Knight to F3

Posted on Fri Jun 19th, 2026 @ 2:38pm by Captain Rovak & Ramielos Volsunga

809 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: UnderMind [4]
Location: CO's Office - CIC, DS13
Timeline: 1555 - MD04

Volsunga arrived at Rovak's office a few minutes after he was called. He hadn't been asked to their command centre before, it was bigger than he expected.

As he entered and saw the Captain, he spoke before his host had an opportunity to. "Yes, it will, and yes, I will."

"I am not sure I follow, Mr Volsunga."

"You're going to ask me if my armour can get through that plasma storm unharmed. It can. You're then going to ask me if I'm willing to go down there and help your cut off crew. I will."

"Our phasers were able to disable it. How do you know the storm will not have the same effect?" Rovak asked.

"The servomotors are only susceptible to certain kinds of energy which do not occur naturally. Your phasers required sustained exposure. I believe they have similar properties to the arc weapons used by the Imperium, but at a significantly lesser scale. Falling from orbit will mean exposure for a few seconds at most. Insufficient to affect the servomotors, if the plasma is even capable of such a thing. Which I doubt." Volsunga said.

"A mind for tactics indeed, Mr Volsunga." Rovak said, genuinely impressed at the deduction. "I appreciate your willingness to help. It does not go unnoticed."

"The opportunity to wear my armour and wield my weapons against living foes is its own reward, Captain."

"I do not want you to become accustomed to this manner of practice, Mr Volsunga. We priortise Starfleet systems and material. We appreciate your advice, but we would not be calling on your services and equipment if we did not have dire need of them. What can you tell me about these creatures?" Rovak asked, passing a padd with all the information they had collected about the warrior, flying and plasma bugs that seemed in concert.

"They remind me of Tyranids. An extragalactic hivemind measured in solar masses that swarms between systems, devouring the surfaces of living planets and turning biomass into new Tyranids. They take on multiple forms with shared characteristics, linked by psychic synapse creatures. But I've never seen Tyranids take these forms." Volsunga assessed.

"How would you stop these Tyranids?" Rovak asked.

"Kill them all. Or, kill the synapse leader. The central psionic link that commands the others. The Hive Tyrant, usually. Cuts the head off the body that is the creatures that rely on it. It does not kill them, but they lose all coordination and revert to a feral state, usually turning against one another." Volsunga said.

"I should emphasise that Starfleet also prioritises non-violence and peaceful solutions. Particularly against what may be indigenous lifeforms. However I appreciate that your skillset may be applicable. I trust you to use your judgement appropriately." Rovak told him.

"Good." Volsunga said. "I will not kill them unless I have to. And if they are attempting to kill me, I will consider that I have to, even if they have no real chance of victory."

"That is, I suppose, acceptable. Do you expect your armour will keep you safe from them?"

"The warriors and the flyers, yes. They will inevitably do some small measures of damage, but there is no real chance of defeat. The plasma bug though, I doubt I would survive a direct impact from its discharge."

"But the fall from orbit would not be an issue?"

"It may cause some slight structural damage, but it would be survivable. But you have manual parachute systems that could be deployed in tandem and slow the descent enough to prevent any damage." Volsunga explained.

"And suppose you are mistaken, and the field does disable your armour?" Rovak asked, assuming the worst case scenario.

"As you've seen, I'm capable of operating it even without power. It will be more of a challenge, but not one that is beyond me." Volsunga said.

"Indeed. What do you think the chances are for any captives?" Rovak asked.

"If they were Tyranids, there wouldn't be captives. At least, nobody would allow themselves to be taken captive, knowing what happens. There are no survivors of a Tyranid victory." Volsunga explained, remembering the only time he'd seen one of their reclamation pools, shortly before an exterminatus scoured the world.

Rovak nodded quietly. "I see. How soon can you be ready in your armour?" He asked.

"I will proceed to the transporter room, a system has been developed by your engineers to beam me directly inside." Volsunga told the Captain.

"Very good. Report in when ready." Rovak said with a nod. "Dismissed."

"Captain." Volsunga turned and left, ducking under the doorway as he departed.

Once he was gone, Rovak had to suppress a level of impressed surprise at how quickly Volsunga had seen through the situation. It was as ever agreeable that he was on their side, and Rovak hoped he remained that way.

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