CHAPTER 14

"We caught 'em sleeping, boss!" An exultant shout went up from Rubin. He pumped his fist in victory. A wide grin split his dirty, unshaven face.

"That we did, Rubin. Good shooting." Finnegan slumped back in his chair. The sight of the Rim Pride's phasers slicing across the starship's main engineering hull without even a flicker of resistance had sent ripples of satisfaction through his crew. The next barrage had no effect, but the Rim Pride had drawn first blood.

"The most satisfying part of all," Mindy said, "is the fact that they can't fire back, not without putting the hostages in danger." She stared at the view screen, where the massive bulk of the heavy cruiser floated like a diamond jewel. "We can pound them again and again. Eventually, we'll wear down their shields."

"I doubt we'll wear down their shields before we drain our phaser banks," Finnegan reminded his crew. "This is a starship we're up against, not a passenger liner. Their captain will not make the same mistake twice, especially if it's who I think it is." He turned to Rubin. "Have you ID'd them yet?"

The burly man nodded. "Bingo. Enterprise."

"Ah," Finnegan said in satisfaction. "Perfect." He turned to Moira. "Have you gotten a reply to the message we sent to Paus and the others back at the base?"

Moira nodded. "Came in a few minutes ago. The GLO supports whatever you need to do to assure their eventual victory. Paus knows you're the best fighting mercenary commander for hire." She gave Finnegan a sly smile. "And he would consider it a personal favor if you blew the starship out of the sky."

The bridge crew erupted in cheers.

"I'm gratified at Paus' confidence in me," Finnegan said. "But it's not likely an Orion fighter with a crew of twenty-five can hope to go up against a Federation starship with a well-trained crew of over four hundred."

"It would be fun to try," Rubin said.

"No time for personal enjoyment, I'm afraid." Finnegan sighed. "We need to get the hostages back to base so we can get paid. A prolonged battle with the Enterprise would delay our trip and give Jimmy Kirk time to pull some trick to subdue us. I can't let that happen. Let's get the starship off our backs so we can head for base."

"How do you intend to do that?" Rubin scoffed. "We can't outrun them, and we can't outshoot them."

Finnegan smiled. "Watch and see, my friend." He looked at Mindy. "Run fetch our little Starfleet hostage and bring her up here. Then get me the commander of the starship."

Moira glanced up. "They're one step ahead of you, Sean. They're hailing us."

Finnegan smiled. "Put 'em on."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. You are ordered to surrender your vessel and prepare for boarding. If you surrender peacefully, no harm will come to you or your crew. I repeat. This is Captain James—"

"Yeah, yeah, Jimmy, I hear you loud and clear." The familiar yet much-older face of Sean Finnegan appeared on the Enterprise's screen. "Bet you never thought you'd see me again."

Kirk slowly straightened and tried to control the flood of memories that washed over him at the sight of this specter from the past—a most unpleasant past. "Finnegan," he whispered in shock.

"In the flesh. How've ya been, Jimmy?" He draped an arm over the back of his chair. "What's it like being a fancy starship captain? That was a pretty clever stunt, you know. Finding us. Yes, clever indeed."

Kirk said nothing. Finnegan was prattling in an obvious attempt to distract and unnerve the captain. It had worked every time back at the academy, but Jim Kirk had learned a few things since then.

When he didn't respond to the needling, Finnegan sighed. "You were no fun back at the academy, and you're no fun now. But," he admitted, "you were always clever—too clever for your own good. Tell me, Jimmy. Did you get lucky, or did that communicator signal tip you off?"

Kirk ignored the question. "Prepare to be boarded. I will guarantee safe passage for you and your crew."

"No deal."

Kirk's jaw clenched. "All right. How about this? You let us beam the hostages to the Enterprise, and you go free, no strings attached. No pursuit. You're free to live and terrorize the quadrant another day."

"Go free?" Finnegan grunted. "Surely, the high mucky mucks at Starfleet would not agree to that."

Kirk shrugged. "They're on Babel. I'm here."

"I see."

Kirk leaned closer to the screen. "Frankly, Sean, I don't see you and your crew as part of the GLO. I think you're their hired guns. I'm offering you a whole lot more than they are. I'm offering you your ship, your crew, and my word that you can go on your way."

"Your word, Jimmy?" A dangerous glint appeared in Finnegan's eyes.

Kirk nodded. "And you know my word is good." He caught the man's gaze and held it until Finnegan looked away.

He sighed. "Your offer's tempting, but it won't go down well with my crew or with the GLO."

"It looks like we're at a stalemate, then," Kirk said. His insides churned.

Finnegan smiled wider. "Not quite. You see, we can afford to sit here for as long as we like. The deadline is creeping up on the Federation. Until then, I intend to take potshots at you whenever the mood strikes."

His grin widened. "In a few hours, you'll be hurting. You can fire on us at your pleasure but breaking through our screens will require more power than you're willing to risk. And you can't target our shield generator and take it out, not while our screens are up. Can't take chances with the little hostages, can we?"

Finnegan took a deep breath and finished his speech. "I know about your kid, Jim. Mindy made the connection. The rigged communicator only confirmed our guess."

He shook his head and stared off-screen for what seemed like an eternity.

What's he thinking? Kirk wondered. He could never be sure where an attack from Finnegan might come next. The man was a loose cannon.

When Finnegan returned his gaze to Kirk, he looked bitter. "You got the best of everything, Jim. Command school. Top of your class. But me? I was dismissed from the Academy."

"Sean . . ." A cold fear settled in Kirk's stomach. It was dangerous to delve into the past with this man.

"You got Ruth—my Ruth," Finnegan continued as though Kirk had not spoken. He seemed lost in a past of his own making. "She turned her back on me for you."

"You drove her away," Kirk argued. "Your irresponsibility nearly cost Ruth her life. I gave her my word she'd never have to fear you again."

"Yes, and you kept your word by stealing her away and marrying her."

Kirk opened his mouth to refute Finnegan's twisted memory, but then closed it again. It would do no good.

"You have a beautiful little girl, Jim. She should have been mine. Mine and Ruth's."

"I'm sorry, Sean." Kirk swallowed the cold fear that was clutching his heart. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you. Hurting Jamie won't change the past."

Finnegan's eyes widened. "Hurt Ruth's daughter? Never." Then he smiled.

Kirk recognized the expression at once. His old nemesis had something evil up his sleeve. Something the captain would not like at all.

Finnegan's next words confirmed Kirk's premonition. "I have decided that this small memory of Ruth will remain with me, regardless of the outcome of the Crynn vote."

Kirk gritted his teeth. "Over my dead body."

"If you like." Finnegan motioned to someone off-screen.

A moment later, Mindy led Jamie to Finnegan. Her appearance hadn't changed from the video the captain had seen earlier. Her hair was tousled, her clothing rumpled. Tear stains streaked her dirty cheeks.

But her face lit up when she saw him. "You found us! Shaull said it would work."

"It worked beautifully. Are the rest of the children okay?"

Jamie hazarded a quick peek at Finnegan. "For now." Then her voice dropped to a whisper. "But I'm scared."

"I know, Cadet, and I'm so proud of you. Hang on a little while longer. Remember who you are."

Jamie gave him a watery smile. "Aye, Captain."

"See you soon. I love you."

The screen went dark.

Finnegan jerked up in his seat. "What happened? I wasn't finished with him."

"The Enterprise cut the signal, boss," Moira replied.

"Show them we're not pleased," Finnegan ordered. "Fire all phasers. Target the saucer section."

Jamie turned white. "Don't fire on the Enterprise!"

Suddenly, a lance of blue light struck the Rim Pride. The ship heaved to starboard, and everyone on the bridge went with it, Jamie included.

"They're using a narrow, precise beam to target our shield generator," Moira shouted. "If they punch through, our deflectors will go down. Then they can beam in and out as they please."

"Give me a 180-degree turn, helm. Keep that shield generator away from their weapons, no matter what." He glared at Borsh. "Keep our screens at full strength. Continue to fire on the Enterprise every ten minutes, random points. Give them something to think about."

Then he looked at Jamie. She lay sprawled on the deck, eyes wide and scared. "Put her with the others," he told Mindy. "I don't need her any longer."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cadet's Log, Supplemental

Seeing my dad just a few thousand kilometers away chased most of my fears away. Then, when I told the other kids and about a dangerous plan, I got all scared again. Do Starfleet cadets get scared? Hmm, I don't know. I've never seen my dad scared. But maybe he's good at keeping it inside, like Mr. Spock. I'm not very good at it. But since it's my crazy idea, I'll have to pretend I know what I'm doing and not show how scared I really am. The big question is . . . will it work?

The door slid open, and the burly guard tossed Jamie into the warm, familiar room. By now, the close company of ten unwashed children had turned the place into something that smelled little better than a cramped scout ship.

They sat around, staring at nothing. Jamie's arrival clearly perked them up.

Essak threw himself next to his friend. "What's going on? The ship shook, and all the girls shrieked."

"Are we going to blow up?" J'nai wrapped her arms around her slender body.

"I want my mama!" S'hora cried. "I don't want to blow up."

"It's the Enterprise," Jamie said.

"Enterprise!" Clarence crowed. "So, she did come, after all."

RiAnn frowned. "Why is your father's ship shooting at us?"

"I overheard them talking to each other," Jamie said. "They're scared. The Enterprise is trying to hit their shield generator."

"Whatever for?" J'nai gasped. "And what if they miss and—"

"Shut up, J'nai," Essak snapped. But he looked worried.

"If my dad can punch a hole through the deflector shield and take out the generator, the ship's screens will drop."

Derek smiled. "The Enterprise will then be free to beam us out of here and send an armed guard to capture the terrorists."

Cheers went up from everyone except Shaull. "I hope they have calculated their power use carefully. If not, we risk the chance of the hull being breached."

"Like blowing a hole in this stinking ship?" Essak asked.

Shaull nodded.

"The Enterprise crew is the best. They won't blow a hole in this ship," Jamie said, "not with us aboard. What scares me is that the terrorists can fire phasers at the Enterprise as often as they want. I hope her shields hold."

"Hmmm." Essak scratched his head. "They might need a little help. Maybe we can come up with a plan to help Captain Kirk take out the shield generator."

"A fine idea, Essak." Shaull nodded his approval.

Derek snorted. "How can a bunch of kids help a starship?"

"Listen, Derek," Essak shot back, "this bunch of kids brought a starship here. Remember?"

Derek shut up.

"All we need to do is find a way to disable the screens." Shaull said. "If we can do that, the Enterprise will do the rest. Simple."

"It sounds simple to talk about," Clarence scoffed. "But impossible to do."

"Yeah, Shaull," Essak said. "How do we go about lowering the screens of a ship, with a crew of adults ready to stop us?"

Jamie gasped. Tingles skittered up her neck. A fuzzy idea was taking shape. It was a long shot, but . . .

"Listen. We don't have to disable the screens for good. We just lower them long enough for the Enterprise to get one good shot at that shield generator. Then poof! No more deflectors."

"Same thing," Clarence muttered. "Disable. Lower. What's the difference?"

"There's a difference," Jamie said. The tingles grew stronger. She shivered. Oh, if only this would work! "If we create an emergency, the ship's safety program will override everything else. It might take a few moments to reset the system and activate the deflectors again. But the Enterprise only needs few seconds to knock out shields for good."

"That makes sense," Essak agreed slowly. "What kind of an emergency would cut out the screens?"

"Something that has to do with the docking bay. If the hanger doors suddenly open because of, say, an emergency launch, the screens would cut out long enough to let the smaller ships leave the bay. Otherwise, they'd crash into the shields."

"How do you know all this?" RiAnn asked.

Jamie felt her face turn red. "I found out the hard way, about six months ago. Somebody launched a shuttlecraft from the Enterprise when the screens were up. It's a long, horrible story, but believe me: once the emergency button is pushed, everything happens quick. The screens will go down."

I hope, she added silently. After all, this rust bucket wasn't a starship. Maybe their screens worked differently. Maybe—

"It's worth a try," Essak said.

"One more thing," Clarence said. "There's a guard the size of a gorilla just outside our door. How do we get past him?"

Jamie shot a look at Shaull.

"What?" the Vulcan boy asked.

"Do you know how to do a Vulcan nerve pinch?"

Shaull raised one eyebrow. "Of course."

"Can you do it on a big gorilla of a guard?"

Shaull smiled. "The only difference between a big, burly gorilla and a small, fragile person is the rate of their fall and the impact as they hit the ground."

"You mean, 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall,'" Essak joked.

"I believe that is what I said."

Derek rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Let's get to it. I'm sick and tired of being the victim. I want to watch Shaull do a number on the guard."