“The Caitians came openly, Councillor,” said Orloff, her tone sharpening. “Had they attempted to sneak in and occupy the moon by stealth, had they threatened the existing outposts there with expulsion, we would have called them invaders and repelled them accordingly.”
“Yet at least we could have communicated with them, so that we and they would both have been clear on one another’s intentions. The ability to communicate clearly with an antagonist can be as essential in conflict as in diplomacy. Either way, devising a translation matrix should be our priority.”
Kirk looked at her. “Has there been anything to translate? Have you been able to intercept any of their communications?”
“Some faint subspace signals,” Orloff replied, “on a deep band, hard to detect or track. But the majority of them appear to have been aimed at 88 Leonis.”
Diaz stared. “You think they’re communicating with their other settlement?”
“Stands to reason. And the other signals might suggest the presence of more footholds we haven’t detected yet. We’ve reported our findings to Commodore Wesley.”
The ensign turned to Kirk. “Captain, this is our first linguistic data on the Agni. With your permission, I’d like to work with Chalan on a translation matrix. I have a xenobiologist friend here in the city, H’Raal, who I know would be glad to work with us on this.”
“A team at the Science Academy is working on interpreting the signals as well,” T’Zeri said. “I am certain they would be willing to coordinate with your people, Captain Kirk.”
“That seems a reasonable place to start,” Kirk said. As much as the replayed image of the Kongo had reawakened his anger toward the Agni, he reminded himself of Wesley’s orders to find a diplomatic option if at all possible. “Ensign, why don’t you contact your—”
The room shuddered. An alarm sounded, and a hail came in for Farouz. “Administrator! We’re under attack from below!”
“I’ll be right there,” the administrator replied. He rose, inviting the others to follow.
Laputa’s control center was only a short distance from the conference room, so they arrived in mere moments. The central holographic display of the city showed several spherical modules flashing red. A lean Vulcan male turned to address Farouz and Orloff. “We have been struck by a projectile from the surface. It was swift and massive enough to overwhelm our protective shields.”
“Makes sense,” Diaz muttered to Kirk. “The shields are only meant to keep out clouds.”
“The projectile struck at a forty-three-degree angle from horizontal,” the Vulcan reported, gesturing to a red line that passed clear through the city graphic. “It penetrated entirely through an auxiliary flotation sphere and Hydroponics Sphere Three above it. Upon exit, it struck and ruptured the hull of the adjoining water processing plant.”
“Thrusters,” Farouz ordered. “Move us away from whatever’s firing on us.”
“They are not in the immediate vicinity, sir. Apparently their range of control for their projectiles is greater than we believed.”
“No casualties reported,” a human technician announced, “but there are several dozen people in the upper two spheres.”
“We need to get them out fast,” Kirk said, reaching for his communicator. “The atmosphere—”
“The equal pressure means there is relatively little external atmosphere penetration, Captain Kirk,” the Vulcan technician said. “We are already increasing internal pressure to slow it further. There should be ample time to evacuate.”
“If they don’t strike us again,” Orloff said, drawing her own communicator. “Orloff to Venant. Laputa is taking Agni fire from the surface. Identify the source and neutralize it.”
After her crew acknowledged the order, Kirk caught her eye. “Can your phasers penetrate an atmosphere this dense?”
“We’ll find out. However, if you wanted to add Starfleet phasers to the attempt . . .”
“Say no more.” Kirk contacted the Sacagawea and ordered Mitchell to back up the Defense Force ships.
“Another projectile incoming!” a bulky Chelon technician called. Kirk barely had time to brace himself before the deck heaved. He reached for Diaz as she stumbled, but Lieutenant Hauraki caught her first, and she smiled up at the security chief in appreciation.
“That was close,” Hauraki said. As if to reinforce his words, the power in the control room fluctuated, the displays flickering in and out.
Orloff scanned the intermittent hologram. “They’ve damaged our power plant, and nicked the edge of a manufacturing sphere. Took out another flotation sphere too. They’re targeting our infrastructure, the things that keep the city afloat and functional.”
Adebayo furrowed his brow as he studied the readouts. “It’s a mercy their targets are relatively unpopulated. Two spheres holding only helium, several industrial facilities, and a farm.”
“Probably luck rather than mercy, Commander,” the colonel countered.
“Looks like these projectiles are narrower than the ones they use in space,” Kirk said. “Probably more missile-shaped, to get through this dense air. That reduces the size of the holes they make, at least.”
“But it lets them hit faster,” Diaz said, “and penetrate clear through the city.”
Kirk’s communicator beeped. “Mitchell here, sir. No luck with phasers. The atmosphere absorbs most of the energy. Desai’s trying to retune them to pass through cee-oh-two, but we can’t even be sure we’re aiming right in that muck. Even if we are, I’d bet they have some version of that shield plate barrier.”
The captain turned to Diaz. “Are photon torpedoes an option?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it, sir. In this atmosphere, the blast and EMP effects would be hugely amplified. It could endanger the cities.”
“Captain,” came Mitchell’s voice. “They tried lobbing a third projectile at you, but the Venant managed to shoot it down. We’ll do what we can to run interference, but you might want to get out of there.”
Kirk turned to Farouz, who had been consulting with his technicians. “I recommend we evacuate the civilians.”
“That will be difficult, Captain Kirk,” the administrator said. “The damage to our power and control systems has knocked out our transporters.”
Adebayo sighed. “The transporters are always the first to go.”
“Besides, we don’t know what other cities might come under attack from the surface,” Orloff put in. “We’d have to beam them up to the ships.”
Farouz frowned. “You have, what, six ships in orbit, plus the Sacagawea? How many evacuees could they hold? A few dozen each, a hundred?”
“It’ll have to do, Administrator. I recommend prioritizing children, caregivers, the sick and elderly. We’ll need able-bodied hands to assist in vacating and patching breached modules.”
“Very well.” Farouz turned back to Kirk. “Once that’s underway, our priority will be repairing the breaches to the power plant and hydroponics module. Even with raised pressure, the acid clouds leaking in will begin doing serious damage before long.”
“My people will assist with that,” Kirk said. He turned to Orloff. “Colonel, your gunners on the Venant seem quite skilled, so I’d like to bring the Sacagawea back to assist with the evacuation.”
Orloff appeared pleased by his praise for her crew. “That would be appreciated, Captain.”
Kirk turned to Hauraki and Diaz. “You two, head to the power plant, assist however you can.” Once they had acknowledged and left, he turned to Farouz. “I’d be happy to assist in hydroponics.” He knew it would be quite different from the farm he’d grown up on, but maybe his experience could help somehow.
“Thank you, Captain. Every extra hand will help.”
“Commander Adebayo will remain here to coordinate.” The first officer acknowledged his implicit order with a nod. Kirk checked the map display one last time to get his bearings and headed out.
* * *
Kirk was given a filter mas
k, goggles, and gloves before entering the hydroponics sphere, for a fair amount of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid mist had begun to mix with the interior atmosphere despite the positive pressure to limit its entry. Once inside, he saw that the interior of the stadium-sized sphere was partitioned into multiple large greenhouses with wide aisles between them. It appeared that most of the greenhouses had already sealed themselves off to protect the crops within, a built-in precaution against just this sort of crisis. But there was a gaping hole torn through the deck and canopy of one of the greenhouses, and a matching hole in the mostly clear, domed roof on the other side of the sphere, for the projectile had gone through at an angle. Debris from the damaged greenhouse and roof had breached several other greenhouses, and the hydroponics crew was already rushing to patch the holes. All the sprinklers were on and farmers were waving hoses to spray water into the air, no doubt to capture and dilute the acidic mist.
“Oh, good, you’re here.” The repair team with Kirk was greeted by a compact reptilian humanoid, whom Kirk recognized as one of the Arodi, a species that had settled the Regulus system millennia before the Vulcans had come. “We’ve almost got the lower breach in hand. We’re using a fallen greenhouse wall as a temporary patch, just need to seal it. Getting to the upper breach is more of a challenge. The missile took out some of the catwalks.”
“We have the means to deal with it,” said Verrek, the burly, copper-haired Vulcan man who led the repair team. He took in Kirk and the others with his green-eyed gaze. “Come.”
Verrek instructed the team to split into two groups, with Kirk accompanying his group as they used the overhead catwalks to approach the breach from both directions, as near as they could safely reach, for a portion of the catwalk just under the breach had been knocked out as well. Once they reached the damaged portion, one of the repair team members took a few moments to secure the loosened bolts on the damaged catwalk section, ensuring that the team could safely move out onto it. Kirk saw the other team doing the same on the far side of the breach. While he waited, he turned to examine the six-meter-wide breach in the transparent roof section, astonished to think that there was nothing between him and the atmosphere of a Venus-like world except a filter mask and goggles. Granted, it was the comparatively thin reaches of the upper atmosphere, but it was still impressive to contemplate.
Once the teams advanced onto the catwalks, they worked together to extend a temporary bridge across the gap, allowing the tethered workers to move out beneath the breach and position flexible, acid-resistant polyvinyl sheets over the gap. Kirk assisted in rigging and securing the workers’ lines, amused that his climbing experience had proven more useful than his farming experience. He quickly realized, though, that he would have to unlearn his Starfleet experience. He was used to dealing with hull breaches in the vacuum of space, where a flexible, partial patch like this would be sucked out in an instant, but anything more rigid would be held firmly in place by the internal pressure. He decided that he should think of it like patching a breach in a section already evacuated of its air, with no pressure differential to speak of. It made the patching sheets easier to move into place but required more work to seal them off at the edges. Although in this case, there was the added complication of the water mist being sprayed on everything, making it harder to adhere the patches to the roof. Once a reasonable seal was in place, though, the positive pressure was able to take hold and keep the patch secure, as Kirk could tell when his ears began to pop.
Just as the team was beginning to descend from the catwalk, an alert came in. “Another projectile incoming!” came the call from the control room. “Everyone brace yourselves!”
There was barely time for Kirk to grab the railing before Laputa heaved again. Verrek was not so lucky. The catwalk section beneath him buckled and tipped him off—and he had already detached his tether. Kirk lunged at him and grabbed his arm, catching him in the nick of time. The Vulcan’s weight slammed him painfully against the catwalk and dragged him forward. The impact knocked Kirk’s mask and goggles loose. Desperately, he grabbed at a stanchion with his other hand and thrust his foot out to hook around the far edge of the catwalk. Between the two, he was able to halt his descent, but Verrek’s weight felt like it would wrench his shoulder from its socket.
Verrek took a deep breath and looked down and around, assessing his situation. “I recommend you release me, Captain Kirk. I can control my fall and reduce the degree of injury I will sustain.”
“Is that . . . logical?” Kirk asked. “You can . . . do more good for Laputa . . . if you’re in one piece.”
“And you will do more good for all of Regulus if you remain intact. Logically, the needs of the many . . .”
“Save your breath and hang on!” Kirk looked around, seeking an alternative. He spotted another level of the catwalk a few meters down and inward of them. Some team members already stood there, watching in concern. “There, behind you,” Kirk said, directing Verrek’s attention to it. “If I swing you, build up enough momentum, you can land safely there. Your team will catch you.”
“That will materially increase the risk that you will fall, Captain.”
“Risk can be managed by skill!” Kirk told him. “I know what I’m capable of as much as you do.”
Verrek held his gaze for a moment. Kirk’s eyes stung from some residual acid mist, but he fought to keep them open regardless. “Very well.”
Making sure his feet were securely hooked, Kirk released the stanchion and took Verrek’s arm in both hands. He began to swing the Vulcan, who then started to amplify his swing with his legs once he got the rhythm. “All right,” Kirk said. “Counting down . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . now!”
He and Verrek both let go, and the Vulcan fell at an angle. He nearly missed the lower catwalk after all, but he came close enough for his team to catch him and pull him over the rail. A moment later, another team member reached Kirk and helped him to his feet.
As soon as he was back on level ground, Kirk drew his communicator. “Kirk to control room. What’s the latest damage?”
“Adebayo here, Captain. The missile struck a pair of bacterial processing spheres on the edge of the city, right where they connect. The outer one is now only attached to one other sphere, and the impact has twisted that connection. There are still over twenty people trapped in there, but the ships in orbit have already beamed up all they can hold for now. They’re trying to drop off evacuees at other cities, but it’ll take time.”
“Understood.” He closed the lid and turned to Verrek, who had gotten an equivalent report on his own comlink. “Let’s go.”
* * *
On her way to the power plant with Lieutenant Hauraki, Kamisha Diaz came across a very familiar, furry face. “Meesh!” H’Raal cried, pouncing on Diaz and pulling her into a tight, twirling hug. “I knew I’d find you where there was trouble!”
“Harl, you shouldn’t be here,” Diaz said. “You should evacuate with the rest of the nonessential personnel.”
“And miss my reunion with my dear old friend? Don’t be silly. And I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you call me nonessential.” The black-and-white Caitian bounded off toward the power plant, her white-tufted tail swishing behind her. Diaz and Hauraki exchanged a shrug and headed off in her wake.
Once at the power plant, Diaz was roped into helping to reroute power away from one of the damaged distribution manifolds adjacent to the gaping hole that had been torn through the plant, while Hauraki and H’Raal helped evacuate the last few people who hadn’t been beamed out. The influx of carbon dioxide from outside was actually beneficial here, for it helped prevent the loose, sparking power cables from setting anything on fire until they could be shut down.
No sooner had the group completed the evacuation than the city rocked from another impact. Hauraki soon found out about the damage to the bacterial processing sphere and led Diaz to assist, with H’Raal still insisting on accompanying them. “Come on, I know a shortcut!”
“Are you there?” a voice called from inside the hatch. “We need help!” Diaz ducked down to peer through the lopsided hatch opening. A bulky Chelon was on the other side, struggling to pull the door wider with no evident success. “This section’s still airtight, but there are others stuck in a room back there—debris blocking the door. It’s too heavy for me to move alone. Can any of you get through?”
Hauraki stepped forward and attempted to squeeze through the gap, but his large frame made it impossible. H’Raal hissed and tied her mane back into a compact bun. “All right, stand aside, Muscles. We’ll handle this.” She slipped through the gap and under the Chelon’s arm with ease, seeming to flow through like a liquid. Diaz couldn’t quite manage the same, but her slim build let her squeeze through once the Chelon gave her room.
“Go on,” Hauraki said. “There are others coming—we’ll get the door open from out here.”
Another groan sounded, and Diaz felt the deck shift beneath her feet. “Hurry,” she told her crewmate.
“You too.”
Diaz ran to catch up with H’Raal, while the Chelon—who introduced herself as Chivithan—jogged after them at her best speed. H’Raal threw a glance back at Hauraki while they ran. “He’s cute, for an ape. You had him yet?”
The Captain's Oath Page 24