Double Helix 03_ Red Sector - Diane Carey [122]
With something specific to do, Jeremy concentrated on his instruments while everyone else waited through the tension. “Their weapons…” No surprise there. “And shields. Way better than ours”
Unsatisfied with the lack of specificity, Spook leaned over Jeremy’s shoulder at the readouts. “High-intensity plasma-fed shielding with direct warp feed. At least four times the power of ours. I must assume their speed capacity and weapons are comparably advanced.” Stiles leered at him. “Situation hopeless?” “So it seems,” Spock said. “All the odds against us?” “Correct.”
Stiles eyed him. “This is one of those ‘leap of creativity’ things, isn’t it.’?”
Spock clasped his hands behind his back in a ridiculously casual posture. “That is my hope.” “You wanna just… come over here and give me a shove.’?” “If you prefer”
From the port side, McCoy offered, “I’ll come and push you if you want.”
Stiles gave him a floppy wave with his free hand. “Thanks, Doctor, consider me pushed. We need to even things up. Shields first.” “How7” Spock asked.
At the same time, McCoy beefed, “Rhodinium against tissue paper!”
Stiles glanced at them. “Oh, we’re a little tougher than that, Doctor. Jeremy, we’ve got that warp trigger box with the surger for emergency ignition of cold warp cores, don’t we? We replaced the last one, right?” “Always.”
“Go back there and take it off the clamps and put it in the airlock, activated. We’re going to dump and detonate.” “It’ll short out our shields !”
“If we’re close enough it’ll short out his too. He wants us alive-let’s use that and play some chicken.”
Flushed, Jeremy raced through the hatch toward the aft section.
“Ambassador” Stiles requested, “I’ll bet you can take the science boards, can’t you?”
“Most certainly I can.” Spock moved with fluidity across the bridge and settled at Jeremy’s station as if he’d been painted there. Darned if he didn’t look happy.
“Travis, fire up the magnetic grapples. Two and four on the port side.”
Travis swung full about and gaped at him with his mouth open and eyes like eggs, but talked himself out of asking. “Aye aye,” he responded, and got to work.
Stiles stood beside his command chair and watched the screen that showed the approaching blue tighter. “Ready about !” “Ready about, aye!”
A flurry of activity blew across the bridge, and everybody was suddenly working. Luckily they’d stopped asking what he was up to. Good thing, because he didn’t know.
“Helm, you know what to do. Come about and meet him head on, as if we were rafting for a repair.” “While he’s moving?” Jason Bolt confirmed.
“Just as if we had to grapple a damaged ship under power. Do it by the numbers. We’ll see what happens. Helm over.” “Coming about.”
“Then what?” Travis asked-not in challenge, but because to make it work he had to know the next move.
Stiles shook his head and shrugged. “Oh, I dunno, I’m probably about to get us all killed.”
Okay, not the greatest slogan to stitch on a banner of war, but there was something to be said for being honest with them. He drew one long breath and held it, watching the forward screen now as the CST mined on its midships keel and the constellation fighter came around. Broad on the bow… three points… two points… one… fine on the port bow… dead ahead.
Now the two ships were heading at each other in a game that would destroy one of them if somebody didn’t flinch. “Incoming!” Travis called. “They’re shooting at us!”
A bright white blast blew from the other ship, looking as if somebody had fired talcum powder out an exhaust port-but when it hit them it didn’t feel like powder. The CST shuddered violently but did not turn off her course. Rather than striking them with a single impact, the powder-beam slathered all over the ship as if they’d plunged into a glass of milk, washing along from the prow to midships before dissipating, snapping systems all the way back.
“Hold course!” Stiles called over the shattering of circuits all around them. “Intentions?” Spock asked. “Do you mean to ram them?” “We’ve got an asteroid-cutter