Well of Souls

“Report!”

“Thatgot their attention!” Glemoor’s voice was taut with excitement. “Breaking off pursuit, coming around. Impulse engines only! I read that their axial stabilizers are down fifty percent.”

“Those impulse engines,” Kodell said from his station, “they’re fluctuating.”

“Damage?”

“Very likely.”

“Mr. Glemoor, are they still with us?”

“On our tail!”

“I like this better and better,” said Bat-Levi. She took the command chair. “Bulast, hail the captain—and try to raise the T’Pol.Mr. Castillo, bring us about. Head directly for the brown star.”

“Forit?” Castillo twisted his chair around. “Commander, with all due respect, don’t you want to lead them away…”

Bat-Levi silenced him with a look. “Full. Impulse. Now. Kodell, reinforce those aft shields, those Cardassians are likely…” She was interrupted as the ship vibrated. “Likely to fire,” she finished wryly. “Damage report, Mr. Glemoor.”

“Disruptor ca

“Order evacuation of all perso

“Already doing it,” said Kodell. “Reinforcing aft shields. The problem is, it goes both ways. We try to burn up space around them…”

“And they try to do the same to us,” Bat-Levi said. “Understood. Steal me power and buy me time, Kodell. Mr. Bulast, they getting off any distress calls?”

“Not that I read, but I’ve got the captain.”

Bat-Levi spared Kodell a quick glance. “On audio.”

Garrett’s voice sputtered through static. “Enterprise,just what the hell are you doing?”

“Disobeying orders, Captain.” Bat-Levi couldn’t help it; she gri

“You are notto engage the Cardassians! I repeat you are notto engage!”

Bat-Levi raised her voice. “I’m sorry, Captain, you’re breaking up. What’s your status?”

“They’re firing again!” Glemoor shouted.

“Evasive maneuvers! Hold your fire, Mr. Glemoor!”

The ship rattled and lurched. “Keep those stabilizers on-line!” Bat-Levi ordered.

“Switching to backup systems,” Kodell reported, “firming up.” Then he shook his head. “Stabilizers read nominal but those aft shields, they’re at eighty percent. It’s not the Cardassian himself; it’s what he can do with the plasma. Hull breach reported on Decks 23 and 24. Force fields up, damage control parties en route.”

Then Garrett’s voice came back. “I heard that.” There was a moment of dead silence, and Bat-Levi thought they really hadlost contact. She was about to order Bulast to get Garrett back when Garrett continued. “You get this, Commander, loud and clear. You are notto engage. Do you copy?”

Garrett’s tone was ominous, her meaning crystal clear. Bat-Levi swallowed. “Perfectly. And I promise: I won’t fire a shot at them. Now, please, what’s your status?”

Garrett rattled off her damage. “And my maneuvering thrusters are gone. Shields were too, but we’ve managed to coax fifteen percent. Life support’s fine, for all the good it does.”

Kodell spoke up. “Captain, if you shut down life support and get into your suits, you can steal power to reinforce your shields.”

“Will I need them?”

He and Bat-Levi exchanged glances. “I’d recommend it for the time being,” he said. “Can you relay to the commander?”

“Yes.” Another pause. “Bat-Levi, tell me you have a plan.”

“Yes, Captain, and…” Bat-Levi laid the plan out. She waited in an agony of suspense then, her lips dry, her heart racing. If the captain didn’t agree, Bat-Levi wouldn’t do it—even if the captain said great, fine, do it, but forget that near-warp transport stuff, are you crazy—because, quite simply, she wasn’t about to kill her captain.

After a few seconds that seemed like days, Garrett’s voice, tinged with static, came on. “Take care of my ship, Bat-Levi. Anything happens to her, I swear that when I get back aboard, I’ll bust you down so fast you’ll think you’ve been greased.”

Bat-Levi didn’t even have time to feel relief. “Aye. Enterpriseout. Mr. Bulast, any response from T’Pol?”

“Negative, Commander. She’s receiving, but she’s ignoring us.”

“Damn. Keep trying; we’ve got to get her to talk to us.” Bat-Levi spun the command chair back toward the helm. “Mr. Castillo, distance from Cardassian scout.”

“Seven thousand kilometers, and closing. Shall I accelerate?”

Bat-Levi breathed in deep. “Negative. Cut speed to one-half.”

Castillo’s back stiffened, but he complied without a word of protest. “One-half impulse, aye.”

Bat-Levi punched at the command companel. “Transporter room, reroute transporter control to the bridge.” She looked back at Kodell. “You can handle both ships? All three, if we raise T’Pol?”

“The captain and Halak do their job,” said Kodell, his hands flying over his controls, bringing the transporter on-line, “I’ll do mine. Like you said, I’m good.”

“Excellent.” She turned away as Kodell ordered a medical team to the transporter room. “Bulast?”

“Still nothing from T’Pol.”

Bat-Levi debated a half second. “It can’t be helped. We don’t have the time to waste. Mr. Kodell?”

“Vent tubes five, seven, and eight at maximal capacity.”

“Stand by to vent. All available power to the shields, Mr. Kodell, I don’t want them to so much as burp. Glemoor, arm photon torpedoes one and four. Proximity detonation.”

If the Naxeran had any reservations, he didn’t show them. His movements were quick, economical. “Photon torpedoes armed. Three-second delay.”

“Mr. Castillo, on my mark, bring the ship about, hard starboard, reverse course, and accelerate to warp two. Take us right down their throat, Mr. Castillo.”

She saw Glemoor nudge Castillo and wink. “Hold onto your hat,” Glemoor said.

“Uh-huh,” said Castillo, his tone clearly indicating that, perhaps, he ought to kiss his ass good-bye instead.

On the viewscreen, Bat-Levi saw the brown star loom closer and closer. The plasma streamers, the ones created by the tug of the neutron star, unfurled like the thick bodies of twin serpents.

“Almost,” she said, and her good hand gripped the arm of her command chair. She felt the hard edge of plastic polymers bite into her skin, but the pain was good.

“Cardassian’s closing,” said Glemoor. “Six thousand five hundred kilometers. Six-three.”

The ship bobbled, righted. “Passing into gravity well,” said Glemoor. “Cardassian right behind, four thousand nine hundred kilometers, taking the bait, pushing his speed up! Three-eight, two-nine…he’s close enough for a shot! One thousand kilometers!”

“Now!”Bat-Levi was on her feet. “Kodell, vent tubes five, seven, eight! Drop shields!”

“Venting! Dropping shields!”

“Bulast, signal the captain and Commander Halak! Glemoor, fire photon torpedoes, proximity detonation!”

“Torpedoes away!”

Bat-Levi’s teeth were bared. “Kodell, activate transporter! Mr. Castillo, hard starboard, go to warp two… now!”

“Aye, hard starboard!” Castillo reflexively grabbed onto his console. “Reversing course! Warp two!”

The space around the ship elongated then compressed upon itself as the warp bubble initialized. And then everything happened quickly and precisely the way Bat-Levi had imagined. The Enterprisehurtled starboard, its nascent warp field intensifying, expanding the gravity well of the brown star, and then the Enterprisewheeled about, shooting past the Cardassian and literally dragging gravity with it. The expanding wavefront slammed into the Cardassian; Bat-Levi watched the scout shimmy, stagger. And then, the coup de grace: The Enterprise’s photon torpedoes detonated. The plasma streamers whirling off the brown star ignited into a fury of red plasma flame that propagated forward and back. The brown star flared and bulged and began to break apart.