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Abby turned to me. “Get us out of here, Picard and I mean now.”

I did the last thing the Abinarri would have expected. I shot right through the center of their formation. By the time they wheeled in response, we were making good on our escape.

“Maximum warp,” said Abby.

“Maximum warp,” I confirmed.

As we accelerated, I could feel a subtle pull on my face and body. After all, inertial dampers are not as high a priority in warbirds as they are in Federation vessels.

But then, Romulans are by all measures stronger and more durable than most Federation races. It would have come as no surprise if their tolerance for G-forces was higher, as well.

In any case, after a few moments I expected to have given the Abinarri the slip. As I discovered, I was quite wrong. Not only had they not been left behind, they were actually gaining on us.

Thadoc deposited himself behind the navigation console. “Quick little vessels, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are,” I replied.

I could have made the warbird go faster, as well, but I didn’t think I could maintain such a rate of speed for long. Could the Abinarri maintain it? At the time, I had no idea.

“Rear view,” said Abby.

Worf manipulated his controls. Abruptly, the image on the viewscreen changed, showing us the Abinarri vessels in hot pursuit.

“They are powering up their weapons banks,” the Klingon reported.

“Let’s do the same,” said Abby, staring at the viewscreen.

Worf worked for a moment. “It is done,” he announced.

Abby tapped a stud on the armrest of the commander’s chair. “This is Captain Brant. We’re about to go into battle again. If I were you, I’d find someplace cozy and brace myself.”

It occurred to me that Corbis and Gob would be displeased. Of course, this was hardly my greatest concern at the moment.

“Target and fire!” Abby barked.

Worf unleashed a barrage of disruptor beams, striking the lead ship in the Abinarri formation. According to my monitors, the aliens’ deflectors were all but obliterated.

Thadoc glanced over his shoulder at Worf. “Good shooting.”

The Klingon didn’t respond to the compliment. He was too busy targeting the lead ship again.

“Fire!” Abby told him.

Worf looked at me, knowing his next volley would destroy the Abinarri if he wished it. I didn’t want that.

“Target their propulsion systems,” I said.

“Aye, sir,” he responded.

Abby shot me a dirty look but didn’t say anything. It was an awkward command situation, especially in the middle of a battle. Still, we were both resolved to make the best of it.

“Fire!” Abby cried again.

Worf fired.

This time, our disruptors tore into the alien’s hindquarters, disabling their warp drive or whatever equivalent means of propulsion they employed. Instantly, the craft dropped out of warp.

That left only two Abinarri on our tail, though they were getting closer with each passing second. If they hadn’t fired yet, it was no doubt because we were outside the range of their weapons.

A moment later, that no longer seemed to be a problem for them. Our viewscreen lit up with a greenish burst of light. It jolted us.

Another burst, another jolt.

“Damage?” asked Abby.

“Nothing serious,” said Thadoc, his features cast in the orange glow of his Romulan controls. “Shields are down only fifteen percent.”

Apparently, the Abinarri’s bark was worse than their bite. Not that I was complaining, mind you.

“Fire at will!” Abby commanded.

Having already received my approval, Worf did as he was told. A second Abinarri vessel saw its shields shredded by our disruptor beams. Then the Klingon disabled it as he had disabled its sister ship.

This one, too, dropped below the speed of light. That left only a single adversary with which we had to concern ourselves.

But the Abinarri hadn’t had their fill of us yet.

Even closer than before, they fired again and at short range, their beams packed more of a wallop. I felt the impact through the deckplates once, twice, and a third time.

“Shields down thirty-six percent,” Thadoc noted.