By Nathan Warner
Two Defiant class starships thunder over war-torn Betazed, mopping up Dominion forces
Two Defiant class starships thunder over the Federation front lines, entrenched in the ruins of the Betazed capitol. The two unmatched predators raise the spirits of the wet and weary soldiers below, as they roar into the clouds hunting down Jem'Hadar attack ships taking refuge in the powerful thunderstorms breaking out across the planet.
Earlier that week, a Federation battlegroup had crushed the Dominion fleet in three separate engagements across the system.
Facing the prospect of a Federation invasion, the Vorta leaders on Betazed set about to make Starfleet's advance as difficult as possible. One of their most devious hindrances was to reprogram Betazed's climate control satellites into a constructive interference feed-back loop, which caused massive ionic storm cells to break out - larger than any in Betazed's history. The Jem'Hadar then destroyed the Climate Control mainframe, preventing any remedy of the disaster.
Federation troops landing on the surface were instantly engulfed in the chaos enveloping the planet. Disoriented and under bombardment by the elements, they haphazardly dug in as the Jem'Hadar advanced with terrible effectiveness through their make-shift lines.
It was only by Starfleet's space and air-superiority, that the Federation turned the tide, thanks mostly to the Defiant class group, which got in close enough through the atmosphere for sensors to penetrate the ionized storms and unleash their terrifying arsenal on the unsuspecting Jem'Hadar.
