The bridge was eerily silent, save for the occasional beeps, buzzes, and chimes of computer consoles happily going about their business. Because their sensor mask was on, their weapons systems and shields were all powered down. Hopefully, the armor would protect them if the Reman warship fired unexpectedly. Stephen had tried to make some small talk with his bridge crew, but after realizing they weren't in a talkative mood, stopped. At several points of waiting, he decided to silently pray.
His communicator popped. "Kelly to Bridge."
Kirk sat up with a start. The rest of the bridge crew jolted, too. He pressed his badge. "Kirk here. Go ahead, Tommy."
"Commander, we got the port cannon working again. I doubt it'll be good for more than one shot, but if you can fire the cannon at 80 or less power, it should keep from exploding. I'd say you'll want to do that with the starboard cannon, too."
"I'll take note of that, Tommy. Good work. Will you be up here for the duration, or down in engineering?"
"I think I'll be heading down there, if you don't mind, Sir."
"Sounds good, Leiutenant. Congratulate your team for me. Kirk out." He pressed his badge again. He turned to T'Nia. "Well, that's some good news, anyway."
She turned back to face him. "Indeed." she replied calmly. "That means we are as fully operational offensively as possible. I am curious, however. Would it not be more logical to bring our combat systems online? We are planning to engage in combat, after all."
"I'm playing a hunch." Kirk replied. "The Rapier has a mission, too, and a deadline. If we pose as too much of a threat, they may just go around us and clean us up later. If we look like an easy kill, they may stop long enough to take us out."
"With all due respect, Commander," she guarded her words as she spoke, "with our shields down, we are a fairly easy target."
"True enough, but don't forget this ship has fairly substantial armor. Unless they let loose with a full assault, we should be okay after the first volley." Apparently, this discussion aroused the interest of the other bridge crew. They listened intently.
"I see your point, Commander. However, if you are expecting them to delay their mission so they can eliminate easy prey, wouldn't they be better served by destroying us in one volley?"
Kirk considered her point. It was quite valid. "I see your point, Leiutenant Commander. We need to encourage them to NOT destroy us quickly. How do you get an enemy vessel to not want to destroy you outright?" His question was mostly rhetorical.
"The most logical way would be to convince them you have something of value." T'Nia responded with a tilted head.
Somewhat amazed by the answer, Stephen scratched his chin. "Right. What do we have of value..." He snapped his finger and turned to Elaine. "Leiutenant begin a recording." She tapped a few buttons and nodded her head towards Kirk. Kirk looked up at the speaker. "This is Commander Kirk of the USS Nightengale calling the Reman warship Rapier. Our spy network has informed us of your existence, your flight plan, and your mission. Proceed no closer to Romulus or you will be fired upon." Kirk gave the 'cut off' sign to Elaine with his hand.
A green blink of her console confirmed she had the recording. "I have it, Sir. What do you want to do with it?"
"Set that recording to repeat on all hailing frequencies and play it." Kirk said with a smile. "Perhaps they'll be curious to know about our spy network." Stephen turned to T'Nia, raised an eyebrow and smiled.
She, in turn, raised an eyebrow to him. "An interesting ploy, Commander." She nodded her approval. The rest of the bridge crew nodded and smiled, too. This just might draw them in. Now that they had both cannons available, and the ability to see a cloaked ship, this might be a fight they could win after all.
Elaine issued the necessary commands to her console. Hopefully, no one saw her hands were shaking. This was becoming all too real for her. She felt like running off the bridge screaming. For a moment, she considered not sending the message. Perhaps the warship would just pass them by after all. If we didn't bait them in, perhaps they'd leave for a better target. She squinted her eyes, forcing her back to reality and her mission. Her eyes still closed, she tapped the last button. The message began playing. "It's done, Sir." She said without even turning around.