“Onscreen!”
Komoraq watched as an image of the small, streamlined vessel sailed past on the viewscreen, the imaging software rendering the Starfleet ship’s gleaming hull in sharp relief against the utter darkness of space behind it. At this distance, he was able to discern the vessel’s hull markings. Whoever commanded the ship did indeed possess great courage. That, or he was simply insane.
“Fire!” Komoraq shouted. “Aim to disable only!”
To his left, Kalorg said, “They are accelerating to warp speed, Captain.”
“Helm, lay in a pursuit course,” Komoraq barked. Whereas his initial thought had been to carve the Federation ship into slivers of smoldering metal, all he wanted now was to stare the vessel’s master in the eyes. “Have security ready a boarding party. I want to hold that captain’s beating heart in my hand.” He felt the vibrations in the deck plating as the M’ahtagh’s warp engines engaged and the stars on the main screen stretched into multihued streaks. “Match its course and speed.”
Komoraq watched as the ship on the screen grew larger with every passing moment. The Earther captain now seemed content to run like a whipped targ.What was to be gained from such a strategy?
The warbling alert tone from Kalorg’s station gave him his answer, as the Starfleet ship seemed to vanish from the viewscreen.
“What?” Komoraq said, straightening in his chair.
“Captain,” the weapons officer shouted, his tone one of surprise. “They dropped out of warp, changed course, and are now heading for the planet!”
All around her, Atish Khatami heard the Endeavourgroan in protest as the starship dropped out of subspace. In front of her, Neelakanta’s fingers danced across his helm console. Without any further instructions from Khatami, the ship lunged once again to warp speed, making the shift so quickly that the captain felt herself pushed into the back of her chair as the inertial dampening systems struggled to compensate for the rapid changes.
Mog’s going to kill me if I wreck his pretty ship.
“Time!” Khatami called out.
“About fifteen seconds,” replied Klisiewicz from the science station. “The Klingon ship is changing course to intercept and accelerating. All weapons are armed.”
It was going to be close, Khatami knew. Very close. She was not a fan of reckless tactics like the one she and her crew were attempting. Constitution-class starships were not constructed for such maneuvers, even though Mog had assured her that the Endeavourwas more than capable of meeting the challenge. Despite her chief engineer’s confidence, Khatami still harbored visions of the ship shearing apart around her.
Of course, taunting a Klingon ship commander would not normally be considered a prudent course of action, either, but doing so had worked to perfection, drawing the enemy vessel away from its position and allowing the Endeavourto approach the planet.
“Closing to transporter range,” Neelakanta reported from the helm. On the main viewer, the blue and brown sphere that was Mirdonyae V grew larger with every passing second. Somewhere down there, if Carol Marcus and the Tholian Nezrene were correct, Lieutenant Ming Xiong awaited rescue.
“Coordinates verified?”
Klisiewicz replied, “Verified, Captain. The best we can do is put them down near the entrance to the artifact site.”
Damn it.
“Dropping to impulse,” Neelakanta reported. “Now.”
Once more, the Endeavourtrembled around her as the ship fell out of warp space, the image of Mirdonyae V filling the viewscreen.
“Lower shields,” Khatami ordered. “Transporter room, energize!” Even as she spoke the words, she began mentally ticking off the precious seconds required to complete the process of sending her people down to the surface.
“Captain!” Klisiewicz shouted. “They’re here!”
Over the intercom, Khatami heard the voice of the chief on duty in the transporter room as he reported, “Transport complete, Captain!”
“Shields!” she ordered. “Helm, bring us about!” They had delivered their package. Now, they needed to stall for time, and the only way to do that was to smack the Klingon commander once more across the face.
Come and get me.
Feeling the grip of the transporter beam release her, Lieutenant Jeanne La Sala took stock of her surroundings, her phaser rifle aimed ahead of her as she searched for threats. For a brief moment she thought she sensed a hint of dizziness, but she dismissed it as being her imagination, the odd sensation conjured by the decidedly unorthodox method employed to transport her and her five-person team down from the Endeavour.
Not my first choice, that’s for sure.
With sensors unable to penetrate the Shedai construct from orbit, it fell to a landing party with boots on the ground to search for the missing Lieutenant Xiong, who, according to Dr. Carol Marcus, had been brought to this planet following his capture on Erilon. La Sala was fuzzy on the details, but as she understood it, the industrious young lieutenant had found some covert means of signaling for help, even going so far as to use the Klingons and the Shedai equipment to assist him in the effort.
Finding the planet on which Xiong was being held had been the easy part. Actually finding and rescuing him was another matter altogether. First, there was the Klingon battle cruiser in orbit above Mirdonyae V, the captain of which likely would have something to say about the Endeavourswooping in and taking the captive. Captain Khatami was currently addressing that issue, leaving La Sala and her security team to search for Xiong and deal with any Klingons who might be down here with him and who, La Sala suspected, would be equally resistant to the idea of a rescue operation.
That’s why we brought presents,she thought, hefting the stock of the phaser rifle to her right shoulder. Studying the area, she noted that the terrain looked almost exactly as described by the transporter chief just before the landing party beamed down. Rolling hills covered with all manner of trees and other vegetation presented a deceptively tranquil setting, but La Sala knew that danger lurked nearby, perhaps beneath her feet, perhaps even ready to appear from the very air.
Focus, Lieutenant.
Looking to one of her team members, Ensign Paul Simpson, she indicated the tricorder in the man’s left hand. “Anything?”
“I’m picking up power readings,” Simpson said as he studied his readings. “Three hundred meters ahead.” He pointed toward the black onyx façade set into the side of a nearby hillside. “In there.”
“Once more into the breach, as they say,” La Sala replied. It was not hard to remember her previous encounters with the Shedai or their technology, months earlier on Erilon. The first of those missions had ended with the tragic death of her former captain, Zhao Sheng, as well as several other very good people, some of whom she had called friends. The Endeavour’s second visit had nearly resulted in utter catastrophe, with their mysterious Shedai adversary almost succeeding in destroying the entire planet. Though Captain Khatami had assured the crew that the Shedai were not a threat on this occasion, that did not stop La Sala from constantly scanning the surrounding terrain, searching for any sign of the crystalline monstrosities she and her people had fought on Erilon.
“I’m looking for them, too,” said Ensign Hammond, another survivor of those battles. After a moment, the younger man forced a smile. “I suppose we should be happy that we’re just dealing with Klingons this time.”
“Yeah,” La Sala replied, frowning at the poor attempt at humor. “Okay, let’s get on with this.” With the barrel of her phaser rifle leading the way, La Sala took point and started toward the entrance to the centuries-old Shedai artifact. “Follow me.”