The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [4]
Sympathy filled his eyes, and he squeezed her shoulder gently. “I’m sorry.”
Deanna snatched a padd from the table beside her and rattled off the information. “Thirty-six ships destroyed—hit before they could even enter the Betazed system! Starbase 19 practically obliterated.”
She leaped to her feet and flung the padd across the room. It bounced off the far wall, barely missing a gilded Louis XIV mirror. Her reflection glared back at her, eyes flashing with rage, hair tousled, her cheeks sunken hollows from weight loss and worry.
She pivoted, all her anger and frustration focused on Will. “Thousands died. And for nothing! The Dominion’s grip on Betazed is as strong as ever.”
Will folded his arms across his chest and waited, as if sensing she needed to vent her frustrations without interruption. She wouldn’t disappoint him. “And where were we? Sitting safely here at Starbase 133 while others did our dying for us!”
Unruffled by her heated display, Will rose to his feet and pulled her into his arms. He smoothed her hair and held her silently for a moment, as if trying to transfer his calm to her. “That’s not fair, Deanna. There isn’t one of us who wasn’t itching to help, but the Enterprise wasn’t battle-ready. The damage we took at Rigel still won’t be repaired for a couple more weeks.”
Her ragged breathing eased and her temper cooled. Will offered her his hand and led her back to the window seat.
“Lwaxana?” he asked.
Deanna blinked back tears. “I’ve had no word from Mother, not from anyone on Betazed. With the Dominion’s communication blackout, I have no way of knowing if Mother and my little brother are even still alive. No way of knowing how many on Betazed have died.”
“Your mother is one of the most resourceful women I’ve ever met,” Will assured her. “If anyone can outsmart the Jem’Hadar, it’s Lwaxana.”
Deanna stood up again and stomped across the floor. She didn’t want comfort. “I want to do something.”
“We all do.” Will retrieved the padd from the floor on the other side of the room. Handing it to her, he raised an eyebrow. “No more throwing things, okay?”
“I can’t agree to that.”
“Why not?”
“Because throwing things can be very good therapy.”
Will nodded toward the mirror she’d almost shattered. “Then use the holodeck next time you need a therapy session. You’ll be less likely to destroy your prized possessions.”
“Right now, possessions are the least of my worries.”
“Picard to Troi.” The captain’s rich, crisp tones sounded over her combadge. “Please report to the observation lounge. And bring Commander Riker with you.”
Deanna closed her eyes and sighed, got a grip on her emotions, and tapped her badge. “Acknowledged.”
With Deanna at his side, Riker navigated the corridor toward the nearest turbolift. Although the interior of the ship was mostly deserted, Riker knew from the duty roster that work crews in environmental suits were swarming like ants over the port nacelle. The warp engine housing had been severely damaged by a disruptor wave cannon from a Cardassian Galor -class warship in a battle for the Rigel system two weeks earlier. The Enterprise, however, had been lucky. It had managed to limp back to Starbase 133. Four other ships and their crews hadn’t returned at all.
“Those repairs should have been completed weeks ago,” Riker said. The war had produced a critical shortage of resources and personnel needed for rebuilding, delaying La Forge’s efforts to get the Enterprise back into the fight.
Deanna nodded. “Even Geordi is losing patience. He’s barking orders like an Academy drill sergeant. After several scathing rebukes to members of his staff who weren’t giving a hundred and fifty percent, he came to see me. He was mortified at his loss of control.”
“I’m sure you gave him good advice.”
“I told him to repair the Enterprise first and work on rebuilding rapport later.”
Riker didn’t blame the chief engineer for his impatience. The dismal progress of the war was affecting everyone, even Deanna. Although her mother was