"Estimated time until the Orion reaches the border, Mister Beach?" Terrell
asked.
"Eighteen point two five minutes, sir," the Science Officer responded.
"He's running without shields to increase his speed -- he's maxed out at Warp Eight,
sir."
"Then he can't outrun us, Kyptin," Lieutenant Commander Pavel Chekov put in from
Tactical. "He's probably betting that vwe vwon't fire on him because of the
hostages."
"Agreed. Mister Kyle, any response to our hails?"
"Negative, sir," the Communications Officer returned. "No reply."
Terrell drummed his fingers on the arm of his command console. "Mister Walking Bear,
increase speed to Warp 9. Let's close in on him. Mister Beach, what do your scans
indicate?"
"The Orion ship has a crew complement of 30, and 29 of them appear to be below decks
near the cargo bays, where the hostages are being held," Beach reported.
"However, there is one Orion on the bridge -- and there is also a human life
sign there as well, in close proximity."
"With all due respect, sir, the longer we wait, the more likely they are to kill
those kids," Lieutenant Thela Kazanga, acting Assistant Security Chief, murmured in a
sibilant voice. The Andorian's antennae twitched forward, signaling her indignation.
"If he reaches the border, we'll lose him. We need to act now!"
"I'm well aware of that," Terrell returned mildly.
"Thank you for reminding me, Lieutenant Kazanga."
Thela's skin flushed a deep blue as her antennae curled downward. She whirled toward the
captain, but Chekov shook his head minutely. She caught her lover's gesture of admonition
and settled back, reflexively clenching and unclenching her fists. Thela was on light
duty, having been badly wounded in their last encounter with the Orions, but she'd
migrated to the bridge when the red alert sounded.
"Cap'n, should I prepare a boarding party?" Security Chief Kelowitz queried.
"Affirmative, Mister Kelowitz, and equip them with environmental gear," Terrell
said, his mind methodically firming up a plan. "Have Armory prepare about two dozen
canisters of irilogene gas to flood the lower decks, and get them to the cargo transporter
room along with your squads."
"What about their bridge, sir?"
The captain shook his head. "Negative -- we have an Orion and a Human on the bridge
-- almost assuredly a hostage situation, I'd be willing to bet. The hostage could be
killed before the gas takes effect. Take care of the below decks area first. We'll have to
surgically remove the Orion -- or negotiate."
"Negotiate?!" Thela blurted.
Terrell ignored her outburst, leaning forward as Kelowitz hurried to a turbolift.
"Mister Arex, plot intercept course. Mister Walking Bear, maintain speed. Tactical --
Mister Chekov, target their engines only and prepare to fire phasers at 60% power."
"Aye, sir," Chekov responded. His thumb hovered over the firing button on his
controller as Reliant closed the distance to the Orion ship. He watched his
captain's face. Terrell showed no outward sign of stress, but the tactical officer knew
better. Recent run-ins with the Orions had ended badly. In the first confrontation,
twenty-seven kidnapped women had died breathing the raw vacuum of space, twelve crew
members had been killed, and Kelowitz had been seriously injured. Then three hostages had
died during the second encounter.
Chekov knew that Terrell didn't want a repeat of the previous debacles...
"Captain, we're ten minutes forty seconds from the Barrier Alliance border,"
Arex announced in his reedy voice.
"Security teams report ready, sir," Kyle said.
"All right, Mister Chekov -- fire!"
Chekov stabbed the firing button. Twin beams of scarlet
hellfire lanced out from Reliant and attached themselves to the marauder's
nacelles. Coruscating waves of lightning-like energy bolts surged through the engines, and
the Orion ship went dark and began to drift, listing to port.
"The marauder is disabled, sir," Beach said. "Systems reduced to Life
support only."
"Good shooting, Mister Chekov," Terrell enthused. "Cargo transporter room
-- beam over the gas canisters and the security squads! Mister Kyle, hail the Orion
ship."
"Orion marauder, this is U.S.S. Reliant," Kyle said. "Stand down
and prepare to surrender." He consulted a readout. "No response, sir. However,
sensors indicate his communications array is ionized. It will take several minutes to
clear up."
"Damn," Terrell muttered. "I don't like not knowing what's happening on
that bridge. Stay with it."
A beep sounded on the communications console.
"Captain Terrell, Commander Kelowitz reports the Orions were overcome by the gas, and
the hostages have been freed without a single shot fired," Kyle reported. "All
hostages, security personnel and prisoners are safely back on board Reliant as we
speak."
"Well done!" Terrell exulted quietly. "That was quick. Now if we can
just..."
Kyle's board shrilled for attention again. "Sir, we're being hailed," Kyle said.
"The ionization has dissipated on their comm system."
"On viewer."
"Aye, sir," Kyle returned. The disabled marauder faded from the screen and was
replaced by a view of the Orion bridge.
"Damn," Terrell muttered. Someone gasped in horror behind him.
It was worse than he had feared. A huge, muscular Orion leered at them. He held a long-barreled blaster on a young golden-haired woman. Her slender form was clad in the tatters of a Starfleet cadet's Class C jumpsuit. She had been savagely beaten; blood spattered her tunic and covered her battered, puffy face. One eye was purple and swollen shut, and her nose had been broken.
"Captain Jedakk of the Orion merchant ship V'r'aak,"
the Orion growled. "What do you want, Terrell?"
Terrell cleared his throat. "Captain Jedakk, you have unlawfully invaded Federation
space, destroyed a Starfleet training vessel, killed Federation personnel, and taken
Federation captives. You will surrender immediately."
The big Orion grinned at Terrell. "My dear Captain Terrell -- you're forgetting the
hostages. Half of them are about to die right now. Vail, open the cargo hatch on
the starboard side and space those captives -- let them breathe vacuum!"
"Vail can't hear you, Jedakk," Terrell grated. "We've gassed all your men
and taken them prisoner, and we've rescued the hostages. Let the girl go and nothing more
will happen to you. You'll be processed and released to your government."
The Orion's dark eyes flickered for just an instant, then narrowed into slits.
"I would be twenty kinds of fool to let her go, now,
wouldn't I, Terrell?" Jedakk coldly retorted. A ham-sized fist brutally gripped the
girl's upper arm, and she moaned in pain. Without warning, he tore open the front of her
jumpsuit and viciously ripped off her undergarments.
"Nooooooooo!" the woman screamed piteously.
Then, with a savage grin, the Orion depressed the trigger of his blaster until the long,
thick, tubular barrel glowed red, then white.
"Jedakk -- no!" Terrell cried when he realized what the pirate captain intended
to do. "You'll kill her!"
Ignoring him, Jedakk fired the weapon point blank into her exposed flesh. She issued a
short moan and spasms as her nervous system collapsed. Still gripping her limp, burning
body by the hair, Jedakk yanked the disruptor away. Smoke poured from the deep, sizzling
pit in her flesh.
"Oh, my God..." a horrified Terrell whispered.
"What a shame," Jedakk taunted. "Such a gruesome way to die."
"You're a dead man, Jedakk," Terrell promised.
The pirate captain shrugged. "I'm an Orion, Terrell. I have my suicide pills at the
ready. I just wanted to see the look on your face as I put an end to life of this captive.
And now to put an end to you."
Thela Kazanga swore under her breath. "He's engaging a self-destruct--"
"Helm, get us out of here! Maximum warp!"
Reliant leaped forward and blazed through the ether
at maximum warp. The viewscreen, directed rearward, suddenly overloaded with the bright,
actinic glare of the exploding Orion starship. The light slowly dimmed down as the
dampening filters kicked in.
"Everybody hang on!" Beach sang out. "The shock wave will hit us just
about...now!"
The starship rocked and shuddered as she was buffeted by the liberated energy of the
antimatter explosion of the V'r'aak's nacelles. The teeth rattling vibration
flung Chekov to the deck; his shipmates clung to their chairs for dear life.
Gradually, the ride smoothed out as Reliant outran the subspace distortion wave.
Chekov scrambled to his feet; Terrell settled back in his command chair, heaving a sigh of
relief. He pulled a kerchief from his tunic pocket and mopped perspiration off his brow.
"This job is going to give me heart failure one day, Mister Chekov," the captain
said.
"Da -- me, too, sir," Chekov muttered. "I vwill be in next biobed
over from you in cardiac unit."
"Mister Arex, Mister Walking Bear -- resume course and speed," Terrell ordered.
"Mister Beach, you have the conn."
He turned to Chekov. "Commander, let's go see how our new passengers are doing."
"Yes, sir," Chekov responded.
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