“THREE. . . TWO. . . ONE.
ENGAGE WARP NOW,
MR. SULU.”

A half second later, the Sphinx leapt on to the main viewing screen, and Sulu felt a burst of pride, the small ship less than twelve kilometers to port and only seven kilometers behind. He eased the Enterprise toward her, watching his console rather than the viewscreen—

—and felt his pride dissolve as he realized what was happening, even as Mr. Spock reported it to the captain. A glance at the screen confirmed it, the obviously impaired ship spewing a misty, ragged cloud of escaping gases, barely visible as it was torn away by warp—but it was just enough to disturb the Sphinx ’s velocity constant.

And we can’t hold a tractor beam in warp without a precise velocity match.

“In addition to their damaged core, it appears that their oxygen stores have been ruptured. The continued expulsion of gases and fuel is causing an erratic and unascertainable flight pattern,” Mr. Spock said. “The possibility of achieving an exact parallel to its course is no longer a viable option.”