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  Turning from the science console, Xav replied, “The vessel is deploying mines, sir.” He touched a control on his console, and the image on the main viewscreen shifted to a computer-generated map of the Delta Triangle region. Blue indicators marked the current positions of the Lovell and the T’Saura, while a trio of red icons symbolized the Gorn vessels as they moved away from each other. Each ship appeared to be heading toward different areas of the Triangle. It was the red marker nearest the Lovell’s position that drew al-Khaled’s attention. Xav had programmed the schematic to represent the smaller, unmanned vessel in green, and while everyone on the bridge looked on, it began to describe its own arc across the screen.

  His attention still on the viewscreen, Okagawa said, “I guess they’ve decided not to wait for us after all.”

  “The other two ships look to be heading for spots we’ve identified as potential entry points into the rift,” al-Khaled said, watching as the schematic continued to update with information supplied by the Lovell’s sensors.

  From the science station, Xav said, “Assuming they are doing the same thing as the other vessel, they will be in position to begin deploying their own mines within the hour.”

  Acknowledging the report with a nod, Okagawa looked to al-Khaled. “What do you know about Gorn weaponry?”

  The engineer shook his head. “Not a lot, sir. I’ve reviewed the sensor data collected during the Enterprise’s initial encounter with the Gorn ship at Cestus III. The ship they pursued was different from what we’re facing now.” He knew that the Gorn had all but retreated into their own space following that first meeting with a Starfleet vessel, and that subsequent sightings of their ships were decidedly rare.

  “Then let’s start learning,” Okagawa said. “Get me everything you can as quickly as possible, Mr. Xav.” He looked over his shoulder to the communications station. “Pzial, hail the Gorn commander.”

  There was a momentary delay as the Rigelian ensign established the connection, and then the computer graphic on the main viewer was replaced with the still-imposing figure of Captain Lahr.

  “Captain,” Okagawa said, “may I ask what you are doing?”

  Seated in the oversized chair at the front of what passed for the command center on the Gorn’s ship, Lahr replied, “As your sensors have undoubtedly revealed to you, we are deploying a network of protective mines. Our superiors are concerned that the criminals will find a way to escape their prison despite your assurances. They do not believe our governments can resolve this situation in a timely manner, which only allows ample opportunity for the criminals to escape. Therefore, we are to prevent any ship from leaving the Delta Triangle until such a resolution is reached.” He paused for a moment, lowering his massive head as if contemplating what to say next. Al-Khaled tried to read the Gorn’s expression, but of course that was impossible. “I apologize for this turn of events, Captain, but I have my orders. Please do not attempt to challenge us in this matter. I would regret destroying your vessel.”

  The connection was severed an instant later, returning the map of the Triangle to the screen.

  “That certainly went well,” Okagawa said as he turned away from the viewer, his expression of concern a mirror of al-Khaled’s own.

  “The minefield has been deployed in a spherical configuration,” Commander zh’Rhun said as she stood next to the main viewer, which now sported a split screen. One half of the screen featured a computer rendering of the Gorn mines, while the other was an image of Captain Sivok and Commander Danhauser, standing on their own bridge aboard the T’Saura. “By our count, there are five hundred individual mines comprising the field. As you can see, we, along with the entrance to the rift, are at the sphere’s center.”

  At the science station, Xav said, “The mines themselves are generating a dampening field that nullifies our attempts to scan them. We are working to find a way to counter that effect, but it will take some time due to our unfamiliarity with Gorn weapons technology.”

  “One other thing,” zh’Rhun added. “The mines do not seem to be holding a single unchanging formation. Instead, they are repositioning themselves at irregular intervals. This suggests some kind of intricate onboard navigational system, or perhaps a centralized control scheme. We’re scanning communications frequencies to see if we can find any sign of transmissions being sent to the mines, but so far we have found nothing.”

  Leaning forward in his chair in order to better study the screen, Okagawa shook his head. “Is there any good news?”

  Zh’Rhun shrugged. “These do not appear to be gravitic mines such as those employed by the Klingons along the Neutral Zone, nor are they cloaked, as the Romulans have been known to do. We can see them, and they do not seem attracted to us as long as we remain stationary.”

  From the viewer, Captain Sivok said, “We cannot be certain of anything until we learn more about the mines’ internal construction. Commander Danhauser has suggested capturing one of the devices for further study, though I confess I find the idea somewhat hazardous given our present lack of information.”

  Nodding, Okagawa said, “Well, I don’t plan on sitting idle until Starfleet figures out what they want us to do here, and I think we can safely say that hoping the Gorn remain patient is a sucker bet.” He looked to al-Khaled, who with Commander Grace was standing next to the engineering station. “Mahmud? Do you or your team have anything to add?”

  “Commander Danhauser’s right, sir,” the engineer replied. “We’re flying blind here until we get a good look at one of those things.” Reaching to one of the keypads on his engineering workstation, he tapped a sequence of commands and the image of the minefield on the viewer was replaced by that of another technical schematic. “My first suggestion would be to use a polaron burst to try and disrupt the dampening field surrounding one of the mines.” Al-Khaled knew that such an approach had been successful in disrupting deflector shields and tractor beams. “If we can do that, then we can give it a thorough scan before trying to bring it aboard.”

  “Makes sense to me,” replied Danhauser from the screen. “It’s something we can do from a distance with our shields raised, and configuring one of our deflector dishes to deliver the burst shouldn’t take that long.”

  “Only a few minutes, I should think,” Grace said. “In fact, I would submit that the deflector dish on the T’Saura is better suited to the task than our own.”

  Okagawa smiled at that. “I’ll bet that hurt to say.” To the screen he said, “Captain Sivok, are you agreeable to that?”

  The Vulcan captain nodded. “It is also logical that you remain on station, Captain. Your vessel’s armaments are superior to ours, and would be better suited to defend against any attempt by the Gorn to enter the rift.”

  “Sounds as though we have a plan,” Okagawa said. “Our science and engineering staffs will be standing by to render any assistance you need.”

  Several minutes passed, with the Lovell’s bridge crew continuing to carry out their various assigned tasks, before Ensign Pzial said, “Sir, the T’Saura is signaling that they are ready to make the attempt.”

  “Excellent,” the captain replied. “Keep a frequency open to them, Ensign.” Looking to the science station, he said, “Let’s see what they’re doing, Mr. Xav.”

  Hearing the order, al-Khaled turned from his station to see an image of the T’Saura as it moved away from the Lovell. The stout, utilitarian hull of the Antares-class science vessel was comprised of the same basic components that applied to most Starfleet ships, with two main hull sections and a pair of warp nacelles. Unlike other vessels in the fleet, however, the Antares ships held little in the way of aesthetic design features. Their nacelles were mounted below the engineering section, and their primary hull was little more than a blunt, rounded rectangle housing four decks, including the main bridge.

  No one said anything as the T’Saura approached one of the mines drifting alone in space. As depicted by the Lovell’s sensors and image-rendering software
, the cylindrical device appeared inert, offering no clue that it might be an active and dangerous weapon. That made sense, al-Khaled knew, as part of a mine’s effectiveness would be its ability to appear innocuous to a passing vessel until it was too late.

  “We have selected one of the mines,” the voice of Captain Sivok said over the bridge intercom. “We are holding our distance at twenty-five kilometers, and Commander Danhauser is preparing to activate the deflector dish and release the polaron burst.”

  “Acknowledged, Captain,” Okagawa replied. “We are standing by.”

  As al-Khaled and the rest of the bridge crew watched, a golden beam of energy emitted from the T’Saura’s main deflector dish, lancing out and away from the ship until it enveloped the squat cylinder.

  “Captain,” Xav said, “our sensors are detecting fluctuations in the mine’s dampening field. The polaron beam seems to be working.”

  Just as quickly as the Tellarite offered his report, however, an alarm klaxon suddenly blared, echoing in the bridge’s confines. Xav returned his attention to his sensors’ displays even as zh’Rhun spun to face Okagawa.

  “Energy readings from the minefield, Captain. Other mines are reacting to the beam. Seven of them are moving out of position and converging on the T’Saura.”

  “Captain Sivok!” Okagawa shouted, bolting from his seat. “Deactivate that beam! Now!”

  On the screen, the energy beam disappeared, and al-Khaled watched as the science vessel abruptly rotated on its axis, its helmsman no doubt responding to orders for evasive action. Eight mines, including the one originally targeted by the polaron burst, were maneuvering to surround the T’Saura even as the ship continued to move away from the perimeter of the minefield.

  “They’re still moving in,” the engineer said, feeling his mouth go slack as he watched the situation unfolding on the viewer.

  “Commander zh’Rhun!” Okagawa prompted.

  Standing behind Lieutenant Diamond at the weapons and defense station, the Andorian first officer said, “Phasers standing by, sir.” Even with the rising anxiety that was beginning to envelop the bridge, zh’Rhun continued to maintain her unruffled demeanor. To the lieutenant, zh’Rhun said, “Fire at your discretion.”

  Diamond wasted no time carrying out the order, her finger pressing a fire control button even before the words finished leaving the first officer’s mouth. On the screen, blue phaser energy spat forward, closing the distance to the mine the lieutenant had targeted and washing over it an instant before the Gorn weapon detonated.

  And then another alarm sounded.

  “Captain!” Xav yelled. “Four mines are leaving the perimeter and closing on our position!”

  Of course!

  The words screamed in al-Khaled’s mind as realization dawned. “They’re swarming defensively to any threat they detect!” he shouted. “Cease fire!”

  “Impact in five seconds!” Xav warned.

  Al-Khaled sensed Grace moving toward his console and saw the chief engineer stab at the intercom control. “Engineering! Divert emergency power to the shields!”

  The last thing al-Khaled heard was Okagawa’s warning for all hands to brace for impact before the first of the mines struck the Lovell’s shields. The lighting flickered, and nearly every display on the bridge went dark as a third and fourth collision came.

  “Damage report!” Okagawa ordered even as the main lighting failed and was replaced by emergency illumination in the seconds following the final attack.

  Zh’Rhun replied, “Shields are down seventy-nine percent, and there is some buckling on the outer hull near the shuttlebay.”

  Al-Khaled added, “One of the mines struck near engineering and overloaded the shield generator in that section, Captain. We’ve got a host of circuit burnouts and a few power relays are down. Repairs should not take long to complete.”

  Okagawa pointed to the viewscreen. “Get that thing back on. What’s the status of the T’Saura?”

  “I am unable to reestablish contact, sir,” Pzial replied. “They are not responding on any frequency.”

  Al-Khaled felt the knot of dread forming in his gut even as the viewscreen chose that moment to respond to Xav’s attempts to reactivate it. The engineer turned in time to see it sputter and shimmer before resolving into a picture of open space, along with an expanding cloud of debris—all that remained of the T’Saura.

  Chapter

  7

  Somberness hung like an ominous dark cloud over the Lovell’s briefing room. His own mind consumed by the tragic events of the past hour, al-Khaled noted that all of the officers seated at the conference table appeared content to wallow in their own thoughts. Apparently unwilling to look at one another, each person’s attention was instead focused on something, anything, else. Commander zh’Rhun studied the padd she had brought with her while Lieutenant Xav kept his gaze fixed on the table’s polished surface. Engineer Grace merely sat back in his chair, his eyes closed and with his hands clasped in front of his face, adopting an almost Vulcan-like meditative posture. The sheer burden of emotion weighing on the room’s occupants seemed to al-Khaled to have been here forever, despite his having arrived mere moments ago.

  “Okay, people,” Captain Okagawa said from where he sat at the head of the table, “we’ve got ourselves a situation here. We need some ideas on how to solve it, and we need them pretty damned quick.” He said nothing else as he settled into his chair, instead taking the opportunity to study the faces of the other people in the room who were now looking to him for guidance. Al-Khaled watched as Okagawa’s expression seemed to soften, and he nodded slowly.

  “Losing a ship—any ship—is hard,” he said after a moment. “Even if we didn’t actually know anyone aboard the T’Saura personally, they were still our brothers and sisters. But I think you know we have to put our feelings aside for the time being and concentrate on our immediate situation.” Turning to Commander zh’Rhun, he asked, “What’s your tactical analysis of the minefield?”

  Already seated ramrod straight in her chair, the first officer replied, “The mines are not simply holding station wherever they are deployed, sir.” Her voice and demeanor were all business, her bearing in place and holding steady as she concentrated on answering the captain’s question. “A scan of communications frequencies has revealed a steady string of encrypted burst transmissions between the individual devices and the unmanned vessel that dispersed them. We have not been able to decipher the encryption scheme yet, but our analysis shows a heavy correlation between the transmissions and the maneuvering of the mines into different spread patterns at irregular intervals.”

  “Interesting tactic,” Okagawa said. “It lets them defend a large area with a limited number of devices by altering their dispersal pattern as needed to compensate for new threats.”

  Nodding, zh’Rhun replied, “Yes, sir. They also appear to have standalone defensive capabilities that come into play whenever an outside influence attempts to compromise the field. Each mine is apparently programmed to react to any such situation within a predefined range of distance.” The Andorian paused for a moment, and al-Khaled noted the slow, deep breath she took before continuing. “That is essentially what happened to the T’Saura. When the ship fired its polaron beam at one mine, others within that defensive sphere reacted to the threat, homing in on the source of the beam and attacking it en masse.”

  Okagawa’s brow furrowed as he listened to the report, and al-Khaled imagined the various scenarios playing out in the captain’s mind as he considered their situation. “What if we try to disrupt this link between the mines and their control ship?”

  Sitting across from zh’Rhun, Lieutenant Xav replied, “If their previous behavior is any indication, they will view such an act as aggressive and respond in similar fashion against us, sir.”

  “It gets worse, Captain,” al-Khaled said. He had also spent the time since the destruction of the T’Saura performing his own sensor scans of the minefield, and his findings we
re no more encouraging than the information zh’Rhun had conveyed. “The control ship also has the ability to replenish the minefield. It’s already replaced those lost during the attack on the T’Saura, and it was able to reconfigure the existing devices into patterns that minimized the gaps created by any mines that were detonated. Between that and their preprogrammed defensive schemes, the field’s doing a pretty good job of hemming us in.”

  Okagawa said, “Commander zh’Rhun reported earlier that the mines didn’t seem interested in us as long as we remained stationary. Is that still a valid assessment?”

  Leaning forward in his chair, Commander Grace nodded. “They do not appear to be attracted to our propulsion system in a manner similar to devices employed by the Klingons or Romulans, sir. As long as we do not cross their defensive perimeter, or attempt to attack or disrupt them in any fashion, they seem content to ignore us. In fact, remaining in place and doing nothing seems to be the safest course of action.”

  “Except that I have a problem when those terms are dictated to me,” Okagawa snapped. “The Gorn don’t get to decide who enters and exits the Triangle, and their actions have already cost us the T’Saura and her crew. That’s as far as they go, at least as long as I have anything to say about it. I want that minefield neutralized, and I want it done damned quick.”

  The expression on the captain’s face appeared almost to be a challenge, daring anyone at the table to say that his demands were impossible to meet. Al-Khaled knew from past experience that offering such repudiation carried nearly the same risk as freefalling naked through a planet’s atmosphere. Simply put, Daniel Okagawa would not take no for an answer, especially now.

  “If we can’t disrupt or disarm the mines without them turning on us,” al-Khaled said, “then it seems like the only other option is to figure out a way to disable their control ship.”

  Shaking her head, zh’Rhun countered, “It makes sense that some form of protection scheme exists for it, as well.”