Star Trek: That Which Divides (36 page)

His attempt at polite concession did not seem to impress the Romulan. “
I am not in the habit of speaking with Starfleet underlings, Lieutenant. I consider it an insult that your captain chooses not to confer with me himself. Where is he?
”

“Captain Kirk is unavailable at the moment,” Sulu replied, “but I’ve been authorized to speak on his behalf.” He decided that this Romulan did not need to know the current location of the captain or Mister Spock, or even that Mister Scott, next in line so far as taking command while Kirk and the first officer were off the ship, was at this moment down in engineering. Though he had been reluctant to leave the bridge, the Romulans’ imminent arrival and the difficulties encountered by M’Ress in repairing the ship’s compromised communications system had forced him to lend his hands and experience in the hope of fashioning a quick remedy. Sulu suspected the chief engineer also was communing with whatever deity would provide him with a miracle to improve the odds should the
Enterprise
be required to withstand a simultaneous assault from the three Romulan warships.

Grathus leaned forward, his face filling the image on the viewscreen. There was no mistaking the menace in his voice as he glared at Sulu. “
Then speak to me, Lieutenant, about the Romulan vessel which has gone missing in this star system
.”

From his right, Sulu heard Chekov say in a low voice, “Mister Sulu, all three Romulan ships are maintaining a formation as they approach. Computer estimates twenty-four minutes, eleven seconds until they’re within weapons range. Sensors show they’re carrying disruptors and plasma torpedoes, though they do not appear to be armed at this time.”

Sulu did not acknowledge the report, keeping his attention focused on Grathus. Affecting what he hoped was a casual air, he looked behind him before retaking his seat in the captain’s chair, using the opportunity to glance at the status indicators on the helm and navigation consoles. It was enough to tell him that the
Enterprise
’s deflector shield generators were at full power, and that the starship’s weapons were in a standby mode. No targeting information had yet been supplied, of course, as the enemy vessels remained well out of range. Based on his knowledge of Romulan weapons as well as past experience facing off against them in combat, Sulu was confident that the
Enterprise
might be able to hold its own against one, possibly two of the enemy warships, but three?

Let’s not try that, okay?

“Our sensors did detect another Romulan ship in this area,” he said. “We tried to communicate with its commander, but our hails were ignored. Likewise, our warnings about the energy field in this system also went unheeded. The ship encountered difficulty when it tried to cross the barrier in order to reach the planetoid on the other side, after which we lost all sensor contact with it.” Sulu paused, knowing that the next part of his recounting of the events was not something the Romulan commander was going to want to hear. Did he at least not suspect what had happened to the other ship? Would he not have been given information from the encrypted message that had been transmitted from the ill-fated vessel before its demise, and which Lieutenant M’Ress had decoded?

He knows
, Sulu concluded.
He’s just testing me
.

As though sensing the hesitation, Grathus regarded Sulu with undisguised contempt. “
And then?
”

Deciding that he had had enough of whatever game the Romulan commander might be playing to gauge his reactions, Sulu leaned back in the captain’s chair and forced himself to relax into the seat. “And then you know what happened. Your ship was attacked and presumed destroyed, by an automated defense system installed on the planetoid by an unknown party.”

“
This mysterious, enigmatic enemy
,” Grathus said, “
crippled a vessel of the Romulan Empire? I find that hard to believe
.”

“We saw the sensor telemetry data the ship transmitted,” Sulu fired back. “It bears out what I’m telling you. What reason would I have to lie?”

The Romulan glowered at him. “
I imagine you would say anything if you believed it might spare your ship from the wrath of my weapons
.”

Sulu heard the turbolift doors open and glanced over his left shoulder, offering silent thanks to whoever or whatever had seen fit to send Montgomery Scott to the bridge. His gaze was locked on the viewscreen as he moved to stand before the railing behind the captain’s chair.

“
You are not the captain, either
,” Grathus said, noting the engineer’s arrival. “
Another subordinate, I assume?
”

Resting his hands on his hips, Scott replied, “Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, chief engineering officer.”

Grathus nodded in apparent recognition. “
Yes, your name is familiar to me. You were the one who successfully installed a stolen cloaking device into your ship’s power systems. Please accept my compliments on your obvious technical prowess.
”

Appearing less than impressed with the disingenuous praise, Scott said, “Commander, I have no doubts that
Lieutenant Sulu inquired as to the reasons for your crossing of the Neutral Zone. What are your intentions?”

“As your captain would seem to be too cowardly to address me himself,”
Grathus replied with mounting irritation,
“I suppose I shall have to make my intentions known to you. I am here to ascertain the status of our missing ship
,” the Romulan replied, “
and to seek appropriate retribution against those responsible.
” He paused for what Scott presumed was some sort of dramatic effect before adding, “
Now, is your captain the one I should be suspecting, or is this situation due to an action
you
ordered?
”

Scott’s eyes narrowed. “We took no action against your fellow ship. It was attacked by some form of automated planetary defense system.”

“Then it would seem that my quarrel is with the inhabitants of this star system,”
Grathus said.
“As you know, attacking a ship of the empire without provocation is not something we tolerate.”

“As it happens, it’s not something we fancy much ourselves, Commander,” Scott replied, and Sulu heard the edge behind the engineer’s words. “The defense system on that planetoid has been there for thousands of years, long before it was colonized by anyone from the neighboring planet. The indigenous population is not to blame for what happened. All evidence would seem to point to this being a very tragic accident.”

It was obvious that Grathus was tiring of this conversation. “
That is for me to determine, human. My advice to you is not to become an obstacle as I attempt to do that
.”

“We’re not looking for a confrontation, Commander,” Scott said, “and I don’t think you’d risk interstellar war by launching an attack on a Federation vessel well outside
your borders. Wouldn’t you rather find out what really happened here? We’re certainly willing to help in that regard.”

On the screen, the Romulan frowned, but Sulu could tell that Scott’s words had registered with him. Could the chief engineer be right? Might Grathus not want a fight? It was possible, of course, but the current state of political affairs between the Federation and the Romulan Empire, military maneuvering and bluster and a genuine need to know what happened to their ship, to say nothing of simple pride were all but certain to be coloring the commander’s perspective. If Grathus was not prepared to take action against the
Enterprise
, then he at least was doing a first-rate job selling his ruse.

You can do that when you outnumber your opponent three to one
.

“Mister Scott,” Chekov called out, and both Sulu and the engineer looked to where the ensign was standing over the sensor viewer, his expression one of worry. It was obvious he had something to report, but when he glanced to the viewscreen Sulu realized his friend was unwilling to talk while Grathus could hear.

“Mute transmission,” Scott said to Lieutenant Palmer at the communications station, and Sulu saw the expression darken on the Romulan’s features in response to no longer being the focus of attention. “What is it, Chekov?”

The young officer pointed to the viewer. “Sensors are picking up a pair of Dolysian freighters, sir. They’re still in orbit above the planet, but they’re coming around from the far side. Their trajectories indicate they’re on a course for one of the Dolysian moons.”

Chekov did not have to say anything further for Sulu
to understand the chief cause of his concern. “They’ll be sitting ducks by the time the Romulans get here. Can’t we warn them off?” Sulu asked.

Shaking his head, Chekov replied, “There’s not enough time to get them out of danger.”

“Then we’ll have to think of something else,” Scott hissed, turning back to the viewscreen and motioning for Palmer to reestablish the communications channel’s audio. “I apologize for that interruption, Commander, but it was a sensitive matter.”

“
Would it have anything to do with the pair of civilian transport vessels currently departing the system’s fourth planet?
” Grathus asked. There was no mistaking the confidence in the Romulan’s voice.

Scott said, “We are aware of the ships. They are unarmed and pose no threat to you, Commander. I respectfully request that you leave them in peace.”

“
As they represent this system’s native population
,” Grathus replied, “
then they may be in a position to provide us answers about this mysterious ancient defense system you claim destroyed our ship
.”

Stepping forward, Scott’s tone hardened. “Commander, we’ve been over this. The Dolysians do not know anything.”

“
We shall soon see
,” the Romulan said.

“You’ll force me to take action to protect them,” Scott snapped.

Leaning back in his chair, Grathus sat in silence for a moment, and Sulu was certain he detected just the very hint of a smile tugging at the corners of the Romulan officer’s lips.

“
That should prove interesting
.” He made a gesture with his left hand that Sulu did not recognize, but then the
meaning became clear when Grathus disappeared from the screen, replaced by an image of space and the now quite familiar energy field.

At the science station, Chekov reported, “Their speed is increasing, sir! Sensors are also detecting their weapons are arming and that they’ve activated their shields!” He paused, leaning even closer to the viewer, to the point that Sulu thought his friend might try to drive his forehead through the device. “They’re also breaking off from the formation they were keeping. At their present speed, they’ll be here in a little over eighteen minutes.”

“They may be moving into positions to try and surround us,” Sulu warned. His knowledge of Romulan space battle tactics was a bit sketchy, but three ships at his disposal would give Grathus all the latitude he required to assume a variety of attack postures and formations designed to exploit his numerical advantage over the
Enterprise
.

Scott muttered something that was only just audible, and Sulu was sure he comprehended at least a few of the more colorful if now seldom used words from the Scotsman’s ancestral home on Earth. “Sound Red Alert,” he said as he moved to the captain’s seat and thumbed the intraship communications switch on the chair’s right arm. “This is Commander Scott,” he said, his voice echoing through the bridge’s intercom speaker. “All decks to alert status. All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill. All decks acknowledge.”

As he resumed his position at the helm, Sulu noted that the battle stations indicators for each deck as displayed on his console were changing from red to green, indicating that designated officers were reporting their deck as ready for battle. “What are we going to do, Scotty?” he asked as
he maintained watch on the indicators. “Those Dolysian freighters don’t stand a chance against the Romulans.”

“We’re the only chance they have, lad,” Scott said, his voice muted and carrying with it an air of reluctant acceptance. “Energize main phasers, Mister Arex. Bring all weapons to full power and place them on standby. Route power from all nonessential systems to the shields.” Then, his voice somewhat muted, he added, “If they’re really going to do this, at least we’ll be ready.”

On his console, Sulu saw the last of the indicators flash green.

The
Enterprise
was ready for battle.

Lying on the floor in the
Nevathu
’s engineering section, Mylas pulled himself away from the hole created by removing one of the deck plates, which in turn had given him access to the section of power routing conduit he had been repairing. He looked up at his junior engineer, Daprel, as he handed the younger man the laser seal he had just finished using to service the conduit.

“That should do it, I think,” Mylas said as he pulled himself to a sitting position. “We can replace this deck plate and move to the next junction.” He reached for the towel he had placed atop his tool kit and began using it to wipe his hands.

Daprel nodded. “Yes, Mylas.”

With a grunt, Mylas pulled himself to his feet, wondering if the snaps and pops emanating from certain joints were his body’s way of informing him that he might finally be growing too old to be crawling through the bellies of space ships. Perhaps it was time he traded places with younger, eager-to-please junior engineers like Daprel?

I think not. At least, not yet.

Wiping his forehead with his towel, he noted the look of disdain on Daprel’s face. When he glanced down at himself, Mylas realized that very few areas of his jumpsuit were
free of grime or dirt. “What troubles you, Centurion?” he asked, smiling. “Dirt on one’s hands never sullied an officer’s career, particularly that of an engineer. You don’t think I’m going to keep doing this forever, do you?”