The beams arced over the enemy vessels hull, and it visibly shuddered, but did not move further. Instead, the Klingon launched a salvo of projectiles at the swift-moving Enterprise.
“Bring us to bear against the third ship, Hernandez said. “Try hailing them one last time, but prepare to fire again at my signal.
Looking at the viewer, Hernandez saw that Archer was making a pass toward the other ship as well, essentially trapping the vessel between Enterpriseand Columbia. The Klingon cruiser arced to starboard, attempting to fleeHernandez thought she understood Klingon pride well enough to imagine the ships captain would no doubt claim the maneuver was really only a means of “regaining the defensive high groundbut Hernandez knew that Akagi was already matching the hostiles new course.
“Still no answer, Valerian said.
“Target their nacelles, Hernandez ordered.
Suddenly, the Klingon vessel slid off the viewscreen, as if vanishing.
“What happened?
“They braked!Fletcher shouted, staring goggle-eyed from a computer station she was using. “They just cranked their reverse-thrusters all the way up. We just overshot them!
“Shit!Hernandez ordered, “Polarize the aft plating! Get Archer back on the
A moment later, the ship shuddered violently, and Hernandez had to grab the arms of her chair to avoid being tossed to the deck. The rest of the bridge crew were similarly jostled, but they had all braced themselves solidly just prior to Akagis earlier evasive maneuvers.
“Status?
“Our starboard nacelle took a hit, Captain, el-Rashad said, a hint of panic in his voice. “Were venting quite a bit of plasma.
The viewscreen image switched perspective to the aft end of the ships saucer section; from that vantage point, Hernandez could see very clearly the extensive damage the starboard nacelle had sustained, and the energetic plasma that was rapidly escaping from it. Beyond the nacelle, she saw the sapphire glow of Draylax, the Klingon cruiser, and something else.
Enterprisefiring.
A heartbeat later, the phase-cannon blasts from Enterpriseignited the impulse drive module at the aft end of the Klingon ships secondary hull. Within seconds, the second cruiser turned inside out as the resulting explosions tore it to pieces, its decompression as spectacularly violent as the conflagrations that had taken apart the first vessel.
“Is your ship okay, Captain?Archer asked, his worried face reappearing on the forward viewer.
“Its nothing a little time and baling wire cant fix, Hernandez said through a wry but grateful smile. “But we still have one more ship to deal with first. Lets see if we can get themto surrender in one piece.
“Theyre Klingons,Archer said. “Im not sure their language even has a word for surrender.His gaze shifted to his right for a moment as someone spoke to him.
Fletcher spoke up then as well. “Captain, its notjust one ship.
“What?
“Three more Klingon battle cruisers have just dropped out of warp. Theyre flanking the surviving vessel.
“Damn,Archer said, his image frowning into his own central bridge viewer. “So much for trying to stack the odds in our favor. Are you seeing what were seeing, Captain?
“On-screen tactical, Hernandez said. “ Enterpriseto audio-only.
There were now indeed four Klingon vessels orbiting Draylax, and not a one of them showed so much as a dented fenders worth of damage.
“Hail the newcomers, Sidra, Hernandez said.
“Theyre priming their weapons, Thayer shouted, her voice ragged.
“All available power to hull plating! Hernandez barked. She wondered if the systems remaining power would be enough to resist even the first shots of the new arrivals, or if this was to be Columbias last stand.
A moment later, all four of the Klingon vessels fired, but only one seemed to be taking aim at either of the Starfleet ships.
The other three had directed their disruptor blasts at the fourth cruiser, the last of the original trio that had attacked Draylax.
Caught in a withering crossfire, the cruiser erupted instantly in a series of conflagrations that might have been brilliant enough to damage every optic nerve on Columbias bridge had the main viewers luminal filters not intervened to prevent it.
“What the Hernandez couldnt even finish her thought.
A moment later, the newly arrived trio of Klingon cruisers abruptly turned about and sped away, accelerating to warp almost instantly on a direct heading toward Klingon space.
Hernandez looked around at her bridge crew. “What the hell just happened here?
“I was hoping you could tell me,Archer said from the audio speakers.
Focusing on the screen, Hernandez watched as the last molecular fires from the destroyed Klingon ships expanding debris field silently burned themselves out several hundred kilometers over Draylax.
Something extremely strange had just happened here, and the only people who might supply the answer to the mysterythe Klingons aboard the three just-departed battle cruiserswere gone, leaving nothing but destruction and questions in their wake.
SIXTEEN
Friday, July 18, 2155 EnterpriseNX-01, near the Draylax system
T HE AFTER-BATTLE REPAIRS, which mostly centered on Columbias rather extensive but thankfully nonfatal damage, had made for a long day that had challenged the combined engineering teams of both Enterpriseand Columbia. And now, despite the lateness of the hour, Jonathan Archer found that he couldnt sleep. Lying on the bed in his night-dimmed quarters, he felt a desperate need, almost a physical hunger, to talk to someone about his current problem with the Klingons.
At least someone other than Porthos, whom he noted was still watching him in the semidarkness, his large black eyes alert as he lay on the pillow in the corner he used for sleeping. Though he knew he was anthropomorphizing, Archer couldnt help but read the beagles vaguely quizzical expression as one of canine concern about the current pensive state of his human.
Still recumbent, Archer reached across the bed to the small com panel mounted on the wall nearest to the bed. He hesitated as his fingers made contact with the button.
Archer paused for a moment. While he certainly had the authority to interrupt his senior officers off-duty activities when circumstances warranted, even in the dead of ships night, he didnt consider his personal feelings of isolation and loneliness to be sufficient cause. And despite the unprecedented emotional closeness he and his first officer had come to share over the past few months, he hadnt forgotten the ingrained tendency of Vulcans toward a certain standoffishness. He also knew how emotionally stressed TPol had been lately, perhaps as much by Trips feigned death as by the need to keep the truth behind it concealed from all but a small handful of her crewmates and friends. Considering all shed been through since shed first set foot aboard Enterprise,she deserved to be allowed to continue doing whatever she needed to do in order to keep body and katratogether.