Bridge - Deck 1

The XO knew what he had to do in regard to taking out as many Emerald Chain vessels as they could by setting the self-destruct of Event Horizon to coincide with the arrival of the malevolent ships. Thom cleared his throat and spoke in a clear and calm fashion to the ship’s computer.

Cmdr Cypher: Computer, this is Commander Thomas Richard Cypher, Acting Captain of USS Event Horizon. Initiate self-destruct in ten minutes. Destruct Sequence One: Code One-One-A.

The computer signaled it had received the first sequence of three needed to authorize the self-destruct.

Event Horizon-Com: Self-destruct system standing by for authorization from First Officer and Second Officer.

The Commander looked towards LtCmdr Centares and gave him a solemn nod to identify himself to the computer and continue the authorization for the self-destruct. After Ajay submitted the correct code, it would fall on LtCmdr Graham to follow up with the third authorization to authenticate the willful destruction of Event Horizon.
_________________
Commander Thomas R. Cypher
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Whitestar

Ajay swallowed hard before he had to identify himself to Event Horizon's computer in order to continue the self-destruct process. All LtCmdr Centares could think about was how he was never going to see his son Jaan grow up. Feeling his heart sink into his stomach, Ajay addressed the computer next.

Lt. Commander Centares: Computer, this is Lieutenant Commander Ajay Kalahastri Centares, acting First Officer of USS Event Horizon. Destruct Sequence Two: Code One-One-A-Two-B.

The Chief Flight Control Officer's eyes were starting to water as he looked towards LtCmdr Graham. It was time for Peter to continue them on a path to oblivion. Never in Ajay's life had he ever been this sad. Just knowing he would never hold his wife Heather and their son again was making him physically ill. If only there was a way to get away from the Emerald Chain...alive.
_________________
Lt. Commander Ajay K. Centares
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Oriskany

Peter was honored to be the Acting Second Officer, even if it was only for this final task. Even though LtCmdr Graham felt the honor, he still felt the sadness of never seeing his friends back aboard USS Oriskany again. Peter was looking forward to working for Capt Calzada, which didn't look like it was going to happen now. It was with a heart full of sorrow and loss that he spoke to the ship's computer.

Lt. Commander Graham: Computer, this is Lieutenant Commander Peter Graham, acting Second Officer of USS Event Horizon. Destruct Sequence Three: Code One-B-Two-B-Three.

Event Horizon-Com: Destruct system has been activated and engaged. Now awaiting final code for ten minute countdown.

All eyes turned to Cmdr Cypher to give the final code that would start the final 10 minutes of everyone's lives. The XO was visibly distressed by what he had to do in order to destroy Event Horizon with all hands aboard. LtCmdr Graham was seeing the tears in Ajay's eyes and it brought tears to his own as well. This was really going to be the end of his career, and Peter was not fond of that at all.
_________________
Lt. Commander Peter Graham
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Oriskany

The Commander’s heart was full of sadness and regret as he gave the final authorization for Event Horizon to begin the countdown to its destruction. Thom wondered what could’ve been done differently that would’ve brought about an alternative outcome. The XO looked over at Inquisitor Dak’Aar and apologized to him and everyone else on the Bridge before finalizing the countdown authorization.

Cmdr Cypher: I’m sorry, Inquisitor. I’m sorry to every one of you as well. This was not meant to happen, but it must be done to keep Event Horizon out of the hands of the Emerald Chain, not to mention keeping us from being tortured and used as slave to be sold on their market. Computer, this is Commander Thomas Richard Cypher, acting Captain of USS Event Horizon. Final Code: Zero-Zero-Zero-Destruct-Zero.

Event Horizon-Com: Self-Destruct System has been set, ten minute countdown will commence immediately.

All of the lighting on the Bridge changed to red to indicate the self-destruct was now initiated. The faces of everyone on the Bridge, not to mention on Event Horizon were now aware of their fate. Everyone aboard was going to die in a matter/anti-matter explosion from the Coaxial Warp Core. If anyone had final words to say, this was going to be there time to get it off their chest.
_________________
Commander Thomas R. Cypher
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Whitestar

Tollus was extremely saddened by the situation at hand. Here were people that have just become his new friends and now they were all going to die together. The wretched Emerald Chain ruined everything, but what gave the Inquisitor some solace was knowing when Event Horizon detonated, it was going to take some of the ships with them.

Inquisitor Dak'Aar: It is not your fault, Commander. The Emerald Chain is the scourge of the Alpha Quadrant. What you are doing is the best thing for us all. My regret is that we will not get to a safe place where I can try all the unusual dishes available from your Replicator. Not to mention trying to help you and your crew get back to your home. That is what I am the most regretful about. My apologies to you Commander Cypher and your crew for not being able to protect you from the Emerald Chain.

The Inquisitor remained in the seat offered to him by Cmdr Cypher and prepared himself to see his family again once he crossed over. They only had minutes left before their lives would come to an end in the blink of an eye. What else could they do but wait? Tollus could see all the solemn faces on the Bridge and could only wonder what was going on on the decks below the Bridge.
_________________
Tollus Dak'Aar
Inquisitor, Ba'Dassian Confederacy

Main Engineering - Deck 7

Jamie was doing everything he could to get the Coaxial Warp Core to shut down since it was still injecting Warp Plasma to the damaged Nacelle, when he saw all the monitors in Main Engineering display the countdown timer for the Auto Destruct! The Chief Engineer was flabbergasted by this revelation and could only surmise that Cmdr Cypher had no other option but to destroy Event Horizon with everyone aboard since Jamie failed to hear the order to abandon ship. The Petty Officer wondered if Lt. JG DeGrazzio was able to send a message to SB34 with the beacon he was going to set up with the damaged Transdimensional Displacement Device. All Jamie could think about was his brother aboard USS Infiniti, how Lt. Florenté wasn't going to handle losing his little brother very well.

PO3 Florenté: I'm going to miss you, Joey. I love ya, Bro!

Speaking those words in a whisper to himself helped him prepare for the end that was coming to Event Horizon. Jamie hoped that Cmdr Cypher set the timer so the malevolent vessels were within the blast range so they could take as many of them with the explosion of the Nova Class Starship. That would be perfectly fitting for such an organization of true asshats, hell bent on bringing suffrage to people who were undeserving of such atrocities. PO3 Florenté figured they truly deserved what was coming to them when Event Horizon exploded in a matter of minutes.
_________________
Chief Petty Officer Jamie J. Florenté
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Infiniti

Sickbay - Deck 3

The Doctor was running a scan on Capt Little's mental status when he saw the monitors in Sickbay indicating the Auto Destruct being activated and there being 7 minutes left until Event Horizon was completely destroyed. Jacques wasn't sure if the Captain would've done anything differently up on the Bridge, but at this point they would never know since the chance of Capt Little sitting up and running to the Bridge to take command was just too far fetched. The Captain lost all sense of reality and was existing only in his imagination land.

Lt. JG Tudismaque: Looks like you're going to miss out at your last chance to make a command decision, Captain. You picked a fine time for a mental breakdown, Sir.

The Chief Medical Officer walked into his office and sat behind his desk. Jacques really had nothing to do but wait for the end. There was no point in continuing the scan on the Captain's condition or running a diagnostic on his brainwave activity anymore, so Dr. Tudismaque turned off the monitoring equipment from his desk and sat there, wondering who would be there to break the news to Dr. Brewer that his brother had died. The Chief Medical Officer of Whitestar wouldn't even have a body to mourn over either, That, Jacques thought to himself, was truly sad.
_________________
Lieutenant Jacques Z. Tudismaque
Chief Medical Officer, USS Whitestar

Bridge - Deck 1

The Marine Captain felt a great deal of discouragement as he looked around at all the defeated faces coming to terms with the end of their mission and their lives. Chris wanted everyone to know that he was honored to have been a part of this mission, even though it was a complete failure.

MCpt Lopez: I would like to take the opportunity to say that it's been an honor serving with all of you. Especially you, Commander Cypher. You picked up the ball that Captain Little dropped and ran with it as best you could. For that you owe us no apologies. I salute you, Sir.

The Marine Detachment Commander did an old military style salute to Cmdr Cypher in a proud manner as a member of the Starfleet Marines. Chris stood at attention for a few moments before returning to parade rest and watching the countdown timer read that they had 6 minutes left before Event Horizon made like a super nova and took out the ships of the Emerald Chain that were close enough in their attempt to capture the refitted Nova Class Starship.
_________________
Marine Captain Christopher D. Lopez
Marine Detachment Commander, USS Infiniti

Thom smiled at the salute MCpt Lopez displayed towards him. The XO never expected to receive such an honor and in their final 6 minutes of life, no less. The Commander thought for sure everyone aboard would be blaming him for such a wretched decision. But what else could they do? With the Warp Plasma leaking out of the port Nacelle, there was no way they could fight their way out of this situation. They couldn’t escape either since the port Warp Engine took a direct impact from an asteroid which also knocked out their cloaking device. There were systems failing all over Event Horizon as the countdown continued. Even though the fires on the Bridge were extinguished, consoles and display panels were no longer functioning properly. Even if the Emerald Chain was able to board their ship, they wouldn’t find many things operational anymore. Event Horizon was fast becoming a dead ship and in 5 minutes now, there would be absolutely nothing left of it.

Cmdr Cypher: Thank you, Chris. I’d like to thank all of you for all of your hard work on this mission, even though Jo’Kla made sure we’d fail, he didn’t succeed in making failures of all of us. We’re successfully making sure this ship and each of us does not fall into the hands of the Emerald Chain. For that reason alone, I am proud to say that you’re the finest crew I have ever died with.

The XO smiled at his own sense of humor and hoped it brought smiles to the faces of the crew surrounding Thom on the Bridge. The Commander really was proud of every single member of Event Horizon’s crew, and wanted those located on the lower decks to know it. Tapping the Companel, he addressed everyone aboard the ship in a final message.

Cmdr Cypher: Attention crew of Event Horizon. As you may have already noticed, I have set the Auto Destruct and we’ve got about five minutes left before we’re all vaporized. With the ship damaged from the asteroid impact, there’s no way we can fight or flee from the Emerald Chain vessels quickly approaching us. That is why I’ve initiated the Auto Destruct, in hopes that when we’re surrounded by those hostile ships, our detonation will take some of them with us. I want to thank all of you for giving your best to Captain Little and myself. If it were up to me, I’d put you all in for promotions if we were to survive this ordeal and make it home. Unfortunately for us, that just doesn’t seem to be the case and for that I am truly sorry. Cypher out.

As the countdown continued, Thom thought about what may be in store for them. Would they all go to a paradise of some kind or would they all just cease to exist? This was a philosophical question that has been argued for thousands of years. The Commander liked to think they would all go to a wondrous new place where they would be reunited with friends and loved ones from their past. Where they could share stories of their experiences in life and learn new things from one another. A fantastic place where they’ll never shed a tear or feel the sting of pain and sorrow again, a place truly known as paradise.
_________________
Commander Thomas R. Cypher
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Whitestar

Cole’s console was going a little haywire as the XO was addressing the entire ship. The Lieutenant was able to keep the intra-ship communications functioning so Cmdr Cypher could make his final broadcast to the crew of Event Horizon uninterrupted. As Lt. Mitchell was doing what he could to keep life support operating, it was still malfunctioning on several decks. But with the time they all had left, did it really matter? There was enough air in the ship to last the remaining amount of time, even if Event Horizon’s life support systems completely failed. Cole thought about his best friend, Dylan. How the two of them would sit across from each other aboard Whitestar and how that was never going to happen again. There was an incoming hail indicating on the Ops Console and Cole figured it was the Emerald Chain calling to make their intentions known. Lt. Mitchell wondered if he should just ignore it so they would continue their approach or let Cmdr Cypher sell them some line of crap and give them the impression they were surrendering. When Cole ran the identity check on the transmission, he couldn’t believe his eyes! They were being hailed by the USS Explorer!

Lt. Mitchell: Commander! We’re being hailed by the USS Explorer! Do you wish to acknowledge?!?

The Chief Operations Officer could barely contain his excitement! Cole heard rumors about all the things Explorer could do, but thought they were just merely exaggerations. But the very fact that it was here proved those rumors about the Admiral’s ship being able to go anywhere in any universe a certain truth. For the first time since they arrived in Universe C-57D, Cole actually had real hope in getting back home to SB34 and reuniting with his friends aboard USS Whitestar. The Lieutenant just wasn’t too excited about being under the command of Capt Zh’Osha, the Aenarian alcoholic who transferred over from the Andorian Imperial Guard. Cole really hoped they wouldn’t have to deal with her for very long and Cmdr Ashborn lodged a complaint to Adm Arayuss about getting her replaced. As bad as Capt Little was regarding his mental lapses and long pauses before taking any action. Capt Zh’Osha seemed to be far worse.
_________________
Lieutenant Cole S. Mitchell
Chief Operations Officer, USS Whitestar