The Last Stand - Brad Ferguson [23]
“Understood. Stand by, Number One. Kerajem,” Picard said, “if there’s anything we can do to assist you, please let us know.”
“Thank you, Captain, but I believe we have this situation well in hand.” The First Among Equals addressed the air again. “Hattajek, relay your tactical display of these two unknowns and the approach of our interceptors.”
The view of the Krann fleet on the display wall was immediately replaced by a schematic map of the immediate region. The coast was shown as a jagged, glowing green line separating a black land mass on the left side of the map from a light blue ocean that dominated the right. The capital city area was a neatly bounded yellow zone between the coast and the Kajja Kojja mountains to the west. A group of six green streaks was moving rapidly from left to right across the map toward two red squares moving more slowly in the opposite direction.
“Those unknowns are not far off the coast,” Picard observed.
“They will not get much farther,” Kerajem said. “We are about to—”
The six green streaks suddenly disappeared from the map.
“Kerajem,” came Hattajek’s voice, “the interceptors are gone. We’ve lost all telemetry from them.” There was a brief pause. “General Blakendet has just launched a second flight. We will try an interception over land.”
Kerajem’s voice was calm. “Do you have any idea what happened to the first flight?” he asked.
“No, Kerajem. It seems obvious that the unknowns shot down our interceptors somehow.”
Picard’s communicator buzzed again.
“Captain,” Riker’s worried voice reported, “each of the two unknowns emitted a short, high-frequency energy burst that cleared the sky in front of them as the interceptors were making their final approach. The burst shattered all six interceptors. We’re tracking the debris. It’s crashing into the ocean in a three-kilometer-long path approximately thirty-five kilometers east of you.”
“Stand by, Will.” Picard looked at the schematic map. He and everyone else in the room watched for a minute as a flight of more than a dozen interceptors launched from near the capital headed toward the red squares.
“It looks as if they will meet not far from here,” Picard observed.
“Eight point seven kilometers east of here, sir,” Data said. “However, my estimate may be off by a minor amount if this schematic is not to consistent scale.”
The dozen interceptors drew very close to the unknowns and then disappeared from the map, just as the first flight had.
“Riker to Picard. They’ve just done it again. All twelve interceptors in the second flight are gone, and we’re tracking debris.”
“The unknowns will arrive at these coordinates in thirty seconds,” Data said.
“We’re dead,” Jemmagar said simply.
Kerajem turned to Picard as the red squares crossed over the boundary of the yellow zone that represented the capital city area. “Captain, I am most deeply sorry,” the First Among Equals said. “We have no way of stopping those—those things—in time. We’ve involved you in our troubles, and now it seems you’re to suffer for it.”
Picard said nothing. He kept his face carefully blank.
“Unless—unless you can do something about this. Can you?”
“Yes.”
Kerajem seemed a little dazed. “Then please do so.”
“Number One,” Picard said, “lock on to and destroy those unknowns.”
“Aye, sir. Phasers armed and locked. Firing phasers.”
The red squares disappeared from the map as a blinding greenish white light burst through the windows.
“Kerajem?” came Hattajek’s voice. “What just happened? We’ve lost the unknowns. We suddenly had a very high energy reading, and now we’re not even reading debris. They’re just—gone. Uh, final range from Government House, five point eight kilometers.”
The First Among Equals was still blinking. “The problem has been taken care of,” he told the defense minister.
“Eh?”
“We have some friends upstairs,” Kerajem said. “Take us down to defense condition two, Hattajek.”
“Yes, First. War Room out.”
Kerajem turned to address Picard. “Captain, it seems you’ve saved