"Within range, sir!"
"Target their generators." Kirk ordered. "Take out the shields."
The Enterprise rocked as the gravity stabilisers failed to deal with the impact of the Romulan's torpedos. Uhura wrapped her feet around the base of her chair and kept sending the same message over and over "Romulan ship Treynis, this is the USS Enterprise. We are empowered under the Federation-Romulan treaty to offer you political asylum. Do you copy? Romulan ship Treynis, this is..."
"Their shields are at 50% sir!"
"Forward deflectors at 80%" Iyen reported. "70%."
The other Romulan ships, aside from the one the Enterprise had already disabled, had caught up with their leader and added their firepower to that of the warbird the Enterprise was targeting.
"More power to the shields, Mr Scott" Kirk said into the intercom.
"Iyen, I want firepaths for the generators on each of those other ships."
"On their way to tactical now, sir." she said, paused, and added,
"Port deflectors at 60%."
"On my mark, Mr Sulu. Mr Chekov, hold fire for my order."
"Aye sir."
"Ready, Mr Sulu: and ... mark."
The helmsman overrode the safety cutouts on the piloting computer and brought the Enterprise's nose up, and to the side. The warp field on the starboard side of the starship began to deform as the field generators struggled to make sense of the new information Sulu's manoeuvre was giving them. A warning sounded: Sulu ignored it, using the warpfield to push the Enterprise closer, broadside on, to the Romulans. Kirk imagined he felt the ship shuddering with effort:
manoeuvring in warp was usually extremely limited, particularly in a ship of this size. Too long out of a forward alignment and the field would compensate, changing their heading and course. Kirk trusted Sulu's touch on the controls, his knowledge of the Enterprise's limits as opposed to ones described in her technical manual.
"At 3 million miles." Sulu's voice was steady. "Two and a half. Two million"
The Enterprise's warp field overlapped with that of the three Romulan warbirds and for a brief instant the more powerful field of the Enterprise absorbed and subsumed that of their opponents.
"All hands, brace for impact." Kirk told his crew. In sickbay, McCoy and
Chapel shut the door to McCoy's office and wedged themselves in a corner.
In science lab seven, Ann Ridley began to pray aloud.
"One and a half. 1 million, captain!"
"All stop!" shouted Kirk. Starships did not drop to zero speed while in warp, but reduced speed to impulse manoeuvring, but Sulu's fingers danced on the controls, reversing power and bringing the Enterprise to a halt. The inertial dampers failed to compensate for the sudden change in velocity and the bridge crew clung to their chairs. As the Enterprise shuddered with the strain, her warp field dragged the Romulan warbirds to a shuddering stop as well. Their assemblies, less well made than the Enterprise and less lovingly maintained, buckled under the pressure.
"Romulan one losing power to the deflectors, sir." Iyen reported.
"Romulan two shields at half power with a failure in the warp field generators."
"Mr Chekov, fire!"
"Aye, sir!"
The warp torpedoes launched simultaneously, sending a shudder through the Enterprise's frame, accurately striking at the Romulan's shield generators.
Kirk imagined the scene on board the war birds: over stressed machinery shooting sparks, frantic engineers, the chaos of a gravity failure... he tried not to think about how closely that scene might resemble his own engine room after that last manoeuvre.
"Second barrage." he ordered.
"Second barrage away!" That was the full complement of weapons the Enterprise could fire while in warp, but tactical showed the three ships almost completely red, the computer's way of indicating systems failure.
"Their shields are down, sir! Power at minimum. They're helpless!"
"Mr Sulu! Lay in a course after the Treynis, maximum warp."
"Aye sir."
Scotty's voice came crackling over the comm. "Sir, what are ye doing to my engines!"
"Hold it together a little longer for me, Scotty," Kirk coaxed.
"There's little eno' left tae hold, Captain!"
"Five minutes, Scotty. Give me five more minutes." Kirk said, and cut the connection as Iyen shouted:
"Treynis in sensor range!"
The pursuing warbirds were in disarray, unable to follow the fugitive.
"Open hailing frequencies. Romulan ship Treynis, this Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise. You are in Federation space, in violation of the Federation-Romulan Treaty. Please explain yourself."
Static, and then the screen flickered and cleared to show a Romulan clinging to the command chair. "This is - crackle - of the Treynis.
We do not - crackle - choice, the Romulan space fleet - crackle -"
"Romulan Commander, your signal is distorted."
"They're losing power to the communications system, sir," Iyen said.
"I can't boost it any more, sir," said Uhura, "Not without drawing power from the engines."
"Their life support is going."
"Romulan commander, our sensors show your life support is failing.
Lower your shields and we will beam you aboard the Enterprise." Kirk muted the sound on the transmission. "Security bay to transporter room two."
"Kirk, I - crackle - honour."
"Shields are down, sir."
"Shields down, Scotty, beam the crew of that vessel to transporter room two. Mr Kyle, how's that team?"
"We're ready sir. The Romulans are arriving."
Kirk stood. "Shields back on line as soon as the transporter room reports all Romulans aboard, then fire on and destroy the Treynis.
Get a full sensor log of the destruction and then take up back to the other warbirds at warp 1 as soon as Scotty tells us he's clear down there. I'll be with our - guests. Ms Uhura, you have the conn."
"Aye sir," she said, moving down to take the centre chair. As Kirk stepped in to the turbo life he heard her low melodious voice saying,
"All stations, damage report."
Larssen fell and did not get up. Spock knelt beside her, and she made one desperate effort to get her feet under her and then subsided into unconsciousness.
He set the packs down and prepared to erect the shelter. His chronometer told him they had nineteen more hours, if the Enterprise had left orbit, and they had one hundred and sixty miles to go. He could go on, and cover the distance in that time, but Larssen seemed too weak to be left, now, and she clearly could not continue. He opened the shelter pack, and was startled when Larssen grabbed his wrist with one hand.
"How long?" she croaked. "How far?"
He told her, and she managed to get to her knees. "Eight miles an hour." she whispered. "A walk in the park."
Spock ignored her, pulling the shelter out. "You cannot continue." he said impassively. "You have done well, Lieutenant, but it is over."
Larssen looked at him for so long he though she was going to pass out again. "Can you reach the base without needing the shelter?"
"Yes." he said. "But even the heat source and the shelter will not keep you from hypothermia at this point, without another source of body heat."
Larssen nodded. "Medkit." she said, reaching for the pack. She had trouble with the straps, fumbling with the fastenings and then with the equipment inside. "Inoprovalene." she said impatiently to Spock.
"Delactovine."
He assisted her. As the medication took effect, her eyes cleared.
"There is a limit to the amount of such doses your cardiovascular system can tolerate." he warned her.
She used his shoulder to lever herself to her feet, her disregard for Vulcan's dislike of physical contact an indication of how far gone she was. "Stinking dead dogs rapidly copulating with their ancestors." she said with a drunkard's precision. "I think this one is my decision,
Commander."
Spock was still for so long she feared he would refuse her, and then he got to his feet, leaving the shelter half unpacked. Taking a ration tube from the other pack and putting it in her gloved hands, he said, "Eat, and we'll continue." As she tore the end with her teeth and forced herself to swallow the salty paste, he added, "Perhaps, as we walk, I can correct your accent."
Larssen was too weary to even smile. She simply looked out at him through her hood and facemask, her eyes tearing from the cold and wind, until Spock could not meet her eyes any longer, and turned away.
He was not sure he was making the right decision: even though she had gained her feet she was very weak, and losing strength fast. He could not estimate the probability she would survive the day ahead, except that it was low.
She was, however, right. In some way, this was her choice to make,
when walking out of the shelter into the blizzard had not been.
Perhaps because she was so clearly in her right mind now, and not been then: or perhaps because she was choosing a risk, rather than choosing death. He felt he had no right to stop her, although at the same time he could not help picturing her falling one final time, and the snow drifting over her face and open eyes. He recognised the emotion within himself: fear; and used reason to accept it, and move past it.
When she had eaten, he picked up the pack that held the medpack and the last of their food. Silently, she took hold of the strap, ready to move off behind him.
"Commander," she said faintly. "It has been a very great honour to serve with you, and to know you."
"Lieutenant," he said formally, mastering his fear and turning it to determination to get them both to the research base alive, "The honour, and the pleasure, has been mine. I look forward to its continuance."
Don't you DARE die on me now, McCoy would have said, but perhaps Larssen knew that Spock meant the same thing in his own way, for she gave him one small nod before he turned.