The Battle of Betazed - Charlotte Douglas [86]
“Casualties,” Riker said. “You mean wounded?”
The commander shook his head. “The people have their planet back, but at a terrible price. On average, four out of every ten telepaths lost their lives.”
Riker reeled at the news. “Forty percent dead,” he whispered.
Vaughn lifted his head, and in his eyes Riker could read the history of too many battles, too many deaths. “We have reports on the telepaths from every cell but this one. We haven’t managed to locate all of ours yet.”
“Deanna?” Riker asked through a mouth gone dry.
“No word,” Vaughn answered with a fearful heaviness in his voice.
Riker tapped his combadge. “Riker to Troi. Report.”
Vaughn pushed himself to his feet, approached Will, and placed his hand on the younger officer’s shoulder.
“It’s no use. I’ve been trying to raise her for the last five minutes. She doesn’t answer.”
Chapter Twenty
S OUNDS RETURNED TO D EANNA FIRST. Into the all-encompassing blackness trickled the soft murmur of voices, muted footsteps, and the mechanical tones of biofunction monitors.
“She’s coming around, Dr. Crusher,” an unfamiliar voice announced quietly.
Swimming upward through the gloom that enveloped her, Deanna opened her eyes to meet Beverly’s bright blue ones.
“Welcome back,” the doctor said.
A quick peripheral glance informed Deanna she was in the Enterprise sickbay, where every bed seemed filled. “Is it over?” she asked.
With a reassuring smile, Beverly squeezed her hand. “It’s over. We won.”
Relief washed through Deanna. “Tell me what happened.”
“There’s someone you should see first. If I don’t let him talk to you soon, he’s going to force his way in. He’s been hovering outside ever since we transported you here. He can fill you in on the details.”
“Wait, please. Do you know if my mother is all right?”
Beverly nodded to the next bed, and Deanna turned to find Lwaxana, lying pale and strangely quiet.
“She’s still unconscious,” the doctor said, “but her vital signs are strong. With rest, she’ll recover quickly.”
Beverly left and returned seconds later with Will. When he saw Deanna, his grin lit his face like the sun. “Hey,” he said softly. “You gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” Deanna replied, “and a little embarrassed. I didn’t realize the effect being around all those emotions would have on me. I never should have volunteered.”
“As though any of us could’ve stopped you.”
Giving Will a tired smile at the good-natured barb, she asked, “So the Jem’Hadar are really defeated?”
Will nodded with grim satisfaction. “Fifteen thousand died. The others are prisoners, along with the Cardassians.”
His statistics shocked her, and she feared she had taught her people a killing technique after all. “The invasive empathy killed that many?”
“Not exactly. Just as we anticipated, the majority turned catatonic long enough for us to disarm them and erect force fields. But a small percentage went berserk and turned their weapons on themselves and others. Their behavior accounts for the high death toll.”
His face darkened, and she sensed he was withholding bad news. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
He grasped her hand in both of his. “The Betazoid death toll was also high.”
“How many?”
“Over twelve hundred.”
“Killed by Dominion forces?”
Will shook his head. “From the strain of the empathic assault.”
Stunned, Deanna looked to the doctor. “Twelve hundred dead. How could that happen?”
“I could give you a long lesson in Betazoid physiology to explain what occurred,” Beverly said, “but essentially, they pushed themselves past their limits and burned out their telepathic cortex. The weaker ones died first. Only the very strongest, like your mother, survived.”
Deanna blinked away tears. To drive the enemy from their soil while preserving the integrity of their society, her people had sacrificed themselves. She had never been more proud of her Betazoid heritage than at that moment.
“Tell me who died,” Deanna