The Rings of Tautee by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch Read Free Book Online

permission to speak, said, "I understand it, sir. We go in between waves and then to reduce the effect of the wave we ride it outward for a short distance. Surfing the wave. It's brilliant. And I think it might work."
    "Exactly," Kirk said. "The waves might be more intense the closer we get into the system, and so we'll be in them longer, riding with them, but it should work just long enough to see if there are survivors."
    "I'm still lost here," Bogle said. Now he made no pretence in hiding his irritation.
    "Explain this scheme to me one more time."
    Lee broke in before Kirk could say anything.
    He'd have to talk to Lee about this later.
    "Imagine," Lee said, "that you are standing in shallow water on the beach and a five-foot wave is coming at you. If you stand there it will probably knock you down. However, if you turn and float with it, surf with it toward the shore, you won't feel its force as much."
    "And a starship will hold together through all this?"
    Bogle asked Kirk, not looking at his first 54 THE RINGS OF TAUTEE officer. The Farragut had gone through a number of difficult, stressful maneuvers, but nothing quite like the one Lee described.
    Kirk laughed, but there was no real joy in his voice. "My chief engineer, Mister Scott, assures me she will and so far he's never let me down."
    Bogle wished he had time to check with his own engineer, Projeff, while this conversation was happening.
    And he would, before the ship went anywhere near those debris fields.
    Lee was leaning forward beside Bogle, caught up in the idea. "It would be better to go in over the plane of the system," Lee said, "and come down from on top of the debris field left by the destruction of the planets. Less chance of collision that way."
    Kirk glanced off screen for a moment, then nodded.
    "We'll do that. But Kelly, you'll be out here alone with the Klingons."
    "You don't think both ships should go in?"
    Bogle asked, trying to ignore the thread of relief running up his spine.
    "No," Kirk said. "I think two ships might confuse the matter. And besides, no point in risking two ships at this point."
    "I can handle the Klingons," Bogle said.
    That much, anyway, was for the better, as far as he was concerned.
    Kirk ran a hand through his hair. It only made the tousling worse. "I'll tell the Klingons what we're going to do, and I'll ask them to help in the rescue."
    Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch Whatever Bogle had expected Kirk to say next, it wasn't that. The joke around Starfleet command was that the word "help" wasn't even in the Klingon lexicon[*thorngg'at least when it came to nonKlingons who needed the help.
    "Help?" Bogle asked. "Are you kidding?"
    Kirk shrugged. "What could it hurt?"
    Now Bogle knew that Kirk was completely crazy. He'd always half thought so, but now he knew. Shaking his head, he said, "I guess it won't hurt to ask. If they decide to join you, it'll keep them busy for a while."
    "And if they don't, you'll be out here with four Klingon vessels."
    Bogle snorted without meaning to. "Don't worry about us, Jim. We can hold our own just fine."
    Kirk's grin was sudden and mischievous. "I know," he said. "I've played cards with you. Remember? Stand by. I'll link you into the conversation with the Klingons."
    The screen went dead. Bogle sat in the captain's chair, still shaking his head.
    The circular bridge of the Klingon cruiser was filled with activity. No one spoke. The green walls and the dim lights made the bridge seem wartime dark. That was probably appropriate. War was as close as the tip of an enemy's dagger.
    KerDaq's second-in-command, and his closest ally on the ship, KobtaHave, searched for the center of the rift. KerDaq could trust none of his other 56 THE RINGS OF TAUTEE officers to find it and report the result to him in a timely fashion. Several of his bridge crew had recently arrived, and all needed to prove themselves before he trusted them. His commander's chair was too precious to lose to a zealous