Captain's Table_ Dujonian's Hoard Part 20

She considered it for a moment, then nodded to Worf. Dutifully, he carried out the order. A moment later, our viewscreen showed us the grim-looking individual in charge of the alien formation.

His skull was oblong and hairless and his skin was bone white, providing a striking contrast with the faceted, ruby red ovals of his eyes. Jagged, brown horns protruded from either temple, echoed by smaller versions at the sides of his long, narrow chin.

"Greetings," said Abby. "I'm"

She never finished her sentence. The alien didn't give her an opportunity to do so.

"You have entered Abinarri s.p.a.ce," he advised her in a gravely voice, "in blatant violation of seventy-seven separate Abinarri statutes."

"I a.s.sure you," said Abby, "it wasn't our intention to break any laws. We'll be gone before you"

Again, the alien interrupted her. "Do not attempt to flee. Our tractor rays will take hold of your vessel momentarily."

She shot the Abinarri a disparaging look. "The h.e.l.l they will. Terminate communication, Mr. Worf."

The image on the viewscreen changed. Once more, we found ourselves gazing at the alien formation.

Abby turned to me. "Get us out of here, Picard and I mean now."

I did the last thing the Abinarri would have expected. I shot right through the center of their formation. By the time they wheeled in response, we were making good on our escape.

"Maximum warp," said Abby.

"Maximum warp," I confirmed.

As we accelerated, I could feel a subtle pull on my face and body. After all, inertial dampers are not as high a priority in warbirds as they are in Federation vessels.

But then, Romulans are by all measures stronger and more durable than most Federation races. It would have come as no surprise if their tolerance for G-forces was higher, as well.

In any case, after a few moments I expected to have given the Abinarri the slip. As I discovered, I was quite wrong. Not only had they not been left behind, they were actually gaining on us.

Thadoc deposited himself behind the navigation console. "Quick little vessels, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," I replied.

I could have made the warbird go faster, as well, but I didn't think I could maintain such a rate of speed for long. Could the Abinarri maintain it? At the time, I had no idea.

"Rear view," said Abby.

Worf manipulated his controls. Abruptly, the image on the viewscreen changed, showing us the Abinarri vessels in hot pursuit.

"They are powering up their weapons banks," the Klingon reported.

"Let's do the same," said Abby, staring at the viewscreen.

Worf worked for a moment. "It is done," he announced.

Abby tapped a stud on the armrest of the commander's chair. "This is Captain Brant. We're about to go into battle again. If I were you, I'd find someplace cozy and brace myself."

It occurred to me that Corbis and Gob would be displeased. Of course, this was hardly my greatest concern at the moment.

"Target and fire!" Abby barked.

Worf unleashed a barrage of disruptor beams, striking the lead s.h.i.+p in the Abinarri formation. According to my monitors, the aliens' deflectors were all but obliterated.

Thadoc glanced over his shoulder at Worf. "Good shooting."

The Klingon didn't respond to the compliment. He was too busy targeting the lead s.h.i.+p again.

"Fire!" Abby told him.

Worf looked at me, knowing his next volley would destroy the Abinarri if he wished it. I didn't want that.

"Target their propulsion systems," I said.

"Aye, sir," he responded.

Abby shot me a dirty look but didn't say anything. It was an awkward command situation, especially in the middle of a battle. Still, we were both resolved to make the best of it.

"Fire!" Abby cried again.

Worf fired.

This time, our disruptors tore into the alien's hindquarters, disabling their warp drive or whatever equivalent means of propulsion they employed. Instantly, the craft dropped out of warp.

That left only two Abinarri on our tail, though they were getting closer with each pa.s.sing second. If they hadn't fired yet, it was no doubt because we were outside the range of their weapons.

A moment later, that no longer seemed to be a problem for them. Our viewscreen lit up with a greenish burst of light. It jolted us.

Another burst, another jolt.

"Damage?" asked Abby.

"Nothing serious," said Thadoc, his features cast in the orange glow of his Romulan controls. "s.h.i.+elds are down only fifteen percent."

Apparently, the Abinarri's bark was worse than their bite. Not that I was complaining, mind you.

"Fire at will!" Abby commanded.

Having already received my approval, Worf did as he was told. A second Abinarri vessel saw its s.h.i.+elds shredded by our disruptor beams. Then the Klingon disabled it as he had disabled its sister s.h.i.+p.

This one, too, dropped below the speed of light. That left only a single adversary with which we had to concern ourselves.

But the Abinarri hadn't had their fill of us yet.

Even closer than before, they fired again and at short range, their beams packed more of a wallop. I felt the impact through the deckplates once, twice, and a third time.

"s.h.i.+elds down thirty-six percent," Thadoc noted.

When Worf returned fire, our greater proximity to the Abinarri worked in our favor as well. His first barrage ripped through their s.h.i.+elds and breached their hull. The next one destroyed not only their propulsion system, but also half their weapons banks.

Like the other Abinarri, the vessel dropped back as if it had reached the end of its tether while the warbird continued to knife through the void at maximum warp. The alien was millions of kilometers behind us before we could draw another breath.

Abby nodded approvingly. "Well done," she said, watching the stars fall away in our wake.

Worf inclined his head his way of saying thank you.

Abby looked at me. "You too, Picard."

"What did I do?" I asked her.

"You had the sense to dart right through their formation," she observed. "If you hadn't, they might have caught us in a cross fire. Then our encounter might have had a different ending."

I shrugged. "Perhaps."

After all, I wasn't looking for accolades. My only objective was to bring my mission to a satisfactory conclusion. At least, that was what I kept telling myself as I used my controls to return to warp four.

There was, of course, the matter of myself and Abby Brant. Not Red Abby the captain, not the tough-as-nails transport commander, but the woman with whom I had forged something of a bond.

A bond of mutual respect, one might say. Of camaraderie and maybe a bit more than that.

Such were my thoughts. No doubt, they ended up commanding more of my attention than they should have.

"Picard," said Thadoc.

I looked at him. "Yes?"

"If you like," he told me, "I could take over the helm for a while. It's time for the change of s.h.i.+fts, and one hand should be enough as long as there's no trouble."

I nodded. "Of course."

Standing, I turned the helm over to him. At the same time, the lift doors opened and Dunwoody emerged onto the bridge at which point Worf moved aside and let the other fellow man the tactical station.

But the Klingon didn't leave the bridge. Instead, he moved to one of the aft stations.

I looked at him. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He looked back. "Going over the data I obtained."

"The data ... ?" Red Abby repeated. Obviously, the woman had no idea what Worf was talking about.

But then, I was only beginning to understand myself.

"While the Abinarri s.h.i.+ps were uns.h.i.+elded," I ventured, "Mr. Worf must have taken the liberty of establis.h.i.+ng a datalink with their computer."

"A subs.p.a.ce datalink," the Klingon explained. "Though it was in existence for only a few seconds in each case, I was able to upload a significant amount of information."

If I had ever underestimated my tactical officer, I promised myself never to do so again.

Abby too looked at the Klingon with new respect. "Of course. In case we happen to run into the Abinarri a second time."

"Either the Abinarri," I granted her, "or any of the other species described in their database. One never knows what sort of knowledge will prove useful in uncharted waters."

"Very impressive," said Abby.

Worf shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Then he turned his attention to the data coming up on his screen. His brow beetled in response.

"Captain," he said, "take a look at this."

I followed his gesture to a list of Abinarri statutes which their commander had cited as reasons for detaining us. It turned out there were rather a lot of them. Thousands, in fact.

"Quite the busy little legislators," I said, "aren't they?"

My companion grunted. "And it seems they impose their laws on a great many other species."

The data on the monitor screen bore that out. The Abinarri had subjected no less than thirty other species to their peculiar brand of justice, and they were currently attempting to add two more.

I frowned. It was one thing to follow one's own cultural imperatives. To force others to follow them was another matter entirely.

"I don't understand," said Thadoc, who had apparently overheard our conversation. "How can they lord it over so many other worlds when their vessels are so unimpressive?"

"Unimpressive to us, perhaps," Abby pointed out. "In comparison to all the other civilizations here, they probably boast the height of technology."

Dunwoody smiled. "For our sake, let's hope so."

Silently, I added my hope to his own. Then I turned back to the monitor, eager to learn all I could about the tyrannical Abinarri.

Madigoor "AND WHAT DID you learn?" asked the Captain of the Kalliope.

"Yes," said Flenarrh, "what?"

"A great deal," Picard said. "It seems the Abinarri were originally a rather wild and iconoclastic people."

"A nation of hermits," Dravvin observed.

"More or less," Picard confirmed. "Time and again, their primitive attempts at civilization were brought down by anarchy and lawlessness."

"Not unlike my own people," Hompaq grumbled.

"Actually," said Picard, "the ancient Abinarri make early Klingons look polite and reserved."

Hompaq's eyes narrowed. "You lie."

"I do not," Picard a.s.sured her. "They were utterly savage, capable of the most heinous acts one can imagine. It was not unusual for an early Abinarri to kill his mate or his children over a shortage of food. Cannibalism not only ran rampant, it was the preferred diet in some places."