UES Enterprise. High orbit above Theta Iota 6.
17th May 2151.
"Twenty seconds till impact!" Kaufman announced. "First torpedo looks to be heading for the front of the Enterprise, second is going astern."
"Have we enough power for the ECM?" Hernandez demanded.
Gamelin at gunnery checked his display. "Not quite ma'am. We'd just be making ourselves more prominent."
"Alright." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Comms, sound the collision alert. All hands, brace for---"
"Point defence is back on-line!" Gamelin interrupted.
Hernandez punched the air. "Bless you Polly! OPEN FIRE!"
Three defence batteries had a clear line of sight to the incoming torpedoes. They swivelled in their cradles to optimum firing positions. Each battery consisted of six light plasma cannon arranged in the manner of an ancient Gatling gun. Individually they were low powered, at least by the standards of ship to ship combat. But they didn't need to hit hard. Constant accurate fire was the important factor here.
The three batteries laid down a withering barrage of plasma, each firing so fast that multiple bolts looked like constant streams. The lead torpedo flew straight into the lines of fire. In a fraction of a second it was torn to shreds.
The batteries swivelled to acquire the second torpedo. In the time to do so it had gotten close enough to the hull that one battery lost line of sight. The other two opened fire. Their target was too close, moving too fast, for accurate shooting. The batteries compensated by filling the projected area with as much plasma as possible. Several bolts hit. One, by chance, pierced the fuel tank. The resultant explosion destroyed the targeting computer leaving the remainder to slam hard into Enterprise's hull. The warhead was crushed before it could detonate.
On the bridge Mayweather looked around with a mixture of surprise and delight. "Are we still alive?"
Moshiri checked her pulse. "Looks that way."
"Point defence got 'em both, ma'am." Gamelin said, slumping slightly in his chair. He looked drained.
I know how he feels. Hernandez thought. She ordered a damage and casualty report.
"Main power's coming back on." Adams said. "I'm not sure how long I can hold it though."
"Then let's finish this." Hernandez said. "Mayweather, bring us about, face Hotel five. Gamelin, get a target lock. Use active sensors. I want them to know we're targeting them."
Kaufman looked up. "Ma'am, Hotel five has diverted power from weapons to engines."
"They're moving." Moshiri added. "Looks like they're running for it, trying to get behind the planet."
Hernandez snatched up her handset. "Transmit this, all frequencies." The comms officer gave her a nod. "This is Commander Hernandez of the UES Enterprise. Move to geo-stationary orbit immediately or I will open fire. Respond!"
"I've got a partial solution," Gamelin reported "but they're jamming us and dumping chaff."
Hernandez cursed. "Anything? she asked the comms officer.
"Not from Hotel five. But we're getting a signal from Beowulf one. They say they have recovered the Premier and the dilithium and request landing clearance."
"Ma'am, I've had a look at Hotel five's course." Moshiri said. "They're going into the planet's gravity well, very deep, very steep. Given the max power output of the engines, it'll be at least half an hour before they can come back this way. And it'll strain their systems bad. They could let gravity slingshot them out, but that'll add a couple of hours to the trip."
The lights flickered slightly.
"We're in no shape for a fight. Let's get Beowulf One back, and use this time to put right the worst of the damage." Hernandez said. "That reminds me." she added, tapping a number into her handset. "Bridge to Professor Partridge, come in please. Bridge to Professor Partridge. Come on, Polly, are you there?"
Silence.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Adams. "Commander, I'm getting the damage reports....there's a hull breach registered in section nineteen. Shaft Delta is showing...a total vacuum."
Hernandez went cold. Ahead of her Moshiri and Mayweather exchanged shocked glances.
She hit her safety belt release and stood. "Get a medic and an engineering team to meet me down there. Moshiri, you have the bridge."
"Aye ma'am."
Adams was bristling. "Ma'am. May I respectfully remind you that there is still a hostile present. This is a combat zone, and as the senior military officer present after yourself I should---"
"You're an engineer." Hernandez snapped. "Fix the damn ship."
***
Beowulf One. On approach to Enterprise.
17th May 2151
Lieutenant Reed poked his head round the hatch and into the main bay. "Captain, I think you better see this sir. You too, Mister Tucker." He sounded grave.
Archer and Trip exchanged glances. Reed stood aside to let them ascend the short, narrow flight of stairs. He didn't follow them, he'd already seen and the cockpit was cramped enough as it was.
"Alright, what's the..." Archer started. He broke off as he saw the view through the windscreen.
It looked as if some monstrous beast had taken a massive bite out of the secondary hull, a semi circular gash just ripped away. It wasn't clean, the edges all twisted and jagged. Part of the superstructure remained like the bones of a dead animal. Even now parts glowed with a dull red heat.
Archer sagged. There was no gravity aboard the Beowulf, magna adhesion fields providing traction, but still he needed to grab the back of the pilots seat for stability. It felt like someone had scooped his guts out.
"Jesus..." Trip said softly.
Reed's voice drifted up to them. "How bad?"
"Ahhh, ah reckon it looks a lot worse than it actually is." Trip said, after a moments consideration. "Most of the damage is to the secondary hull, low priority sections. There's some on the main hull, but it don't look too bad from here."
"What about casualties?"
Archer answered. "Assuming they were at alert, secondary hull would have been evacuated. Hopefully no one'll be to badly hurt."
"Hmm. I'll get my people on standby just in case. Dent and Dumont can join the medical teams. Mister Tucker, M'boto and Priest are at your disposal. If you need any one else just tell me."
"Thanks Malcolm."
The next couple of minutes seemed to drag for Archer. Beowulf One received landing clearance from Enterprise. Oddly, it was Haleh Moshiri who gave the final authorization. It seemed Commander Hernandez had had to leave the bridge for some reason. Archer hadn't known her for long but that struck him as unusual.
The pilot suggested, politely yet firmly, that they both return to their seats. Once there Archer strapped himself in automatically. He was vaguely aware of the landing procedures, but didn't pay any real notice to them. It was only when the rear hatch opened that he pulled himself together.
"Right. Malcolm, get the Premier to the sickbay. Hoshi, Corporal James, go with them, get yourselves checked out. Those three---" he gestured to the prisoners "---get 'em some place secure. Separate them, I don't want them cooking up a story between them."
Reed nodded. "Very good sir. It's a pity we don't have a proper brig on board."
"There is one in the original design." Archer admitted. "Ours was removed, replaced with extra storage. To be honest I didn't really think we'd need one. By the way, Malcolm, good work back on the station."
Doctor Locke was waiting for them in the shuttlebay. He quickly assessed the Premier before giving him a shot and ordering him taken straight to sickbay.
"Any casualties?" Archer asked.
"A few, mostly from getting knocked about in the scuffle. Bruises, scrapes. Crewman Crispin managed to break her arm, that seems the most serious injury. But..." he trailed off.
Archer leant closer. "What is it Philip?"
Locke glanced at Tucker, calling down to Engineering to get things dilithium replacement operation in readiness. "We've not yet accounted for everyone. Professor Partridge is missing."
***
The hatch to section nineteen was wide open when Hernandez arrived. There were a couple of engineers present, one struggling to help the other into an emergency pressure suit. They saluted. She responded without slowing down.
According to the notice on the front of the small cabinet there were five emergency survival hoods stored within. She allowed herself a moments hope as she pulled the door open. One, two, three, four...five.
Maybe there was a mistake. Maybe they put an extra one in here by mistake and she took that one...As much as she wanted to, she couldn't quite make herself believe that.
The floor hatch was open. She dropped through, pressing feet and hands to the ladder's side rails and sliding down. "Below!" she called, not wanting to land on any one. Millington, the assistant medic, was already present, along with a crewman in engineers fatigues.
"Status?" she demanded.
The engineer gestured to his computer pad, linked by a wire to a panel over the aft hatch. "Shaft Gamma is fine ma'am, but Delta's a vacuum."
Millington held up a syringe. "I've got the bi-ox compound, and the decompression chamber is on standby, but..." he trailed off.
The pad chirruped. "That's weird.' said the engineer.
"What is it?" Hernandez asked.
He shook his head, perplexed. "There's a series of fluctuations in the energy flow...coming from Delta...they're numbers, prime numbers."
"She's alive!" Hernandez grinned. "And she's signalling us! Can you open the hatch to Delta?"
"Yes ma'am. I'll have to de-pressurise Gamma first."
"Do it."
The hatch to Gamma swung shut and the distant rumble of pumps began. After almost a minute the crewman said pressure was low enough to open the hatch. There was a faint whoosh as the residue shot through.
"Ma'am, I'm now reading a total vacuum in both Gamma and Delta."
Hernandez began slapping her hands together for warmth. It really was cold down here. C'mon, c'mon...
"Ma'am! The hatch between Delta and Gamma has just shut! I didn't do it."
She gave the order to pressurise. Some one at the top of the ladder called down. A stretcher team had arrived. She shouted back an acknowledgement.
"Soon as the pressure's high enough, get this open."
"Yes ma'am. I could override the automatics, save us some time."
"Do it."
There was a loud crack. Hernandez felt her ears popping. The hatch swung open. She darted forward, half hopeful, half dreading what she might see.
As it turned out, she couldn't see much. "Pass me that flash-light. Polly? Polly, can you hear me?"
In the flashlights beam a shape shuffled towards her. It was probably the professor, nothing else down here should glisten that much, but it took Hernandez a moment to work out exactly what she was seeing. There was no room to turn around in the shaft, and Polly was crawling backwards towards her. She peered closer. There was something distinctly odd about her appearance.
"Whoa. OK, er, that's more than I wanted to see...OK, you two," Hernandez said, turning to the engineer and Millington, "about turn. Face that wall, now. Get your noses to it and don't turn round till I tell you otherwise. Now!"
They were confused, but they obeyed. Hernandez turned back just in time to help the scientist out. "Professor Partridge, I presume?"
"Mmmf mmmf! Mf mmf mmmf mmmf mmf, mmf mmmmf---"
Hernandez held up a hand. "I can't hear a word your saying, but I'm very very glad you're still able to say anything."
"Mf mmf!" The professor's head was encased in a tight fitting hood made of the same material as the rest of her outfit, apart from a transparent panel for her eyes.
"You look like the world's most perverted ninja." Hernandez observed wryly.
Polly pinched the material at a point just below her left ear and drew her hand down under her chin to the same spot on the right side. Even though there was no visible seam or fastening, this action left a slit in the material. Digging her thumbs in she peeled the hood off her head, letting it hang down at the back of her neck. Her face was flushed, and she took a deep breath.
"My word what a curious sensation," she gasped, "but not totally without merit."
Hernandez clicked her fingers. "I thought I noticed something weird earlier. That thick bit at the back of your collar!"
"I'm a coward, Maria. If I'm gonna live on a space ship, I wanna have a space suit handy. And what's more handy than one you wear all the time?"
"You don't always wear that though." Hernandez pointed out. "What about those miniskirts?"
"Some days I'm braver than others. Why are they facing the wall? Have they been naughty?" Polly asked, pointing at the two men.
Hernandez glanced at them. "I couldn't help notice, as you were crawling backwards towards me, and believe me I really couldn't help notice, that you clothing seemed to be even tighter than usual. Now normally I'd say that was impossible, but..." She looked Polly up and down.
Polly beamed. "Ah, another one of my genius ideas. The clothing's tight enough to act as an elastic pressure suit, much like the ones the marines use, only far more fashionable. Now, they use modelling clay to fill out all the nooks and crannies, as it were, but I didn't fancy that. So I activated a molecular adhesive system, built into the fabric, to ensure everything is as form fitting as possible."
"I'll say. You look like you've been shrink wrapped for extra freshness."
"Yes, it is rather tight. Bordering on the intrusive. You didn't tell me though, why are they facing the wall?"
"To preserve your modesty."
"I'm impressed Maria, you said that with a straight face. Ooh, one drawback here, the adhesion system uses up a lot of power. The heating system's gone off line. Gosh, it really is chilly down here isn't it?" she added, looking down.
Hernandez blinked. "You have a heating system in there too? Perhaps you should put that back on."
"Good thinking." Polly tapped a few points on her wrist, and her clothes returned to their customary shape. "There. I now know what Vulcan's feel like in those loose flowing robes."
"Ri-iiight." Hernandez drawled.
"Hey! What's going on with the big space battle? Did we win?"
"C'mon Polly. Let's get back to the bridge. I'll tell you on the way."
Five minutes later, Millington finally dared to look around at the engineer. "Do you think we can move yet?"
She's the comic relief! And described well as the visual dessert.
