Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [31]
Neelix looked up to see the others in similar struggles; a desperate, feral dance was being performed in the dark passageway as the crew wrestled with their hissing attackers. Those who weren't entwined tried to rescue their comrades by phasering the heads of the serpents, but the beasts were deft and agile and getting a target was difficult. Neelix spotted Greta Kale sagging in the crushing embrace of mottled coils. He started to sprint toward her, then suddenly felt a pressure on his ankle; looking down, he saw a snaky coil wrapped around his leg and a foot-long snout moving toward his head. He fired blindly, missed, saw the coil envelop his leg and begin to tighten, felt his leg go numb immediately, looked for the elongated head, which was bobbing and weaving, fired again and hit the mark, saw the tubed head drop heavily to the ground, and felt his leg regain feeling.
He turned to Greta, who was already turning blue, eyes popped wide. He couldn't isolate the serpent's head; in desperation he put the phaser tip directly against the reptilian body and fired. The serpent exploded.
A stream of matter and fluid sprayed Neelix, who threw up his hands to ward off gouts of tissue and cartilage. Bits of bone stuck to his face and hair, but Ensign Kale was released, and he could hear her ragged, shallow breathing once more. She moaned, and Neelix guessed she had broken ribs. Glancing around, he saw that the situation seemed under control: serpents lay dazed or writhing on the ground, and all the crew were standing, some bent over, drawing grateful breaths of air, others warily eyeing the huge coiled reptiles on the ground and scanning the trees for more of the vicious animals.
They weren't, strictly speaking, snakes. On their dark, mottled bodies were a series of small leglike appendages, which would serve to give them traction on the ground and a better grip on their victims. Their long snouts could spread wide to ingest prey far larger than they. All in all, they were perfectly hideous creatures. Neelix shuddered slightly, grateful for Starfleet's powerful phasers. He wasn't sure his would have had the same effect. He motioned for someone to help him with Greta; they hoisted her between them and hurried toward the light that beckoned to them from the end of the passageway with a comforting golden glow. It seemed to promise safety.
Tuvok scanned once again: Neelix and his group were nearing his location; the Kazon were behind them and moving steadily. It was imperative they find cover.
He turned to eye the members of his squad, who were investigating the terrain for some kind of protection against the Kazon. It did not look promising. There was no high ground to hold, no cover except the woods through which Neelix was now proceeding. Tuvok disliked the prospect of a ground battle with the Kazon without some tactical advantage, but at the moment he saw none.
He turned to see Ensign Kim scanning the ground intently. The young man had been trying to discern a pattern of some kind that could be seen from the air and that might mark the location of a protected tomb or tombs; before they had realized the Kazon were on the planet Kim believed he had identified such a pattern. But that search had stopped as soon as the dangerous intruders had been identified. Now everyone was scanning for caves, which might provide protection.
"Lieutenant Tuvok!" Kim's voice rang through the air. "I've found something!"
Tuvok turned to see Harry standing about fifty meters away, waving at him. Then the young man abruptly disappeared. Tuvok was on the run instantly, plunging through the brushy weedbed. As he neared the spot where Kim had disappeared, he could hear the young ensign calling to him.
"This is it, Lieutenant-this is