The Latter Fire by James Swallow

Author:James Swallow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek

* * *

They had no choice but to evacuate the shuttlecraft after it had been towed into the cave-like landing bay of the largest Breg’Hel ship. Smoke spilling from damaged duotronic circuits was filling the Icarus’s cabin, and Kirk waited until the last possible moment before activating the emergency release on the main hatch. He shoved Uhura and Xuur out first, then let Arex support Kaleo as the Syhaari captain half walked, half stumbled. She had burns on her right leg where an exploding power console had caught her with the edge of its discharge. Coughing hard, Kirk managed to salvage an equipment pack from the Icarus’s gear bay and staggered out after them. There was a pair of type-2 phasers in a side pocket of the pack, and he groped for them, his eyes still streaming from the smoke.

If blasting us is the Breg’Hel’s take on diplomacy, he thought, I’ll feel better carrying a weapon from here on.

“Gods, what a mess,” wheezed Kaleo, looking back at the stricken shuttle. Icarus was nose-down, painted with streaks of carbon scorching. Desultory flashes of sparks popped and fizzed along the stubby pylons where an engine nacelle had previously been attached. “An ill fate for a brave . . . a brave craft . . .”

Kirk nodded, casting around. His first impression of the alien landing bay resembling a cavern was not far wrong. As much as he could tell, the decks and walls of the ship looked as if they were cut out of a synthetic rock material, perhaps something similar to the thermoconcrete the Federation used for quick-build colony outposts. The entrance the Icarus had passed through was shut now, sealed by a copper-colored iris hatch. He tried to take stock of the dimly lit environment aboard the alien craft; the gravity was lower than Earth-standard, putting an unexpected bounce in his gait. The air was heavy and humid, oxygen rich with a peculiarly loamy odor—and then there was the heat. It was almost tropical, and he felt sweat beading his brow.

Kirk’s fingers found the grip of one of the phasers, and he drew it just as Uhura managed a warning shout. “We have company!”

Another smaller hatch on the far wall dilated to allow a troop of reptilian beings to come scrambling into the chamber. They moved with great speed, clambering over one another, some of them adhering to the curved walls as they advanced on the Icarus party. The aliens made the same bubble-popping speech sounds Kirk had heard earlier, but now there was an additional layer of verbiage, a series of rapid chirps that were almost birdlike in tone.

Instinctively, Kirk and his people drew together into a cluster as the aliens surrounded them.

“The Breg’Hel, I presume,” said Xuur, almost to herself.

At first, Kirk had thought the creatures walked only on all four of their limbs, but as they came upon their prisoners, several of them reared up onto their hind legs, their forelimbs flexing or reaching for tools that dangled from the metallic waistcoats they wore.

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