
them, cutting the distance with every second. Chakotay knew he would soon be in their sights, but his
options were limited this close to the planet. He had a course to keep ... and a rendezvous.
The two shipsa sardine chased by a barracudasped around the gently curved horizon and headed toward
the blazing red sun in the distance. On the bridge, Chakotay pounded a button to dampen the light from
the viewscreen, the glare was so bright. But if he couldn't see, they couldn't either. He felt the thrill of the
hunt as he prepared to use one of the oldest tactics of his ancestors.
A direct hit jarred them, releasing an acrid plume of smoke from somewhere on the bridge. The ship
began to vibrate as they started into the atmosphere.
"Shields weakening," reported Tuvok.
"Just a little longer," muttered Chakotay. He made another sharp turn, but quickly veered back toward
the sun. The Cardassians increased their fire, as if worried that she would escape into the planet's
atmosphere. Since the Spar-tacus wasn't returing fire, they had to to assume she was trying to land on the
planet.
"They're powering up a tractor beam," said Torres urgently. "Their shields are ... down!"
"Now!" barked the captain. Tuvok's hand moved from the weapons console to the comm board, while
Chakotay steered his craft vertically into the horizon, trying to present a small target. The Cardassians
had swallowed the bait, and now the trap snapped shut.
A Bajoran assault vessel streaked out of warp in the middle of the sun's glare. Chakotay knew the Singha
was there, but he could barely see her on the viewscreen. The Cardassian vessel didn't see her at all, so
intent were they upon capturing their prey.
With her shields down, the freighter's bridge took a direct hit from a brace of torpedoes, and lightning
crackled along the length of her golden hull. The freighter went dark, but she lit up again as the Singha
veered around and raked her hull with phasers, tearing jagged gashes in the gleaming metal. The
Cardassians got off a few desperate shots, but the Singha raced past them, unharmed.
"Aft torpedoes," ordered Chakotay. "Fire!"
With deadly precison, the Vulcan launched a brace of torpedoes that hit the freighter amidships and
nearly broke her in two. Chakotay cringed at the explosions that ripped along her gleaming hull, and he
made a silent prayer on behalf of the fallen enemy. They were more arrogant than smart, but they had
died bravely. Fortunately, that trick always worked on the arrogant. At a cockeyed angle, spewing
smoke and flame, the massive freighter dropped into a decaying orbit.
Chakotay piloted the Spartacus into a safe orbit that trailed behind the dying ship. "Hail them."
Tuvok shook his head. "Their communications are out, and life support is failing. They have about six
minutes left before they burn up in the atmosphere."
The cheerful voice of Captain Rowan broke in on the comm channel. "That was good hunting, Chakotay,
and a good plan. What's next?"
"Enter standard orbit and see if you can raise anyone on the planet. We're going to take a prisoner, if we