Vaughn backed away from Sacagawea, not interested in appearing belligerent before its commander. Facing the viewer again, he said, “Your conflict with the Nyazen is none of my business. Our involvement was strictly in the interests of preventing any needless deaths.”
“Our thanks/gratitude you have earned for this,”the D’Naali commander said. “Many D’Naali live/endure because of you.”
Vaughn smiled. “I’d like you to return the favor. Before you resume your fight with the Nyazen over the fate of your…anathema, we ask that you assist us in gaining access to it. Just long enough to locate and rescue our people. Then we’ll be on our way.”
The D’Naali commander seemed to consider Vaughn’s proposal for a protracted moment before saying, “Counteroffer/proposal. Afterward/following, you will give/send us your mattermover device/machine. We will then use it to resolve/finish the cathedral/anathema.”
“I can’t do that,” Vaughn replied without hesitation. Because both of these civilizations were warp capable, however marginally, the noninterference protections of the Prime Directive did not strictly apply. But the thought of radically disrupting the delicate, aeons-old balance of power that had obviously evolved between these two peoples didn’t sit well with him.
The alien commander made a sound that evoked an image of a rusty iron gate. Vaughn interpreted it as a self-satisfied laugh. “Damaged/strained is your vessel. Much/greatly drained/depleted are your energies/capabilities. Refusal is no option/poor choice.”
“Don’t underestimate us,” Vaughn said, realizing that his earlier unfavorable appraisal of the D’Naali’s motivations now seemed precisely on the mark. “And don’t think you’ll impress us by making threats. Especially while one of your own people is still aboard my vessel.”
“You will surrender/relinquish your hostage/prisoner,”the D’Naali captain said.
“Primed/ready am I to die as a prisoner/hostage,” Sacagawea responded, folding his long limbs about himself in what Vaughn interpreted as an elaborate display of D’Naali dignity. Clearly, the alien was preparing to die.
Not on my ship.
Vaughn turned toward the tactical station. “Ensign Merimark, inform transporter chief Chao that our ‘guest’ will be beaming back to his ship immediately. Straight from the bridge.”
“Respectfully, Captain, are you sure that’s wise?” Bowers said, his wary eyes on Sacagawea. He and Shar had backed several paces away from the creature.
“Damn sure,” Vaughn said, his glare spelling out plainly that there would be no further debate. “We can still run if we have to.”
Vaughn faced the alien leader again as Sacagawea disappeared in a blaze of sparkling light. “Whatever you may believe about us, D’Naali, we’re not hostage-takers.”
The alien commander’s mouth parts moved in a manner that Vaughn could only interpret as a grin. “Defend/ protect your ship, then.”
“Tenmei, make your best speed toward the alien artifact.”
“Aye, sir.” Her hands worked the console with the virtuosity of a concert pianist.
Vaughn saw a flash of blue light originate at the D’Naali flagship’s prow just as the entire fleet fell away into the distance.
Relieving Merimark at tactical, Bowers said, “The D’Naali vessels are pursuing. But they won’t be able to catch up to us.”
“Unless we stop,”Tenmei said from the conn. Over her shoulder, she flashed Vaughn a mock-questioning look.
Vaughn favored her with a good-natured scowl as he seated himself in the command chair. “We will, Ensign. At the Nyazen blockade fleet. And let’s hope that the defenders are a little more reasonable than the destroyers.”
* * *
“Keeping station at one hundred thousand klicks from the artifact, Captain,” Tenmei said.
“No sign of weapons activity,” said Bowers. “But the blockade ships have scanned us. They seem more curious than hostile.”
“Perhaps they saw their adversaries firing on us,” Shar said from the main science console.
My enemy’s enemy is my friend,Vaughn thought. He sat in the command chair, absorbing and considering the constant reports coming from each member of his bridge crew.
“The Nyazen flagship is finally answering our hails,” Hunter said.
The round, blotchy, whitish face that appeared on the viewer struck Vaughn as a study in astonishment, though he knew he was anthropomorphizing an alien being. On the other hand, perhaps the Nyazen captain simply couldn’t believe Vaughn’s audacity in approaching with a request to parley after having been driven away so recently by the massed forces of thirteen Nyazen blockade ships.
“You wish/desire to aid/assist us against the D’Naali destroyers?”
Who are going to arrive in force any second.“As I said,” Vaughn continued, using his most patient, persuasive tones, “members of my crew are inside the cathedral at this very moment. They seek cures to the maladies that the cathedral caused.”
“Not possible/believable. We prevented/averted your approach to cathedral/anathema.”
Vaughn sighed. “You detected the energy beam we directed at the cathedral, did you not?”
“Detected, we did, your weapon,”the Nyazen commander growled. “Ineffectual/inconsequential it was.”
“It did no damage because it wasn’t a weapon.” Time to roll the dice,Vaughn thought, pausing. “It was a material transmission device.”
As inscrutable as the alien had been up until now, Vaughn could tell instantly that he had finally piqued his counterpart’s interest. He continued his effort at persuasion: “Your sensors must have detected the approach of the D’Naali fleet by now. So here’s my proposal: We will help you defend the cathedral against them— ifyou will allow us to approach it and render assistance to our officers.”
“You could/might use your mattercaster to deliver weapons to/within cathedral/anathema.”
Vaughn took a deep breath to keep from raising his voice. “We could have done that before.We didn’t.”
The Nyazen commander was clearly turning that fact over in his mind.
Bowers spoke up. “Twelve D’Naali ships are dropping out of warp, Captain. Almost right on top of the blockade.”
“Red alert!” Vaughn said, and alarm klaxons began blaring. He signaled to Bowers to turn them down.
“Incoming fire!” Bowers said. Tenmei reacted swiftly, turning the stronger starboard shields toward the massed fire of four of the arriving vessels. The deck pitched, and Vaughn held tightly to the arms of his chair.
Over the next few seconds, several more salvos struck the Defiant’s shields, including one that apparently got all the way through to the ablative hull armor before burning itself out. Then the attacks immediately trailed off as the Nyazen fleet began opening fire on their opposite numbers.
Vaughn watched as the viewer split its view; in addition to the face of the indecisive Nyazen commander, it also presented a tableau of two fairly evenly matched fleets bringing all their tubes to bear against one another. And in the unfathomable space beyond the warring spacefleets—one committed to destroying a much-feared anathema, another acting to defend its most sacred cathedral—the inexplicable spacebar artifact continued its heedless, eternal tumble across the dimensions.
The Nyazen captain had evidently seen enough. “This one agrees/assents,”it said, then vanished from the screen.
Vaughn smiled a canny gambler’s smile. “You heard the man, Tenmei. Bring us into transporter range. Shar, start scanning the thing’s interior for our people. Leishman, get those phasers up and running.”
The battle had been at a near stalemate from the beginning. But thanks to Tenmei’s skillful flying, some inspired jury-rigging by Celeste, Leishman, and Van Buskirk—not to mention Bowers’s pinpoint targeting—two of the Defiant’s four pulse phaser cannons very quickly encouraged a critical handful of the D’Naali ships to withdraw to a safer distance. Vaughn was relieved to note that all it had taken to accomplish this was several shots across the bow.