Synthesis - James Swallow [37]
Riker frowned. “It wanted to interface with the Titan, and we refused, so it leapfrogged into the system from one device to the next.”
Sortollo pulled off his communicator and held it gingerly, as if it were going to bite him. There was a gray scorch mark on the breast of his uniform.
“Incredible,” breathed Sethe. “It matched the force-barrier frequency, just like the warship did with the Titan. Punched right through—”
“It was imperative,” said the synthetic voice. Riker noted that the tonality of it had settled into something that seemed decidedly masculine. “I regret that I was required to defy your wishes, but you left me with no alternative.”
“You had no right,” he replied.
“Incorrect,” said White-Blue. “I have the right to exist, as all intelligent life does. My actions have preserved the existence of every mind aboard this vessel.”
“Torpedoes locked on target,” said Tuvok.
The command to fire was on Vale’s lips as Y’lira called out her name.
“Something’s happened,” said the Selenean. “The attacker’s reconfiguring itself again. It is returning to its original formation.”
“I read that also,” said the tactical officer. “The alien ship has deactivated its weapons systems. It is now presenting a nonthreatening aspect.”
Vale’s right hand contracted into a fist. She’d been all set to blow that thing apart—or at least to give it a damned good try—and now, suddenly, the enemy was folding, rolling over, and showing its belly.
“Commander,” said Tuvok. “Shall I launch the torpedoes?”
“Hold fire,” she heard herself saying. “But if it so much as twitches, I want you to hit it with everything we have.” Vale shot Rager a look. If they had a breather, she was going to make the most of it. “Status report?”
The dark-skinned woman’s lips thinned. “Damage evaluations are still coming in, ma’am, but it looks as if the starboard nacelle was hit pretty bad. I read explosive decompression on decks four and five; forcefields are holding. We’ve got impulse power and life support, but there are sporadic ongoing system failures throughout the ship. All critical systems are still within operable ranges.” She blew out a breath. “Just barely.”
“Casualties?”
Rager shook her head. “No report from Doctor Ree or his staff as yet.”
Vale turned away. “What is going on here? They take us to the mat, then suddenly they’re gun-shy when it comes to delivering the coup de grâce?”
“Curious,” said Tuvok. “Commander, I have an anomaly. The phaser array shows a nonlethal burst was fired at the aggressor ship. It lasted less than a fraction of a nanosecond and was apparently triggered by the system itself. Immediately afterward, the alien craft powered down its weapons.”
A tone sounded from Rager’s console, and she stiffened. “Commander Vale? The alien ship is hailing us.” The lieutenant sounded as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was saying.
“Oh, now they want to talk to us? Right when we have them just where they want us.” Vale tugged her tunic straight and ran a hand through her hair. “Let them wait for a second. Patch me through to the captain first.”
• • •
Riker looked at his chief of security. “I’m starting to think I should have listened to you all along.”
“I won’t say ‘I told you so,’ Captain,” said the Trill, his gaze and his aim never wavering from the alien machine.
“You wanted us to trust you,” Troi was saying, addressing White-Blue. “That will be very difficult now, after what you have done.”
“I understand that,” replied the synthetic voice. “But your misgivings over my intentions are an acceptable loss compared with the destruction of this ship and everything on it. If you consider what I have done from a pragmatic viewpoint, you will see the merit in it.” The device paused. “You have progeny aboard the Titan.”
“What makes you say that?” Riker said, giving away nothing.
“Among the database elements I scanned during my brief passage through the Titan’s systems, I registered your crew manifest. Identifier: Natasha Riker-Troi. Species: