Hoshi nodded. As she busied herself relaying his reassurances, Archer hoped he hadnt just promised Vance the impossible.

FORTY‑FIVE

Tuesday, July 22, 2155 Columbia NX‑02, near the Alpha Centauri system

“T HE NEW ARRIVALSare not answering our hails either, Captain, said Ensign Sidra Valerian.

Now why doesnt that surprise me?Hernandez thought as she leaned forward in her command chair. She barely succeeded in holding back a cough precipitated by the ozone‑tinged air with which neither the bridge ventilation fans nor the fire‑suppression system seemed quite able to cope.

Though many of the bridge consoles and monitors had been rendered inoperable during the last exchange of fire with the Vulcans, there was nothing wrong with the central viewer, which gave her a crystal‑clear view of several of the ring‑and‑spear‑shaped vessels of Earths former friends as they came about to begin what they no doubt intended to be their final concerted attack. Since the Vulcan reinforcements had arrived on the scene, Hernandez had lost count of just how many guns must be trained on Columbias vitals at the moment.

Talk about overkill,she thought. Leave it to the Vulcans to leave absolutely nothing to chance. These guys must be the original belt‑and‑suspenders personality types.

Hernandez turned toward Veronica Fletcher, who stood beside the command chair, her body as taut as a bowstring. “Recommendation, Commander?

“I recommend we run like hell, Columbias laconic first officer said.

“With all the battle damage shes taken today, Commander, Columbiacan barely limp,much less run,said Lieutenant Commander el‑Rashad, the Syrian science officer. “Even if we were five‑by‑five right now, I doubt we could outrun their slowest ship.

Hernandez smacked the intercom on her chair with the side of her hand, opening a channel. “Hernandez to engineering.

“Graylock here,came the chief engineers Austrian‑accented response. “I already know why youre calling, Captain, so I must apologize in advance.

Hernandez closed her eyes. “Go ahead and give me the bad news, Karl.

“The warp core is still down, and the relays and energizers are completelyfertiggemacht. Im going to need several days, at least, to pick up the pieces.

Hernandez thought she knew Graylock well enough not to have to question the mans Teutonic pragmatism. Though she had seen him work miracles, Hernandez knew she couldnt expect him to do the flat‑out impossible.

“Do what you can, Karl. Hernandez out. Probably for the very last time.

“I hope this sort of thing isnt happening anywhere elsein Coalition space right now, Fletcher said, her voice pitched in that low “for‑the‑captains‑ears‑only tone that she used when she didnt want to exacerbate the anxieties of the rest of the bridge crew.

Amen to that,Hernandez thought.

“The new arrivals are powering up their weapons, said Lieutenant Thayer, the young woman running the starboard weapons console. Though the console was still functioning, using it now struck Hernandez as hardly any less futile than trying to run any of the burned and melted instrument panels nearby.

“Im detecting active weapons locks, Captain, el‑Rashad said, his voice rising to a pitch half an octave above its normal register. Up on the screen, the weapons tubes of each of the newly arrived Vulcan vessels exuded an extremely noticeable, menacing glow.

Hernandez swallowed. “Polarize the hull plating, Kiona, she said to Thayer. “And launch the log buoy.

Thayer scowled down at her console and shook her head. “Hull charging system is down, Captain. As is the buoy‑jettison system.

“Thanks for the epitaph, Kiona, Hernandez said. She rose, turning so that she faced her officers en masse before adding, “Its been an honor serving with you all.

To their credit, every member of the bridge crew continued to maintain focus on his or her particular job, even as noises of enthusiastic agreement went around the room, punctuated by brief but obviously heartfelt, respectful glances cast at Hernandez.

No tears,she told herself firmly. No time for tears. No time foranything.

“The reinforcement vessels are opening fire, el‑Rashad said with a calm that befitted the mans conviction that death was merely an anteroom to a far better place than the material world.

Wish I could bring myself to believe things like that,Hernandez thought as she turned back toward the screen and took her seat.

She was glad shed somehow managed to resist the all but overwhelming urge to close her eyes before the end came.

The weapons tubes on each of the recently arrived Vulcan ships emitted brilliant globular flares that would have been blinding had the luminosity filters on Columbias external visual sensors not intervened to dim them. A pair of the Vulcan ships that had damaged Columbiaearlier suddenly went ablaze, large areas of their hulls engulfed almost instantly by short‑lived molecular fires, conflagrations fed both by the weapons of their attackers and the wounded vessels own escaping atmospheres.

Relief warred with an overwhelming sense of dйjа vu as Hernandez realized what she was witnessing: The Vulcans are opening fire on their own ships!

“Didnt we just see this exact same holovid last week at Draylax? Fletcher said as she blew several thick strands of blond hair away from her eyes, perhaps in an effort to cover a loud, irrepressible sigh of relief.

“One time is an anomaly, Hernandez said, nodding. She watched as the silent yet fiery pageant of ship‑to‑ship carnage continued before her stunned, horrified, fascinated eyes. “But twice

“But twice,said Fletcher, finishing the captains thought out of long‑honed practice, “is a conspiracy.

And wed damned well better flush out the Romulan snakes who are reallybehind the conspiracy,Hernandez thought, her backbone chilled as though it had somehow just become exposed to the hard vacuum that lay beyond the protective confines of Columbias outer hull. Or else were liable to see a hell of a lot more scenes just like this one all across Coalition space.

“Lifesign readings, Kalil? she asked, turning toward el‑Rashads station.

He shook his head. “None that I can pick up, Captain. But that cantbe right. The sensor array must be damaged.

Hernandez turned back toward the helm. “Reiko, do we have maneuvering thrusters?

“Barely, said Lieutenant Reiko Akagi, the senior helm officer.

“What do you have in mind, Captain? Fletcher said.

“I want to get a closer look at one of those crippled ships, Veronica. Jonathan Archer convinced me that the Romulans must have been behind the attack on Coridan, as well as most of the other weirdness thats happened since then.

The exec frowned as she mulled the matter over. “Whats in all this for the Romulans?

“If they can convince Alpha Centauri and Earth that the Vulcan High Command cant be trusted, they could split the Coalition right along its natural fault lines, Hernandez said. A development like that would surely spread terror throughout several adjacent sectors, blunting any attempt to mount a serious organized resistance to a Romulan conquest.

The bastards could overwhelm Earth, and have their flag flying over Starfleet Headquarters,Hernandez thought. That is, if they evenuse flags.

Not for the first time, she wondered what a real live Romulan actually looked like.

Fletcher nodded. “I suppose that would give an aggressive empire one less big, organized rival to worry about.

“I want to get to the bottom of it, Hernandez said. “One way or another.

“Im not sure well get the chance, el‑Rashad said as he leaned over the hooded scanner unit built into his console. “Im getting extremely erratic energy readings from some of those damaged vessels.