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Hernandez smacked the intercom on her chair with the side of her hand, opening a channel. “Hernandez to engineering.

“Graylock here, came the chief engineers Austrian-accented response. “I already know why youre calling, Captain, so I must apologize in advance.

Hernandez closed her eyes. “Go ahead and give me the bad news, Karl.

“The warp core is still down, and the relays and energizers are completely fertiggemacht. Im going to need several days, at least, to pick up the pieces.

Hernandez thought she knew Graylock well enough not to have to question the mans Teutonic pragmatism. Though she had seen him work miracles, Hernandez knew she couldnt expect him to do the flat-out impossible.

“Do what you can, Karl. Hernandez out. Probably for the very last time.

“I hope this sort of thing isnt happening anywhere else in Coalition space right now, Fletcher said, her voice pitched in that low “for-the-captains-ears-only tone that she used when she didnt want to exacerbate the anxieties of the rest of the bridge crew.

Amen to that, Hernandez thought.

“The new arrivals are powering up their weapons, said Lieutenant Thayer, the young woman running the starboard weapons console. Though the console was still functioning, using it now struck Hernandez as hardly any less futile than trying to run any of the burned and melted instrument panels nearby.

“Im detecting active weapons locks, Captain, el-Rashad said, his voice rising to a pitch half an octave above its normal register. Up on the screen, the weapons tubes of each of the newly arrived Vulcan vessels exuded an extremely noticeable, menacing glow.

Hernandez swallowed. “Polarize the hull plating, Kiona, she said to Thayer. “And launch the log buoy.

Thayer scowled down at her console and shook her head. “Hull charging system is down, Captain. As is the buoy-jettison system.

“Thanks for the epitaph, Kiona, Hernandez said. She rose, turning so that she faced her officers en masse before adding, “Its been an honor serving with you all.

To their credit, every member of the bridge crew continued to maintain focus on his or her particular job, even as noises of enthusiastic agreement went around the room, punctuated by brief but obviously heartfelt, respectful glances cast at Hernandez.

No tears, she told herself firmly. No time for tears. No time for anything.

“The reinforcement vessels are opening fire, el-Rashad said with a calm that befitted the mans conviction that death was merely an anteroom to a far better place than the material world.

Wish I could bring myself to believe things like that, Hernandez thought as she turned back toward the screen and took her seat.

She was glad shed somehow managed to resist the all but overwhelming urge to close her eyes before the end came.

The weapons tubes on each of the recently arrived Vulcan ships emitted brilliant globular flares that would have been blinding had the luminosity filters on Columbia s external visual sensors not intervened to dim them. A pair of the Vulcan ships that had damaged Columbia earlier suddenly went ablaze, large areas of their hulls engulfed almost instantly by short-lived molecular fires, conflagrations fed both by the weapons of their attackers and the wounded vessels own escaping atmospheres.

Relief warred with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu as Hernandez realized what she was witnessing: The Vulcans are opening fire on their own ships!

“Didnt we just see this exact same holovid last week at Draylax? Fletcher said as she blew several thick strands of blond hair away from her eyes, perhaps in an effort to cover a loud, irrepressible sigh of relief.

“One time is an anomaly, Hernandez said, nodding. She watched as the silent yet fiery pageant of ship-to-ship carnage continued before her stunned, horrified, fascinated eyes. “But twice

“But twice, said Fletcher, finishing the captains thought out of long-honed practice, “is a conspiracy.

And wed damned well better flush out the Romulan snakes who are really behind the conspiracy, Hernandez