The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [48]
O’Brien craned his neck, taking his bearings. “Let’s hope the resistance has drawn all the Jem’Hadar to the planet.”
“Yeah,” La Forge said with irony, “so that leaves only about fifty Cardassian engineers and who knows how many of their soldiers to slow us down.”
“Our first objective is crucial,” Riker reminded them. “Once we take control of the security office, we can shut down every system on the station—”
“Environmental, communications, engineering, and tactical,” O’Brien said with a grin. “What more could a man want?”
Riker allowed his team a few moments to adjust to the warm, dry conditions with the slightly higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mixed for Cardassian comfort. In the cramped tunnel, where a cross-section measured a mere one-point-three meters by one-point-four meters, La Forge snapped on a light, and the toranium frames and duranium panels gleamed dully around them.
“Ready?” Riker asked O’Brien.
“Ready, sir.” With efficiency and speed even in such tight quarters, O’Brien set up a portable force field generator to create an invisible wall blocking off an area eight meters in diameter and four meters high. The force field secured their portion of the tunnel and extended into the adjoining security office, preventing Cardassian reinforcements from pouring into the office and grabbing the away team as they exited one by one from the tunnel. Their Starfleet combadges contained receivers keyed to the force field generator, so they could move freely in or out of the field. Anyone else would be trapped either inside or outside the force field. Riker doubted, however, that they’d be lucky enough to find the security section unguarded.
“Commander,” La Forge whispered, “the access panel into the security office is directly behind me.” He wiggled into position in the cramped space, removed a device from his belt, then pressed it against the panel.
Riker motioned for half the security detail and O’Brien to retreat down the access tube and around a corner, just in case armed resistance awaited them on the other side.
La Forge slowly popped open the panel. Those around Riker held their breaths. An angry squad of Cardassians could be trapped inside the force field with them, waiting on the other side of that panel. Or Riker’s group might find no one in the office at all. The team members would be most vulnerable during their exit from the tunnel, since the small opening forced them to enter the office one at a time.
His phaser set on stun, Riker took the point, diving and rolling through the panel’s opening into the tiny office and surprising two armed Cardassians. The soldiers fired, but Riker kept moving, and the weapons blasted holes in the spot he’d just vacated, fortunately nowhere close to where the rest of his team waited.
Smoke from the burning metal stung Riker’s nostrils. Adrenaline surged into his system and added power to his movements. His diving lunge knocked one of the thick-necked Cardassians off his feet and awkwardly tumbled him to the deck, giving Riker time to confront the second man. From the office floor, Riker sidekicked his foe’s wrist, sweeping the Cardassian’s phase disruptor rifle to the floor with a loud clatter.
The Cardassian sprang for the rifle.
Riker knocked it across the room. The Cardassian’s hands came up empty, and he swore and turned his fury on Riker. The soldier charged, his large hands grasping for Riker’s throat. Riker shifted and rammed an elbow into his opponent’s jaw, heard it crunch as bones broke. The commander followed up with a damaging knee to the groin.
With a soft gurgle, the Cardassian collapsed, and his unconscious weight pinned Riker to the deck. Shoving the fallen man aside, Riker started to level his phaser at the other Cardassian, but his foe had regained his feet. He loomed over Riker, his weapon aimed, ready to fire.
“Don’t move,” La Forge ordered, his phaser pointed at the Cardassian’s chest.
The Cardassian froze in surprise. Riker