STRANGE NEW WORLDS by Dean Wesley Smith

Author:Dean Wesley Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1998-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Where I Fell Before My Enemy

Vince Bonasso

Kirk: We’re a most promising species, Mr. Spock, as predators go. Did you know that?

Spock: I’ve frequently had my doubts.

Kirk: I don’t. Not anymore. And maybe in a thousand years or so we’ll be able to prove it.

U.S.S. Enterprise Log, Stardate 3045.6

“I need a visual, Dax!” Sisko shouted.

Jadzia Dax’s hands flew over the Defiant’s navigator console, her fingers a blur of motion. “Can’t get a resolution, Captain. There’s too much chion-particle interference.”

“What’s the source of the radiation?” Sisko asked.

“Sensors show a large concentration of tylatium around the Amhurst” Worf said, standing at tactical behind Ensign Koletta.

Sisko studied the distorted display on the viewscreen. The gray picture blinked and scrolled with no discernible pattern. He thought he saw the Amhurst for a second but couldn’t be sure.

“What has tylatium to do with a disabled starship?” he asked, his deep voice resonating across the bridge. “I need some answers, people, and I need them now!”

“Moving closer might burn through the interference,” Dax offered.

Sisko rested his hand on Dax’s chair and noted the computed positions displayed on her console. They were ten thousand kilometers from the Amhurst.

“Chief, what are the hazards associated with tylatium?”

Chief O’Brien sat aft of Worf and Ensign Koletta at the ops position, his data screens a flurry of activity.

“There aren’t any biohazards associated with tylatium,” O’Brien said, “but a concentrated chion-particle flux could fry the thermal protection units in the plasma transfer conduits.”

Worf grunted, his dark Klingon features scowling at the dilemma. “That … would be a serious biohazard,” he said.

“Explain,” Sisko said.

O’Brien swiveled his chair to face the captain. “If the thermal protection units fail, sir, there would be nothing to provide antimatter containment security logic. That would result in a—”

“Warp core breach,” Sisko finished. “Is that what happened to the Amhurst? She’s the oldest starship in the fleet, due an overhaul months ago. Maybe her shields weren’t sufficient to withstand the stress?”

“Stress of what?” Dax asked.

“That’s what we’re going to find out. Move us in to five thousand kilometers.”

“Aye, sir.”

Sisko grimaced his frustration. He had left half of the Defiant’s crew back at Deep Space Nine. The mission was just a quick jaunt to check out the new navigation grid, a good excuse to get away from the desk and Odo’s security reports. His eyes darted around the bridge. He could use Major Kira at ops right now; Chief O’Brien should be down supervising the skeleton crew in engineering. They had received the distress call only minutes ago. The Amhurst had a complement of seven hundred, and sensors now showed it disabled and drifting.

“Alert sickbay for emergency transport,” Sisko said to Worf.

“Doctor Bashir, stand by for possible casualties from the Amhurst,” Ensign Koletta relayed. Sisko gave her a quick glance of approval. Koletta was an Althuist recently assigned to DS9. Her long, silvery hair and fiery red eyes contrasted sharply with the blue collar of her Starfleet uniform. Sisko liked her. Her attention to detail and aggressive work ethic often made up for her lack of experience.

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