Текст книги "Kobayashi Maru"

“L EAVING SECTION ELEVEN, C APTAIN , Mayweather said. “Entering section ten. Contact with the Kobayashi Maruon long‑range navigational sensors.

“Very good, Travis, Archer said, wincing slightly as he leaned forward on his chair. Despite the lingering pain in his side, he found the movement hard to resist, as though by gaining a few additional centimeters of proximity to the main bridge viewer, he might make any lurking hull‑breach hazards more apparent and avoidable. “Steady as she goes. And keep scanning for gravitic mines or anything else that might sink us.

“The sensors are already tuned to maximum resolution enhancement, Captain, said TPol, most of her attention apparently riveted to the hooded scanner on her science station.

“Tactical systems are also running everything through a pretty fine sieve, Captain, said Reed, who stood at the aft tactical array, entering commands and studying representations of power curves and marching columns of figures. “Phase cannons and photonic torpedoes are ready as well. Ill be damned if I let anything bigger than a Ping‑Pong ball get within ten thousand klicks of us.

Despite his lingering mixed feelings about the unauthorized actions TPol and Reed had recently taken, Archer was nevertheless grateful for the restoration of the core of his alpha‑watch crew. The entire bridge crew seemed keenly aware, as he was, that this far away from any human‑inhabited world, rescue was a commodity that was strictly BYOBring Your Own. All Starfleet personnel, from midshipmen up through the admiralty, recognized this sobering fact.

But in the case of the vessel toward which Enterprisenow hurtled, rescue was indeed on the way. The master and commander of theS.S. Kobayashi Maru has got to be the luckiest freighter captain in the history of maritime disasters,Archer thought.

Despite the remoteness of this region of space, Archer was already somewhat familiar with the portion of it that Enterprisehad just entered; it lay well inside the boundaries of a not‑yet‑ratified “neutral zone that Vulcan and Andoria had recently jointly proposed as a buffer zone between Coalition space and the vast unknown regions controlled by the mysterious Romulan Star Empire. None of the other Coalition member worlds, including Earth, had raised any serious objections to the idea.

Archer, however, harbored serious doubts that the Romulans would pay even the slightest attention to any such resolution. He was certain that they would go right on scrapping with the Klingons over the many resource‑rich systems scattered across this swatch of what the stellar cartographers had dubbed the Milky Ways Beta Quadrant. And that was to say nothing of their current plan to foment dissension and possibly even warfare between the Coalitions member planets.

“The Kobayashi Marushould be coming within extreme visual range now, Captain, TPol said.

“Graviton counts at the vessels coordinates are going through the roof, said Reed.

“That would be consistent with the detonation of a gravitic mine, TPol said crisply, in full Vulcan mode.

“Lets have a look at her, TPol. Maximum magnification.

The star‑flecked darkness that lay ahead of Enterpriseswiftly gave way to the grainy image of a badly battered freighter; the tapering shape was silhouetted only faintly in the dim reflected glow of one of the countless irregularly shaped ice bodies that made up the frigid halo of cometary debris that surrounded the dim and distant star Tezel and its co‑orbital partner, the even dimmer gas‑giant‑protostar Oroko. Though the vessels long, narrow lines gave it only a superficial resemblance to a Klingon battle cruiser, Archers central nervous system found the similarity close enough to make his hackles rise.

“Whats our ETA, Travis? Archer asked, finally succumbing to the urge to rise from his chair and begin pacing across the middle of the bridge.

“Well come within transporter range in about four minutes, Captain, the helmsman said as he checked a nav display and entered a small course correction.

“The MACO and Starfleet emergency boarding teams are assembled and ready, Captain, said TPol. “Theyve prepped the shuttlepods in both launch bays, and are standing by at the transporter pad.

“Sickbay reports ready as well, Captain, Hoshi said from her com station.

“Captain, Im reading another vessel in orbit around one of this systems Kuiper bodies, Malcolm said, sounding alarmed.

Archers hackles stiffened even further. “What kind of vessel?

“Her profile is consistent with that of a Romulan warship, Captain, Reed said, sounding almost eager to get a closer look.

Romulans. Great. Swell.On the other hand, this could be an opportunity to gather whatever additional proof of Romulan aggression even the most skeptical Coalition representative might require. “Location?

“About two million kilometers on the other side of the Kobayashi Maru.

Well, they cant do very much damage to either of us atthat range,Archer thought. “Keep tabs on it, Malcolm. Let me know immediately if she starts moving.

“Aye, sir. Reed immediately set about entering a new series of commands into his tactical station.

“Hoshi, raise the Kobayashi Marus captain, Archer said.

Hoshis fingers moved nimbly across her com console. “Opening a channel, Captain.

“Captain Vance, this is Enterprise,Archer said, raising his voice slightly for the benefit of the com systems audio pickups. “We can begin transporting your survivors in two minutes.

“Archer, I never thought Id be so glad to hearyour voice again,Vance said, all but shouting over a sibilant background wash of static. “Seems unlikely, doesnt it?

Archer let a small smile crease his lips, since he was certain that he knew a good deal more about the Kobayashi Marus mission than Vance would have preferred. “Probably about as likely as your ship sailing so far off the edge of the map, Captain.

“Believe me, Captain Archer, theMaru would be navigating far safer waters right now had theHorizon showed up for our rendezvous when she was supposed to.

Mayweather turned his chair so that he faced Archer, his eyes wide with concern.

Picking up on his helmsmans obvious distress, Archer continued addressing Vance. “The Horizon? Are you referring to Paul Mayweathers Earth Cargo Service freighter, Captain Vance?

Another blast of static preceded Vances scratchy reply. “The same. We were supposed to transfer our, ah, cargo to her at Psi Octantis, which is a whole lot closer to the Coalition side of this sector. She never turned up there, so were making the delivery she was supposed

The tide of static rose abruptly, drowning out whatever Vance might have had to say next.

“Hoshi, can you clean that up? Archer said, frowning.

Scowling down at her console, the youthful communications expert shook her head. “Sorry, Captain. Theres just too much external interference. Its almost as though

“Almost as though somebody a little closer to her than we are is jamming her signals, Archer said, interrupting. “That damned Romulan ship.

“What could have happened to the Horizon? Mayweather said, looking up from his helm seat; he was obviously rattled emotionally, though he seemed to be working hard to conceal that fact. “The booby trap that the Kobayashi Maruhit cant have been the only one the Romulans or the Klingons left lying around in this sector. Maybe

“Lets not get ahead of ourselves, Travis, Archer said. He stepped toward the pilot and laid a hand gently on his shoulder. “I promise you well get to the bottom of this, just as quickly as we can.

Mayweather nodded, his dark eyes gleaming with both appreciation and worry. “Thank you, sir.

Turning back toward Hoshis station, Archer said, “Why the hell would even the Romulans try to jam distress calls from a human freighter way out here in the boondocks?

“Its actually a modified Klingonfreighter, Captain, Malcolm said. “The Romulans might be taking over her systems with their new weapon, as part of another one of their territorial skirmishes against the Klingons.

Or maybe they know full well that theKobayashi Maru is filled with defenseless humans and theyre doing this just for the sheer sadistic hell of it,Archer thought. He knew hed never forget how theyd tried to annihilate the civilization on Coridan Prime, even if he never succeeded in proving their involvement definitively. Maybe theyre trying to force us to fire some of the first shots in the new war we all know is coming.

“Were receiving another incoming signal, Captain, Hoshi said as she examined the frequency and modulation graphs on her displays.

“From the Kobayashi Maru? Archer said.

“No, sir. The point‑source vector doesnt match at all, and the signal seems to have bypassed the worst of the jamming effect.

Archers eyebrows rose involuntarily as he approached her console to get a better look at the incoming message scrolling on her displays. “Starfleet Command?

“No, sir. Its in the wrong frequency range. And its in the lowest portions of the subspace bands, so low its hard to sort out from the cosmic subspace background noise.

“Enhance that signal and pinpoint its source, Archer said.

Hoshi swiftly tapped new instructions into her board, and her brow crumpled in puzzlement as she studied the new data that resulted. “Looks like its coming from the Romulanship, Captain.

“Audio? Archer asked.

She shook her head. “No, only modulation pulses. Its almost as though somebody on that ship is tapping against the ships own signal‑jamming protocols, using some other on‑board system to create the taps.

“The way you might bang out a Morse code message by rapping a monkey wrench against a pipe, said Archer.

“Exactly.

“Any idea who the sender is? Archer said, although he already had a pretty good idea of the identity of whoever was wielding the “subspace monkey wrench on the Romulan ship.

“Just the name Lazarus, Captainjust like the message we received back in February. The name keeps repeating throughout the message. He saw her eyes widen in evident recognition of the name, which he knew she had encountered once before not so very long ago.

“Pipe it to my ready room, Hoshi, Archer said, then turned so that he faced both the main science console and the tactical station.

“Malcolm, you have the bridge. TPol, youre with me.

Then he was practically in a footrace with his first officer to discover whether or not “Lazarus had returned from the dead yet again.

FORTY‑EIGHT

The Depths of Tezel‑Orokos Kuiper Belt

P OWERLESS TO TAKEany direct action to stop the proceedings that were unfolding before him on the bird‑of‑preys bustling bridge, Trip sat with his back to the console where his captors had parked him. He watched in silence as Sopek finally gave the order that confirmed nearly all of Trips worst suspicions.

“The lead vessel has activated the arrenhehwiuatelecapture system, Sublieutenant, the turncoat captain said to the youthful male officer seated at the forward helm console. “ Enterprisewill come within the systems operational range when she closes with the freighter to commence rescue operations. The attack force will reveal itself then, while bringing the device fully to bear against the Earth vessel.

Trip watched. But he wasnt watching helplessly.

Despite the slight shaking of his hands, no doubt caused by the close presence of both Sopek and his crewnot to mention the disruptor‑packing two‑legged watchdog posted near the turbolift doorsTrip hadnt found it all that difficult to take surreptitious control of a couple of the ships more innocuous‑looking systems.

The backup coolant valves that governed the dispersal of the life‑support systems waste heat had taken only a few short minutes to figure out. Using those bursts to create a corresponding pulsation within the adjacent tertiary subspace communications backup systema little‑noticed system that engaged automatically during signal‑jamming operationshad taken even less time.

The trickiest part of the gambit had been trying to look casual while digging a finger deeply into his right ear in order to gently extract the small universal translation unit that the Adigeon plastic surgeons had concealed there.

Hate to lose either one of these things,Trip thought, remembering how difficult it had been to fix this one after it had temporarily failed a few weeks back. But I can get by with just the left one if I really need to.

Right now, what he reallyneeded was to tap out a message on his improvised equivalent of a subspace telegraph. But any telegraph operator required the use of a telegraph key, of course, and Trip suspected that his ear‑implant device would fit the bill nicely, given the right combination of skill and luck.

Pretending to stretch, he palmed the tiny, raisin‑sized control mechanism, then allowed it to roll to a stop between his right thumb and forefinger. Relying both on his sense of touch and his memory of the repairs hed already once been forced to make on the unit, he found the tiny actuator switch that controlled the receipt of inputs from the jaw‑implanted bone conduction microphone that allowed him to “converse with the device on a silent, subvocal level.

Too bad I cant just use the subvocal interface directly over a voice‑channel link,he thought as the little unit began automatically running up and down the local wireless interface frequencies, seeking a match with the console‑accessible systems Trip had just seized. But I suppose you cant have everything.

He could only hope that what he now had would prove to be enoughand that someone aboard Enterprisewould notice that somebody herewas sending them a signal, albeit an unorthodox one. Reasoning that his best chance to get Captain Archers attention quickly was to start with a familiar, easily recognizable message, Trip started by repeatedly sending the equivalent of the name “Lazarus, the code name he had used months ago, while trying to send Enterpriseadvance word of the attack on Coridan. Memories of the Coridan disaster, which had claimed more than a billion lives despite his last‑minute warnings, filled Trip with foreboding.

As did the realization that whether or not Captain Archer received and understood his transmissions in time to act on them, at least one ship and crew was all but certain to come to a terrible end today.

Unobtrusively squeezing the ear implant in his hand in a rhythmic but silent tattoo of dots and dashes, Trip began tapping out a message.

ARCHER, YOU ARE HEADED INTO A TRAP. ROMULAN SNEAK ATTACK COMING, BY REMOTE CONTROL. FREIGHTER NOT SAVABLE. TURNENTERPRISE ABOUT IMMEDIATELY, MAX WARP.

As he finished the third iteration of his message, Trip made direct eye contact with Sopek. He wondered for an instant whether the turncoat captain suspected anything, or if he was merely trying to extract some perverse enjoyment out of Trips reactions to the coming disaster.

“Commander, whats that in your hand? Sopek said, confirming the former while not ruling out the latter. Turning his head, the captain nodded toward the hulking armed uhlan, who reacted by displaying the self‑satisfied expression of a man who had finally been issued a license to do something very nastysomething hed been forced very reluctantly to refrain from doing for far too long.

Oh, crap.

Before the uhlanmanaged to close half the distance that separated them, Trip jumped over the chest‑high railing that stood between him and the sublieutenant whose hand guided the rudder. Taking advantage of the split second of surprise the maneuver had bought him, he shoved the helmsman out of his chair, sending the young man sprawling across the decks hard duranium gridwork. Then he grabbed the momentarily untended throttle and opened it up all the way.

As he slammed the portside lateral thrusters open, sending the bird‑of‑prey into a hard starboard turn, he grabbed the helm console with his free hand to prevent the heaving, cockeyed deck from throwing him off his feet. Trip turned his head to the left just in time to observe that Sopek had been neither fortunate nor skilled enough to do the same.

Focusing his attention on the central viewer at the front of the bridge, Trip watched as one of the dirty‑gray ice bodies of Tezel‑Orokos Kuiper belt drew inexorably closer, its shape visible mainly as a dim, distorted crescent of reflected stellar light.

Too bad Sopeks damned telecapture doohickey isnt on this ship,he thought. Id mind dying a whole lot less if I knew I was taking that thing with me.

Then something blunt and heavy struck Trip very hard across the back of the head, casting him abruptly into darkness.

FORTY‑NINE

Gamma Hydra sector, section ten Enterprise NX‑01

A RCHER WAS AFRAIDhe knew what Hoshi was going to say before she said it. “Sorry, Captain,said the communications officer via the intercom unit on Archers ready‑room desk. “The subspace modulations carrying that signal have juststopped.

“Thanks, Hoshi. Keep scanning for any follow‑up transmissions. He closed the channel before pushing the chair beneath him away from his compact desk. Looking up at TPol, he said, “Trips message stopped right in the middle of that last repetition. A tight fist of worry clutched at his guts.

TPol stood tensely in the center of the small chamber, hands clasped behind her back.

“Did you understand the message, Captain?

“I did, Archer said, nodding. “Ill admit Im a bit rusty at Morse code, but evidently not much more rusty than whoever sent that message.

Her head tilted slightly in evident curiosity. “Morse code?

“An Earth communications code thats even older than EM‑based luminal‑speed radio. He took a moment to confirm the brief messages exact verbatim contents with Hoshi via the intercom, and shared the information with TPol in the process. “What the hell do you suppose happened during that last repetition? he said as his XO considered the message in silence.

The Vulcan woman raised an eyebrow, making Archer think that she might be wondering if his question had been purely rhetorical. “It would appear that Trip is no longer transmitting.

“If it really wasTrip transmitting, Archer said.

Her reply was as devoid of doubt as the rocks outside the New Berlin lunar settlement were free of water. “It was. What do you intend to do about his warning?

“I wish I knew, Archer said. “I need a little bit more to go on to justify leaving a whole ship and crew out here to diestarting with why the transmission was cut off. Did the Romulans find out what he was doing? Or did he have to stop transmitting in order to keepfrom being discovered?

TPol shook her head, responding again with bedrock certainty. “He hasbeen discovered, Captain. Trip is in extreme danger again.

Archer allowed himself a puckish smile, despite the pain in his face and the distinct lack of humor in this situation. “Another Vulcan hunch, TPol?

“An objective fact, she said, an almost mournful expression lengthening her olive‑toned face.

The shrill whistle of the intercom interrupted his search for a reply that might both encourage and convince her. “Captain, the Romulan vessel is on the move,Reed said, sounding alarmed.

Archer hopped out of his chair and leaned on the reply button on his desk. “On my way.

Leading the way through the hatchway that connected the ready room to the bridge, Archer wasted no time taking a seat in his command chair. The main viewer displayed a computer‑enhanced image of the blast‑damaged, almost completely unilluminated Kobayashi Maruas it continued its slow, unpowered tumble through the stygian void.

“Ive dropped us out of warp, Captain, Mayweather said. “Decelerating at impulse to match velocity with the Kobayashi Maru,at a current distance of just over eleven kilometers.

“Sensors read approximately two hundred life signs, Captain, said Hoshi. “Some of them very faint.

Two hundred people,Archer thought. He couldnt abide the idea of just leaving them out here to die, Romulan sneak‑attack warnings or fire‑breathing dragons notwithstanding. But if Trips message was to be believed, the Marus problem was an insoluble one, no matter what he tried to do about it.

“Position of the Romulan bird‑of‑prey? Archer said.

“Thats strange, said Malcolm, speaking from behind the captains chair at the aft tactical station. “The Romulan vessel seems to have moved directly into the path of one of the cometary bodies. Theres been a collision, but the ship appears to be intact.

Archer looked away from TPol. I hope to hell she was wrong about Trip being aboard that ship,he thought, even though he knew that she had a singular habit of being right about such things.

“So the Romulan ship might still be able to direct an attack against us remotely, Archer said.

“Thats possible, Reed said. “Its also possible that the Romulans have installed their remote‑hijacking device aboard one or more of their captured Klingon vessels by now.

“At least the communications jamming has stopped, Hoshi said. “It coincided exactly with the moment that Romulan ship hit the iceberg. Whether or not its directing other ships, the bird‑of‑prey must have been the source of all the com interference.

Nodding an acknowledgment to the com officer, Archer said, “Commence rescue operations on the Kobayashi Maru. Though he was addressing the entire bridge crew, his gaze settled on TPol, who had begun working at her science console. “Once that job is done, well investigate the crash of the Romulan ship.

He approached TPol closely, and spoke in a volume intended for her ears alone. “Maybe the sneak‑attack plans we were warned about crashed along with that Romulan ship.

Looking more stricken than reassured, TPol merely glanced down at her console and said, “Both shuttlepods have launched, Captain. Lieutenant ONeill is running the transporter.

Archer nodded. Opening an intercom channel on the console adjacent to TPols, he said, “Archer to ONeill. Report.

“The systems having some trouble establishing a positive lock on any of the survivors, Captain,said D.O.; her tone suggested that she might soon give the finicky transporters control console a swift kick in the annular confinement circuits.

“Whats the problem, D.O.?

“Whenisnt this damned thing having problems, sir? My best guess is that the residual hull graviton flux from the mine the freighter hit is interfering with the transporter lock. We might need to find a way to disperse the remaining particles.