Star Trek: Corps of Engineers: Ambush by Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

Author:Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Star Trek, Fiction
ISBN: 9780743428781
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2001-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

Captain Gold felt the tension on his bridge, and didn't like it. The battle hadn't been on long, but it was exhausting for his crew, especially Wong and McAllan.

Then he noticed that Ina was smiling. That had to be good news.

"Captain, Commander Gomez reports one of the phaser drills is now online. She's transferring firing ability to Lieutenant McAllan."

Gold turned toward tactical. "Got it?"

"Aye, sir," McAllan said. "It's a tricorder link."

The captain pushed himself out of his chair and took a step toward McAllan. "Will it work?"

"It'll have a brief delay, and I'll have to aim manually."

Sparks flew from a rear console and a fire suppression force field cascaded over, dousing the flame and muting the smoke.

"Lieutenant, I suggest we test it now." Gold returned to the command chair. "Tactical display."

As the tactical grid appeared on a corner of the forward viewscreen, the captain thought that while they weren't winning, and they weren't quite holding their own, for three against one they were doing well. They'd dealt the Munqu ships some good licks . . . but without more fire power it wasn't going to be enough.

"Torpedoes?"

"Fourteen left, sir," McAllan replied. "But one launcher is malfunctioning. And their shields are stronger than we thought."

"Wish ours were," Wong said in something just above a whisper.

Regular battle tactics weren't working any more. There are only so many maneuvers one can implement before they're learned by the enemy and their computers. Gold was now relying on older, forgotten tricks. Had they had warp power available, he might have even attempted the old Cochrane deceleration stunt, or maybe Jean-Luc's hoary old "Picard maneuver."

"Wong, swoop in starboard and protect the dorsal shielding. McAllan, fire at will. Test our new phaser-drill. Let's see what she's got."

"Here goes." McAllan tapped into his console and a loud whine filled the bridge. On the forward view screen, the nearest Munqu ship, flown close to by Wong's excellent piloting, lit up with amber phaser flame. After a prolonged blast the Munqu ship finally fell away, venting a trail of plasma behind.

"My!" Gold nearly jumped from the command chair. "That was a zots!"

"Yes, sir." McAllan was grinning.

Ina reported on what the scanners told her. "The phaser-drill might not be strong as a phaser bank, but it is tenacious. Enemy vessel has a plasma leak in one of their shield generators. They're moving off for repairs."

"Beautiful. McAllan, keep firing."

As Gold turned back around, Ina spoke up again. "No! Oh, sir. They've already sealed the leak. Their shields are weakened, but still up. Just-up more weakly. But if they sealed the--" Ina thought for a moment. "I think it's the frequency of the phaser-drill. It's lower than standard ship's phasers."

"Well, well, well. We may be on to something." The captain dropped back into the command chair and tapped the intercom. "Gold to Gomez."

"Gomez here."

"We need more of those phaser-drills, Commander. They might just save our hides yet."

"Number two is ready to go in, Captain. Give us three more minutes."

The captain rubbed his chin.

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