“Gul Mogad! We need—”

Donovan tensed at the words that erupted from Mogad’s communicator, turning as he did so to make eye contact with Ross. The commander exchanged a quick glance with him that spoke volumes: Don’t move.

Static had replaced the voice coming from Cardassian’s communicator and Mogad tapped the device furiously. “Traket, are you there? Traket?” Pivoting on his heel he whirled to face Aldo. “What have you done? What are you hiding here?” Forgetting the now useless communicator, he instead pointed to one of his subordinates. “Cover the entrance.” To the others he said, “If any of them moves, kill them all.”

Donovan could see nervousness working against Aldo, his body struggling to remain still as Mogad’s anger mounted. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. It was not a lie, at least not completely. Aldo could not know what was happening belowdecks. Donovan was not even sure himself. The only thing that made sense was that the Cardassians searching the cargo holds had discovered the hidden Starfleet equipment and that Lieutenant Ghrovlatrei had taken some kind of action. Had she also managed to find a way to jam the Cardassian’s communications?

Mogad’s frustration was evident as he failed to make contact with his two soldiers down in the cargo holds.

“Why, after all these years, you have seen fit to violate my trust?” he asked as he stepped closer to Aldo. “Do you realize that espionage against the Cardassian Union is an offense punishable by death? Is that what you wish for your crew?”

Mogad was towering over him now, standing so close to him that Donovan imagined Aldo feeling the Cardassian’s breath on his face, nearly as hot as the palpable anger radiating from the gul’s muscled body.

Shaking his head, Aldo replied, “No, of course not.”

“Then your only hope for their safety is to be honest with me, here and now.” Mogad somehow managed to step even closer to the freighter captain, his voice now low and menacing. “I am being generous with you, Aldo, because of the measure of trust you’ve earned from me, but I will make this offer only once.”

Donovan saw the no-win situation for what it was. No matter how Aldo answered, he was probably forfeiting his own life. Perhaps Mogad would show leniency toward the rest of the crew, but what about him and Ross and Ghrovlatrei? If their true identities were exposed, the Cardassian would waste no time taking them into custody. Would he even bother to have them transported to an appropriate military installation for trial, or would he simply carry out summary judgment and execute the three officers right here in this very room?

No way.

He kept the movement subtle, his hand sliding with excruciating slowness to the small pocket on his right thigh and the palm-sized phaser there. His fingertips brushed the smooth finish of the weapon as he grasped the diminutive, contoured device. By touch, he verified that the phaser was set to stun. He would only have one chance at this. Was Ross thinking along the same lines? Donovan had to believe that the seasoned Starfleet officer had already considered and discarded a dozen courses of action.

“Mogad,” Aldo said, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With what Donovan interpreted as a sigh of resignation, Mogad regarded the freighter captain, pursing his lips as if in thought. After several seconds, he finally nodded, appearing to have reached a decision.

His eyes never left Aldo’s as he said, “Kill them.”

The other Cardassians stepped forward at Mogad’s command, their phase-disruptor rifles taking aim on the assembled group of cargo haulers. Donovan watched as one of the weapons swung in his direction, its muzzle tracking toward his chest. There was no way he would ever be able to bring his phaser up before the Cardassian fired.

You’re going to die.

The whine of a phaser echoed in the shuttlebay, interrupting the soldier’s movements as a bright orange beam of energy lanced out to strike the Cardassian in the chest. Another volley shot across the room, narrowly missing Mogad as he dove for cover.

Donovan detected movement to his right and turned to see another of the Cardassians aiming a weapon in his direction. He aimed his phaser and fired as he dropped to a knee. The howl of a disruptor bolt screamed past his ear as his own phaser beam missed the shooter, striking the bulkhead just over the Cardassian’s left shoulder.

Then the entire room erupted into chaos.

Bodies scattered in all directions as the Hope’s crew scrambled for storage bins, cargo containers, or equipment lockers, anything that might provide protection. Two of the freight haulers teamed up to subdue another Cardassian, their combined weight and strength toppling the soldier to the deck. Donovan recognized one of the attackers as the ship’s pilot, Dillone, who retrieved the fallen alien’s weapon before scampering for cover.

All this happened as the remaining Cardassians opened fire on anything that moved. Donovan could only stand helpless as one of the Hope’s crew members, he did not know the man’s name, fell victim to a barrage of disruptor energy. The weapon tore through his body, leaving a gaping smoking wound as the man collapsed in a lifeless heap.

As he sought concealment of his own among the stacks of cargo modules, Donovan envisioned the interior of the shuttlebay in his mind. Most of the Hope’s crew had found refuge among the cargo containers arrayed around the room’s perimeter, while a few had been forced to resort to whatever protection they could find closer to the center of the room. The Cardassians who were still mobile had sought similar refuge.

Donovan examined his surroundings. There appeared to be no way to escape from the shuttlebay without drawing enemy fire. A quick survey of the room showed him no alternative means of exit. The situation had devolved into a standoff, with the shooting now all but stopped. Holding his breath, Donovan listened for voices or signs of movement from any of the Cardassians while scanning the gaps between cargo containers for threats.

Nothing.

The whine of Ross’s phaser nearly scared him out of his skin as the bright amber beam passed directly in front of him from left to right. He pivoted away from the shot and saw the intended target, a Cardassian who had been sneaking up on him. The blast struck the soldier and sent him collapsing to the deck.

Donovan scrambled around the other side of his own module even as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jerked at the touch and looked up to see Ross. The commander’s eyes were not looking down at him but rather tracking along with the phaser in his hand. He fired again as he helped the ensign to his feet.

“Move!” Ross hissed, pulling Donovan back the way he had come. The two men darted between cargo containers until they met up with Aldo Corsi and two of the freighter’s crew huddled together behind one of the larger storage modules.

“Where’s everybody else?” he asked Aldo.

Anger clouded the freighter captain’s face as he shook his head. “Scattered. Colv and Walters went down when the shooting started.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Ross. “This is your fault. You promised that nothing like this would happen.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Ross countered, though he never made eye contact with Aldo as he continued to search for threats. “If Mogad gets to his ships, we’re all dead.” Turning to Aldo, he said, “But we need to get your people to better cover. They’re sitting ducks out here.”

He pointed to the Cardassian near the doorway, and Donovan saw that the soldier was partially concealed behind a single storage locker staged near the hatch, his muscular frame much larger than the bin itself. It was enough, however, to prevent anyone from getting a shot without being exposed to return fire.

“Donovan and I will secure the door,” Ross said to Aldo, “and on my signal you run and you don’t stop running until you get behind those modules next to the hatch. Once we regroup, we’ll figure out what to do next.”

It was a risky plan, but Donovan understood it for what it was, an off-the-cuff attempt to capitalize on the meager advantage Ross had fashioned from the situation. Regardless of the risk, it was still better than staying where they were and waiting for Mogad’s men to beat them with their superior firepower.

“Go!” Ross hissed as he pushed away from the cargo module, firing his phaser without truly aiming the weapon as he moved. Donovan mimicked the commander’s actions, firing at movement beside one of the storage lockers positioned along one nearby bulkhead. Cloaked in shadow there, the Cardassian fired in retaliation but it was a shot that went wide as Donovan fired again, sending the soldier into retreat.

As he and Ross crossed the open area toward the door, firing as they went, the hatch itself opened without warning to reveal Hu’Ghrovlatrei. The Cardassian near the door swung in the direction of the new threat but he was too slow to stop Ghrovlatrei, who leveled a Cardassian disruptor at him and fired. Energy washed over the soldier’s body and he crashed unconscious to the deck.

“Good timing,” Donovan said as Ghrovlatrei joined him behind a larger cargo container.

The Efrosian nodded. “I though you might need some help.” She shifted to her left to make room for Ross as the commander situated himself behind the storage module. On his signal, the three Starfleet officers aimed their phasers back into the shuttlebay, their lines of sight crossing over one another to create overlapping fields of fire.

“Let’s go, Aldo!” Ross called out, and Donovan saw the freighter captain and members of his crew begin to head in their direction.

From his vantage point, Donovan saw Giancarlo Corsi hunkered down behind a lone storage module near where he had been standing when the fighting broke out. He was watching his friends heading for cover, and Donovan could see from the look in Giancarlo’s eyes that he was sizing up the situation and the energy bolts flying around the room, watching for his own opportunity to dash to safety.

“Come on, Gi!” Aldo yelled as he ran toward the door.

Giancarlo shook his head. “Get everybody else!” he yelled back, keeping himself protected behind the cargo container.

Using the disruptor he had recovered to protect his friend’s retreat, Dillone remained in the hiding place he had found for himself and laid down a ferocious blanket of covering fire. Ross and Donovan added their own weapons to the mix, and the chamber echoed with the fierce storm of the continuous energy discharges as, one by one, those members of the Hope’s crew who had not fallen during the firefight worked their way toward the rest of the group.

The Cardassians in the room were answering the heavy weapons fire with their own. Energy bolts slammed into the bulkhead near the door, and Ross and Donovan both ducked down to present as small a target as possible.

Aldo was the last of the crew to get across the danger area, turning back to his brother once he had reached the protection of the cargo modules. “Gi!”

Seeing that his friends were safe, Giancarlo turned to run toward them. Weapons fire exploded from two different points in the room, and Ross and Donovan renewed their efforts to provide cover as he dashed across the dangerous open area separating him from the rest of the group. One disruptor bolt hit the deck near Giancarlo’s left foot and he dodged to the right to avoid it. The move sent him off balance and he stumbled into another cargo module.

He hesitated only an instant before starting to run again, but even that was too long. The first disruptor blast caught Giancarlo in the side, driving him into another of the storage containers. His forward movement now completely arrested, he was an easy target as a second shot hit him in the back.

“No!” Aldo shouted above the din, but it was too late.

The others could only stand and watch as multiple weapon strikes trapped Giancarlo Corsi in a vicious crossfire, and Donovan felt his jaw go slack in horror as the man fell lifeless to the floor of the shuttlebay.