The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [55]
With a shiver, Tevren moved closer, and Deanna suppressed her disgust. For all his murders, the man was a coward.
Beverly raised her phaser and stunned the guard who had sounded the alarm. Two more burst from a nearby doorway, and Data, securing Vaughn with his right hand, retrieved the rifle from behind his back with the left and fired. Both guards dropped.
Once her team had entered the corridor leading to the administration building, Deanna reset the force field. “One more barrier, then the main gate, and we’ll be out of this place.”
The away team approached the force field that blocked the pathway connecting the administration building to the gate. Behind the shimmer of the energy shield, five Betazoid guards armed with pikes, knives, and clubs jammed the passageway. The lead guard lowered the force field, and his group charged.
Tevren shrieked and scurried back the way they’d come, only to find his escape obstructed by a force field. Beverly, Data, and Deanna simultaneously discharged their phasers, and three guards fell. Two, however, kept coming. Data took out one with another shot, but the last guard attacked Deanna with a flying leap and shoved her to the ground.
His momentum sent them both rolling, with his hands squeezing her throat. Deanna boxed his ears. The guard screamed with pain and loosened his grip. She followed with a knee that glanced harmlessly off his thigh. He wrapped his hands in her hair, but before he could tighten his grip, she slammed her forehead into the bridge of his nose and knocked him unconscious.
Breathless, she staggered to her feet. Over the last four days she’d practiced these moves with Vaughn, but they had always been just that—practice. This time the struggle had been life and death. She’d sensed the killing instinct in the guard’s attack, and her newly-honed skills and instincts had saved her.
“Sorry,” Beverly said, “but he was too close to you for me to risk a shot.”
Deanna swiped the electronic key through the force field release. “Head for the front gate, and hurry. Those alarms are still screaming. They’re bound to get the Jem’Hadar’s attention.”
“Shall I attempt to shut them down?” Data asked.
“No time.” Deanna glanced around, located Tevren, shoved him ahead of her, and took off at a dead run. Beside her, carrying Vaughn, Data increased his speed with ease. Deanna raced through the director’s prison garden. Tevren pumped his short legs like pistons in an effort to keep up with her.
Deanna halted before the main gate. Apparently its guards had been among the attackers in the administration building, because no one was on watch at the entry portal.
“What’s that?” Beverly pointed down the hill to a gray blur on the road that ran in front of Lanolan’s house.
“Jem’Hadar,” Data said. “An entire patrol.”
Deanna inserted the electronic key into the slot by the gate, but the force field that blocked their exit from the prison didn’t waver.
“Let me try,” Data suggested.
Deanna handed him the key. He shifted the still-unconscious Vaughn to a more comfortable position across his shoulders, and with lightning-quick movements of his agile fingers attempted to drop the field.
Nothing happened.
Data tried again, then shook his head. “The force field mechanism on the main gate must have a fail-safe. We require either an additional key or a specialized code to release the shield.”
“They’ve upgraded since I was here,” Deanna said. “Then only one key was needed at this gate.” She glanced down the hill where the Jem’Hadar were drawing closer. She hadn’t wanted the command Vaughn had thrust upon her, but the responsibility for her crewmates and their mission was now hers.
Piece of cake, she imagined Will saying with his gift for understatement and an ironic grin. All that stands in your way is a maximum-security force field and a fast-approaching