Chapter Eleven

THEROMULANSWAITED TENSELY, uneasily holding their weapons as they took shelter beside the buildings and behind the

low walls of the illuminated sculpture gardens in the street. Valak had dispatched them in groups, so they were all

in visual contact with one another and capable of laying down fields of fire covering all approaches to their

position. Picard waited beside him, along with several other warriors, as they watched the lights spreading out

toward them.

 

What had initially appeared to be several trails of lights moving away from the illuminated area on the opposite side

of the ark had now branched out into dozens of light trails coming toward them from all directions. It was like

watching dozens of huge torchlight processions from a distance. A distance that was steadily closing.

 

“There must be literallyhundreds of them coming toward us,” said Picard.

 

“They will find us waiting for them,” Valak replied grimly, although he sounded tense.

 

“Don’t be a fool,” Picard said. “You are hopelessly outnumbered.”

 

“A Romulan warrior does not fear great odds,” said Valak. “Are you afraid, Picard?”

 

“I have been afraid for my crew and for my ship ever since this whole thing started,” said Picard. “Your arrogance

and your inflexibility and your damned Romulan aggression will get all of us killed.”

 

“I am not afraid to die.”

 

“Nor am I, if it is for a good cause,” Picard said. “But what cause is being served here? The occupants of this

vessel are merely defending themselves against an invader, and that invader is you, Valak. I cannot say I do not

sympathize with them.”

 

Valak watched the lights drawing ever closer, moving in from all directions. Although he tried, he could not quite

hide his anxiety. He’s young, Picard thought, and undeniably a brilliant officer, but he has never truly been put to

the test before. The might of the Romulan war machine and his skillful use of it had made his early victories easy.

But now, perhaps for the first time in his life, Valak was truly under pressure, caught in a crisis that seemed

completely beyond his ability to control.

 

Over half of the Romulans who had beamed down to the ark had disappeared, and those who remained had lost confidence

in Valak. They kept glancing toward him nervously, looking for leadership, but Valak did not know what to do. Faced

with what clearly appeared to be overwhelming odds, he had dug in like a cornered animal and prepared to make a

stand. He either could not or would not consider any other options.

 

“Whatever we accomplish or fail to accomplish here no longer makes any difference,” Valak said in a fatalistic tone.

“When none of the away teams return to theSyrinx , Lord Kazanak will realize my mission here has failed and he will

obliterate the ark. So either way, we shall probably all die here.”

 

“Then why not attempt to negotiate?” Picard said. “What have you got to lose?”

 

Valak stared at him curiously. “You know, Picard, I have always sought to understand humans, in particular, the top

field commanders of Starfleet, because I believed the best among the humans had the most to teach. I see now I was

wrong. There is nothing I can learn from you, and I do not think I shall ever truly understand you. I expected you to

resist me to your dying breath, to fight me with every last measure of energy you possessed. I expected you to be a

difficult and challenging opponent. On all those counts, you have been a disappointment. I did not think your spirit

could be broken so easily.”

 

“You are correct in at least one thing,” Picard replied. “For all your scholarship, you have failed to understand us.

When pressed to the last extremity, humans will fight, and you will find them formidable opponents. But we have

learned that violence and aggression are the least desirable options, and we employ them only when no other choice is

left. When you seized my ship, you closed off as many options for resistance as possible, but you never pushed us to

the point where we had no choice except to fight or die.”

 

“I was merely determined to take you alive, if possible,” said Valak.

 

“And as long as there is a possibility, however slight, that we can resolve our differences through negotiation

without destroying one another, I am determined to pursue it,” said Picard.

 

“Negotiation is the way of cowards,” Valak said contemptuously.

 

“No,” said Picard. “It is the way of an enlightened species, Valak. For all your advancement, you Romulans still seek

to subjugate and conquer rather than to cooperate and coexist in peace with others. The Federation does not want war

with the Romulan Empire; we have not yet exhausted all the options for peace. And you Romulans hesitate to begin an

all-out war with the Federation because for all your contempt of us and our so-called weakness, you are wary of our

strength. We may never leave this place alive, but as long as weare alive, there is a chance that we can resolve this

situation without violence. Even if it is only a slight chance, it is worth taking. Violence is easy, Valak. You say

you seek the stimulation of a challenge. Then choose the more challenging alternative.”

 

“Unfortunately I do not believe there are any alternatives in this situation,” Valak said.

 

“Then let me try to find one,” said Picard. “Let me go out there and see if I can communicate with them.”

 

“Let you try to run away, you mean?” said Valak, misinterpreting the request. “No, Picard, you are my prisoner, and

my prisoner you shall remain. If I accomplish nothing else, I shall at least have the satisfaction of having beaten

you.”

 

One of Valak’s men shouted and fired his disruptor. Immediately the others started firing as well. There was movement

out there, but they could not really see what they were shooting at. The Romulans were all keyed up and they poured

their fire out into the darkness. It was impossible to tell if they were hitting anything, but Picard heard shouts,

in Romulan, and realized they were coming from the figures out there in the darkness. And then it hit him.In the

darkness .

 

“Cease firing! Cease firing!” Valak shouted. “You fools, you are shooting at our own people!”

 

The firing died down as Valak’s confused warriors stared out into the slowly dissipating darkness. Picard glanced up

and saw that the ark was entering its day cycle.

 

“Commander Valak?” a voice shouted at them.

 

“Talar?”As Valak lowered his weapon, Picard suddenly lunged toward him. He seized Valak’s disruptor just below its

emitting cone and quickly wrenched it out of his grasp. He had moved so quickly that before the startled Romulan even

had a chance to react, Picard was behind him, twisting his arm up behind his back.

 

Valak cried out with surprise and pain, and the other warriors turned toward him, their eyes widening with shock when

they saw Picard with their commander at his mercy.

 

“Tell them to drop their weapons,” said Picard, twisting his arm up behind him and reaching around his neck with his

other hand to press the emitting cone of the disruptor up beneath Valak’s chin.

 

“Never!” Valak said.”Shoot!” he called out to his warriors.

 

“If you shoot, then your commander will die with me!” Picard called out.

 

They hesitated.

 

“Shoot!”Valak shouted at them, as Picard started to back away with him. “Shoot, I command it! Shoot us both!”

 

Valak struggled against Picard’s grasp, but Picard twisted his arm up even higher, causing what had to be

excruciating pain.

 

“Hold your fire!” Talar called out.

 

Valak continued to struggle, forcing Picard to apply more pressure. There was a loud crack and the Romulan gasped

with pain as his arm snapped. He ceased to struggle momentarily, allowing Picard to quickly shift his grip,

encircling Valak’s throat with his arm while keeping the other warriors covered with the disruptor.

 

“I have no time to deal with your heroics,” Picard said as he applied pressure with his forearm against Valak’s

throat, choking him. “Stay where you are!” he shouted as the warriors started to move toward him.

 

Picard continued to back away slowly as Valak’s struggles diminished. Then the Romulan’s body sagged as he lost

consciousness. Picard waited a moment, continuing to apply pressure to make sure Valak wasn’t faking. Then he quickly

bent down and swung the Romulan up onto his shoulder firemanstyle. He continued to back away slowly, covering the

others with Valak’s weapon.

 

The Romulans slowly moved forward and spread out, knowing he couldn’t cover all of them. Then, one by one, they

collapsed to their knees, dropping their weapons and grabbing their heads before they fell to the ground and remained

motionless. Only Talar remained standing, gazing at Picard steadily as all of the missing Romulans came up behind

him.

 

Picard felt Valak’s deadweight across his shoulders and realized that he could not run while carrying the heavy

Romulan. He would never be able to outdistance them. He felt absolutely helpless. There was nothing he could do.

 

And suddenly he realized that he was living out his dream.

 

The heavy weight on his shoulders, being separated from his crew and powerless to help them, fighting the instinctive

urge to run … this was the dream. He felt his stomach muscles knotting up and decided that whatever happened

next, he would face ithis way, the way in which he had been trained, the way he had always believed in. He put the

disruptor down, then eased Valak off his shoulders and stood up straight.

 

“I come in peace,” he said, holding his arms out from his sides to show that his hands were empty.

 

And as he watched, Talar and the others began to change.

 

“I am sick and tired of your ceaseless whining and complaining!” Worf shouted, angrily.

 

“And I’m sick and tired ofyou!” Arthur shouted back. “Ever since they brought us here, you’ve done nothing but give

orders! You’re not the captain! Who the hell do you think you are, anyway?”

 

“I am the senior officer!” Worf shouted. “It is my duty to take charge in the absence of Captain Picard and Commander

Riker!”

 

“Well, I don’t remember anyone putting you in charge!” Arthur replied angrily.

 

“You are being insubordinate, crewman!”

 

“And your stupid plan to escape is going to get us all killed!”

 

“Be silent, fool!”

 

By now they had the attention of the guards, who had started moving in toward them, their weapons held before them.

At the back of the crowd that had gathered around Worf and Arthur, Tyler waited, watching the Romulan guards

intently. The people around him moved in toward the argument, extending themselves diagonally in a way that

effectively screened Tyler from the guards’ view. He started inching toward the back of the shuttle bay.

 

“I willnot be silent!” Arthur shouted. “I have no wish to die simply because you want to be a damned hero! If you

want a pointless warrior’s death in battle merely to satisfy your stupid Klingon pride, then that’s your business,

but there are children here, and I will not allow you to endanger their lives!”

 

“Youwill not allow it?”

 

“That’s right! I’ve had it up to here with your damned Klingon arrogance!”

 

“Shut your mouth, crewman, or I will shut it for you!”

 

“Take your best shot, you Klingon freak! I’ve had about all I’m going to take from you!”

 

Worf snarled and swung at Arthur, connecting with his jaw. Arthur went down, but he was up in an instant, charging

the Klingon in a headlong rush. He ran at him full tilt and hit him in a football tackle, carrying him backwards to

the deck. The others surged around them, shouting and calling out encouragement.

 

“Get him, Worf!”

 

“Take him, Arthur! Hit him!”

 

“Kill the bastard!”

 

“Give it to him!”

 

The guards ran toward the prisoners, clubbing them with their weapons and trying to push their way through the crowd

to reach the two antagonists. Tyler sprinted to the bulkhead and ran toward the shuttles at full speed, not even

daring to glance back and see if any of the guards had spotted him. He expected them to fire some warning shots or,

worse yet, fire into the crowda risk they all knowingly facedbut instead, the overconfident guards actually waded

into the crowd of prisonersan unexpected bonus that changed everything. The maintenance panel for the outer bay

doors would have to wait for now. Two of the guards had remained behind, by the entrance to the shuttle bay, but

their attention, at least for the moment, was on the conflict. If even one of them happened to glance in his

direction, Tyler knew he’d be spotted in an instant and it would all be over. Right now, speed was everything.

 

He had taken off his boots and socks, and he ran barefoot so as not to make any noise, although his footsteps would

have been drowned out by all the shouting anyway. He sprinted like a track star, pumping with his elbows, and managed

to reach the shuttles parked at the far end of the bay without being seen. He plunged through the open hatchway of

the nearest shuttlecraft and jumped into the pilot’s seat. Whatever you do, he thought, don’t give me a hard time

starting,please . He hit the button for the engines and as they whined to life, he risked a glance out the front

viewport.

 

The two Romulan guards who had remained near the doors looked toward him with astonishment and he saw them shout out

to the others, but a full-scale melee had broken out at the far end of the shuttle bay. The other guards suddenly

found themselves being attacked by the prisoners and borne down by the sheer weight of their numbers.

 

“Come on! Come on!” said Tyler, gritting his teeth.

 

The shuttlecraft rose off the deck as the two guards raised their weapons, and Tyler slammed the stick forward. The

Romulans fired. One of them rushed his shot and it missed, but the second guard’s shot struck the shuttlecraft. Tyler

felt it rock as it moved forward, picking up speed as it accelerated toward the two guards. They started backpedaling

toward the doors, but before they could fire again, Tyler banked the shuttlecraft sharply, trapping them between its

hull and the wall of the shuttle bay. He felt the impact as he struck the wall, crushing the two guards against the

bulkhead. Then he shoved the stick forward once again and the shuttle flew ahead, just above the floor, until he

brought it even with the entrance to the shuttle bay and landed it, wedging it firmly against the doors.

 

He then jumped out and raced over to where the two guards had fallen, knocked out by the impact of the shuttle. He

grabbed their disruptors and ran back toward the others. With the crowd surging all around them, the Romulans had no

opportunity to fire their weapons. All they could do was lash out, using them as clubs. A number of the hostages had

fallen, bleeding from their wounds, but a number of the guards had fallen as well.

 

Three guards managed to break free of the crowd and raised their weapons to fire. Tyler fired the two disruptors, one

in either hand, and dropped the Romulans.

 

Worf had already killed three guards with his bare hands, and as he tore another one off Arthur, he felt a jarring

impact on his neck and shoulder and sank to his knees. As the Romulan behind him raised his disruptor to finish him

off, a fierce, high-pitched scream cut through the other noise as Alexander landed on the Romulan’s back. The guard

struggled to throw him off. Worf got to his feet and smashed a hard right into the guard’s chest, crushing his rib

cage. The Romulan went down. Worf looked at his son and nodded proudly, then swept up the guard’s weapon and waded

back into the fray.

 

It was over quickly, and all of the guards were dead. They had grown overconfident from watching over prisoners who

had been docile up to this point. They had never expected all of them, even the women and children, to turn on them.

As Picard had told Valak, when pushed to the last extremity, humans would fight, and when they did, they were

formidable foes.

 

Worf quickly took charge, ordering some of the crewmen to see to the wounded while Tyler and Arthur disabled the

bridge controls for the outer bay doors. Then Worf started herding all the others toward the shuttles and assigning

some of the men to help carry the wounded. Tyler had said the guards by the door did not have time to raise an alarm,

but he knew that the Romulans could discover their escape attempt at any moment. They would discover it for certain

the moment the computer registered the malfunction as the bridge controls for the outer bay doors were disabled.

 

“Quickly, quickly!” he urged the others. “Get aboard the shuttles! There is no time to waste!”

 

“Sir,” one of the medical corpsmen said, “we’ve got at least three dead and six critically injured.”

 

“We must take them all with us,” Worf said. “Hurry! Get them aboard the shuttles.”

 

“There’s too many of us, sir,” said one of the other crewmen. “With that other shuttle blocking the entrance doors,

we’ve only got three shuttles left. They’ll be dangerously overcrowded.”

 

“We have no other choice,” said Worf. “We cannot leave the wounded and the dead behind. Their sacrifice was not made

in vain. Theywill get off this ship!”

 

“Understood, sir.”

 

As the hostages boarded the shuttles, Tyler and Arthur worked feverishly at the maintenance panel. “Come on, Tyler,

for God’s sake!” said Arthur. “Can’t you hurry it up? If they open the outer doors before we’re ready, we’ve all had

it.”

 

“I’m doing the best I can,” said Tyler. “This isn’t theEnterprise , you know. I’ve got to figure out how these damn

circuits are wired and I can’t exactly run a diagnostic. Now shut the hell up and let me think!”

 

Worf came up to check on their progress. “The shuttlecraft are almost filled,” he said. “We do not have much time.

Perhaps you should simply concentrate on opening the outer doors.”

 

“No,” said Tyler, “the bridge controls have to be disabled before we can open up the outer doors ourselves, otherwise

they’re liable to override us from the bridge before the shuttles can get out.”

 

Worf nodded. “Very well. Do the best you can.”

 

“There! I think that does it,” Tyler said. “I hope.”

 

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Arthur said tensely.

 

“Okay, is everyone aboard?” asked Tyler.

 

“Go on, sir,” Arthur said to Worf.

 

“Good luck,” said Worf, running back toward the shuttle.

 

“You go with him,” Tyler said to Arthur.

 

“But what if”

 

“Go!Just get that shuttle over here fast, so that when I open up the outer doors, I can get inside in one hell of a

hurry.”

 

“All right,” said Arthur. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

 

“So do I. Nowget!”

 

Tyler waited until everyone was aboard and the shuttlecraft had started their engines. Two of the shuttles had their

hatches closed, ready to move out. The other one still had its hatch open, with Worf standing in the opening,

watching. As all three shuttlecraft lifted off, it was obvious that they were overloaded. They rocked slightly as

they rose unsteadily several feet above the deck. The shuttle with the open hatch moved closer to Tyler.”Now, Tyler!”

shouted Worf.

 

“Well … here goes nothing,” Tyler said, as he made the connection. There was the heavy sound of machinery

engaging, and the outer bay doors began to open.

 

At almost the same time, two things happened. The alarm siren went off throughout the ship as the bridge controls

registered the malfunction, and the air in the shuttle bay started to rush out into the vacuum of space. Tyler leapt

for the shuttle as soon as he heard the machinery gears engage, but the suction of the air rushing out the shuttle

bay caught him almost at once. For an instant he actually hovered in midair, the forward momentum of his leap halted

by the suction, and Worf reached out and grabbed his wrist just before he was sucked out. Holding on to the shuttle

for all he was worth with one hand, while clutching Tyler with the other, Worf strained against the pull as the air

inside the shuttle bay whooshed out into space.

 

“You’ve got to close the hatch!” Tyler shouted.”Let me go!”

 

Worf grimaced as he struggled to pull Tyler in.”We all … go … together!” he shouted over the noise of the air

rushing out. Then Arthur was behind Worf, being held by a chain of his fellow crew members as he leaned out and

grabbed Tyler’s arm just above where Worf was holding on to his wrist. Together they managed to haul him in.

 

“The hatch!” Worf said. “Quickly!”

 

It was already closing, and the other shuttles began moving out through the doors, as soon as the gap grew wide

enough. Moments later all three shuttlecraft had left the ship and were moving toward theEnterprise . Tyler and Worf

both lay breathless on the floor of the shuttle, surrounded by their crewmates as the lifesupport system in the

small vessel pumped in air to breathe. Tyler looked up at Worf and sighed with relief. “Thanks,” he said. “I owe you

one.”

 

“You may buy me a drink when we get back aboard theEnterprise ,” said Worf.

 

Tyler smiled. “Deal,” he said.

 

Riker and Geordi had to break into the arms lockers in the ordnance section of theIndependence , but their efforts

yielded them an unexpected bonus. They found two unopened crates of early Type I phasers and a crate of carefully

packed and sealed sarium krellide power cells. It was all Geordi La Forge could do not to whoop with joy when he

opened up that crate and found all the seals still intact. Properly sealed and stored, sarium krellide power cells

held their charge indefinitely, and even after thirty years, the intact seals meant that the cells had not decayed.

 

We’re in business, Riker thought, as he gave La Forge a thumbs-up. Now we’ve got at least a lighting chance. As the

others broke open the seals and started to load the cells into the phasers, Riker said a silent prayer of thanks to

the supply officer of theIndependence . And he resolved never again to give his own supply officer a hard time about

redundant requisitions. This one had probably saved their lives.

 

Riker helped them unpack the phasers, break the seals on the power cells, which came a half dozen to the pack, load

them into the phasers, and then place the charged phasers back in the crates. They each took one phaser for

themselves and placed them safely in the outer pockets of their suits. Then, carrying the crates of phasers, they

started to make their way back to theEnterprise .

 

Riker knew they were still a long way from being home free. They still had to get back aboard theEnterprise without

being discovered, distribute the weapons to their fellow crew members, then seize control of their ship before Korak

could alert theSyrinx and thus endanger the hostages. And as if that wasn’t enough to worry about, Riker still didn’t

know what had happened to the captain, Deanna, Ro, Beverly, and Data. He had no idea whether they were alive or dead.

 

As they left theIndependence and began the space walk back to theEnterprise with their precious cargo of weapons,

Riker wondered if the others felt as tense as he did. Just let us get back aboard the ship, he thought. How much time

had elapsed since they had left? It seemed like hours. Could it possibly have been that long? What if their absence

had been discovered? What would the Romulans do? They’d probably search the ship first, he thought. They’d realize

how they got out and they’d go through the Jefferies tubes, looking for them. That would buy some time … unless

Korak figured out that they’d left the ship.

 

As they drifted back across the space separating the two ships, Riker tried to assess the odds. So far, luck had been

with them, but the hardest part still lay ahead of them. He was worried about the captain and the missing away team,

but he was also concerned about the hostages. If Valak was in charge, he would keep them alive to use as his hole

card, but with Korak commanding in Valak’s absence, there was no telling what might happen. Korak had it in for

Riker. He might even execute the hostages just to hit Riker where it would hurt the most. In fact, thought Riker,

that was exactly what Korak would do. The question was, how could he prevent it?

 

The captain always spoke about options. Well, in this case, there just didn’t seem to be any. Riker tried to steel

himself for the possibility of the hostages being killed. My friends, he thought, and all those children. His stomach

was tied up in knots. But they were committed to their plan to seize the starship. No matter what happened, they had

to carry it through.

 

As they approached theEnterprise , Riker felt the tension mounting. Only another hundred yards to go. They came in

low, under the belly of the ship, to minimize the chances of being spotted. Riker could now see the huge bulk of

theSyrinx just beyond theEnterprise , andhe caught his breathshuttles! Three of them coming over from theSyrinx! La

Forge saw them at the same time, looked toward him, and pointed.

 

We’ve had it, Riker thought, with a sinking feeling. Somehow they must have been spotted from theSyrinx, but he

didn’t see how they could possibly have seen them from that angle … and then he realized that the shuttles were

from their own ship. And even as they approached, he could see theSyrinx slowly turning toward them to bring its

weapons to bear.

 

The hostages! It couldn’t possibly be anybody else! Somehow they had managed to escape. But the shuttles had to be

badly overloaded. They’d be crammed in there like sardines. Riker realized that his team would reach theEnterprise

before the shuttles did. They had to get the outer bay doors open for them. Had the shuttles seen them? It was

pointless to maintain radio silence now. As he reached the emergency hatch together with La Forge, he turned and

beckoned the others over to the side of the ship.

 

“Riker to shuttlecraft, Riker to shuttlecraft!” he said, over his suit communicator. “Come in!”

 

“We have seen you, Commander,” Worf’s voice replied, and Riker’s heart gave a leap.

 

“Come around to Shuttle Bay Two,” said Riker. “We’ll open the doors for you. Move it! TheSyrinx is coming around.”

 

“Acknowledged,” said Worf.

 

“Geordi, the rest of you, move back away from the hatch. I’m going to open the inner emergency hatch.”

 

“But with the outer hatch still open, that will depressurize the bay!” said La Forge.

 

“Exactly,” Riker said.

 

“Right!”said La Forge, comprehending instantly.

 

During normal shuttle bay operations, the annular forcefield maintained atmospheric integrity in the bay, allowing

shuttlecraft to pass in and out of the open outer doors without depressurizing the bay. As they moved through the

forcefield, as if through a membrane, some of the air inside would escape, but not enough to make any significant

difference. However, there was no forcefield in the emergency hatchway, for which reason there was an outer and an

inner door, with a decompression chamber between them. If Riker opened up the inner door without first closing the

outer hatch, the air inside the shuttle bay would come rushing out into the vacuum. That meant the Romulans would be

unable to enter the shuttle bay until it had been repressurized. And that would give the shuttles time to enter

safely.

 

Riker grabbed the wheel and unlocked the inner door. Then, hooking his arm through the wheel, he yanked back on the

lever that controlled the latch. The hatch slammed open and Riker barely got his feet up in time to keep from getting

smashed against the wall as the atmosphere inside came rushing out with explosive force. He held on with all his

might to keep from getting sucked out. The others were all safely out of the way. Moments later the pressure let up

and Riker and the others were able to enter the shuttle bay, though they had to keep their suits on.

 

TheSyrinx wouldn’t dare fire now, with the shuttles so close to the ship, thought Riker. They wouldn’t sacrifice

their own people aboard theEnterprise . Or would they? No, thought Riker, as he rushed to the controls for the outer

doors of the shuttle bay, they’ll assume that we’ll be recaptured the moment we get back on board. But we may have a

few surprises for them.

 

While the others were entering through the emergency hatchway and closing it up behind them, he threw the switch to

open the outer bay doors. The machinery engaged, and the outer doors began to open. Then they stopped, and slowly

started to close again. Riker swore.

 

“The bridge controls! Geordi”

 

“I’m way ahead of you, Commander,” La Forge replied, as he threw open the maintenance panel. The doors continued to

close as the bridge overrode Riker’s controls, but as La Forge disabled the system, they stopped. Through the gap,

Riker could see the shuttles approaching.

 

“Riker to Worf: we’ve disabled the bridge controls, and we’ll be opening the outer bay doors from in here. But the

shuttle bay is depressurized. Repeat: the shuttle bay is depressurized. Remain inside the shuttlecraft until I give

the signal.”

 

“Understood, Commander,” Worf replied.

 

It didn’t matter if the Romulans heard them now. In fact, it would keep them out of the shuttle bay. They would not

be able to enter without suits until it was repressurized, and by then, with any luck, thought Riker, we’ll be ready

for them.

 

The outer bay doors started to open once again and Worf brought the first shuttlecraft in before they were open all

the way. Riker stood at the flight deck officer’s station, controlling the short-range tractor beams designed to help

bring the shuttles in and out smoothly. With the shuttlecraft as overloaded as they were, Worf and the other pilot

were going to need all the help they could get.

 

Worf’s shuttle touched down inside the bay, and then the other two came in close behind it. Riker locked on to them

and helped the pilots bring them in. The others, meanwhile, were busy unpacking the phasers and preparing to hand

them out the moment it was safe for the passengers to leave the shuttles. As the third shuttlecraft touched down, the

outer bay doors began to close and Riker watched the indicators on the console, waiting tensely for atmospheric

integrity to be fully restored inside the shuttle bay. The seconds seemed like minutes as he waited, and the minutes

seemed like hours. And then Korak’s voice came booming over the loudspeaker.

 

“An admirable attempt, Riker,” he said, “but you have only succeeded in trapping yourself anew. None of you will

leave the shuttle bay alive.”