The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [67]
Within seconds, screams of agony ripped the mountainside below them. Not the sharp, abrupt cries of lives cut suddenly short, but the prolonged, suffering wails of beings in torment. For a species known for its high tolerance of pain, their anguish was testimony to Tevren’s killing skill and lack of mercy. He was extinguishing them slowly, hideously. The emotions of a hundred Jem’Hadar—anger, confusion, and excruciating pain—pummeled Deanna, assaulting her with the savageness of their deaths. Tevren’s pleasure in killing, his elation at the Jem’Hadar’s injuries, his intoxication with his own power mixed with the anguish of the dying. Sickened, she longed to slide to her knees and wretch, to cover her ears to block the horrifying screams, but she forced herself to stand watch, ready to fire on any Jem’Hadar who survived Tevren’s sadistic assault.
The killing went on until she thought she could endure no more, and she feared her own mind would be ripped asunder by the onslaught of such intense emotions. Just as she reached the limits of her tolerance, quiet descended around her, and she sensed only Tevren’s jubilation at the success of his massacre.
She tossed the tricorder to Data. “Anyone left out there?”
“I will have to step outside to make a broader sweep,” Data said, “but present readings indicate no one within twenty meters.”
“I’ll go with him,” Tevren said, “in case a squad of Jem’Hadar deshroud.”
“Keep an eye on him,” Deanna ordered Data. “And continue signaling Worf.”
Data nodded and stepped outside the cave with Tevren. Deanna was happy to see the killer go. His self-congratulatory smile sickened her. Even if his homicidal skills had saved them, his savage delight in the deaths of their enemies offended every moral and ethical fiber of her being.
She glanced at Beverly, who knelt beside Vaughn, monitoring his vital signs. The usually unflappable doctor appeared badly shaken.
“None of them died quickly, did they?” Beverly asked.
Deanna shook her head. “Tevren saved our lives, but I’m less certain now than ever that taking him to Betazed is the right thing.”
Beverly blinked in surprise. “You don’t intend to disobey your orders?”
Deanna shook her head. “I’ll take him there, if Worf ever shows up to get us out of here. But I’ll present strong objections to the resistance. I don’t believe they’re fully aware of what they’ve asked for.”
Beverly frowned at the readings on her medical tricorder. “I hope Worf comes soon.”
Deanna nodded. She worried for Worf, and she wondered how Captain Picard and the Enterprise were faring against the Dominion fleet guarding Betazed. By now, Will and Miles and Geordi had boarded Sentok Nor, and she prayed they would survive their mission. She’d lost too many friends already, and her shipmates on the Enterprise were more than friends. They were family. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing any of them.
Weariness seeped through her, and she shook it off. She couldn’t give in to fatigue.
“I’ll see if Data received an answer to his signal.”
Deanna stepped outside the cave into eerie quiet. No wind rustled the leaves, but the resinous scent of Jarkana pines filled her nostrils. Where minutes before the screams of dying soldiers had saturated the night air, not even a small animal stirred. Nor was there any sign of android or Betazoid.
Data and Tevren had disappeared.
The long-forgotten sounds of laughter and celebration rolled through the tunnels of the resistance stronghold, but for Lwaxana Troi, they came too late. She had not been among those who rushed to the cliff tops to watch the warships battling in the night sky above Betazed.
Chaxaza came running to Lwaxana’s sleeping niche, her young face alight with excitement. “They’ve come, Lwaxana! The Federation has sent help. We received word from our contacts at the Ridani spaceport.