"Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few." Winston Churchill
2373
Ventak III
Bobbi March crept slowly up the hill. The colony planet had been invaded by the Dominion. Once, it had been a Cardassian world, until the treaty that created the DMZ put it on the wrong side of the border. It seemed the Cardassians wanted it back.
As Bobbi crawled across the rough ground to the crest of the hill, she cursed whichever genius decided to allow refugees to settle on Ventak III after they lost their worlds to the Cardassians. Starfleet had dispatched a small force to the planet to evacuate the locals. Transporter jammers in the area around the city prevented the Dominion landing troops. A defence shield similarly prevented an aerial bombardment. The colony had been built in a shallow basin valley surrounded by hills. Only this one pass allowed anyone in or out.
Bobbi had been on the U.S.S. LalKan en route to another mission when the priority order had come in to divert to this colony. Since she was the only Special Ops officer on board, she’d insisted on beaming down with the security team. Contact with the starship had been lost. The worst seemed inevitable. The colonists had three ships that they could use to evacuate. Fortunately that was enough, but the ships would need something to divert the attention of the Dominion troops. Bobbi and the guards would be that distraction.
She lay on the crest of the hill, half hidden by the undergrowth. Sighting through the optical scope she’d added to her type-3 phaser rifle, she peered down at the advancing Dominion forces. Most were using Cardassian hover trucks. A few Jem’hadar scouts were in the lead aboard hover-cycles. Looked like Battalion strength at the least, she mused to herself. Fun.
Bobbi activated the communications headset she’d adopted to leave her hands free. The device only needed her to poke her tongue out to be activated.
“March to Petrelli. Enemy spotted. Estimate battalion strength. ETA my position, twenty minutes at current rate of advance.”
“Acknowledged,” replied the LalKan’s security chief. “We’re in position.”
Several minutes crept by. Finally, over the communications channel, Petrelli ordered, “All units, open fire!”
Phaser beams lashed out from the sides of the hills. Bobbi held her fire as she watched the result of the first salvo.
Four of the Jem’hadar scouts were killed as the golden energy beams struck the first two hover trucks.
Cardassian soldiers began to dismount from the crippled vehicles and attempted to return fire. Several were cut down by the Starfleet crew before they could raise their rifles.
Another barrage lashed out at the Dominion soldiers. The last Jem’hadar scout fell. More Cardassians were struck. A Jem’hadar attack vehicle began to move up the column, energy bolts flashed out into the trees lining the hills. Several exploded into splinters, but the security force continued to fire.
A compact photon torpedo streaked from the hill across the pass from Bobbi’s position. It missed the attack vehicle but slammed into a hover truck and detonated.
A fireball rolled across the Cardassian troops who had dismounted. The truck next to the one hit by the torpedo was thrown off the road by the explosion and its own fuel cells erupted. Fire and smoke from the explosions added to the chaos as Bobbi watched.
She spotted a Vorta female issuing instructions to a Jem’hadar First. Bobbi lined up her shot and took out the Jem’hadar. As the Vorta looked about in panic, trying to work out what had happened, Bobbi lined up on the purple-eyed alien and fired. The Vorta collapsed next to her underling.
Another torpedo streaked out from the foliage and struck a second Cardassian vehicle. The Jem’hadar attack vehicle was now steadily pouring polaron bolts into the hillside. Bobbi thanked whichever beneficent deity was listening that Petrelli had accepted her advice on tactics. Still, she knew it was only a matter of time before some Dominion trooper got lucky and took out Mendez and the torpedo launcher.
Bobbi shifted her rifle slightly, looking further back down the column. She suddenly spotted a pair of Vorta, a Cardassian Gul and a Jem’hadar First conferring near one of the rear-most trucks.
“Rear Echelon Motherf…” the whine of the first phaser shot cut off the rest of Bobbi’s comment. The Cardassian fell. All credit to the Jem’hadar, he immediately drew his pistol, turned toward the shot and barked at the Vorta.
Bobbi didn’t give them a chance. Both fell to the floor as fast as she could target the second Vorta. The First fired back blindly. Bobbi hit him with a headshot. Not bad at a range of over three hundred metres.
By now, the Dominion troops were pouring from the trucks, trying to advance up the hills, but more and more of them were getting cut down by Petrelli and his security team.
Bobbi spotted three Cardassians setting up their own missile launcher of some sort. She swiftly shot them down before they could finish. She then shot another four Cardassians running toward the weapon. Seconds later, a torpedo streaked across from the hillside and hit the launcher blowing it apart.
Bobbi crawled her way forward from the crest of the hill and slithered down the other side. Some polaron bolts had flown in her direction, although most were still aimed at the more constant fire coming from the lower slopes where Petrelli’s team was. Sliding down the hill on the muddy grass, Bobbi passed Mohinder, the friendly Indian that had tried to befriend her, and Bennet. Both watched her as she slipped toward a fallen tree. They fired their phasers as Bobbi arrested her slide and began to line up on the advancing troops again.
A polaron bolt flashed over Bobbi’s head and she heard a brief scream from Bennet. She looked toward Mohinder who was staring at the young ensign’s body.
“Mohinder!” she hissed. “Snap out of it!”
The Indian glared at her, but began firing back toward the Dominion troops.
Bobbi turned her own attention to the Dominion troops. Mendez managed to hit the Jem’hadar vehicle with a torpedo, but she could see a second coming along the road.
As Bobbi wondered whether her phaser would be able to do any damage to the vehicle, Mendez fired another torpedo and blew it to scrap. Mohinder had managed to recover enough of his senses to start shooting back at the Dominion troops.
Bobbi’s headset chirped for her attention. “Petrelli to March. Sitrep.”
“Still shooting. Bennet is down. Mohinder’s alive. Dunno about Sanders or Hiro. Can’t see them from here.”
“They’re alive. I already checked in with them. We’ve lost Claude,” an explosion cut off the next part of his sentence. “But Parkman, Mendez and I are still alive.”
“Copy we lost Claude. Didn’t copy any else except Parkman, Mendez and you alive.”
Suddenly a screech cut across the com frequencies. “Shit, they’re jamming us,” Bobbi told Mohinder. “We’ve lost communications. Stay close to me.”
Mohinder nodded. Bobbi began sliding on her butt down the hill towards where Sanders and Hiro were supposed to be. Mohinder followed.
Moments later, Bobbi found herself next to the young Japanese security guard and the older woman he’d been partnered with.
“How you guys doing?” Bobbi asked as weapons fire shrieked around them.
“Pretty well,” Sanders replied. She fired her phaser and cut down a Cardassian soldier. “Where’s Ensign Bennet?”
“Dead,” Mohinder replied. Sanders looked at him.
“You left her body behind?” Sanders asked, sounding accusatory.
“We can retrieve it later, if we make it out of this.” Bobbi glowered at Sanders, “If we don’t make it, it won’t make any difference.”
In front of them, a bush exploded and a group of Cardassians charged through the smoke. All four Starfleet officers opened fire. Bobbi hit five Cardassians in quick succession.
“We’re about to be over-run here,” Bobbi said. “Let’s fall back and try to regroup with Commander Petrelli.”
It was Sanders’ turn to glower now, but the junior lieutenant scrambled after Bobbi as the sniper led the four of them towards the pass through the hills, slightly away from the Dominion’s forces.
As they ran, they almost collided with a squad of Jem’hadar. Bobbi realised the genetically engineered soldiers were probably trying to out-flank her group as she opened fire and killed three of them. Hiro and Sanders hit two more, but Mohinder was caught off-balance and hit by two polaron beams before Hiro shot the two soldiers who’d killed Mohinder.
Sanders cursed as the three of them ran toward the pass, no longer trying to be subtle.
They crashed through the treeline and onto the road. A Jem’hadar squad had set up on the road. Bobbi wasted no time firing her phaser rifle from the hip. She cut down five of the soldiers before anyone else reacted. Hiro snapped up his rifle and fired at two Jem’hadar, killing both. Sanders shot another even as Bobbi shot a sixth. One of the Jem’hadar finally fired a return shot and hit Sanders as she tried to draw a bead on him. Hiro and Bobbi shot the soldier. They hurried to Sanders’ side, she’d been hit in the heart. She was clearly dead. Two more Jem’hadar burst from the trees on the opposite side of the road. Bobbi quickly fired back, killing both.
Without saying anything, they charged across the road, diving into the opposite treeline and headed for Petrelli’s position.
The pair nearly collided with Petrelli and Parkman as they ran from their own positions.
“We lost Sanders and Mohinder,” Bobbi reported.
“Mendez is coming, but he’s injured,” Petrelli replied. “I’ve lost contact with the team inside the colony city.”
“That’s the least of our worries right now,” Bobbi replied. “If we’re over-run, which we probably will be, we’re going to have to either try stealing a shuttle or head into the boonies and wait the war out, living off the land.”
Mendez arrived at last, the swarthy Spaniard was still carrying the portable torpedo launcher as well as his phaser rifle.
“I suggest we fall back to Delta position and try to ambush them there,” Bobbi offered.
“Right. Not much of a plan, with only five of us, but yeah.” Petrelli looked like he was going to need a long vacation. Bobbi looked at Hiro, Parkman and Mendez. Mendez looked the worst, since he had a large bloodstain decorating his left shoulder. Hiro and Parkman looked okay, aside from needing a good rest.
“Let’s move, then,” Bobbi said.
The five of them were soon running around the curve of the hill toward the position they’d designated Delta. It offered a clear line-of-sight into the pass and good cover.
As they neared the position, Dominion weapons fire began flashing past them once more. Trees exploded and leaves fell as the energy bolts missed them.
Bobbi threw herself to the ground, lined up her rifle and began firing back into the trees as the others struggled on. Three Jem’hadar fell to her return fire. Then a Cardassian. She scrambled back to her feet and ran on. As she closed on Petrelli and the others, the Dominion troops opened fire again, but now the four men were firing back.
The Dominion troops, she realised, were closing in in numbers. Mendez fired another pair of torpedoes before laying the launcher aside and taking up his rifle. Phaser beams lanced out at the combined Cardassian and Jem’hadar forces. Bobbi began shooting back herself as she reached cover.
She quickly picked off three Cardassians, then a pair of Jem’hadar, then another Cardassian.
A torpedo flashed out from the Cardassian troops. Bobbi dived for cover, but was thrown through the air as the torpedo detonated. As she tried to get up, she realised her leg was a blaze of pain. Fearing she’d lost her leg, she forced herself to look down, only to see it still attached, but badly lacerated. Hiro hurried to her side.
“Shit, that shekking hurts,” she said through gritted teeth. She suddenly noticed an equally gruesome gash in her arm.
Hiro quickly tied tourniquets to her arm and leg. “Mendez was killed by that explosion,” he said rather matter-of-factly.
“Shit, we’re gonna die out here,” Bobbi moaned. She managed to drag herself to her feet as Hiro stood. More Dominion troops were advancing up the hill. Bobbi snapped off a couple of shots as she stood unsteadily upright. By virtue of a densely packed mass of troops, she hit and killed a pair of Cardassians before nearly collapsing.
Suddenly, the roar of impulse engines blocked out every other noise. Phasers whined. Torpedoes exploded and the Dominion troops began a chaotic retreat. Bobbi looked up to see a pair of Eagle class fighters speeding overhead, phasers firing.
Suddenly, she felt the grip of a transporter beam. The anarchy of the battle disappeared and a Starfleet transporter room replaced it.
“Transporter room to Sickbay, we have injured personnel,” the operator was saying into the intercom.
“Acknowledged.”
“Where the hell are we, what happened?” Bobbi demanded.
“This is the U.S.S. Heinrich Kurtz. We got here as fast as we could,” the transporter operator replied as she moved to help Bobbi. “I’m sorry, but the LalKan was destroyed before our group arrived.”
“What about the civilians, the freighters?” Petrelli asked.
“They’ve lifted. Whilst the fighters reconnoitred for you, our group of ships engaged the Dominion vessels and covered their take off.”
As the five survivors tried to take this in, medical personnel arrived along with the Captain.
The Captain shook hands with each of them. “I’m sorry about the loss of your comrades, but you nine have saved the lives of several thousand people. Your stand against the Dominion delayed their advance long enough for us to get here and help get the freighters off.”
Bobbi sagged gratefully onto the anti-grav stretcher the medics had brought. “I need a vacation…” she muttered as she lay down.
Moments later, the four Starfleet ships and the four freighters leapt away from the planet at warp speed.
Bobbi March Will Return…
