Ship of the Line - Diane Carey [85]
The captain’s words drove a spear of frustration through the middle of Riker’s chest and left him breathless. Bateson was consumed with the bravado of what fighting Klingons used to be.
The argument took a tense sabbatical as two medics piled out of the lift. With help from La Forge, they dumped Mike Dennis onto an antigrav gurney and buzzed him back into the lift. Now the deck was clear, and both Bateson and Riker had taken the chance to think.
“This ship is brand-new,” the captain went on, but to his credit there was a tinge of doubt in his voice as he continued to think about what Riker had said. “When would it have been sabotaged?”
The flicker of contemplation, a hint that Bateson was ready to admit he was wrong if he could be proven to be, made Riker grip his tone like a pair of reins and keep control of it. “I don’t know, but we should back off to make repairs and notify Starfleet.”
“We’re going back in to engage the enemy, Will,” Bateson said, calm as a rug.
“Why take the chance, sir? It’s one ship out here in the middle of nowhere. All right, they’ve got a few shots on us. So what? Let’s go alert Starfleet. Sir, we’ve got a ship undermanned by two-thirds, and most of those men are tech specialists, not field officers. These men and women were the designers of the systems. That doesn’t mean they’re the best at using them in actual battle. They can run the ship, but not necessarily fight with it.”
Bateson gestured at the distant ship on the screen as it hovered in wait of their return. “You really want me to risk having Kozara go back to the empire and tell them how weak our new starship is?”
“The Klingon Empire has already heard all our messages,” Riker told him. “Sir, we’ve been duped. Kozara knows the ship isn’t weak. He obviously had advance knowledge about the war games powerdown and he had design information about this vessel because he hit us right where it hurts most. And on top of all that, he’s betting you’ll do just what you’re doing. That’s why he’s not chasing us. You said ‘know your enemy.’ Sir, your enemy knows you. And he’s had ninety years to get it right!”
“Ninety-three.” Bateson smoldered.
“Sir, we’re not clean slates to each other anymore,” Riker plowed on, now desperate to make his point. “They know how many ships we have, we know what they’ve got—it’s not those days anymore. There’s communication between the empire and the Federation. Believe me, they know we’re not weak. It gives you and me the option of retreating. We don’t have to fight to the death just to make a point!”
“Hey!” Gabe Bush dropped to the command arena from the upper deck and drilled a finger at Riker’s face. “Show some respect, you phony prig!”
“Gabe!” Bateson stood up, grasped his loyal lush by both arms and pulled him back. “Down, Rover. This is no time for pluck and spunk. It’s his job to point these things out.”
“Not with that cocky attitude! He doesn’t get to talk to my captain that way. Some first officer!”
“Back, back … that’s it. Upper deck. That’s right. Man your post.”
Bateson steered Bush up toward the science station and let a few seconds go by. Then he turned back and casually took his seat again.
“He’s right about one thing. It’s an attitude thing, Will. The Klingons were at pseudo-peace with you your whole life. This is my time again. Don’t you notice a difference in tactics? Kozara took the past ninety years learning to be sneaky, just as I suspected. To get familiar with Starfleet tech and tactics—”
Defying Bush’s warning and still in the grip of anger, Riker closed in on the command arena, pressed a hand to the captain’s chair enough to pivot it so Bateson had to look at him, and stormed. “This time he’s after the wrong man. The Morgan Bateson he knew is gone. You’re not paying attention. You’ve forgotten how to be vigilant. You’re just playing with a new toy. Withdraw the ship before you get us smashed.”
A hand of smoke drifted by from the smoldering hardware trunk, but they both ignored it. Riker saw the captain’s eyes redden with the acrid smoke and felt his own eyes begin to burn and