by Kevin Ryan
“This is a bat’leth,” he said, “a Klingon weapon that is widely used. It holds great cultural significance, with weapons staying in Klingon families for generations.” Some weapons kill hundreds of beings over decades, he thought but did not say.
Testing the weapon, he was surprised to see that whoever had made the mock-up had kept the weapon’s heft. He had handled a number of Starfleet-made ones in which lighter alloys had been substituted for the Klingon metal. The result was never the same. Part of what made the weapon deadly was its mass, which helped make its blows more powerful.
He ran the weapon through a few movements and found that it was also very well balanced, again better than the other simulations he had seen. It was almost as good as the bat’leths created by Klingon weaponsmiths and by far the best human-made representation he had seen. Of course, there were some overt differences. The blades were left dull, not razor-sharp like the ones on Klingon-made weapons. And the four killing points were covered with small squares of padding.
Still, it came very close to an authentic Klingon bat’leth. He had felt the real thing once many years ago. And while he knew there was a limited market for such artifacts in the Federation, he had been glad to put the weapon down and never touch one again. He much preferred the Starfleet simulations, which had never tasted blood and did not carry the stench of death.
“It’s good,” he said to Parrish, who had rejoined the squad and was watching him.
“Courtesy of the engineering department,” she said.
“I need a volunteer,” Fuller said. Parrish immediately stepped forward. Fuller nodded, but he was a little taken aback. He had no problem serving under a pregnant woman, but he had an instinctive aversion to swinging a weapon at one—even a weapon that had been made safer by Starfleet engineers. Well, I know for a fact that the Klingons won’t be so squeamish, he thought.
Swinging the weapon in a quick arc, he watched Parrish roll under it against the motion of its movement. She came up on his now unprotected side and immediately threw a quick punch at him, pulling the blow at the last moment so it made only glancing contact with his ribs.
He turned to her in surprise, and she gave him a tight smile. He addressed the rest of the squad. “That was an example of an important concept when using hand techniques against a bat’leth. The weapon is heavy, even for a strong person. By ducking counter to the movement of the blade, Lieutenant Parrish was able to come up on my unprotected side before I could redirect the weapon. That will be a good place to start—why don’t you each try it in turn.”
Parmet was the next to step up. Fuller was immediately concerned. Parmet had struggled through his physical training. Still, the Klingons would make no allowances, so he did not. The ensign eventually rolled successfully under the blade, but was not able to land a blow himself before Fuller brought the blade back around.
Quickly, Fuller repeated the movement with the four other members of the squad. Then he showed them a foot sweep movement, again with Parrish. He brought the blade down in a low arc, made contact with her lower calf and brought her to the ground. In an effective but ungainly movement, she rolled out of the way before he could bring the blade down on her while she was on the ground.
“Good,” he said. Then he turned back to the squad. “The last place you want to be when you’re facing a Klingon with a bat’leth is on the ground. Those fights tend to end very quickly. If you do find yourself there, get as far away from your opponent as possible. Then get up and, if possible, run. If that’s not possible, we’ll talk about some ways to improvise counterattacks.”
Parrish got up, and he could see that her face was flushed—flushed and healthy looking. He realized she had had some additional training to go with plenty of natural ability. If not for the baby, she would have a good career in security. But probably not a long one, his mind supplied.
She was genuinely attractive, Fuller realized, and more so now that she was…glowing. Part of the pregnancy, he surmised. He had noticed that she was usually a little green around the gills first thing in the morning and looked better later in the day. Another part of the pregnancy.
He had missed almost all of Alison’s pregnancy. Alison had been rounder, softer than Parrish. Had she looked sick in the mornings? Did the same glow come later in the day?
He thought that would have been something to see.
Chapter Nine
U.S.S. ENDEAVOUR
2242
FULLER STARED AT the viewscreen for a long time. The most difficult tasks first, he thought.
“Dear Alison,” he said into the microphone. “I have been thinking about you a lot as we begin our mission on the Endeavour. Life on board ship keeps me busy, but I have been thinking about you a lot.” Fuller realized that he had already said that. No matter, if he didn’t continue, he didn’t know how long it would be before he started again.
“I wish things had been different for us. I wish they had ended differently, but I made a commitment to Starfleet and I need to see it through to the end of my enlistment. I don’t really have a choice in the matter.” There it was, the lie. He could go see his section chief right now. They would talk, then they would meet with Captain Shannon. In a few months, Fuller would be back on Earth. And if he chose, he could even remain in Starfleet, with a posting somewhere at headquarters. It would not be difficult, but Fuller knew he would not do it—because the Endeavour was what he wanted. And he wasn’t prepared to give that up, even for Alison, even for the baby that would come in nine months no matter what he did.
“I meant what I said. I want to help you as much as possible. I want to be as involved as I can.” Finally a truth, but how involved will I be when I am rarely less than dozens of light-years away? “I hope you’re well, and I’ll contact you again soon. Recording off.”
He stared at the blank screen again. The door behind him opened and he heard Andrews’s footsteps. He looked down at the computer terminal and said. “Computer, delete message.”
“Did you just delete the message you’ve been working on for an hour?” Andrews asked.
Fuller wished he had a little more privacy. He shared the room with five other people. Because the ship ran three shifts, there were usually only two in the room at any one time. Through luck, he and Andrews had pulled alpha shift.
The last thing he wanted to do was explain his situation to anyone, even Andrews. “I was just sending Alison a message,” he said.
“Not a very good one, apparently,” Andrews said.
“Well…”
“No need to explain. I understand everything, and I have some advice for you: make the break clean and permanent. Don’t torture yourself, or Alison. You know there’s no room in this life for relationships, particularly not with people back home.”
Fuller just nodded. It wasn’t that simple, but he wasn’t going to tell Andrews that now.
“Come on,” Andrews said, “We’re due in engineering. I’m sure that Commander Woods has something special planned for us.”
Fuller got up and headed out the door, glad for a moment that Andrews was dropping the subject. In the engineering section, they were greeted by Lieutenant Commander Derek Woods, a tall, thin man in his thirties with thinning blond hair. Fuller had met him once during his orientation tour of the ship and a few times after that to receive assignments when Fuller was on loan to the engineering department. Woods was quiet, but he had a great reputation as an engineer. Fuller hoped to have a chance to get to know him.
Assignments like the one they had pulled today gave him the chance to work with almost all divisions of the ship. Though there were drills and training exercises, security work allowed officers free time to cross train in a number of different areas. He had an interest in engineering and thought it might be something he would want to pursue.
“Reporting for duty, sir,” Fuller said.
“Good,” the chief engineer said, and then he pointed at two hand scanners lying on a nearby console. “I need
you to perform a manual warp coil inspection on the port and starboard nacelles when we come out of warp.” Andrews made a sound like a cough next to him. Fuller made a point of keeping his gaze forward and his face expressionless. “Is there a problem?” Woods asked.
“Well, sir, we already pulled this duty…twice,” Andrews said.
“And you did an excellent job, which is why I specifically requested you for this assignment,” Woods said. “You do realize that these upgraded engines have less than one hundred light-years on them.”
“Yes, sir,” Andrews replied.
“And you do realize what would happen if there was a failure of one or more coils while the warp drive was engaged?”
“Yes, sir, but with all due respect, an intelligent ten-year-old could do that inspection,” Andrews said.
A hint of humor appeared in Woods’s eyes and he said, “That’s the problem with intelligent ten-year-olds, they’re never around when you need them. So I’m afraid that you two will have to do.”
The chief engineer looked expectantly at Fuller and Andrews. “Yes, sir,” Fuller said quickly before Andrews could say something else stupid. “Thank you, sir.”
Fuller picked up his scanner as Andrews did the same. “And don’t worry, gentlemen, you won’t be new forever,” Woods said as they headed across the engineering deck to the accessway that led to the starboard nacelle. The warning light above the hatch was on, which told Fuller that the ship was still at warp.
“Keep that up and we’ll be doing this until we retire,” Fuller said.
“But this is three times in two weeks,” Andrews protested.
“And it’ll be three more if you don’t keep quiet.”
Andrews snorted and then the warning light above the hatch went off. Fuller hit the button and the hatch opened. He climbed inside and started up the accessway. The going was awkward. The space was cramped and the deck pitched forty-five degrees inside the support strut that connected the engineering hull to the nacelle. Fuller had to climb using the steps notched into the deck. It would have been much easier if he had both hands free, but one hand was holding the scanner.
As he climbed, Andrews muttered below him, “You know it’s a triple redundant check. The nacelle’s built-in sensors would pick up any problem. It’s just for the engineers at headquarters, so they can pat themselves on the back.” Then there was a banging sound and Andrews said, “Owww.”
“All right down there?” Fuller asked.
Andrews ignored the question. “They didn’t say anything about this at the recruiting office. Where are the strange phenomena, alien races, and exotic ports where no man…?” Fuller didn’t hear whatever Andrews said next because it was drowned out by the sound of the hatch at the top of the accessway opening in front of him.
Fuller climbed through and was glad to have his feet on a level deck again. A moment later, Andrews climbed through, still speaking. “You know, everyone else is going to be watching while we make orbit and we’ll be stuck up here.”
“Mmmm,” Fuller said, adjusting his scanner. That thought had occurred to him. The Endeavour was making orbit for the first time since he boarded. He had hoped to see that. “I’ll take this side,” Fuller said, taking a position at the first coil. Dozens of warp coils sat in rows on each side of the nacelle’s interior.
As he performed the first scan, he remembered his first time inside the nacelle. He remembered thinking, This is where it happens, where the incredible energy that makes space travel possible is focused and used. Without this remarkable technology, a trip to the closest star would have taken decades, if not centuries. And if not for the first successful warp drive test, humans would not have met Vulcans when they did and the Federation would not exist as it does today.
Fuller well remembered the feelings of pride and wonder. They had lasted him the entire shift as he scanned the coils for the first time. They had even lingered through the second time he performed the scans.
Now, as he scanned the warp coils for the third time, an hour into the job he had to work to remember that sense of wonder. Well, at least he and Andrews had made some progress. Looking at the remaining coils, he saw that they were about one-quarter of the way through the job…for this nacelle.
There was still the other one.
This job would take the whole shift. Well, he knew that Starfleet wouldn’t be all excitement all the time. Perhaps this assignment would help him learn patience. Or tolerance for tedium.
“Ready for a break?” Andrews said, and for a moment Fuller thought he had spoken that last thought out loud.
“We can stop for lunch when we’re through with this nacelle,” Fuller said.
“Yes, but we’ll miss the orbital approach.”
Fuller thought about that for a moment. The first vessel he had been posted to was about to make orbit for the first time on his tour of duty. This was why he joined Starfleet.
“Okay, but we work through lunch,” Fuller said.
“Sure,” Andrews replied immediately.
When Fuller turned around, Andrews had already put his scanner down. He was smiling broadly. Fuller realized that there was a matching smile on his own face.
Andrews opened the hatch and started down the accessway. Fuller was right behind him. “We’ll have to hurry,” Fuller said.
A few moments later, both men were back on the engineering deck and heading for the door.
“Gentlemen,” a voice sounded from behind them.
Fuller turned to see Woods looking at them. “Finish early?” Fuller felt his face flush.
“Well, sir…we…” Andrews began.
Woods studied them silently for a moment, then he said, “The best view for this approach is in the starboard mess, two levels down.” For a moment, Fuller wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. “You’d better hurry or you’ll miss the show.”
“Yes, sir,” Fuller said, and headed out the door at a trot with Andrews beside him. Outside, they grabbed a turbolift and were in the corridor outside the dining room within seconds. Inside the dining room, there were a number of crew members standing in front of the three large windows. Fortunately, there was still room on the far right. Fuller and Andrews took their positions in silence.
The officers nearby nodded to them, but no one said a word. Fuller took one look out the window and immediately saw why. The ship was on its final approach to the planet, which seemed to be growing as he looked at it. Donatu V was positioned to the right of their field of view. Because they were looking out the starboard side of the ship, that meant the planet was “in front of” the ship’s present course.
They were on the night side of the world, but the system’s sun was peeking out from behind the dark planet. It was Fuller’s first sunrise from space. And it was amazing.
The ship quickly swung around into orbital position. For a moment the sun disappeared behind Donatu V, which had grown huge from their perspective but remained dark. Then, with incredible speed, the planet was illuminated beneath them in a rush, as a line of daylight chased the darkness away. Of course, it was an illusion created by the speed of the ship as it slipped into orbit, but the effect was nonetheless dramatic.
In less than a minute, the blue-green world was brightly lit beneath them. Their orbit was high, placing them over the northern continents. Fuller could make out cloud cover, water, and land. There were no artificial structures visible from space, but that made sense, given the fact that the colony on the surface was less than ten years old.
There were also, he realized, no large orbital structures around the planet, at least none that he could see. No space stations, and no other vessels. Undoubtedly, there were satellites, but the ship’s approach did not take them near enough to any to make them visible.
Overall, the view seemed to be of an untouched Earth-like planet, what Earth must have looked like before space travel, or even before industrialization. The effect was quite beautiful. Of course, the view would change in just a few short
years. Donatu V was rich in resources. It was also the first colony world in this sector. In perhaps another ten years, it would be a major hub, with many more people on the surface and large orbiting facilities.
That was good. It was progress, and progress held a different kind of beauty.
Fuller didn’t know how long he had stared out the window, but eventually he remembered that he and Andrews still had a lot of work to do. In fact, they wouldn’t eat until it was done, and the job would take them the rest of their duty cycle.
Fuller turned to his friend and said, “Andrews, we have to be getting—”
“What’s that?” Andrews said, pointing out the window.
Fuller looked where his friend was pointing and saw that there was something in orbit after all. Two somethings, in fact. Large satellites, he guessed. No, they were moving too fast, seeming to come from Donatu V’s northern polar region. That was significant, he realized. It would make them difficult for sensors to see.
“There aren’t supposed to be any large ships out here,” Andrews said.
But these ships weren’t just large, they were huge. He didn’t recognize the type until the ships changed course slightly, showing him a three-quarter angle instead of the head-on view he had seen initially. His Starfleet training kicked in immediately, and he had no trouble identifying ships with that silhouette.
“Oh my God, they’re Klingon,” Fuller said. There were loud gasps from the other people in the room as they made the same identification. His first thought was that it had to be a mistake. The ships had to be off course, or in some kind of trouble.
Two of them in trouble? His mind replied. Two Klingon battle cruisers?
Then he saw that the ships were on an intercept course with the Endeavour. His mind did a quick calculation: they were almost in weapons range.