Ghost of a Chance - Mark Garland [11]
"The target's rear shields have collapsed completely," Tuvok reported.
"I am reading some apparent damage to their stern."
"Torres, what happened?" Janeway asked, temporarily ignoring Tuvok's good news.
B'Elanna looked outraged, as if her Klingon blood were about to boil over. She hammered the consoles with both fists, then seemed to regain control, though her chin did not rise. Her hair hung in her face, partially obscuring her expression. "We've lost the phasers again, Captain." Her voice shook--too much adrenaline, worry, or pressure, Janeway couldn't be sure.
"Can you get them back?"
"I... I don't think so, Captain. It's a little more serious this time. I'm sorry."
"Do what you can," Janeway said in response. "None of us are having a very good day."
Janeway closed her eyes. She needed to think of something.
Their best option was to attempt a quiet retreat. Now that the aliens knew that Voyager was superior, there was at least a chance they would not attack again. If they did, and if nothing else changed, she could guess how this might end. She had to assume the other ship was capable of warp speeds.
"Captain, the alien vessel is hailing," Kim announced, interrupting Janeway's train of thought.
She looked up. "On screen," she said.
"We have audio only," Kim replied.
"That's curious," Chakotay said, stepping closer to Janeway, as if to lend further support. "And more than a little suspicious."
"Perhaps," Janeway said, seeing any contact as an opportunity.
They were in a tight spot, yet all of her crew members were doing their jobs, trusting in themselves, in their ship, in their captain and first officer. Things could be worse, she told herself, feeling the knot still there, though loosened just a bit. The aliens could have any number of reasons, from security to cultural taboos, for wanting to conceal their faces. "Maybe they're just shy," she said. Then she smiled just a bit. She could feel the slight release of tension in the room as the other officers blinked, then nodded to her.
"Proceed," she said.
"Channel open," Kim announced.
"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager.
We mean you no--" "This is Third Director Gantel of the Televek." The alien's voice was low and dry, though quite humanoid by any measure.
"You are ordered to move away from this planet, or you will be destroyed."
"We mean no harm," Janeway finished.
"You do harm by being here."
Janeway tipped her head. "How?"
"Why are you here?" the voice of the alien asked after a moment.
Janeway felt a slight but growing relief in this exchange of dialogue instead of phasers.
"One moment, please," she said. She signaled Kim to mute the channel, and he quickly complied. "Torres," she said, hardly turning her head, "get back to work on those shields and weapons systems. And the warp drive. Whatever you can do will certainly be appreciated. Keep Mr. Tuvok informed."
"Yes, Captain," B'Elanna answered. She shut down the bridge's engineering station and headed back toward the lift. Janeway signaled, then accepted Kim's nod once more.
"We are making numerous minor repairs to our ship," she said to the alien, "and we intend to move on when they are completed.
They should not take long. Again, we have no quarrel with you, or with anyone in this quadrant. The repairs are necessary, however, and already under way." She stopped short of apologizing for possible territorial infringement: she was fairly certain the alien vessel was not from the Drenar system, and never had been.
She waited as a long silence followed. After a moment she decided to try again, the other way around. "Why are you in orbit around this planet?" she asked the aliens. "And why have you fired on us?"
Yet another pause, then: "We are curious as to why you have chosen this planet in particular as the place to complete your repairs."
"I won't bore you with particulars,