Star Trek: The Next Generation - 119 - Armageddon's Arrow (25 page)

“We have a multitude of tools and technology at our disposal, Envoy. Now, I implore you to demonstrate restraint. Surely there is common ground to be found here. You may well be squandering a singular opportunity to bring your people and the Golvonek together.”

“They have had generations to do so, Captain,”
Mynlara countered.
“It was they who started this war, and if they had wanted to end it, they could have at any time. Nothing will change. This monstrosity they have constructed only affirms their desire to conquer us once and for all. If you want the ship, Raqilan, you will have to fight for it.”

Dnovlat’s eyes narrowed.
“So it shall be
.”

“Captain!” Šmrhová called out. “Sensors are picking up weapons activating on both sets of ships, and I’m detecting energy signatures from a significant number of the smaller craft stored aboard the Raqilan vessels.”

“Raise shields,” Picard ordered. To Dnovlat and Mynlara, he said, “I still have people aboard that ship, who are in the process of leaving.” For that matter, where was the away team? Lieutenant Chen had reported their expected departure some time ago. Had it already been longer than a half hour since her last check-in? What was the delay? “I must now warn both of you that I
will not
tolerate any action taken against them.”

“If you are unwilling to recognize our property rights, Captain,”
Dnovlat said,
“then my government may be forced to view you as colluding with our enemy. If your people are aboard that vessel, they will be treated as prisoners of war.”

“Envoy Dnovlat,” Picard began, but it was too late, as the Raqilan diplomat had severed the communication, leaving only Mynlara staring out from the viewscreen. “Fleet Legate,” he said, “there’s still a chance to keep this situation from escalating.”

The Golvonek’s expression was almost one of resignation.
“I truly wish there was something else I could do, Captain, but the time for negotiation has passed. We have no choice but to defend ourselves
.”
She, too, ended the communication and her image vanished to be replaced by the
Arrow
and the Golvonek ships positioned around it.

“Sir,” Šmrhová called out, “the Raqilan ships are launching their fighters.”

“Go to red alert,” Worf ordered, having wasted no time resuming his duties as he and Elfiki proceeded to their stations. “All weapons to ready status.”

Turning from the viewscreen, Picard crossed to his command chair. “Conn, move us away from the
Arrow
. And where the hell is the away team?”

“I’ve been attempting to contact them, sir,” Šmrhová replied, “but I’m not getting any response. I’m not even able to tell if they’re receiving my messages. There’s some kind of disruption field emanating from inside the
Arrow
, but I can’t pinpoint the source.”

Picard settled into his seat. “Can you scan for their life signs?” The lack of communication was troubling. Had the away team run into trouble with the Golvonek detachment working to secure the
Arrow
? With the situation around the weapon ship deteriorating by the second, his options for regaining contact or even sending a rescue party after Beverly and the others were dwindling in rapid fashion.

“Already trying to do that,” said the security chief, “but the ship’s armor is still an issue with our sensors, even after our attempts to reconfigure.” A moment later, she added, “The Golvonek tow vessels are moving away from the
Arrow
, and the other ships are maneuvering into a defensive formation.”

“Bridge to engineering,” Picard said. “Mister La Forge, we need more power to the sensors to scan for the away team on the
Arrow
.”

Through the bridge’s intercom system, the chief engineer replied,
“On it, Captain. I can’t make any promises, though.”

On the viewscreen, Picard watched as the first wave of Raqilan fighters engaged one of the Golvonek tow ships. Streaks of red-white energy bolts, fired in groups of four or more, lanced across open space and slammed into the hull of the larger, lumbering vessel. Brief explosions erupted across the ship’s surface as outer plating was breached and atmosphere lost even as its pilot attempted to move it out of the line of fire. Weapons placements along its length flared to life, spewing energy beams after its attackers.

“The fighters are too fast and maneuverable,” said Worf from his seat to Picard’s right.

“It appears so,” the captain replied. “Conn, keep us out of the fray. Lieutenant Šmrhová, any luck locating the away team?”

“Negative, sir. The farther we get from the
Arrow
, the more muddied our scans become. If Commander La Forge can’t find a workaround, the only way we may have to find them is to get closer.” A moment later, she added, “A group of the fighters are changing course and maneuvering away from the fight. I think they’re trying to intercept us.”

“Unwise,” Worf said.

On the screen, the image shifted to show six Raqilan fighters approaching. Traveling at first in a tight formation, the small vessels broke away from one another and began spreading their configuration in what Picard guessed was an enveloping maneuver designed to catch the
Enterprise
in a crossfire.

“Ready phasers,” he ordered. “Target their propulsion and fire when ready.”

Acknowledging the order, the lieutenant released a barrage of phaser strikes at the incoming ships. Two beams struck the closest vessel and its immediate reaction was to change course and maneuver out of the viewscreen’s frame. Another of the ships released a barrage of weapons fire that flared against the
Enterprise
’s forward deflector shields as the fighter darted past. The other ships in the formation all changed course and began moving away.

“Shields are holding steady,” Šmrhová reported. “The ship I hit is showing damage to its main propulsion systems and is on a course back to one of the Raqilan carrier ships. The other fighters are breaking off and returning to the main group.”

Worf asked, “Were they testing us?”

“It would seem so,” replied Picard, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. As he watched the battle—such as it was—unfolding on the viewscreen, he noted that both the Raqilan and Golvonek vessels were moving away from the immense weapon ship, likely in a bid to gain more maneuvering room, but it did give him an idea. “If we could get close enough, we could launch a shuttle over to the
Arrow
.”

Looking up from the console next to his own chair, Worf said, “Captain, the portable transporter pad Commander La Forge set up aboard the
Arrow
is still online. I request permission to lead a team over there.”

Šmrhová added, “The response team I had on standby for a mission to go after Commander Worf and Lieutenant Elfiki is still ready to go, sir.”

“Good,” Picard said. “Lieutenant Faur, plot an evasive course back to the
Arrow
that will get us within transporter range just long enough for the team to beam over. I’ll want to be in and out of there as quickly as possible.” Then, recalling his earlier conversation with the security chief, he added, “You will lead that team, Lieutenant Šmrhová. Make your preparations and be ready to transport once we’re in position. Bring back our people.” He looked to Worf. “I could use an experienced hand at tactical, Number One.”

Though he looked at first as though he might protest the change in orders, the first officer’s expression softened just enough to convey that he grasped Picard’s implicit meaning. With the faintest hint of a smile breaking through his warrior’s façade, Worf nodded. “Aye, sir.”

Šmrhová stepped away from the console as he moved to relieve her. “Understood, Captain,” she said. “And thank you.”

“Be ready for anything,” Picard said. “I suspect there will be at least a few people over there who aren’t expecting guests.”

25

“I told you to stay seated.”

Beverly Crusher glared at the Golvonek soldier and the rifle he aimed at her, leveling the most severe expression she could muster.

“If you were going to kill me, you’d have done it already.” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the steady thrum of the
Arrow
’s main power generators, which reverberated over every exposed surface throughout what Geordi La Forge earlier had told her was the giant ship’s central engineering section. She hooked a thumb over her shoulder to where Lieutenant Rennan Konya sat on the deck. “He has a head injury and needs treatment I can’t provide without my medical kit from the shuttle. If you don’t let me help him, his symptoms will only get worse.”

Though the Golvonek weapons had been set to stunning force during the brief, intense shootout in the landing bay, after being hit Konya had struck his head on one of the equipment containers stored inside the
Jefferies
. The Betazoid now sported a sizable gash in his forehead, which was deep enough to cause Crusher concern. His speech and movements also seemed to be somewhat slowed, leading her to believe that he was suffering from a concussion. She and Tamala Harstad had done their best to stop the wound’s bleeding using pieces of material stripped from their uniforms, but Crusher knew that time was of the essence so far as treating whatever other damage may have been inflicted. For his part, Konya appeared to be holding his own, but bravado and physical stamina would only take the security officer so far before his condition worsened.

The Golvonek soldier, obviously young, inexperienced, and of low rank or position, seemed almost like a child wearing a parent’s uniform, with his equipment harness and helmet seeming at least one size too large for his frame. He appeared to struggle with the dilemma Crusher had given him. He gestured toward her with the muzzle of his rifle. “Step back, and stay with your companions. I will seek instructions.”

“Seek them quickly,” Crusher admonished, holding her hands away from her body and stepping back from the soldier. Behind her, Konya sat next to Harstad on the deck, resting with their backs against the warm metal bulkhead. Lieutenant Kirsten Cruzen stood to Konya’s right with her back against the same wall, arms folded across her chest. From the way the security officer’s eyes moved, Crusher could tell she was continuing to study the engineering section—everything from equipment to consoles to storage lockers and the Golvonek soldiers scattered about the chamber—searching for any weakness or oversight she might exploit. She had remained silent since their arrival here, dividing her attention between her concern for Konya and finding some way to gain an upper hand against their captors.

“How are you feeling, Lieutenant?” Crusher asked, kneeling beside Konya.

His complexion pale and with sweat running down his face, he frowned and shrugged. “I’ve been better, Doctor.” He reached up to touch the crude bandage Crusher had improvised from another section of material stripped from the blue uniform shirt under her tunic, and she noted how the area covering his wound was moist and dark.

“We’re going to change that dressing in a minute,” she said, nodding to Harstad, who began shrugging out of her own tunic to sacrifice a portion of her shirt’s remaining sleeve.

“It’s damned hot in here,” said Harstad as she set to work.

Crusher nodded. “This is pretty much the belly of the beast.” She glanced around the room, noting that its layout was exactly as La Forge had described it. Everything around them seemed designed and constructed around the
Arrow
’s primary particle cannon, the presence of which was denoted by the section of curved bulkhead running the length of the chamber and—she knew—continuing in both directions from end to end, drawing energy from the vessel’s immense engines and channeling it through the array at its bow. The weapon was enormous, and even shielded as it was from view, its power was palpable. Though she had seen a visual record of the cannon’s test against a moon, Crusher shuddered at the thought of what such a device might do to an inhabited planet. This, in turn, conjured thoughts of the immense planet killer machines from which the
Arrow
’s builders had drawn their inspiration. Such weapons served only one purpose: annihilation.

And where are we
? Standing helpless in the heart of one
.

“I’m telling you, I don’t understand all of this!”

The shouted words drew Crusher’s attention to where, across the chamber, Lieutenant T’Ryssa Chen was working at the main five-sided control tower occupying the center of the room, her every move tracked by the watchful eyes of another armed Golvonek soldier. Two more stood near the hatch leading out of the section, blocking that obvious avenue of possible escape.

“You will tell me what Jodis is doing,” said the soldier confronting the engineer, gesturing with his rifle to the console. “My superiors demand a status update.”

“Then tell them to come down here and look this over for themselves,” countered Chen, waving toward the workstation. “I’ve only been studying this stuff for a couple of days. It’ll take me months to figure it all out, and that’s
without
you waving that thing in my face. So, why don’t you cut me some slack here, okay?”

The soldier scowled. “You speak gibberish, like a child.”

“And you sound like a Klingon with acute constipation.” Chen threw up her hands in apparent exasperation. “What are we even doing down here, anyway? Don’t you have Jodis and Bnira to help you do whatever it is you’re trying to do? You know that when our captain finds out you’ve kidnapped us, he’s not going to be very happy, right?”

The soldier grunted in growing irritation. “I do not care about your captain. If you cannot tell me what Jodis is doing, then you are of no further use to us.”

“All right, all right.” Shaking her head, Chen moved back to the console, and Crusher saw her cast another sidelong look at the guard as she did so. “I thought the Golvonek were supposed to be the civilized ones, oppressed and hounded by the mean old Raqilan who couldn’t leave you well enough alone?” If the soldier replied, Crusher could not hear it.

“I know I was out of it for a while,” Konya said in a low voice, “but what are we supposed to be doing down here, anyway?”

Cruzen replied, “They’ve got Jodis and Bnira up on the bridge, activating and configuring various onboard systems so that they can either tow the
Arrow
somewhere, or at least have it move under its own power while being escorted. Since they have no way of knowing what Jodis and Bnira are doing, they want Chen to watchdog whatever’s happening topside.”

“And I guess that’s not working out as well as everybody hoped,” said Harstad.

Grimacing as he shifted his body in an attempt to make himself more comfortable, Konya said, “I tried contacting the
Enterprise
when the shooting started, but they were jamming comm. Did anybody have better luck?”

“No,” Crusher replied, glancing in the direction of the guard she had confronted and who was still watching them. His rifle’s barrel pointed at the deck, but his attention remained focused on the away team. “But it won’t be long before they realize we’re overdue.” Their phasers had of course been confiscated along with Crusher’s and Harstad’s tricorders by the Golvonek soldiers who had taken them into custody. Though the team had been allowed to keep their combadges for their translation abilities, contacting the
Enterprise
was not an option at the moment thanks to the Golvonek’s continued disruption of all transmissions to and from the
Arrow
. “When we don’t check in or respond when they call, or they figure our comms have been jammed, the captain will send someone to get us.”

“The problem is that someone had to authorize these guys to hold us,” said Konya. “If that someone is Mynlara, then she might be getting set to ambush the
Enterprise
.” He looked around the room. “We need to find a way to warn them.”

“Yeah,” said Cruzen. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

“Uh-oh.” Konya smiled. “I know that tone. Somebody’s going to get hurt.”

Crusher eyed the security officers. “Don’t you two go doing anything stupid.”

“Never.” Cruzen shifted her stance, lifting her left leg so that the bottom of her foot rested against the bulkhead. “I’m just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.”

Harstad asked, “What if the right opportunity never comes?”

“Then we’ll have to make one up.”

Footsteps behind her made Crusher turn to see one of the guards who had been standing watch near the hatch walking in their direction. He carried his rifle cradled in the crook of his right arm so that its barrel pointed at the floor ahead of him. With his free left hand, he pointed to Crusher.

“You. Come with me.”

“Where?” asked the doctor.

Instead of replying, the soldier glared at her from beneath the lip of his helmet before pointing toward Chen. Crusher crossed the deck to where the lieutenant was hunched over one console, and she saw from the look on her face that while she was trying to remain composed, something was worrying her.

“T’Ryssa,” she said as she moved to stand next to the younger woman. “What is it?”

Pointing to the adjacent stations, Chen replied, “There’s so much happening at once I can’t keep track of it all. I need some extra help.” She directed Crusher to the adjacent workstation and the doctor spent several moments familiarizing herself with its various screens and indicators. With Chen guiding her, she was able to begin rattling off various readings, watching the controlled torrent of information scrolling across the different monitors.

“Something’s happening,” Chen said after another minute, her voice so low that Crusher almost missed it. “There’s a lot of power being routed to the main engines; more than should be needed for a simple tow or escort.” The lieutenant was silent for several seconds before moving between the two stations and when she looked up, Crusher saw the lieutenant cast a furtive glance in her guard’s direction. When she spoke again, Crusher had to strain to hear her.

“He’s also been directing power to weapons. He’s doing a good job of hiding it, even from me, but I was watching it happen in real time. It’s been pretty quiet for the past several minutes, but something’s definitely not right here.”

“What do you mean?” Crusher asked.

“There was a lot of activity early on, but now everything’s holding steady, as though they were done up there, but I don’t think so. I picked up a localized power surge a few minutes ago from one of the stations on the command deck, and since then all of the readings have been holding steady. Nothing new seems to be turning up, and I’ve been faking my answers to our friend with the gun.”

“You’re sure?”

Nodding, Chen replied, “I’ve been crawling around inside this system for the past couple of days. I have a pretty good handle on how it works. I’m just playing dumb for the guards. Trust me, something big is about to happen.”

Crusher frowned, uncertain what any of this might mean. Was Jodis planning sabotage, and if so, for what purpose? With just himself and Bnira, he was grossly outnumbered even by the small force of Golvonek soldiers scattered across the
Arrow
.

“What are you doing?”

The soldier’s barked question made her flinch, and Crusher turned to see him walking toward them, his rifle aimed in their direction.

“I asked you . . .”

The rest of the guard’s sentence was lost amid the abrupt blaring of an alarm echoing through the chamber just as the room’s illumination as well as every control station began flickering in rapid sequence. Each console emitting its own series of alert indicators only added to the escalating frenzy, and Crusher and Chen stepped back from their console as it too started flashing and whining.

“Is it supposed to do that?” Crusher shouted above the din. She felt a hand on her shoulder before she was pushed aside and the soldier guarding them grabbed a handful of Chen’s uniform tunic and pulled her closer.

“What is happening?”

“I don’t know!” replied the lieutenant. “It’s some kind of power fluctuation. I don’t know what caused it.”

“You are lying!” the guard snapped, pushing Chen away and bringing up his rifle, but before he could aim it a ball of angry red energy slammed into his side, spinning him around and into the nearby console. Crusher and Chen both ducked toward the workstation, dropping to the deck as a second shot rang out above the alarms. Another crimson bolt zipped across the room, striking one of the soldiers near the door and throwing him against the bulkhead behind him. Searching for the source, Crusher turned to see Rennan Konya, kneeling next to Harstad and brandishing the rifle he had taken from the soldier lying prone on the deck before him. Konya fired the weapon again, chasing after the other soldier near the door, who had lunged for cover.

Scanning the area where the away team had been held, Crusher saw no sign of Cruzen. Where the hell had she gone?

Something red and hot drove into the console above her face and she cried out in shock, dropping to the floor and covering her head as sparks and what felt like bits of shrapnel peppered her uniform. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Golvonek soldier closing toward them at the same time she sensed Chen scrambling away from her, pushing herself to her feet and raising her hands. The guard shifted his aim, and Crusher saw the fear and hatred in the young Golvonek’s eyes as he leveled his weapon at the lieutenant.