Chapter 15
After the shuttlepod had docked and North was taken to Sickbay, Kostopoulos returned to the Bridge, with Sethlan in tow.
"Report," she said, making straight for her chair.
Amrani relinquished the helm to Sethlan and went back behind the science station. "The Xindi ship has left the surface, they're entering orbit now."
"They're charging weapons," said Ragnarsson.
They want a fight then, thought Kostopoulos, settling into her seat. Good.
"Tactical Alert," she said.
"What is that muck?" North asked, sitting up in his bed in Excalibur's sickbay as Dr. Traze applied some brown paste to the bruises on his abdomen.
"A poultice to soothe the wounds," Traze replied. "I'm afraid further treatment will have to wait til we get you back to the base, sir. Excalibur isn't exactly built for intensive care."
North looked around the cramped sickbay, which consisted of just two beds and a small lab area. The shelves were lined with jars containing various plants and soil samples, more like an ancient apothecary's shop than a medical facility. North had to admit though, he felt much better since chewing that awful root.
Borr, with nothing else to do, had accompanied North, and was closely observing Traze's methods. "It's actually quite similar to techniques we Arboreals use."
North was about to retort when klaxons sounded and red lights flashed. A Tactical Alert. He got to his feet and pulled his shirt back on. "I have to get to the bridge."
Traze protested. "Sir, you need to stay here, you're still badly injured."
"I understand, thank you, Doctor, but I have to fix this." He winced as he made it to the door, then stopped. "I… don't suppose you mind telling me how I get to the bridge?"
North eventually found his way to the command centre, which rocked from a weapons hit on the hull, nearly knocking his fragile body to the deck.
"Pulse cannons, try to take out their weapons," Kostopoulos ordered before she noticed North stumbling in. "Commodore! You should be in Sickbay."
He didn't respond to that. "What's the situation, Captain?"
"It's a small ship but she has a lot of firepower, sir," said Kostopoulos.
Excalibur rocked again, and North held onto the captain's chair. "Hail them."
Kostopoulos had a hard time hearing that. "Sir?!"
"I can talk to their commander. Hail them!"
Kostopoulos nodded to Amrani, who sent the hail.
A moment later, the bridge of the Xindi vessel appeared on the main viewscreen. An angry Zarah glared at them.
"Zarah," North began, "listen to me. You've failed. You cannot complete your mission. The only way for you to claim victory now is to depart this system, go back into hiding. Live to fight another day. I give you my word we will not stop you from leaving."
"I am going nowhere without you in my grasp, North!" Zarah shouted back. "Dead or alive!"
She closed the channel and her ship launched another barrage of torpedoes, shaking Excalibur again.
"Our new shields are holding, sir," said Ragnarsson, "but are down to seventy-two percent."
"Diplomacy isn't going to win this, Commodore," Kostopoulos said. Then, to Ragnarsson, "Torpedoes, full spread!"
North hung his head, but Amrani spoke up. "Respectfully, Captain, sheer force isn't going to win this either." She came around to stand beside the command chair. "We're in no condition for a fight. I know it's your instinct to stand your ground, to take down an enemy, but there are other options here. We need to take a different approach."
Kostopoulos looked at North as the ship rocked from another hit, consoles sparking. He nodded at her, not taking over but silently telling her what to do. She remembered what he had told her when she expressed doubts over starship command – Trust your crew and they'll trust you.
So, she trusted them. "Helm, take us back to the planet. Tactical, keep our rear covered. Amrani… hail the base. You were right about another option."
"The Earth vessel is retreating, Commander!" one of Zarah's soldiers reported from his console on the circular bridge.
"Pursue them!" she ordered. Their own ship was old and falling apart, but its firepower still outclassed the Humans. As the saying went, it had more teeth than scales.
"Enough!" Maxeus shouted behind her. "I will not allow your blind thirst for vengeance to kill us all! We should do as the Human suggested; retreat and form a new plan. One less insane! Helm, get us-"
Zarah spun on the spot, drawing her sidearm and shooting Maxeus right in the chest, sending him to the deck with a smoking blast wound.
"Helm! Carry out my orders!" she demanded, turning back to the viewscreen. There was no argument.
On the screen, they drew closer to the retreating Earth ship, to her revenge, as it continued to fire its particle cannons at them. Shockwaves resonated across the bridge, consoles sparked, and lights flickered.
"Our shields are offline!" one soldier said.
"Keep firing!" Zarah shouted. "Take them out!"
Another hit shook them. More dismal reports came in.
"Structural integrity down to twenty-eight percent!"
"I don't know how long I can keep the core stable!"
But still Zarah would not release her prey. "Faster! Destroy them!"
She clenched the railing around the centre of the bridge, the metal twisting in her grip. On screen, she saw Berengaria VII growing larger. The Humans were running home scared. She had them! There was nowhere else to go!
"Commander!" a solider shouted in alarm. "Weapons-fire detected from the surface!"
Too late she realised she had forgotten about the real base on the surface and its formidable ground-to-space weapons.
Zarah had just enough time to scream in rage as her ship exploded around her.
North closed his eyes as Zarah's ship became a fiery bloom on Excalibur's viewscreen, tiny pieces flying in every direction. It had been Captain Kostopoulos who'd had the idea to call the starbase and have them ready their phase-cannons, so that Excalibur may lure the Reptilians into their weapons range. He wished there had been another way to resolve this, but Zarah had not taken his offer of mercy, and left them no choice.
Captain Thorpe sounded equally dismayed over the comm, speaking from Ops. "Sir, we… we only intended to disable them, not destroy them."
"Their ship was old and heavily damaged, Thorpe," North said. "It wasn't your fault…" Then, to himself, he said, "She destroyed herself."