Crystal Conflict

The bridge of the USS Nexus quaked as it intercepted an electromagnetic beam on behalf of the USS Alliant.

—

"Damage report!" Captain Praxas barked from his seat on the bridge.

"Negligible damage, sir," Keten reported from his console. "The Cyclonic Shielding dissipated the entity's electromagnetic beams with ease. However, if the Alliant were to take that hit, their shields would have buckled."

"What's the status of the Crystalline Entity?" Anzyl inquired.

"Entity's mass is at 44%," Veirik responded from the Tactical station.

"Captain, I have an idea," Nolan interjected from his Science station. "I've been reviewing records of past encounters with the Crystalline Entity."

"Oh, and what have you found, Nolan?" the captain inquired, glancing back at him.

"It appears that the Starfleet vessel, the Enterprise-D, encountered one of these entities," Nolan continued.

"Ah, yes," Anzyl nodded with a hint of nestolgia. "Picard's Enterprise. My previous host, Yairee, had the privilege of serving aboard that ship. A Galaxy Class, a fine vessel. True, she's no Nexus, but during that era, the Enterprise-D was the flagship of the Federation."

"Yes, anyways…" Nolan resumed after the interruption. "It seems that a Graviton Pulse with a frequency of 10 pulses per second is the resonance frequency to shatter the crystal."

"Can the Deflector Dish generate that frequency?" the captain inquired.

"The replicator in the children's school can do that," Keten quipped to himself with a smirk.

"What was that, Lieutenant?" Anzyl questioned, his tone turning stern. "We didn't quite catch that."

Clearing his throat, Keten straightened up and adjusted his tone. "Yes, sir. Modulating the deflector dish to discharge a graviton pulse at 10 PPS," he called out, swiftly typing commands into his Engineering console. "Science station can fire when ready."

"I suggest we recall the Alliant, sir," Veirik stated. "Who knows what shrapnel that thing will send flying."

"Agreed," Anzyl nodded in agreement. "Call the Alliant back to dock." He turned to Nolan and gave a confirming nod. "Fire when the Alliant is safely aboard."

—

The Alliant swiftly maneuvered through the speckled shards of shattered crystals before being docked at the Nexus's aft docking bay, guided safely by tractor beams.

At the forefront of the colossal vessel, nestled within its main body, lay the sky-blue indentation of the Nexus's deflector dish. Designed to repel space particles and debris when traveling several times faster than the speed of light, where a single spec of dust would rip the ship apart, the dish emitted a brilliant blue glow, sending out concentric rings of graviton energy, reminiscent of sound waves from a massive speaker at a rock concert.

As the waves of energy washed over the Crystalline Entity, it began to tremble and convulse.

"It's working, Captain!" Nolan exclaimed. "The Entity is reaching critical frequency! The vibrations are about to…"

Suddenly, the giant crystal ruptured and exploded, akin to a wine glass shattered by the force of an opera singer's voice. In an instant, the entire Crystalline Entity disintegrated, breaking into a billion micro-crystals that scattered into the cosmos, leaving behind a trail of glistening space dust.

"Yes!" Keten and the rest of the bridge crew cheered and applauded.

Nodding with pride at his crew's actions, Anzyl grinned. "Communications, inform the station that the Entity has been neutralized and to prepare a docking bay for our arrival," he commanded. Turning to Lusaalli at the helm, he added, "Helm, set course for the dock. Let's finish up any necessary maintenance."

"Yes, sir," both women acknowledged, immediately attending to their tasks.

"The station is hailing us, Captain," Heluna reported, turning towards Anzyl.

"Put it on screen," he instructed, as Captain P'Rrall's image materialized, holding a tribble in his hand. 

"I appreciate your assistance with the Crystalline Entity, Captain Praxas, however…" P'Rrall trailed off, revealing the tribble-infested bridge behind him, "…we still have a tribble problem."

"Well… I'm not sure how the Nexus can help with that, but we'll do our best," Anzyl replied. "I Do have a platoon of Jem'Hadar warriors who are eager for action. From what the Klingons say about tribbles, you'll need every capable warrior we can spare!"

P'Rrall nodded reluctantly. "Agreed. Send whoever you can to assist. Jouret Station out."

"Well, Zide'Mok," Anzyl addressed his crewmate, "You heard the Captain. Get ready for battle! Victory is Life!" 

Zide'Mok rolled his eyes and left the bridge.

Anzyl sighed heavily, then stood up. "I, for one, could use a shower and a change of clothes. I think I still have tribble fur in my clothes," he added, spitting it out while heading to the teleporter, grimacing as he pulled something from his mouth. "And in my mouff...,"