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By Root 565 0

There would be those hawks in the Federation who would find pleasure in the fact that a single Starfleet vessel had held its own against thirteen ships, had indeed destroyed six of them outright. Janeway was not among them.

Despite the automatic fire extinguishers, the bridge was beginning to smell of smoke. It stung Janeway's blue eyes and she bunked back the tears. Beside her, Telek R'Mor had sunk into Chakotay's chair. He leaned forward, his hands clasped between bis knees, his eyes fixed on the viewscreen and the ships he could not see as they attacked, only as they were destroyed.

Another direct hit on one ship, with two explosions. The ship next to the first one had been destroyed as a result of the dreadful dark matter that had burst upon it like spores from a deadly plant.

Five left now.

"For the love of God," whispered Janeway, "contact us, damn you!"

"What is happening?" The question was a scream, ripped from Jekri's throat as she watched the ships

being destroyed one by one, sometimes two by two.

"I would think that was obvious," said Lhiau. "Your mighty warbirds are getting the llhrei beaten out of them."

"This is not possible," Jekri breathed, her hands clenching into impotent fists. "We were thirteen. They couldn't see us coming. Even if they knew we were tracking them, they shouldn't have been able to target us like that!"

"The traitor Telek," said Lhiau. "He has told them how to find your ships."

"Even R'Mor could not penetrate the dark-matter shielding," said Verrak sharply. He still clung to his idea that Telek had been abducted, had not been a traitor. Sometimes Verrak had oddly romantic-and dangerous-notions. Jekri would have upbraided him had they been alone, but did not want Lhiau to see any division in their ranks.

"He could have learned. He knows more than any of you pathetic-" With a disgusted growl, Lhiau didn't even bother to complete his sentence.

Jekri stared at the grainy image. There was no sound. Before her eyes, yet another fireball roiled up and then dissipated.

"How many left?" she asked Verrak.

He glanced up at her, pain in his handsome face. "Five," he said bluntly. "The Federations have been hailing the ships. We have not listened to their message. Perhaps we should."

"Negative. They would say anything to save their ship."

"Most honored Chairman," Verrak said, "they do not have to do anything to save their ship. They are winning."

Even as he spoke, Jekri watched another warbird, a ship they had thought invincible, explode into invisible debris. Hundreds were aboard each ship.

She made her decision, though it killed something inside her to do it. Jekri leaned forward, thumbing a control on the console so hard it hurt her hand.

"Chairman Kaleh to lead vessel. Retreat. Repeat, retreat at once. There are to be no more lives wasted this day."

"But we must get Telek, we must-" Lhiau began.

"You are to be silent!" All traces of composure that Jekri might have had had evaporated with her last order. Tears of bitterness and rage spilled from her gray eyes, and she was not ashamed of them. She advanced on Lhiau like a hnoiyika closing in for the kill, and even though she knew his powers probably rendered him able to slay her with a thought, she saw him take a step backward.

"Thousands-thousands, do you understand?-of brave Romulans have died in this battle today, and I will not tolerate your sneers and belittlement of their sacrifice. Silence, Lhiau, silence, and if you cannot be silent of your own choice than I shall make you be silent!"

Their gazes locked, and it was Lhiau who looked away first.

* * *

"They're retreating, Captain," Kim announced. Janeway could see it on her screen. "Should we pursue?"

"Negative, Ensign. Let them go."

Kim glanced uneasily at Tuvok, then back at bis captain. "They've seen us fight," he said. "They have a better grasp now of what Voyager is capable of. If they take that first-hand knowledge back to the Alpha Quadrant, we risk polluting