2268
“Mister Spock, the Klingons just fired on the planet!”
The Enterprise’s viewscreen verified Chekov’s emotive announcement. Disruptor beams, blazing green against the darkness of orbital space, burst from the BortaS’s nacelle-mounted disruptor cannons, targeting the world below. The twin beams converged as they burned through Atraz’s atmosphere toward a continent in the planet’s southern hemisphere, where, Spock noted with controlled concern, Captain Kirk and the rest of the landing party were currently situated. The attack was over in an instant, the merged beams vanishing in a flash, but had doubtless inflicted significant damage on the planet’s surface.
“Those blackhearted devils!” Scott exclaimed from the engineering station. “Firing on a planet that hasn’t even invented lasers yet!”
Let alone orbital defenses, Spock thought. “Can you identify the precise coordinates of the targeted area, Mister Chekov?”
“I’m working on it, sir!” The young ensign looked up from the sensor viewer with an abashed expression on his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t see that coming, Mister Spock. I was focused on watching out for any sign that the Klingons were locking their weapons on the Enterprise. I never expected them to fire on the planet instead!”
Spock wanted information, not explanations. “The coordinates, Ensign, with all due speed.”
“Aye, sir! Got it, sir!” Chekov peered into the viewer. “The disruptors struck a location somewhere in the city, Reliux, but that’s as precise as I can get right away.”
“But not the entire city?”
“No, sir. It appears to have been more of a surgical strike than an obliterating assault.”
“Acknowledged.” Spock greeted the report with a degree of relief. He remained concerned regarding the landing party’s safety, but saw no reason to assume the worst in the absence of any conclusive evidence. “Lieutenant Uhura, can you establish contact with the landing party?”
“Already on it, sir.” She expertly manipulated her control panel. “Their communicators are still receiving our signals, but the party members are not immediately responding… wait, hold on, I’m getting through to them.”
A subjectively lengthy interval transpired as she listened to a transmission via her earpiece. “Well, come on, lassie,” Scott said anxiously. “Don’t keep us hanging.”
“Understood,” Uhura replied to whomever she was addressing, then bestowed a reassuring smile upon the bridge. “I reached Yeoman Landon briefly. They’ve got their hands full at the moment, rescuing the captain and Doctor McCoy, so she couldn’t talk long, but… those disruptors didn’t get them. The beams struck a fortress some distance away from where the landing party is now.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Spock said. “Continue monitoring all frequencies.”
“Definitely, sir.” Relief was supplanted by worry on her face. “It sounds as though they’re encountering serious hostilities down there. I could hear shouts and fighting in the background.”
“They’re in thick of it, I’m sure.” Scott’s frustration was evident. “If only we could beam them out of whatever tight spot they’re in!”
“Not without lowering our shields,” Spock said, restating their dilemma as a reminder to the bridge crew, “which would be injudicious at present, considering our proximity to the BortaS.”
“Aye,” Scott conceded. “That’s putting it mildly, Mister Spock.”
Logic dictated that the landing party was on its own for the present, but the Klingons’ unprovoked attack on Atraz required an immediate response. Spock did not hesitate before activating the intercom on his armrest.
“Battle stations. Load photon torpedoes. Phaser crews, prepare to fire on command.”
Back when he and his father were still on speaking terms, Sarek had once shared with Spock the unspoken secret to negotiating with Klingons: for better or for worse, a show of force was often necessary to get the Klingons to even acknowledge any dissenting views. A pained expression had betrayed Sarek’s discomfort with this unpleasant reality, but the BortaS firing on Atraz not only gave the Enterprise grounds to return fire in the planet’s defense, it made such a response imperative; to permit the Klingons to assault Atraz with impunity would invite further attacks on the planet and its people.
“Phasers locked on the Klingon vessel.” Rahda employed the pop-up targeting scanner at the helm. The two ships were still essentially chasing each other around the planet. “BortaS within firing range.”
“Full phaser power, approximately two point five seconds in duration,” Spock said, calculating what intensity of attack would be sufficient to register their displeasure—and perhaps draw the Klingons’ fire away from the planet. “Fire at will, Lieutenant Rahda.”
She nodded grimly. “Aye, sir.”
Incandescent red beams cut across the vacuum of space to strike the BortaS’s deflector screens. Bright blue discharges of Cherenkov radiation flared where the phasers impacted the battle cruiser’s invisible shields.
“Evasive maneuvers,” Spock ordered in anticipation of a retaliatory blast, which was not long in coming. The D7 deployed its rear cannons to fiery effect. Despite swiftly altering its direction and heading, the Enterprise was still seared along its port side by the Klingons’ disruptors. A shudder vibrated the bridge, but the lights did not flicker and no consoles sparked. “Damage report.”
“All shields holding,” Chekov said. “Portside shields are down six point three percent along the engineering hull and pylon support.”
“Rerouting power from reserve subsystems,” Scott reported. “Repair crews dispatched to affected areas.” Scott turned toward the main viewer, where the BortaS remained on display. “Seems you rattled their cage, Mister Spock.”
“As intended,” Spock said coolly. “If nothing else, they are no longer attacking the planet.”
On-screen, the BortaS banked away from the Enterprise, presenting a moving target while apparently circling around for a strafing run at the Federation ship. Spock recalled that Khod had employed similar tactics during his previous skirmish with the Enterprise: darting in to unleash a blast of disruptor fire at close range before speeding away to come around for another attack. On that occasion, Khod had already conspired to sabotage the Enterprise’s matter/antimatter integrator, rendering both the warp drive and weapons systems inoperative until some fortuitous last-minute repairs. Thankfully, that was not the case in this instance. The Enterprise and the BortaS were evenly matched.
“Transfer weapons control to navigation,” Spock instructed Rahda, to allow her to focus entirely on piloting the ship. “Maintain tactical maneuvers.” He turned toward the nav station. “Lieutenant Farrell, return fire.”
“Aye, sir!” Farrell subjected the battle cruiser to a well-aimed phaser blast barrage, resulting in telltale flashes along the battle cruiser’s starboard side. “Winged her…. literally!”
“Klingon shields still holding,” Chekov reported, scanning the other vessel, “but we put a dent in them.”
Spock nodded, his stoic expression betraying nothing. “Maintain offensive and evasive actions.”
“Mister Spock,” Uhura said. “The BortaS is hailing us. It appears Captain Khod wants to give you a piece of his mind.”
“I imagine so. On-screen, Lieutenant, but only as an inset window.”
Spock did not wish to deprive Rahda and Farrell of a full view of the battle cruiser and its movements, which, along with their sensor readings, was of significant tactical value. He could not expect the battle cruiser to pause its attack while Khod railed at his foes.
“Aye, sir. On-screen.”
Khod’s furious visage took over the lower-right-hand corner of the main viewer, leaving the BortaS occupying the sehlat’s share of the screen. The smaller window was more than sufficient to convey Khod’s predictably livid countenance. His tone of voice was equally belligerent; he snarled from the screen.
“Vulcan! How dare you fire upon an imperial battle cruiser! This unwarranted attack cannot be tolerated. You have proven yourself without honor or sense!”
“Hardly unwarranted,” Spock replied. “Your attack on Atraz violated treaty, forcing our hand. We could not sit by while you took hostile action against a defenseless world that, by mutual agreement, was to be left alone by both our fleets.”
“We have our reasons and will not be lectured to by the likes of you, Vulcan. You have foolishly invited our wrath. Surrender or be destroyed!”
“That is hardly a forgone conclusion. I remind you that, unlike the last time our ships engaged in combat, the Enterprise is not recovering from sabotage. Our weapons, defenses, and propulsion systems are fully operational. You will not find us easy prey.”
Khod snorted. “And they say Vulcans have no sense of humor! Your pathetic starship, with all its decadent creature comforts, is no match for my battle cruiser.”
“Klingon propaganda notwithstanding, we both know that is not true. Indeed, the mathematics of the equation favor us. Our capacities being more or less equivalent, any conflict between our two ships will likely become a war of attrition as we exhaust our arms and defenses at comparable rates. This puts the Enterprise at an advantage since you have already expended a measurable portion of your firepower in attacking Atraz, an action that did not weaken our shields in the slightest. In short, you wasted your first move on another target, allowing us to begin compromising your shields before you inflicted a single blow on us. Probability therefore suggests that we will ultimately outlast you, albeit after what could be a very costly exchange.”
A momentary pause ensued, as though Khod was weighing Spock’s cautionary words despite himself. The delay was scarcely detectable but did not escape Spock’s notice.
“Do not speak to me of probabilities, Vulcan. This is war, not a math problem. I’ll put my hot blood against your cold logic anytime!”
“Perhaps, but bluster and bravado only go so far. I’ll do you the courtesy of assuming that you are too well-versed in matters of combat to be outmaneuvered by any strategic ploy on our part, and I would strongly advise you to credit us with the same tactical expertise and training.” Spock spoke with firm assurance, unruffled by Khod’s militant posturing. “Which brings us back to the mathematics of attrition. I would think twice before discounting a Vulcan’s calculations.”
Alas, his cogent argument failed to convince Khod.
“And you should know better than to underestimate the fury of a Klingon’s heart. Let us test our might against your calculations, Vulcan, if you have the stomach for it!”
Spock resisted the all-too-human temptation to remind Khod that the Enterprise had sent the BortaS fleeing once before. He could not risk Khod choosing to go down fighting rather than retreat from the same foe again. The challenge then was to devise a means by which Khod could withdraw from battle without losing face.
A matter rendered academic when Khod suddenly disappeared from the screen.
“Lieutenant Uhura?” Spock queried.
“Transmission terminated at their end,” she confirmed.
“Typical,” Scott said. “Bloody Klingon manners!”
Swooping around, the D7 launched another attack. Disruptors strafed the underside of the saucer section even as the Enterprise replied in kind, blasting the battle cruiser’s forward command bulb from above. Spock absorbed the resulting damage reports while simultaneously reviewing their previous encounter with Khod and his vessel, when Kirk had routed the BortaS by feigning helplessness, concealing the fact that the Enterprise had regained its weapons capacity, in order to lure the battle cruiser into a trap. The BortaS was thereby caught off-guard by a full spread of photon torpedoes, forcing the damaged battle cruiser to limp back to Klingon space. Spock could not expect Khod to fall for the same ruse twice.
But what if we attempt a similar ploy—in reverse?
“Lieutenant Uhura,” Spock said; there was no need to mute the audio since Khod could no longer listen in. “Prepare to launch a recorder marker conveying our current status and logs to the nearest Starfleet relay station—with modifications.”
She gave him a knowing look, her eyes narrowing.
“What kind of modifications, sir?”