Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [172]
Reed nodded. “I suppose theres always an upside to everything, sir.
Archer grinned. “Thats the spirit, Malcolm. Lets get those residual gravitons cleared out and beam as many of the survivors as we can off that ship.
As Reed busied himself at his console, Hoshi said, “Shuttlepod One has just docked, Captain. Do you want to redeploy?
Archer shook his head. “No. Lets hedge our bets and leave em both docked, since we still might have to make a quick exit. Theres no way to know exactly when
The bridge was suddenly plunged into inky darkness, startling Archer into silence and prompting exclamations of alarm all around the bridge.
The surreal red glow of the emergency lights suffused the bridge a few frantic heartbeats later, turning the room into a colossal Hieronymus Bosch painting.
“What happened? Archer asked as the main viewer rebooted, dropping the tactical display in favor of an image of the wounded Kobayashi Maru .
Reed consulted one of his now dimly glowing displays before answering. Owl-eyed, he said, “ Enterprise s life-support system has just failed. Complete shutdown.
Hoshis translation of a mortally injured Klingon womans dying words whispered anew in Archers ear: “The first thing they did wasto use some remote means of seizing and deactivating each of our systems, one by one. They started with life-support
Over the fading echoes of that grim recollection, Archer recalled the warning message hed received more recently: “ROMULAN SNEAK ATTACK COMING, BY REMOTE CONTROL.
“Captain, the Klingon vessels nearly have us surrounded, Reed said. “But we still have full warp capability.
Archer heard the unspoken “for now at the end of Malcolms sentence loud and clear.
“Cant let em have Enterprise, he murmured.
He noticed then that Mayweather was looking up at him expectantly from the helm station. “Sir?
Looking around the faintly illuminated bridge, Archer saw similar looks of expectation on the faces of everyone there. The ruddy glow of the emergency lights cast harsh, bizarre shadows across the features of TPol, Reed, Hoshi, and Mayweather, greatly accentuating every anxiety they must have felt, as well as his own.
ARCHER, YOU ARE HEADED INTO A TRAP. ROMULAN SNEAK ATTACK COMING, BY REMOTE CONTROL.
But I cant just leave all those people here to die, he thought, anguished.
FREIGHTER NOT SAVABLE.
He slammed the side of his hand onto the intercom unit on the arm of his chair. “Archer to ONeill. Any luck transporting those survivors yet?
“Theres still too much graviton particle flux on the hull, Captain, ONeill said. “Im sorry. I wish I had better news for you, sir.
Damn.
FREIGHTER NOT SAVABLE.
I cant accept that!
“Captain! Reed cried. “The hull polarization system has gone down, just like life support did. I cant determine exactly why yet.
But I can, Archer thought, recalling the dying Klingon woman. Defensive and tactical systems were the next dominoes to fall after life support.
TURN ENTERPRISE ABOUT IMMEDIATELY, MAX WARP.
Forgive me.
But Archer seriously doubted he would ever develop a large enough capacity for self-forgiveness to accept absolution for what he knew he had to do.
“Travis, get us out of here, Archer said. “Pedal to the metal.
Mayweather regarded him silently for a moment, his eyes widening into pools in which disappointment and relief commingled, as did both repugnance and understanding.
“Aye, Captain, the helmsman said, turning toward his console and bringing the ship into motion. The whine of the engines and the vibration in the deck plates signaled Enterprise s quick transition from subluminal velocity to high warp speed.
Archer stared straight ahead at the viewer. The dying Kobayashi Maru immediately fell away astern, dropping into the infinite, just another piece of flotsam on the cosmic ocean. Not wishing to see what he had already seen once in Traviss eyes and in the gazes of the rest of his crew, he continued staring straight ahead long seconds after the fuel carrier had completely vanished