Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [140]
Squaring her shoulders and setting her jaw, Hernandez looked directly toward the screens center, knowing the viewer would pick her image up in the same manner as any other audio/visual hail. “This is Captain Erika Hernandez of the United Earth Starship Columbia . We are responding to acts of aggression against cargo vessels under the protection of the Coalition of Planets. All aggressor vessels must stand down and submit to boarding. Any resistance will be considered an act of aggression, and will be met with deadly force. Hostile vessels, this is the only warning you will receive.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hernandez saw Lieutenant Commander el-Rashad turn toward her from his science station, a gobsmacked expression on his chiseled, mocha-colored features.
The reason for his reaction appeared on the main viewscreen a moment later. The visual sensors displayed what lay in Columbia s path. The aggressor vessels and the cargo fleet they menaced came into sharp focus, and it was immediately clear that the attackers were of neither Klingon nor Romulan design. Nor was their identity a mystery; the attackers long, blunt-nosed central hulls, with each of their aft sections surrounded by a single wide, ring-shaped warp-propulsion module, were all too familiar to everyone present.
“ Vulcans? Why would Hernandez said under her breath, scarcely able to contain her incredulity.
“Captain, sensors confirm the presence of two DKyr -type Vulcan combat cruisers, Thayer said from her tactical station. “Particle-beam residue readings show that they are the aggressors here. Should I hold fire?
Hernandez stood, raising her hand to signal restraint. “Yes. Hold fire. What the hell are they doing? Her mind galloped to find an explanation, but the longer she stared at the image, the more insane it seemed.
“Theyre not responding to hails, Captain, Valerian said.
Hernandez continued staring at the vista on the screen, trying to drink in every detail. The beleaguered convoy consisted of five cargo vessels, many of them already severely damaged. One seemed completely beyond salvaging, as plasma fires burned on what little remained of its outer hull, apparently fed by atmosphere that continued to escape from interior compartments. The cargo vessels almost seemed to cower in the presence of the Vulcan ships that appeared to have instigated the entire situation.
“One of the ships is charging up its weapons again! Thayer shouted. On the viewer, Hernandez watched as the forward particle-beam tube on the ship nearest to Columbia began to emit a baleful emerald glow.
“Charge hull plating to full! Hernandez shouted.
“Their weapons lock isnt focused on us, Captain, Fletcher said.
A moment later, a brilliant green beam shot forth from the underbelly of the Vulcan cruiser, lancing into the hull of one of the more heavily damaged cargo ships. Almost immediately, the wounded vessel exploded, sending an expanding cloud of metal debris and ignited gases into space. The effect reminded Hernandez of a Fourth of July fireworks display shed seen as a child, though her mood at the moment was anything but celebratory.
“Have they responded to our hails yet?
“No, sir, Valerian said.
“Try to disable the lead vessel, Hernandez ordered, hoping that she hadnt just made the mistake of her career.
“The second ship is charging weapons and targeting us, Thayer shouted before shed managed to fire her first shot.
“Evasive maneuvers! Hernandez returned to her chair, strapping herself in place as her crew got to work.
As Columbia lurched and vibrated in response to Hernandezs demands, the captain studied the viewscreen, which showed several of Thayers phase cannon blasts making contact with one of the DKyr -type cruisers. The concentrated energy bursts seemed to warm the greenish hull up a bit, while a photonic torpedo exploded against the cruisers underbelly without doing any apparent harm.
“Incoming!
Hernandez felt her ship shudder for a moment as one of the Vulcan vessels returned fire, and the lights on the bridgealready crimson-hued from