“One of the ships is charging up its weapons again! Thayer shouted. On the viewer, Hernandez watched as the forward particle‑beam tube on the ship nearest to Columbiabegan to emit a baleful emerald glow.
“Charge hull plating to full! Hernandez shouted.
“Their weapons lock isnt focused on us,Captain, Fletcher said.
A moment later, a brilliant green beam shot forth from the underbelly of the Vulcan cruiser, lancing into the hull of one of the more heavily damaged cargo ships. Almost immediately, the wounded vessel exploded, sending an expanding cloud of metal debris and ignited gases into space. The effect reminded Hernandez of a Fourth of July fireworks display shed seen as a child, though her mood at the moment was anything but celebratory.
“Have they responded to our hails yet?
“No, sir, Valerian said.
“Try to disable the lead vessel, Hernandez ordered, hoping that she hadnt just made the mistake of her career.
“The second ship is charging weapons and targeting us,Thayer shouted before shed managed to fire her first shot.
“Evasive maneuvers! Hernandez returned to her chair, strapping herself in place as her crew got to work.
As Columbialurched and vibrated in response to Hernandezs demands, the captain studied the viewscreen, which showed several of Thayers phase cannon blasts making contact with one of the DKyr‑type cruisers. The concentrated energy bursts seemed to warm the greenish hull up a bit, while a photonic torpedo exploded against the cruisers underbelly without doing any apparent harm.
“Incoming!
Hernandez felt her ship shudder for a moment as one of the Vulcan vessels returned fire, and the lights on the bridgealready crimson‑hued from the moment Columbiahad gone to full tactical alertflickered and dimmed significantly.
“Status? she yelled.
“Hull plating is down to eighty percent, Thayer said.
“Fire at will, Lieutenant, Hernandez shouted to the tactical officer. She tapped the com unit on her chair. “Karl, we need that hull plating at full.
“Im working on it,Graylock said, sounding testy.
“Firing! Thayer said, and the viewscreen showed that Columbiawas swooping over what appeared to be the dorsal surface of one of the combat cruisers. This time, a full spread of Columbias photonic torpedoes struck the warp ring of the ship, resulting in a blazing arc of bluish energy that crackled around the surface of the ring.
“Bring us about for another salvo, Hernandez said.
“Theyre targeting another one of the cargo ships, Fletcher said.
“Get us betweenthe Vulcans and the cargo fleet, Hernandez said. “Our hull plating can take the pounding better than theirs can. She didnt add the words “I hope out loud, though she felt certain she wasnt the only one on the bridge thinking them.
“BothVulcan ships are opening fire! Thayer said.
“I need every last amp of power you can send to the hull plating, Karl, Hernandez shouted into her com unit.
Perhaps a second later, Columbiashuddered and jumped as though shed been struck by the fist of some angry god. The sharp impact threw Hernandez from her chair. Above her head, the hull rang like a gong, and the bridge abruptly plunged into darkness. She heard several screams and thumps from across the bridge, and saw showers of sparks as various duty stations overloaded.
The continued illumination from the console fires showed that most of her bridge crew had either been thrown from their posts or had barely managed to hang on to them. Luckily, no one seemed to have been seriously hurt.
Fletcher and el‑Rashad were the first to break out the emergency hand beacons and fire extinguishers, which they immediately brought to bear against the worst of the electrical fires. The emergency lighting finally kicked on as the crew attempted to access Columbias almost uniformly downed systems. The drinks, which had remained mostly untouched after their arrival, had become airborne momentarily, and the emptied cups now rolled in the liquids that had pooled across part of the decks port side, where cups and contents alike now lay forgotten.
“Systems are down shipwide, Akagi said, an apprehensive tremor in her voice.
That fact alone didnt tell Hernandez very much of value. “I need to know how badly weve been damag
“Internal communications coming back online now, Captain, Valerian said, interrupting.
The com system crackled, and the chief engineers Teutonic‑accented voice issued from it. “Captain? Whatever they hit us with really fubared us. The warp core iskaput, at least temporarily. Itll take us several hours to fix it, even if the rest of the systems were working fine. Which they arent.
So much for the repairs we just completed,Hernandez thought ruefully. She stared at the main viewscreen, which had yet to return to life. “Are they targeting us again? Hernandez asked, hoping the bridges interval of blindness would be a brief one.
“Sensors are coming back up, Akagi said, coughing at the acrid by‑products of the damped‑down electrical fires that still lingered in the air.
The ships ventilation system must be down, too,Hernandez thought, cursing inwardly. But she knew Columbiahad to deal with issues even more urgent than life support.
To Hernandezs relief, the viewscreen lit up and displayed a three‑dimensional tactical image of what lay above Columbias dorsal hull. The two Vulcan ships seemed to be doing nothing, though Hernandez was pleased to see that the warp‑propulsion ring encircling the one they had fired upon appeared to be damaged and offline.
“Transmit our bridge flight recorder files to Starfleet Command now, Hernandez shouted to Valerian. “They need to know what the Vulcans are up to, in case they dont give us time to send a report.
“Im trying, Captain, Valerian said. “Subspace communications seem to be working only intermittently.
“I dont understand any of this, Fletcher said as she wiped the sweat away from beneath her blond bangs. “Why would the Vulcans fire on other Coalition ships?
“Maybe they had intel that told them something about the cargo they were carrying? Hernandez wondered aloud.
“Maybe. But that wouldnt explain why they fired on usas well, Fletcher said.
Hernandezs mind reeled as she realized she had no answers. All she knew for certain was that this situation was not,in the words of members of a certain pointy‑eared race, logical. Unless
“Unless the Vulcans arent the ones piloting those ships, she said, her voice low enough that only her XO would hear. “What if the Romulanshave learned to commandeer Vulcan tech, like they did with the Klingon battle cruisers at Draylax?
“Captain, sensors are picking up three more incoming ships! Thayer shouted.
Hernandez stared, slack‑jawed, as the image on the viewscreen changed yet again.
Dropping out of warp were two more DKyr‑type combat cruisers, and one of the larger, better‑armed ShRaan‑class ships, which looked like a spear jammed through a hoop. The weaponry the newcomers carried between them would be more than enough to blow both Columbiaand the remnants of the cargo fleet to little more than drifting trails of vapor in a few seconds, polarized hull plating notwithstanding.
“Some days you just cant win, Hernandez said as she slumped back into her chair. Turning toward her XO, she said, “Better prepare to launch the log buoy, Veronica. While we still can.
THIRTY‑EIGHT
Tuesday, July 22, 2155 Enterprise NX‑01, near the Gamma Hydra sector
“S HUTTLEPOD T WO IS MAKINGits final docking approach now, Captain, Hoshi said.
Archer nodded, rising from his command chair. “Im going down to the launch bay to meet them, he said. “You have the bridge, Hoshi.