Day of Honor - Treaty's Law

by Dean Wesley Smith

  "Agreed," Kerdoch said. He put his hands flat on the table and pushed himself up, taking a deep breath, obviously preparing himself. "I will gather warriors near the cannon. "

  The captain watched as the Klingon farmer turned and strode out of the dome, leaving Kirk sitting alone at the table. There had to be a waY to stop this fight-if they only knew the cause, or even who their attackers were.

  Kirk felt as helpless as McCoy felt with Kor. He knew there must be something he could do.

  But what?

  Chapter Fifteen

  "THAT'S IT!" Scotty said, banging his fist on the console. "That's it, lads."

  The engineering staff looked at him and smiled. It didn't matter that half the staff was female: when he was excited, he tended to call them all lads.

  And he was excited now. He'd figured out the shield modifications, and he hadn't even looked at the figures Projeff had sent. Projeff, in the meantime, had apparently not found anything, or he would have contacted Scotty to brag...

  And to share.

  "It's so simple," he said to the ensign beside him. She had long black hair and the look of his mother... at least until she turned, revealing eyes a color not normally found in human beings. "We create ghost shields, harmonic echoes that... Ach, just do it." He slid the calculations to her, and the others crowded around.

  Then he hit the comm button. "Mr. Scott to the bridge. "

  "Spock here. " Spock's responses were always prompt and always dry.

  "MR. Spock, I've figured out the problem with the shields. "

  "I had not realized we had a problem with the shields, Mr. Scott. "

  Scotty blinked. Usually Spock was on top of these things. But he had a lot to think about, what with the captain on the surface and all. "You dinna notice how quickly they affected the shields' power and with such old-fashioned weapons at that?"

  "Well," Spock said, "now that you mention it, I do recall thinking that the shields went down quickly, but it did not strike me as all that unusual."

  "All that unusual? All that unusual ! Mr. Spock, this ship can protect us against Klingon firepower, against Romulan treachery, against-"

  "I take it you've solved the problem, Mr. Scott," Spock said, his voice sounding drier than usual.

  "Of course I have, man. And a slight hair before young Projeff of the Farragut. "

  "I'm sure the captain will be pleased. How long will modifications take?"

  "It may be an hour or two, Mr. Spock," Scotty said.

  "I would prefer a more precise estimate," Spock said.

  "That is precise," Scotty said.

  "I may need the shields sooner," Spock said.

  "When you need them," Scotty said, "let me know. We'll be working as fast as we can."

  Scotty signed off, then asked Uhura to contact Projeff.

  When the visual came on the screen, Projeff was bent over his console, his hair sticking out in all directions, a smudge of dirt under one eye.

  "We've found the solution, laddie," Scotty said, with more than a bit ofpride, "and we're sending it to you now,"

  "I hope you're not talking about turning up the harmonics," Projeff said. "We've tried that and-"

  "No, lad. It's an elegant solution. " Scotty grinned. "Courtesy of the Enterprise. "

  Spock noted the time.

  It had been an hour since he spoke to Mr. Scott. There was still no word on the shield modifications.

  If the Captain was correct that a ground attack would be launched against the colony at the colonies sunrise , adding the appropriate amount of time for a landing force to reach the surface from orbit, within the next sixty-two seconds the enemy should be deploying forces.

  He pressed the comm button. "Mr. Scott, how is your work on the shields progressing?"

  "Wee're finishing the last of it now."

  "Good," Spock said. "As I believe we will need them within the next sixty seconds."

  "You believe?"

  Spock couldn't very well say that he knew. "Using the captain's calculations and my own-"

  "I was merely teasing, Mr. Spock," Scotty said.

  "You'll have your shields. Mind you, we need to test them first-"

  "We shall do so any second now," Spock said, ending the communication.

  On the screen the five enemy ships remained in position. Nothing seemed to have changed, but Spock agreed with the captain. Under these circumstances, the next logical move for the attacking force would be a ground attack.

  And it would happen soon.

  "Red alert," Spock said as he moved down from his science station and stood beside the captain's chair, his hand gripping the back padding.

  Around him the red lights snapped on, the siren filled the air of the bridge with a shrilling background sound.

  "Ensign Haru, arm photon torpedoes," Spock said to the young ensign at the weapons panel.

  "Yes, sir," Haru said.

  Spock turned toward the screen. "Mr. Chekov, cut the distance between the Enterprise and the enemy ships by exactly fifty percent. "

  "Aye, sir," Chekov said.

  "Do so slowly, Ensign," Spock said. "At one-tenth impulse. "

  "Aye, sir, " Chekov said without looking away from his console.

  On the main viewscreen the five enemy ships got gradually lager.

  "The Farragut is hailing us, sir," Lieutenant Uhura said.

  "On audio only," Spock said. "And scramble the communication, Lieutenant. "

  He wanted to make sure he didn't lose sight of the ships in front of him. He had worked out a possible line of attack and a point of weakness in the ships. At the moment of deployment of the ground ships, the mother ships would have their docking-bay doors open. They would be less maneuverable and more vulnerable. He planned to take advantage of that weakness, but the Enterprise had to be in position first.

  "Spock," Captain Bogle said, his voice booming with authority, "what are you doing?"

  "Preparing, sir," Spock said.

  "Preparing for what?" Bogle asked. "To get us all killed?"

  "To stop the coming attack on the ground colony, sir. Spock out. "

  On the screen a line suddenly appeared across the rear section of two of the wing-shaped enemy ships. The docking bays were opening. Captain Kirk had been correct about the timing of the attack.

  "Mr. Haru," Spock said, never taking his gaze from the opening bay doors. He had studied the video from the last deployment, and he knew exactly what he was looking at. "Target the center of both those openings. Fire torpedoes. "

  The Enterprise rocked slightly as four torpedoes sped toward their targets, two at one ship, two at the other.

  "Lieutenant Uhura, inform the captain ofthe situation."

  "Yes, sir," she said.

  "Continue firing on your targets, Mr. Haru," Spock said as the closest attacker opened up its weapons on the Enterprise.

  The ship rocked slightly at the direct hits, but the stabilizers kept it level.

  Spock could tell that the hits had done little damage. Obviously Mr. Scott's modifications to the screens had proved worthwhile. At least for the moment.

  "Screens at ninety-six percent and holding," Chekov said.

  Spock watched as the Farragut opened up full phaser fire on the ship attacking the Enterprise, distracting them for a moment, but doing little damage.

  The Klingon battle cruiser jumped into the battle , running a standard attack pass above the closest alien ship, firing with full disrupters.

  The two docking bays across the backs of the alien ships continued opening.

  Mr. Haru fired two more torepdoes at each ship. All four torpedoes disappeared through the docking openings in the sides of the ships. Inside , the bays lit up with orange and yellow explosions.

  A moment later Mr. Haru followed the first two torpedoes with two more. They also found their targets.

  Both enemy ships seemed to rock in space as their docking bays were filled with bright orange and red fire.

  Mr.
Spock had theorized that the weakest area of the attacking ships would be inside the docking bays. It looked as if he might have been right. "Continue firing," he ordered.

  The Enterprise rocked with direct hits against the screens. Spock gripped the back ofthe captain's chair and maintained his balance.

  Four more torpedoes streaked from the Enterprise at the same moment the enemy hit with direct phaser fire.

  Out of the flames and explosions of the alien docking bays two large transport ships appeared. Both were ten times larger than the small attack ships deployed before .

  "Shields at sixty-percent," Chekov shouted over the rumbling sounds ofphaser fire hitting the screens.

  "Target the transports, Mr. Haru," Spock ordered. "Fire phasers. "

  Instantly phasers licked out from the Enterprise, making direct hits on one of the transports . Its shield instantly flared to life as an orange ball around the transport.

  At that moment the Farragut also targeted the same transport with full phasers.

  The small ship's orange shields flared to bright red, then into blue and disappeared with an explosion.

  "Got him," Chekov said.

  "But the other has gotten away," Spock said as the other transport quickly dropped into the atmosphere and out of range.

  The Enterprise again rocked with the impact of more direct phaser hits. Spock managed to hang on, never taking his gaze from the screen.

  "Screens at thirty percent," Chekov said.

  "Return fire , Mr. Haru," Spock ordered. "Mr. Chekov, evasive maneuvers. Look for any possible course that would take us into transporter range ofthe captain."

  "Yes, sir," Chekov said.

  "Sir, we have a message from the Farragut, " Lieutenant Uhura said. "Their shields are almost down. They are pulling back."

  Spock noted that the Klingon battle cruiser was also standing off.

  "Mr. Chekov. Move to a position flanking the Farragut and hold there. "

  "But sir," Chekov said. "The captain-"

  "I want you to continue looking for that course, ensign," Spock said. "Until then , move us beside the Farragut. "

  "Aye, sir," Chekov said.

  Spock moved over and stood by the captain's chair studying the alien ships re-forming into a group and standing off.

  The attack had destroyed one transport and had damaged two of the larger ships. But that was not enough to change the odds in this battle. At this point the only hope the Enterprise and Farragut had of survival was to wait for the Klingon reinforcements in six hours and seven minutes.

  But would the captain be able to withstand a ground assault for six hours? The odds were too long to even calculate.

  "Mr. Spock," Lieutenant Uhura said, "Captain Bogle said to tell you nice work."

  Spock nodded. His timing had been correct. But he had made an error: he had underestimated the defenses of the enemy ships. He would not make that mistake again.

  "Lieutenant, have you informed Captain Kirk of the transport's arrival time?"

  "Yes, sir," Lieutenant Uhura said.

  "Good. Have Mr. Scott come to the bridge. " Spock

  had a theory he needed to work out. And if it worked, he might be able to get within transport distance long enough to get the captain and his party off the surface.

  "Mr. Spock," Chekov said. "We have company. "

  "Company, Mr. Chekov?" Spock asked as he looked at the screen. Three more large alien ships moved into position near the others.

  "They have been on the other side of the planet," Chekov said. "It blocked our scans. "

  "Let's hope those Klingons can get here quickly," Sulu said.

  Spock said nothing. He had just done a quick calculation of the odds of rescuing the captain now. They were odds that not even the captain would go against.

  Rathbone stood in the faint morning light outside the dome, her hands tucked into her armpits trying to keep warm. Her breath formed silver crystals in front of her. She knew that in a few hours, if she lived that long, she'd be wishing for this cold again. But that thought didn't help warm her now. Just as it had seemed she'd never be cool again during the day, tonight she had felt as if she would never be warm again. If any planet was hell for her, it was this one.

  Klingon colonists were starting to gather near the disrupter cannon-men, women, young adults, even children around the age of ten. All of them carried weapons of one sort or another; all ready and willing to fight for their homes.

  In that respect, Klingons werej ust like humans and most other races she was acquainted with. They fought for their homes. But she hated to see the children carrying weapons. There seemed something very wrong with that.

  Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Sulu stepped down off the disrupter cannon platform and strode toward her. Watching them come, intent purpose obviously in mind, twisted her stomach into a little knot.

  She took a deep breath of the cold air and told herself to get a grip on her fear. She was an official member of a Starfleet landing party. She was trained to do what needed to be done. And she would do it.

  Captain Kirk said, "Feeling better?"

  "Much," she said.

  "Good," he said. He glanced around at the gathering Klingons. "I'm going to send the children back to their domes. If we get overrun by the aliens, we can hope they'll spare the children. "

  "Good decision," she said. Inside she breathed a signh of relief that the captain felt the same way she did.

  He smiled at her. "Now I've got a job for you. "

  Again her stomach twisted, but she managed to say, "Anything, sir."

  "If we're attacked," the captain said, "I need you and Sulu to try to get into a flanking position off to the right of the colony, dig out a little area for yourselves in a ditch or something. Some sort of cover where you'll end up behind their lines."

  "Who's going to man the disrupter cannon?" Sulu asked.

  Kirk smiled at him. "I was a good shot in my day. Kerdoch will help. "

  At that moment the captain's communicator beeped. Vivian watched as he snapped it open with practiced ease and said, "Kirk here. "

  "Captain," Lieutenant Uhura said, her voice coming through very clearly. "The docking bay doors of two of the alien ships are starting to open. "Mr. Spock is now staging an attack on the ships, focusing on the bay doors."

  Kirk nodded. "Good thinking. Keep me posted if any ships get through to the atmosphere. "

  He snapped his communicator closed. "The fight's going on above us. Get to positions. We need to assume Spock and Captain Bogle can't stop them. "

  "Yes, Captain," Sulu said. "This way, Commander. "

  Sulu turned and headed off in the faint light, for the second time moving toward the edge of the colony.

  For a moment Rathbone couldn't get her feet to move.

  "Go ahead," Kirk said. The look in his eyes was one of understanding. "I've got children to get out of the line of fire. "

  "Understood, Captain," she said. With her numb fingers over her phaser, she nodded to the captain and headed after Mr. Sulu.

  A few moments later she once again stepped out into the blackened fields. This time it wasn't to study plants. This time she was to hide behind enemy lines to defend a planet she hated, and a colony ofKlingons who had defeated her and her work.

  Sometimes life was j ust a little too strange.

  It had taken Kirk only a minute to convince Kerdoch that the children did not belong on the front lines. And that the best possible way for the young children to survive was to be in the domes, without weapons.

  At first Kerdoch had argued that it was the Klingon way, but the argument had a token sound to it. After a short exchange, Kerdoch had agreed, and very shortly only adults and teenagers remained near the disrupter cannon.

  Kirk stood, watching in the faint morning light as the Klingon colonists took up positions along the edge of the colony. All of them carried panels of dome-coverings in case of an air attack with plasma beams again.

  Kirk blew
on his hands in a vain attempt to warm them. He so much wanted to be aboard the Enterprise, in the middle of the fight up there. But instead he was here, with almost no weapons. And very little chance of winning.

  His communicator beeped. He flipped it open. "Go ahead. "

  "Captain," Spock's voice came back clear and strong. At that moment Kirk realized that he had been worried about his ship and his crew. Very worried. He was j ust too busy to think about them.

  "Two large transport ships attempted to leave the alien craft. We destroyed one, but the other managed to get into the atmosphere. It should be on the surface in twelve minutes and ten seconds."

  "Acknowledged," he said.

  They were coming, as he had feared. There had to be a way to stop them.

  "What's the status of the Enterprise? "

  "The Enterprise and the Farragut came through this fight without damage, Captain. Mr. Scott is working on continuing to strengthen our shields against their weapons."

  "The other ships?"

  "We have had no report from the Klingon battle crutser Klothos. Three more enemy craft have j oined the attack force. They now have seven working ships and one hulk in orbit. "

  "You've pulled back. I take it," he said.

  "For the moment," Spock said. "We had no choice."

  Kirk knew that. Still, it was startling to hear Spock say so. "How long until the extra Klingon battle cruisers arrive?"

  "Four hours, one minute, sir," Spock said.

  Even then, Kirk knew it would not be an even fight. Obviously one of the alien craft at least matched the power of a starship or battle cruiser. Seven against five usually won. Not always, but more than not.

  "Let me know if you come up with anything, Mr. Spock. Kirk out."

  He flipped his communicator closed and started toward Kerdoch and the disrupter cannon. Unless he could think of something quickly, this was going to be a very long day. And it might be his last.

  Chapter Sixteen

  KERDOCH STOOD on the disrupter cannon platform, inside the shelter ofdome panels, staring out over the blackened fields in the orange light of sunrise. Fields that had been growing and a healthy blue and green only a few days before. Now, finally, he was about to meet, face to face, those responsible for the destruction of his crops, the death of his friends.