Flashback - Diane Carey [39]
There, however, was something she hadn't seen before. A Klingon filling the main screen.
"Mr. Sulu," the Klingon was saying. "I see they've finally given you the captaincy you deserve. Don't let it end prematurely."
Calm and affable, but unflapped, Sulu didn't flinch from the Klingon's glare. "Kang," he greeted as if they were passing in a hallway. "We've been on a survey mission studying this nebula. Our navigation systems malfunctioned. And I'm afraid we got lost."
Janeway took the moment to move about the bridge and look at the readouts. The battle would begin soon. What kind of precautions did a ship like this take?
"Well, you've been found," the Klingon said intolerantly. "I suggest you abandon your 'survey' mission, reverse course, and leave this area immediately."
"As soon as we've completed repairs," Sulu said fluidly, "we'll be on our way."
"We'd be happy to escort you back to Federation space."
It was not an offer, but an order.
"Very generous of you," Sulu said. "But we can manage."
"I insist."
Janeway knew that tone. This Klingon wasn't backing down. She paused and watched Sulu.
"Actually," the twenty-third-century captain said, "an escort would be welcome. We'd hate to lose our way again."
Not bad, Janeway thought. Let them think they have the upper hand. Give them what they want.
She tried to measure up the armaments of the Klingon ship being dissected by sensors all over the screens around her, but she had little basis for comparison. She wasn't familiar with Klingon vessels' firepower from eighty years ago.
Kang was smiling, assuming he'd won. "Bring your ship about, bearing one-eight-one mark two."
"Nice to see you again, Kang," Sulu said, just before the communication was cut off at the source.
The main screen flashed to a view of the cloying Azure Nebula all around them, pinwheeling around the presence of Kang's Klingon battle cruiser.
Valtane turned. "Captain?"
"Man your station, Lieutenant," Sulu said passively. "We're not giving up just yet. Helm, come about."
The view changed as the ship slowly swung full about, and the main screen shifted to a departure angle, showing the Klingon ship following them at slightly less than respectful distance.
"Tactical status?" Sulu requested.
Valtane checked his sensors. "They have their forward disruptors trained on us, sir."
Janeway huffed. Sure, they needed sensors to tell them that.
Sulu started pacing the bridge, stalking a way out of this situa tion, making quite obvious the fact that he didn't intend to stay in this predicament. Janeway found herself thinking up ways out too, and wondered which one he would try.
"Ensign Tuvok," Sulu began, "what's the composition of this nebula?"
Tuvok checked his own controls. "Primarily oxygen and argon, plus traces of theta-xenon, sirillium gas, and fluorine."
"Sirillium . . . that's a highly combustible substance, isn't it?"
Ah-Janeway smiled. Her third choice was his first.
"Affirmative," Tuvok said stiffly as he got the idea of what his captain-his first captain-had in mind.
"Is there any way we could ignite the sirillium?" Sulu asked, even though he didn't really need to explain it to anybody there. Perhaps he just wanted to confirm in all their minds what his intention was.
Tuvok drew a breath. "If we modulated a positron beam to a subspace frequency," he said, letting the breath out slowly, "it would trigger a thermochemi-cal reaction in the sirillium."
Sulu smiled. "Like tossing a match into a pool of gasoline. Would their shields withstand the blast?"
"Yes, but their sensors and tactical systems would be disrupted for several seconds."
"That's all the time we need."
Interesting, Janeway thought, that Sulu had considered the survival of his enemies, who obviously wouldn't return the favor. Or perhaps he was being even more practical-avoiding destroying Klingon nationals just to untwist a twisted moment. Janeway lauded his prudence as much as his boldness.
Bold, yes, because the violent escape would virtually