Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1875716" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;The Targ Totality&quot; - Part 2Fury reaches for the communications switch, his first instinct to challenge these intruders in the name of Space Force.&quot;I do not think that would be wise, Captain.&quot; Archie suggests firmly, &quot;The broadcast is on all frequencies.&nbsp; The vessel does not appear to be aware of our presence.&quot;&quot;How can they not know we're here?&quot; Fury's brow wrinkles manfully, &quot;They're right on top of us!&quot;&quot;The fact that we are inside Jupiter itself is masking our presence.&quot; Archie explains, &quot;Additionally, their sensors are running on passive mode only.&nbsp; Were they active, I am sure they would find us.&quot;&quot;Damn fool thing for them to come swanning in here claiming the entire system as theirs, and then nor have their sensors up.&quot; Fury shakes his head, &quot;It's like putting on a blindfold, walking out your front the door, and yelling that you can beat up anyone in the street.&quot;&quot;It is rather unusual behaviour.&quot; Gustav agrees, then frowns, &quot;Unless ...&quot;&quot;Got a theory, Doc?&quot;&quot;Ja, but I would like more information in order to confirm its truth.&quot; Gustav taps a few keys on the console in front of him, &quot;Can we scan zem, Archie?&quot;&quot;Scanning now.&quot; The robot answers.&nbsp; Diagnostics begin to flash onto the Doctor's screen.&quot;Mein Gott!&quot; Gustav exclaims, &quot;Ze ship is equipped with disruptor arrays!&quot;&quot;Disruptors?&quot; S'Ondra looks blank.&quot;They basically disassemble matter.&quot; Fury explains, &quot;Space Force experimented with them ... back in the nineties, was it, Doc?&quot;&quot;Ja, and zen banned any furzer experimentation when ze side-effects of ze technology became known.&quot;&quot;Side effects?&quot; It's Fury's turn to look nonplussed.&quot;As you say, ze disruptors disassemble matter.&nbsp; Unfortunately, zey do not do zis just at the point of impact, but all along ze beam of ze weapon.&quot; Gustav punches a computer simulation up onto each person's console,&nbsp; It shows an animation of a blocky human figure firing a white beam of energy.&nbsp; &quot;Each time ze disruptor is fired, it tears a small part of ze space-time continuum.&nbsp; If enough of zem are fired in ze same area -&quot; the animation fires again and again and again, and suddenly the entire screen turns white, &quot;- ze continuum in zat area will collapse, causing ze annihilation of all matter within ze range of effect - several miles in ze case of a personal weapon.&nbsp; Much more in ze case of a vessel of zis size.&quot;Fury whistles softly,&quot;Nasty.&nbsp; And these 'Targ' have one of these disruptors?&quot;&quot;Zey have over two hundred of them.&quot;Fury's lips are suddenly a little too dry to whistle.&quot;Maybe they don't know about the side-effects?&quot; S'Ondra suggests.&quot;I doubt zat very much, leibchen.&quot; Gustav shakes his head, &quot;Ze means by which zey arrived was, in essence, a deliberate instance of one of zese singularities.&nbsp; It appears zey have found some way to pass through ze event horizon, and travel vast distances in ze process.&quot;&quot;So their method of interstellar travel destroys a small part of the universe every time it is used.&quot; Archie summarises, &quot;Is that better or worse than misplacing the entire universe?&quot;Gustav, attention back on the giant vessel, is oblivious to the robot's comment.&quot;They're heading toward Earth.&quot; Fury observes, bringing up a display of the solar system with all nine planets in a nice, evenly spaced row, &quot;Do you want me to follow them, Doc?&quot;&quot;Can you do so wizzout being spotted?&quot;&quot;They don't call me the best pilot in Space Force for nothing.&quot;The Pathfinder trails the massive vessel inwards through the solar system.&nbsp; Fury hangs well back from the Targ ship, and plots his course in such a way that there is always a planet between the smaller craft and the vessel it is tracking.&quot;Zis will protect us from detection.&quot; Gustav explains to S'Ondra, &quot;Because ze Pathfinder is small.&nbsp; Ze Targ ship is so large, we can still sense it, even with ze planet in ze way.&quot;&quot;It's not how big it is that matters, it's what you do with what you've got.&quot; Fury adds.&quot;Keep telling yourself that, Captain.&quot; S'Ondra mutters.&nbsp; When Fury shoots her a look, she colours a little and says, defensively, &quot;How many disruptors do we have?&quot;Eventually, the Pathfinder hangs quietly on the dark side of the moon, as the vast Targ ship moves into orbit above the Earth.&nbsp; Fury feathers the ship's controls lightly, then cuts the engines.&quot;Now we've got a line of sight on that monstrosity.&quot; He magnifies the image on his console screen, though it really isn’t necessary, &quot;But unless he goes to active sensors, he'll never pick us out against the moon.&quot;There is a blast of static from the the Pathfinder's radio once more, and that same harsh, mechanical voice intones: &quot;I, Grishnag, Star Commander of the 17th Battle Fleet, claim this system in the name of the Targ Totality.&nbsp; All who hear this transmission must submit, or be destroyed.&quot;&quot;Repetitive fellow, isn't he?&quot; Fury observes.Not surprisingly, there is no answer from the mould-choked planet.&quot;Something's happening.&quot; S'Ondra points at the front of the Targ vessel.&nbsp; Sure enough, there is a faint glow in the once black aperture at the bow.&nbsp; Slowly, the glow brightens, then there is a sudden whump and giant yellow globule flies out of the ship's nose, and speeds down toward the surface.&quot;Archie, scan zat please.&quot;&quot;Magnetically-bonded protoplasmic globule.&nbsp; Mass one point eight tons.&nbsp; Composition unknown.&quot;The aperture glows again and again, and series of globules follows the first, flashing down toward the Earth.&nbsp; Each strikes in the England, Scotland or Ireland.&quot;What are they attacking?&quot; S'Ondra asks, &quot;There's nothing alive down there.&quot;&quot;Zere is one thing.&quot; Gustav reminds her.&quot;A chemical reaction is occurring at the point of impact.&quot; Archie announces, &quot;The mould is decomposing, leaving an oily residue.&nbsp; Now the residue is breaking down ... it's leaving only trace elements.&nbsp; A fine bit of cleaning.&quot;&quot;How fast is ze reaction occurring?&quot;&quot;I would estimate that the entire British Isles will be clear within the hour.&quot;&quot;An alien ship turns up, broadcasting in English, yet so confident zat zere will be no threat to it, zat it does not even have active sensors in operation.&quot; Gustav muses, &quot;Zen it just happens to have a weapon specifically designed to destroy ze very thing zat annihilated ze civilisation of zis Earth.&quot;&quot;Seems a tad ... convenient.&quot; Fury manages to make 'convenient' sound like one of the seven deadly sins.Gustav nods,&quot;I zink we haf found ze persons responsible for ze destruction of ze human race in zis reality.&quot;&quot;So what do we do about it?&quot; S'Ondra asks.&quot;There's only one thing we can do.&quot; Fury rises to his feet and puts one hand on his atomic pistol, &quot;We have to find a way to destroy that ship!&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1875716, member: 6294"] [b]"The Targ Totality" - Part 2[/b] Fury reaches for the communications switch, his first instinct to challenge these intruders in the name of Space Force. "I do not think that would be wise, Captain." Archie suggests firmly, "The broadcast is on all frequencies. The vessel does not appear to be aware of our presence." "How can they not know we're here?" Fury's brow wrinkles manfully, "They're right on top of us!" "The fact that we are inside Jupiter itself is masking our presence." Archie explains, "Additionally, their sensors are running on passive mode only. Were they active, I am sure they would find us." "Damn fool thing for them to come swanning in here claiming the entire system as theirs, and then nor have their sensors up." Fury shakes his head, "It's like putting on a blindfold, walking out your front the door, and yelling that you can beat up anyone in the street." "It is rather unusual behaviour." Gustav agrees, then frowns, "Unless ..." "Got a theory, Doc?" "[I]Ja[/I], but I would like more information in order to confirm its truth." Gustav taps a few keys on the console in front of him, "Can we scan zem, Archie?" "Scanning now." The robot answers. Diagnostics begin to flash onto the Doctor's screen. "[I]Mein Gott![/I]" Gustav exclaims, "Ze ship is equipped with disruptor arrays!" "Disruptors?" S'Ondra looks blank. "They basically disassemble matter." Fury explains, "Space Force experimented with them ... back in the nineties, was it, Doc?" "[I]Ja[/I], and zen banned any furzer experimentation when ze side-effects of ze technology became known." "Side effects?" It's Fury's turn to look nonplussed. "As you say, ze disruptors disassemble matter. Unfortunately, zey do not do zis just at the point of impact, but all along ze beam of ze weapon." Gustav punches a computer simulation up onto each person's console, It shows an animation of a blocky human figure firing a white beam of energy. "Each time ze disruptor is fired, it tears a small part of ze space-time continuum. If enough of zem are fired in ze same area -" the animation fires again and again and again, and suddenly the entire screen turns white, "- ze continuum in zat area will collapse, causing ze annihilation of all matter within ze range of effect - several miles in ze case of a personal weapon. Much more in ze case of a vessel of zis size." Fury whistles softly, "Nasty. And these 'Targ' have one of these disruptors?" "Zey have over two hundred of them." Fury's lips are suddenly a little too dry to whistle. "Maybe they don't know about the side-effects?" S'Ondra suggests. "I doubt zat very much, [I]leibchen[/I]." Gustav shakes his head, "Ze means by which zey arrived was, in essence, a deliberate instance of one of zese singularities. It appears zey have found some way to pass through ze event horizon, and travel vast distances in ze process." "So their method of interstellar travel destroys a small part of the universe every time it is used." Archie summarises, "Is that better or worse than misplacing the entire universe?" Gustav, attention back on the giant vessel, is oblivious to the robot's comment. "They're heading toward Earth." Fury observes, bringing up a display of the solar system with all nine planets in a nice, evenly spaced row, "Do you want me to follow them, Doc?" "Can you do so wizzout being spotted?" "They don't call me the best pilot in Space Force for nothing." The [I]Pathfinder[/I] trails the massive vessel inwards through the solar system. Fury hangs well back from the Targ ship, and plots his course in such a way that there is always a planet between the smaller craft and the vessel it is tracking. "Zis will protect us from detection." Gustav explains to S'Ondra, "Because ze [I]Pathfinder[/I] is small. Ze Targ ship is so large, we can still sense it, even with ze planet in ze way." "It's not how big it is that matters, it's what you do with what you've got." Fury adds. "Keep telling yourself that, Captain." S'Ondra mutters. When Fury shoots her a look, she colours a little and says, defensively, "How many disruptors do [I]we[/I] have?" Eventually, the [I]Pathfinder[/I] hangs quietly on the dark side of the moon, as the vast Targ ship moves into orbit above the Earth. Fury feathers the ship's controls lightly, then cuts the engines. "Now we've got a line of sight on that monstrosity." He magnifies the image on his console screen, though it really isn’t necessary, "But unless he goes to active sensors, he'll never pick us out against the moon." There is a blast of static from the the [I]Pathfinder[/I]'s radio once more, and that same harsh, mechanical voice intones: "I, Grishnag, Star Commander of the 17th Battle Fleet, claim this system in the name of the Targ Totality. All who hear this transmission must submit, or be destroyed." "Repetitive fellow, isn't he?" Fury observes. Not surprisingly, there is no answer from the mould-choked planet. "Something's happening." S'Ondra points at the front of the Targ vessel. Sure enough, there is a faint glow in the once black aperture at the bow. Slowly, the glow brightens, then there is a sudden [b]whump[/b] and giant yellow globule flies out of the ship's nose, and speeds down toward the surface. "Archie, scan zat please." "Magnetically-bonded protoplasmic globule. Mass one point eight tons. Composition unknown." The aperture glows again and again, and series of globules follows the first, flashing down toward the Earth. Each strikes in the England, Scotland or Ireland. "What are they attacking?" S'Ondra asks, "There's nothing alive down there." "Zere is [I]one[/I] thing." Gustav reminds her. "A chemical reaction is occurring at the point of impact." Archie announces, "The mould is decomposing, leaving an oily residue. Now the residue is breaking down ... it's leaving only trace elements. A fine bit of cleaning." "How fast is ze reaction occurring?" "I would estimate that the entire British Isles will be clear within the hour." "An alien ship turns up, broadcasting in English, yet so confident zat zere will be no threat to it, zat it does not even have active sensors in operation." Gustav muses, "Zen it just happens to have a weapon specifically designed to destroy ze very thing zat annihilated ze civilisation of zis Earth." "Seems a tad ... convenient." Fury manages to make 'convenient' sound like one of the seven deadly sins. Gustav nods, "I zink we haf found ze persons responsible for ze destruction of ze human race in zis reality." "So what do we do about it?" S'Ondra asks. "There's only one thing we can do." Fury rises to his feet and puts one hand on his atomic pistol, "We have to find a way to destroy that ship!" [/QUOTE]

Verification