War Stories (Book 1) - Keith R.A. DeCandido [24]
Gomez and Steinberg walked over to inspect the warp core. “Give us a minute.”
Amalfitano said, “Make it a quick minute, Commander—the Jem’Hadar called for backup, and I really don’t want to be here when they get here.”
Grimnar’s voice cut in. “Long-range sensors are picking up a Breen ship.”
“Then we’re dead.” That, to Gomez, sounded like Ensign Simas, a notorious doomsayer whom Gomez had rotated out of the engine room due to the effect he had on morale. She wondered how the hell he contrived to get bridge duty.
She also wondered if there was some way she could change the readings that were now displayed in front of her and Steinberg.
Patel said, “Grimnar, how soon before the Breen get here?”
“At present speed, one hour, ten minutes.”
“I was afraid of that,” Gomez said. “Captain, we won’t be able to get the warp drive up and running in less than two hours.”
“What if we do a cold restart?”
Gomez couldn’t help but smile. “That estimate was with a cold restart, Captain.”
“They’ll know we’re an enemy vessel a lot sooner than that,” Grimnar said. “The debris will mask us for a little while, but the closer they get, the more likely they are to see us for what we are, in which case they may increase speed.”
“No they won’t,” Gomez said without even realizing at first why she said it. Then she spent half a second thinking it through. “Steinberg, get to work on the warp core. Natale, you’re with me—we need to bring the warp field on-line and reconfigure it.”
Natale frowned. “What’s the point of bringing the warp field on-line if we can’t go to warp? Isn’t that a huge waste of energy—especially if we don’t have the matter/antimatter system on-line?”
The ensign’s question was reasonable. Without the power provided by the constant annihilation of matter and antimatter in the core, the ship was running on emergency power. But then, Gomez thought, if this doesn’t constitute an emergency, I don’t know what does.
Before she could explain things to Natale, Amalfitano asked, “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking, Commander?”
“Yes, Captain—we’re going to reconfigure the warp field so those Breen think we’re a Cardassian freighter.”
Patel chuckled. “I guess your idea gets a practical run-through after all, Sonya.”
“So it would seem, sir, yes.”
“Get someone up here to install the holofilter on the comm systems,” Amalfitano said. “We’re gonna need to talk our way through this, too, and I think I’ll be more convincing as a gul than a captain.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gomez sent two of her people up to the bridge, then sat down with Natale and called up her specs for the warp field reconfiguration. Natale whistled. “Impressive work, Commander, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“I do mind, Ensign,” she said, all seriousness—then broke into a grin. “Say that again after it works.”
“Yes, sir,” Natale said, returning the grin.
Good, Gomez thought, he’s set the grief aside. He’s not thinking about all the people who’ve died today—he’s focused on what he has to do to keep himself from being added to the list. That’s the only way we’re gonna get through this.
Amazingly enough, the Breen bought it.
Gomez had been far too busy—first getting the warp field realigned, then helping Steinberg and the others get the containment unit up and running so that they could use the warp drive—to know what was happening on the bridge. All she knew was that the Breen ship went away after what she imagined was a tense fifteen minutes.
One hour and forty-seven minutes after they started, Gomez tapped her combadge and said, “Bridge, warp drive is on-line.”
“Two hours, huh?” Patel said.
“We were motivated to speed it up,” Gomez said with a relieved smile at Steinberg, who returned it.
“Good work down there,” Amalfitano said. “But keep that realigned warp field. We’re not on a timetable now, and I’m just as happy to stay at warp four if people will think we’re Cardassian.”
“No problem, Captain.”
She gave Steinberg a glance, and he nodded. “On it.”
Taking a look around at her staff,