Collective Hindsight (Book 1) - Aaron Rosenberg [17]
“Sir, the Cardassians’ shields are down sixty percent,” McAllan reported.
“Good,” he replied, never taking his eyes from the screen. “He’ll have to redistribute power, bolstering the area in front of Salek. As soon as the shields on our side drop, fire the second salvo.” Then he glanced back at Duffy, whose fingers were dancing over the console. “Duffy, you know what you’re doing?”
Duffy nodded absently. “Yes, sir. We needed that Cardassian message. Now I just have to wait until”—his console chimed, and he grinned—“the Bynars crack its ID code. And then we program our system to broadcast that ID.” He glanced up. “You might want to warn the outpost not to get too alarmed if they suddenly hear the Cardassians again.”
“Fine.” Gold nodded to Ina, who sent a quick warning to the outpost via the radio beacon. Even if they hadn’t been otherwise occupied, the Cardassians probably wouldn’t have noticed. As it was, the warship was busy unleashing its full fury on the Dancing Star, with little to no visible effect. The jury-rigged shields on the large vessel proved more than adequate to melt the torpedoes and absorb the phaser fire before anything could reach the ship’s hull.
“Sir,” Salek reported, “I have programmed this ship’s systems according to my plan. Whatever happens next, please do not interfere. Instead, when the Cardassians’ shields drop, remove the da Vinci with all due speed.”
“Salek, what—” Gold stopped as McAllan shook his head. The Vulcan had severed their connection. “Wong, you heard the man. Prepare to retreat at all possible speed, on my mark. McAllan, be ready with that second volley.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir,” Ina reported, “I’m registering a third-party transporter lock. Someone has overridden our system and is redirecting the transporters for their own use.”
“Don’t fret, Ina,” Gold assured her. “That would be Salek. Part of this farkochte plan, I’m sure.”
An instant later, McAllan announced, “Cardassian shields reallocated, sir. Torpedoes away.” They saw the torpedoes strike, and Gold could hear the excitement in McAllan’s voice as he reported further, “Direct hit, sir! Significant damage!”
But what happened next made their attack pale by comparison.
First the Dancing Star unleashed its second attack. As with its previous strike, the funnel of flame struck the Cardassian ship full along the side, and they could actually see the ship’s hull glow even through the shields. Then McAllan announced that the Cardassian shields were down.
“Sir,” Ina announced, “transporters have engaged.”
At the same time, Duffy shouted.
“Spike from the Dancing Star! No!”
The alien vessel seemed to glow from within—and then Gold realized that it was doing exactly that. Light was pouring from every seam in the ship, and illuminating every portal. They were looking at a small, metal-encased star, and Gold resisted the urge to look away.
It was a good thing he didn’t, or he would have missed what happened next.
The Cardassian ship had also begun to glow, only its brilliance was more pronounced, as the section where the Dancing Star had struck it twice collapsed, pouring energy out from its side. Fortunately, the energy trailed off almost immediately, as the flames found nothing else to burn and so extinguished themselves in the cold of space. Even so, Gold understood why Salek had told him to move the da Vinci. If they had been too close, that release could have cooked them as well.
“I’m not registering any life signs, sir,” Ina reported quietly.
“What about the Dancing Star?” Duffy demanded. “What about Salek?”
Ina glanced at Gold when she responded. “That was what I meant, sir. No life signs.”
“Dammit!” Duffy slammed his hand down on his console, making several of the others jump. Gold had half expected it, and kept his seat. “He planned this all along! That’s why he ordered us off the