“I don’t know if this is the craziest damned thing I’ve ever heard of, or if you’re just a genius,” he said, placing a reassuring hand on Theriault’s shoulder.
“I’m only a genius if it works,” the science officer countered. “If it doesn’t, then it’s going to be a long walk home.”
Terrell shrugged. “Look on the bright side. We probably won’t have to worry about that.”
For this ruse to work, Theriault had explained, and for the ship to appear as nothing more than a barren asteroid trapped in orbit around Traelus II, the Sagittarius’s power levels had been reduced to the bare minimum. All nonessential systems had been deactivated, and several other key systems also had been taken off line or else were operating in low-energy mode. The tractor beam emitters were generating just enough power to hold the thallium shell in place. Nassir had even taken the extra risk of ordering Master Chief Ilucci to power down the impulse drive, lest its telltale energy signature be detected by a sharp-eyed Klingon sensor officer. While the warp drive also posed a similar threat, there had been no choice but to leave it on line if the Sagittariuswas to have any hope of escape. Theriault and McLellan had tried to compensate for that by positioning additional, smaller fragments of thallium in the ship’s cargo bay. It was improvisational camouflage at best, though everyone aboard knew it would not have to work for very long.
It only needs to work long enough,Terrell mused.
Tapping a control on the arm of his chair, Nassir said, “Bridge to engineering. Master Chief, what’s your status?”
Michael Ilucci replied, “I can give you warp five from the jump, Skipper, but no more than that. If somebody’s planning on chasing us, it’s going to be a pretty short run.”
“I should’ve gone to law school like my mother wanted,” Terrell said, affecting a grim smile as he shared knowing looks with Nassir. Warp five had been an optimistic estimate from the chief engineer at the start of his repair efforts, and even though he had met that goal, it would not be enough if they were forced to flee the Klingon ship. The only option was a daring, perhaps even foolhardy plan to smack the enemy vessel across the nose before trying to make a run for it.
“Klingon ship closing to two hundred thousand kilometers,” McLellan reported, studying the sensor readouts on her console. “Their posture so far doesn’t seem to be aggressive. No more than normal, anyway, at least so far as I can tell. They look to be on a course for standard orbit.” She frowned. “The thallium’s affecting our sensors, too.”
“That’s the trade-off,” Nassir said, his voice calm and composed. Terrell nodded in agreement, as Theriault had warned them of the mineral’s effects on their own scanning systems. Anything more than short-range sensors would be all but useless, which at present did not matter, given the Klingon cruiser’s proximity. “Where are we in relation to them?”
Examining a readout on her console, Theriault replied, “We’re just crossing the terminator, and their orbital attitude suggests they’re not changing heading to come our way.”
“What do we look like to their sensors?” Nassir asked.
Theriault shook her head. “Hard to say, sir. Maybe a sensor void or dead spot. The thallium will affect their sensor returns enough to distort whatever visuals are created by their imaging processors. If they get close enough, they’ll be able to cut through the interference and maybe even pick up our power emissions.”
“They’ve got to be thinking something doesn’t add up,” Terrell said, shaking his head. “The question is whether they come closer to investigate, or just blow us to hell from a comfortable distance.”
McLellan called out, “One hundred twenty thousand kilometers. So far as I can tell, they haven’t raised their shields.” Terrell saw that her left hand hovered over the controls that would activate the Sagittarius’s deflector shields. Doing so now would all but ensure that the Klingon ship would fire on them, but if they raised their own shields before Nassir decided to act, then this entire crazy scheme would have been for nothing.
Come on.Terrell almost shouted the words. Just a few minutes more.
A red indicator flared to life on McLellan’s board, and the tactical officer looked over her shoulder at Terrell and Nassir. “They’re changing course and heading this way.”
“Damn,” Terrell muttered. “I knew it was too good to last.”
“Look sharp, people,” Nassir said, leaning forward in his chair. “We’re only going to get one shot at this, if that. Stand by.”
On the viewscreen, the image of the Klingon D5 cruiser solidified and took on sharper resolution, an effect of drawing closer to the Sagittariusand its compromised sensors. McLellan called out, “Ninety thousand kilometers and closing. Their shields are down.”
“Once they cross seventy-five thousand kilometers,” Theriault said, “they might be able to spot us.”
Nassir nodded. “Helm, on my mark, disengage the tractor beam and maneuver us away from that rock. Bridy Mac, fire as soon as you get a clear shot. You’ve got your targets picked out?”
“Forward disruptor array and starboard nacelle,” McLellan replied. “That’s probably all we’ll have time for before they raise their shields.”
“Always the optimist,” Nassir said.
On the screen, the Klingon ship drew ever closer, its image growing so large that it seemed ready to punch through the forward bulkhead. How much longer would deception hold out?
“Eighty thousand kilometers,” McLellan said.
Nassir slapped the arm of his chair. “Now!”
At the helm, Lieutenant zh’Firro tapped a sequence of controls. “Disengaging tractor beam.” The image on the viewscreen began to clear within seconds as the Sagittariusbacked away from the massive chunk of thallium ore.
“Targeting!” McLellan called out, her own fingers a blur as they worked her console. “Firing!”
“They’re raising shields!” Theriault shouted.
McLellan punched the air with her left first. “Direct hits. I missed the disruptor array, but it still tore a chunk out of the primary hull. The starboard nacelle has massive damage. I don’t think they can go to warp, but they’re still maneuverable at impulse speeds.”
“Raise shields,” Nassir ordered, his tone sharp and direct. “Sayna, initiate evasive. Keep us out of their gun sights, and stand by to go to warp.”
“They’re coming about,” McLellan said, her fingers continuing to work. “Phasers standing by.”
Nassir replied, “Let’s hold off unless they don’t give us another choice.” Engaging the intercom once more, he said, “Engineering, are we ready?”
“Almost there, Skipper!”
Zh’Firro said, “Captain, I’m having trouble evading them. They’re still pretty maneuverable.”
“Not to mention three kinds of pissed,” Terrell said, realizing as he spoke that his grip on the back of Theriault’s chair was so tight that he was very near tearing away the upholstered material.
“They’re locking weapons!” McLellan shouted.
“Fire!” Nassir snapped, and the response was immediate as the Sagittariusreleased another barrage of phaser fire. On the tactical display at McLellan’s station, Terrell could see two white streaks representing the phaser beams as they crossed space to the larger crimson circle depicting the Klingon ship. The vessel’s movements, along with those of the Sagittarius,were such that both salvos missed their mark.