Speeding to Intercept

[Saylek 0]

Captain Saylek watched his Andorian first officer disappear into the portside turbolift. Commander Raumuk had been tasked with telling the chief engineer to bring the Columbia warp engines to 110% - above spec, but not above safety margins or capacity.

 

Given the distance and the urgency, he had briefly considered employing some of the better-behaved transwarp algorithms, developed over six years of the Great Experiment. But while the technology had enabled a dramatic leap forward in propulsion, the necessary fields remained too instable and demonstrably weakened the barrier between normal and sub-space. There were too many unpredictable side effects. He had no interest in pushing the ship into another dimensional interphase. As such, the Enterprise speed record of Warp 14.1 was in no danger of being broken. There was no need to start redefining the warp tables.

 

To his right, his Caitan security officer leaned in closely against the armrest of the center chair. Kal'don kept his voice low, almost a purr. "Captain," he whispered, "I don't get it. Our lead says the hijacked ships are headed to the Azure Nebula, but we're two days out. Why is Challenger hanging back when they're so much closer?"

 

With an air of non-challance, Saylek keyed a toggle, bringing up their intended flight path on the Main Viewer. "We may not know the full tactical situation at Qo'noS," he theorized aloud. "Our convoy there is still vulnerable, and there may be concern about the safety of our ambassador."

 

Kal'don twitched the whiskers on his upper lip. "But sending us in alone?" he countered quietly. "We've got to assume they'll have escorts, probably a warship or two, probably cloaked." Although a small bird of prey was easily outclassed by an Excelsior-class starship, a D-9 cruiser could hold its own. The K'tinga-class was an extension of the sturdy D-7's that had menaced Federation space over the last quarter-century. If there were more than one of those, they'd be outgunned. And if any carried one of those prototype advanced cloaks, they might not see it coming.

 

Saylek swiveled his chair toward the security chief. "No one is sending us," he objected. "Our orders are to recover those ships, and more importantly, their crews. If we don't act, we may lose the trail entirely."

 

Kal'don stepped back. "I just wish we had the benefit of stealth on this one," he mused. "Or at least another ship in the sector." He relaxed, noticing his ears were lying flat. "Is it worth an inquiry? I don't know how close the next convoy is, but maybe the Klingons have got something in the area."

 

Saylek considered him briefly. In their years of service together, he'd observed Caitans had an almost precognitive sense of danger. He cocked his head, then swiveled his chair towards the communications station. "Ensign London," he ordered, "See if you can indulge the Commander's concern. Make an inquiry."

 

The human female nodded, touched the subspace transceiver in her ear, and turned to her station.

 

"Better?" Saylek offered, not looking back.

 

He couldn't see Kal'don smile. "I'll have security ready in case we'll need boarding parties," he advised.

 

The Vulcan captain nodded. "A wise precaution," he acknowledged, fully aware Columbia had plenty of engineers, but no Marines. "They'll have less than forty-five hours. We shall have to make them count."

Edited May 4, 2009 by Saylek