ShipCore

USD: Twenty minutes since traversal wormhole for 6th Fleet was created.

Location: Meltisar, MIL-1A, Fleet High Command, Operations Flag Bridge

Tia’s head snapped up to the CIC monitor, a stream of data from the sensor arrays setting off an alarm. A tactical rendition of the cataclysmic event occurring where the 6th fleet had been waiting to transit.

Tia’s systems went into overdrive as alarms blared through the command bridge. Data streamed in from sensor arrays scattered across the system, capturing the cataclysmic event that had just unfolded.

[InfoWarn: A massive energy release at Chi Thea’s last known coordinates has been detected. Estimates place energy density equivalent of a spherical coronal mass ejection. Radiation and gravitational wave spikes suggest a catastrophic failure of MNS Thea’s Hackjob’s wormhole generator.]

Tia leaned forward, placing her hands on the hologram table and doing her best to control the feeling of being punched in the gut.

Fleet Admiral Wilkes shot to his feet. “Is it an explosion?”

Taking a breath, Tia nodded. “Preliminary analysis suggests so, but there are anomalies. The expansion of energy is too large to be a simple detonation of the moonlet. It’s possible there was an error, and the wormhole tapped into Meltisar’s star and is dumping coronal matter into the area.”

Admiral Westlake paled considerably at that assessment before sharing a look with Wilkes.

The screen filled with a rendition of the energy wave expanding. The entire interior of the sphere blanked out with a ‘No Data’ warning. The outer edge of the high-energy ejection was too dense for any of their available sensors to pierce.

The room fell deathly silent as staff officers came to a halt in the middle of what they had been doing to stare at the screen. Everyone had a different reaction to processing the data—a wormhole breaching the sun’s core? The possible implications were mind-boggling.

“What does this mean?” asked Wilkes finally, staring at Tia.

The grim expression on Tia’s face didn’t disappear. “I’m constantly processing the new data via Liv—my MainComputer. Currently, we are looking at a massive EMP burst that could do considerable damage to Meltisar’s unshielded infrastructure groundside. By the time it reaches us, it will have dispersed enough to not be any danger to any orbital or ship equipped with a standard D-field.”

Admiral Westlake tensed up. “And the 6th fleet?”

“No concrete analysis, yet. The wormhole generator was working on the edge of our understanding on theoretical physics,” Tia continued. “If the wormhole established breached the sun’s core and somehow became stable on its own… we could be staring at a potential system-level catastrophe.”

“What can we do?” Wilkes interjected. He looked haunted, grappling with the idea that the entire system could be wiped out.

Tia exhaled. “If the wormhole is stable and draining mass from the star…we will need to consider evacuation options for the population.”

“That’s…impossible,” Westlake whispered.

“It’s premature to assume that we are operating with the worst-case scenario, but it is a possibility,” Tia replied.

“We shouldn’t have used forbidden technology,” a staff officer whispered to himself.

A frown crept onto Tia’s face. There wasn’t going to be enough time to analyze and second guess themselves, at least not at the moment. She focused on following Livi’s work, running through calculations and analysis of the streaming sensor data as best she could while keeping track of everything else.

A sudden communication buzzed through all the alarms and chaos erupting due to its priority level. Tia scanned it and let out a sigh of relief. One less problem to worry about. Though Veliana’s movements to leave the system weren’t one-hundred percent encouraging.

She turned to Fleet Admiral Wilkes. “Admiral, Priority message from the 4th fleet. The Solarians have begun to transit back to Scholz’s Star.”

Westlake and Wilkes shared a look, then a nod. “We need them to return to Meltisar as soon as they have accounted for. Transmit that to the Admiral immediately.”

Tia nodded and sent off the message.

The rest of the CIC was full of controlled chaos as officers scurried back and forth dealing with issues. Word would spread fast through the higher-echelon of the officer corps, but it would filter out more slowly to everyone else.

When news reached the public, there would be a panic. A sore spot in the back of her brain felt like someone was crushing it with pliers, a very strong sign of the amount of strain she was under… and that was with Livi handling the running of all the major infrastructure systems and data analysis.

It was just too much for her to handle. She had no idea how Alex managed to do so constantly and remain as cheerful as she did.

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[Info/Warn/WARN: A network spike in encrypted traffic has been detected.]

Tia frowned and turned to her console, pulling up the log file. By the time she had pulled up the image, Livi was screeching at her.

[WARN/WARN/WARN: Certain elements of 5th fleet guard are making unplanned movements. Threat level high.]

Tia stood up.

[Info/WARN: MIL-1A weapon system boot-up sequence initiated. Directing responsive fleet elements.]

Westlake and Wilkes looked at her with a confused expression, still completely unware.

She walked over to them and grabbed their arms and NAI-handled them onto their feet. “Admirals, I believe we are about to come under attack. Please come with me.”

“What are you—” Wilkes said, trying to pull away, but her grip was firm.

Ignoring their protests and the confusion of the security and officers in the CIC, she headed for the door.

[WARN/WARN: High energy spike detected. Consistent with targeting suite—]

[WARN: High energy discharge detected.]

They didn’t make it to the door. Tia flared her nanites that had subtly spread throughout the CIC over the last few hours and forced them to multiply. They burned away material to duplicate themselves and form a sphere around her.

There was no chance to help the rest of the personnel in the room because a railgun shell slammed into the compartment.

Tia focused on their personal survival while leaving the combat and direction of MIL-1A and its defense units for Livi. There was only a vague notion of what was going on in the back of her head as she held onto the admirals as the compartment vented atmosphere and debris out into space.

It had been a large caliber round at point blank, which was not good.

The thin bubble of her nanites shimmered as the thin surface flexed against the sudden vacuum, threatening to tear apart. She yanked the two admirals behind her to the door and kicked it clear before they entered the connecting corridor. It was venting too, and she pressed them against a bulkhead wall as a pile of equipment and loose items shot down the hall.

A heavy metal cart deflected off the thin nanite bubble, while the rest of the stuff flashed by. Checking on her two charges, both men were puffing and looking like drowning fish. A quick check of her own skin told her why: air pressure was dropping rapidly, even in the thin pocket of air inside the nanite bubble field.

She reached out and slapped a palm on both of their mouths. Two panicked looks stared back at her, but relief quickly followed as she channeled oxygen to them and built a breathing facemask for them. That would keep them conscious long enough for them to get out before the entire area turned into a complete vacuum.

The air current lessened considerably a few seconds later, and she pulled the two disoriented men through the labyrinth of corridors. Sparks showered from exposed circuitry, while red alarms spun silently in the rapidly thinning atmosphere.

The attack had been swift and brutal, a precision strike meant to cut the head from the snake.

A quick check of the tactical map in her peripheral HUD indicated it wasn’t over. But now that the station’s defenses were online, they were punching back, and allied warships were assisting. The entire 5th fleet hadn’t been roped into the plan, apparently.

A virtual path line appeared in her vision, directing her on which way to go.

[Info/WARN: Structural integrity compromised in sectors 4 through 7. Major damage to fleet command sub-section. Advising immediate evacuation to safe compartment Delta-2. I am projecting a real-time route to your HUD, Celestia.]

Tia grunted, keeping her breath in a controlled rhythm. The once pristine passageways were filled with jagged remnants and debris. Panels were dislodged and they passed several bodies. Behind her, Wilkes nearly stumbled, but she kept her hand tightly clasped on him and pulled him along.

“Keep close,” Tia instructed, her voice sounding much more calm than she felt. The admirals’ uniforms weren’t full skinsuits, but they were nearly effective enough with her added breathing mask. The issue was that her bubble field was slowly leaking.

[Info/Hurry: Emergency bulkheads ahead. They will seal and the section will re-pressurize.]

“Almost there!” Tia encouraged. Their eyes settled on the large double door. Normally it would have already sealed the other compartment, but it was obvious that it was being held open just for them, to the detriment of whoever was on the other side.

They all hurried.

As they stumbled inside, a hiss of gas filled the corridor as the station systems worked double-time to flood the chamber. Somehow they’d made it.

“What in Ertan’s name is going on, Celestia?” Wilkes demand, his voice a mix of anger and disbelief.

Tia’s expression turned steely. “A coup,” she said tersely. “Certain elements of the 5th fleet turned on the station and have engaged the rest of the fleet. We’re currently eliminating them. Fleet High Command has been significantly damaged, but auxiliary control is still operable. The computronic module they struck was a decoy, and I’m still fully in control of military assets here.”

Both men paled at the news.

“How is this possible?” Westlake’s voice was sharp, his normally composed demeanor replaced by an edge of near panic.

Tia bit her lip and checked her map to the nearest station bunker with a control node before replying. “Civil operations are halted. It looks like physical interlocks have been put in place in some locations groundside. This is not an isolated incident or a few people working towards sabotage. I suspect there are high-ranking members in the military, along with civilian authorities, acting in a decapitation strike.”

“The timing,” Wilkes muttered. “It wasn’t an accident. They must have thought with the 6th fleet exploding, it was their chance.”

“Well, they missed,” Tia said coldly. “I’m instituting purge protocols on all suspected rebel units. The election will be… canceled until ongoing unrest is quelled.”

Both men paled almost as much as when they’d been sucking near-vacuum.

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