The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [7]
“‘Weaken the Founders’ hold,’” Deanna repeated. “How do we break it?”
“That, Commander Troi,” Vaughn said, “is where you come in.”
Deanna frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“The Betazoid resistance is led by some very clever people,” Vaughn said. “They know Starfleet’s forces are spread thin. They know it all too well, in fact, since it was that very handicap, along with Betazed’s antiquated defense systems, that allowed the planet to be invaded in the first place. They’ve asked— demanded might be a better word—that if we can’t help them retake their planet directly, we bring them someone who can.”
“Someone?” Deanna wrinkled her brow in a frown. “Surely you’re not talking about me?”
“No, not directly.” Vaughn glanced at Picard, and Riker noted the captain’s troubled look. Apparently the two shared differences of opinion on this part of the mission. Picard, however, gave a nod of assent to Vaughn, who continued. “While the Enterprise is carrying out the assault against Sentok Nor, Commander Troi will be joining an infiltration team, led by me, to Darona.”
Early in his Starfleet career, Riker had been stationed on Betazed. He recalled that Darona was a small colony in the Betazed system known for its agricultural, medical, and scientific research facilities, but he’d never visited the place. “What’s so important on Darona?”
Picard frowned, and Vaughn plunged ahead. “The man who’s going to help a handful of resistance fighters rid Betazed of fifty thousand Jem’Hadar.”
“That’s impossible,” Deanna said. “No one person can do that.”
“According to the resistance,” Vaughn said, “there is. His name is Hent Tevren.”
“Tevren!” The color drained from Deanna’s face.
“Who’s Tevren?” Riker asked. “Some national hero? I’ve never heard of him.”
“Hent Tevren,” Troi explained, her voice shaking as she glared at Vaughn, “is a serial murderer, the worst Betazed has ever known. He kills with his mind.”
Chapter Two
T ROI’S OUTRAGE WAS PRECISELY the reaction Picard had expected it would be. He’d felt much the same when Vaughn first broached the mission with him. The captain had never considered himself a strictly-by-the-book officer. When the cause was noble or the stakes in lives high enough, he’d bent a few rules to achieve ends that were just, but Vaughn’s scheme offended his moral sensibilities. If the commander’s orders hadn’t borne the imprimatur of Starfleet Command and the approval of the Federation Council, Picard would never have allowed Vaughn to suggest such a plan to his officers. In this case, however, the captain found himself uncomfortably without a choice.
“A killer?” Riker echoed Troi’s description in disbelief. “The resistance wants us to provide them with a cold-blooded murderer? Why?”
Vaughn faced them with a frigid rationality, a mind-set Picard knew had served the commander well over the years.
“The Betazoids are a peaceful people.” Vaughn fixed his attention on Troi. “They were protecting the planet with outdated defense systems when the Dominion arrived, and Betazed’s offensive capabilities are almost nonexistent.”
“My people detest violence,” Troi said. “We gave up war centuries ago.”
“Which is the other reason your planet fell almost without a fight,” Vaughn said. “From the Dominion’s standpoint, Betazed must have seemed an irresistible target, ripe for the picking. A weak spot. Don’t take that personally, Counselor. The Federation suddenly seems full of similar weak spots these days. We’re very quickly waking up to that. And so has the Betazoid resistance. Lacking sufficient weapons or skills to fight back effectively, they’ve realized they still have one untapped resource: the power of their own minds. If Tevren can teach them how he used his telepathic ability to kill—”
“That’s absurd,” Riker interrupted. “The Betazoids would never