Miracle Workers (SCE Books 5-8) - Keith R. A. DeCandido_. [et al.] [28]
After studying the Tholians’ odd formation, Gold played a hunch that spoiling the trajectory of one or more of the ships might have the effect of disrupting the energy net generated by the group. Watching the sensor readings on the net flicker and readjust as it compensated for the spoiled flight path of the ship the Defiant had just fired on, he was pleased to see his instincts proven right.
“The damaged ship is . . . breaking formation, Captain,” Soloman reported from the auxiliary helm controls. “The remaining vessels are . . . maintaining their attack vector toward the da Vinci.”
His eyes not moving from the viewfinder, Gold said, “Then we’ll have to do it again. Target another of the ships and stand by to fire.”
“Engineering to Captain Gold,” Gomez’s voice filtered through his communicator. “Sir, I need a moment to reroute power. The generator’s overloading, and I can’t feed power to the phasers without sacrificing something else.”
“Route power from the shields, Sonya,” Gold said without hesitation. “Take whatever you need for the phasers, then put everything you have left into the forward screens.”
“Captain,” Soloman said as he turned from the helm, “with only thrusters to . . . maneuver the ship, we will be at a distinct . . . tactical disadvantage.”
Shrugging as if he was used to taking a vastly outclassed ship into combat on a daily basis, Gold replied, “If the Tholians finish the da Vinci off, our defenses won’t matter.”
During a career of nearly fifty years, Gold had served aboard and even commanded some of the most advanced vessels the Federation had to offer. It therefore seemed ironic to him that his last assignment would be going into combat aboard a dilapidated, hundred-year-old starship that had spent its entire lifetime confined to the pages of history.
Lifting his face from the viewfinder, Gold took an extra second to look around the auxiliary control room, taking in its archaic design and yet once again admiring how vibrant and full of life it seemed to be. After so many years locked away from the rest of the universe, all but forgotten, the Defiant had emerged proudly from its prison. Even though it limped and struggled to overcome its decades of captivity, the once-mighty starship would still head valiantly toward its one final mission.
Only in Starfleet, he decided. I guess weird really is part of the job.
“Come on, people! We’re not going to let Captain Gold take the lead here!” Duffy pitched forward in his seat as a thought struck him.
The Tholians are going to turn on the Defiant!
The irony of being so close to saving the away team, only to see them die as the Tholian web savaged the woefully outmatched vessel ripped at Duffy’s brain. Time narrowed for the commander as he tapped into every resource of strategy he could recall: every old Starfleet Academy course, every holographic simulation, every past conversation with Gold or anybody who ever steered a starship into battle.
“Keep after those targets! We have to kill the power to that web!” Duffy studied the Tholian formation and it became clear that the enemy ships had no intention of engaging the practically defenseless Defiant. They were bearing down on the da Vinci, and this moment was their last to act.
And suddenly, he knew what to do.
“Helm, full power to aft-Z axis thrusters, now!” To her credit, the ensign manning the helm didn’t hesitate in the face of the unusual order. Instead, she quickly fed the string of commands into her console, and the da Vinci responded with comparable speed.
Though the ship’s inertial dampeners protected the crew from feeling its effects, the result of Duffy’s order was evident on the main viewer. The stars on the screen spiraled dizzyingly as the da Vinci’s thrusters fired, pushing the ship on a perpendicular trajectory from the direction it had been facing.
“Bring us about, helm,” Duffy called