Part 10 (1/2)
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 s.h.i.+ps are dropping out of warp,” the glinn announced in surprise.
”Raise s.h.i.+elds,” Lemec ordered.
”s.h.i.+elds 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 s.h.i.+ps, even without the defensive capabilities of Sentok Nor, we are the superior force. They have four lone s.h.i.+ps.”
”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 s.h.i.+ps blasted out of warp, opening fire at once. Within moments, two Carda.s.sian cruisers and a Jem'Hadar attack s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+ps 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 s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+elds?” 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 s.h.i.+elds, 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 s.h.i.+p,” 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 s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+elds dropped.
In moments, the two Jem'Hadar battle cruisers would fire phased polaron beams at the Enterprise 's weakened s.h.i.+elds. From aft, two of the Carda.s.sian cruisers recharged their spiral wave disruptors. With s.h.i.+elds 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 s.h.i.+elds. 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 s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+elds.”
”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 Stars.h.i.+p 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 flags.h.i.+p. 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 s.h.i.+elds.”
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 s.h.i.+elds, 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 s.h.i.+p's s.h.i.+elds were down.