Broken Bow - Diane Carey [53]
“Biosigns?” he asked.
“Over three thousand,” Hoshi reported, “but I can’t isolate a Klingon, if there is one—”
A jolt rammed the body of the ship.
“That was a particle weapon, sir,” Reed reported, too little and too late.
Hit again!
“Bridge!” a call came in from Trip Tucker. “We’re taking damage down here! What’s going on?”
“Just a little trouble with the bad guys,” Archer assured. He used his voice as a tool, uttering pointless vocalizations just to show them he was in control and not ready to be afraid. Somehow the Suliban didn’t scare him so much anymore. The fight with them on the planet had equalized things. T’Pol was wrong—the Suliban weren’t so much more advanced than he was. Maybe the mystery had gone away, or maybe he was concentrating on the bigger badder guys from the future who could use such as the Suliban as a tool.
“I suggest returning to the phosphorous layer,” T’Pol called over the boom of the next hit.
“Take us up,” Archer obliged.
The ship rapidly ascended, leaving the attacking cell ships behind with admirable grace. The Suliban cells quickly homed toward the main complex.
Prodding, Archer asked a general question to any who wanted to contribute. “What’ve you got?”
“It appears,” T’Pol began, “to be an aggregate structure, comprised of hundreds of vessels. They’re held in place by an interlocking system of magnetic seals.”
Not unheard of in the realm of shipbuilding and tactical considerations. Apartment buildings had been around for thousands of years, aircraft carriers and trains—there were plenty of examples of composite ships out there. Archer resolved not to be intimidated.
“There!” Hoshi yelped. “Right there!”
Biodata tumbled across the main screen over a small section of the Suliban aggregate.
“These bioreadings are not Suliban!” she added.
T’Pol looked at her. “We can’t be certain they’re Klingon,” she warned.
“Even if it is Klaang,” Archer accepted, “we’d have a tough time getting him off of there.”
Reed turned in his chair and broached a touchy subject. “We could always try the transporting device. ...”
“No,” Archer quietly said. “We’ve risked too much to bring him back inside out. Would the grappler work in a liquid atmosphere?”
“I believe so ...”
“Bring it on-line. One more time, Mr. Mayweather. Take us down to proximity range.”
“Proximity range, sir.”
Once again the ship descended into the smooth lower atmosphere, the clear layer that seemed so welcoming, yet held the primary threat.
“Make it aggressive,” Archer said. “Don’t hold back.”
“Understood, sir,” Mayweather agreed. “I won’t.”
The ship hummed with power, and soared like a giant albatross on an arctic crest.
“Suliban ships in patrol formation, sir,” Reed instantly reported. “They’ve seen us!”
“Let’s give them a closer look, Mr. Mayweather.”
“Aye, sir!”
“Mr. Reed, open fire.”
“Oh, thank you, sir, so much.”
“Ready that grappling system.”
“It shall indeed be ready, sir.”
The ship took a compressive dive into the clear, burst out, and trumpeted her presence in the sky. Rapid-blast torpedoes of compressed energy made a luminous announcement.
The artillery shells spoke out across the giant’s sky-bound seas and scattered through the Suliban patrol. Were there hits? Archer couldn’t tell. The Suliban returned fire, but also broke formation.
Enterprise absorbed a tremendous hit.
“The ventral plating’s down!” Reed called over the noise. “I’m having trouble getting a weapons lock! These scanners weren’t designed for a liquid atmosphere!” Again the ship was hit, driving him to comment, “Though apparently theirs were ...”
A hard shake caused the console next to Hoshi to blow a plume of sparks. She shrieked and leapt back.
“Hold your position, Travis,” Archer said calmly.
“The lead ship’s closing,” Reed reported. “Seven thousand meters ... six thousand ...”
“We should ascend!” T’Pol called.
“Hold your position!” Archer repeated. He didn’t like repeating.
Reed glanced at him. “One thousand meters. Forward plating’s off-line!”
“Now, Mr. Reed!”
One of the cell ships veered almost directly to the