CHAPTER 33
Hoshi and Tucker were standing by the open hatch of the scout ship as Shidak and Nolan approached. Malcolm and Kleth were a few feet away, off to one side.
Hoshi raised her good arm, which she had been holding behind her. In her hand she held a disruptor she had taken from one of the pirates who had been downed. All the anxiety, all the frustration, all the anger that had been mounting over the last few days came crashing down around her as she saw the smug smile on Nolan's face.
"You son of a bitch!" Hoshi screamed.
Shaking with rage, both at Shidak for the death of Matthew and at Nolan for using her, she fired. She wasn't sure which man she despised more, and her moment's hesitation allowed Shidak to dodge to one side.
Her shot hit Nolan squarely in the chest. In morbid satisfaction, she watched as his body disappeared, disintegrating under the effects of the disruptor blast.
Without warning, she was grabbed around the waist and forcefully tossed into the scout ship. She tumbled to the floor, managing to avoid hitting her bad shoulder, and looked up to see Tucker rushing past her to the pilot's chair. He hurriedly accessed the controls, initiating the start-up sequence.
As she crawled over to the open hatch, she could hear weapons' fire. She ducked just in time to avoid Malcolm slamming into her as he leaped through the hatch.
"Kleth?" she asked anxiously.
"He's coming. Get out of the way!"
Hoshi rolled to one side, Malcolm to the other, as the big Klingon dove through the hatch, coming up hard against the door to the lavatory on the far side of the interior.
"Get that hatch shut!" Tucker yelled.
Malcolm scooted over to the open hatch, fired off three quick shots, and reached up to slam the hatch shut, dogging it down. "Go!" he yelled.
The ship slowly began to ascend, the impact of weapons' fire ringing on the hull.
"Those weapons shouldn't hurt us," Malcolm said in response to Hoshi's questioning look. "It's what's waiting in orbit that's going to cause a problem."
Kleth had pulled himself up and was standing to one side of Tucker at the controls. "We must contact the Falcon."
"Yes!" Hoshi said. "They need to be warned. Tell Garef to make sure the docking bay is ready for us."
Tucker keyed open the communications panel and Kleth leaned forward to relay the instructions to the Falcon. As he finished, Malcolm crowded in on the other side of Tucker and punched in a different frequency on the comm panel.
"What are you doing?" Kleth asked suspiciously.
"Getting us some help," Malcolm replied shortly. "Look at the short-range scanners -- we're going to have to run a gauntlet to get to the Falcon."
Hoshi crowded forward to see for herself. Staring over Tucker's shoulder, she could see three blips between them and the Falcon on a readout on the console.
"The Falcon can handle them," she said, and heard a confident growl from Kleth.
"Maybe so," Malcolm said, "but I wouldn't count on it if we're trying to get into its docking bay at the same time. Falcon will have to remain stationary for that, and it will be an easy target."
"I suggest you all hang on," Tucker said. "As soon as we break free of the planet's gravity, those ships are gonna come after us and it's gonna get rough."
Hoshi moved back to the bunk, bracing herself on it with her feet against the bulkhead. Malcolm found a spot on the console he could grab with one hand, and grasped the back of the pilot's chair with the other. Kleth simply widened his stance, balancing himself evenly.
"How long's it gonna take for Enterprise to get here?" Tucker asked.
"Any moment now," Malcolm replied, keeping his eyes glued to the readout. "There!"
Another blip had emerged from behind the fourth planet, headed in their direction. Enterprise would be coming into the fray on the far side of the Falcon.
Kleth had been watching another monitor. "Falcon is powering up weapons and turning to confront Shidak's ships," he reported.
Hoshi closed her eyes briefly, wishing she were on her bridge. She didn't want them going into battle without her or Kleth. They were Klingons, all but bred for battle, but most of them were young and inexperienced. She couldn't anticipate how they would act in this situation, other than to go full bore, guns blazing.
"Falcon is firing!" Kleth announced.
Sure enough, she thought, they were going for first blood. Garef would be commanding in her and Kleth's absence, and in her mind's eye, she could see him issuing orders as he remained at the helm.
As Kleth continued to report the actions of the Falcon and Shidak's three ships, her mind drifted away from the battle. She kept seeing Nolan, his face registering surprise as the beam of her disruptor hit him. She understood the process of how she had killed, the energy beam disrupting his cells. Emotionally, she was surprised to find she felt no remorse, only relief and vindication.
He had set her up. Shidak had known all along that she was going to try to kill him. Nolan had also told Shidak about Malcolm. It had been sheer luck that she and Malcolm had met before either of them had found Shidak. No doubt when that had happened, Nolan had hoped she'd kill Malcolm for him.
She had no time to dwell on those thoughts as the scout ship lurched to one side under a cannon blast fired by the light cruiser as it passed them.
"The two bigger ships are going after the Falcon," Malcolm said.
"Can't this thing shoot back?" Hoshi called from her spot on the bunk.
"'Fraid not," Tucker said. "It's built for observation and speed, not fightin'."
"Keep up an evasive course, Tucker. ... Enterprise is coming in under the Falcon," Malcolm said, watching the readout, then glancing out through the viewport where flashes of phase cannon fire could be seen amidst the circling ships. "She's firing on one of the cruisers."
Hoshi couldn't remain on the bunk. She had to see what was going on. Awkwardly getting to her feet, favoring her injured shoulder, she moved to the front of the ship, where Malcolm reached out to put his arm around her waist to steady her.
"The Falcon is opening the docking bay," Kleth said.
"Cut between the two heavy cruisers," Malcolm instructed Tucker. "They won't be able to shoot at us without getting caught in each other's line of fire."
"What about the one on our tail?" Tucker asked worriedly as he made the course change. "He's turned and is following us."
Malcolm didn't answer. Instead, he opened the comm frequency again. "Reed to Enterprise."
"Enterprise here," came Archer's voice.
"We need to get out of this fight. We're heading for the Falcon. Can you take care of the ship behind us?"
There was a moment as the sounds of commands being issued on the bridge of the Enterprise came through, then Archer's voice returned strongly, "Can do."
Hoshi, looking out the viewport, could see the Starfleet vessel veer off from an attack run on one of the large cruisers and bank in their direction.
"He's gonna come in right over us," Tucker said anxiously. "If he keeps to that heading, there's not gonna be much room to spare."
"How much?" Malcolm asked.
"Less than one hundred meters."
"As soon as we pass it, rise up on the Z axis far enough to use Enterprise as a shield from behind. Then head straight for the Falcon."
"Here it comes!" Kleth said, his eyes glued to the sight outside the viewport.
Hoshi involuntarily ducked as Enterprise, blocking out the stars, filled the viewport and swept by overhead. It was so close she could see into some of the lighted viewports and make out details, and she watched in awe as the saucer section passed by.
She was suddenly thrown against Malcolm when Tucker started the scout ship on an ascending course between Enterprise's two nacelles as soon as they appeared.
"What are you doing?" she asked nervously. "What if they suddenly change course? We'll hit one of the nacelles!"
"Calculated risk, ma'am," Tucker responded. "Right now I'd rather take that risk than keep gettin' hit by phase cannons. Our plating is only so strong. One or two more hits will destroy us."
She could see the Falcon dead ahead, being fired upon by the two heavy cruisers. The scout ship drew the pirates' attention, however, as it came up under and behind Enterprise.
"As fast as you can, Mr. Tucker," Malcolm urged.
Trip didn't bother to answer or even look out the viewport, his focus concentrated on the controls in front of him. Hoshi, Malcolm and Kleth rocked backward as the stablizers strained to compensate for the sudden acceleration.
A bolt of phase fire shot past them, followed by two more, each one closer than the last. Hoshi glanced apprehensively at Malcolm, whose face was taut with tension as he watched Tucker work the controls.
"Hang on!" Tucker said, and the bottom dropped out below them.
The scout ship dipped, swerved to one side, then the other, and came back up to its original course. The shooting abruptly ceased.
"We're between them," Kleth said. "To shoot now would endanger their own ships."
"I suggest you change speed as soon as we clear the zone between them," Malcolm said. "That may throw off their targeting."
"I can't change it too much," Tucker grunted. "We've got to slow down for docking."
Hoshi heard Malcolm sigh before he said, "Just do the best you can."
A flickering reflection on the metal hull of one of the cruisers caught her eye. "What's--"
The scout ship rocked, tossing Hoshi and Malcolm to the floor. Kleth managed to remain standing, but only because he was thrown across the back of Tucker's chair.
"The Starfleet vessel has destroyed its prey," Kleth said. "That was the shock wave from the explosion."
Lances of fire shot past the scout ship from behind, striking one of the two heavy cruisers, which careened off, its engine damaged. Taking advantage of their opponents' preoccupation with the strongly armed Enterprise which had turned and was now following them, Tucker set a straight-line course for the Falcon's open docking bay.
"Another ship -- Klingon design -- is coming around from behind Shidak's planet," Kleth reported.
"Is it a threat to us?" Malcolm asked.
"No, we should reach Falcon and dock safely before it arrives at the battle."
Hoshi's stomach clenched. She knew who was commanding the newest ship to join the battle. "It's Shidak," she said softly.