by Alys Landale
It didn’t look good.
“Just hold on a few minutes longer. We’ll get you to sickbay and...”
Maris gave a weak smile. “You... know that’s not... going to happen...” he coughed for a few moments then grabbed Rune’s arm. “Remember... what I...”
His words weren’t even finished as his last breath died out. Tom lowered his head for a moment. The older man had been like a father to him when he had no family. Now he had let him down.
“I’ll remember,” he whispered as he ran a hand over the man’s eyes to close them.
He then stood up. Everyone was silent. “Come on,” he said in a lower voice. “We still have to get back to the shuttle.”
“Prepare another strike on that battleship,” Raken ordered.
So far the battle had taken a turn in the Resistance’s favor. The Imperial vessels were slowly beginning to lose their footing.
They now were retreating back into a tight circle around the Imperial base.
The Dezorisians had come to their rescue practically. If it hadn’t been for them, the Empire would have eliminated the armada a long time ago.
Raken smiled for the first time that day. Things were going well now. He watched as an opening among the battleships had begun to emerge. So far, the ships were woven around the station so tightly that not even a glimpse of the base could be seen. But now a large portion began to emerge. That portion however, consisted of a large cylindrical segment emanating a bright light around it.
That was when Raken’s smile fell. “Pull back!” he ordered.
His words tore through the air at the exact moment that the weapons systems on the base charged. From the station came a large ionic pulse beam, which ripped apart every ship it came in contact with. After a few seconds, the beam dissipated and began to recharge again.
“Losses,” Raken asked. His ship had been lucky, he knew. If they hadn’t pulled back when they had the beam would have ripped through their hull as it had the other surrounding ships.
“Five ships have been destroyed.”
Raken fell back in his chair. Five ships in three seconds. So much for Paris’s plan. His eyes flickered back to the viewscreen. The weapon was powering again. “Evasive maneuvers,” he yelled.
Paris caught B’Elanna in his sight as he made his way towards the shuttle. A relieved smile spread over her face as she ran over to him. He was covered in blood, but by his appearance, it didn’t look to be very serious.
“You’re alright,” she said in a relieved manner. She then looked around the group for Maris.
Tom sensed her thoughts. “We lost him,” he said in a low voice.
She turned her eyes to the floor. “I’m sorry.” She paused a few seconds and then breached a new topic. “There has been a force field placed around the shuttle. We can’t get to it.”
Tom walked over to the force field. He placed a hand up to it. For the first time since he could remember, he was unable to walk through it. “They’ve encrypted some kind of Borg algorithms into it. Every time I adapt, it adapts with me.”
“I know,” said B’Elanna. “I managed to get into their computers, but none of them on this level can access these controls.
The only choice we have is taking Gerek’s ship out of here. It’s one level above us.”
“Gerek?” Tom asked.
B’Elanna then explained to him how the trader had come to her aid moments ago. She then finished up her brief summary of events. “Somehow the weapons were brought back online. Gerek’s gone down to take them out again. He plans on destroying the station.”
“Are you sure we can trust Gerek to take care of that?” Chakotay asked.
Tom turned to the older man. “Gerek might not be the easiest person to get along with, but he can be dependable. We just need to get off this station before he finishes his work.” Tom fully realized just what it would take for Gerek to go through with his plan. He only hoped the trader knew what he was doing.
Paris then walked over to the console B’Elanna had been working at. He linked himself to the main computer. Sure enough there was no way he could dismantle the force field by using this terminal. But then another piece of information caught his attention. “Level three has had a security upgrade. They have Genetic detectors placed everywhere. To get to the shuttle we’ll have to dismantle them as well.”
B’Elanna hadn’t seen that. She looked over his shoulder at the information displayed there. She then saw a way to do that. “If we disconnect the sensors, that should cut off all of the weapons on that level. All we’ll have to do is have someone go through this vent. The sensor wiring runs through that vent. Someone can go through it and disconnect it there.”
Tom looked at the vent size. None of them would be able to fit through that small of a space. None of them except one. He didn’t want to even think about that option.
“We can think of another way,” he said. “I could go to the control room and disable everything from there. Then you...”
“Rune I can do it,” Xara said. She knew that she was the only one who could fit through those vents. If she did this, everything else would be safer.
Tom turned to her. “Xara this could be dangerous. If you got separated from us...”
“I can do this Rune. Besides, it would be even more dangerous if you tried to go to do all of this other stuff. Rune, I’ll be alright.”
Tom lowered his eyes. He knew the girl had a point, but still, he didn’t want to risk the chance of losing her. He then brought his eyes up to hers. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
She smiled. “Aren’t I always?”
Kail staggered towards the ship. He had to hurry; Takma would be leaving soon no matter whether he was or wasn’t aboard her vessel.
He was on the correct deck. Level three. Now all he had to do was get down a few more corridors. He leaned against the wall as he walked. The blood was slowly oozing through his fingers from where he held his wounded shoulder.
*I’ll have that taken care of later,* he told himself. *But for now, I need to get back to the ship.*
His thoughts then turned to the bastard who had shot him. Rune Landis would pay. He would pay for all of the indignities that he had pushed upon him. Not for the first time, he wished that Rune had died when they were back on Deep Space Nine. If only Takma hadn’t gotten Rosin to revive him...
He turned his mind back to the most urgent thoughts. *I need to get moving,* he told himself yet again.
Takma stood just outside the ship. She hadn’t yet boarded her vessel. The station had been able to reestablish its hold over the weapons so that would buy her some more time. She had also established a security program on the level she was on. Whoever these intruders were, they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near her. So now, all she had to worry about was the General’s tardiness.
*Idiots, all of them,* she told herself. She had never had a decent officer working for her in her life. Well, that is except for Kail. He had been very loyal to her and he was one of the few competent people she knew.
She didn’t want to lose someone so valuable to her. If something happened, she knew that he was the only person she could rely on.
Tapping her foot on the floor, she waited for him to hurry up.
Paris and his group made their way up to the level above them. The security on this level had been upgraded to the highest standard now. Only a Parvanian could hope to make it through these corridors without setting off an alarm. And when that alarm was set, a spray of gunfire would beseech the intruder.
Danag walked over to the wall and pulled away one of the grates that covered a vent. He then turned to Xara. “Your door is open, Madam.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks Danag.” she said.
Tom helped her in and then said. “Okay, you know what to do. Just go down this vent and disconnect the coupling located at the junction inside.”
“I know what to do,” she gave him one last hug. “Don’t worry, I’ll b
e fine.”
He nodded and watched her crawl into the vents. His fear began to grow larger with each move she made farther away.
Gerek fell to the ground. He felt the shot burn its way through his side. He tried to fire at the parasites with his phaser, but it didn’t help. They merely proved to adapt to his weapons.
*Looks like the offensive option is out the door. I’ll just have to take defensive I suppose.*
Crawling through the network of wires, he made his way farther into the station. The only way he could hope to destroy this place would be to take out the main power converter.
He felt every move send ripples of pain through his side. He blinked the pain away. He just hoped he would be able to do this before he passed out.
Xara hoped that this would be over soon. She crawled through the vents until she finally found the cable junction Rune had told her about. All she had to do was take these things off line and she would be done.
Kail was about to make his way towards Takma’s ship when the sound of muffled conversation met his ears. He turned to where it was coming from. Taking his phaser, he made his way towards the sound. With any luck, he might be able to get his revenge sooner than anticipated.
Paris waited on Xara. Time was slowly ticking away. He needed to get them out of the station now. His worries were beginning to grow stronger with every passing second. He had already lost the Consul and he had no idea how Sargon was doing.
He wasn’t going to lose Xara as well.
His thoughts were blown away as the sound of a phaser charging attacked his ears. He turned around just in time to see the
Parvanian General down the corridor fire his weapon.
Kail kept close to the corridor walls as he snuck around the corner. He couldn’t believe his luck when he caught Rune Landis in his vision. Landis was about three hundred feet away from him so he didn’t notice the General. The captain’s attention seemed to be fixed on one of the vents next to him, but Kail paid that no attention. Now was his chance. He raised his weapon and charged it. Just as Landis turned around to see where the noise had come from, Kail let a smile touch his lips as he fired. That smile grew even larger as he watched Rune fall to the ground at the feet of his compatriots.
Xara had just finished disconnecting the cables when she heard it. A gunshot echoed through the vents from outside. She felt her breath leave her as she imagined just who had been shot.
Crawling as fast as she could, she began to make her way back the way she had come. Then a voice told her to take a different direction.
She turned to her left instead of right and crawled through the tunnels until she had finally come to another grate. Looking through, she could see General Kail just below her, and farther beyond, Rune lying on the floor.
Tom felt his body hit the ground as he fell. He struggled to get back to his feet, but his entire body protested in a scream of agony.
B’Elanna was immediately at his side. She felt the fear rising in her as she watched Tom’s coat begin to soak with blood.
Her fear was quickly replaced by anger, though, as she brought her phaser up to take aim at the general.
“Anyone make a move and I’ll shoot you where you stand.” the general told them. B’Elanna looked up to see Danag and Chakotay in defensive positions around them. Neither of them wanted to risk anything. If they tried to go for their guns, who knew what the Parvanian would do. From her position, B’Elanna couldn’t get a good shot.
Tom rose slightly and took in the situation. His eyes narrowed as they fell on Kail.
The general took in one last sight of Captain Rune Landis. This would definitely be good. He took aim at the fallen man. This time, there would be no chance that he would be ‘resurrected’ again.
He fingered his gun. “I cannot say that it’s been a pleasure, Rune.” he said and pulled the trigger.
Xara had no idea what she could do, but as she heard the general’s last word, she knew she had to act fast. Summing up her strength and courage, she kicked open the grate and jumped down onto the general.
Kail had no time to react as the young girl landed on top of him. She knocked his arm away just as he fired, sending the shot into a nearby wall.
“You little brat!” he yelled.
Xara held onto the man’s neck as she tried to punch him with her free hand. Since she was on his back, he was struggling to knock her off, but she held on tightly. She realized all too well what would happen if he caught her.
Both Chakotay and Danag had their guns out now, but neither wanted to risk a shot unless they hit Xara by chance. Both had been so caught up in the moment that they had failed to remember that their rifles were set to a Parvanian DNA sequence alone. Even if they did shoot her, nothing would happen.
But of course, as in most situations, logic had abandoned them. Now they watched helplessly as Kail finally grabbed the girl in his arms.
He put the gun to her head. “Anyone moves, she dies,” he said.
Tom pushed himself a little farther off the floor. “You hurt her, Kail... and I’ll make ...you wish you were dead.”
The general was about to inform Landis that he was in no position for such threats when his communicator sounded. “Kail get down here now, we’re leaving,” Takma ordered.
The general was caught between conflicting emotions. He didn’t want to risk being left behind, but here he was with the chance to finally kill Landis.
His thoughts then turned to logic. If he removed his gun from Xara’s head to take a shot at the captain, then either Chakotay or Danag would kill him in an instant. His pride would have to be wounded, he told himself.
Holding Xara tightly he began to back away. “Stay where you are.” he yelled.
Once he had finally made it back to door, he found a console and closed the door behind him. Once it was locked, he took his hostage and made his way back to Takma’s ship.
Xara felt the fear rising in her. Rune wasn’t there and now she had been captured by the Empire. She forced herself not to cry. She wasn’t going to let this man see her fear. Rune wouldn’t do that. Neither would Aria or B’Elanna.
Her throat began to constrict as she was carried away to the enemy ship. She just hoped she would be able to see Rune again, if not just once.
Tom felt his anger begin to storm out of him as the door closed behind Kail and Xara. He struggled to get up, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.
“We... we have to go back for... for her..” he struggled to get out.
Danag was already at the door trying to get it to open. “I can’t break the lock. By the time we get it open, they’ll be long gone.”
“We’re not going to leave her,” Tom ground out. “She...”
His words were cut off as B’Elanna’s comm badge chirped to life. Gerek’s voice sounded over the line. “I hope... you people are ready to leave... cause this place is fixing to blow....”
B’Elanna looked down at Tom. She could see the anger playing over his face. She knew that it was mirrored in hers as well. The last thing she wanted to do was leave Xara behind, but they had no choice.
“We’re leaving now,” she said. Putting one of Tom’s arms over her shoulder, she tried to help the pilot to his feet. Chakotay came over and did the same.
Tom wanted to protest, but he realized that they had no choice as well. He felt his breathing turn to harsh breaths as the bullet began to graze his lung with every move he made.
The remaining four then entered Gerek’s shuttle. Chakotay helped to ease Tom into one of the back chairs and then he moved to take his seat at the Helm.
Danag sat down at the Ops. He looked back for a brief moment at where B’Elanna and Tom were behind him. He had to give Rune credit. He knew how to hide his pain. Paris was now sitting as straight in his chair as possible. The only sign of an injury was the growing stain of red soaking through his coat and the brief shadow of pain that flickered over his face every now and then.
“Takma’s ship is abo
ut to leave.” Tom said. “Contact all the vessels in the area and... tell them to stop her at whatever cost... but don’t destroy the ship...”
“Aye sir,” Danag said as he began to broadcast the message. As his fingers played over the controls effortlessly, his mind played over what had just happened. “May the Spirit protect you Xara,” he whispered.
Takma looked up when she saw Kail enter. Her eyes widened as she saw the blood flowing from his shoulder and the child squirming in his arms.
She didn’t even ask. Instead, she said, “Get to sickbay and drop that ‘child’ off in the brig. We’ll do something with her later.”
He nodded and left. She watched him leave for a few seconds and then turned her attention back to the matter at hand.
She then turned to a nearby drone. “Get us out of here now,” she ordered.
The station fired another round at the ships when Janeway received the transmission. “Mr. Baytart,” she said. “Plot a course for Takma’s vessel.”
“Aye, sir,” he responded.
She had no idea why they didn’t want to destroy the ship, but she agreed to the terms. She watched as they neared the
Imperial vessel they sought. It was already beginning to power its engines. She just hoped they wouldn’t be too late.
“Have the other ships clear a path for us,” Takma told the drone at the Helm. “Then open the corridor. I want out of here as soon as possible.”
She looked up when Voyager appeared on the front viewscreen. It was charging its weapons. “Evasive maneuvers. I don’t care if you destroy them or not, just get us out of here.”
The helmsman responded. He entered the proper commands into the console and flew them away from the battle.
Chakotay flew the ship out between a pair of battle cruisers. Torpedoes sailed past as he barely avoided taking a hit from the much larger ships. *That was too close,* he thought.
