"Lights Out" [modplot] [part 2]

[relativityspeaking]

[There are hull breaches all over the Legion World and the hull is groaning despite the shield patches and mechanical emergency shutters. The station shakes with each new impact and the shields are sparking outside. Important areas of the ship are in lockdown to protect the staffers working in them. Some of the hallways are blocked off by barely-contained fires or debris.]

[This situation is now untenable. The creature outside can't be dislodged, and the station is getting utterly bombarded. Kid Q has ordered everyone back inside and has already had to thwart a boarding party of Catastrophist parademons trying to enter Obs Deck.]

[That's why she's looking a little worse for where when she comes on the comms again. As she speaks, one of the medics is helping put her arm in a sling - it looks like her shoulder's been dislocated.]

Brainy! We're running out of time and options. Have you made any progress on figuring out the nature of the creature?

Comments

Do not comment - infogiving

[googledox]

[Brainy looks a little singed around the edges and it looks like his nose has been bleeding from the strain on his personal forcefields while fighting the attackers, but he's avoided worse injuries because of his powers.]

Negative. We've been unable to reconfigure the sensors to get a proper read.

I have nothing to work with. Just theories - and no time to explore them. There are boarding parties trying to break through the lockdown at all the lab's doors.

[relativityspeaking]

The experimental stasis device. Is it operational? Could that work here and give us more time?

[googledox]

...Potentially.

There's a 74.56% chance it'll function as intended.

[relativityspeaking]

Do I want to know what it'll do if it malfunctions?

[googledox]

...Highly unlikely.

[relativityspeaking]

Activate it.

[googledox]

[Brainy dives for the vault in his lab where he keeps some of the really dangerous stuff and pulls out a spherical device not much larger than a basketball. He places it in a stabilizing array that causes it to levitate in the air and hits several buttons. It starts rotating faster and faster, emitting an alarming high-pitched whine and he backs away slowly, cringing slightly.]

[Waves of light start rippling off of it, the whine gets louder and louder and then: CHAKOOM. A final wave ripples out from it, spreading all over Legion World. The color washes out of almost everything, turning it grayscale. The attackers and the tentacles freeze in place and stop moving.]

[Only the Legionnaires, staffers, computer systems, and any objects they all happen to touch are unfrozen and in technicolor, but that color is very washed out. It makes everything look hazy and unreal, like a dream. Whenever anyone speaks, there's a strange hollowness to it, like the soundwaves aren't vibrating normally.]

[Brainy sighs in relief when they haven't had their molecules all explode at the speed of light, and when he's sure time hasn't been stopped forever.]

We have maybe 55 minutes of stasis time to work with.

[relativityspeaking]

We'll have to make it count.

[googledox]

Unless I can determine the nature of the creature, I can only see three potential options at this point:

A blind T-gate jump would take us outside the material universe long enough to dislodge it through the forces of transit, but we might be transported considerable distance away - potentially in the Second Galaxy - and it'd require us to take at least several days for the energy core to cool down. We'd still have to route out the boarding parties still on board. It's the only way to preserve all of Legion World and our resources. We'd also still retain Legion World's cloaking capabilities.

Or we could eject the core altogether and potentially destroy the creature or at least remove its hold, since it seems to be using it as an anchor point. But we would need to set Legion World down planetside. [And right now they're not near Earth.] The only potential prospect nearby is Josthel, which is habitable but not hospitable. We'd stay within the UP and retain Legion World but it would be a siege situation, with no cloaking capabilities, and that's after we route out the boarding parties.

Or... [He draws in a breath.] we could evacuate Legion World and initiate a self-destruct. It'd destroy Legion World and most of our resources, but also destroy the creature and heavily damage Apokolips. It would, however, cause mass causalities among the Catastrophists. [Which is a slightly complicated situation given their recruitment methods.]

The only potential base I can think of that would be mobile enough for our needs after that is the decommissioned secondary Legion Outpost. It does have cloaking capabilities but not...much...else.

DEBATE TIME

[relativityspeaking]

Alright, Legionnaires.

We knew this day might come. [They knew the fight might get this bad.]

Brainy's laid out our options. I'm open to new ones if anyone has any ideas, but otherwise...

We need to make a choice. I'm prepared to make the final call, but I want your input. [Pros, cons, considerations she hasn't thought of.] Keep it brief. I'm giving this ten minutes of discussion. The rest needs to potentially go towards evac.

Re: DEBATE TIME

[unrecovered]

Do we have any resources outside of the secondary outpost? Can we talk to Brande, or does anyone owe us a favor, or anything?

I mean, after we make a choice. Not right now.

[legionnpcs]

You mean other than the entire galaxy owing us favors?

[unrecovered]

I mean people with the means and willingness to actually pay up.

[legionnpcs]

I think Brande only bought two planets this year, so he should have some pocket change left.

There are a few others, but, as you know, he's our primary source of funding beyond the income we get from the UP.

[unrecovered]

So we won't be up a creek without a paddle.

I vote third option, then.

[steelandtemper]

Blow it. We can't leave the enemy unopposed for the time it would take to recover from a blind jump, and sieges are unwinnable if you can't expect relief. Our infrastructure is a fair trade for theirs.

[That's 30 years of fighting the Covenant talking.]

[prettycoolguy]

I agree with Cortana.

[ AND EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED ]

[steelandtemper]

[luv u 2 bff]

[unspeakablyevil]

The second one! We cannot let the throne get destroyed!

[Who cares about the lives of some brainwashed fools? THINK OF THE THRONE RESOURCES!]

[walkingballpit]

Ri-ight, the equipment is important. And more importantly, the people.

[unspeakablyevil]

Yes... That.

[walkingballpit]

[ Just facepalming into forever. ]

This is the weirdest team.

[nonstopnarcissist]

Evacuate and blow it. Ejecting the core leaves us too vulnerable and a blind jump is too risky. This way we stay in control, handle things on our terms.

[walkingballpit]

Our terms don't sound a little too Duck Dodgers to you?

[ He's not actively rolling his eyes, so this is behaving. ]

[thebioticwoman]

What are the odds we'll be in a position to do this much damage to them again? I don't like the idea of losing Legion World, but they're mobile and we're not. They're obviously not expecting the sacrifice play or they'd never have come into range.

[agnominal]

Our resources will be limited in some regard no matter what we do.

Better that we deal what damage we can to them now. We may not have the opportunity to strike another blow like this, and it is the option they will least expect.

[walkingballpit]

Yeah, but they least expect it because everyone knows Legionnaires take the high road whenever possible. I don't know if we should be there yet. How many cultists are there?

Re: DEBATE TIME

[gonebyebye]

Blow it up. I don't like the idea of killing the Catastrophists, but I know my apocalypse cults. Their odds of survival wouldn't be much better even if we didn't blow up the ship.

[araignee_du_soir]

This is not the time for morality or principles to cloud our judgement. Chronoblivion us coming ad it has sent its vanguard to cripple us. We take the vanguard out, destroy what we can of our enemy, then regroup, reassess and strike back.

Legion World is lost, but it is a weapon of mass destruction. Use it.

[whereabout]

Blow it up. We may not get the chance to do this much damage again.

[walkingballpit]

Is that the only thing that matters to us now? Doing damage?

[whereabout]

I think the threat we're dealing with now is beyond any hope of subduing without casualties. Do you disagree?

[walkingballpit]

I don't know. I do know that this sounds like a lot of casualties, and there's no changing our minds.

If we eject the core, it's stalling until we have a better idea, and maybe we don't kill as many people.