The Murdered Sun - Christie Golden [18]
Tom Paris's face wore an unusually sober expression. "They're taking massive hits, Captain. There are at least three areas that have taken impacts equivalent to 4.2 on the Richter scale."
"Veruna Four is sending out a distress call," chimed in Kim.
"Shall I open a frequency?"
Janeway shook her head. "I know what they're saying," she replied.
"And I'm doing what I can. Open a hailing frequency to the Conquest."
Kim hit a few controls, then shook his head. "Conquest not responding."
Janeway rose and walked toward the view screen. "Mr. Chakotay, fire a warning shot across their bow. Let's see if that will get their attention."
"Aye, Captain," replied the first officer. Red phaser energy exploded in a sword of light in front of the Conquest.
"Again," commanded Janeway. "Closer this time."
Chakotay obliged. The second phaser blast sliced very near the strange, circular units affixed to its front, like insectoid eyes.
"The Conquest has temporarily ceased firing on Veruna Four," announced Tuvok.
"Try to raise them again, Ensign," said the captain, folding her arms across her chest.
"No reply," came Kim's frustrated voice.
"Damn it," hissed Janeway under her breath. "What kind of game are they playing?"
"They might not think we're serious," suggested Paris. "We haven't attacked them directly yet. Sometimes bullies only understand force."
"An insightful comment, Mr. Paris, but I'm not about to fire on a ship that can't hurt us. I'm ready for a fair fight any day, but so far all the Akerians have done is to manage to get my Irish up. Try it again, Mr. Kim."
She had just started to turn around, intending to head back to her chair, when the Victory began to move closer. She paused in midstride and returned to her position in front of the viewscreen.
"What are you up to, Linneas?" asked Janeway softly.
As if in direct reply to her rhetorical question, the six circles affixed to the Victory's face suddenly launched themselves in Voyager's direction. Janeway now saw clearly that they were small pod ships.
She didn't know why, but suddenly the chilling image of a shark moving languidly through cold blue depths, remora fish affixed to its body swimming in silent attendance, flashed into her mind.
"Captain, the Victory has just launched six small pods--" began Tuvok.
"I see them, Mr. Tuvok. Any life-forms on board?" She wondered if the Akerian culture was the sort to embrace the concept of suicide runs.
"Impossible to tell. The graviton activity--" "Is interfering with the sensors, I know." Janeway slapped at her comm badge. "Janeway to Engineering."
"Torres here," came the chief engineer's voice.
"I want all possible power to the shields, Torres. And I want you to get someone on recalibrating the sensors to operate through all this gravity confusion. Without our sensors we're blind. Understood?"
"Shields are at full power, Captain, and I'll put someone on the sensors immediately."
"Sooner, Torres. Janeway out."
The little pods were approaching steadily. "Fire a warning shot, Commander."
A phaser blast screamed across the path of the six approaching pods.
There was no reaction from either the pods or from the Akerian ships.
Janeway did notice with grim satisfaction that the Conquest had, for the moment, ceased firing on the planet.
It was clearly waiting to see the outcome of the latest...
attack? Probe?
She didn't want to fire on the pods without making sure there was no one inside. They were so small that one phaser blast would probably destroy them. She'd have to wait, see what Linneas's objective was in launching the glistening black globes.
Janeway hated waiting.
The spheres came closer. "Five hundred kilometers and closing," said Tuvok.
"That's more than close enough, whatever they are. Paris, move us away from them."
Swiftly Paris obliged. The ship eased to port, out of the path of the incoming