Aloud, he said, “Tactical alert! Recall those shuttlepods. A heartbeat later, the bridge lights dimmed.
“Polarizing the hull plating, Reed said. “All weapon systems armed and tactical crews summoned to battle stations. Lieutenant Burch is preparing a photonic torpedo to disperse the graviton flux around the freighter.
“Shuttlepods returning to launch bays, Hoshi said.
“Give me a tactical display on the Klingon ships, Malcolm, Archer said, returning to his seat.
The image of the mortally wounded fuel carrier vanished from the viewer, replaced by a computer-generated grid depicting the local region and all five ships that now maneuvered within it. The two white computer-generated icons that represented, respectively, Enterpriseand the Kobayashi Maruwere so close they almost touched at the viewscreens center, while the three outlying long-necked gray deltas that stood in for the approaching Klingon warships wasted no time deploying themselves in a loose triangle that encompassed most of the screen.
“Theyre trying to surround us, Archer said.
“And theres a good chance well never get away from them if they do, Reed said in strictly matter-of-fact tones. “Their weapons tubes all read as hot. The nearest vessel is at ten thousand klicks and closing rapidly.
“Are the shuttlepods docked yet? Archer asked, scowling.
“Shuttlepod Two reports successful docking capture, Hoshi said. “Shuttlepod One is making its final approach.
“The nearest Klingon vessel is opening fire with its main disruptor, said Mayweather.
The bridge rocked, but not nearly as hard as it might have had the gunner attacking them really meant business.
Archer turned toward Reed, who displayed a puzzled frown. “They should have hit us a hell of a lot harder than that.
Archer shook his head. “They wouldhaveif it really wasthe Klingons pushing the buttons on those ships.
“And if theyre really Romulans, Captain? TPol asked.
“If theyre Romulans, then theyll want to capture more of their enemies ships, Archer said. “The bastards will try every trick in the book to take Enterpriseintact.
“At least at first, Reed said with a gallows grin. “Once they realize they canthave her intact, theyd probably be inclined to make sure that nobody else can have her either. Present company included, of course.
Archer nodded. “Well have to gamble on whether their patience will run out before time is up for the Kobayashi Marus survivors.
“And on whether or not we can pull off a rescue and get out of here in one piece before bothdeadlines expire, Reed said. “I recommend we dont press our luck here, Captain. They might only be lobbing snowballs at us now, but were still outgunned and outnumbered three to one.
“We should stay long enough to rescue as many of the survivors as possible, Captain, said TPol. “That first shot bought us some time. The Romulans just showed us that destroying Enterpriseis not their top priority.
“Commander, Reed said, his voice raised slightly, “if we start taking serious hits, even with our hull plating polarization activated, the warp drive could go down. And if that happens
“If that happens, Malcolm, Archer interrupted, “then well all have a whole lot less paperwork waiting for us after the mission.
Reed nodded. “I suppose theres always an upside to everything, sir.
Archer grinned. “Thats the spirit, Malcolm. Lets get those residual gravitons cleared out and beam as many of the survivors as we can off that ship.
As Reed busied himself at his console, Hoshi said, “Shuttlepod One has just docked, Captain. Do you want to redeploy?
Archer shook his head. “No. Lets hedge our bets and leave em both docked, since we still might have to make a quick exit. Theres no way to know exactly when
The bridge was suddenly plunged into inky darkness, startling Archer into silence and prompting exclamations of alarm all around the bridge.
The surreal red glow of the emergency lights suffused the bridge a few frantic heartbeats later, turning the room into a colossal Hieronymus Bosch painting.
“What happened? Archer asked as the main viewer rebooted, dropping the tactical display in favor of an image of the wounded Kobayashi Maru.
Reed consulted one of his now dimly glowing displays before answering. Owl-eyed, he said, “ Enterprises life-support system has just failed. Complete shutdown.
Hoshis translation of a mortally injured Klingon womans dying words whispered anew in Archers ear: “The first thing they did wasto use some remote means of seizing and deactivating each of our systems, one by one. They started with life-support
Over the fading echoes of that grim recollection, Archer recalled the warning message hed received more recently: “ROMULAN SNEAK ATTACK COMING, BY REMOTE CONTROL.
“Captain, the Klingon vessels nearly have us surrounded, Reed said. “But we still have full warp capability.
Archer heard the unspoken “for now at the end of Malcolms sentence loud and clear.
“Cant let em have Enterprise,he murmured.
He noticed then that Mayweather was looking up at him expectantly from the helm station. “Sir?
Looking around the faintly illuminated bridge, Archer saw similar looks of expectation on the faces of everyone there. The ruddy glow of the emergency lights cast harsh, bizarre shadows across the features of TPol, Reed, Hoshi, and Mayweather, greatly accentuating every anxiety they must have felt, as well as his own.
ARCHER, YOU ARE HEADED INTO A TRAP. ROMULAN SNEAK ATTACK COMING, BY REMOTE CONTROL.
But I cant just leave all those people here to die,he thought, anguished.
FREIGHTER NOT SAVABLE.
He slammed the side of his hand onto the intercom unit on the arm of his chair. “Archer to ONeill. Any luck transporting those survivors yet?
“Theres still too much graviton particle flux on the hull, Captain,ONeill said. “Im sorry. I wish I had better news for you, sir.
Damn.
FREIGHTER NOT SAVABLE.
I cant accept that!
“Captain! Reed cried. “The hull polarization system has gone down, just like life support did. I cant determine exactly why yet.
ButI can,Archer thought, recalling the dying Klingon woman. Defensive and tactical systems were the next dominoes to fall after life support.
TURNENTERPRISE ABOUT IMMEDIATELY, MAX WARP.
Forgive me.
But Archer seriously doubted he would ever develop a large enough capacity for self-forgiveness to accept absolution for what he knew he had to do.
“Travis, get us out of here, Archer said. “Pedal to the metal.
Mayweather regarded him silently for a moment, his eyes widening into pools in which disappointment and relief commingled, as did both repugnance and understanding.
“Aye, Captain, the helmsman said, turning toward his console and bringing the ship into motion. The whine of the engines and the vibration in the deck plates signaled Enterprises quick transition from subluminal velocity to high warp speed.