Commander Bayanhong did not find it too difficult to operate the transit vehicles. Based on what Guerrero had told her, all she had to do was insert the control rods in the proper order, push a button, and the machine did all the rest, and surprisingly quickly as well. Moments later, the vehicle slowed down, the rings of light not moving by them so quickly, and entered the transit station. Bayanhong, expecting a reception, noticed the presence of Odonans, carrying some kind of weapon, standing on the platform. She also noticed the burned-out wreck of a somewhat longer vehicle.
"What's that?" Takoo asked.
Guerrero, who had been pressed into joining this mission since he had come this way before, answered, "That's the Doran vehicle, which was attacked by the Odonans when they attempted to storm this location many years ago."
"Good for them. I wonder where they got the weapons from?"
"They apparently found some."
The seven on board the vehicle, including Bayanhong, Hakamura, Takoo, Ngoo, Guerrero and two other security officers-with all the security officers carrying phaser rifles-all got off of the vehicle and used the crossover bridge to get to the platform. After the visitors the Odonans had been receiving, security had been stepped up at the platform, so the Odonans who were on the platform took up positions, at least until the races of the newcomers was identified. A woman stepped forward, and said into a communications device, "Shut off the forcefield. We have more visitors." Her gaze met those of Takoo and Ngoo. "Odonans."
"Yes," Takoo remarked.
Bayanhong, taking charge of the mission since she was the ranking officer, said, "We would like to speak with whomever is in charge."
"Of course," the woman answered.
She led them through the same course that Guerrero had followed earlier, and which looked a lot like the structure that their journey had originated from. Eventually, all six of them ended up in the same room where Matsubara had met with the Odonans earlier. Moments later, Neteya stepped through from another direction, and sat down. He was surprised at what he saw. He saw four humans, dressed in one style of uniform, and two Odonans, dressed in another, and all of them had commbadges and other symbols that indicated they belonged to the Federation Starfleet and the Odonan Space Service respectively. He also noticed that three of the humans were carrying rifle-like weapons, and were taking up defensive positions around the room.
Bayanhong stepped forward, to make the introductions, but before she could, the first door opened again. Another of the Odonans somehow got past the guards and entered the room. He scanned the faces, and focused on the Odonans, and in particular, on Takoo. It took a few seconds, but the man finally asked, "Lieutenant... Lieutenant Zhi Len Takoo. It's you, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's me, although it's commander now, and I'm on the inactive list. I was activated... because of the situation that brought humans here. You are... Lote Ghanash?"
"Yes."
"You have hardly changed."
"The same to you, commander. Sixty-one years has not made their presence felt on you. It has been a long time since you were here."
"I remember it very well, like it was yesterday."
Neteya did not recognize the woman by sight, but knew who she was by reputation. "You did not come with the original groups," the acting governor started. "That would mean that you came with a later group. Have you somehow gotten through the alien complex at the other end and activated the gateway?"
"No. We came by being on a ship that was sent here."
"That is bad," Neteya said.
"I know. As it stands now, we can't get back, but we're working on that. What I need to know is if we can make the process reliable and send us to a planet of our choosing, are your people willing to make the trip back home?"
"Of course!" Neteya replied immediately. "You might think that after sixty-one years, some of us might have adjusted to this being home, but that's not true. We think that every day we might have the chance to go back to our real homes, although we know that our lives will be different and difficult to adjust to. There are many changes. I see that the Federation now routinely walks around with weapons that in my time they did not even readily admit to having."
"Phaser rifles?" Bayanhong asked.
"Yes."
"The galaxy is currently a more dangerous place. There is a war going on, and we have to take measures to protect ourselves. Having the weapons has become... increasingly comfortable."
"That's a galaxy that I'm not sure I'm ready to return to," the acting governor said. He quickly added, "But I'm willing to give it a try. It is better than staying here."
Takoo asked, "Do you have a plan to evacuate all the people here to another of the structures, through the transport system?"
"Not officially. It would take some time to do that, even if we used the largest vehicles available to us, and used all of them, and filled them as much as possible with people. We had discussed it, knowing that the structure on Norg was likely destroyed. People would be selected randomly for the order to make the journey. Part of the problem that we have is that we don't know how much time we have to evacuate. If time is unlimited, then it is not a problem. It only becomes a problem if time is limited."
"Hopefully, once we get the outbound function working," Bayanhong added, "we'll have no real time constraints. If that's the case, then there should be no problem getting everybody over to our location."
Hakamura spoke up, asking, "Are you sure that absolutely nobody doesn't want to leave?"
"I can't say that absolutely," Neteya answered. "It is possible that a few individuals might not want to leave, although we have not intentionally done much here beyond basic survival in the hopes of one day going back home. However, those few individuals might change their minds when they see everybody else leave. Afterall, very low numbers do not make a viable colony, especially one here where the process of growing food and taking care of day-to-day needs is so labour intensive."
"That's good to know," the security officer said. "Afterall, once we return, the possibility exists that we might never come back to this place."
"I find that hard to believe. There's technology here, a culture to explore, by proper archaeologists and the like."
"And as soon as we abandon the structure here, the Dorans could take over. What's to stop them from coming over to Charamand? If they need slaves to help them survive on this planet, what's to stop them from raiding Charamand?"
"You're suggesting that the structure may have to be destroyed?"
"I think so. I know that Captain Thorpe ordered one of the tricobalt explosive devices be put on the lander just in case."
"Tricobalt device, similar to the one beamed into the Dominion ship at Pusedchou?" Bayanhong asked.
"Yes."
"I see. We'd have to find another planet where this structure is buried, preferably an uninhabited one."
Ghanash spoke up, asking, "Should we prepare to evacuate now?"
"No," Bayanhong cautioned. "We have to make sure that we can activate the outbound function. There's no guarantees yet that we can do it. Until we do, it'll be best that your people stay here, and carry on as they have."
Neteya replied, "I understand."
The Odonan doctor, Ngoo, spoke up. "Governor, commander, I'd like to go among the people, talk to them, assess their conditions."
"You're a doctor?" Neteya asked, apparently having forgotten the introductions.
"Yes, I'm Doctor Eldene Ngoo, chief medical officer on the Imperial Odonan Starship Bluestar."
"Yes, of course."
"I'll accompany you," Takoo added.
Ghanash said, "So will I."
"In which case, Commander Takoo," Bayanhong started, "We'll leave you here. You know how to get back to our location. We need to return, in case Captain Thorpe has plans. I know that he wants to take the lander to look for our missing people, and I might need to be on board."
"We understand," Neteya said. "The delays are acceptable, Even the uncertainty is acceptable, since this is more hope than we have had in the past sixty-one years. When we saw that gateway simply disappear, that last glimpse of the destruction, and the agonized look on that officer-I do not know who she was."
"That might've been Captain Minh Tisoa," Takoo said.
"Did she survive?"
"She did."
"But this is the best hope we have ever had..."
* * *
Matsubara had worked hard, physically hard labour, perhaps harder than she had in her life, inside that conduit. Although the main components really needed to be replaced, she thought that if she could get the power system up and running, they might be able to get some water out of this machinery. That required that the circuits be repaired and replaced, or sometimes simply rebuilt. Teklensho helped as best he could, which basically meant that he handed the tools as she needed them, and did some of the basic and heavier work, but it was Matsubara who was getting dirty and frustrated. No matter what the Doran might have thought of her, she knew that this project was too much for one person.
When her tricorder ran out of power, Matsubara was finally able to convince Teklensho to break for a meal. He had more of the bread-like rolls, and some of the vegetables, which he boiled on an electronic cooking device. To Matsubara, the food was relatively tasteless, and did not contain vital nutrients and minerals her body needed. It might also contain something essential to the Dorans, but which could be dangerous to her. On the other hand, the growling stomach was dangerous too.
The two sat on rocks beside the parked vehicle, and ate their meal and drank some of the water that Teklensho had brought along. The man asked, "How much longer would this repair take?"
"For one person without much engineering, like me," Matsubara said, "it'll take a long time, many days, months even."
"Months?"
The Dorans had no concept of months, so she added, "Many tens of days."
"That's not good."
"But that's reality." An idea came to mind, so Matsubara expressed it. "Of course, it would be possible to make a deal. Say, I go back to where my people are, and bring along some others, those with a real engineering background who have forgotten more about things like this then I'll ever know. We could get this thing working in no time. In exchange for that, you activate the outbound function and let us return home."
"I do not believe that the leadership will allow that."
"Then it'll take many tens of days to get this water extractor working." Matsubara continued to eat the nearly tasteless carrot-like things that the boiling had softened up, something necessitated by the fact that Dorans had poor teeth. She looked at Teklensho, and wondered what it must have been like to exist here, on this barren world, his people not fully comfortable with the technology that they found themselves involved with. She asked, "Are you married?"
The man hesitated for a moment, and answered, "What made you ask that question?"
"I was just curious. I was thinking, about my own relationship, with a person on my ship back home in the galaxy."
"I have a wife. Her name is Teknin. We have one son, Tekdaeo." Clearly, Matsubara realized, "Tek" must have been some kind of family identifier. "He is of one point four metres height." That, the science officer thought, was an odd way of indicating how old children was, but the Dorans likely understood what that meant, just as she knew what was meant when someone said "two year old" or "seven year old."
"How did you meet?"
Again, Teklensho was puzzled, and had to think about that. "I am not fully sure of what you mean."
"How did you meet Teknin? Why did you make her your wife?"
"She was assigned to me."
Arranged marriages, Matsubara thought. Lots of cultures had them, and they often worked for those cultures, so she knew that it was improper to judge other cultures by the standards of her own. "How?" she asked.
"When I completed my period of honoured duty, I was allowed to marry. Teknin was the one that I was assigned."
"Just 'assigned'? And now, you are happy that she is your wife?"
"Yes, she is very good. She spends her days teaching Tekdaeo, and preparing for the time when he will have his chance for honoured duty, so that our civilization might continue. If fortune continues to shine, and we earn enough service rations, we might attempt to have a daughter too, to complete the family." Matsubara was wondering what this "honoured duty" might have been, but thought it might have been to take part in those raids. The only way that the Doran men could take wives and father children was to take part in the raids, most of which were relatively low-risk, but some were very high-risk. She thought of the burned-out vehicle at the Odonan location, and she thought of the Doran she shot in the chest with her phaser at a higher setting. They were, for the most part, eager young males looking to complete a necessary duty in order to be allowed to mate. Before she could continue, Teklensho said, "We must return to work. The charger should have replaced the power in your sensing instrument, so we can continue."
Matsubara really did not want to work, since this kind of labour was not something she was used to. Just sitting down momentarily was the opportunity for her body to inform her just how much she hurt. However, she had no other choice. At moments like this, Teklensho could reveal who was really in charge.
* * *
"Aleksandr, I need to speak to you in private."
Rocha had just returned from the residential structure, where he had been inspecting the defenses installed at the transit station. Barriers had been placed on the platform to provide cover should the aliens attack. A forcefield had been built over the entrance to the corridor leading to the ramp, and officers had been assigned to constantly man the defensive positions. A second forcefield had been added over the end of the corridor as a backup, just in case. In addition, supplies had been brought down to one of the small rooms by the station, which was turned into the barracks for the Odonans and the Federation officers. If those Dorans should return, an alarm would sound, and all the other officers could be quickly brought to the station area and to areas around it to defend it from the attack. Rocha knew that none of those blue-toned aliens could get through and stage another raid.
Now the captain had gotten his attention again. "Sir?"
The two moved towards the far end of the sunken control area by the cavern. It was an area of sparse controls, and most of those appeared to be backups. Hardly anybody was around, as the main job of many people was to gather up the vegetation still covering the cavern and feed it into the portable deconstructor, which the engineers had set up, which in turn provided base materials for the replicators. Outside of the structure was a portable fusion reactor, which the engineers were still tinkering with. Rocha understood what it meant when the engineers completed their work.
"Soon, I'll be taking the lander and search for Commander Matsubara and the others." Rocha could see in the eyes of the captain a kind of pained expression, a fear almost that he might be too late and that the science officer could be in serious trouble. "Once the replicator system here is working, all the food needs and the rest for the Adamsburg people and the others should be easily handled."
"I understand."
"I'm going to leave you in charge of the Starfleet officers here, and I want you to make sure you get the point across to the civilians that we're not abandoning them, that we have the resources set up here."
"Of course," Rocha answered. It was a command assignment. Beyond a few landing party assignments, he did not have too many of those.
"In addition, of course, I'll need you around should any more of those Dorans come through the transit station. I don't want them to get through. If it takes lethal force to stop them-or to protect yourselves and the Odonan combat unit-you have full authorization to use such force. It's ultimately the Dorans' responsibility since they're the aggressors here."
"I understand, sir. I'll see to it that these instructions are carried out."
* * *
Night was falling as the wheeled vehicle lumbered over the badly-rutted path-Matsubara could not call it a road-towards the original alien structures, and the slave encampment within. Of course, "night falling" on this world was a relative concept since the stars were always shining, but the sun was now casting long shadows and it seemed to be getting darker. The day had been pleasantly warm, but with the setting sun, the air was chilling rapidly. Matsubara surmised that the large swings in temperature were a consequence of the thin and artificially-constrained atmosphere.
Matsubara was let off by the same entrance that she had left at the start of the day, and which she knew led to the sleeping area she had been in earlier. Now, she made her way back, quite aware of the fact that Teklensho was the last Doran she had seen. This was a slave encampment with no guards, although the captives really had no place to run to. Anything of value would be protected, and anything else did not matter. If a person escaped and could not get to the transit centre, that person really had no place to go. The crater made quite an effective prison.
As she walked back to the compound, Matsubara realized how hungry she was, almost to the point that her stomach was growling once more. When she reached the compound, and entered, she could hear voices, voices that were raised and not all speaking English either. She thought she detected, before the translator could pick up the words enough to translate, the relatively high-pitched tonal sounds of the Sikarian language. The sounds were angry.
When she arrived at the common area, she saw a number of the Adamsburg civilians and a large number of the Sikarians, most of whom did not look to be in good shape. Matsubara had rarely seen signs of malnutrition, since such a thing was very rare in the Federation, but those Sikarians looked weak. Many looked like they were sporting injuries as well. Clearly, a lot of those people were not well. She could not pick out Thorbolth, the woman she had talked with the previous night. She also did not see Kayaha immediatelyl, but did see Warner.
In fact, she could hear Warner. "You are right. We can take this place tonight."
One of the Sikarians spoke up, "We've got nothing left to lose. The majority of the Dorans, their better soldiers anyway and their best weapons, are gone, on the raid."
Now Matsubara stepped into the scene, and asked, "What raid?"
Warner answered, "We've learned that most of the Dorans have left the compound, and headed back to our location to grab more people."
"Damn," muttered Matsubara. She surveyed the table. The plates still on the table were cleared of every last crumb, and the pitchers of water were empty too.
"That's why we've got to strike," the Sikarian male spoke up. He had patchy hair, and a rather haggard appearance, but Matsubara just got the impression that he was hardly older than she was, and this life as a slave here on this world had aged him rapidly. "The guards that are left are poorly trained, poorly motivated and poorly armed."
"And we have none of that," Matsubara pointed out.
Warner pointed out, "Commander, surely you know that I can disarm one of those guards. One weapon could lead to another."
"An uprising is a very bad idea."
All eyes turned to the science officer, who was beginning to wonder if she had said the wrong thing. One of the Adamsburg civilians, a taller and somewhat robust man-Matsubara just got the impression he was the kind of person who worked in mines and enjoyed destroying rock-approached, and said, "I guess you would say something like that."
"What does that mean?" Matsubara demanded. The man approached her in a threatening manner, and she had the sudden feeling that Warner and Stanislava-if she was around-were not in position to protect her. When they got back, Warner would find a black mark on his record.
"It means you are a collaborator."
"I am not," Matsubara retorted.
"I believe you are. You were watched as you drove off with the Doran, one Doran."
"One armed Doran."
"But I was told you were wearing those Odonan forcefield belts. One armed Doran should not provide an obstacle."
Matsubara had to think fast. She wondered how long the forcefield could hold out if the man started to attack her. "I did not attempt to disarm him simply because it would've been pointless."
"You spent the whole day with him, and you accomplished nothing."
"Taking his weapon would've done nothing either. I did not act because it was pointless."
"Then you're a collaborator," the man retorted.
"Now listen," Matsubara started, "My sole intention is to get us out of here. Remember, simply taking over this complex, even with our bare hands, isn't going to get the Dorans to activate the outbound function. The control centre, and I'm sure the transit station, are well-defended. I've been attempting to put into the mind of the Dorans that the status quo isn't going to work, that they really should go to another planet where they could survive more easily-and then we can go home."
"How many Dorans have you convinced?"
"I've only talked to one."
"The one you drove off with?"
"Yes," she admitted.
"That's even less than useless. He's merely a drone, and he shows all the individuality of a Borg drone. He can't convince anybody of whatever it is that you told them. This uprising will convince them."
"No it won't."
The man raised a fist and threatened to come in on Matsubara. It was at this point that Warner finally interfered, saying, "We must stay united on this one, Doug." He gave this look that suggested to Doug that even though the civilian had dozens of kilograms on the security officer, the security officer had the better training. The man backed away.
Another of the civilians, a man of slightly less stature and slightly more paunch, spoke up, saying, "Why stop? It's the fault of Starfleet that we're ultimately here."
"Really?" Matsubara remarked. "The ship was light years away when the miners hit that alien structure, and caused the event."
"No," the man continued, "but it is Starfleet's job to make sure that hidden dangers, buried alien artifacts and the like are found and neutralized first. Starfleet gave Charamand a clear rating. Clearly they did not do the job well enough."
"Lets forget about this," the Sikarian leader remarked. "Time is running out. These raids don't last all too long. We have to move quickly."
"It's still a bad idea," Matsubara said.
"Fine, then stay behind and live the life of a slave. Let that Doran drone drag you around to whatever it was he took you. Maybe we can't take the control centre or the transit station, but we can do something that would cause a great deal of damage to the Dorans."
"What?"
"They have only a few days worth of food stored. Some crops are almost ready, others aren't. We have complete access to it all. If we destroy it, or threaten to, then the Dorans would have no choice but to listen to us. Food is the key. Look, it's scarce already. We only got half of what we need, and look at you. You're late, and you're going to have to starve tonight. Don't ask for any. There isn't anything left. Now do you see?"
"I see just a lot of dead people."
"Really?"
"Remember, we're all disposable, and the Dorans will put down the uprising in a very bloody manner. That's one thing I did learn about them. They could already be bringing in more..."
* * *
The tension was rapidly falling. Rocha had seen the signs of an approaching transit vehicle, and immediately the place went tense, with the fear of another raid still in their minds. The defensive positions were taken and weapons trained, but the vehicle that appeared was the one that had left a short time earlier. However, instead of the seven people that had departed, just five returned. Missing were the Odonans. Rocha went out to meet Bayanhong and the others as they walked down from the crossover bridge, and asked, "What happened to Takoo and Ngoo? Did they prefer their own people?"
"They wanted to go among the people," Bayanhong remarked. "The doctor wanted to check up on them, and Zhi Len was interested in seeing what was going on. I saw no point in staying. The two of them know how to return here."
"Well, I'd imagine that the captain is glad you're back. It's my understanding that he wants you on the lander when he starts the search for Commander Matsubara and the others."
"I anticipated that. It's another reason why I came back as soon as I did."
From the vicinity of the entrance to the station, someone shouted, "Incoming!" Rocha turned and looked, and saw one of the tunnel hatches opening. It was the tunnel that fed directly onto the main platform, and which, from his understanding, came the vehicle that brought in the original Doran raids. So far, it appeared that when vehicles associated with this station came or left, they did so through the outside tunnel, while visiting vehicles came through the inside tunnel.
"What is it?" Bayanhong asked.
"Incoming vehicle," the security chief started. He, and the three other security officers surrounded the executive officer. She did not have one of the forcefield belts, because there were not enough to go around. "Lets get moving."
Even as they started to run, Hakamura said, "We're not going to make it."
"Get down!"
The vehicle entered. It was a long, multisectional, articulated vehicle, with darkened windows and a large number of doors. The vehicle was so long that it stretched from one end of the station to the other, and was close enough to the tunnel hatches that the far one opened and the near one did not close.
From closer to the entrance, Lieutenant Net Eko, the leader of the Odonan squadron, shouted out, "Sound battlestations!" From somewhere, an alert tone sounded. Eko sounded tense. He was the leader of something rare among Odonans, a combat unit-and this was their first taste of real combat.
Even before the vehicle was at a full stop, the doors opened, and Dorans poured out. They were men, mostly young, and looked rough and wild with unkempt hair and clothes that looked almost like patchwork. Some carried rope, and others had devices that Rocha could not immediately identify. Many others had weapons. The Dorans came out, apparently unaware of the defenses that they had not faced the first time.
Rocha slapped at his commbadge, and said sharply, "All units, full response! Nobody gets through that entrance!"
The Odonan and Federation forces, behind their barriers, their forcefield devices activated, their advanced phaser weaponry active, opened fire. A few of the Dorans had found them, and they started to fire. The bolts flew in both directions, but the Dorans were wild with their aim. The Odonans and the Federation officers were not. One Doran watched in full shock as his shot right to the head of Lieutenant Henrique Estelle was simply absorbed and did nothing, and then he fell as the return shot, the phaser on a strong stun setting, got him in the chest. So many Dorans were dropping and sprawling and losing their weapons and equipment that others were tripping over them. Several of the attackers fired what appeared to be smoke grenades, which caused sections of the station to fill with choking smoke that also cut down on the visibility.
Eko and the other Odonans, wearing their tactical visors simply switched on their sensor views. They could see through the smoke, and the forcefield devices kept out the noxious smoke. They still could pick off the Dorans. A few actually made it to the entrance, only to bounce off the forcefield. Behind that forcefield, they had to see that the reserve units, the remaining security officers and Odonan troopers, were taking up positions. If necessary, the forcefield could be shut off the reserve units could join the attack, but Rocha saw no need for that. Instead, he faced his current problem. Guerrero still had his belt, but Bayanhong did not. She crouched down against the wall, with the geologist and one of the security officers providing cover. Hakamura and Rocha were right in front, firing their phasers and dropping the Dorans who had come out of the transit vehicles close to them. Many of those Dorans, apparently, were lower-ranked warriors, while their better shooters remained inside the vehicles. They started to fire from the cover of the vehicle, where the stun settings on the phasers had little effect. The shooters were finding their marks, as Rocha felt his forcefield belt take several hits, and the wall and floor around them was being scoured by the weapons.
"I wonder if they have anything stronger inside," Hakamura remarked.
"I don't know, but they seemed to have stepped up the power of their weapons," replied the chief.
"Should we do likewise?"
"That might drive them back."
A popping sound got their attention, just in time to see a flash of light erupt from several of the vehicles down the line. "Odonan stun grenade," Hakamura said. Another of the Odonan officers momentarily exposed himself and threw a lefthanded fastball that seemed to go right into a vehicle segment just twenty metres down the line. With another flash of light, bodies were flying through the air. Several of the Dorans nearer to Rocha opened fire on the Odonan, knocking him down. Rocha and Hakamura, their weapons switched to a higher setting, returned fire. One man toppled backwards, screaming. Other bolts tore holes through the metal of the vehicle, and several blew out one of the large windows. From within, a Doran opened fire from that window, but Hakamura brought him down with a barrage of shots.
Suddenly, the Dorans began to retreat. Through his open commlink with the others, Rocha said, "Keep firing. Don't let them change their minds." The Dorans were attempting to drag their unconscious-and dead-back into the vehicle, but those doing the dragging were being dropped. The attackers from within opened up a barrage of fire on the defended positions, and Rocha and Hakamura both felt the momentum and heat of multiple hits. In the end, the Dorans had to abandon a lot of people, as the doors closed, and the vehicle started to move. Even as it did, the Dorans from within continued to fire through the holes punched through the windows or even the walls of the vehicle, so for a few seconds, multicoloured bolts flew at a furious rate in both directions. Only when the vehicle fully left the station did the firing stop. For a few seconds, the only sound was that of the alert siren still sounding. Smoke filled the chamber, and was only slowly being cleared. All around, Rocha could see the fallen Dorans, perhaps as many as fifty of them. Debris littered the floor, and what had once been shiny, marble-like floors were pocked with dark gouges. The wall was similar. The area around the entrance was extensively chopped up, but the forcefield generator had held.
Rocha and Hakamura got up. Both Guerrero and the other officers got off of Bayanhong, who looked none the worse for wear. Helping her up, the security chief asked, "Commander, are you alright?"
"Yes, it appears that your smothering defenses worked. Thank you for that."
Rocha did not respond to that. Through the commlink, he said, "All personnel on the floor, report in on status." For the next few seconds, he heard shouts, rank and last name, and followed by the condition. He got nothing more than 'winded.' "Lieutenant Eko, what's your status?"
"Everybody accounted for. Some of us got knocked around a little, but that's to be expected. Nothing that needs treatment, though."
"Good."
Bayanhong, listening in, remarked, "It sounds like this was a decisive victory for our side. They lost those-although most are simply stunned-and others who were on the vehicles, and nobody here got hurt."
"Those forcefield belts are something else," Hakamura remarked.
"It almost makes me wonder what would happen if both sides were equipped with them?"
"Maybe they'll get the idea that war is stupid and there's no need to pursue it."
"We can only wish."
Rocha, knowing he was the ranking officer on the floor, started giving new orders, "Okay, we've got prisoners. Separate the unconscious from the dead, and secure the prisoners. I think that we might want to question them."
Eko approached. He was wearing the full gear, with the phaser weapon that was secured to his left arm, the power backs and the wires strapped to his arms and legs and attached to the forcefield belt, along with the helmet that contained communications and sensors, and the visor that displayed information. The gear, when worn by a trained officer, was rather formidable. To work his weapon, Rocha knew, all he had to do was basically hold it up. He aimed it by looking at the target, and fired it with a thought. "It's just too bad that we didn't bring the Bluestar," he said.
"Why?" asked Bayanhong.
"It has a heliograph on board. We'd learn a lot, such as the location of the captured people, defenses, the layout of the structures there, perhaps even what we need to know about activating the outbound function. Simple interrogation would never work as well."
"But it's all we have now. I'm sure that some of them will talk."
* * *
Matsubara was left behind. The Adamsburg civilians, Warner, and a group of Sikarians, those physically able to do this and some of those who were not, moved out to attack the Dorans, to destroy their food and take over the place. Matsubara wanted no part of what she could only be described as a failure. She remained alone at the common-room table, looking over the empty plates and seemingly recalling the arguments among hungry people who did not get enough food.
"Commander," came the voice from behind. She turned, and saw Kayaha emerge from what might have been a hiding place. She was not totally surprised to see that the Odonan wanted no part in this either.
"Yes."
"I see that you couldn't talk them out of this."
"No," Matsubara admitted.
"Weren't the Starfleet officers supposed to listen to you?" Kayaha asked. "Isn't it supposed to be that Starfleet officers are disciplined and respect the chain of command, even in a situation such as this?"
"Yes, that's true. Maybe if I was an established command-line officer."
"You're not?" the Odonan asked.
"No. I'm the chief science officer on the Athena. Until recently, I was just a lieutenant. I got the promotion, in recognition for the work I had done and the experience. Anyway, with Ensign Warner, I can almost sense what his explanation would be. He'll say that he's doing it so that he can get thrown out of Starfleet for insubordination when he gets home. That's the positive. If he didn't do it, he'll die here. In a way, I can see his reasoning. I just don't want any part of this failure."
"You think it's going to fail?"
"Yes."
Elsewhere, Warner used his security training to approach two of the guards. The best Doran warriors were out on their raid, which had already started and could not be stopped now, but imagine the surprise, he thought, on those raiders when they return and find the place under the control of the one-time captives. Right now, Warner was using his training, the continuous practice and training that Rocha put all the security officers through. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat, in using blade weapons, and in handling directed-energy weapons. He had played through holodeck scenarios on liberating himself from a prison camp, how to disarm guards, how to study the opponent and take advantage of any weakness. Once they got the forcefield belts, Rocha and Hakamura had worked out training scenarios to teach the security officers how to exploit the abilities of the devices. Warner had always been a most eager student.
Warner was in the lead. He approached the lead guard completely silently. He virtually jumped over the last two metres and grabbed the guard around the neck. With the forcefield momentum turned up, he turned his arm and upper body into a vise that squeezed on the neck of the Doran. The target dropped noiselessly. In one smooth movement, he stripped the man of his weapon. The second Doran, standing just metres away, had no idea of what had happened. It took Warner seconds to figure out how to use the weapon. He fired into the back of the second guard, dropping him. The tall civilian who had accosted Matsubara, Doug McRae, picked up the weapon.
The two stepped outside their confinement area. The Doran patrols moved through the corridor, since the outside at night was too chilly for their liking. Light was at a minimum, but Warner could see well enough. Maybe the Dorans simply did not have good night vision.
"What's our objective?" McRae asked.
"Several. We need more weapons. Then we take out the food supply."
"You know where it is?"
"That and the fertilizer stores. The dim-witted Dorans had me dragging containers back and forth."
"I see," McRae said.
To reach the fertilizer storeroom, the two, with a few Sikarians behind them, had to go outside and re-enter the building further down. Warner took the lead, slowly approaching the exit door. He slid it open noiselessly, and peered inside, listening for any sign of the Dorans. He heard nothing. He gestured for McRae to follow, and they carefully moved to the cross-corridor. He heard something, but only caught a glimpse of movement. He carefully eased backwards, and gestured for McRae to move further back. The Dorans took a long time in coming, which unnerved Warner. They had to suspect something. He took the chance, and jumped into the intersection of corridors. The Dorans were right there, approaching with weapons raised. Warner fired first, blowing charred holes into the closer of the two guards. The other one fired, but the forcefield belt did its job. The impact pushed Warner backwards and knocked him into the wall, but he retained enough balance to return fire. The second Doran doubled over as the bolts tore through him. Warner had two more weapons, but one of them had been damaged in the exchange.
"Maybe you shouldn't aim for the weapons," McRae said.
"It couldn't be helped, but this will be useful." The two sprinted for the far door, which Warner opened. McRae, and a younger Sikarian male, who had the other weapon, peered outwards. Warner picked out the guards. He saw one hide behind one of the outbuildings. The Doran did not open fire, and was hoping that the slaves had not noticed him. Warner had. "Provide cover, there... and there." They did not argue, but did as instructed. Warner sprinted out into the open, which immediately drew fire from the two hidden Dorans. McRae and the Sikarian responded with their own fire. They heard a scream and saw one of the defenders drop. Warner made it to the storehouse for the nitrogen-based fertilizer that the Dorans got from the replicators inside the main structure. As he ran, he felt a few of the hot bolts hit him-all he really felt was the heat-and miss by little. For the first time, he wondered how long the power cells in these Odonan forcefield belts would hold out. Suddenly, the firing stopped. Warner looked, and saw the last shooter on the ground, with another of the Sikarians standing over him, holding up the large rock he had used in the attack.
The door to the fertilizer shed was secured with a chain, but the weapon made short work of that. The green bolts shattered the chain and a good fraction of the door. Warner kicked the rest in, and jumped into the room, looking all around. He could feel his heartbeat racing, his senses alert, the sweat on his forehead despite the near-zero temperatures. He looked around, and saw nothing but the bins of nitrous ammonia fertilizer-or at least it smelled like that. Stanislava, who apparently knew of such things from her childhood outside Gdansk, had identified it as such. The Dorans had to use a lot of the stuff to eke out anything from these poor, thin soils, and it was just sitting there in bins. Something had told Warner that keeping large quantities of fertilizer like that was not a good idea. He just needed something to ignite it. He had just the thing in the damaged Doran weapon. Aware again of weapons fire from the outside, Warner took a few seconds to figure out how to make the weapon overload. The usual way was to cause a power buildup while denying any normal way of releasing that energy. Warner made the adjustments, and hoped that it worked. He tossed the weapon, as it overloaded, into the largest bin. Then he ran.
Outside, he found that the Sikarian who had grabbed the weapon from the two he had shot earlier was now sprawled on the ground, his body riddled with burn holes from the weapons. More of the green bolts streaked across the open area, and Warner had the sudden realization that he could not tell who was friendly or not. He simply ran inside. Seconds later, the fertilizer in the bin ignited and exploded. The powerful blast, which in Earth's history had been used to rip apart office towers, shredded the room and sent debris and a shock wave racing through the added-on structure. Warner found himself thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion, as the walls shook and cracked and the ceiling caved in in places. Warner could smell the smoke and that distinctive odour of ammonia.
Somewhat further away, Matsubara and Kayaha, still in the common area, felt the explosion, and saw the flash through the window. "What's that?" asked the Odonan.
"They blew something up."
"Where'd they get explosives from?"
"I don't know."
After a pause, Kayaha asked, "You don't think this is actually working, do you?"
"If it can work, why hasn't some other race done it?"
"I don't know," the man said, with a shrug.
Moments later, several of the civilians, along with the remaining Sikarians, entered the room. With them was Stanislawa. It was she that was speaking, "Commander, we'd better get moving. That explosion set off some fires. The shell may be metal, but the interior is highly flammable, with dried wood-like materials, flammable wall coverings and the like, and no water to stop it."
"Where do we go?" Kayaha asked. "I don't think the original structures are vulnerable to fire, but we'd never get in there."
"The transit station. Maybe this is an escape attempt."
An older Sikarian woman said, "I hope so. This has gone on too long."
Facing the archaeologist, Matsubara asked, "Where have you been all of this time? I thought you were in on this foolhardy adventure."
"I have no military training, ma'am. I was with the Sikarians. They love to tell stories. I just wish I had something other than my mind to record them. It's such a part of their culture."
"Once we get back to our home location, I'm sure they'll share more of them." Matsubara could already smell the smoke that was spreading through this rather rundown collection of buildings. Everything was quite dry here, and apparently made of flammable materials. The fire was spreading fast. If nothing else, she had to get out. The group moved towards the exit, with Matsubara scanning as best she could, until she was able to step outside and onto the central walkway. On the ground were two Dorans, clearly dead from the number of burn wounds on their body. Careful to make sure that the forcefield device was turned on, Matsubara stepped outside. It was actually warm. Debris from the shattered fertilizer shed littered the walkway and covered the roofs. The flames had punched through the roofs in many places, with huge amounts of smoke pouring out. It was also clearly spreading, with several sections already collapsing.
Stanislawa, standing behind the science officer, said, "It would be too easy to simply head to the transit station."
She scanned in that direction, and said, "Nobody on the outside."
"Is it even possible?" Stanislawa asked.
"Lets go, cautiously."
The group, two humans, one Odonan and a number of older, somewhat infirm Sikarians, older beyond their years from working as slaves, moved down the corridor. They travelled only a dozen metres, with Matsubara scanning in both directions, before several more explosions erupted between them and the equivalent of the residential structure. A number of the Sikarians, along with Warner and other humans, burst out. They were armed. Green bolts streaked across in two directions. Matsubara watched as the Dorans retreated, and then Warner, coolly, calmly and competently, picked them off. What he was doing was causing the Dorans to run. They were still shot at and dropped. Matsubara almost hated to watch this, hated to think that Teklensho might have been one of them. He was, afterall, a married man and a father. His son should not be fatherless.
The weapons dropped by the Dorans were scooped up. Matsubara wanted to run up to Warner, and somehow confront him, and restore her authority over him, but he likely would not listen. The others were looking towards him for leadership. Women from Adamsburg and even Sikarian women had weapons now, and Warner was leading them to their objective. They were approaching the entrance to the residential structure and ultimately the transit station, and Matsubara found herself trailing them, to follow him in and to the station. It would do nothing to get them home, since the outbound function still would not work, but it would free them, and that would be a good thing, she thought.
Then disaster struck.
Warner and the main group was within twenty metres of entrance of the structure that led to the transit station, the same structure that Matsubara had travelled through unopposed until she emerged from it. She had the feeling that if the group got into the station, they would be similarly unopposed until they reached the platform. The she remembered that the majority of the Dorans had gone on another raid.
The doors opened, and a number of Dorans came out. They came out in an organized, co-ordinated fashion, and they emerged firing their weapons. It was as if they were aware of what was going on outside. A lot of the humans and the Sikarians were caught out in the open, and were cut down. Warner quickly found cover, and started to return fire, while the others also fired, but much more chaotically. Energy bolts streaked back and forth, casting the surroundings in a green glow. Matsubara and the others hung back, unsure of what to do or what even the outcome would be. Slowly, the rebels were being cut down. These Dorans were much more skilled warriors than the guards whose weapons had been stripped from them, and compared to them, Warners' ragtag group was as inept compared to them as the guards were to the rebels. Soon enough, the Dorans knew who their greatest threat was, and Warner, despite the cover and the forcefield belt, was overwhelmed. His weapon was silenced. Matsubara was hoping that his weapon had simply run out of power, but she feared the worst.
"Now what?" Kayaha asked. In front of them was the advancing Doran warriors, and the resistance from the rebels was drying up. A number of bodies littered the ground, some of them human and Sikarian, and others Doran. A hazy smoke filled the area, and it was not all from the fires behind them. Matsubara had to admit that battle up close was very unpleasant. "Can we retreat?"
Behind them, the buildings were fully involved in the fire. The collapsing structures spread debris into the walkway, and the flames still spread internally. The smoke still billowed out and the flames were hot enough that this night was not at all cool. "We can't retreat," Matsubara remarked.
"Do you think they'll wipe all of us out?"
"I would not put it past them."
The three began to do the only thing they could do. They retreated. The Dorans did not fire on them, nor did they aggressively pursue them. Instead, they neutralized the last of the resistance and then started to move cautiously, checking for hiding places and possible ambushes. Matsubara could think of nothing else to do but to move past the burning structures-where she was thankful of the abilities of the forcefield belt to keep the hottest gases away and towards the command centre. They were within fourty metres of it when they heard the voices, "You will proceed no further!" They stopped, and looked as several armed Dorans came out of the shadows. Were they like the guards, or like the warriors? The only reason that Matsubara could think of for defiance was that the Dorans were going to simply kill them.
Stanislawa said, softly, "You know what I noticed. If those Doran warriors were raiding our location on this planet, they didn't come back with anybody. Only Dorans came out of that building."
"How could the raid fail?"
The Dorans closed in, and the two humans and one Odonan had no chance to contemplate the answer to the question. The Dorans held their weapons at close range, and one said, "You will follow us!"
