The Battle Of Betazed Part 10

Alarms sounded. The gul followed the glinn from Luaran's office down to Level One, the command center of the station. In the sunken interface system which his men had nicknamed "the pit," Carda.s.sians monitored every function on the station from engineering to ketracel-white processing, if the blasted Betazoid-a.s.sembled equipment was functioning as it should.

Lemec's gaze focused on the large display screen over the pit where the Federation warp signatures presented green trails of light. Dominion forces were yellow, outnumbering the enemy almost three to one, if he counted the approaching Jem'Hadar battle cruisers.

"Enemy ships are dropping out of warp," the glinn announced in surprise.

"Raise shields," Lemec ordered.

"Shields up, sir, but the station's weapons are still off-line."

The Vorta had followed them to the operations center and stared at the screen. "Are we in danger?"

Lemec shook his head. "With twelve ships, even without the defensive capabilities of Sentok Nor, we are the superior force. They have four lone ships."

"The Founders will not be pleased if our work is interrupted," the Vorta said, her voice trembling. The gul didn't respond, and she pressed him. "You don't antic.i.p.ate a problem?"

"Nothing our forces can't handle."

The Federation ships blasted out of warp, opening fire at once. Within moments, two Carda.s.sian cruisers and a Jem'Hadar attack ship were destroyed in a spectacular display of fire.

"The odds in our favor have suddenly decreased," the Vorta noted with irony.

"What's going on?" Dr. Moset asked as he strolled into the operations center. "Why have our ships been destroyed?"

Civilians didn't belong in the middle of the war, and the gul would have been happy to send the doctor packing. Moset had been nothing but a first-cla.s.s pain in the neckbones since he'd arrived on the station. Out of habit, Lemec held back his dislike. "I suppose you think I should have antic.i.p.ated the Federation's desperate attack?"

"You should have antic.i.p.ated my needs," Moset complained. "We have a freighter of Betazoids arriving. This interference is most inconvenient."

The gul's gaze zoomed in on Betazed and the unscheduled freighter approaching the station. "Order the freighter to turn back."

"Let the ship come." Luaran belayed his order. "According to the Founders' orders, Moset must have those prisoners."

Lemec shook his head. "That freighter doesn't have the embedded ID codes needed to enter the station during combat conditions."

"You're saying you've raised the shields?" Moset's voice ascended an octave. "That they can't dock?"

"Neither can the Federation." Lemec held his temper and settled for sarcasm. "If we lower the shields, Starfleet might decide to drop in for a visit."

Moset rolled his eyes at the ceiling. "You're obsessed with the Federation. I hardly think-"

"Federation forces just destroyed another Jem'Hadar attack ship," Luaran interrupted.

"Get those weapons back on-line," Lemec ordered. "Now!"

"No," Moset protested. "I won't have power diverted from my experiments."

"Your experiments are the reason our weapons are down," Lemec informed Moset. The Dominion and Carda.s.sian forces still had an obvious advantage, so he took his attention from the screen to rebuke the doctor. "If you hadn't insisted that my engineers set up your equipment instead of completing the weapons repair and upgrade, we'd have the ability to defend ourselves."

"They are firing phasers at the outer docking ring," the glinn at tactical reported. "I've brought one phaser bank on-line. Shall I return fire?"

"No," Moset shouted and pointed to the screen and the slow-moving ship from Betazed. "If you fire, you might damage the freighter."

Lemec glowered at the doctor but enjoyed having the upper hand. Ever since they'd arrived at Sentok Nor, the civilian exobiologist had lorded his position over the gul. He'd used his influence with the Vorta and, as a result, weakened the station's defensive capabilities. Due to Moset's interference, the gul had problems on the station, and problems on the planet. Lemec grew thoughtful. He'd just returned from a visit to Betazed, where the natives had had the nerve to exterminate one of their own, right beneath his nose. Then the Federation dropped out of warp to do battle. A good leader had to ask if there was a connection between the incidents.

Unfortunately, Lemec didn't have enough information to draw a conclusion. He was in charge of tactics, however, and he would demonstrate the unimportance of Moset's wishes during a Federation attack. "That freighter is carrying Betazoids and a few Jem'Hadar. They're expendable. Target phasers."

"Phasers targeted," said his tactical officer.

"No. Please, don't shoot," Moset practically begged, and Lemec took pleasure in every squeal of protest. "A little phaser fire won't damage the station. I'm at a sensitive stage in my work and need those prisoners right away. I don't have time to wait for you to round up another group."

"Is there any way to accommodate the doctor?" the Vorta asked.

"Not without compromising the safety of this station," Lemec replied.

Moset's eyes flared with rage. Not bothering to hide his satisfaction, Lemec turned to tactical. "Fi-"

Moset shoved Lemec aside and launched himself over the console. Before Lemec could react, the doctor slapped the control panel. The station's shields dropped.

In moments, the two Jem'Hadar battle cruisers would fire phased polaron beams at the Enterprise 's weakened shields. From aft, two of the Carda.s.sian cruisers recharged their spiral wave disruptors. With shields down to twenty percent, Captain Picard considered his limited maneuvering options, knowing his decision could mean the difference between escape and destruction.

"Captain, the station shields. They just came down."

Excellent. This might be his only chance to beam the away team onto the station, but with enemy vessels bearing down on them, there was only one way he could think of to make it work. However, taking advantage of the situation would risk his ship and his crew.

Picard didn't like to gamble with the lives of his people, but sometimes a shot at success was worth the risk-especially when the freedom of every Betazoid on the planet was at stake. He weighed the risks against the peril and made his decision.

The captain tapped his combadge. "Away team, stand by to transport. Tactical, prepare to lower shields."

"Sir?" Daniels wiped perspiration from his eyes with his sleeve.

"You heard me, Lieutenant. Stand by for my command and open a hailing frequency." The captain straightened his uniform and ignored the looks his bridge crew exchanged out of sight of the enemy. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage."

"Jem'Hadar are responding, sir."

"On screen," Picard ordered.

A thick-skulled Jem'Hadar First stared at Picard from the viewscreen. "Prepare to die."

"I'm prepared to surrender." Picard ignored the gasps from around him.

"We don't take prisoners." The Jem'Hadar raised his hand to cut off communications.

Picard spoke quickly. "This is the Federation flagship. Much of its technology is still highly cla.s.sified. This would be the Dominion's first opportunity to examine a Sovereign-cla.s.s vessel, as well as study its tactical databases. As a show of good faith, I'm dropping our shields."

Picard motioned to tactical. Daniels might not agree with the risk his captain was taking, but discipline and training prevailed. Daniels lowered the Enterprise 's shields, leaving them completely vulnerable to attack. Picard continued with what he hoped seemed a careless disregard for his betrayal of the Federation. "Why don't you consult with your superior officer and get back to me about terms for our surrender?"

He was betting that the Jem'Hadar didn't have a Vorta on board. If the Dominion crew had to send a message and wait for further orders, Picard might buy enough time to transport the away team onto the station while his ship's shields were down.

Picard signaled Daniels to end transmission, and the viewscreen went blank. "Transporter room, energize!"

"Transport initiated, sir," came the reply. "They're in."

On Sentok Nor, Gul Lemec regained his footing in the operations center. He couldn't believe the cretin Moset had dared to lay a hand on a gul. Even worse, the fool had lowered the station's shields, putting all their lives at risk.

Raising his fist, Lemec fully intended to put a stop to the doctor's interference, but Luaran stepped in front of Moset. "Save your wrath for the enemy. There will be no fighting among ourselves."

"Just lots of dying if we don't raise our shields," Lemec shouted.

Luaran raised her eyes to the screen. "In a moment the freighter will have docked, and the station's shields can be raised again."

"Feel free to wait. In another moment we'll be blasted out of the sky." Enraged, Lemec rounded the console, fully intending to raise the station's screens and defy Luaran's wishes. With so many Carda.s.sian lives at stake, Central Command would back his decision.

"Look." Luaran pointed to the viewscreen. "Our ships have the lead Federation starship trapped. We are about to finish her off. There's no need to waste the prisoners. Our enemy's shields are down."

Lemec's battle instincts rebelled against leaving the station's defensive shields lowered with an enemy so close-even a seemingly defeated enemy. He peered at the sensors, but spied nothing suspicious.

His communications officer glanced up with a confused look. "Sir, the Jem'Hadar say the Federation Sovereign -cla.s.s starship is offering to surrender the ship and crew."

"Blast them out of s.p.a.ce," Lemec ordered without hesitation.

"Absolutely not," Luaran countered. "Don't you recognize that ship? It's the Enterprise. Capturing her would be a huge coup for us and a demoralizing defeat for Starfleet."

"It's a trick."

"Really?" Luaran shook her head. "Do long-range sensors indicate a fleet of Federation ships ready to sweep down on us?"

"No, but-"

"Didn't you tell me our ships outnumbered them?"

"Yes, but-"

"Don't we have superior firepower?"

"Yes, but-"

"Tell them we accept-"

Alarms suddenly rang out.

"Status?" the gul asked.

"We're picking up a transporter signal."

"Shields up," he snapped.

Since his precious freighter had already docked, Moset didn't protest.

"It's too late, sir," the science officer explained. "They've already beamed aboard."

"Raise shields, Mr. Daniels, and fire at will," Picard barked. "Perim, evasive maneuvers!"

As the battle was joined again following the successful insertion of Riker's away team, Picard spared a moment to admire how well his crew had performed thus far. With the Federation forces stretched so thin, Picard had bargained with Starfleet to keep his senior officers by offering his lower-ranking crewmen to other ships. Now with most of his experienced officers on away missions, he'd been forced into battle primarily with wet-behind-the-ears ensigns and newly graduated Starfleet cadets. The situation aboard the Scimitar and Tulwar was no better. Under the leadership of experienced captains, personnel aboard the Saber-cla.s.s ships were mostly rookies, too. In wartime, the neophytes would learn quickly or they wouldn't survive. The manner in which the inexperienced crew had conducted themselves up to now made hope surge within him. Under the most difficult of circ.u.mstances, they had obeyed orders, risking their lives without question.

Picard's initial gamble of surrendering to the Jem'Hadar had paid off, but greater challenges lay ahead.

Within the tactical inset on the viewscreen, Picard saw that the Scimitar and Tulwar had broken formation and were each savagely strafing a Carda.s.sian cruiser with concentrated bursts of phaser fire off the stern of the Enterprise.

Softening them up, Picard realized. If he acted quickly- "Lock aft torpedo launchers," the captain snapped. "Full spread. Fire!"

As the Saber-cla.s.s vessels veered away, pinpoints of red destruction fanned out from ports on the Enterprise 's stern, catching the overwhelmed Carda.s.sian cruisers across the bows. One of the enemy ships erupted in a burst of light and debris. The other listed to starboard as small explosions ruptured the hull along its port side.

There was no time to savor the victory; the Enterprise shook again under enemy fire.

"Shields at fifteen percent, sir," Daniels called out. "Jem'Hadar ships are moving to intercept. Captain, I think they intend to ram us."

That won't do. Picard studied the tactical inset, then glanced at the chronometer. It was going to be close.

"Stay on course," Picard ordered. "Increase speed. Maximum impulse."

Perim glanced over her shoulder. "Sir, the Jem'Hadar ships-"

"Follow my orders, Ensign," Picard said calmly. "Full impulse."

"Aye, aye, sir." Picard could hear the tremor in Perim's voice, but was pleased to see her hands move quickly to execute his order. And as she did, the first of the Jem'Hadar warships swept toward them.

Chapter Ten.

R IKER, L A F ORGE, O'B RIEN, and a security detail of six beamed into an access tunnel of Sentok Nor's upper core near a panel that, the chief was certain, opened into the station's security office. Calling on the vast knowledge of Carda.s.sian technology he'd gained on Deep s.p.a.ce 9, O'Brien had selected the insertion point. Like those of its sister station, Sentok Nor's eighteen-plus kilometers of access tunnels were effectively shielded not only from electromagnetic interference, but also, and more importantly for this mission, from active scanning beams.

"Unless Carda.s.sian sensors have improved significantly," O'Brien said, "the station's security force will have a h.e.l.l of a time finding us, especially if we keep moving."

"They know we're here," Riker said. "Sensors in ops will have picked up our transporter signals. We have to a.s.sume Carda.s.sian and Jem'Hadar security teams are scouring every nook and cranny trying to locate us, so stay alert."

O'Brien craned his neck, taking his bearings. "Let's hope the resistance has drawn all the Jem'Hadar to the planet."

"Yeah," La Forge said with irony, "so that leaves only about fifty Carda.s.sian engineers and who knows how many of their soldiers to slow us down."

"Our first objective is crucial," Riker reminded them. "Once we take control of the security office, we can shut down every system on the station-"

"Environmental, communications, engineering, and tactical," O'Brien said with a grin. "What more could a man want?"

Riker allowed his team a few moments to adjust to the warm, dry conditions with the slightly higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mixed for Carda.s.sian comfort. In the cramped tunnel, where a cross-section measured a mere one-point-three meters by one-point-four meters, La Forge snapped on a light, and the toranium frames and duranium panels gleamed dully around them.