparks flew as they welded and cut and mended the ship around them. "Do you think I was harsh on Sofia?" Kirk asked softly.

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"I need to get to the bridge," he said. "Commodore, we haven't run all of our tests yet!" Lagasho argued. When Spock came up Henley stood. "Commander, I need you to get this...this..woman off of me!" Henley growled. Lagasho was furious and about to throw him bodily back onto the bed. Spock calmly looked at her. "Doctor, do you believe he is unfit for duty?" Spock asked. Lagasho began to speak but then didn't and then did. "Physically yes but he's been through a great deal of trauma, there's..." she began but Henley cut her off. "Doctor I've been through rougher scrapes than this! I cut down alot of Klingons so don't tell ME I can't do what needs to be done here!" He said and turned back to Spock. "At this moment, I am taking over the ship. Note that in the ship's log and take me to the bridge," Henley said. Spock calmly looked at him but calm was not how he felt. The man hadn't shaved and looked tired and dehydrated but could Spock tell a superior officer what to do? He did not have enough evidence to keep him here, unfortunately.

"Yes Commodore, Doctor, please note in your log that the Commodore has left sickbay against your recommendations, this way Commodore<" Kirk said and they moved down the hall toward the Turbolift. Scarlett was experiencing unusually high amounts of anti-protons and they were interfering with the ship's sensors badly.

Elyse looked over at Jim when he asked her if he had been harsh on Sofia. She sighed a little as she considered what to say. "Perhaps a little, but Sofia should have been in communication with Scotty...although to be fair he also should have been in communication with her. Unfortunately, because he wasn't there, Sofia got a talking to for both of them, but she's tough...she won't hold it against you." 

She was quiet for a moment before looking at him again. "You wouldn't really consider replacing her, would you?"

Elyse couldn't imagine two people better suited to look after the Enterprise than Scotty and Sofia.

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Scarlett was having difficulty with the sensors due to the high amounts of anti-protons. When she looked at the sensors again she was shocked by what she saw. She looked over at Spock as he came back onto the bridge with Commodore Henley. "It's gaining on us...and fast. I suggest we begin taking evasive action."

“Are you kidding? I rely on them for too much,” Kirk said. “Gaining? You mean it’s following us?” Fiona asked. “I thought we were following them!” She said. “Kal, how fast can we go towing a ship?” She asked. “Not fast enough,” Kal said. She hit the chair arm intercom. “Captain, the...machine is now following us, we need to cut you lose in order to lead it away,” Fiona said. Kirk looked at Elyse. ‘Fiona?’ He mouthed to Elyse silently and she nodded with a surprised look herself.

“Wait one,” Kirk said. “Scotty, what’s our status,” Kirk asked. “I think we’re ready Captain,” he said. “Ok, all of you transport back to the ship,” he told them. “I sir,” Scotty said and Kirk and Elyse moved up to the console. Elyse found she was able to get the ship’s impulse engines up and running as the engineering teams were transported.

Elyse blinked when she heard Fiona's voice on the other end of the communicator. Spock had left her in charge? Fiona was a very competent woman, but she had no command experience and this was a very dangerous situation they were involved in. 

As the Engineering teams transported back to the Enterprise, Elyse and Kirk stepped up to the console and she found she was able to get the ship's impulse engines up and running. They also got the view screen working.

Scarlett looked over as Spock and Commodore Henley stepped onto the bridge. She blinked when she saw the Commodore move over to the Captain's chair. "Move girl," he barked at Fiona and Fiona quickly got up. Everyone was looking over at Henley as he sat down in the Captain's chair. Scarlett looked at Spock with a shocked look on her face. When he moved over to her she whispered to him. "What's going on?"

Henley looked at Kal. "Helmsman, cut the Constitution loose and then perform a 180 degree turn, hard about. We're going to attack."

Amara's eyes widened. She got up and stepped off the bridge. She pulled out her communicator and contacted James. "James! Commodore Henley has taken over the Enterprise. He's ordering us to turn around and attack that thing."

Kirk was surprised to hear Amara's voice. He was right there next to Elyse when Amara said what she said. He looked up at her. "Stand by," Kirk said. "It'll be just you to get the ship to safety. If something happens to the Enterprise...You might be alone here for a long time," Kirk said. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Kirk asked. The viewscreen they had set up showed the Machine and the Enterprise using its phasers on it.

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On the ship Lucia fired the phasers at the Machine. The machine seemed to take damage but not much. Kal maneuvered the ship to stay ahead of the machine. It could travel at warp but it wasn't all that maneuverable. It attacked with its anti-proton beam. The ship shook as it hit the shields. "Shields down to 85 percent...Commodore," Lucia said. "Keep firing! Fire at will!" Henley said in an almost maniacal voice.

Elyse's eyes widened at what she heard Amara say. She and Jim shared a look and she knew that he needed to get back to the Enterprise as soon as possible to handle the situation before he got their entire crew killed. She felt rather helpless as she stood there looking at the view screen and watching the giant machine. The Enterprise wasn't going to stand a chance against it and both she and Jim knew that.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Go," she told him.

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Scarlett was horrified by what was happening. She and Spock could do little more though than share a worried look between them. This man had clearly lost it and now he was controlling their ship!

Kirk looked at her and he rested his hand on her shoulder. Elyse understood what was at stake and she still gave him a confident look. He brought his communicator up to his mouth. "Transporter room, one to beam up," He said.

The ship fired again and then again. Kal managed to evade the Machines attack but then the anti-protons grazed their shields again. The ship shook. "Fire, fire FIRE!!!" Henley yelled and pounded on the arms of his chair. Kal fired everything they had at it and then Kirk came onto the bridge with Amara right behind him. Kal's look of relief was obvious.

As they were beaming up Kirk, there were problems with the Transporter. It began to short out and they were just barely able to get Kirk there. Sofia and Scotty were immediately on the issue, but it didn't look like it was going to be easy to fix. The anti-protons were reeking havoc on their equipment.

Amara met James in the hall and she walked back onto the bridge with him. Scarlett saw Kal's look of relief and it mirrored her own. Amara sat back down at her station and looked at James. Commodore Henley looked over at Kirk, but he clearly had no intention of giving up the Captain's chair. 

"I've taken command of your ship. We're going to destroy that thing."

"Lieutenant Quinn, you will remove a phaser from the weapons locker and escort the Commodore to guest quarters and confine him there," Kirk said. Henley seethed and leaned forward. "That's mutiny Kirk! Do you know what that means! A Court Marshal!" He growled. Kal was maneuvering away, trying to avoid the bursts of anti-protons. Nathan stepped over from his station and removed a phaser and set it to stun. He stepped up to them. "Think about what you're doing son, think hard," Henley threatened. "You will remove James Kirk from the bridge and take him to the brig!" Henley said. Kirk just smirked darkly at Henley. "Please sir," Nathan said to Henley and gestured toward the door. Henley turned to Kirk.

"You'll lose your commission for this Kirk!" Henley said as he stood up. He sneered at everyone and headed toward the door. However before Nathan could catch up to him he bolted out into the hall. Nathan raced after him but Henley was fast and had turned the corner as soon as Nathan shot at him. Kirk took his seat and the tension on the bridge lessened a great deal. Kal maneuvered and once again the machine hit them with the anti-protons.

"Captain, shields down to 60 percent!" Lucia said as Kal passed her the weapons back. "Kal have you developed a pattern to its attacks? Can we position ourselves beside it?" Kirk asked. "Possibly sir, I'll try," He said.

Amara was about to contact Elyse but then her comm system went did after that last hit. That and the transporter was now completely down.

Sofia had been in one of the jeffries tubes trying to get full power back to the Transporter. The last blast caused sparks to fly and she yelled out as her hand got burned. It hurt...badly, but she kept on working. She knew that Elyse was still over on the Constitution and they would need to get her back. 

Amara looked over as McCoy came onto the bridge. He was supposed to be off-duty, but clearly he was interested in figuring out what was going on.

An engineer came up to the bridge just after McCoy. "The Transporter is completely down Captain."

"As are Comms," Amara added.

"Captain, someone's trying to launch a shuttle!" Lucia said. The only reason she knew was because their launch cycles came up on the Tactical console. Kirk looked at her. "Can you lock them out?" Kirk asked. Lucia began to press buttons quickly to try to do that but it was too late. "I'm sorry sir...They've launched," She said. "Get a tractor beam on them!" Kirk snapped. Lucia tried but something was wrong with the tractor beam controls.

Elyse could see the shuttle launch but she couldn't talk to anyone. Kal managed to keep the ship away from the massive Maw that appeared to fire the anti-protons and gobble up the pieces of the planets it destroyed. The machine was getting wise though to what Kal was doing and it began to anticipate Kal's movements.

Elyse felt utterly helpless as she watched the shuttle launch from the Enterprise. She kept trying to contact the Enterprise, but comms were down. She was using the impulse controls to keep the Constitution away from the machine. 

Amara kept trying and suddenly comms came back up. "Captain! Comms are back up," she said as she put him in touch with the shuttlecraft.

"Henley...what do you think you're doing!" Kirk said. "You get your butt back here now!" he commanded. "Sorry ti disappoint you Kirk, but I can't follow that order. Besides, I outrank you," he said as he began to overload the impulse engines. He shifted his headed toward the large, massive maw of the machine. "He's headed right for the machine Captain," Kal said. "Lucia...tractor beam?" He asked hopefully and she shook her head. "Sorry sir," she said. Kirk came down to Kal. "Can you disable his engines?" Kirk said. "I can sir but he's set them to overload. A phaser hit could destroy the ship," he said. "And no transporters.

Scotty saw what happened to Sofia. He had gone to the medical locker and removed the burncell spray. He pulled Sofia back from what she was doing and he frowned at her as he held her wrist. "Are ya tryin to lose yur hand lass?" he asked and then sprayed her hand with the burncell. Sofia's eyes closed briefly as the pain she had been feeling, it felt as if the flesh on her hand had been burned off, now it only felt like a bee sting. "Go to sickbay...and that's an order," He said. When he saw her eyes change to fury he changed his tone. "Please Sofia, we have this," he said in a softer, more caring tone.

Sofia sighed, but allowed Scotty to apply the burncell spray. Electrical burns in particular hurt and her right hand had been pretty badly burned from the spray of electrical sparks. The burncell immediately gave her relief from the pain she had been in. However, her hand still needed treatment...although she had not been planning to go to sickbay just yet. When Scotty ordered her to go she narrowed her gaze at him and opened her mouth to argue. But when he moderated his tone and spoke her in a softer, more caring voice she looked at him and she felt the fight within her fade away. She missed Scotty greatly and hearing that caring tone of voice nearly caused tears to come to her eyes. She looked at him for a long moment before finally relenting and nodding. She left and headed to sickbay.

Scarlett looked at Spock. "What do you think the Commodore is doing?"

"Committing suicide," Spock replied plainly. "I can't bring back my own crew but I can save yours!" The Commodore said in a near maniacal voice. Once he entered the maw of the machine his shuttle exploded. Scarlett was looking into her sensor viewer and she noticed the power level of the machine decrease.

Kirk shifted forward in his seat as he looked at the machine. "Lucia, fire phasers into the maw," Kirk said. "Kal, try to dodge it's attack if you can," Kirk said. From where she was Elyse saw the Enterprise fighting. She also saw that when the shuttle's impulse engines exploded, the machines power output seemed to lessen. It occurred to her that if the dreadnought did the same thing, a much large ship, it would make a much larger explosion.

Elyse watched the shuttle from the Constitution and she watched as it flew directly into the mouth of the machine. There was an explosion and it seemed to effect the machine. A thought then occurred to Elyse that perhaps they could destroy the machine with a much larger explosion. She grabbed her communicator, but comms had gone back down. Elyse stood there for a moment and she made a decision. It would mean her own life, but it would save everyone else. She quickly headed towards the engine room and began to work out how to overload the impulse engines. She knew time was of the essence and so she worked quickly. She was not an Engineer, but she had learned a lot from Scotty and Sofia and she knew the importance of a Captain knowing the ins and outs of their ship. The Constitution was different than the Enterprise, but the electrical systems were all the same.

She rigged up a detonation switch. There would be a slight delay and so she would need to plan out when to detonate it. She would need to be inside the machine in order to do the most damage. With everything in place, she used the impulse engines to start to guide the ship towards the machine. 

Fiona was watching the view screen and she saw what was happening. "What is Elyse doing?" she asked in alarm. Amara desperately tried to get in touch with her, but comms were still down.

Kirk saw it too and he opened up his intercom directly to Scotty. "Scotty, please tell me the transporters are working?" Kirk asked. McCoy saw that Elyse was not on the bridge. "Where's Elyse?" he asked. "A moment bones," Kirk said. "We'll workin as fast as we can Captain, you'll have transporters in a few minutes," He said. "We don't have a few minutes!" kKirk barked.

"She's on the Constitution," Kirk said. McCoy goggled and his face began to turn red. "She's on 'that' ship? The one that's headed toward that...thing?" He asked in disbelief. "Yes," Kirk said. "Well get her off of it!" He yelled. "I'm doing everything I can Bones, now sit down and shut up!" Kirk snapped and the doctor complied then bent forward and put his head into his hands.

"Captain, she's overloading the ship's impulse engines," Spock said looking into Scarlett's scanner. Scarlett saw that Spock was very worried. The veins in his neck were more visible. He had put alot of time into Elyse and now they all might lose her.

Scarlett didn't need to look at Spock to know how worried he was about what Elyse was doing. Spock cared about Elyse and she knew that he thought highly of her. They were all a family on the ship and Elyse was a big part of it. She was incredible at her job and missed when she wasn't there. 

Amara felt tears come to her eyes as she helplessly watched the Constitution move towards the mouth of the machine. She could see Kal from where she was sitting and his face had gone pale.

Elyse felt a wave of fear come over her as the mouth of the machine loomed in front of her. Her heart began to race, but she couldn't turn back now. The ship entered the mouth of the machine and she closed her eyes and thought about Leonard and the way his arms felt around her as she flipped the detonation switch...

Scotty was there himself working on the transporter. He held a hyperspanner and he was working as fast as he could. Silas was under the panel and doing as he directed. "A little more...more...more!" Scotty snapped and the transporter console came to life. "Hold it, right there!" Scotty said and then the lights all went out again. "No, no no!" he growled and he smashed his fist into the console. The lights flickered on again.

"Back us away Kal," Kirk said coldly. There was little else he could do about what Elyse was doing. He would not let her sacrifice be in vain though. He was going to destroy the machine. "Lucia, ready a full spread of photon torpedoes," he said. Scotty targeted Elyse just as she heard the ship begin to explode around her. She even felt the warmth of the heat as she was transported back to the Enterprise at the last moment. When she landed on the pad, she felt a searing pain in her back. She fell to the floor as Scotty came toward her. Her back was burned. Her uniform was trashed and she was covered in dirt and soot.

Kirk shielded his eyes as the Constitution exploded. "Fire," Kirk said and Lucia fired everything they had. The machine began to burn from the inside out and then it exploded from its maw backward until the entire length of it was consumed. Kal turned the ship and went to warp before the shock wave of the explosion hit them.

"Sickbay, this is Scotty, I have a medical emergency in transporter room 2!" he said. Kal perked up with hope as McCoy bolted from the bridge. When he arrived there was a nurse there with a their medical kit. He began to work on her right away. Blue eyes looked up at his brown and he smiled down at her. "You do like to take chances woman!" he scolded and then he kissed her and he didn't care who saw.

Elyse held onto the thought of Leonard as she heard the explosion begin around her. She could feel the searing heat, but she knew it would all be over in a matter of seconds. However, just then she felt the familiar sensation of being transported. When she appeared on the landing pad, she fell to the floor in severe pain. Her back felt like it was on fire. Her uniform was burned in several places and she was covered in soot.

Diana Young was on duty in sickbay and she grabbed a medical kit and dashed out of sickbay towards Transporter Room 2. She nearly collided with Nathan along the way. "Sorry!" she yelled back at him as she reached the turbolift. She had just gotten to Elyse by the time McCoy rushed in. She began to get out what McCoy would need to stabilize her. She would need to be properly treated back in sickbay though.

Elyse looked at Leonard. She was in pain, but there was only one thing on her mind. "Please...please tell me it worked."

"Ofcourse it did," McCoy said. They determined she was well enough to move and so they helped her up and they hobbled her out of the transporter room, down the hall and into the turbolift. They cut off her uniform and made her move onto her stomach as McCoy healed her burn. From her vantage point she could see the entrance to sickbay. Kirk and Amara suddenly appeared but Elyse was not decent and he stayed near the door. When Elyses eyes met his a smile bloomed on his face. A very pleased smile for her. For what she did. Amara had no qualms about moving up to her though. After McCoy was done she was on her back in a gown under a blue sickbay blanket. Diana held a drink for her and she watched Elyse use the straw then set it down for her on a small table next to her bed. McCoy came over to talk to her as Diana stepped away. He sat down on the bed on her right side.

"Is this something that's going to happen often? You in a sickbay bed and me worrying about you?" McCoy asked.

Diana helped Dr. McCoy move Elyse from the transporter room to sickbay. They carefully removed her uniform and she had to lay on her stomach as Leonard healed the burn. She was laying down facing the entrance to sickbay and she saw Kirk and Amara walk in. Jim stayed back near the door when he saw she wasn't entirely decent, but she looked over at him and she saw him smile at her. Amara reached out and took one of her hands and gave it a squeeze as she smiled at her friend. 

Once the healing was done, a gown was put on her and she lay back on the bed under a blanket. Diana brought her something to drink and then set it on the table next to her bed. She stepped away as McCoy approached his wife. 

Elyse looked up at Leonard as he sat down on the bed next to her. She was quiet for a moment as she looked at him. "I was prepared to do what I needed to do to stop that thing."