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Evek smiled. Janeway rather wished he hadn’t. “I don’t expect you will, Captain.” And with that, his face disappeared from the screen, which then switched to a double view of Captains Emick and Stuhlmacher. The former, a bald and bearded man who had been a year behind Janeway at the academy, looked thoughtful and calm as always. The younger Stuhlmacher, who’d only received command of the Bellerophon two months ago after his captain was killed in an engagement with the Romulans, looked somewhat more angry.

Before anyone could say anything, Cavit said, “Tuvok, send an emergency transmission to Starbase 310, inform them of the situation.”

After giving her first officer a grateful nod, Janeway turned back to the screen. “Gentlemen, it seems we have an invasion on our hands.”

“The freighter’s probably got whatever equipment they plan to use to 'settle’ Dorvan V,” Emick said.

Stuhlmacher ran a hand through his wild brown hair. “We can’t let this stand. It’s just two Galors, we can take them.”

“Whether or not we can,” Emick said resignedly, “I don’t see how we can let the people of Dorvan V be taken prisoner. Because that’s what we’re talking about here.”

“Agreed.” Janeway had no intention of doing anything other than engage Gul Evek in combat, but she wanted to make sure the other two captains were in agreement. She was in command of the convoy-she had seniority over the other two, though only by a couple of weeks in Emick’s case-but she felt better about her decision knowing that the other two captains were with her. “Let’s do it, gentlemen.”

Next to her, Cavit said, “Red alert. All hands to battle stations. Mister Tuvok, arm phasers and load torpedo bays.”

Janeway added, “Stadi, coordinate with the conn on Intrepid and Bellerophon-engage pattern zeta.”

Nodding, the Betazoid conn officer said, “Aye, Captain, pattern zeta.”

Stadi’s elegant fingers played over the console as if it were a grand piano. Voyager moved on a parabolic course toward the Vetar. Stadi put a tactical image in one corner of the screen, showing the Bellerophon and Intrepid following the zeta pattern, which had proven successful against the Romulans at Galordon Core. Of course, Janeway thought, that was against one warbird, which was bigger than these two Galors combined, but it’s still a good gambit.

From behind her, Kim said, “Uh, Captain?”

“What is it, Harry?”

“I’m reading a massive power surge in both Cardassian vessels.”

Cavit asked, “A weapon?”

Kim shook his head. “I honestly couldn’t tell you, sir. It’s an energy pattern unlike anything I’ve-”

Tuvok interrupted. “Energy bolt bearing directly on us.”

Moments later, Janeway felt the bone-jarring impact of her jaw hitting the deck. The bridge was in utter choas. Consoles sparked and exploded, the smell of plasma fires burned the air, and several alarms began going off at once, competing with the red alert.

As she scrambled to her feet, she said, “Turn off that damned noise!”

The alarms quieted, leaving only the cries of pain of several crew members.

One person not crying was Ensign Harry Kim, who lay on top of his console, his head at an impossible angle.

Janeway had already lost many of her crew. Half her medical staff was killed during a rescue operation that turned out to be a Romulan trap, and her chief engineer was killed staving off a warp core breach last month, plus numerous members of Tuvok’s security detail.

But seeing Harry dead especially hurt. He had shone as operations manager, and Janeway had just received word yesterday approving his promotion to junior-grade lieutenant.

Cavit was gripping his left shoulder-it looked like he’d broken a bone or two. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Medical team to the bridge.”

Putting Harry’s death in the back of her mind, Janeway cried out, “Damage report.”

Green blood oozing out of a cut over his right eye, Tuvok said, “Shields are down. Hull damage on decks eight, nine, and ten. Structural integrity field at seventy-five percent.”

The voice of Joe Carey, recently