There had been little progress in restoring control to the USS Mercy.  Leopold stood on the bridge, standing behind an operations officer as she desperately tried to communicate and contravene the effects whatever it was out there was having on the Olympic-class starship.  They had managed to confirm that the crew trapped in the cargo bays were safe, and a small contingent in the shuttle bay had avoided being blown out of the bay by securing themselves in the shuttle operations office.  “Sir, I’m getting text reports that the crew is attempting to restore control, but they are being countermanded by both the computer and whoever is doing this…there isn’t a way to restore the access we need.”

Halsey grumbled, “And it can’t get any farther with our systems, thanks to the work our engineers did.  A stalemate.”  He sighed, “What a way to start my first command.” The young woman gave him a look, and he returned it, “Yes, ensign?”

“Things rarely go the way they are supposed to…especially with first missions.  It’s a bit of a thing.”

The CO gave her an amused look, “Yes, Ensign Carraway but rarely does it end up with a ship adrift without control and a crew stranded with who knows what intent on…death-ing everyone to…well, death.”

“True enough, sir.  True enough.”

Without warning, the USS Mercy spring alive.  Power surged through her veins; the lights flickered, then popped on as consoles returned online in rapid succession.  Carraway smiled wide, “Sir…we have full control of the Mercy!”

Captain Halsey sighed deeply as he felt the relief pouring over his shoulders, “Open the cargo bays.  Send a message to all crew to report to battle stations.  Go to Red Alert…and get me a priority channel with Starfleet Command.”  The klaxons rang again, but the crew moved with purpose and not fear this time.  The ship was theirs again.  The CO walked quickly back to his chair and tapped the console, “Captain Halsey to Engineering…let me know you’re alive and well.”

“If we ain’t, this is a reeeealllyyy spooky recording, Sir!” Neva was laughing and shooshing her crew, who were cheering in the background. “We’ve got impulse reactors to repair, but our Lady’s kickin’ Sir!”

“Glad to hear it, Lieutenant.  Get me a full report within the hour of our Lady.”  He muttered, “Damned lucky we are so far.”  Another tap at his chair, “Halsey to Sickbay – how are we?”

“In one piece… more or less,” Aimee replied, sounding a little distracted.  “What happened, sir?”

Halsey marveled at the revelation, “It appears something happened on the station to lose the grip whatever it was had on us.  We’re working on getting in touch with our away team.  Starfleet is aware of our situation…the sooner we get our crew back, the better.  Be ready for possible injuries.”

“Uh…” Aimee replied.   “Well, when it rains, it pours.  We’ll do our best sir, but I’m quite literally in the middle of brain surgery here.”

The CO frowned, “Let me get you some help.”  He tapped his comm badge, “Captain Halsey, to all medical teams, I need assistant, auxiliary, and support teams to report to main sickbay to assist Dr. MacDonald’s teams with patients.”  Halsey turned to the bridge, “Anything?”

Carraway shook her head, “The station is still casting interference preventing transport and sensor operations…but it’s a different kind of signal.  I need to investigate further.”

The turbolift door slid open, and Izi stepped onto the bridge.  Pausing to look around, she nodded to the captain and limped to the main tactical station, favoring her left ankle.

“See what you can find.  Helm, get us closer to the station, steady as she goes.”  He walked to where the security officer stood and spoke quietly, “Lieutenant…you okay?”

“Yes, sir, I’m fine,” said Izi.  “I have a report, but it seems we have control of the ship again.”

Halsey chuckled lightly, “That we do.  You feeling anything related to that thing out there?”

Izi closed her eyes and moved her antennae in slow circles, like a search pattern.  “Nothing, sir.”

The CO breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s the best news all day, Lieutenant.  Take the security station over there – you can help manage putting us back into some semblance of order.”

“Thank you, Captain.”  Izi hobbled to the station.  When she sat, she extended her left leg to the side to help ease the pain in the ankle.

Leopold returned his attention to Carraway, “Tell me you’ve got an answer.”

She turned in her seat, an odd look on her face, “Sir – the interference…it’s a message.”  He quickly moved to stand behind her as she tapped at the console, “The message is….’Hi this is Ruby.  I am helping your friends get my justice.  We will end Death.’  The message keeps repeating.”

Halsey blinked three times, “Who the hell is Ruby?”

Carraway shouted from her station, “Sir, the interference has broken…and the shuttle crew is headed our way.  Reading…the station’s auto-destruct has engaged!”

Halsey snapped his head up, “Get the shuttle locked down.  Soon as we got them, full reverse!”

Another report, “Sir, Commander Sorek is sending us instructions in helping the station self-destruct.”

Leopold moved to his chair and examined the details.  “Well, that’s…a lot to take in.  Let’s do what the man says and help this thing blow up.  Tactical – lock onto the station and prepare to fire according to Commander Sorek’s detailed instructions.”

A moment passed as Carraway reported the shuttle nearly there…and then, “Shuttle secure!”

Halsey stood, “Full reverse.  Open fire soon as that thing starts to go.”

It didn’t take long.  The explosions began to show.  Carraway kept an eye on the sensors and the screen until “Critical point reached!”  The phasers from the Mercy let loose and cut across the base at the predetermined points as the explosions grew until the entire moon let loose explosions from various parts. The bridge crew watched as the fires faded.  Carraway scanned the moon and then did it again to make sure, “Reading no activity.”

Halsey grunted, “Let’s do a swing-by and a closer scan just to ensure.  Shields up.  Reach out to Starfleet – we’ll need a clean-up crew.”  He returned to his chair with a sigh. They’d all returned alive.