Encounter at Farpoint Read Online Free PDF Page B

paused a moment, considering his options one more time. There was really not much to consider. He’d been locked into this course of action since the moment he’d ordered, “Engage.” There was no changing his mind now. Finally he rose and raised his voice so it carried to all areas of the bridge. “
Now hear this
. Print-out message, urgent. All stations on all decks, prepare for emergency battle configuation maneuver.”

    Tasha looked to Picard in alarm. Troi looked at Tasha at the same moment, sensing her fear. The starship had been constructed so the main disk could be detached and function as an independent vehicle if necessary, although it could proceed only on impulse power. The remaining half—the stardrive section—had its own bridge, the heavy phasers and photon torpedo launchers, and the warp engines.

    Original Starfleet planning designated the saucer as a sanctuary for noncombatants while the battle section was its defense. Starfleet’s exploration of space had been far from uneventful, but there were only a few occasions where a captain had taken the extraordinary step of splitting his ship into two, sending the saucer section off to safety while riding the stardrive section into combat. Obviously, a captain had to consider the situation so serious that this final measure was unavoidable.

    Picard gestured Worf out of his Ops chair. “You will command the main bridge, Lieutenant.”

    “Sir!” The young Klingon jumped to his feet in protest, his outrage overriding his normal respect for the superior officer. “I am a Klingon, sir. For me to seek escape while my captain goes into battle—”

    “Noted,” Picard said quickly. His voice turned cold. “But you are also a Starfleet officer, Lieutenant, and you have been given an order.”

    Worf hesitated, considering another protest. The years of discipline and ingrained obedience prevailed, and he nodded his head once at the captain. “Aye, sir.” But his expression spoke volumes.

    Picard tapped a control on his right hand panel and spoke quietly. “Captain’s log, Stardate 41153.73. At this moment, I am transferring command to the battle bridge.” He gestured to Data. “Make the signal.”

    Data touched a control lightly, and the traditional bugle call “Beat to Quarters” rang over the bridge. It repeated over and over as the duty officers swiftly moved toward the battle turbo. Replacements began to arrive almost immediately on the other two lifts, and the main bridge was fully remanned in moments.

    Reluctantly, Worf moved over to the captain’s command chair and contemplated it dourly before he settled down into it. “Prepare for battle configuration,” he said firmly. “On the captain’s command.” The thought flickered across his consciousness:
If a Klingon were in charge of this ship, we wouldn’t be running.
But he was a Starfleet officer and—well, the captain might not always be right, but he was always the captain.

     

    The turbolift fell swiftly toward the battle bridge. Picard stared unseeingly at the lift’s directional lights as he considered his plan. The disengagement of the command disk at high warp speeds was a dangerous tactic, but they had to have enough of a lead on the
Q
ship (or whatever it was) so they could turn and face it while the saucer made away with the majority of the ship’s company and her noncombatants.

    The turbo sighed to a stop, and the doors popped open, revealing the stark and functional battle bridge. Picard led the way into the smaller station, his bridge crew quickly fanning out to their duty positions. Data activated the conn and scanned the panel while Picard quietly dictated the captain’s log supplementary, explaining his strategy.

    “Hostile is still closing on us, sir. Their speed is holding at warp nine point nine.”

    “Interesting,” Picard noted. “Whoever or whatever it is, has the same warp envelope limitations as we do. Perhaps they are not so powerful as they