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Qui
He put away the medkit, then cracked a few heat sticks and stuffed them into the i
Closing the pack, he got up and started aft—then halted as a ping of sensor contact resounded softly in the stillness of the cockpit. He turned back and checked the display, which indicated the arrival of a starship in orbit above the Dulcinea.
About time,he mused, fishing his communicator from his pocket. He flipped open its gold-plated grille and opened a secure frequency. “Bridy, you read me?”
“Yeah,”she answered over the staticky cha
“I’m at the ship and about to head back. And I’ve got more good news: the cavalry’s here.”
“Thank God. We have to get Xiong and a science team down here, pronto.”
“Roger that. We—” Another signal appeared on the sensor display. “Um, honey? What’re the odds Endeavourbrought reinforcements?”
Her reply was freighted with fear and suspicion. “What’s happening?”
“Multiple contacts. Three—no, check that, five ships on approach vectors.”
“Qui
“Then we’ve got company.” He dropped the pack and ran aft to the weapons locker. “You better dig in, darlin’.”
“There’s no time! Listen to me: let the Klingons land and then take off and make a break for orbit. One of us needs to get away.”
“Dammit, Bridy, don’t do nothin’ stupid! Let me call the play this time!”
“It’s too late for that. You need to—”
“No! Not another word! Lay low till I scope the situation.” He slapped the grille shut on his communicator, put the device away, and opened the weapons locker. I need something with kick that won’t give away my position. From his limited arsenal he selected a semiautomatic .50 caliber sniper rifle with a flash suppressor and inertia-free firing mechanism. He nodded. This, two clips of spun-duranium rounds, and a pack of plasma grenades should do nicely.
Rifle in one hand and a bundle of ammunition and grenades in the other, Qui
The sound wave hit Qui
Qui
Far below, the birds-of-prey had already set down on the far side of the frozen lake, near the entrance to the caves, and the troop transports were only seconds away from touching down. Wide ramps descended from the warships’ ventral hulls, and armed Klingon troops poured out of them.
Qui
“I read you.”
“I won’t lie to you, sweetie. It’s bad. Real bad.”
“Give it to me straight.”
“Three birds-of-prey and two dropships, right outside your front door. I’d say two full companies of ground troops, another hundred in flight crew.”
“Okay. Go ahead and say it.”
“You sure?”
“I’ve earned it.”
He sighed. “Told you so.”
Bridy lifted the ordnance package from her backpack. It was heavier than she’d remembered from just a few hours earlier. Part of her refused to believe she was really holding her own death in her hands, or that she would find the will to do what she knew needed to be done.
She wanted to believe there was still a way out, but her training told her that was all but impossible. She and Qui
“Listen up,”Qui
“And then what? You’ll start a firefight with two hundred Klingons? In the open? With no cover? Are you out of your mind?”
Her retort was met by several seconds of silence. She admired Qui
Suddenly, she regretted all the times she’d taken him for granted, all the moments when she’d cut him with sarcasm or pulled rank simply because she knew he would let her get away with it. Only then, when she knew she would never see him again, could she admit to herself just how much that deeply flawed, strangely idealistic, ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, crazy-brave, barely reformed drunkard of a man truly meant to her.
With the flick of a toggle and the press of a button, Bridy armed the ordnance package’s detonator. Her only remaining decision was whether to set a countdown or to trigger the device manually.
From the caverns beyond the tu
“Okay, new plan,”Qui
Her fingers trembled above the detonator switch. “We don’t have that much time. You need to go back to the ship now,Qui
“Why? It ain’t like they’ve spotted me.”
She wiped a rolling tear from her cheek. “Please—you need to hurry.”
“Tell me you didn’t bring that goddamned bomb with you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not good enough.”
“There’s no other way.”
“Yes, there is! We just haven’t—”
“No, there isn’t! If even one of those bastards gets in here with a sca
“If you blow it up, we won’t have it, either.”
“I know. But those are my orders.”
“Goddammit, screw your orders! Just give me a little more time!”
Footfalls echoed in the tu
Qui
She shut her eyes. “Then for the love of God, run.”