Disclaimer: see Chapter 1.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 15

"Interesting." Malcolm considered the readings strung out across the display, skilfully switching between the different options to get some cross-checks.

"Not a glitch in your scanner then?" asked Archer from the pilot's position.

Malcolm looked across. "No, Captain. It's working properly. Looks like they were hit harder than we thought."

"Yeah. Kind of a delayed reaction, though."

"Perhaps they think it's safe to slow for repairs now. But why the change in course?"

Archer frowned. "Rendezvous, maybe. There could be a whole fleet of Klingon ships just out of our sight."

Malcolm glanced sharply at him. "Was there any intelligence concerning other Klingon vessels in this sector?"

"No. Not when we left Enterprise. Doesn't mean they're not here now. I'll send Enterprise a burst with the new speed and heading." Archer tapped in the necessary commands to dispatch the message.

Bailey loomed onto the flight deck. "What's happened? Was that a course change?" He anxiously craned to read the displays.

"The Klingons have altered course and slowed," Malcolm reassured him. "We're still following them."

Bailey's worried expression lifted. "Good! They've slowed? So we'll catch up to them soon, huh?"

"I hope not!" said Malcolm. "We're supposed to be marking their position, not getting up close and personal. We haven't got the firepower."

Archer said, "Enterprise will be here soon and will be more than a match for them this time."

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The three men were crowded onto the flight deck, instruments and sensors abandoned as they stared out of the window at the colourful spectacle in their path. The plasma cloud moved languidly in lazy swirls, blues, greens and the occasional shot of red and pink, spiralling across the backdrop of space like some vast experiment in kinetic art. It filled the entire region ahead of them and to all sides.

"They're in there?" asked Malcolm, sweeping his gaze across the vibrant show.

"So it would appear. That's where the warp trail leads to." Archer tapped at the sensor display in front of the co-pilot's position. "Sensors can't pick anything up."

"No. They wouldn't," agreed Malcolm, tearing his eyes from the scene to check the sensor responses. "The density of the plasma cloud is too high. Sensor range will be significantly reduced. Enterprise's sensor array might be able to make something of it, but we most certainly can't."

"What does the scanner say?" said Bailey, his attention still on the cloud.

"Without decent sensor input, it doesn't matter what analysis it does. Nothing useful," said Malcolm. His eyes flicked to the luminous cloud again. "I hope the Klingons aren't using this to throw us off their trail. We don't know how big this thing is. They might already be through it and out the other side. We'd never know." He folded his arms, trying to think of some way to deal with this foil to the scent.

"I don't think it's a ploy to evade us," said Archer thoughtfully. "How would they even know we're here? Judging by the warp trail decay rates and timing, we've never been close enough for them to detect us."

"So, you think they're hiding here while they make repairs?" said Malcolm.

"It would make sense. They've just been in a fight with Starfleet, kidnapped some humans and won't know exactly what our resources are in this sector." Archer looked at Malcolm, who responded with a considering nod of agreement to this theory.

Archer re-took his position at the helm and cut the engines.

"Captain?"

"We can't go in blind," said Archer with a sigh, pushing away from the helm controls. "Well… we could… but there's no point. Except at short range, we can't track inside the cloud, and inside the cloud we'd also be out of communications contact with Enterprise. We'll wait out here. Enterprise will arrive soon, and I don't want to waste time by having her look for us in there. And we'll know if the Klingons leave - if they resume their original course, anyway, and come out on this side of the cloud."

Malcolm couldn't fault the logic, but it didn't sit easy with him. He gently kneaded his hands together, visualising Trip and Gomez at the mercy of the Klingons - and from what he knew of Klingons, mercy was not one of their most outstanding qualities. Something of his concerns must have shown because Archer raised an eyebrow in query at him.

Malcolm shook his head. "Just thinking about Trip and Red."

Bailey broke away from his contemplation of the plasma cloud. "There must be something we can do! I hate thinking about Red stuck on that Klingon ship and us doing nothing about it." He strode to the rear and slumped down on the spare seat, burying his head in his hands.

"Enterprise should be under way soon," said Malcolm, trying to soothe his own uneasy feelings as much as Bailey's. "And we have done something - we've fulfilled our mission. We've kept tabs on the Klingons and know where they are waiting - or at least, we think we do."

"Yeah. I've sent Enterprise a data burst with the new information," said Archer. He gazed at his two companions. "I hate waiting, too."

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Malcolm hurried to the flight deck in answer to Archer's summons, leaving a snoring Bailey to his catnap in the lounge. There had been something in Archer's tone that concerned him and he spared only the briefest glance at the plasma cloud's distracting display.

"Captain. What is it?"

Archer swung around. Malcolm could see the tightness in Archer's jaw as he replied. "A message from Enterprise. They've broken transmission silence." Archer paused before delivering the bad news. "They've been further delayed. They're still at Deross Mining Facility and won't be able to get under way for another three days."

"Three days!" Malcolm was aghast. Three days of waiting - more than three days because Enterprise still had to travel here - while Trip and Gomez underwent what kind of torture? He swallowed and asked, "Why the hold up? What's the matter?"

"An engineering problem - the message wasn't specific. There's more. We've been ordered to engage the Klingons."

"Engage them!" Malcolm exclaimed. "That can't be right! What does the Commodore think we've got here? A cruiser!" Carlotta didn't stand a chance. It would be madness to attack the Klingons. They would last mere seconds in combat. Not only would they end up dead - or captured - but who would track the Klingons afterwards? Trip and Gomez would be doomed. Malcolm grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. It was suicide. Useless suicide.

Malcolm glared at Archer. "Exactly what operational experience does Trent have, anyway?" he said scathingly.

Archer said, "Oh, he has put in his years on board ship, but mostly it's been more of a… um… career working in the background, from what I've discovered, as an aide to Admiral Payne."

Malcolm grunted. He knew the type - keeping their hide safe and manipulating the strings of those at the sharp end. The type who thought they were far too clever to waste their time in the mundane routine of a starship. He said, "What if the Klingons leave the plasma cloud? We have to be in one piece so we can track them."

Archer shrugged. "I would lay bets they'll resume their old heading, and Enterprise already knows what that is."

"So - do you agree with this, Captain?" Malcolm was wary, wondering what he could do to alter matters. "You think we should try to attack them?"

"It's an order." Then Archer smiled. "But possibly an order that is open to interpretation."

Malcolm brightened. That was always a constructive approach in his experience! "What do you have in mind?"

"I don't think the Commodore could actually mean engage them, do you? I imagine there was something lost in the wording of the data burst. I imagine a much more likely intention would be for us to track them more closely."

Archer looked almost cunning and Malcolm grinned. It wasn't a quality he would ever associate with the man. And, just possibly, Archer was right anyway - it didn't make sense for Carlotta to be ordered to attack.

"You mean we should go into the plasma cloud?" Malcolm wholeheartedly approved of that prospect. It was better than skulking around outside.

Archer said, "Yeah. I'd prefer to wait here, but with Enterprise's delay, I think we need to be sure the Klingons are staying put in there."

"The plasma cloud will level the playing field as far as sensors are concerned. We're a lot smaller than they are and they'll have a problem spotting us unless we get too close. We might be able to hold-off undetected from their position and still see them."

"That's what I thought."

"And there is an argument that we'd be following Trent's orders." Not that disobeying orders worried Malcolm - quite the contrary. There was no way he was going to be controlled by Trent or by Starfleet, not if he had any say in the matter. However, there was Archer's position to consider.

Malcolm suppressed the sudden anger provoked by thoughts of Starfleet and gazed at the colourful display in the window. The practicalities of this mission were sufficient to keep him focussed right now. He said to Archer, "Of course, we still need to find them in there. That won't be easy."

"No." Becoming decisive, Archer moved to bring the engines on-line and said briskly, "Better get Bailey up here. We'll need all hands - all three of us! - for this manoeuvre."

"Aye, Captain!"

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Powering up the engines, Archer set Carlotta off on her new heading, directly towards the plasma cloud. Malcolm tweaked his scanner and played around with the ship's own sensors, but they could barely see in front of their noses. They had no option but to keep it steady at a frustratingly low speed.

Malcolm made a negative face. "It's no good. That's the best I can give you, Captain."

"Then that'll have to do," said Archer quietly, his entire concentration on piloting.

The plasma cloud's colours changed as its density varied, the disturbances being generated by sweeping magnetic fields, interstellar winds or some other phenomenon. Bailey stood at the window, staring fixedly at the scene. Malcolm saw his fascination with the view and became worried that Bailey was about to experience another episode like the one on his very first trip on Carlotta, but then Bailey turned. He waved at the sight. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"Uh huh," said Archer.

"That's one way to look at it," muttered Malcolm. "Give me clear space any day."

"Ahh, but then we wouldn't be able to sneak up on the Klingons, would we?" said Bailey, his irrepressible enthusiasm bubbling through.

"I suppose it does give us some options," said Malcolm. "But I prefer to know what we're getting into."

"We'll know soon enough," said Archer.

Carlotta slipped into the cloud, its glorious colour scheme enfolding her within its compass. Faint washes of changing subtle colour played from every window over the dull palate of the ship's interior décor, transforming the workaday, tired appearance.

Malcolm rubbed his eyes and concentrated on the readings. The sensors were almost blind. He wasn't going to get much warning of any dangers they might run into.

As they got further in, an object registered ahead of them. Malcolm said, "Something up ahead, Captain. Quite large. Several thousand kilometres. Too big for the Klingon vessel." He tagged the co-ordinates to present the information on the pilot's display.

"I got it." Archer guided Carlotta in a slow, skirting sweep around the obstruction.

Bailey watched out of the window, tasked with acting as human backup to the struggling circuitry. He said, "A planetoid. There might be more."

Malcolm nodded, tracking through his available options. "You're right. Another, to starboard."

"Yeah." Archer acquired the positional co-ordinates overlaying the course display. "I see it."

"It sure is crowded," commented Bailey.

Malcolm risked a quick glance outside, noting a small rock winging its way past. "The Klingons can't have gone too far in. Why risk it? I wouldn't want to hang around in here."

"My guess," said Archer, speaking slowly as he concentrated on threading his way through the obstructions, "is that they've found somewhere with less junk flying around. Otherwise, I agree - they'd be out of here."

Malcolm expanded the range shown on his display for a brief moment, conscious of the accompanying trade-off in resolution. "The area off the port bow seems more open."

"We'll try over there then. It seems the obvious route to take, and I bet the Klingons are obvious!"

Carlotta crawled along, minutes lengthening into hours. There was no sign of the Klingons, and even Bailey was less hopeful they would find them. At their current low speed, they usually had sufficient warning to avoid any lumps of rock without violent course corrections, but it was demanding of their entire attention. Malcolm reflected that it was amazing how tiring that could be when you weren't even moving a muscle.

They had been feeling their way through the cloud for about four hours when yet another planetoid loomed in front of them, running along in a dense stream of asteroids. Its surface showed up on sensors as a mass of jagged reflectors, formed by impact from passing rocks over eons. Malcolm scanned ahead beyond the planetoid…What was that?

"I think I see them," Malcolm said sharply. He highlighted the shadow on his screen.

Archer noted it. "Looks like another rock to me, Malcolm."

"I don't think so. It's a longer shape overall. I recommend we tuck in next to this planetoid." Malcolm worked to refine the image, sharpening up the sensors to gather more information from that area. He set his scanner to look for boundary discontinuities, and was rewarded with an outline - still blurred but unmistakable. "Got you," said Malcolm with satisfaction.

"Good work, Malcolm," said Archer, bringing Carlotta alongside the planetoid and matching vectors with it. "I wonder if they saw us? If they did, we'll find out soon enough."

"I doubt it," said Malcolm with well-founded confidence. "We're too small. Even with more powerful sensors, we'd just look like another rock at this range, and, sitting here, they won't see us as a separate entity. We're part of the planetoid as far as they're concerned."

Archer manoeuvred Carlotta to the edge of the planetoid. "If we wait here, we can watch them but they won't see us. It's a little less crowded here, too."

Bailey said, "Yeah. The asteroids from this part of the belt have been wiped out by hitting the planetoid. That's why there's a calm region around it. This type of place is usually good to wait in." Then he added thoughtfully, "Mind you, this region is complicated in gravitational terms, what with all the planetoids, and the plasma cloud might be having an effect, too. I guess that's why the field is so dense, except close to the planetoid. I better set the sensors to warn us of any stray asteroids."

"Yes. We don't want any unpleasant surprises," agreed Malcolm.

Archer organised an automatic position-holding sequence. Then he stretched his arms above his head and groaned, rolling each shoulder and his neck. "That's better. Okay, so now we wait. And watch. It looks like the Klingons have found a quiet spot, too." He stood and stepped over to the window. The Klingon ship wasn't visible to the naked eye, but the swirl of asteroids between their positions was an awesome sight, clearly lit by the multicoloured illumination of the plasma cloud. "We won't get bored," he said, watching as a lump the size of Carlotta crashed against another rock, shattering it into fragments. "I'm going to freshen up. Malcolm - you take the watch. Call me if there's a problem."

"Yes, Captain." Malcolm saw Bailey stifling a yawn. "You take a break, too, Mot. I'll let you know if anything happens."

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The three men gathered on Carlotta's flight deck to catch up on matters - not that there was much to catch up on. The Klingons hadn't stirred, Carlotta was still in position, Enterprise was absent and the asteroid field was providing the only entertainment.

"I wish we could do something," said Bailey, standing between Archer and Malcolm at the window. "Still - we'll soon have them back, right? Enterprise will get here soon and we'll have them back safe." He grinned broadly at the others.

Malcolm shrugged, trying to dampen Bailey's ebullient mood to something more realistic. "There's nothing we can do but watch. At least we'll know if the Klingons get moving again." He watched the asteroids tumbling in a confused extravaganza, with sizes ranging from the tiny to quite substantial. It gave him a queasy feeling. The last time he had been faced with this type of asteroid field, it had very nearly ended in tears.

Bailey was undeterred, apparently already imagining Gomez and Trip successfully rescued. He thumped Malcolm on the back. "Almost like being at home," he said, thumbing at the asteroids. "Some of those look like they have interesting compositions."

It was probably true, thought Malcolm, his practised eye settling on several of the more irregular rocks, glittering as they caught and returned flashes of light. He was grateful he would never have to extract them from this heaving maelstrom. The much tamer loose fields he had already tackled had stretched him to his limit. This was way beyond anything like that.

Bailey said to Archer, standing on his other side, "I haven't mined this type of churn for a while, but Pan here has, haven't you? With Johansson?"

"How do you know that?" demanded Malcolm, jerking around in surprise. He had been discreet about what work he'd done for others.

Bailey beamed at Malcolm, jubilant at having demonstrated his perceptiveness. "You don't get mineral perovskites from the big rocks," he pointed out. "And that's what you and Johansson were shipping. Stands to reason you've been having fun with the little guys."

"Fun!" Malcolm snorted the word with a mix of amusement and horror. "Not where I was standing, or rather… dodging."

Archer gazed at Malcolm in amazement. He jabbed a finger at the anarchic scene outside. "Are you saying you take a ship into something like this to mine?"

Bailey laughed and made to deliver a friendly slap to Archer's back, just stopping short as he recalled the dignity due to a Starfleet captain. "No! You might get to the other side okay, but you wouldn't get much mining done on the way through."

"Then how…?"

Malcolm crossed his arms. Time to educate Archer in the more extreme points of asteroid mining. "You go in - no ship, only you and your EV suit - place appropriate charges on the more desirable specimens, and then detonate them to take them out of the plane of the churn. Then it's easy for the ship to come along and scoop them all up."

"You go out in that!" Archer looked in utter disbelief at the asteroids brutally crashing around their endless routes. "In an EV suit!"

"Yeah." Malcolm tried to sound nonchalant. "Admittedly, the fields I've worked in haven't been quite as… challenging as that, but the principle is the same."

Archer said, "That sounds crazy."

"Oh, it is," agreed Bailey. "That's why Gomez and me stick to working on the planetoids, on the whole. It's a hell of a lot easier. Okay, you don't get the very high value catalyst materials and such, but we get a lot more ore, so it works out about even. And safer. We've tried both approaches and find we can leave churns alone."

"There's a chance to get some really good finds, though," said Malcolm, recalling Johansson's views on the topic.

Bailey was sceptical. "A chance, but how often does that come off?"

"Perhaps you're right. But it's how Johansson operates a lot of the time… so." Malcolm shrugged.

"Yeah, but if you anticipate the market, keep an eye on what cargoes are being shipped and what's likely to be short, you can make better choices on the big stuff."

"I suppose so," conceded Malcolm, thinking it through. "But in any case, it's not down to me. It depends on what the particular skipper wants to do. Umm. It wasn't down to me." Yeah - it would be some time - if ever - before he went mining again.

Archer broke into the trade talk. "You know… I've had an idea." He creased his forehead in concentration as he pulled thumb and forefinger along his jaw. "Something we can do instead of waiting. But… no. No… we can't."

"What, Captain?" asked Malcolm. "Surely anything we can do to take action has got to be worth considering."

"Well… I was thinking. We can't outshoot the Klingons. As soon as we reveal ourselves, that'll be the end of Carlotta. Our cannon is useless against them. But what if we throw a few rocks their way, huh?"

Malcolm gaped at him. That was both brilliant and disturbing. He didn't like to admit it, but Archer had come up with a perfect weapon. How had he missed that? He kicked himself. He had been too hung up on seeing the rocks as mechanisms for producing cash. The disturbing thought was… it was bloody dangerous. He swallowed as he watched the asteroids dancing clumsily across the window. Even more disturbingly, he knew he had to try it. Trip and Gomez were languishing on that Klingon ship. Every hour could be crucial. Who knew how long it would be before Enterprise arrived?

He found his voice. "Excellent idea, Captain. I'm sure I could send several asteroids at them. It might not be very precise - won't be at all, in fact - but it could give us a chance to bring Carlotta in close and board."

"That's just what I was thinking." Archer was grinning, almost playful.

Bailey had grown serious. He understood more than Archer ever could what this plan might mean. Giving Malcolm a long look, he said, "I'll help, Pan. You definitely need a recall man on post for this job."

"Recall man?" queried Archer, looking from one to the other.

Bailey said, "Someone who watches out for incoming asteroids and gets the explosives guy out of the way of any that are going to… cause any upset."

Malcolm noticed Bailey's uncharacteristic understatement and gave a wry half-smile. He said gratefully, "Thanks for offering, Mot. I'll need all my attention for setting the charges. We better sit down and choose which presents we want to give to our Klingon friends."

"Nothing too big - we don't want to destroy them, only cause a diversion," cautioned Archer, unnecessarily.

"Understood," acknowledged Malcolm, unable to take his eyes off the chaos he would soon be part of.

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They were nearly ready for the first phase of the ambitious scheme. Archer was planning to observe from the flight deck and was already in place. Malcolm and Bailey were busy in the cargo bay. They had almost gathered all the required gear together.

Malcolm carried out his final equipment checks, curbing his irritation at having to revert back to a Starfleet-issue EV suit. He hadn't even thought to ensure his non-service one was brought onto Carlotta with his other bits and pieces. With a sigh, he concentrated instead on the explosives - a much more uplifting task. There were plenty of charges but had had to improvise on how he stowed his equipment about his person, and it took time to work out the best method. Unsurprisingly, his usual work harness had not been brought onto Carlotta. Who would have imagined he would be mining again! Finally satisfied, Malcolm loaded himself up and grabbed his helmet.

Bailey was already suited, watching the preparations in silence. He stepped over and rapped on Malcolm's oxygen pack. "Good and solid!" he said, with a wicked grin.

Malcolm pulled a face full of loathing. "Don't rub it in! I only hope I haven't forgotten how to - I don't know - actually move, or anything useful like that."

Bailey gave a couple of gulping laughs. "Ready then?" He wheezed out.

"Yeah."

Malcolm lowered the helmet over his head and made the seals. Then he and Bailey checked each other's suits. Now all they had to do was cycle through the airlock and they would be in the thick of the mêlée. An unexpected shudder of apprehension shot through Malcolm's body. He let out a quick huff of air, surprised at his strength of feeling. That didn't bode well, he thought worriedly, trying to even out his breathing. He thought he had got away with it, but Bailey slapped him on his arm.

"Is everything okay, Pan?"

Malcolm gave a shaky smile. "Never better!" He stomped over to the airlock, lifted his hand to operate the door control and froze. A vision sprang into his mind - a flash of pock-marked rock hurtling past, skimming his visor… almost shattering it. He dropped his hand with an explosive exhalation and a mental curse. Taking a deep breath, he licked his lips and tried again. This time the vision didn't manifest itself, but he couldn't quite bring himself to close the few centimetres between gloved finger and control panel. It was utterly ridiculous! He couldn't believe he was being so weak.

"Hey." Bailey's voice sounded concerned. "Pan?"

"Silly." Malcolm chided himself, chewing at his cheek. He stepped back, gesturing at the control panel. "I think you'd better do the honours."

"Not just yet." Bailey snapped the comm system over to person-to-person, effectively blocking anyone else from listening in. "What's wrong? Before we go out there, I need to know."

Malcolm grimaced. Yes, he supposed he did. Reluctantly, he said, "On my last campaign with Johansson, I had a close call. Too close. Luckily, Johansson was on the ball and pulled me out of the contact zone in the nick of time, but… It could have been very messy - literally." Malcolm spread his hand wide. "Splat! A Reed-sandwich nearly joined the Ertion IV churn!" He gave an unamused chuckle. "It seems to have left me a little… um… nervous." He hated admitting to that, but if Bailey was going to risk his own life out there with him, he deserved to know. "I'll be okay once we are out there - I'm certain - but it's just that first step. Stupid, really."

Bailey moved in front of him so Malcolm could see his face. There was no trace of any derision in his expression - only understanding. "Don't beat yourself up over it. It's not stupid. I've been there, too. You'll find lots of miners have. Any that haven't are very lucky or have no imagination whatsoever!"

Malcolm felt a little easier at that assurance. "How did you get over it?"

"Normally, you just have to get stuck back in there - start with something easy and work up again - build the confidence levels back up."

Malcolm sighed. "We don't have that luxury here."

"No, but you can rely on me to keep a good lookout." Bailey lifted the coil of line attached to his belt. "The slightest problem and I'll reel you in. We can always go back to a rock to finish the job, and we won't rush it." He gripped Malcolm's arm. "Don't worry. You're in safe hands. I haven't done much of this recently, but at one time it was all Red and I did."

Malcolm nodded. "Come on, then. I'm ready. Once I'm out there, I'll be too busy to worry - I hope."

Bailey gave another squeeze and then pressed the button to open the inner door. They stepped inside the airlock.

"Okay?" asked Bailey, as the door closed.

"Uh huh." Yeah - he was okay… Probably.

Bailey activated the decompression routine. The atmosphere vented, vacuum was established and the outer door opened.

"Here we go!" said Malcolm, closing his eyes and pushing off, out of the sanctuary of the Carlotta and into the hostile vacuum of space. With that barrier overcome, Malcolm allowed himself to look around. Bailey was at his side, holding a small scanner.

Bailey pointed to an irregular asteroid, about four times the size of a man, several hundred metres ahead. "That's the first one on our list."

They activated thrusters and, keeping a sharp lookout, aimed for the target asteroid, dodging around the other rocks that were seemingly intent on knocking them senseless. As it didn't matter what ore or minerals their choices of asteroid were composed of, they had selected those near the edge of the churn. In theory, they would be easier to reach and extract.

Malcolm's entire concentration was taken with negotiating the route, comparing trajectories shown on his scanner - relayed from Carlotta's short range sensors - and what he could see for himself. Thankfully, although it was a dense field, at these outer reaches it was possible to thread a way through without too much difficulty. As always, it turned out better when you were in the thick of it than contemplating it from the refuge of a nice, comfortable - and safe - ship.

Malcolm arrived at the asteroid and braked to synchronise with it. He was aware of Bailey looming up alongside.

"Hooking up," said Bailey, clipping the free end of his line to Malcolm's belt. Then he paid it out and drew back about forty metres.

Malcolm ran a gloved hand over the rock's surface, getting a feel for its irregular curves and planes. He had decided to place five or six charges on each asteroid. It was hugely wasteful in mining terms - normally he would use no more than two charges. However, for this job, he needed to create and control a more complicated flight path. He untethered his drill and began work at the first position. The operation progressed smoothly - sometimes pockets of resistance could jam or deflect the drill bit. The first explosive charge slid snugly into its new home.

He moved around to the next position and did the same for the second charge. The practice with Johansson stood him in good stead, and he worked efficiently and quickly despite the clumsy suit. When he had secured all five charges, he transferred their positional and identification data to his scanner.

"Finished this one," he reported with satisfaction, switching the scanner mode back to tracking incoming rocks. "Ready to move on, Mot?"

"Yeah. Next one is thataway." Bailey flung an arm in the general direction of the second target.

The second target turned out to be a pig to work on. Every charge but one had an abortive first attempt to locate it. By the time Malcolm could report the job was finished, he was ready to blow it into bits there and then with the biggest charge he could lay his hands on.

They worked their way inwards to the next target asteroids, Malcolm laboriously securing his explosive charges to the specified ones. They had decided to choose those keeping company with the planetoid that was shielding Carlotta from the Klingons. Those asteroids had low relative velocities so they didn't have to chase after them. However, this approach had the disadvantage that the field about the selected rocks was more dense. It was still possible to navigate, but there were smaller margins for error.

Malcolm was concentrating on the penultimate asteroid. It wasn't too obvious to him where he should locate his charges, and he found he was second guessing himself. Eventually making a decision, he resolved to stick with it, come what may, and began on the first charge, conscious of the lost time.

"You need to move, Pan. Twenty seconds."

"Okay," said Malcolm. He had nearly finished drilling the first hole.

"Fifteen…"

Malcolm held the drill in position, bracing himself on an outcrop. The drill bit caught on a stubborn piece of rock.

"Pan… Thirteen!"

Malcolm grimaced as the drill motor cut out. He tried to yank it free.

"Ready or not!" called Bailey. "Here you come!"

Malcolm lost his grasp on the drill as he was tugged away from the asteroid. He found himself gliding towards Bailey, who was holding his position with short thruster bursts as he reeled in the line.

"I told you to get out!"

"There was plenty of time," argued Malcolm, watching as a significant piece of rock tumbled past his former position. "That didn't even look particularly close."

"I told you - we take no chances. And it wasn't that one. Watch!"

A second rock swung into view, neatly skimmed the target asteroid, missing it by centimetres, and continued on its way.

"Oh," said Malcolm, chastened. "Sorry. I got carried away."

Bailey laughed. "That's why I'm here. You've got your confidence back, I see!"

"Yeah. I have, haven't I?" said Malcolm with immense satisfaction. "Let's get it finished then. Throw me back!"

"I only ever catch tiddlers," complained Bailey, as he freed up the line.

"Says the whale!" retorted Malcolm.

Bailey roared with laughter and sent him on his way.

TBC