KINDLING
STARDATE 08.06.24
OMEGA REGENESIS
Captain Hafnyr stood with Vesper, his First Officer, and Husk, his Tactical Officer in the Tactical Chamber aboard the Kindling. Each of them was staring at a holographic simulation of the upcoming battle. They all knew there wasn’t much time to have this conversation.
“The Ramoreen are an aggressive and belligerent species,” Vesper stated rapidly, even though everyone present was familiar with this information. Her white, bat wings enveloped her whole body like a cloak on a wintery day. “They enter our space through one of the Subspace Rifts created long ago by the Subspace Ragnarok. The Ramoreen seek to dominate through threats and intimidation. There is no negotiating with them. They only understand superior force. One of their Battlecruisers will engage us within minutes.”
“The Ramoreen employ a Fire Technology that we do not understand,” Husk continued in a deep voice. His two large, black eyes gazed back at forth between the Captain and the First Officer. His other smaller eyes followed the two larger eyes. Husk was a huge Wolf Spider covered in thick hair that stood over eight feet tall. “There is no way their fire should exist in the vacuum of space. And yet it does. They can project Walls of Fire which will damage our starship if we pass through them. Their seeking Fire Torpedoes are fearsome. Our Phalanx Proximity Guns have no effect on them. We are also at a disadvantage when it comes to their Fire Phasers, because they can reach further than our Wide Phasers.”
“And we cannot generate Subspace Sinkholes while the Subspace Regenerator is attached,” Captain Hafnyr added, completing the tactical assessment. “We cannot allow the Kindling to suffer heavy damage during this battle. To do so would threaten our objective of rebuilding the Subspace Chasms in this Sector.”
Husk folded two of his spider arms across his furry chest as a confident human would. “With our Hardened Shields, Enhanced Phasers, and Advanced Maneuverability, we can destroy this Battlecruiser, even if we only have our Reality Disruption Waves to rely on. However, the effort would cost us. I cannot guarantee that we would emerge from the conflict with only minor damage.”
“What about somehow luring or pushing the Ramoreen back into the Subspace Rift?” Captain Hafnyr asked. The four foot tall plant being looked upward at his First Officer and Tactical Officer.
Husk shook his head, discounting the idea. “Highly unlikely, Captain. The Ramoreen would be aware of our intentions. We would be directly matching our power against their power. Our energy is currently depleted from continuously running the Subspace Regenerator. And the Subspace Rift that the Ramoreen emerged from lies in the opposite direction, back the way they came.”
There was an uncomfortable period of silence between the three crew members of the Kindling.
“The Waterfalls of Nereid,” Vesper said suddenly, as if realizing the answer to a difficult riddle. Captain Hafnyr and Husk stared at Vesper quizzically.
The slim, humanoid bat smiled at her colleagues.
“WHAT BETTER WAY TO PUT OUT FIRE…THAN WITH WATER?”
