He quickly explained about the discovery of the saucer section—and the fact that the Rengru controlled it. Seeing the others’ faces fall, he quickly apologized for getting their hopes up. “We don’t think there’s anybody left on the ship—but we don’t know what happened to them either. There’s still hope.”
“But boarding?” Godwin asked. “Why us? We haven’t been in the fighting since near the start.”
“The Boundless want us to board Enterprise and help them get everything they want to know about the transporters.”
“Transporters?” Ghalka was baffled. “I’m a biologist.”
“And I’m in security,” Gupta said. “If I didn’t know disruptors inside and out, I’d probably be fighting Rengru rather than building weapons.”
Connolly expected this reaction. “We can still operate the computers, right? I told them I needed everyone we could find, because some of the doors and systems have coded locks—and it takes at least three crewmembers to scuttle the ship.”
Haddad’s eyes went wide. “But we want to go home.”
“And that might happen if we help the Boundless. But it won’t be aboard Enterprise. That’s lost. We just have to deny it to the Rengru.”
“I can’t scuttle the ship,” Ghalka said, looking self-conscious.
Connolly tried to look supportive. “Ensign, we have to, or else the—”
“That’s not it.” She leaned close to him and mouthed, “They never told me how to do that.”
“Me neither,” Connolly confessed. “But how hard could it be? The impulse drive still works. We just point it at a sun—or get one of the Boundless to tote one of those tactical nukes aboard.”
Connolly pointed over to the other squads gathering. Kormagan was there, as were several of the wavemasters who’d been at his briefing. It was Boundless practice that their greatest generals took the field along with their newest recruits; this grouping, however, was top-heavy.
“These are the all-stars,” he said. “Total first-string. Just them and us. And if it works—and the transporter tech helps them beat the Rengru—they’ve promised to help us defeat the Klingons!”
All four of his crewmates reacted at once to that. “Less than a year ago he’s swinging a stick at snowballs,” Ghalka said. “Now you’re running your own foreign policy?”
Godwin shook her head. “Lieutenant, you are way out on a limb here.”
“We’ve been exiled to a nebula, kidnapped, and made to walk around in these things all year. Court-martial is not really on my sensor screen at the moment.” Connolly spoke with determination. “Look, if any of you have seen the Rengru fight, you know we can’t let them defeat the Boundless. They could go after the Federation next—and if the Klingon War is still going on, that could be a deathblow.”
The others nodded.
“The Varadah Gap’s fallen. This thing could be ready to break in favor of the Boundless once and for all.” He pumped his fist—and then studied the wooden faces of his armored crewmates. “Are you in?”
“We’re going to take a meeting to decide your sanity,” Godwin said. “But we’ve never had any choice about where we went, and this’ll probably be no different.”
“Good,” Connolly said, taking it as a victory even though it wasn’t a sentiment to feel good about. He patted the light on his shoulder. “Just remember, for this one, you’re Red Squad, I’m subaltern.”
“You would pick red,” Ghalka said.
“Not funny,” Gupta responded.
Connolly excused himself to give them time to talk. Similar gaggles were going on all around—only rather than conversing with one another, the wavemasters were on comm with their waves, coordinating the upcoming attack.
Kormagan spied him. “We’ve got everyone we wanted. Your little talk worked.”
“Pieces in motion?”
“Pieces in action. Probes say after the Rengru convoy left the cloud complex it went just where we thought—farther up the Shennau Corridor.” It was a narrow bottleneck leading right to the Nest, and because of that it was a place the Boundless never struck. Until today. “Three waves have already hit them to slow them down. Four more are coming in.”
“That’s . . . a lot. And fast,” Connolly said. For a force without central command, the Boundless could move quickly when faced with an existential threat.
“There’s more to come. I don’t know if you really comprehend the scale of the operation that’s being mounted. The Rengru convoy grows every kilometer it gets closer to the Nest. They really think Enterprise is worth having—and if any of the Boundless didn’t think so at Little Hope, everyone does now. A lot of people are risking everything because of you.”
Connolly’s mouth went dry. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Just get us in and out,” Kormagan said, her tone icing. “If you get aboard and change your mind again, we’ll treat you as if a Rengru got you and blow you away.”
“Noted.”
He ambled awkwardly away. It had never dawned on most of the Boundless that a final defeat of the Rengru could even be an option. Looking around the deck at the animated discussions of the other wavemasters underscored for him how important success could be.
“You Federation people,” said a figure inside the doorway to the bridge. Baladon stepped fully onto the deck. “A few months running about and you turn everything upside down.”
“Something like that. Why aren’t you flying this thing?”
“As soon as we run into the Rengru, I’m back to being a boarder. I asked Kormagan to let me come along. This Enterprise has become a bit of an obsession for me. Third time is blood or nothing, as they say.”
Connolly studied him. Baladon didn’t look his usual, smart-aleck self. “What’s wrong?”
“I saw your little reunion over there. Others are not so fortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
“I received word before we left Varadah,” Baladon said. “Just before the Rengru pulled out, a troop module belonging to the Forty-Eights went down with no survivors. Two of my brothers were on it.”
“Baladon, I’m sorry.” Connolly thought for a moment. “Wait. Weren’t you always talking about how you used to threaten them?”
“Yes, but the decision to kill them should have been mine.”
“Some weird Lurian custom?”
“No. Just me.” Baladon crossed his arms. “There is something else. The others of my species within the Boundless are declining in number every day. The loss of buffoons is no danger to the gene pool, but it occurs to me that I might wish to procreate someday. Being the last Lurian alive here might be an impediment to that.”
“That just dawned on you, huh?” Connolly smirked.
“These antics have been fun, but if we successfully take the transporters and defeat the Rengru, I could be convinced to found that colony planet and retire.”
“Well, we’re not done yet. Klingons first, remember?”
“Details.” A chime announced that the carrier toting the troop module was approaching the Rengru convoy. Kormagan left her group to hurry forward. Baladon nudged Connolly. “We won’t be deploying until the other waves clear the path. Why not come look at some delightful carnage while we wait?”
“Just a second.” Connolly looked over at his Starfleet companions. They nodded to him approvingly. They’re on board, he thought. He turned back to Baladon. “Yeah, I guess I have a minute.”
“Splendid.” Baladon walked with Connolly toward the bridge. “So, these Klingons. They’ll be just as much fun to fight, I hope?”
65
* * *
Combat Module Carrier 539-Urdoh
Shennau Corridor
Standing aboard Carrier Urdoh’s bridge, Kormagan had never seen anything so majestic—or so dreadful.
The Rengru had protected Enterprise’s remnant with everything they had in the region, seemingly willing to endure whatever attacks were necessary to get it back to the Nest.
She had obliged them—and more. One after another, Boundless warships leapt from the cover of the cloud banks into the Shennau Corridor. They struck at the Rengru mother ships, dealt whatever damage they could, and darted quickly back into the pillars of dust. Most of the Rengru vessels held position, but occasionally some peeled away in pursuit, thinning out the numbers protecting Enterprise’s saucer section.
That had been the plan Kormagan had concocted back at the Varadah Gap summit—a strategy terrible in its costliness. She had never fancied herself anything other than a competent warrior, trying to make good on the promises made so long ago to their K’davu progenitors. “Wavemaster” was as far as there was to go, and now she understood the reason. What right had she to risk so many of the Boundless’s ships and personnel—on a hunch? On the basis of some nefarious threat posed by an alien technology?
Setting eyes on Enterprise reminded her of the answer. The Rengru’s interest was all the convincing she needed. It had to be valuable. And now, thanks to her sacrifices, the echelons of Rengru covering the saucer as it traveled were thinning. No, not just thinning. She toggled her interface to magnify what she was seeing.
“There’s our in,” she said, pointing to Dreston, who sat in the captain’s chair vacated by Baladon. “Every time one of our carriers strikes off the convoy’s starboard quarter aft, the mother ships on the port side of Enterprise shift to cover ground vacated by its pursuer.”
“So we hit away from the shift,” Connolly said.
“I never know what you’re talking about.” She gestured for Dreston’s benefit. “Coordinate with the Fifty-Eights across the corridor. We’ll come in parallel and deploy the troop modules when the gap opens.” She looked to Baladon. “Satisfactory, Captain?”
He laughed. “You think like a true Lurian pirate.”
“Thank you—I suppose.” She looked more closely at Enterprise, and the Rengru half-ringing the saucer. “Those forces on the hull are serving as attitude-control rockets. I don’t think they will be able to disengage quickly to oppose us.”
“Agreed.” Baladon nudged Connolly. “It’s time, my young friend. Button up.” Both deployed their headgear.
“I like the look of both of you better that way,” Kormagan said. It was time to head for the troop modules. She felt the gravity of the moment. “In K’davu’s name,” she said, “let this be the day when—”
A chime sounded, heralding a text message appearing in her interface:
ATTENTION, BOUNDLESS. ATTENTION, KORMAGAN.
Five-Three-Nine-Aloga-One-Gold-Five. She didn’t immediately recognize the call sign. An icon indicated the party was using an identifier that had since been reassigned to a later recruit. “Who is this?” she said aloud into her mic.
I AM SPOCK.
What? She looked again at the sign—and remembered. She piped the message to the others on the bridge. “What do you make of this?”
“Spock?” Baladon asked.
“Spock!” Connolly shouted.
AND YOU ARE CONNOLLY AND BALADON. IT IS AGREEABLE TO HEAR YOU, LIEUTENANT.
“And no word for your old subaltern?” Baladon asked. “I am disappointed in—”
“Shut up,” Kormagan said. She checked the identifier tags on Spock’s transmission. The signals were definitely coming from his battlesuit. “Spock, where are you? Why can’t we hear you?”
I PREFER NOT TO SPEAK. I AM HIDING ON enterprise.
“He made it!” Connolly said, gleeful.
“Impossible,” Kormagan said. “You were hurled off the saucer, like Baladon.”
YET HE IS STILL WITH YOU. I FOUND MY WAY BACK AND BOARDED. BUT I WAS TOO LATE.
“The Rengru had control?”
CORRECT.
She frowned. She had no way of confirming where he was. With his governor deactivated, her interface would not be able to track him, even if Enterprise’s hull allowed it.
“Spock,” Connolly implored. “The crew. Tell me about the crew.”
LIEUTENANT, I REGRET TO REPORT THE RENGRU SPARED NO ONE. THE ACTS THEY COMMITTED WERE UNSPEAKABLE.
Kormagan looked past the glowing words in her interface to Enterprise’s saucer section, still partially surrounded by Rengru. “What do you want, Spock?”
I HAVE WAITED FOR THE BOUNDLESS TO APPROACH IN THE HOPES OF COMMUNICATING. MY POWER RESERVES ARE ALMOST GONE, AND I FEAR THAT RECHARGING AGAIN WILL DRAW THEIR ATTENTION TO ME.
She understood.
“Spock,” Connolly said, “we’re just about to—”
“Quiet,” Baladon snapped. “Say nothing. It could be a trick!”
“The Rengru don’t do tricks,” Connolly said. “You both told me that.”
Kormagan looked to the others. “Spock has already deceived me once.”
I DID NOT DECEIVE. I BOARDED THE SHIP, AS I PROMISED—AND WILL DELIVER IT TO YOU NOW.
“How?”
I AM CONCEALED IN THE SECURITY CHECKPOINT NEAR THE DORSAL AIRLOCK. WHEN I SEE YOUR APPROACH, I WILL UNLOCK IT AND ADMIT YOU.
“If you’re that close to the exit, why don’t you just leave?”
ILLOGICAL. I HAVE NOWHERE TO GO, AND WOULD SOON BE FOUND.
“That certainly sounds like Spock,” Connolly said.
MY WORK IS INCOMPLETE. enterprise IS BETTER OFF DESTROYED OR IN THE HANDS OF THE BOUNDLESS. IF THE RENGRU EXPLOIT IT, THE GALAXY IS IMPERILED.
Kormagan definitely believed that. “What’s the defense like there?”
MINIMAL. JUST SUFFICIENT TO OPERATE THE BRIDGE, BUT TOO MANY FOR ME TO DEFEAT ALONE.
“Stand ready, Gold-Five. We’re coming for you.”
STANDING BY.
She closed the channel, allowing her to speak without her correspondent hearing. The news was incredible, the timing unexpected. “Can we believe any of this?”
Connolly was emphatic. “Spock doesn’t lie. And the Rengru don’t trick.”
Baladon concurred. “I would say we just received a gift. But if you don’t trust him, there are other airlocks to enter. As long as the accursed thing doesn’t start spinning again.”
Kormagan wasn’t worried about that. Her eyes were again on the battle outside, and the trails of tumbling shrapnel that used to be ships belonging to her people. One way or another, they had to act. “We’ll chance it. Dreston, await my command and move in. Move!”
U.S.S. Enterprise
Saucer Section
Three Boundless squads from Urdoh-Two landed on the saucer’s hull. Kormagan expected it was by far the most heavyweight assault ever assembled. She led four wavemasters, and Quadeo, who would accept no subsidiary role, led four more—while Connolly was again attached to the hull, this time leading his former Enterprise teammates.
“No reaction from the Rengies on the hull,” Quadeo transmitted. “They’re not even responding.”
That made Kormagan correct, but she didn’t mention it to her rival. They were past internecine disputes now. “Converge on target,” she said, pointing up the slope toward the saucer’s center. Connolly was already most of the way there, with Baladon at his side.
“I should be the first aboard,” the Lurian said, shoving. “It’s my right.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Connolly asked.
“Quite right. You should be the first aboard.”
Kormagan tuned them out by opening another channel. “Spock, we are here.”
AS AM I. ENTER QUICKLY. YOU WILL ALL BE REQUIRED.
Within a second of reading the message, Kormagan saw the airlock open. An armored figure was visible in silhouette for several moments—long enough for her interface to identify him.
“Step it up,” she called out to the others. The Rengru on the hull certainly had noted their presence; it was likely those inside had as well.
She arrived at the airlock after Connolly and Baladon had already entered. Inside, past a darkened lounge, was an open portal leading to a shaft of some kind; her companions were already inside, flying upward on their jetpacks. Above them, Ko
rmagan saw their benefactor step off the top ladder rung into a brightly lit aperture.
Moments later, Kormagan set foot, weapons drawn, on Enterprise’s bridge. The round room was brightly lit, with a railed-off circular area recessed into the floor at the center. A control room—
—but no Rengru. Just Baladon, walking cautiously about on alert, and Connolly, standing next to what she presumed was the captain’s chair. And seated in it, the warrior that had opened the airlock.
“Where are the Rengru?” she asked as her companions filed in behind her.
Quadeo entered. “Not seeing anything on the other levels.”
“Well?” Kormagan moved into the command well in front of the chair. “You said there were invaders here, Spock. Connolly said you never lie!”
“That’s true. But you see, the thing is—I’m not Spock.” With a whir, the seated figure stowed his headgear, revealing a stern-faced older human with dark hair. “Captain Christopher Pike, U.S.S. Enterprise. And the only invaders here . . . are you!”
66
* * *
U.S.S. Enterprise
Saucer Section
Shennau Corridor
This battlesuit makes my butt too big for this chair, Pike thought. I hope I don’t have to get up in a hurry.
Of course, he had no intention of being anywhere other than where he was—even with several members of the Boundless looming menacingly around him. Their immediate attention was on one another, anyway.
“If you Enterprise recruits are thinking about betraying us, think again,” one of the Boundless said. Pike’s interface had previously identified the speaker as someone named Kormagan. “His battlesuit’s governor may not work,” she said, “but yours do.” She made a gesture—and five of the warriors froze in place. Head protectors retracted into their battlesuits, revealing Connolly and four other crewmembers. “I do not doubt your loyalty, but I must sort this out.”
“I doubt their loyalty,” said another Boundless member. “This is some kind of trap!”
The Enterprise War Page 31
