Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [113]
CHAPTER 23
ALL THE BRIDGE CREW STARED IN ASTONISHMENT AT THE viewscreen, watching as the brown cloud rose from the planet, all but obscuring it from view. It was densely thick, a solid mass of undulating matter that spread relentlessly from the planet's surface, through the atmosphere, and into space, toward the two ships now poised in anticipation, their own conflict forgotten for the moment.
"Captain," whispered Trakis, voice hoarse with anxiety, "you must go. Now. Quickly. They'll overwhelm the ship. They emit a caustic substance which will gradually neutralize your shields and then eat through your hull. They'll be inside the ship in an hour and they'll kill everything that moves."
As she watched the approach of the brown sludge, Janeway was tempted to agree. There was something almost unbearably ominous about this vast aggregate. Her ship was in peril.
But so was her away team. She turned to Trakis, who had gone pale at the approach of the Tokath. "Is there a way to repel them?"
"I don't know of any. They're relentless-it's impossible to destroy them all. You might kill thousands, but they just keep coming."
Janeway watched as the umber cloud rose higher and higher, gaining definition now, a roiling mass of organic matter in which one could begin to distinguish discrete forms. They vaguely reminded Janeway of beetles, one of the most abundant life-forms on Earth, except that they were much larger and, of course, had apparently adapted to survive in space. The scientist in her had a curious fascination about these beings, but her command instincts told her they posed a greater threat to Voyager than the most technologically advanced starship.
"Captain, you can outrun them-they can't travel at warp. It's the only way to survive," said Trakis, who was still pallid and shaken. Janeway turned on him.
"Dr. Trakis, you have some value on the bridge because you know something about these creatures. But if you don't stop trying to persuade me to leave, I'll have you escorted to quarters. Because I'm not going anywhere. I intend to use the distraction of the Tokath to get past the Kazon and down to my crew on the planet." She was pleased to see Trakis go an even paler shade at this. "Do we understand each other?" He nodded, and she continued. "Is conventional weaponry effective against them?"
"Yes. But there are simply too many of them. When your weapons arrays are drained of energy, they'll still be coming."
"I have no wish to slaughter creatures who are only acting on instinct." Janeway turned and addressed Rollins.
"Voyager may have a few tricks that ships in the Delta Quadrant lack. Rollins, prepare a polaron emission. Maybe that will make us less attractive to them."
But sudden activity on the viewscreen caught their attention, and Janeway heard an audible gasp from the Trabe physician. Tom Paris turned to her. "Captain, the Kazon ship is attacking them."
And so they were. Weapons fire burst from the ship and plunged into the mass of writhing brown bodies. Hundreds of them incinerated instantly, but within seconds it was as though nothing had happened: the powerful surge of creatures continued unabated. The Kazon ship unleashed a ruinous fire, and Tokath by the thousands disintegrated before their eyes. But more kept coming. The crew of Voyager watched in stunned silence as the Kazon kept up its unending volley, lacerating wave after