Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [141]
“Status? she yelled.
“Hull plating is down to eighty percent, Thayer said.
“Fire at will, Lieutenant, Hernandez shouted to the tactical officer. She tapped the com unit on her chair. “Karl, we need that hull plating at full.
“Im working on it, Graylock said, sounding testy.
“Firing! Thayer said, and the viewscreen showed that Columbia was swooping over what appeared to be the dorsal surface of one of the combat cruisers. This time, a full spread of Columbia s photonic torpedoes struck the warp ring of the ship, resulting in a blazing arc of bluish energy that crackled around the surface of the ring.
“Bring us about for another salvo, Hernandez said.
“Theyre targeting another one of the cargo ships, Fletcher said.
“Get us between the Vulcans and the cargo fleet, Hernandez said. “Our hull plating can take the pounding better than theirs can. She didnt add the words “I hope out loud, though she felt certain she wasnt the only one on the bridge thinking them.
“Both Vulcan ships are opening fire! Thayer said.
“I need every last amp of power you can send to the hull plating, Karl, Hernandez shouted into her com unit.
Perhaps a second later, Columbia shuddered and jumped as though shed been struck by the fist of some angry god. The sharp impact threw Hernandez from her chair. Above her head, the hull rang like a gong, and the bridge abruptly plunged into darkness. She heard several screams and thumps from across the bridge, and saw showers of sparks as various duty stations overloaded.
The continued illumination from the console fires showed that most of her bridge crew had either been thrown from their posts or had barely managed to hang on to them. Luckily, no one seemed to have been seriously hurt.
Fletcher and el-Rashad were the first to break out the emergency hand beacons and fire extinguishers, which they immediately brought to bear against the worst of the electrical fires. The emergency lighting finally kicked on as the crew attempted to access Columbia s almost uniformly downed systems. The drinks, which had remained mostly untouched after their arrival, had become airborne momentarily, and the emptied cups now rolled in the liquids that had pooled across part of the decks port side, where cups and contents alike now lay forgotten.
“Systems are down shipwide, Akagi said, an apprehensive tremor in her voice.
That fact alone didnt tell Hernandez very much of value. “I need to know how badly weve been damag
“Internal communications coming back online now, Captain, Valerian said, interrupting.
The com system crackled, and the chief engineers Teutonic-accented voice issued from it. “Captain? Whatever they hit us with really fubared us. The warp core is kaput, at least temporarily. Itll take us several hours to fix it, even if the rest of the systems were working fine. Which they arent.
So much for the repairs we just completed, Hernandez thought ruefully. She stared at the main viewscreen, which had yet to return to life. “Are they targeting us again? Hernandez asked, hoping the bridges interval of blindness would be a brief one.
“Sensors are coming back up, Akagi said, coughing at the acrid by-products of the damped-down electrical fires that still lingered in the air.
The ships ventilation system must be down, too, Hernandez thought, cursing inwardly. But she knew Columbia had to deal with issues even more urgent than life support.
To Hernandezs relief, the viewscreen lit up and displayed a three-dimensional tactical image of what lay above Columbia s dorsal hull. The two Vulcan ships seemed to be doing nothing, though Hernandez was pleased to see that the warp-propulsion ring encircling the one they had fired upon appeared to be damaged and offline.
“Transmit our bridge flight recorder files to Starfleet Command now, Hernandez shouted to Valerian. “They need to know what the Vulcans are up to, in case they dont give us time to send a report.
“Im trying, Captain, Valerian said. “Subspace communications seem to be