Hirskene nodded, pleased with the subordinate’s initiative. It was yet another example of Yeskene’s exceptional training and disciplinary regimen. He did not need to offer the menial any further instructions on how to proceed; the worker already was carrying out the proper protocols with exemplary proficiency.

“I believe I have pinpointed the source of the anomaly, Commander,” he said. “It is almost directly aft, maintaining a steady distance.”

Alarm flashed through Hirskene’s mind even as his training and years of experience automatically suggested the next steps. Defensive status,he ordered through the SubLink. Arm weapons and raise shields. Pilot, bring us about. There was a chorus of acknowledgments as his subordinates moved to carry out the orders, and Hirskene could sense the heightening tension as their anxiety permeated the Lattice and applied a deep crimson tinge to the thoughtspace he immediately occupied.

Ignoring the sensations, he turned to the menial at the sensor console. Let us see it,he projected, and then looked at the command deck’s largest display monitor, situated on the room’s forward wall. Transfer sensor data to central observation.

The first thing he saw once the image shifted from that of a static starfield was…another static starfield. For all intents and purposes, the picture had changed not at all.

Where is it?he asked, feeling only the first hints of his impatience coursing through the Lattice and beginning to assert themselves as he turned from the monitor. I do not see anything.

According to the sensors,the subordinate replied, it should be centered on the screen.

There,Yeskene said suddenly, pointing to the display. Do you see it?

Looking back to the monitor, Hirskene at first saw that nothing appeared different, but then his eyes caught sight of…something.

A shape was coalescing, its form gaining substance with each passing moment. A vessel, though it was like nothing Hirskene had ever seen. Flat and compact, the craft appeared to be of simple construction. Its main hull appeared to be composed of gray metal, with no identifiable markings. What could only be engine nacelles angled away from the hull, giving the entire vessel an up-swept appearance as it moved through space.

Even as he felt harsh red waves ripple through the SubLink and the alert tone echo across the command deck, Hirskene realized that the ship which had materialized from nothingness was heading directly for the Aen’q Tholis.

2

“Cloaking device disengaged, Commander,” the voice of the weapons officer echoed across the Bloodied Talon’s cramped bridge. “Weapons armed and ready to fire.”

Commander Sarith did not need to hear the report, knowing that the subtle increase in the intensity of the bridge’s violet-hued lighting signaled the deactivation of the cloaking system and the halting of its formidable demands on the ship’s main power systems. Likewise, the telltale computer tone beeping at Centurion N’tovek’s weapons station told her that the vessel’s armaments were prepared for her next command.

In truth, given how sophisticated the automated defensive systems were aboard this vessel—one of the newest in the Romulan military arsenal—she truly had no need for the centurion at all.

Well, he does have one particular useful talent,she reminded herself as she glanced to where N’tovek stood at his post, garbed in the crisp gray tunic and trousers of a Romulan centurion, his head all but obscured by his polished gold helmet. Occupying one of the four stations that formed the central control hub at the center of the Talon’s cramped bridge, for once he actually appeared to be concentrating on the matter at hand.

If he ever learns to approach his duties with the same enthusiasm he demonstrates in other areas, he may one day become an acceptable, if not noteworthy, officer.

Forcing the errant thought away, Sarith took a final look at the lone Tholian battle cruiser on the screen. With its communications already jammed thanks to interference generated by the Talon’s tactical countermeasures, there was no way the vessel’s commander would be able to summon help. Sensor data had revealed that even at its maximum speed, the Tholian ship could not escape. Their only choice was to make a defensive stand, which sensors led Sarith to conclude would be laughable, at least against the state-of-the-art weapons currently under her command.

Perhaps they’ll make a fight of it, anyway,she hoped. If nothing else, it will alleviate my boredom for a time.

“The Tholian vessel has raised its defensive screens and is arming weapons,” N’tovek reported, his attention still focused on his tactical displays. “Shall I commence firing, Commander?”

Rational thought won out over her misplaced pride and potential overconfidence. While sensors suggested the Tholian vessel itself was no match for the Bloodied Talon,they could not rule out the ingenuity and simple guile of its commander. Better to dispense with this matter now and leave nothing to chance, Sarith decided.

“Fire.”

N’tovek wasted no time, his fingers moving over the weapons station’s firing controls before the echo of her command faded from the bridge. Moving to the station immediately to the centurion’s left, she peered into the viewfinder in time to see the twin bursts of crackling yellow disruptor energy lance across the void at the same instant the overhead lighting flickered in response to the weapons’ power draw.

The bolts closed the distance to the Tholian battle cruiser in an instant, impacting on its shields, causing them to flare in violent response to the attack. N’tovek fired again without waiting for the order, and this time the assault pierced the cruiser’s defensive screens. In the viewfinder, Sarith watched as plumes of freezing gases escaped from holes punched through the ship’s hull. The vessel banked to its right, attempting to evade further salvos, but N’tovek already was plotting new firing coordinates.

“Their main engines are offline,” reported Darjil, the centurion to N’tovek’s right, whose own face was bathed in gentle blue light from his station’s viewfinder. “Sensor readings also show a loss of primary life support.”

Never even a chance to fight back,she mused. A pity.

“Finish it,” Sarith said, her voice offering no trace of emotion as she gave the order. The sooner this business was concluded, the better.

With equal detachment, she watched as the Talon’s targeting scanners locked on to the Tholian vessel before the ship’s weapons unleashed another burst of disrupting fury, which enveloped the retreating battle cruiser in a halo of undulating golden energy. Even at this distance, she could discern easily the separation of hull plates as the Tholian ship came apart. Explosions and fires from within the vessel snuffed out the instant their own raging chaos came into contact with the airless void surrounding the ship. Those parts of the cruiser that were not disintegrated quickly collapsed into a cloud of debris that began to expand in all directions—paltry evidence that a ship had ever existed there.

“Powering down weapons,” N’tovek reported.

“Lay in a course away from here,” Sarith ordered as she began to pace the perimeter of the utilitarian bridge. “They may have managed to dispatch a call for assistance.”

Looking up from his station, Darjil said, “Commander, our countermeasures to scramble their transmissions were active throughout the encounter. I detected an attempt to dispatch a subspace message, but it was dispersed. There was nothing for anyone to receive.”