The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [45]
The captain frowned and got to his feet. Go to red alert, Commander. Im on my way.
Picard was right behind him as he headed for the doors. His stomach muscles clenched as he wondered what they were up against. And then, all of a sudden, it came to him.
The Nuyyad.
CHAPTER
^s Picard pelted along the corridor in pursuit of Captain Ruhalter, he turned the idea over in his mind. The Nuyyad .
It was just a hunch, of course. He had no proof to back it up, no information on which to build a case. For all he knew, they hadnt been detected by the Nuyyad at all, but rather by some other speciesone that only meant to investigate the Stargazers unfamiliar presence here.
But his instinctsthe kind his commanding officer always spoke aboutwere working overtime, and they had come to a conclusion on their own.
Ruhalter might have been thinking along the same lines, but he needed some corroboration. Slightly more than halfway to the turbolift, he tapped his communicator badge. Jomar, he said, this is the captain. I need you on the bridge immediately.
The Kelvan replied just as the lift compartment arrived. Coming, he said over the intercom system, his voice as empty of inflection as ever.
Then Picard and his commanding officer were inside the lift, the doors closed, moving silently toward the Stargazers bridge. Ruhalter scowled, but he didnt say anything. There was no point hi doing so, Picard recognized, until they could see the problem for themselves.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the turbolift doors opened and they emerged onto the bridge. The place was bathed in the crimson light of a red alert. As the captain replaced Leach hi the center seat, Picard took in the sight depicted on the viewscreen.
You see? Leach asked Ruhalter.
The captain saw, all right. And so did Picard.
He saw an almost flat, silver diamondone so large that it seemed to dominate the dark spaces around it. The similarly diamond-shaped appendages on either side of it were probably its warp nacelles, or whatever analogous equipment the vessels occupants used for propulsion.
A cold and efficient-looking ship, Picard reflected. No doubt, it had been built by a cold and efficient people.
Ruhalter turned to Gerda Asmund. How much time do we have before our paths converge, Lieutenant?
At the alien vessels current rate of speed, said the navigator, shell reach us hi less than six minutes.
The muscles in the captains jaw rippled uncomfortably. Keep me posted, he told Gerda.
Just then, the lift doors hissed open again. Glancing over his shoulder, Picard saw Jomar come out onto the bridge. The Kelvans pale-blue eyes were immediately drawn to the viewscreen.
He uttered a single, colorless word Nuyyad.
Ruhalter grunted. I had a feeling you were going to say that.
Jomar turned to him. Captain, he said, we did not expect to encounter the enemy so quickly. The modifications to the deflector grid have not yet been completed.
Ruhalter swore under his breath. How far along are we?
We have finished perhaps eighty percent of the job, said the Kelvan. But it would take several hours to do the rest.
And we dont have several hours, Leach reminded them.
Picard looked at the first officer. Leachs expression seemed to say I told you so. He had predicted that they would run into trouble if they followed Santanas instructionsand now, it seemed, they had.
Four minutes, Gerda announced.
The second officer moved to the navigators console, planted the heel of his hand on its edge and leaned in to get a better look. He could see a green blip crawling across the black background of Gerdas monitor.
The blip seemed so abstract, so theoretical. But the ship it represented was making warp eight, if their sensors were correct, with no sign whatsoever of slowing down.
Activate what we have, Ruhalter said, referring to the shields. And keep working. Lets see if we can get some more capacity on-line.
As you wish, Jomar responded dispassionately,