The Space Vortex of Doom

"The Space Vortex of Doom" is one of three VOY short stories released in Amazing Stories magazine, this one in fall 1999, in Vol. 73, Issue 3 or overall Issue 598. This story is Chapter One in The Adventures of Captain Proton, a serialized 20th century Earth science fiction adventure series. Pocket Books collected D. W. "Prof" Smith's story in August 2002's The Amazing Stories omnibus.

Description[]

Will the daring Captain Proton pay with his life when he tries to save humanity? And will Constance Goodheart ever stop screaming?

Summary[]

Captain Proton, Buster Kincaid and Constance Goodheart are on a mission to prevent Dr. Chaotica from finishing his powerful Blaster Ship. However, their ship is trapped by a giant cloud of Minions, spaceborne creatures under Chaotica's control. The villain reveals that he has already finished his Blaster Ship and departs, leaving the heroes to be crushed by the Minions.

Proton and his friends escape and catch up to the Blaster Ship, which is on its way to Earth. Proton boards the ship and shoots its control panel, causing a chain reaction which results in the vessel's destruction, but not before Chaotica blasts a giant red star, setting it on a path towards Earth. Proton stops the red star by drawing it into the Space Vortex of Doom, but his ship starts to get drawn into the vortex as well...

To be continued...

In Chapter Two, follow Captain Proton, Buster Kinkaid, and Constance Goodheart as they fight to save the Interstellar Patrol from the clutches of the evil Dr. Chaotica. ... Don't miss a single spellbinding episode of The Adventures of Captain Proton!

References[]

Characters[]

Chaotica • Constance Goodheart • Buster Kincaid • Captain Proton • unnamed Humans (Chaotica's pilot, weapons officer)

Starships and vehicles[]

Blaster Ship • Captain Proton's rocket ship
Referenced only: automobile

Locations[]

Space Vortex of Doom • the galaxy
Referenced only: Earth • Minions' system

Races and cultures[]

Human • Minion

States and organizations[]

Incorporated Planets • Interstellar Patrol

Ranks and titles[]

captain • cowboy • doctor • pilot • reporter • secretary

Science and classification[]

energy pistol • engine • firecracker • Imagizer • jet • pistol • ray gun • service hatch • spaceship • vacuum suit • weapon

Other references[]

ant • blood • brain • bug • bullet • control room • corridor • day • earthquake • ether • fire • fog • ghost • giant star • gravity • homeworld • horse • hour • kiss • moon • ocean • planet • red star • silver • skin • snow • soup • space • sun • system • telepathy

Appendices[]

Related media[]

The Adventures of Captain Proton

VOY - Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth short story: "Death of the Patrol" – Chapter 2 of the story.
"The Bride of Chaotica" – Chapter 18 of the story.

Star Trek: Voyager episodes

The adventures of Captain Proton featured in several Voyager episodes, including; Night, Thirty Days, Bride of Chaotica! and Shattered.

Adventures by D. W. "Prof" Smith

Dean Wesley Smith has written other Captain Proton adventures, including four in his anthology Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth.

Background[]

The story was identified as Chapter One of The Adventures of Captain Proton in its initial magazine printing.

Images[]

Connections[]

The Adventures of Captain Proton (in-universe)
Episodes	Chapter 1: "The Space Vortex of Doom" • Chapter 2: "Death of the Patrol" • Chapter 16: "Spell of the Spider" • Chapter 18: "Bride of Chaotica" • Chapter 37: "The Web of Pain" • "Captain Proton versus the Cosmic Creature" • "TWOC" • "Mines of Mercury" • "The Iron Fist" • "Chaotica's Legacy" • "Earth in Peril" • "Proton Strikes Back" • "Fall of Thyrion Six" • "Queen Arachnia Pt. 1" • "Queen Arachnia Pt. 2" • "The Phantom Wedding" • "Chaotica's Revenge" • "A Hero Falls" • "The Way And The Light" • "The Legion of Death" • "Unto the Breach Pt 1" • "Unto the Breach Pt 2" • "Timelines" • "Chaotica's Triumph" • "Where's Proton?" • "Fall From Power" • "Winter's Call" • "Evil Times Three" • "The Ultimate Price" • "Specters of Days Past" • "The Final Showdown" • Final chapter: "Satan's Robot Conquers the World"
Movies and radio plays	The Bride of Chaotica • Captain Proton and the Orb of Bajor • Captain Proton vs. The RoboZombies
Serials	Captain Proton and the Court of Cydonia
Novellas	Captain Proton and Chaotica's Ray of Doom • Children of the Glass • Captain Proton's Adventure at Alpha Centauri
Short stories	"Scream and Scream Again" • "The Forgotten and Lost Race" • "Captain Proton and the Sandmen of Mercury" • "Captain Proton and the Caverns of Doom" • "Captain Proton versus the Moon Men" • "Alien Invasion Foiled Again!" • "Baby Turns Six" • "The Difficulties of Being Evil" • "Kill Captain Proton!"
Articles	"Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth" ("The City of the Future" • "Letters to Captain Proton" • "The Planets of the Future")

Short stories published in magazines
TV21 Weekly	TOS stories	"Gateway to the Future"
Stardate Magazine	TOS stories	"Force of Law" • "The Killax Vendetta" • "Planetfall" • "Coronation Presumptuous" • "Boarding Party" • "Roleplaying in the Final Frontier"
Amazing Stories	TNG stories	"Last Words" • "On the Scent of Trouble" • "Life Itself is Reason Enough" • "Bedside Matters"
Amazing Stories	VOY stories	"When Push Comes to Shove" • "A Night at Sandrine's" • "The Space Vortex of Doom"
Star Trek Magazine	STO stories	"Unexpected Honor" • "Shakedown" • "The Gale, Part 1" • "The Gale, Part 2" • "Mirror Image, Part 1" • "Mirror Image, Part 2" • "Chief, Part 1" • "Chief, Part 2" • "Of Chaos and Kal-toh, Part 1" • "Of Chaos and Kal-toh, Part 2" • "Dove" • "Backchannel Negotiations" • "There's No Place Like..." • "Locks Without Keys, Part 1" • "Locks Without Keys, Part 2" • "Hope Remains" • "After the Storm" • "Recruitment Drive" • "Time of the Scotsman" • "An Honorable Frontier"
Star Trek: Explorer	stories	"All That Most Maddens and Torments" • "Q and False" • "A Night In" • "The Offer" • "Seven v Seven" • "Quality of Life" • "Retribution" • "Broken Oaths" • "The Way to Exile" • "Kill Captain Proton!" • "Cumulative Damage" • "Explorers of the Storm" • "Prey" • "Growing Pains" • "Pulaski 2.0" • "The Disavowed" • "By Special Request" • "Paghabi" • "The Expert" • "The Guardian" • "The Mission" • "Things Can Only Get Better" • "Frontier Medicine" • "Control" • "The Victim" • "Scramble" • "You Can't Buy Fate" • "Summer Days Can Last Forever" • "The Kellidian Kidnapping" • "Lost and Founder" • "A Year to the Day I Saw Myself Die" • "See and Seen" • "Work Worth Doing" • "The Trouble with Jones" • "Sundering" • "Academy Acquisition" • "Jack of Diamonds" • "A Dish Served Cold" • "Forewarned and Three-Armed" • "Working Miracles" • "Confirmation Bias" • "Dignified Transfer" • "Attempted Break-in" • "Cat and Mouse"

Star Trek: Voyager collected short stories, novellas and short novels
The Amazing Stories	"A Night at Sandrine's" • "When Push Comes to Shove" • "The Space Vortex of Doom"
Distant Shores	"Da Capo al Fine" • "Command Code" • "Winds of Change" • "Talent Night" • "Letting Go" • "Closure" • "The Secret Heart of Zolaluz" • "Isabo's Shirt" • "Brief Candle" • "Eighteen Minutes" • "Or the Tiger" • "Bottomless"
Strange New Worlds	I ("Good Night, Voyager" • "Ambassador at Large" • "Fiction" • "I, Voyager" • "Monthuglu") • II ("A Ribbon for Rosie" • "Touched" • "Almost... But Not Quite" • "The Healing Arts" • "Seventh Heaven") • III ("The Ones Left Behind" • "The Second Star" • "The Monster Hunters" • "Gift of the Mourners") • IV ("Iridium-7-Tetrahydroxate Crystals Are a Girl's Best Friend" • "Uninvited Admirals" • "Return" • "Black Hats" • "Personal Log" • "Welcome Home" • "Shadows, in the Dark") • V ("Final Entry" • "The Difficulties of Being Evil" • "Restoration" • "On the Rocks" • "Witness" • "Fragment" • "Who Cries for Prometheus?") • VI ("Homemade" • "Seven and Seven" • "The End of Night" • "Hidden" • "Widow's Walk") • VII ("Redux" • "The Little Captain" • "I Have Broken the Prime Directive" • "Don't Cry") • 8 ("Transfiguration" • "This Drone" • "Once Upon a Tribble" • "You May Kiss the Bride" • "Coffee with a Friend") • 9 ("Choices" • "Unconventional Cures" • "Maturation") • 10 ("The Fate of Captain Ransom" • "A Taste of Spam" • "Adjustments" • "The Day the Borg Came") • 2016 ("The Last Refuge" • "Life Among the Post-Industrial Barbarians" • "Upon the Brink of Remembrance")
Misc. short stories	"Seduced" • "Bitter Fruit" • "Seven v Seven" • "Retribution" • "Kill Captain Proton!" • "Summer Days Can Last Forever" • "The Kellidian Kidnapping" • "See and Seen"
Misc. novellas & short novels	"In the Queue" • "The Mirror-Scaled Serpent" • "Places of Exile"

Timeline[]

published order
Previous story: On the Scent of Trouble	Amazing Stories magazine	Next story: Life Itself is Reason Enough
Previous story: When Push Comes to Shove	The Amazing Stories omnibus	Next story: last story
Previous story: Captain Proton and the Orb of Bajor Strange New Worlds IV	Captain Proton stories	Next story: Children of the Glass Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth
Previous story: Vectors Double Helix	Stories by: Dean Wesley Smith	Next story: Children of the Glass Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth
chronological order
Previous adventure: Captain Proton and the Orb of Bajor Strange New Worlds IV	Pocket Books Timeline	Next adventure: The Difficulties of Being Evil Strange New Worlds V
Previous adventure: Captain Proton and the Orb of Bajor Strange New Worlds IV	Memory Beta Chronology	Next adventure: The Difficulties of Being Evil Strange New Worlds V

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