Chapter Twelve

I N THE FINAL ANALYSIS , it was all a question of how much Captain Picard trusted the unique android who had served at his side selflessly and tirelessly for twelve years. Although Data wasn’t human, there was no human being Picard trusted more than he trusted the childlike, manlike machine. Data never had hidden agendas or ulterior motives-his only concern was the welfare of his ship and his shipmates.

Making his decision, Captain Picard pointed to the sleek silver fin on the viewscreen. It seemed close enough to touch. “Data, target a brace of quantum torpedoes.”

“Yes, sir,” answered the android, his fingers a blur on his console. “Ready, sir.”

“Fire!” barked the captain. If Data was wrong, they had just fired upon a fellow member of the Federation without provocation.

It was difficult to spot the torpedoes streaking through the sea of debris and energy spikes, but they could see two bright explosions on the narrow hull of the Ontailian heavy cruiser. The Vuxhal duplicate was apparently caught by surprise with shields down, because explosions rippled all along her hull. The bridge crew watched in stunned silence as the elegant spacecraft blew apart, followed by interference and static that obscured the image on the viewscreen.

“Sir,” said Data, “we have an audio transmission from Captain Leeden.”

Picard replied, “Go ahead.”

“Captain Picard!” Leeden’s voice sounded shocked and surprised. “Have you gone insane? You just destroyed a defenseless ship which didn’t even fire at you. The Ontailians are our allies, and we saw you fire on their flagship! This must be reported to Starfleet immediately. Picard, this is going to destroy all of the goodwill Starfleet has built up with the Ontailians!”

Picard was heartsick at the prospect, however slim, that he had made a mistake and destroyed the flagship of a friendly member world. The only justification that he had fired in self-defense was Data’s extraordinary story, and they might never be able to back it up with proof.

“Lieutenant Perim,” he said quietly, “you have the conn. Take us back to look for survivors and debris.”

“Yes, sir,” answered the Trill. The bridge was so quiet that Picard could swear he heard every one of his subordinates breathing.

“Lieutenant Vale, you have tactical again,” ordered Picard, marching toward his office. “I’ll be in my ready room; patch Captain Leeden to me there. Number One, you have the bridge.”

Upon reaching his office, Captain Picard sat down at his desk and tapped his com panel. “Picard here,” he began. “Captain Leeden, your reactions are understandable, but we have very good reason to believe that the ship we fired upon was not the Vuxhal. The Vuxhal has been destroyed near the gravity sink-Commander Data was a witness. What we fired upon was a vessel which disables its intended victim with a directed-energy weapon, scans it, and transforms itself into a duplicate of the disabled ship. That is how Data and La Forge saw two identical versions of my missing yacht. I know there will be inquiries and a search for evidence-“

“Oh, there will be more than that, Picard,” cautioned Captain Leeden. “While I’m talking to you, the Ontailians have surrounded me and are looking for revenge.”

Picard sat upright in his chair. “We’re on our way.”

“Carefully please!” she asked. “Make your way toward me slowly, so as not to alarm anyone, and I’ll try to placate them. This won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination. The Ontailians were already unsure about your participation since you reported one of their vessels destroyed that was in drydock.”

“But maybe we’ve discovered what’s been haunting this place,” he countered, “even going back to the war. Commander Data makes a very convincing case.”

The Juno’s skipper sighed a heavy sigh. “Before anything else happens, I have to inform Starfleet. Leeden out.”

Picard rose to his feet. The Enterprise was all right, and so were Data and the rest of the crew. However, their reputations would take a beating unless they produced some proof for Data’s theory. An investigation would have to wait until they cleaned up the mess they had unwittingly stepped into.

Captain Picard marched back onto the bridge and said, “Lieutenant Perim, we have a change of course. Set course to rendezvous with the Juno and proceed with caution when ready.”

“Yes, sir,” answered the conn officer.

Picard sighed and looked at Riker. “Was there any sign of debris or survivors back there?”

“We’re not sure,” answered Riker with a scowl. “Sensors have been out of whack since we shot that thing. To tell you the truth, I’m glad we’re getting out of this area. I’d love to be getting out of the boneyard for good.”

The captain looked up at the viewscreen and saw they were moving at a slow but steady pace. “Data, can you get a visual on the Juno and the Ontailian ships around it?”

“I am working on it, sir,” answered the android, plying his controls. “This is the best I can do.”

Now the overhead screen showed the Excelsior-class starship surrounded by four Ontailian wedge spacecraft, which looked uncomfortably like smaller versions of the vessel they had just destroyed. Picard suddenly had a very bad feeling about the direction this chain of events was taking.

“Data, have we recalled all of our shuttlecraft?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” answered the android, “the Raleigh was the last one.”

“Conn, take it up to half impulse,” he ordered. “Tactical, hail the Juno and see if you can get at least audio.” His subordinates fulfilled his orders without speaking, and an uneasy silence hung over the bridge of the Enterprise.

Finally Vale said, “Here’s Captain Leeden.”

“Picard,” came the familiar but weary voice, “my negotiations with the Ontailians aren’t going very well. I don’t think they’ll fire on the Juno, but you might want to think about leaving the boneyard.”

“We’re not turning tail and leaving you alone,” replied the captain. “We’ll be at your position in a few minutes.”

On the viewscreen, two of the silver fins suddenly broke off from the squadron surrounding the Juno, and they darted off screen. “Picard,” said Leeden in an urgent voice, “they’ve picked you up on sensors. Get out of here! I’ll try to cover your escape.”

“Captain Leeden!” exclaimed Picard. “If we can join forces-“

“I’m sorry, Captain,” said Vale, “but she’s broken off contact.”

Events unfolding on the viewscreen explained why the Juno had ceased contact. The starship took off after the two Ontailian ships who had flown off moments earlier, and the other two Ontailian ships pursued the Starfleet vessel. The odds were poor for the Juno-four against one.

“Try to hail the Ontailians,” ordered Picard. “We’ve got to stop this insanity.”

“It must have been like this during the Battle of Rashanar,” said Deanna Troi, gazing at the streaking ships on the screen. “The doppelgänger caused mistaken identity…deadly hostilities…vengeance with no thought of surrender. Ships were disabled by the force beam. Whole crews died while they were unconscious. No wonder there was no record of all this.”

“Captain Picard!” called Vale. “Two of the Ontailian ships are within weapons range. The Juno is right behind them.”

Suddenly a bright beam shot across their bow. This time it wasn’t an errant bolt of energy. Both Ontailian ships began to pepper the Enterprise with beamed weapons. The craft shook from the pounding.

“Shields at seventy percent,” reported Data.

“Hold your fire!” ordered Picard, shaking a fist with frustration. “Keep trying to hail them.”

Vale shook her head. “I am, sir. No response.”

The Juno, which had thus far been unscathed, opened phaser fire on the two Ontailian ships in the lead. In response, the two Ontailian ships trailing the Juno opened fire upon the larger vessel. Suddenly, the graceful starship was engulfed in deadly beams coming from four different angles, and the boneyard lit up with bright explosions and blistering ripples of energy.

“Target the Ontailians in the lead,” Picard ordered reluctantly. “Fire at will.”

“Yes, sir,” answered Lieutenant Vale, jumping to the task.

Despite the entrance of the Enterprise into the melee, all four Ontailian ships pounded away at the hapless Juno. The wedge ships were more maneuverable in the crowded boneyard, and they were difficult to hit, whereas the Juno was a large sitting duck. In the space of a few seconds, the older starship took a tremendous beating, even with Picard rushing to its aid. Half of the Enterprise’s torpedoes struck decrepit wrecks that were in the way, adding to the chaos and wild arcs of energy. The hulks caught in the crossfire gave the Enterprise some protection from the Ontailians, but Leeden’s starship was exposed, with nowhere to hide.

“Ready a tractor beam!” ordered Picard, thinking he could tow the Juno to safety outside the boneyard and spirit both of them into warp.

“Captain, the Juno is breaking apart,” said Data dispassionately.

“Alert transporter room,” said the captain. “Let’s save as many as we can!”

Data shook his head. “Captain, there is too much interference to use transporters, and lowering our shields would be unwise.”

Picard stared helplessly at the viewscreen, where he could see the burning starship careening out of control. Had the Juno been in normal space, she would have been able to escape to warp; in the graveyard, the majestic vessel collided with two old wrecks moments before she exploded in a fiery haze of destruction.

A stunned silence fell over the frantic activity on the bridge, and Captain Picard’s stomach churned like an acid pit. The Ontailians’ light cruisers were regrouping for a run at the Enterprise.

It was time to steal a trick from the Androssi. “Vent plasma,” he ordered, “and ignite it with flares as we go to full impulse. Get us out of here, Mr. Perim, quickest route.”

They vented a colorful cloud of plasma and ignited it just as the Ontailian cruisers bore down on them. The resulting string of explosions must have been very dramatic to view from a safe distance, but they turned this section of the boneyard into a conflagration. The entire fabric of space seemed to rip apart and burn, and hulking shipwrecks ricocheted off each other like toddlers on a trampoline.

Beating a hasty retreat, there was no time to consider the ramifications of these events. One of Starfleet’s most experienced crews and most decorated ships had been destroyed with all hands on board, and an ally had been turned into an enemy. As they escaped from the boneyard, the captain glanced at the viewscreen to see the crumpled wrecks fading into the distance. Soon Commander Riker would get his wish, and they would be gone from the Rashanar Battle Site.

With a heavy heart, Picard ordered them to go to warp. The Ontailians fired another volley, but their deadly beams sliced through empty space where the Enterprise had been.

“Captain,” said Kell Perim quietly, “we need a course.”

“Back to Starfleet Headquarters,” answered Jean-Luc Picard in a grim tone of voice. “I’m afraid our troubles are only just beginning.”