ENT - 012 - Kobayashi Maru

FIFTEEN

Friday, July 18, 2155 ColumbiaNX-02

“W E DONT HAVEany other choice, Captain Erika Hernandez said, feeling a single cold bead of sweat escaping her hairline and moving down between her shoulder blades.

Sitting at the edge of her captains chair, she spoke to her senior helm officer in a steady voice. “Evasive maneuvers, Mister Akagi. Every salvo you dodge will earn you an extra hour of sack time every day for a week.

“ Hai,Captain, said Lieutenant Reiko Akagi. Hernandez didnt need to see the pilots face to know that she was smiling broadly even as her hands deftly moved over the ships helm controls.

Hernandez turned partially around, catching the worried glance of her XO, Commander Veronica Fletcher, before her own gaze settled on Lieutenant Kiona Thayer, her senior tactical officer. “Kiona, bring to bear everything youve got. I have a feeling this could be the fight of our lives.

As hyperbolic as that statement might have sounded, Hernandez suspected it would prove not to be an exaggeration once the battle was through. I hope were still around then to debate that,she thought grimly.

But the odds didnt look good. Even as Columbiahad arrived at Draylax, the three Klingon battle cruisers began firing on the planet below, even though several expanding clouds of glittering metallic debris provided mute testimony that they had already dispatched Draylaxs defense ships some time ago. Fletcher had noted that the Klingons appeared to have been holding back, as though they had been waiting for Columbiato decelerate into orbit around the principal inhabited planet of the Draylax system. Hernandez had to admit that the tableau before her looked suspicious as hell.

Damn, I wish Archer was here along with his ship,she thought. The last time they had faced a trio of Klingon cruisersabove the QuVat colonyit had been shewho had helped him. At least two Starfleet ships against three Klingon vessels had seemed a fairer fight; this time it would be three against one.

She toggled a switch on her chairs com unit. “Lieutenant Graylock, whatever you do, dont be stingy with the power to our hull plating. Were about to take some heavy fire. She didnt wait for his affirmative reply; she didnt need to. He was as good a chief engineer as Tucker had been during his brief time aboard this vessel, before hed been billeted back to Enterprise.

“Take her down to block the disruptor cannons, Hernandez said. “Polarize the hull plating, and double it up here on the bridge and in engineering.

She turned toward Fletcher. “Veronica, get Major Foyle and the MACOs ready for a ship-to-ship transport. I know itll be risky, so let them know that its not mandatory. Volunteers only. But if we can catch even oneof their ships with its proverbial pants down, we might be able to get our guys on board and take over.

Fletcher nodded and moved swiftly to a com station to call Foyle. Hernandez knew that there probably would be few volunteers. MACOs might be brave to a fault once they get to the battle, but I doubt that many of them trust the transporter enough to risk buying the farm with it before they get close enough to see the whites of the enemies eyes,she thought gloomily.

Still, she had wanted to try that maneuver for a while now, and the time to try seemed to have arrived at last. The Klingons might not suspect such a bold gambit when they so clearly outnumbered their opponent. Just imagine what we could learn if we actually manage to capture one of their cruisers,Hernandez thought. The idea sent an added jolt of adrenaline surging into her veins.

“Coming into effective weapons range in forty seconds, Captain, Akagi said. The bridges main viewscreen showed one of the battle cruisers directly in Columbias flight path.

“Give me one more hail, Sidra, Hernandez shouted back to her communications officer, Ensign Sidra Valerian. When she saw the red “go ahead light appear at the bottom of the viewscreen, she squared her shoulders and put on her best “scolding teacher face.

“Klingon cruisers, this is Captain Erika Hernandez of the United Earth Starship Columbia. You must cease fire immediately, or we will open fire on yourvessels. Your continued aggression will be considered an act of war not only against Draylax, but also against Earth and Alpha Centauri.

“The central ship is charging her weapons, Thayer shouted.

“Then so do we, Hernandez said, leaning forward in her chair. “Employ evasive maneuvers, and send them a full phase cannon salvo, maximum intensity. The tactical alert lights activated even as she gave the command, casting the bridge into forbidding shadows.

The viewscreen image changed as the ship arced between the central Klingon cruiser and the blue-white planet below it, as the hull-mounted sensors realigned the sweep of their imagers. Hernandez saw two bright greenish arcs exit the belly of the Klingon ship, and she braced herself for their arrival, digging her fingers into the arms of her chair.

Columbiashuddered as the disruptor beams struck the primary hull, causing the viewscreen image to crackle and waver momentarily.

“Hull plating down fifteen percent, Lieutenant Commander el-Rashad shouted from his science station. “The other two ships are altering their trajectories. Looks like theyre going to try to catch us in a crossfire.

Hernandez studied the main viewer, where the other two enemy ships were indeed moving toward positions flanking Columbia. “You know that tactic youve been wanting to try for far too long, Reiko? The Niagara Barrel Roll?

She thought she heard a gulp of surprise coming from the woman at the helm. “Are you certain now is the time?

“If not, we might not get another chance, Hernandez said. She toggled her com unit, tying into the shipwide intercom system. “All hands, brace yourselves. Were gonna have a bit of a tumble. Tapping another button, she said, “Karl, youre gonna need to make surethat the inertial dampers hold up.

Akagi had once told her that despite her Japanese heritage, the one thing she loved more than anything else on Earth was quintessentially North American: roller coasters. Hernandez couldnt stand them herself, and thought the simulation rides she had endured in Starfleets flight training program had to be more than realistic enough to satisfy whatever death wish seemed to motivate roller-coaster aficionados.

“Theyre charging their tubes, ready to fire, el-Rashad shouted. “All three cruisers!

As the viewscreen showed the first hint of green energy coming from a disruptor bank on one Klingon ships ventral side, Hernandez heard herself give an order. “Roll it, Reiko!

The words seemed to leave her lips in slow motion, but the reaction to them was anything but slack. As Akagi manipulated the controls, Columbiabegan to twist in a corkscrew fashion. The ships hull groaned as it spun, and Hernandez felt almost as though she were trapped in a high-speed centrifuge despite the accelerated inputs to the artificial gravity plating and the inertial compensation system. The maneuver overwhelmed the hull sensors, transforming the image on the central viewscreen into a jumbled and pixelated mess, but the fact that the ship hadnt encountered a disruptor blastor sixin the several seconds since the cruisers had opened fire seemed to imply that the maneuver had worked.

At least for the moment.

“Get us steady and return fire! Hernandez shouted. A few moments later the ship seemed to lurch toward its port side, pulling everyone on the bridge a bit off balance.

“Firing now, Thayer said emphatically, as gravity and inertia returned to their proper ratio, and the viewscreen rebooted to display a short-lived blue wash of outgoing phase-cannon fire.

The image cleared quickly; just ahead was the battle cruiser that had been farthest from Columbiaat the outset of the battle. Hernandez could see clearly that Columbias phase cannons had communicated very clearly with the hostile vessels aft engine areas.

An instant later, the Klingon warships impulse engines exploded, sending a bright sphere of plasma expanding into space as the interior gases escaped and ignited. The conflagration quickly caught on throughout the hull-ruptured cruiser, and in moments both the secondary and primary hulls exploded as well, sending jagged hunks of debris and the remains of the vessels burning nacelle pylons and long, fractured neck tumbling in random directions, with some pieces falling toward the planet while others tumbled outward into space.

“Good shooting, Kiona, Hernandez said, excited despite the fact that she would have preferred to avoid the engagement with the Klingons entirely. Good intentions aside, Hernandez knew that she was committed now to fight to the finishand that the two remaining cruisers would be even tougher to stop now that blood had been drawn. There will be no negotiating now.

“Bring us about, and lets see if we can keep the other two off-kilter. She realized that even though her stomach was still lurching a bit from the spin maneuver, it had worked very well indeed. She didnt expect it to become a standard maneuver, however.

“Were receiving a hail, Ensign Valerian said from her station at the rear of the bridge.

“Are the Klingons finally coming to their senses? Hernandez asked with a smirk. She knew better; the most likely reason they were calling was to spew invective and to make threats about feasting on her entrails or some other such macho nonsense.

“Not exactly, Valerian said.

The image of two menacing Klingon cruisers set against the star-flecked blackness beyond Draylax vanished, to be replaced by a far warmer and more welcoming sight: Captain Jonathan Archer and the bridge of Enterprise.

“Think you could use a hand, Captain?Archer said, a grim smile on his lips.

“Well, I havent been able to talk any sense into them so far, Captain, Hernandez said, gesturing outward as if toward the Klingons. “In fact, theyve ignored all our hails and warnings. We had to destroy one of their ships before you got here.

“That makes the odds a bit more even,Archer joked. “Two against two is amuch fairer fight.

“Whats your ETA, Captain? Hernandez said, eager to make the coming fight an even-money proposition.

“Were nearly right on top of you already,Archer said. He turned his head slightly, speaking to someone off-screen. “Fire to disable.

Hernandez tapped a button on her chairs arm-mounted console, and the forward viewscreen switched to a view of the other ships. Enterprisewas thundering forward, having apparently just dropped out of warp, and its pulsed phase cannons threw a series of blasts toward the central Klingon aggressor that had been pouring the heaviest fire onto the surface of Draylax.

The beams arced over the enemy vessels hull, and it visibly shuddered, but did not move further. Instead, the Klingon launched a salvo of projectiles at the swift-moving Enterprise.

“Bring us to bear against the third ship, Hernandez said. “Try hailing them one last time, but prepare to fire again at my signal.

Looking at the viewer, Hernandez saw that Archer was making a pass toward the other ship as well, essentially trapping the vessel between Enterpriseand Columbia. The Klingon cruiser arced to starboard, attempting to fleeHernandez thought she understood Klingon pride well enough to imagine the ships captain would no doubt claim the maneuver was really only a means of “regaining the defensive high groundbut Hernandez knew that Akagi was already matching the hostiles new course.

“Still no answer, Valerian said.

“Target their nacelles, Hernandez ordered.

Suddenly, the Klingon vessel slid off the viewscreen, as if vanishing.

“What happened?

“They braked!Fletcher shouted, staring goggle-eyed from a computer station she was using. “They just cranked their reverse-thrusters all the way up. We just overshot them!

“Shit!Hernandez ordered, “Polarize the aft plating! Get Archer back on the

A moment later, the ship shuddered violently, and Hernandez had to grab the arms of her chair to avoid being tossed to the deck. The rest of the bridge crew were similarly jostled, but they had all braced themselves solidly just prior to Akagis earlier evasive maneuvers.

“Status?

“Our starboard nacelle took a hit, Captain, el-Rashad said, a hint of panic in his voice. “Were venting quite a bit of plasma.

The viewscreen image switched perspective to the aft end of the ships saucer section; from that vantage point, Hernandez could see very clearly the extensive damage the starboard nacelle had sustained, and the energetic plasma that was rapidly escaping from it. Beyond the nacelle, she saw the sapphire glow of Draylax, the Klingon cruiser, and something else.

Enterprisefiring.

A heartbeat later, the phase-cannon blasts from Enterpriseignited the impulse drive module at the aft end of the Klingon ships secondary hull. Within seconds, the second cruiser turned inside out as the resulting explosions tore it to pieces, its decompression as spectacularly violent as the conflagrations that had taken apart the first vessel.

“Is your ship okay, Captain?Archer asked, his worried face reappearing on the forward viewer.

“Its nothing a little time and baling wire cant fix, Hernandez said through a wry but grateful smile. “But we still have one more ship to deal with first. Lets see if we can get themto surrender in one piece.

“Theyre Klingons,Archer said. “Im not sure their language even has a word for surrender.His gaze shifted to his right for a moment as someone spoke to him.

Fletcher spoke up then as well. “Captain, its notjust one ship.

“What?

“Three more Klingon battle cruisers have just dropped out of warp. Theyre flanking the surviving vessel.

“Damn,Archer said, his image frowning into his own central bridge viewer. “So much for trying to stack the odds in our favor. Are you seeing what were seeing, Captain?

“On-screen tactical, Hernandez said. “ Enterpriseto audio-only.

There were now indeed four Klingon vessels orbiting Draylax, and not a one of them showed so much as a dented fenders worth of damage.

“Hail the newcomers, Sidra, Hernandez said.

“Theyre priming their weapons, Thayer shouted, her voice ragged.

“All available power to hull plating! Hernandez barked. She wondered if the systems remaining power would be enough to resist even the first shots of the new arrivals, or if this was to be Columbias last stand.

A moment later, all four of the Klingon vessels fired, but only one seemed to be taking aim at either of the Starfleet ships.

The other three had directed their disruptor blasts at the fourth cruiser, the last of the original trio that had attacked Draylax.

Caught in a withering crossfire, the cruiser erupted instantly in a series of conflagrations that might have been brilliant enough to damage every optic nerve on Columbias bridge had the main viewers luminal filters not intervened to prevent it.

“What the Hernandez couldnt even finish her thought.

A moment later, the newly arrived trio of Klingon cruisers abruptly turned about and sped away, accelerating to warp almost instantly on a direct heading toward Klingon space.

Hernandez looked around at her bridge crew. “What the hell just happened here?

“I was hoping you could tell me,Archer said from the audio speakers.

Focusing on the screen, Hernandez watched as the last molecular fires from the destroyed Klingon ships expanding debris field silently burned themselves out several hundred kilometers over Draylax.

Something extremely strange had just happened here, and the only people who might supply the answer to the mysterythe Klingons aboard the three just-departed battle cruiserswere gone, leaving nothing but destruction and questions in their wake.