The Red King - Michael A. Martin [89]
How can I, Deanna? came his wordless reply. This is the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced. Suppose I’m not up to it? What if I’m not strong enough?
He turned back toward where she sat, and she stared into his soul with eyes that radiated pure confidence and love. Then she stood, grabbing the padd that contained the Vanguard colony’s internal schematics. You have no idea just how strong you really are, Imzadi, she told him, her thoughts as smooth as Tholian silk as they traveled along the mental-emotional link they shared. This is going to work. We will save hundreds of thousands of lives. Maybe millions.
Yes, he thought back to her. But how many millions more will we be forced to leave behind?
She leaned up and kissed him, taking him somewhat by surprise. They had agreed that they would try not to show overt signs of affection on the bridge. Still, the kiss was far from unwelcome, and a quick glance around the room showed that everyone else was intent on their various tasks of the moment.
I’ll see you soon, Imzadi , Deanna sent to him. He liked that she never told him good-bye anymore; it was yet another sign of her faith in him.
As he turned to watch her go, he saw Admiral Akaar in the back of the bridge near the turbolift, from which he had evidently just emerged. His expression told Riker that he had seen the kiss, but revealed nothing about whether he considered it appropriate or not. Riker suspected that the answer was “not.”
But at the moment, he didn’t particularly care.
SHUTTLECRAFT BEIDERBECKE, STARDATE 57037.7
Lieutenant Commander desYog banked the shuttlecraft Beiderbecke through great, columnar roils of smoke and the increasingly frequent bright energy discharges. Pitching the craft sharply upward, desYog narrowly avoided a spectacular airborne conflagration, then angled back downward toward one of the more populated areas of the coastal city.
“Scans show a relative safe landing area to the north side, four point two kilometers away,” Lieutenant Commander Fo Hachesa said, mangling his gerunds and suffixes, as always.
“Got it,” desYog said, his talons clicking on the interface controls of the shuttlecraft. “We’ll be there in two minutes,” he said loudly.
Behind him, he heard Lieutenant Gian Sortollo prepping the other members of the team. DesYog tried to tune him out as he used the ship’s sensors to navigate through the ash-filled afternoon skies. It was hard enough keeping the ship on track without worrying about how the others were going to accomplish their mission.
They neared an open area, which was very near the waterfront. Huge waves of purple-gray seawater crashed against the docks, splintering them. Several Neyel space vessels were docked on top of buildings, while sailing vessels bucked and listed in the suddenly turbulent waters of the harbor. Through the forward window, desYog could see hundreds of beings scurrying to get to the spaceships, even though none of them had begun to take off as yet.
“Scans show those ships are dead in the water, so to speaking,” Hachesa said, looking at the screens on the side of the cabin. “Whoever’s on them isn’t get off the planet.”
“Can we tow them?” Sortollo asked, peering over Hachesa’s shoulder.
“We can’t spare the power,” desYog said glumly.
“Then we stick with our plan and get as many of them out as possible.”
As desYog brought the shuttle in for a landing, the Neyel and others among them on the surface spread out just enough to allow the craft ingress.
“I don’t think we’ll having any trouble get them to board, Lieutenant,” Hachesa said.
Sortollo and the others prepared to open the hatch. The terrified babble of the crowd was audible even through the shuttle’s duranium hull.
The moment the hatch began to open, hands and other appendages began to claw at it. Even before it was a third of the way open, a Neyel had scrambled aboard, his eyes wide and his tail switching like a serpent about to strike.
Should have just used the transporter, desYog thought. Even if we do need to save all the power we can for the hazard-avoidance system. On the other