Death of a Neutron Star - Eric Kotani [56]
"Stand by."
"Lieutenant Tyla," Dr. Maalot said. "Before this starts, I just want to say thank you."
She glanced around at her companion of the last few days. "Why thank me?"
He laughed, although it was clearly a strained laugh. "I got a chance to study a neutron star binary up close, with instruments I could have only dreamed about using before these last few days."
"I'm glad," she said.
"No, you don't understand," he said. "Just in case we don't make it through the next few minutes, I want to thank you for getting me to this point, for rescuing me from the Qavok and for giving me the chance to do what most scientists in the galaxy would give their life to do. It has been worth it."
"You're welcome," she said, smiling at him. "But I have no plans on us dying anytime shortly. Don't you want to stick around for the final explosion?"
"Of course I do," he said, smiling.
"Then hang on and help where you can," she said. "This may get rough. But well make it."
She turned back and nodded to Tuvok, who only nodded in return. She just wished she felt as positive about their near future as she had tried to sound to Dr. Maalot
"Fifteen seconds," Tuvok said.
"Voyager coming from the right," she said.
She almost wanted to cheer. She had been afraid they would have to face the ships on their own and die trying to stop them.
"Tuvok," the captain's voice came in strong. "Break off hard left the moment you are within firing range. Try to destroy the two leading ships on that side, then get out of range quickly."
"Yes, Captain," he said.
"Copy that," Tyla said. "Targeting the two ships on the left leading edge. Phasers locked and ready."
"Hold," Tuvok said. "Five more seconds."
To Tyla the time seemed to stop at that moment.
Her finger was poised over the firing control, waiting.
"Two."
Waiting.
"One."
Waiting.
"Now," Tuvok said.
She fired the phaser, making the shuttle jump slightly, as if a surge had just flowed through it. The two beams of the shuttle's phasers cut at the shields of the two leading Qavok warships, sending them almost at once into reds and then to black.
The warships' shields flashed one final time and then were down.
"Yes!" she said.
The phaser shots cut into the unprotected hulls of the warships, burning inward.
After a second, the first warship exploded into flying debris, the large pieces tumbling at them.
Then her world exploded.
Tuvok sheared the shuttle hard left, but Tyla knew he was too late. Three warships opened fire simultaneously on the shuttle, smashing it backward like a child's toy shoved across a slick floor.
"Screens failing!" Dr. Maalot yelled as sparks and smoke filled the shuttle cabin.
Tyla was almost knocked from her seat, but somehow she managed to hang on and keep firing.
A second warship exploded and she moved the phaser to attack one of the firing ships, targeting and locking.
"Thrusters off-line," Tuvok said. "I will try to jump to warp."
"Shields down to twenty percent," Maalot said, his voice barely containing his panic.
One of the firing ships exploded under Tyla's fire, but two more warships added their phaser fire to the remaining two, rocking the shuttle even harder.
Sparks flew everywhere as two panels exploded near Dr. Maalot and he was thrown to the floor.
Smoke choked her, but she didn't let up on the phaser. She was going to pound those Qavok with her last dying breath.
"Going to warp," Tuvok said. "Now."
Instantly the warships vanished behind them as the shuttle jumped to warp to get out from under the fire.
Then almost instantly the shuttle dropped back into real space.
"Warp drive off-line," Tuvok said. "We're without the ability to maneuver."
"We destroyed three warships," Tyla said as she quickly checked the battle scene behind them. "Damaged a fourth."
"It seems," Tuvok said, "that we did what we could."
"We can't get back in the fight?"