The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [83]
Keep at them, Lwaxana urged her companions. Our friends to the left of us … are gone.
All around Deanna, Betazoids were falling, some dying. Like a weakened swimmer tugged under by a riptide, she fought to keep from succumbing to the wave of lethargy that threatened to engulf her. She grieved for the lost group. Resisting the weakness that threatened to drown her, she remembered her people, the many who had already died and those who would perish this day. Fighting to keep from tumbling down into blackness, she stubbornly fired off her anger at the possibility of losing this war—
Imzadi …
—until the blackness won and sucked her under.
Chapter Nineteen
W HEN G UL L EMEC ESCAPED the doomed Sentok Nor, he had sent a subspace message, requesting reinforcements for Betazed. The reply was not to his liking. Cardassian and Dominion reinforcements had been intercepted by a Federation fleet. No help was coming.
Within hours of his arrival on Betazed, Luaran had appeared at Lemec’s headquarters. She’d tracked him down immediately to inform him of her escape from Sentok Nor. She could not, however, confirm or deny Moset’s survival. If the doctor hadn’t perished in the destruction of the station, he had possibly fallen captive.
Confronting the Vorta in his office, the gul didn’t bother to conceal his delight at the doctor’s plight. If not for Moset, the space station would never have been compromised.
“We face bigger problems than the loss of Sentok Nor,” Lemec told her.
Luaran’s face remained serene, in spite of the displeasure in her voice. “The Founders will not be pleased if Federation forces have captured Moset. The loss of his research is bad enough, without losing the man as well.”
“Moset’s research was worthless.” Lemec’s blood boiled at the memory of the doctor’s lowering the shields and making the station vulnerable to attack. “Instead of enhancing Jem’Hadar, he succeeded only in killing them.”
“True,” Luaran agreed, “but in time, he might have made a breakthrough.”
“Time is something we don’t have. Sensors have picked up Starfleet transporter signals all over the planet. We must assume the Enterprise has contacted the resistance cells.”
The Vorta shrugged. “Our latest reports indicate the remaining resistance members are hungry, without medical resources or weapons, and—”
“They could be mounting a united campaign in an effort to drive us off their planet.”
Luaran smiled. “Good.”
“Good?” Lemec couldn’t believe he’d heard correctly. “Our enemies could be ready to attack, and you think that’s good?”
“To fight, they must come out of hiding,” the Vorta said. “These unmilitaristic people are no match for Jem’Hadar, and once they attack, we’ll defeat them and maintain our complete control of this world.”
“The Betazoids are desperate and have nothing left to lose but their lives.” Lemec, recalling the Bajoran resistance, feared the fanaticism such circumstances evoked. And the Bajorans weren’t telepathic. “Now Starfleet is helping them, probably supplying weapons and tactical and communications support. It would be a mistake to underestimate them. An assault could be far more intense—”
“If we lose Jem’Hadar,” Luaran said in the same placid tone, “we’ll breed more. I don’t see a problem.”
Lemec shook his head. “I hope you’re right. This is one time I’ll be happy to be proved wrong.”
A glinn barged into Lemec’s office, so obviously rattled he forgot to salute. “Sir, you asked me to notify you if …”
The glinn hesitated, and Lemec snapped, “Yes? What’s happened?”
“It’s the Jem’Hadar, sir.