Archer leaned forward anxiously. “Travis, how soon will we reach the coordinates Admiral Gardner sent us?
Travis gave his chair a half turn away from his helm console and toward the captain. “Were leaving Gamma Hydra, section fifteen, Captain. Entering section fourteen at coordinates twenty-two by eighty-seven by four. That still puts us nearly twenty minutes away from the Kobayashi Maru,sir.
Archer nodded to Travis, then glanced at Hoshi, who continued frantically working her console.
“Anything yet, Hoshi?
“Im relying on the computer to enhance the carrier signal, sir. The youthful com officers usually smooth-as-porcelain forehead wrinkled slightly as she concentrated. She adjusted her earpiece and tried again to distinguish the cry of a single voice from the background roar of a cosmic ocean.
She shook her head sadly a moment later. “I thought I had them for a moment, but the signal keeps degrading. Their com system might have sustained some damage, and Im picking up a lot of interference on the other end
A burst of fragmented voice commingled with a shrill squall of static interrupted her, the rush of noise pouring from the bridge speakers in a torrent. “imperative! This is theKobayashi Maru, nineteen periods out of Altair VI. We have struck a gravitic mine and have lost all power! Our hull is penetrated and we have sustained many casualties
Despite the layers of distortion imposed by both distance and disaster, Archer immediately recognized the English-accented voice on the other end of the channel as that of Kojiro Vance, the flamboyant master of the S.S. Kobayashi Maru.
“Kobayashi Maru,this is Enterprise,Hoshi said, her fingers entering commands at a brisk pace as she tried to isolate and enhance the tenuous subspace lifeline she had just reestablished. “Please confirm your position.
“Enterprise, our position is Gamma Hydra, section ten. Hull penetrated. Life-support systems failing. Can you assist us,Enterprise? Can you assist us?
“Hoshi, tell Captain Vance he wont have to hang on for more than another twenty minutes, tops, Archer said. “ Enterpriseisnt going to let the Kobayashi Marusink.
Hoshi nodded. As she busied herself relaying his reassurances, Archer hoped he hadnt just promised Vance the impossible.
FORTY-FIVE
Tuesday, July 22, 2155 ColumbiaNX-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.