Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [162]
Hernandez nodded. The Vulcans must be at least as embarrassed about this as the Klingons were when the same thing happened to them at Draylax.
Sitting pensively in her command chair, she watched the viewer, upon which each of the hostile vessels exploded like distant eruptions of ball lightning, each blast separated from the next by only a few seconds.
And hoped with all her heart that the detonations didnt symbolize the gradual self-immolation of the Coalition of Planets.
Valerian cried out from the com station. “Captain! Im receiving something from Starfleet.
Hernandez spun her chair hard in Valerians direction. “Youve got the com system up and working again. Good work.
“Reception is still iffy, Captain, and transmitting anything is out of the question until I can get the entire com system pulled out for an overhaul, Valerian said, sounding apologetic.
“One thing at a time, Sidra, Hernandez said. “What does Starfleet have to say?
The com officer adjusted her earpiece, staring straight ahead as she concentrated, no doubt trying to focus past a great deal of static to make sense of what she was hearing. “Theres another attack just like this one in progress elsewhere in Coalition space, Captain. The target is the Earth outpost at Calder II.
Unlike Alpha Centauri, which had sizable human populations and at least some defenses, Calder II was home only to a small, all but unprotected science station.
“Whose ships?
“Vulcan ships again, Captain.
Piloted by more Romulans, no doubt, Hernandez thought. Romulans who probably took over the very ships the Vulcan High Command assigned to discourage piracy in the Calder sector. Horror jolted her almost like an electrical shock as she projected what the attackers were almost certain to do next with their purloined fleet.
“I dont get it, Thayer said from the tactical console. “Why attack a small target like Calder II?
“Isnt it obvious, Lieutenant? said Fletcher, her ashen face telling Hernandez that her exec was thinking along exactly the same lines as her captain. “It wont take the Romulans long to wipe out a couple hundred scientists and their families. Then theyll have the whole planet to use as a beachhead for attacking Vulcan, Alpha Centauri
Hernandez interrupted. “And Earth.
ShiKahr, Vulcan
“I have just received word that the hijacked vessels attacking Alpha Centauri have all been neutralized, Minister, said Minister Kuvak, desert sunlight streaming in from behind him through the partially open office door.
TPau, first minister of the recently reconstituted global civilian government now known as the Confederacy of Vulcan, nodded a silent acknowledgment to her silver-haired aide. She could sense from the tension in his posture that Kuvak had not yet finished delivering the latest newsand that what he had yet to report would prove even less pleasant than the tidings from Alpha Centauri.
“And what of the assault against Calder II? TPau asked as she rose from behind her simple yet gracefully curved desk. Although Calder IIs scientific outpost was primarily populated, staffed, and administered by humans, the Vulcan government had taken a strong interest in the settlement for decades.
As the lower-ranking government minister took a moment to assemble his thoughts, TPau studiously avoided commenting upon his all-too-evident lack of composure.
“Starfleets forces may have arrived too late, First Minister, the middle-aged Vulcan said a moment later. “As have ours, apparently. Early reports are sporadic, of course. But the hostiles may have already succeeded in establishing a military toehold at Calder.
Hostiles, TPau thought. It is a fine euphemism.
TPau stood stock-still in the center of her office. The sparsely appointed stone-veneer walls, bare but for a single minimalist meditation tapestry, now seemed somehow too busy, too stimulating to look upon as she struggled to master her own rising fear and agitation.
“Summon all the senior enriov of the High Command, she said. “And alert the entire High Assembly, as well as the Coalition Security Council.
“I shall