Immortal Coil - Jeffrey Lang [64]
“Aye, sir. I’ll let you know if the situation changes. I can give you a burst of impulse if we need it.”
“Not really an option,” Picard replied. “We can’t leave Galor IV undefended.”
“Wasn’t suggesting it, sir. Just thought we might be able to lead them away.”
“I’ll keep it in mind, Geordi,” the captain said. “Picard out.”
The ship rocked again and Troi watched as the shield level indicator dropped down to just under twenty percent. Around her, the bridge crew labored. Picard rose from the center seat and crossed to her console.
“Any word from the away team?” Picard asked.
She shook her head. “They missed their checkin, too. I was just about to call you when the first salvo hit us.”
“That might not be a coincidence,” Picard said softly. “It’s quite possible that Commander Riker might currently be faced with his own problems.”
Riker pounded his fist on the pod’s control panel. “Dammit,” he said. “Something’s blocking our hail.” He stared out at the two ships—the Enterprise and the strange, icelike hulk—and seethed. The enemy, whether androids like the ones in Vaslovik’s bunker, or something else entirely, was pounding his ship and he hated the feeling of helplessness. More, he despised himself for letting the frustration rob him of clear thought. There must be something he could do, but he didn’t know what.
And his mind kept returning to Rhea McAdams. What the hell had she thought she was doing? Disobeying orders and playing hero in the middle of a crisis was a sure way to a fast court martial, if not an early grave. What did she imagine she could achieve down there that he couldn’t? Or was she just inexperienced and misguided enough to believe that saving the more “valuable” member of the away team—namely, the first officer of the Enterprise —was worth risking her life and possibly Data’s in some idiotic stunt?
Cursing under his breath, Riker punched the thrusters and the pod sped closer to the battle. He had checked its systems as soon as their flight vector had stabilized and Riker had been pleased to find that its sensors were better than anything he could have hoped for. The shields, also, were much enhanced, though there were no weapons worth mentioning—only a single phaser bank that wouldn’t be much use against anything bigger than a squirrel. It was clear that whoever had refitted the pod had not had fighting in mind, but quick and stealthy flight.
As it had twice before, the attacking ship slid into subspace and Riker watched impatiently for the Enterprise to make some countermove, but it was clear that his crew were more than preoccupied with keeping the vessel stable. Riker had been through enough battles to recognize a ship that was, if not in peril, then fighting on the defensive. Ten heartbeats later, the iceship reemerged from subspace and though there was no visible weapons fire, the Enterprise shifted away as if swamped by some unseen wave. Every one of the pod’s sensors redlined and the tiny craft bumped and hopped like a rowboat in a hurricane sea.
A ship I could feel under my feet. Riker remembered that wish from the previous day. That’s what I had wanted. What the hell was I thinking?
“Uh, s-sir,” Barclay stammered, staring at the navigational display. “We’re moving c-closer to the battle.”
“We’re not moving closer,” Riker said. “We’re circling. It would be foolish to approach without a plan.”
“No argument,” Reg said, his manner strangely detached all of a sudden. Riker had seen him like this once or twice before. Though Barclay was not what one would call an intrepid soul, neither was he a coward. “But I don’t see that there’s much we can do here that will affect the outcome of the battle. We have no weaponry, just impulse thrusters and warp drive. Maybe we should go for help.”
Not taking his eyes off the two ships, Riker asked, “What did you just say?”
Barclay repeated, “Maybe we should go for help … ?”
“Warp drive,” Riker mused, then grinned wickedly. “We have warp drive! Reg, you’re a genius.” He tightened the straps on his restraining harness, then said, “Hold on,” and fired the