Star Trek Voyager: Here I Stand

Here I Stand, Part 16

Part 16

                Cascading systems failure.

                That’s all it would take.

                The automated self-destruct wouldn’t work even if it were still active. That sequence required voice input from two Command-level officers.

                But a simple cascading systems failure…

                She could initiate it from the main engineering console. A little nudge here, an input there, and it would lead to a warp core breach and eventual detonation. Instead of becoming an undetectable and almost unstoppable weapon in the hands of Cardassian terrorists, Voyager would die a swift and painless death.

                Kathryn’s hands hovered over the console. It was a no-win situation. As soon as the ship’s warp core was active, Gul Evek would surely dispose of her and Kayma and Suder, cloak the ship and take it back to Cardassia – or to his first target, whatever it was. She had to stop this madness before he could get away.

                She peeked over at Kayma. If the girl could get Suder’s phaser, she might have a fighting chance to get to a pod and escape the explosion. But Suder surely wouldn’t give the weapon up without a struggle, and Kathryn wasn’t sure Kayma could overpower him. In the confusion, one of the Cardassian engineers might even realize what Kayma and Kathryn were up to and stop the plan.

                No, this was the only way. Cascading systems failure, warp core breach, and death.

                Kathryn swallowed around the lump in her throat.

                Chakotay would be devastated to lose his young cousin…to lose them both. He was a career military man, though, and a tactician. He would understand why she’d had no choice but to destroy the ship before he could rescue them.

                I’m sorry, Chakotay, she thought, and began inputting an additional set of commands. But I’m out of time.

                “I think we’ve got it, sir.” The lead Cardassian engineer turned to Gul Evek and pointed toward the cloaking device, now connected to one of the auxiliary control panels. “As soon as the warp drive is online, we should be able to activate the cloak.”

                “And we’ll be undetectable to their sensors?”

                “Yes, sir.”

                “What are the limits?”

                The engineer inclined his head. “This new prototype draws power from the warp core, not the deflector systems. So we’ll still be shielded and able to fire while cloaked.” He shrugged. “The only limit is the slight phase variance above warp 8.”

                “I doubt this old thing can still go that fast anyway,” Evek sneered. Kathryn glanced up in time to see a feral grin cross Gul Evek’s features. “But we’ll be invisible. We could cruise to the target at sublight and no one would even know we’re there.”

                Kathryn gritted her teeth and continued to input commands.

                Chakotay would be all right in time. B’Elanna and Tom would look after him. Maybe he’d resign and go home to his sister. Find a woman, get married, start a family. Learn to be happy again.