Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [73]
“Coming into effective weapons range in forty seconds, Captain, Akagi said. The bridges main viewscreen showed one of the battle cruisers directly in Columbia s flight path.
“Give me one more hail, Sidra, Hernandez shouted back to her communications officer, Ensign Sidra Valerian. When she saw the red “go ahead light appear at the bottom of the viewscreen, she squared her shoulders and put on her best “scolding teacher face.
“Klingon cruisers, this is Captain Erika Hernandez of the United Earth Starship Columbia . You must cease fire immediately, or we will open fire on your vessels. Your continued aggression will be considered an act of war not only against Draylax, but also against Earth and Alpha Centauri.
“The central ship is charging her weapons, Thayer shouted.
“Then so do we, Hernandez said, leaning forward in her chair. “Employ evasive maneuvers, and send them a full phase cannon salvo, maximum intensity. The tactical alert lights activated even as she gave the command, casting the bridge into forbidding shadows.
The viewscreen image changed as the ship arced between the central Klingon cruiser and the blue-white planet below it, as the hull-mounted sensors realigned the sweep of their imagers. Hernandez saw two bright greenish arcs exit the belly of the Klingon ship, and she braced herself for their arrival, digging her fingers into the arms of her chair.
Columbia shuddered as the disruptor beams struck the primary hull, causing the viewscreen image to crackle and waver momentarily.
“Hull plating down fifteen percent, Lieutenant Commander el-Rashad shouted from his science station. “The other two ships are altering their trajectories. Looks like theyre going to try to catch us in a crossfire.
Hernandez studied the main viewer, where the other two enemy ships were indeed moving toward positions flanking Columbia . “You know that tactic youve been wanting to try for far too long, Reiko? The Niagara Barrel Roll?
She thought she heard a gulp of surprise coming from the woman at the helm. “Are you certain now is the time?
“If not, we might not get another chance, Hernandez said. She toggled her com unit, tying into the shipwide intercom system. “All hands, brace yourselves. Were gonna have a bit of a tumble. Tapping another button, she said, “Karl, youre gonna need to make sure that the inertial dampers hold up.
Akagi had once told her that despite her Japanese heritage, the one thing she loved more than anything else on Earth was quintessentially North American: roller coasters. Hernandez couldnt stand them herself, and thought the simulation rides she had endured in Starfleets flight training program had to be more than realistic enough to satisfy whatever death wish seemed to motivate roller-coaster aficionados.
“Theyre charging their tubes, ready to fire, el-Rashad shouted. “All three cruisers!
As the viewscreen showed the first hint of green energy coming from a disruptor bank on one Klingon ships ventral side, Hernandez heard herself give an order. “Roll it, Reiko!
The words seemed to leave her lips in slow motion, but the reaction to them was anything but slack. As Akagi manipulated the controls, Columbia began to twist in a corkscrew fashion. The ships hull groaned as it spun, and Hernandez felt almost as though she were trapped in a high-speed centrifuge despite the accelerated inputs to the artificial gravity plating and the inertial compensation system. The maneuver overwhelmed the hull sensors, transforming the image on the central viewscreen into a jumbled and pixelated mess, but the fact that the ship hadnt encountered a disruptor blastor sixin the several seconds since the cruisers had opened fire seemed to imply that the maneuver had worked.
At least for the moment.
“Get us steady