Death of a Neutron Star - Eric Kotani [52]
"That would be the logical assumption of use for such a ship," Tuvok said, again working over his controls.
"Thirteen warships on the way," Dr. Maalot said.
"Another in orbit. How can Voyager fight that many off?"
There was no way he could see the humans winning this fight. They were doomed. The thought made him shudder.
"Captain," Kim said, "Invincible's shuttlebay doors are starting to open."
"Stop them," Janeway ordered.
Voyager had moved to a slightly higher orbit, but was pacing Invincible and was still well within phaser range of the Qavok warship. Also the Xorm ship Gravity had moved farther down. It now somehow orbited just above the orbit where Ensign Kim had transported out the probes. How the Xorm ship was managing to maintain that orbit was beyond her. But for the moment it was.
Voyager rocked slightly as the phaser beams shot out.
The Qavok warship's screens flared for almost two seconds and then went down. The phaser beams then hit the area where the shuttlebay doors were, exploding the area and sealing the doors shut in the ruins. Janeway knew, without a doubt, that they were lucky their weapons and shields were a factor more powerful than the Qavok's. Otherwise, they would have been dead before now.
"Direct hit," Chakotay said. "Those shuttles will never be launched."
On screen Janeway could see the red, melting metal on the side of the Qavok warship. Then there was a small explosion inside that area of the ship, sending material spinning out into space. No doubt one of the shuttles had had a small accident
At that moment the Invincible fired back, lighting up Voyager's screens in various shades of pink and red. The impact rocked the bridge slightly, but not enough to make her even grab her chair for support.
"No damage," Kim said. "Shields holding at ninety-nine percent. Now back to one hundred percent,"
"Hit them again, Ensign," Janeway said. "And make sure they can't go anywhere real soon."
Again Voyager's phasers shot out, picking at the Invincible as if cutting a mouldy spot out of a block of cheese.
"Weapons destroyed," Chakotay said. "Fires and explosions in the shuttlebay and in the weapons areas. Both their ion drive and warp capabilities are off-line. They do have enough maneuvering thrusters to remain in their current orbit for some time, however."
Janeway nodded. "Good, we'll let them go at that. As long as they don't get in our way."
"Twelve minutes until the main fleet arrives," Kim said.
"Switch the screen to them," Janeway said.
The image of the thirteen warships flying in a rough formation filled the screen. In their center was the round sphere of a ship, clearly being protected by the warships. She had no idea how they were going to fight thirteen warships. Granted, Voyager's shields and weapons were far superior to the Qavok's, but not when multiplied synergistically thirteen times. Even five or six ships attacking at once might prove to be too much firepower for Voyager to handle.
"I'm open to ideas now," Janeway said.
Silence filled the bridge as the red lights blinked softly in the background.
"Okay," Janeway said after a very long moment of silence that made the bridge feel more like the inside of a tomb than a starship control center. "Let's narrow this problem down some. We know we can easily handle three or four of the Qavok at the same time. So how do we get their numbers down to that, yet not allow them to get that round ship through to the binary?"
Again silence. Then Ensign Kim said hesitantly, "Captain, how about the shuttle?"
"Of course," she said. "Good work, Ensign."
The shuttle's screens and weapons were powerful enough to hold off at least two or three of the Qavok warships without a problem. And if Tuvok could work it right, he might just get a shot at that center ship while Voyager drew most of their fire. Then, if they survived and stopped the Qavok, they would have eight or so minutes to launch the yacht, get both hooked together, and get