"Star Destroying For Dummies" - A McFly Log

[MysteryGoat 0]

Matt took a moment to think. How do you go about destroying a star, and not just destroy it, but destroy the larger menace along with it?

 

He left Kansas in charge of tactical and made his way to main security, sat down at his desk and started to research. To his dismay, there didn't appear to be much information regarding the destruction of stars, understandable but still disappointing. He searched through science records, engineering reports, wiki's, anything that could give him a definitive answer into how to make a weapon of mass destruction but Starfleet’s database wasn't so forthcoming. That was until he started searching through mission logs.

 

He perked up at the mention of a star being destroyed nearly two years prior by the hands of an El-Aurian. Digging a little deeper and using every clearance code he could remember, he found a mission log from the late USS Enterprise D buried under red tape and high command levels.

 

...When a solar probe was fired from the observatory by the station’s only survivor, Doctor Tolian Soran, into the Amagosa star. The impact caused the star to immediately cease all production of nuclear fusion resulting in a quantum implosion as the star's mass collapsed in on itself and produced a level-12 shockwave destroying everything in the system.

 

He paused for a moment letting what he just read sink in, "Really? A solar probe huh?"

 

He scrolled down a little further, "The repercussions of Amagosa's destruction include .05% increase in gamma emissions and altered gravitational forces... Well that’s not so bad... Let’s see, nexus… Oh, never mind, that has nothing to do with this."

 

Matt leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and sighed, "Ugh! This still doesn't tell me how they did it. I refuse to believe a mere solar probe collapsed an entire star."

 

He went back over the document in an attempt to find out what was so special about the probe. He quickly scanned over it a second, third even a fourth time and then stopped. A quick note at the beginning of the log that he kept looking over suddenly caught his eye.

 

On Stardate .... The USS Enterprise D answered a distress call to the observatory station in the Amagosa system that was being attacked by Romulans... Analysis of Romulan tricorders showed them looking for trilithium... Lieutenant Commanders Data and LaForge found evidence of trilithium in solar probes.

 

He ran the substance through the database but much like the mission log itself, it was something Starfleet didn’t seem to want to readily give up.

 

Matt kept reading over that word, “trilithium”, as if it would possibly change form or meaning. “What the hell is trilithium? How is that not a typo?”

 

Suddenly Matt wished he had taken that extended science course Boothby suggested to him. He sat back in his chair and stared at the screen and at the word. Why would this document and this element be so hidden? It didn’t make sense.

 

He crosschecked every possibly related word then finally found a report listed under “Federation Classified: Banned Weapons Productions”.

 

Trilithium is a synthetic compound that is an explosive of tremendous power. More importantly, however, it acts as an inhibitor of nuclear reactions, such as the fusion processes within the interior of stars. Even a small amount of trilithium is sufficient to halt all nuclear fusion in a star, resulting in a quantum implosion. The star would collapse under its own mass, generating a shock wave powerful enough to destroy everything in its system. If the star was of sufficient size, the core collapse could lead to a supernova.

 

The article gave detailed descriptions of how the substance had been used in terrorist activities including the destruction of the Amagosa star. He realized why it had been so difficult to find the information. The last thing Starfleet would want is for terrorists and well-meaning yet disturbed individuals to get ahold of their self-published how-to booklets for bomb making. Still, Matt thought, a convenient “last resort” button would have been appreciated.

 

He continued down to the part explaining how trilithium is produced.

 

…Trilithium resin. A highly toxic waste product of dilithium based warp reactors.

 

The report also mentioned the ability to synthesize trilithium directly from dilithium crystals.

 

Matt copied all the information onto a padd and he smiled, satisfied he had finally found a way to destroy the nanite swarm. He stood up and hurried for the door then stopped in his tracks just as quickly. He furrowed his brow as he stared into the empty space in front of him. He turned around facing his desk.

 

“Computer, access the most recent sensor scans of the Amagosa sector.”

 

The computer chirped in response.

 

“Display maps on holo-display.”

Immediately the lights in the room grew dim but not dark. A virtual projection of empty space filled the room around him. Suddenly it was as if Matt was standing in the vacuum of space itself.

 

In the distance he could see the light of an innumerable amount of stars. Colorful nebulas were splotched in random areas. And lone asteroids dotted their placements in an otherwise empty sector. What was missing was a bright star shining on a handful of orbiting planets. Little more than a memory occupied this spot and he realized this is what would become of the Serengeti sector should his plan be carried out. He would be responsible for destroying an entire sector.

 

He reasoned to himself, however, there was nothing here but uninhabitable rocks floating in a circle. This was why they lured the swarm here in the first place, to keep them away from anything living. Nothing would be missed and the only permanent change would be a small gravitational alteration.

 

The time to destroy the swarm was now before they could grow bigger and more powerful. The greater question, what would happen once they depleted the red dwarf of energy? Matt didn’t think that was an acceptable risk.

 

He looked around once again at the vast emptiness. It’s them or us, he thought, and time was growing short.

 

He shut down the display and started for the bridge. With conviction on his side, he was now ready to propose his plan to the Admiral.

Edited September 14, 2013 by MysteryGoat

[Byblos 0]

Nice Read McFly!

-B