Realizing that they could be destroyed, Pendragon was running out of options. Perhaps talking to them would delay the inevitable, but it was all he had at the moment.
“On screen.”
Zoe was once more before him.
“Well, Captain Pendragon, it seems that I've done considerable damage to your ancient little vessel. Shields down to nine percent, minimal power to the warp core. We are in a sorry state, aren't we? And there's only one thing you can do to stop me from finishing you off!”
“And that is?”
“The man standing behind you, Captain. The man nearly four hundred years out of his time, Doctor Sam Beckett!”
Pendragon turned and looked at Beckett. He had expected him to look surprised by this demand, but Beckett was not.
“No deal,” said Pendragon.
“Then no life for you,” said Zoe.
The channel was cut. The screen went blank.
“Drathro, set coordinates,” Pendragon ordered. “I don't care where. Just get us out of here at maximum warp!”
Drathro laid in the coordinates, but just as he was about to activate the warp drive, a call came through from Scotty.
“Don't activate the warp drive, Captain! The strain will be too much! All the systems will blow!”
“I need warp power now, Scotty!”
“The dilithium crystals need re-energizing! That'll take time!”
“Time is something we don't have, Scotty!”
As Pendragon spoke, he failed to notice Magus leave the Bridge. Moments later he was in Engineering. Upon arrival, he found Scotty and Gomez frantically trying to get some power to the warp core.
“I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of my way, Doctor,” said Scotty.
Magus paid him no heed as he approached the warp core. Extending his hands in front of him, he used his powers to phase his hands through the core shielding. Seconds later, he was touching the warp core itself.
Gomez was surprised when she saw that the power levels within the core were actually rising. Only Scotty could tell what was happening. Magus was using his own mystical energy to re-energize the dilithium crystals, therefore giving power to the warp core itself.
Moments later, Magus disconnected himself from the core. To Scotty, he looked slightly fatigued.
“That should give us enough power to get us out of here,” Magus said. “Call the Bridge. Tell them.”
“Engineering to Bridge. You have your warp power.”
“Congratulations, Mister Scott,” said Pendragon.
“We're near the de-militarized zone now, Captain,” said Winthorn. “We could try and lose them in the Badlands.”
“Good idea,” said Pendragon. “Drathro, set a course for the Badlands, ahead warp five. Let's see something of that size try to follow us into a plasma storm!”
Slowly, the Scotsman moved its way around several plasma storms that made up the Badlands. As Winthorn used all of his piloting skills to stop them from being blown to smithereens, Pendragon began to think if the Imperials didn't get them, then the Cardassians probably would once they emerged into their territory.
Greenleaf kept a close eye on the sensors, looking for any sign of the Chimaera. He was about to get a big surprise.
“You're not going to believe this, Captain. They're following us in!”
“On screen.”
A reverse view soon showed Pendragon something he was not expecting. The huge, massive, mile-long Imperial Star Destroyer was actually following them into the Badlands and doing quite well against the plasma storms.
“They must have strong shields,” said Winthorn.
“Or be insane,” added Pendragon. “Keep on this course. You never know, maybe the Cardassians will help us when we get on the other side!”
Suddenly the ship rocked. A massive plasma storm erupted out of nowhere, obliterating what shields they had left. They were now in deep trouble, and it was about to get worse. Phaser blasts from the Chimaera ripped past them. Photon torpedoes followed, and they were lucky that the conditions in the Badlands made targeting them almost impossible. It wasn't the same for the phasers, however. All the Imperials needed was a split second and a good gunner to get a good lock, which they soon got. The alarms around the Scotsman sounded out loudly.
“We've got a hull breach!” Greenleaf shouted above the din. “On decks eight through eleven. Casualty reports coming in! Nine dead!”
“Are the emergency bulkheads in place?” asked Pendragon.
“Yes, but only just,” Greenleaf replied, looking down at his panel.
Then, something else unexpected happened.
“Captain, they're hailing us again!”
“On screen.”
Once again, Zoe Evella looked down on Pendragon.
“This is your last chance, Captain Pendragon. Your ship is almost crippled, your power is dangerously low. Give me Beckett and we'll let you go.”
Beckett strode down to Pendragon's side.
“Captain, cut the transmission. We have to talk. I have an idea.”
Pendragon nodded to Greenleaf. The transmission was cut.
“Go ahead,” said Pendragon.
“Give me one of your shuttles,” said Beckett. “I'll draw them away from you, so you can escape.”
“Out of the question, Doctor.”
“It's me they want, Captain, not you. I won't let you risk your lives just for the sake of an old man like me!”
“I would advise against this,” said Magus. “It would be giving the Imperials exactly what they want.”
“Doctor, I spent five years of my life helping complete strangers,” said Beckett. “Now let me help you. I don't know why she wants me, but I have to go, I have to do this!”
Pendragon looked at Magus. He knew what the wizard was thinking.
“Very well,” said Pendragon. “I'll take you to the shuttle bay.”
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