Dule actually chuckled at that. “Do you truly believe we are going to give you access to our records? Do you truly believe that we are going to help you? What do we care of trouble that some race inflicts on your Federation? There is no advantage to us in providing relief for your kind.”
“So you say now,” said Calhoun. “They may decide to target you next.”
“I am reasonably prepared to take our chances, Captain. In any event, our future is not something you need concern yourself over. Instead, you need to worry about your own future. As you can see, we have you targeted despite your enchanting cloaking device.”
“I would be interested to know how you accomplished that,” said Calhoun.
“I am sure you would, so that you could immediately endeavor to nullify the advantage we have. That is not going to happen. No, I will tell you instead exactly what will happen. We are going to make a demand of you. You are going to give us what we demand, and we will then allow you to proceed.”
Soleta noticed the rest of the bridge crew exchanging puzzled looks. What in the world did they have that the Thallonians could be interested in?
“You will allow us to proceed?” said Calhoun slowly.
“That is correct, Captain. One Starfleet vessel, alone in Thallonian space. We do not see you as capable of doing a great deal of harm. Try to find your wormhole, save your Federation. I have been authorized to tell you that your presence will be tolerated for forty-eight of your hours. That should be more than enough time, I should think, to accomplish whatever it is that you have set out to do.”
“In exchange for what?” said Calhoun.
“We want Robin Lefler and her son.”
To Soleta’s surprise, Lefler did not seem the least bit caught off guard. “Of course that’s what they want,” she said softly.
“Why do you want her?” said Calhoun.
“Her son is the heir apparent to the Thallonian throne. His place is on New Thallon. Truthfully, we do not really require his mother to accompany him, but we are assuming that she would insist upon it.”
“I’m sorry, Castor Dule,” said Calhoun, “but I’m not in the habit of trading in human life.”
“You do it all the time,” said Dule. “You brought all the humans on your vessel here on a suicidal situation. Those lives factored into your equations. All we are asking you to do is trade two lives for the thousand or so that you have on your ship. Because rest assured, if you refuse to turn Lefler and son over to us, you will immediately be engaged in a battle that you cannot possibly win. We will blow your vessel to pieces and everyone on your ship will be dead. If you try to flee in escape pods, I assure you we will track those down and blow them up as well. Two lives for a thousand, Captain. It is a fair trade.”
“So that you can execute them?”
“Captain!” Dule sounded shocked. “Why in the world would we do that? That child is the future of New Thallon. He is to be protected.”
“I seem to recall some hostile feelings for him in the past.”
“The past remains the past. I can guarantee his safe conduct and a secure life of luxury for him and his mother.”
“I appreciate that,” said Calhoun, “but I’m afraid my answer has to be—”
And Lefler said, “I’ll do it.”
Calhoun’s head snapped over to her and there was obvious astonishment on his face. “Excuse me?”
“I said I’ll do it,” said Lefler. “I’ll go get Cwansi from child care, and they can beam me over.”
“That is very wise,” said Dule.
“No, it’s not very wise,” said Calhoun firmly. “Robin, you are not going to turn yourself over to them.”
“Yes, I am, Captain. I have no choice,” said Lefler. “You said it yourself. We’re outnumbered five to one.”
“Actually, I said that,” said Kebron.
“Whatever. Outnumbered is outnumbered. We can’t battle these odds, Captain. They’ve punched through the cloaking device somehow . . .”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” said Soleta.
“Please stop saying that,” Lefler told her curtly. “You told us the wormhole was here; you said the cloaking device would protect us. We’re here because of you, Soleta, and your consistent wrongness has—”
“That’s enough,” said Calhoun. “Robin, this isn’t your call. It’s mine. And I am not going to turn anyone on this ship over to the Thallonians. That’s the end of the discussion.”
“Captain, you don’t—”
“End of the discussion.”
Dule sounded sad. “Captain, I strongly advise that you listen to Robin Lefler. This is avoidable if you—”
“Close off communications,” Calhoun said to Lefler.
She didn’t do so. Instead she sat there, looking in forlorn desperation at her commanding officer.
Calhoun didn’t hesitate. “Kebron, shut it down.” Kebron immediately did so, and Calhoun’s attention returned to Lefler. “Are we going to have a problem, Robin?”
“Captain, you have to send me over there.”
“No.”
“Listen to me—”
“Lieutenant,” said Calhoun in a formal tone, “are you capable of carrying out your duties?”
“That’s not the point, Captain. I—”
Calhoun didn’t bother to listen to her. Instead, without hesitation, he turned to Soleta and said, “Soleta, take over ops. Robin, you are relieved.”
Soleta was stunned. She had never taken over ops in her life. Nor did she have the slightest idea of what she should do, because Robin Lefler was still sitting there. She was loath to walk over and just stand there waiting for Robin to get up.
Lefler looked about to protest, but apparently thought better of it. Instead she simply stood and said, “Yes, sir.” Then she strode off the bridge. The turbolift door hissed shut behind her.
Soleta was still standing at the science station, and Calhoun turned and stared at her. Needing no further urging, she went to the ops station and slid into the chair. Tobias was scowling at her, but that was the least of Soleta’s problems.
“Sir,” she said quickly, “we’re being targeted.”
“Hard a-port,” said Calhoun. “Stand by to return fire.”
This time there was no holding back. All five ships opened fire on the Excalibur. The ship shivered violently under the pounding. The sharp turn managed to avoid some of the hammering, but much of it still struck the vessel.
“Shields down twenty percent,” said Soleta.
“Target and fire!” Calhoun called.
Kebron’s huge hands flew daintily over the board. The Excalibur cut loose, blasting at the nearest of the warships. The phasers caused the ship to tremble but the damage inflicted wasn’t enough to disable it. It did, however, peel off; another ship was right behind it.
“Get us out of here. Full retreat,” said Calhoun.
“Impossible, Captain,” Soleta immediately said. “Two more ships have come in behind us.”
“Are they bigger than us?”
“No, sir. Smaller.”
“Go through them.”
Soleta didn’t hesitate. Charting the course, she sent the ship into a direct collision course with the two that had dropped in to try and block their path.
The ships did not back off. Instead they hurtled toward the Excalibur, their own weapons blasting away. Kebron was shouting out the steadily diminishing power of the shields. “Seventy percent down, Captain! Sixty percent! Shields at half!” It was like listening to a countdown to destruction.
“Keep going!” called Calhoun.
“Shields at forty! Captain, at this rate we will not be able to withstand a head-on collision.”
Calhoun slammed his fist into the armrest of the chair. “Veer off! Circle around!”
The Excalibur swung around and headed back toward the armada of ships that were attacking.
For a heartbeat, Soleta considered dropping the shields, taking command of the transporter, locking on to Robin and Cwansi, and beaming them to the nearest ship. You can’t do that. You’d have to drop shields, and they would destroy us as soon as you did that.
Plus she’s a crew member. You shouldn’t do that because it’s wrong.
It bothered her that the moral aspect was an afterthought.
viii.
LEFLER SPRINTED DOWN the corridor, clutching Cwansi with her right arm and bracing herself against the wall with her left. It was difficult because every time the ship was struck, she stumbled and almost fell.
Cwansi was tremendously upset. He didn’t like the explosions around them, and his mother’s franticness certainly did nothing to calm him. Every blow that the ship sustained caused an increase in his alarmed shrieking. Lefler desperately wanted to stroke him, assure him that everything was going to be all right. But she was in no position to do so, since her primary concern was managing to stay on her feet.
Just ahead of her was the transporter room. She managed to keep herself upright and staggered through the doors that opened to receive her.
Halliwell was at the transporter controls. She was holding on as best she could as the room rocked left and right. Since the shields were up, preventing the use of the transporter, she was genuinely surprised when Lefler stumbled in. Lefler almost fell yet again, but Halliwell came around from the transporter controls and caught her. “What the hell are you doing here?” demanded Halliwell.
Lefler spoke as quickly as she could. “We’re going to lose shields. That’s inevitable. I need you to lock onto one of the ships and beam me over there when that happens.”
“That won’t work! Their shields will still be up! Our transporters won’t be able to penetrate. And by the way, I couldn’t do that anyway without the captain’s orders!”
“The captain isn’t thinking straight. He’s ready to let the ship be blown up rather than surrender me to the Thallonians.”
Halliwell didn’t hesitate. “That’s his call to make. It’s not mine to disobey his orders.”
Once more the ship was hit. Cwansi cried out in even greater terror. Lefler’s mind raced and then she said, “Can you beam me into a shuttlecraft? I can take one of those out and alert the ships that I’m surrendering . . .”
“Robin, no!”
She grabbed Halliwell by the arm. “I am not going to be responsible for killing everyone on this ship!”
“Last I checked, you’re not the one firing at us! Robin, I’m not going to disobey the captain’s orders! I’m just not!”
“Fine,” said Lefler. She started to turn away, and then suddenly she turned back, swung her fist, and struck Halliwell on the chin. Halliwell fell backward, slamming to the deck.
Quickly Lefler stepped in front of the transporter controls, trying to figure out the coordinates that she could use to beam them into a shuttle. But before she could accomplish anything, Halliwell was back on her feet, rage in her face. She grabbed Cwansi out of the startled Lefler’s hands and then brought her foot up and slammed it into Lefler’s rib cage. Lefler stumbled backward and fell to the deck as Cwansi let out a terrified shriek.
“You idiot,” snapped Halliwell. “You’re lucky I saved your child from falling down with you! You both could have died! Now take your child and get out of here, or so help me I’ll call security and have you locked in the brig!”
“There’s not going to be a brig!” Lefler shouted back. She felt liquid dribbling from her mouth; she was bleeding. She wiped it away and tried not to think about it. “There’s not going to be any ship! If you don’t—!”
“Excuse me.”
The mild voice startled both of them. Mark McHenry was standing there, having apparently appeared out of nowhere at all. He had his typical cockeyed smile on his face, and when the ship rocked again, he glanced off into the distance and said, “Well, that doesn’t sound good.” Then he shifted his attention back to Robin. “Do you still want to surrender yourself and save the ship?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“All righty, then,” said Mark McHenry, and he snapped his fingers.
And he was gone.
And so were Robin Lefler and Cwansi.
“Damn it,” said Halliwell.
Thallonian Battleship
THE BRIDGE OF the Thallonian battleship was nowhere near as spacious as that of the Excalibur. It had been designed for maximum efficiency and barely had room for the officers populating it. The lights that shone from above bathed the crew in red.
“Bring us around,” said Castor Dule.
His navigator swung the vessel around to continue the attack.
Dule did not like this battle. He knew that he had a five-to-one advantage. He knew that by any reasonable measure, he should be able to triumph in this combat with little to no difficulty.
But the truth was that he was extremely daunted by the prospect of going up against Mackenzie Calhoun. The captain had thought his way out of far too many scenarios, tricked his way out of certain death time and again. Dule was worried that the longer the battle went on, the more chance there was that Calhoun would find some way to triumph in the end.
Dule wasn’t entirely certain he would want to survive that. It would be bad enough to be killed by Calhoun, yes. But the prospect of outnumbering him five to one, being defeated, and then having to live with that disgrace for the rest of his life, was not a pleasant alternative.
Granted, he knew that the people who had sent him there wanted him to destroy the Excalibur, but he was disinclined to do that. And Dule knew he had the authority to turn everyone around and leave the Excalibur be if that were his inclination.
And suddenly, just like that, a baby was crying on his bridge.
Dule was standing and turned so quickly that he nearly stumbled over his own feet. Standing just a few feet away from him was a man he did not recognize: a human with sandy hair and what appeared to be a permanent smile pasted on his face.
Standing next to him, to Dule’s complete astonishment, was Robin Lefler. She was cradling the sobbing baby, and Dule immediately knew from the coloring of the child’s skin that he was the target of this endeavor: Cwansi.
“Where in the name of the gods did you come from?” demanded Dule.
“The Excalibur,” said the sandy-haired human. “You wanted Robin Lefler and Cwansi? She is surrendering herself to you. Of her own free will.”
“And who are you?”
“I’m her escort,” said the man. “My name is McHenry. Hi, how you doing?”
He stretched out a hand. Dule stared at it, uncomprehending of what was expected, and decided to ignore it. However, feeling the need to say something, he clicked his heels together formally. “Robin Lefler, welcome aboard. You, your child and . . . escort”—he nodded toward McHenry—“will be given accommodations on my vessel.”
“And what about the Excalibur?” she demanded. “Your other ships are still firing on it.”
Without hesitation Dule turned to his communications officer. “Inform the other vessels. Everyone is to break off engagements. We have what we came for.”
His communications officer hesitated. “Sir . . . aren’t we expected to . . . ?”
“I don’t give a damn. Disengage.” He bowed to Robin. “This way.” He gestured toward the exit.
Lefler was bouncing Cwansi, who was just starting to calm down. McHenry followed her but paused for a moment as he turned to Dule. “Just so you understand,” McHenry said in what almost sounded a convivial manner, “if you do anything to try and hurt her, I will kill everyone on this vessel. We clear on that?”
Dule had no idea how to respond and settled for “Absolutely.”
 
; “Good!” said McHenry cheerfully. “So . . . what do you have to eat around here?”
Excalibur
i.
CALHOUN’S MIND WAS racing as he tried to come up with some new counterattack, but nothing was coming to him. The odds were simply too great.
Stop that. You never give up. Ever. You will find a way around this. You’re going to save everyone on this ship. Stay calm and analyze the situation. Find a way as you’ve always have.
“Captain,” said Kebron, and there was genuine surprise in his voice. “They’re leaving!”
“What?” Calhoun couldn’t quite believe that he had heard correctly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean they’ve broken off. They’re departing the area.”
Calhoun stared at the viewscreen, scarcely able to believe it. He had no idea what the hell was going on. One minute the five vessels had been pounding away at the Excalibur. And the next minute, they had ceased fire and were angling themselves away from the ship. It made no sense at all.
“Have they contacted us? Explained why they’re leaving?” said Calhoun. He knew it was a ridiculous question, but it was the only thing he could think of to ask.
“No, sir. Nothing. They’ve simply turned away and are departing.”
“But it doesn’t track. Why would they . . . ?”
Then the answer occurred to him, stark and simple.
They had gotten what they came for.
He tapped his combadge. “Bridge to Lefler.”
No response.
He turned to Soleta. “Find Lefler. Right now.”
Her hands flew across the panel in front of her. When she turned to face him, her face looked slightly paler. “Captain, Robin Lefler is not on the ship.”
“Check with child care.”
“Already have,” said Soleta. “Robin picked up Cwansi minutes ago.”
“Captain, I’m getting a call from the transporter room,” said Soleta.
“Put it on audio.”
Moments later Halliwell’s voice was crackling over the comm. “Sir, Robin Lefler was down here. She wanted me to beam her over to the attacking vessels.”