Chapter Forty-Three
USS Enterprise
En route to Narendra III
Stardate 57099.4
Lieutenant Battaglia frowned at the readouts on his console and ran another diagnostic on the aft sensor array, one that wouldn’t interfere with its operation. The results came back negative, there was nothing wrong with the array, but he was worried nonetheless and looked up. With a nod, he called Lieutenant Commander Kadohata over from her wanderings around the bridge. It was the gamma shift but he was pulling double duty, covering for the man who’d forgotten his wife’s anniversary and was trying to make up for it.
‘Is there a problem, Lieutenant?’
‘I’m not sure, sir. I’ve run several diagnostics on the aft sensor array but there is still some kind of echo showing up intermittently.’
Kadohata sighed and tapped her combadge. ‘Commander Worf, please report to the bridge.’
‘What is it?’
‘I’ve seen those readouts before. We have a cloaked ship following close behind us, an old Romulan ship.’
‘Or a ship with an old Romulan cloak?’ Battaglia suggested.
‘Quite possibly. See if you can run any scans without them detecting you.’
The turbolift doors opened and Worf stepped out, looking fully awake for the middle of the night. ‘What’s the problem, Commander?’
‘We may have a cloaked vessel behind us, either an old Romulan ship or a ship with an old Romulan cloak.’
Worf narrowed his eyes and made a decision. ‘Red alert, all hands to battle stations. Captain Picard to the bridge please.’
‘Sir?’
‘Commander Kadohata, get me the prefix code for the USS Centurion, Constitution-class, and do it now,’ Worf ordered as he stepped down to the command platform. ‘Mister Battaglia, prepare to fire aft phasers on my command and follow it with a spread of quantum torpedoes.’
‘Belay that,’ Picard said as he strode onto the bridge. ‘I want to try and talk some sense into him. President Bacco called me herself to ask if I might try to take him into custody since I was unable to keep Doctor Granger in our hands.’
‘Aye sir,’ Worf replied through gritted teeth.
‘Mister Battaglia, open a channel and put the aft view on screen.’
‘Channel open, Captain.’
‘Captain Sejanus, this is Captain Picard. Decloak your vessel and slow to impulse speed.’
After a moment, Battaglia spoke up. ‘No response, sir.’
‘Lucius, what are you doing for your people by skulking around in the shadows?’
‘Vessel decloaking, it’s a Federation starship!’ Battaglia said in surprise. ‘Incoming fire.’
‘I guess we have our answer,’ Worf replied.
‘Mister Battaglia, disable that ship,’ Picard ordered. ‘Do not destroy it!’
‘Aye sir, firing phasers at nacelles and weapons.’
The Enterprise’s phasers were rather more powerful than the Centurion’s shields, and Battaglia’s first barrage disabled the shields and damaged both nacelles. As both ships slowed to impulse, the second barrage missed the phaser ports of the older ship, allowing it to manoeuvre into a good position.
‘He’s targeting the bridge!’ Battaglia called out as the shields took the brunt of the attack. ‘Someone’s upgraded his phasers. Those are Klingon disruptors.’
Sparks flew from consoles as the Centurion fired again. ‘Shields down to sixty percent.’
‘Mister Worf,’ Picard said quietly, ‘the prefix code.’
‘Operations has them, sir. ’
‘Kadohata, send the prefix code.’
‘Aye sir, sending now.’
‘Battaglia, disable their phasers.’
‘Aye sir.’
He wasn’t fast enough.
The Klingon disruptors, tore through the weakened shields over the bridge and hit the armour-plated outer bulkhead, which disintegrated. A second shot close on the heels of the first ripped a hole in the inner bulkhead, taking out the viewscreen and sending Ensign McGowan into space before the forcefields snapped into place.
Picard stood, staring at the Centurion through the forcefield. ‘Mister Worf, take Commander Madden over there with a full security team, heavily-armed, and have Sejanus arrested. Attempted genocide of the Romulans and Klingons, theft of Federation property and numerous violations of the Prime Directive.’
‘Aye sir,’ Worf replied as he walked toward the turbolift. As he entered it, Battaglia heard him mutter, ‘she will be avenged.’
‘Damage report?’
‘Shields have regenerated, severe damage to the hull over the bridge, several injuries but none serious,’ Battaglia replied. ‘And one fatality.’
‘Thank you, Lieutenant,’ the Captain replied. ‘Kadohata, you have the bridge.’
‘Aye sir.’
Battaglia watched Picard stalk into the ready room and turned to Kadohata as she moved toward the command platform. ‘He’s not taking this well, is he?’
‘Not a chance,’ she replied. ‘I really wouldn’t want to be Sejanus when Worf takes him into custody.’
Battaglia smirked and returned to his console, trying not to look at the gaping hole in the hull where his friend was drifting. His console suddenly bleeped frantically at him and he stabbed out a tractor beam to grab hold of the fleeing starship.
‘Commander!’
‘I see it,’ she replied and instructed the Ensign at the helm in what to do to prevent the tractor beam from damaging either ship while she used the prefix code link to disable the vessel.
‘Kadohata to Worf.’
‘Worf here.’
‘We’ve stopped the Centurion from fleeing. They’re caught in a tractor beam.’
‘Excellent, please disable the self-destruct system.’
Kadohata shared a look with Battaglia. ‘Sir, I just did.’
There was silence for a moment. ‘We have Sejanus. Prepare for the emergency transport of everyone aboard. Cargo bay three should be secure.’
‘Aye sir,’ Battaglia chimed in. ‘Standing by.’
‘As soon as everyone is aboard, go to warp one. Energise.’
Battaglia beamed the entire crew of the Centurion into cargo bay three, and Worf’s group to the brig.
‘Two minutes to warp core breach,’ Kadohata said. ‘Ensign Faur, warp one, now!’
The Enterprise jumped to warp and Picard came onto the bridge. ‘What’s going on?’
Kadohata filled him in. He turned to Battaglia. ‘How many did we get?’
‘One hundred and fifty four, sir,’ the tactical officer replied.
‘I’ll be in the brig, Kadohata, you have the conn.’
‘Aye sir.’
Battaglia couldn’t help but wish he was able to rescue McGowan’s body before the Centurion had exploded. Now there was nothing to give back to her parents. He knew that Captain Picard would inform them of her death if he hadn’t done so already, but he wanted to offer more personal condolences. McGowan had been his friend and he knew with certainty that if Sara Nave had not transferred in, then the two of them might well have been a couple.
At least he took comfort in the fact that the man responsible for her death, and countless others, was now in the brig.
I've had a laptop at the computer store waiting on a part from Sony for almost 2 weeks. What a croc! 
