Chapter Twenty-one

(Wow, I can't believe it! I usually can't finish anything, not to mention getting to more than twenty chapters! I have so enjoyed writing this.)

Catronis 6 was surrounded by animals. Wild animals.

"The Vanfor was right," Marina said quietly. She and the others were keeping low, hidden behind a large rock formation that oddly resembled a human hand. "There are Fadroths on Catronis. And they've got the base surrounded."

"I also see some canine mammals," Dax added. "Perhaps natives of the planet."

"I'm sure the Fadroths stirred them up," Marina said, her voice low with a hint of anger. "They are known to cause trouble. Of course Gentanar would bring some here."

"Those big lizard things… Those are Fadroths?" Miles asked.

"Yes." Marina nodded. "They are violent, aggressive creatures. And under the sway of someone like Gentanar, I am sure they are even more so."

"So what do we do?" Harris asked.

"I say we attack," Whorf spoke up. "There is no other way. The base is surrounded. We cannot go around those animals. If we want to see our allies, we will have to break through."

Dax nodded. "I agree with you. That seems to be our only choice."

Julian frowned. "But… How are we--the six of us--supposed to fight twenty or so angry, large wild animals? The odds seemed rather stacked against us."

Miles shrugged. "Sounds like fun."

Whorf nodded, smiling. "It is a good day to die."

"And we've got our secret weapon," Dax said. She clapped a hand on Marina's shoulder. "We've got Lieutenant Marina Richardson, psychogenotron extraordinaire."

Julian's frown deepened as he looked at Marina. Her eyes were large and bright in her slender face, giving her a waif-like look. They looked so haunted, so weary. It almost made him want to take her in his arms and sing comforting lullabies to her so she would feel better. "I'm concerned about Marina," he said aloud. "We've asked so much of her already. I think she's tiring. Using her mind as a weapon seems to put a strain on her. Remember how she fainted after knocking out those Dominion troops?"

"Yes, but that Vanfor creature had a much stronger mind," Miles said. "And she had no trouble taking him out."

"The Chief's got a point, Julian." Dax patted the doctor's shoulder as well. "Maybe Marina is improving with practice."

Julian clamped his lips together tightly.

"Julian, it's okay." Marina's fingers lightly brushed his arm. "I'll be all right. So far, using my mind like this doesn't seem to hurt me. It only makes me a little tired, that's all."

Julian touched her face gently, his long, slender fingers tracing its soft curves. "Marina, I don't want to risk anything happening to you. If anything did--"

Marina caught his hand in hers and squeezed it gently, smiling at the overwhelming concern she saw in his large, beautiful eyes. "That' s a risk I'm willing to take," she said quietly, her smile sad and tired, but full of love and loyalty. "I would die for you. You know that."

"Yes, but I don't want you to." Julian slipped an arm around her and impulsively pulled her close, holding her tightly to him, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain it caused his body.

"I won't die, I'm sure," Marina said, letting him hold her. "And what other choice do we have?"

"She's right, Julian," Dax said softly, touched by the scene. "We have no other choice."

"All right then!" he exclaimed. He closed his eyes, leaning his cheek on top of Marina's head. "I give in. But I don't want to…"

"I know," Marina whispered into his shoulder.

(LINE)

"They're closer now," Kira informed the others. They were hiding behind a wall, waiting for the creatures outside to break through. It seemed inevitable.

"Why can you sense Marina so well, Nerys?" Odo asked curiously.

"We're good friends." Kira peered around the wall. So far, the outer defenses were holding. But it couldn't last long… "I like her. Maybe that's why I can sense her so well."

"Well wherever she is, I wish she would hurry," Quark complained. "I'm not cut out for this sort of thing."

Garak smiled crookedly. "I agree. I just can't seem to picture you… What is it that humans say? Defending the castle! That's it. I just can't see Quark defending the castle."

"Haha. Very funny. And this coming from the most noble of persons," Quark retorted.

"This would all be much easier if the two of you would shut up," Odo said.

"I agree with the constable," Sisko spoke up. "Let us concentrate on defending our lives and the lives of these colonists. This is no time for arguing."

"Well put, Captain," Garak agreed quickly.

(LINE)

"Phasers work on Fadroth's, right?" Miles asked, gripping his weapon.

"Yes," Dax said. "And hopefully, they work on those Catronis wolves. If not…" She turned to Marina with a smile. "We've got our wildcard."

"Our hero," Julian said quietly. He smiled wryly at his girlfriend. "I still wish you didn't have to do this."

"I know. So do I. But I have to. So I'm going to." Marina reached to touch his hair. "You feeling all right?" She reached out to touch his feelings with her mind.

"I'm fine," Julian said quickly.

"I think you're healing quite well." Marina patted his shoulder gently. "But you're still weak. So… be careful, love."

"I will."

"We need to hurry," Whorf spoke up. "Lieutenant, now is the time."

Marina nodded quickly at the Klingon, then turned back to Julian. She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, smiling.

"I'm glad you said that," she replied, standing.

"So am I."

Marina glanced back at him one last time, then stepped out of hiding and walked toward the ring of wild creatures surrounding the base of Catronis 6. She stopped when she was halfway between the animals and her hidden allies. Closing her eyes, she touched the minds of the creatures, examining them carefully. There were twenty in all, as Julian had guessed. The Fadroths were confident of victory, the wolves full of rage. There was something wrong with the Fadroths' minds. Marina probed deeper. Aha! They were under Gentanar's mind control! If only she could break his hold over them… Then maybe she could control them and use them to scare away the wolf-things… But that would take so long…

Too late. One of the Catronis wolves had caught her scent. It howled a warning call to the others, and suddenly, the entire pack was looking at Marina. She could feel it.

Marina opened her eyes. The wolves were coming towards her. And now, the Fadroths had caught sight of her. Marina took a nervous step backwards as the animals advanced slowly. There would be no time to try to remove whatever hold Gentanar had over them. There would only be time to fight.

Well, Marina thought, At least we've distracted them from hounding the base.

"Marina?" Dax called from behind the rock.

"All right. Come on out. We're going to have to fight," Marina replied.

(LINE)

"What's going on?" Sisko exclaimed. "The animals are leaving!"

"Do you think they've given up?" Quark cried happily.

"No," said Kira, peering through the darkness. She could make out a humanoid-shaped shadow in the distance. "I think they've just been distracted. And once they deal with that distraction, they'll probably come back." Adjusting the setting on her phaser, Kira stepped out from behind the wall and began walking toward the door.

"Nerys! What are you doing?" Odo called.

"If my instincts are right, that's Marina out there. She's giving us a distraction," Kira called back. "Captain, I say we rally the forces and take advantage of this." She glanced back with a smile. "Our enemies' backs are to us."

(LINE)

Marina felt much braver as she sensed her comrades gathering behind her. A long, slender hand settled on her shoulder, and she grasped it tightly. "Here goes nothing," she whispered to Julian.

He was oddly quiet, and she sensed that he was very nervous, especially for her.

The wild creatures were very close now. The wolf-like Catronis beasts snarled, and the giant reptilian Fadroths hissed.

"I hate having to fight them like this," Julian said suddenly. "They are buy pawns of that Gentanar fellow, that bloody--"

"Heads up!" Marina cried as one of the Fadroths leaped toward them.

There was a sudden flash of light. The animal jerked in the air and landed hard on its side, lying motionless on the ground.

"Nerys!" Marina cried happily. "It looks like we have back up!"

And sure enough, Kira, Sisko, Odo, and a large company of Catronis 6 guards were flanking the hostile animals.

"Let's not let our guard down," Whorf cautioned, moving forward and firing his phaser.

The two groups of allies soon closed in, pinning the enemy between them.

"Marina, can you convince them to surrender?" Julian asked, firing at and hitting a Catronis wolf that had bitten at him.

"I don't think so. Even without Gentanar's control, I believe they would still be hostile." She aimed a shot at a Fadroth and brought it down.

It wasn't long at all before all of the creatures had fallen. And there were few injuries to the ones who had taken them down.

"Marina! I'm so glad you're all right!" Kira ran to the girl and gave her a quick hug, then greeted Dax in a similar manner. "I'm so glad all of you made it here."

Sisko came up behind her, frowning. "But where is Fang? And what happened to you, Dr. Bashir?"

"We lost Fang and his men in the tunnels," Dax explained. "And Harris, while under Gentanar's control, fought with Julian. I think the doctor's going to be all right, though."

Marina looped her arm through Julian's. "He is," she agreed.

"Only because of Marina," Julian said, smiling crookedly. "She has been a real hero. She saved our lives a number of times. Her mind powers are beyond anything we could have imagined."

Odo nodded to Marina admiringly.

Marina smiled at him.

"Captain, we were attacked by this creature back there--a Vanfor," Dax added. "Marina was able to put it to sleep with her mind. It's like nothing we've ever encountered. If we could take it captive--"

Sisko held up his hand. "All in good time, Jadzia. But for now--we have to find out what happened to Fang and his men." He eyed his crew with an eyebrow raised. "After all of you get a good night's sleep. I have Quark preparing a place for us, assisted by Garak."

Miles snorted. "I don't know if I would feel safe camping with those two."

"Don't worry," Odo said. "I'll have my eyes on them…"

"What do we do about the enemy, Captain?" Whorf asked.

Sisko turned to Marina. "Do you think you can put them all in a trance, Marina? That is, until we can find some way to break Gentanar's control over them."

Marina frowned. "The Fadroths will be hostile no matter what we do. But these other creatures--I may be able to get through to them." She shrugged. "For now, though, I'll freeze them all unconscious."

"All right. You do that, lieutenant."

(LINE)

"That should do it." Marina sighed wearily, stepping back from the still body of one of the Fadroths. "That's the last one."

It was very late, and only Julian and Kira remained awake with her. Julian had spent much of his time tending to the few who had been wounded in the battle. And both Julian and Kira had volunteered to guard Marina while she froze the Fadroths and Catronis wolves (called Canings by the colonists) in sleep. The others had gone to the little campsite Quark and Garak had prepared.

"You look so tired." Julian touched her arm. "I think you need to sleep."

"I agree." Marina could barely hold her eyes opened.

"So do you, doctor," Kira said. "You look pretty tired yourself."

"I am," said Julian. He smiled suddenly. "So… shall we call it a night?"

Marina nodded. "We shall."

The three of them walked together towards the base, picking their way around their fallen enemies.

The campsite was set up just inside Catronis 6's walls. It was small and simple, consisting of a pallet for each Deep Space Nine resident, all set in a circle around a small heater. The camp would not impose on the colonists, and it was a convenient location in case of an emergency.

The three friends soon came within the walls. Everyone was asleep except for Odo, who was taking his shift as lookout. Odo greeted them briefly, then continued scanning the dark horizon.

Kira quickly collapsed onto an empty pallet. "Good-night everyone," she muttered, closing her eyes.

The remaining two pallets were beside each other, and Julian and Marina settled onto them. With a furtive glance at Odo, who seemed to not be paying attention, Julian leaned over and kissed Marina quickly. "Good-night, darling," he whispered.

Marina smiled at him. "Good-night." She took his hand and squeezed it, then laid down, still holding his hand. It gave her such peace, such security, to know that he was near--especially after such a day!

Julian sat there watching her, holding her hand, until she fell asleep, which wasn't long. Then, he laid down, weary and sore. Sleep did not take long in conquering him, either.

(Yeah, all that was too easy, wasn't it? Marina and Julian and the other Deep Space Niners have no clue what's going to happen next. This time, the battle will not be so easily won. Sorry if it's taking me so long to update. And thank-you for reading and reviewing! I am loving writing this story, and I hope that you are loving reading it!)