“Shock waves!” Stern cried.
A wall of ionizing radiation crashed against the shuttle like water barreling through a broken dam. Something shorted just behind Garrett’s head; she smelled ozone and scorched metal.
“Jase!” she shouted, battling for control of the ship. She watched, helplessly, as her port maneuvering thruster went out, and her starboard thruster flickered.
But her son was already out of his seat. “I got it!” he cried, grabbing for an extinguisher. Wrenching it free of the bulkhead, he thumbed the extinguisher on and opened up with a short burst once, twice. He staggered back as the shuttle rolled then canted on its short axis.
“I’m losing her, I’m losing her!” Garrett shouted. She tried slowing the ship’s spin, but she had no thruster control.
The hull began to vibrate, the consoles to rattle. “Shields and phasers off-line!” Stern reported, shouting above the din. “Rachel, your inertial dampers are failing.”
Garrett’s teeth gritted. “You need to tellme this?” she grunted, wrestling with the controls. “We’re going to break apart.”
Then she heard Stern gasp. “Oh, my Lord.”
Garrett looked up. “Oh, God,” she said, going numb with horror. “Oh, my God.”
There, like some phoenix arising from the ashes, was the Cardassian. The scout barreled though the firewall and, although Garrett thought it couldn’t possibly notbe damaged in some way—for God’s sake, that was the equivalent of several thousands of megatons going off—the Cardassian wasn’t hurt enough.
She felt Jase’s hand on her shoulder. Garrett slid her arm around her son and pulled him tight. “I’m sorry, son,” she said.
Jase’s face was pale but calm. “It’s okay, Mom.”
Garrett pulled Jase’s head down to her chest. “Don’t look, baby. Don’t look.”
The Cardassian filled space until that was all Garrett saw.
Dear God.Garrett uttered a silent prayer. Make it quick, make it…
In the next instant, there was a bright flash, and then space blew apart. And then the Cardassian was spinning out of control.
“Phasers, fire!”Bat-Levi shouted.
“Aye!” Glemoor’s voice was gleeful.
They watched as the Enterprise’s phasers lapped at the space around the Cardassian, setting off another plasma burst.
“Report!”
“Thatgot their attention!” Glemoor’s voice was taut with excitement. “Breaking off pursuit, coming around. Impulse engines only! I read that their axial stabilizers are down fifty percent.”
“Those impulse engines,” Kodell said from his station, “they’re fluctuating.”
“Damage?”
“Very likely.”
“Mr. Glemoor, are they still with us?”
“On our tail!”
“I like this better and better,” said Bat-Levi. She took the command chair. “Bulast, hail the captain—and try to raise the T’Pol.Mr. Castillo, bring us about. Head directly for the brown star.”
“Forit?” Castillo twisted his chair around. “Commander, with all due respect, don’t you want to lead them away…”
Bat-Levi silenced him with a look. “Full. Impulse. Now. Kodell, reinforce those aft shields, those Cardassians are likely…” She was interrupted as the ship vibrated. “Likely to fire,” she finished wryly. “Damage report, Mr. Glemoor.”
“Disruptor cannon fire. Aft shields at ninety percent. Minor hull damage, Decks 15 and 18.”
“Order evacuation of all personnel away from the outer hull areas. Kodell?”
“Already doing it,” said Kodell. “Reinforcing aft shields. The problem is, it goes both ways. We try to burn up space around them…”
“And they try to do the same to us,” Bat-Levi said. “Understood. Steal me power and buy me time, Kodell. Mr. Bulast, they getting off any distress calls?”
“Not that I read, but I’ve got the captain.”
Bat-Levi spared Kodell a quick glance. “On audio.”
Garrett’s voice sputtered through static. “Enterprise,just what the hell are you doing?”
“Disobeying orders, Captain.” Bat-Levi couldn’t help it; she grinned, insanely, and wondered what Tyvan would say about thatas a manifestation of her anxiety.
“You are notto engage the Cardassians! I repeat you are notto engage!”
Bat-Levi raised her voice. “I’m sorry, Captain, you’re breaking up. What’s your status?”
“They’re firing again!” Glemoor shouted.
“Evasive maneuvers! Hold your fire, Mr. Glemoor!”
The ship rattled and lurched. “Keep those stabilizers on-line!” Bat-Levi ordered.
“Switching to backup systems,” Kodell reported, “firming up.” Then he shook his head. “Stabilizers read nominal but those aft shields, they’re at eighty percent. It’s not the Cardassian himself; it’s what he can do with the plasma. Hull breach reported on Decks 23 and 24. Force fields up, damage control parties en route.”
Then Garrett’s voice came back. “I heard that.” There was a moment of dead silence, and Bat-Levi thought they really hadlost contact. She was about to order Bulast to get Garrett back when Garrett continued. “You get this, Commander, loud and clear. You are notto engage. Do you copy?”
Garrett’s tone was ominous, her meaning crystal clear. Bat-Levi swallowed. “Perfectly. And I promise: I won’t fire a shot at them. Now, please, what’s your status?”
Garrett rattled off her damage. “And my maneuvering thrusters are gone. Shields were too, but we’ve managed to coax fifteen percent. Life support’s fine, for all the good it does.”
Kodell spoke up. “Captain, if you shut down life support and get into your suits, you can steal power to reinforce your shields.”
“Will I need them?”
He and Bat-Levi exchanged glances. “I’d recommend it for the time being,” he said. “Can you relay to the commander?”
“Yes.” Another pause. “Bat-Levi, tell me you have a plan.”
“Yes, Captain, and…” Bat-Levi laid the plan out. She waited in an agony of suspense then, her lips dry, her heart racing. If the captain didn’t agree, Bat-Levi wouldn’t do it—even if the captain said great, fine, do it, but forget that near-warp transport stuff, are you crazy—because, quite simply, she wasn’t about to kill her captain.
After a few seconds that seemed like days, Garrett’s voice, tinged with static, came on. “Take care of my ship, Bat-Levi. Anything happens to her, I swear that when I get back aboard, I’ll bust you down so fast you’ll think you’ve been greased.”
Bat-Levi didn’t even have time to feel relief. “Aye. Enterpriseout. Mr. Bulast, any response from T’Pol?”
“Negative, Commander. She’s receiving, but she’s ignoring us.”
“Damn. Keep trying; we’ve got to get her to talk to us.” Bat-Levi spun the command chair back toward the helm. “Mr. Castillo, distance from Cardassian scout.”
“Seven thousand kilometers, and closing. Shall I accelerate?”
Bat-Levi breathed in deep. “Negative. Cut speed to one-half.”
Castillo’s back stiffened, but he complied without a word of protest. “One-half impulse, aye.”
Bat-Levi punched at the command companel. “Transporter room, reroute transporter control to the bridge.” She looked back at Kodell. “You can handle both ships? All three, if we raise T’Pol?”