Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [74]
“Firing now, Thayer said emphatically, as gravity and inertia returned to their proper ratio, and the viewscreen rebooted to display a short-lived blue wash of outgoing phase-cannon fire.
The image cleared quickly; just ahead was the battle cruiser that had been farthest from Columbia at the outset of the battle. Hernandez could see clearly that Columbia s phase cannons had communicated very clearly with the hostile vessels aft engine areas.
An instant later, the Klingon warships impulse engines exploded, sending a bright sphere of plasma expanding into space as the interior gases escaped and ignited. The conflagration quickly caught on throughout the hull-ruptured cruiser, and in moments both the secondary and primary hulls exploded as well, sending jagged hunks of debris and the remains of the vessels burning nacelle pylons and long, fractured neck tumbling in random directions, with some pieces falling toward the planet while others tumbled outward into space.
“Good shooting, Kiona, Hernandez said, excited despite the fact that she would have preferred to avoid the engagement with the Klingons entirely. Good intentions aside, Hernandez knew that she was committed now to fight to the finishand that the two remaining cruisers would be even tougher to stop now that blood had been drawn. There will be no negotiating now.
“Bring us about, and lets see if we can keep the other two off-kilter. She realized that even though her stomach was still lurching a bit from the spin maneuver, it had worked very well indeed. She didnt expect it to become a standard maneuver, however.
“Were receiving a hail, Ensign Valerian said from her station at the rear of the bridge.
“Are the Klingons finally coming to their senses? Hernandez asked with a smirk. She knew better; the most likely reason they were calling was to spew invective and to make threats about feasting on her entrails or some other such macho nonsense.
“Not exactly, Valerian said.
The image of two menacing Klingon cruisers set against the star-flecked blackness beyond Draylax vanished, to be replaced by a far warmer and more welcoming sight: Captain Jonathan Archer and the bridge of Enterprise .
“Think you could use a hand, Captain? Archer said, a grim smile on his lips.
“Well, I havent been able to talk any sense into them so far, Captain, Hernandez said, gesturing outward as if toward the Klingons. “In fact, theyve ignored all our hails and warnings. We had to destroy one of their ships before you got here.
“That makes the odds a bit more even, Archer joked. “Two against two is a much fairer fight.
“Whats your ETA, Captain? Hernandez said, eager to make the coming fight an even-money proposition.
“Were nearly right on top of you already, Archer said. He turned his head slightly, speaking to someone off-screen. “Fire to disable.
Hernandez tapped a button on her chairs arm-mounted console, and the forward viewscreen switched to a view of the other ships. Enterprise was thundering forward, having apparently just dropped out of warp, and its pulsed phase cannons threw a series of blasts toward the central Klingon aggressor that had been pouring the heaviest fire onto the surface of Draylax.
The beams arced over the enemy vessels hull, and it visibly shuddered, but did not move further. Instead, the Klingon launched a salvo of projectiles at the swift-moving Enterprise .
“Bring us to bear against the third ship, Hernandez said. “Try hailing them one last time, but prepare to fire again at my signal.
Looking at the viewer, Hernandez saw that Archer was making a pass toward the other ship as well, essentially trapping the vessel between Enterprise and Columbia . The Klingon cruiser arced to starboard, attempting to fleeHernandez thought she understood Klingon pride well enough to imagine the ships captain would no doubt claim the maneuver was really only a means of “regaining the defensive high groundbut Hernandez