Ti’Hat and the Vulcan: Chapter Sixteen
“The Delta Mother has been completely destroyed,” Kim said, shaking his head.
“What about the fighters?” Chakotay asked.
“About twelve hundred of the fighters from the Delta Mother were destroyed. Two hundred are nearing the planet, along with three Bint’Ari ships. The rest of them are still engaging the Borg,” Kim replied.
“What about the cubes?” Janeway asked.
“The Attack and Scout cubes are heading for us. The Destroyer is maintaining position, trying to hit the fighters.”
“How long until the cubes reach us?”
“Thirty seconds.”
Janeway scratched her head. They had thirty seconds to drop their shields, launch the landing party, and re-raise their shields. And every second she thought about it gave them less time.
“Mr. Kim, signal the shuttlebay that they have their clearance to leave,” Janeway said. “And tell Tuvok that they have fifteen seconds to get out of here.”
“Aye Captain,” Kim replied. “Shields are down, the shuttles are under way.”
“Borg cube coming into range, Captain,” Paris said.
“Mr. Young, fire phasers,” Janeway ordered.
“No effect, Captain,” Young reported. “The Borg are coming to a stop in front of us.”
Suddenly, two Borg soldiers materialized on the bridge, one next to the weapons console, and the next in the center. The two security officers on the bridge drew their weapons and moved towards the soldiers.
“Intruder alert! Mr. Kim, get me those shields, now!” Janeway barked, and she leapt to her feet. Ensign Young rose and grabbed the heavy mechanical arm of the Borg that stood near him before it cracked open his skull. The Borg reached around with its free arm and backhanded Young, sending him crashing into his own console.
The other Borg made its way towards Janeway. The Doctor, after a moment’s hesitation, got to his feet and stepped in front of the soldier. The Borg moved foreword, reached up, and stabbed the Doctor in the neck with the two talons from its fingers. Both The Doctor and the Borg looked to the ground, where several tiny metallic flecks had fallen between The Doctors feet. His program, detecting an unwanted foreign substance within the holographic matrix, had simply took away the Doctors solidity long enough for the metal bits to fall to the ground.
The Doctor bent down, and looked closely at the flakes.
“Nanoprobes,” he commented. “An effective means of assimilation for humanoids. Of course, ineffective on a hologram.”
The Borg, though confused, decided that assimilation was not going to work on the Doctor. The only alternative was death. It raised its mechanical arm and brought it down on the Doctor’s head. Instead of the intended result, the arm passed straight through the Doctor and the Borg fell foreword. The Doctor moved aside, allowing the Borg to fall to the ground. Before the Borg could rise to its feet, the Doctor reached over and plucked the necessary component off of the Borg’s chest, causing it to instantly disintegrate.
The second Borg’s attack on Ensign Young was stopped short by Seven of Nine, who leveled the drone with a vicious backhand. Young fell to the ground, and the drone turned to engage Seven of Nine. She was too quick for it, though. She lashed out, grabbing the drone’s head and snapping its neck. The drone dropped to the floor with a loud thud.
“How many more of those got on the ship before the shields went up?” Janeway demanded.
“Five,” Kim replied, returning to his console. “Two others have been eliminated. There are still some on decks three and four.”
“Transport them into space,” Janeway ordered.
“Doctor,” Chakotay began. “Ensign Young is severely injured. He has lost a lot of blood, and is unconscious.”
The Doctor moved to examine Ensign Young, ordered transport to sickbay, and the two disappeared a moment later.
“You have tactical, Chakotay,” Janeway ordered, returning to her seat. “Status of the Borg ships?”
“They haven’t attacked us yet,” Kim replied. “The remaining fighters from the Delta Mother arrived before they could. The Borg Destroyer and the Scout have both been destroyed. The Attack cube has no appreciable damage, but I estimate that there are at least three thousand antimatter pods attached to it.”
“Signal the ranking fighter, and tell them to fall back,” Janeway ordered. “Target as many of those pods as you can and fire phasers, Chakotay.”
“Aye Captain,” Chakotay replied.
Seconds later, Voyager’s weapons came alive, phasers hitting different parts of the cube. Small explosions which could be seen all over the surface ruptured many of the pods. After a moment’s wait, the antimatter leaked out of the containers, causing several explosions that spread all around the cube. Finally the entire ship went in a giant explosion, and several chunks of the Borg cube fell towards the atmosphere of the planet.
—
Not used to flying several kilometers above a hostile alien planet, Oro resisted the urge to close his eyes. Instead, he sat with his hands firmly gripping the sides of his seat, and stared unwaveringly as Tuvok calmly plunged the shuttle towards the planet’s surface.
“Voyager’s shields are up,” B’Elanna’s disembodied voice reported. Oro jumped at the voice, and shook his head as he reminded himself that she was on another shuttle, and that they must have a sort of communication system that linked the ships. He finally gave in, and closed his eyes. Better to be calm than a nervous wreck.
“The three Bint’Ari ships are following close behind,” Torres continued. “And the Khamish squad is going to stay behind, and make certain that none of the Borg ships interfere with our landing. The ranking Lieutenant says that as soon as we are safely on the surface, they are going down themselves to make several attack runs before regrouping with the landing parties.”
“Acknowledged, Tuvok out.” Tuvok glanced over at Oro, who still had his eyes closed.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Oro opened his eyes, and focused foreword, trying not to let his embarrassment show. “I’m fine,” he calmly replied.
“Out of curiosity, how many Borg are on this planet?” Oro asked, after several moments of silence.
“Exactly two point six billion,” Tuvok replied. Still focusing on piloting the shuttle, he glanced casually at the sensors, to affirm his statement. With a look of confusion, Tuvok reached over and punched commands into the sensor console.
“What’s wrong?” Oro asked.
“The sensors are completely inoperative,” Tuvok replied.
“Sappho to Heston,” Torres’s voice filled the cabin. “Tuvok, can you see anything?”
“Negative, Lieutenant, it would appear that the Borg have reactivated their sensor block,” Tuvok replied. “I would recommend descending as quickly as possible to an altitude of nine kilometers, and holding position there until we get a clear view of the area.”
“OK Tuvok, I’ll relay that to the other ships,” Torres replied, before she closed the channel.
“What if we get attacked?” Oro asked. “We won’t be able to see to avoid being destroyed!”
“We will not be attacked,” Tuvok steadily replied. “The Borg would not be able to get a weapon’s lock on any of our ships while we are in the disruption band. Here is the safest place for our ships.”
“I see,” Oro replied. He returned his gaze to the planet below, and found it fascinating. Oro had never seen another planet before, at least, not this close. He could still remember his father taking him to the observatory when he was younger, to look through the giant telescopes. For a long time, Oro wanted nothing more than to be an astronaut.
His father.
His father had killed himself rather than endure the Borg’s voice one moment longer. Hanged himself less than a day before the destruction of the cube in orbit of Bint’Ari. Less than a day before most of the people who were afflicted by the Borg mind-rape had their burdens lifted.
One day longer and Oro would have had his father. Now both of his parents were gone forever, victims of the Borg.
Suddenly, Oro was not quite so afraid anymore.
“Sensors are coming back online,” Tuvok reported. Before he finished that short sentence, the entire cabin was bathed in the flashing light of a red alert. Tuvok quickly turned his chair to see what had set off the alarm.
“Three small ships are approaching from the surface,” Tuvok said, before Oro could ask what was wrong. A diagram of the ships appeared on the lower corner of the view-screen.
Each of the craft were nothing more than a Borg drone equipped with an impressive exo-suit. The suit resembled a small jet, with two large disrupter protruding on both sides of the Borg’s head, as well as thruster packs scattered along the belly and the rear of the small ship.
The Borg fighters wasted no time. They immediately moved in and destroyed one of the Bint’Ari transport ships, and swung around to begin their second pass.
Each of the shuttles raised their shields and moved to protect the remaining two transport ships. The dogfight was short-lived, as the shuttle far outclassed the small Borg flight-suits.
“I’m feeding the coordinates of likely target sights to the other ships,” said Tuvok, without wasting a moment. Without another word, he turned the shuttle towards the surface and began a rapid descent.
—
The leader of the Delta Blue squad made her way through the giant cloud of debris. Not that she had any idea where she was going, she had not been privy to any of the alternative plans for the attack on the cubes. When the attack began, she was but a mere Captain, one of over a hundred in the squad. Now, she was the only member of the squad, the rest destroyed in a nuclear/antimatter blast. Her onboard sensors were totally destroyed in the explosion, and she was unable to reach her own Mothership for direction, as her comm-signal was drowned out by the thousands of other signals that flooded the ship.
The silence of the space around her made the situation even more uncomfortable. She knew that all around her was a battle of epic proportions, yet she could not hear any of the explosions, none of the engines of the fighters streaking by their targets, nor could she hear commands filtering down the channels, each squad leader given orders on where to strike next. Her own communication system was blocked from receiving signals from any other squadron. This feature was suppose to ease the confusion of several thousand signals being exchanged by an equal number of fighters, so that the proper orders were received and followed by the proper people.
This was supposed to be an easy victory, a decisive defeat of the Borg by the powerful Khamish. But now that the Borg had found a way, one ridiculously primitive way, to destroy hundreds of Khamish fighters in one blow, defeat of the Borg seemed an almost impossible task.
The hopelessness of her situation snapped inside of the Captain. With her mothership destroyed, it was entirely possible that even if the battle ended in a victory, she would not be returning home. Death, at this point, was inevitable. Her ship could not return home, nor could it dock with another Mothership. Those would undoubtedly be filled to capacity. And the fighter was not designed for planet-landings, only tractor-docking in Motherships. No matter what happened, the Captain would be stranded out in space.
Death in the void of space by dehydration, hunger, or suffocation when the fighter’s life support system went down was not the way the Captain wanted to go out. With a renewed determination, she looped her fighter out of the debris field, and charged towards the first combat area that she could find.
“Identify yourself, pilot,” the voice over her comm-system demanded as she blew past a nearby Mothership.
“Captain, Delta Blue One-Two-Six,” she replied, still surging foreword.
“This is Alpha Mother, Delta Blue One-Two-Six. Where is your commanding officer?”
“The Lieutenant Colonel is dead, Alpha Mother. I am the ranking officer,” the Captain replied.
“Please maintain position beside Alpha Mother, so that we can reassign you to an active squadron.”
“Negative Alpha Mother. Delta Blue One-Two-Six out.” The Captain ignored the string of protests that bled through her earpiece. She knew that what she had just done was a capital offense, akin to mutiny, and technically she was now an open target to any and all Khamish ships in the area. Somehow, she doubted that any of the struggling fighters would even take notice of her.
The battle around the cube was hard for the Captain to take in all at once. There was no sense of order to the surrounding fighters, all were trying to stay as far away from each-other as possible, to avoid any chain-reaction explosions. The Borg cube was still trying everything that it could to destroy the attackers, everything from random shots of a cutting beam, grabbing a fighter with a tractor beam and swinging it out of control, to suddenly moving one way or the other in hopes that some of the fighters were moving to close to the cube to avoid being hit. Their efforts were not entirely futile, occasionally a fighter would lose control, and come to a violently explosive end.
It did not take long for the Captain to reach the cube, as fast as she was traveling. She turned along the one of the sides of the massive ship, coming as close as she could to it without scraping the bottom of her hull. From this perspective, the Captain thought that the cube looked frighteningly like the surface of a planet rather than a ship, the edge an ever distant horizon. She focused attentively to the metallic lattice that made up the hull of the cube, the seemingly random grooves and crevasses covering the whole of the surface.
Directly in front of her, a circular door on the surface of the cube opened up, and a sphere slightly larger than her fighter shot out. After she passed underneath it, she turned her attention briefly to her sensor readout to check its progress. It had collided with another fighter making a lacing run at a higher altitude, destroying it and two other fighters in the resulting explosion.
Then an idea came to her. She programmed her ships sensors to look for similar circular impressions along the cube’s surface. She then slowed her fighter in order to get a clear picture. She changed course and headed for the first one that her sensors found. As she passed over it, she released four of her full load of antimatter pods, and waited for the automatic signal that each pod sent out after it had attached itself to the surface. She then looped around for another pass, and fired her bolt cannons at the circular indentation. As she had hoped, several of the shots hit the pods, rupturing them. The resulting explosion tore away a small section of the cube’s outer hull, revealing what the Captain had hoped for, one of the tubes from which the spheres were being launched from.
The Captain recited a prayer to the Great Hive Mother, and slipped her fighter into the dark tunnel. She could not even see the sphere in front of her when it crashed into her ship, igniting the antimatter onboard into a fantastic explosion that eventually worked its way through the entire cube.
Hundreds of Khamish fighters limped their way back to the Alpha Mother to regroup. Each and every person who was involved in the attack had no idea why their enemy had suddenly exploded, but not one of them wished it hadn’t happened.
Star Trek, Voyager, and related properties are © Paramount Studio, and the author makes no claim towards them.
Post your comments in the Forum!
May 1, 2008
Ti’Hat and the Vulcan: Chapter Fifteen
“This is incredible,” Kim said as he read the information that was displayed on his PADD.
“What?” Chakotay asked, as he sipped his drink. The two had decided to take a little break in the officer’s mess before the fleet would move on to Kalat.
“If this data is correct, we are lucky something like this did not happen a while ago. We seem to have been going through a part of space that the Borg have almost entirely conquered for over a month now. I thought that Kes had thrown us well beyond Borg territory. Perhaps it is not as well defined as we once thought.”
“Maybe the ’silent invaders’ the captain of the Quahi vessel we ran into a few weeks ago referred to were the Borg. The Borg don’t tend to talk to much.”
“You can add conversation to the list of things the Borg feel are ‘irrelevant,” Kim joked. Chakotay had to laugh along with him. “Ever tried holding a conversation with Seven of Nine? She can end one before you ever start it.”
Chakotay smiled. “Most of my conversations with Seven of Nine never go beyond ship’s business.”
Harry started with a nervous stutter, swallowed it, and continued, “According to this data. It will take us another two years to get out of the Borg sphere of influence!”
“What about the rest of the journey home? Are we going to have to make any long detours to stay out of Borg space?” Chakotay asked.
“I have no idea. The data Tuvok got doesn’t have anything like a map showing the boundary of space that the Borg have claimed. That would make sense, as the Borg don’t seem to respect any boundaries. But there are several star systems noted in the information, and the computer was able to extrapolate a map of the nearby systems. Seven has been converting the data for use in astrometrics, so we should have the area charted in the next day or so.
“It looks like the Borg are really worried about us, too. There are only two other cubes within a month of here. By all outward appearances, they do not plan to mess around. We are to be destroyed.”
Chakotay smiled. “Not if B’Elanna has anything to say about it. She is driving the Engineering department insane with all of the modifications she wants done. She’s having three different shield nutation programs installed, modifying all of the phaser banks, and trying to get reaction time on the impulse drive down by fifteen percent. I am glad I’m not down there right now. I am sure some of them haven’t slept since she came back on duty.”
“She probably has Borg on the brain now. I was talking with Oro, from the surface, and he told me some pretty tall tales about her. It seems that she has become something of a legend on Bint’Ari. One story had something to do with her killing fifty Borg in one battle,” Kim said.
“That doesn’t surprise me. She bottles up so much of her aggression that I am certain that once she let it out, anyone who stood in her way regretted ever even looking at her.”
“I hear they named her after an animal on the planet. Ti’hat, I think it was. Oro described it, and it sounded something like a large Tasmanian devil,” Kim explained.
“Well, I wouldn’t call her that, if I were you,” Chakotay smiled. “From you, she might take it as a joke, but I don’t think I would take that chance.”
“All senior officers, to the bridge,” Janeway’s voice said over the comm-system.
“Oh well,” Kim said. “Looks like the fun is over.”
——————————————————————————–
Kim and Chakotay walked on to the bridge in time to catch the end of the conversation between Janeway and the Khamish Colonel.
“The modifications your Ensign helped us make to our shields are completed, and are working well,” the Colonel said. “The auto-nutation program may fail, however, if the shields are hit too hard.”
“That is to be expected,” Janeway replied. “Your shield generators aren’t designed for constant frequency modulation. Honestly, I am surprised that your engineers were able to manage it at all.”
“There is not a lot that we cannot accomplish, Captain,” the Colonel said. “The fleet is ready to depart. We’ve taken on the last of the Guard units the Bint’Ari sent to accompany us, and all of the repairs are completed.”
“Excellent,” Janeway replied. “Let’s be on our way, then.” As the channel closed, Janeway ordered Paris to proceed towards the Borg planet at Warp 6. Unexpectedly, The Doctor strolled onto the bridge, and sat down at an empty console.
“Doctor, I am surprised to see you,” Janeway said. “Is there something wrong?”
“It was my understanding that the Chief Medical Officer had a spot on the bridge. I was merely following tradition,” The Doctor replied.
“Drove yourself out of sickbay, did you?” Paris snickered.
“Certainly the presence of my ‘copies’ contributed to the decision to leave sickbay. I had no idea that I was so annoying! The copies are being entirely unreasonable. None of them will submit to deletion, and none of them will shut themselves off, for fear that they will be deleted if they do.”
“A reasonable fear, Doctor,” Janeway explained. “The only reason that you are not being pressured to delete yourself is that when the malfunction occurred, you were the first to reappear, and you were the first to get to your holo-emitter, and haven’t taken it off since. How would you feel if one of your copies were insisting that you be deleted?”
“They are!” The Doctor exclaimed. “In fact, the only thing that they can agree upon is that I should be the first one to go.”
“Rest assured, Doctor,” Janeway interjected. “Your problem will be dealt with once we are safely under way.”
“I need to learn to stop trying to improve my program,” The Doctor mumbled to himself.
—
“Captain, ETA to Borg planet two-point-five minutes,” Paris reported. The fleet was moving along at impulse speeds, after stopping for a short time about ten minutes away from the planet. The Khamish Commander thought it best to come into range of the planet with all of the fighter deployed, in case the Borg attacked sooner than expected.
“Any luck on the sensors, Mr. Kim?” Janeway asked.
“I’m afraid not, Captain,” Kim replied. “I can’t figure out what it is the Borg are doing to jam us. I can get a clear picture of the planet, and the surrounding space, but the cubes I’ve detected keep disappearing and re-appearing from the sensors. It is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“How many different cubes have you seen so far?” Chakotay asked.
“I’ve confirmed that there are at least two Attack Cubes and one Scout Class Cube,” Kim replied. “There could be a hundred more, though. It is almost like there is a layer around the planet that is totally cloaked. I’m not reading any matter what-so-ever between the altitudes of ten and fifteen kilometers.”
“Species 756 exhibited a similar technology,” Seven suggested. “It is possible that the Borg assimilated that species since my, ‘liberation’ from the Collective.”
“Any idea how to neutralize it?” Janeway asked.
“None,” Seven replied.
“One minute until we are in range, Captain,” Paris reported.
“Captain!” Kim exclaimed. “The sensor interference is gone! Suddenly, I have a clear picture of the matter in that altitude range.”
“Perhaps it was impairing their sensor readings as well,” Chakotay suggested. “Maybe one of the cubes that was outside of the belt detected us, and they turned off the sensor screen to get a better picture of us.”
“A reasonable hypothesis,” Seven confirmed. “Our experience with the sensor screen indicated it blocked all sensor scans, regardless of their source.”
“How many ships are you reading, Ensign?” Janeway asked.
“Five Attack Cubes, two Destroyers, and six Scout Class cubes,” Kim replied.
“Looks like we have them outnumbered by a few thousand,” Janeway half-heartedly joked, referring to the thousands of one-man fighters that surrounded the fleet. Notify the Colonel our scans, she might not have a clear read yet.”
“Can you get any details on the planet’s surface?” Chakotay asked. “If we are going to knock out the Borg planet-based collective network, we will need some information of the location of the transceivers.”
“There is still some sort of dampening field blocking details about the planet’s surface from our sensors,” Kim replied. “I can tell that the planet-bound Borg are operating under an extremely decentralized system, much like a cube itself. The ground strike units are going to have to use the information from Tuvok’s download as well as their own sensors to locate the transceivers.”
“Such an attempt would almost certainly prove futile,” Seven added. “There could be several thousand transceivers on this planet. An invasion force would have to be significantly larger to disable all of them.”
“That is a chance we are going to have to take,” Chakotay replied.
“Janeway to Tuvok,” the Captain said as she tapped her comm-badge. “Are the shuttles ready to launch?”
“The Hesoid, Heston, and Aust en are standing by,” Tuvok replied. “The last quantum torpedo is being secured inside of the Heston, and we should be ready to depart in ten minutes.”
“We’ll try to get you as close to the planet as we can,” Janeway replied. “Janeway out.”
“Status of the Borg fleet?” Chakotay asked.
“It looks like they’ve seen us. They are moving this way,” Kim reported. “But they have not tried to hail us.”
“It will not be long,” Seven replied.
“We are the Borg,” the monotonous voice was heard over the ship’s comm-system. “Lower your shields and surrender your ships. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”
“I spoke too soon,” Harry said.
“Have the Khamish fighters engage the cubes,” Janeway ordered. “We need a distraction in order to get close enough to the planet for the shuttles to get into the atmosphere without a problem.”
“Fire at will, Ensign Young,” Chakotay ordered the young tactical officer. “And if you would avoid the attack cubes for the time being, Mr. Paris, that might be a good idea.”
The Khamish fighter pilots, eager for the confrontation, surged towards the Borg cubes at full speed. A few disappointed pilots stayed behind with their ships, to prevent an attack on one of the Mothers. The Mother ships, in the meantime, were maintaining a very tight formation, and managed to lock their shields together so that each ship would benefit from the shielding of the others. Voyager skirted the edge of the battle, to avoid getting into range of one of the Attack cubes.
Janeway glanced several times at Seven of Nine during the opening minutes of the battle, trying to read some kind of reaction on the woman’s face. Seven did not oblige her with any discernable response. She remained transfixed on the view-screen, blinking only when necessary.
“Signal the Captain of Delta Mother, Mr. Kim,” Janeway instructed. “We need her to break formation and follow us towards the planet, so that we can drop off the landing parties.”
“Aye Captain,” Kim replied. “Delta Mother and four fighter squadrons will be here in about a minute.”
“Captain,” Paris called from the helm. “I’ve got a Borg Scout heading straight for us.”
“Mr. Young, fire a spread of torpedoes as the Scout,” Janeway ordered. “Perhaps we can discourage it.”
Five torpedoes lanced out the rear of Voyager, and impacted the Scout one after another. The small cube shuddered under the force of the explosion, but it did not slow down. Several bits of the ship were blown off during the explosion, so it looked more like a jagged rock than a cube.
“Captain, it’s on a collision course,” Paris warned. “I’m trying to move out of its way, but the cube keeps adjusting its course to match mine. I can’t stay ahead of it.”
“Aft phasers, Mr. Young,” Chakotay ordered.
“No effect, Commander,” Young replied.
“Set up the frequency rotation program,” Janeway ordered. “They may have already adapted to our current frequency.”
“The Khamish fighters have arrived, Captain,” Kim reported. “One of the squads is dropping several anti-matter pods between us and the Borg Scout.”
“Has the Scout changed course, Mr. Paris?” Janeway asked.
“No,” Paris replied. “In fact, its about to hit that antimatter-”
The viewscreen flashed a bright white glow. The Scout collided with the antimatter pods, which resulted in a spectacular explosion. Voyager was far enough away to avoid being caught up in the antimatter reaction, but two of the fighters weren’t so lucky. The explosion damaged one of the fighters, which in careening off course, collided with the second fighter, destroying them both.
“Signal the fighters our thanks, Mr. Kim, and give the Captain of the Delta Mother our heading,” Janeway ordered. “Mr. Paris, take us to the planet.”
“Aye Captain,” Paris replied, adjusting the ship’s course.
“The Captain of the Delta Mother is following,” Kim reported. “One of the Borg Destroyers in changing course to intercept.”
“Is it on a collision course?” Chakotay asked.
“It doesn’t look that way. A few of the Delta Squadrons have turned to engage it,” Kim replied.
“More speed, Mr. Paris,” Janeway ordered. “We need to get the landing party off before we can engage the cubes.”
“Captain, we are receiving a message from the Delta Mother,” Kim said. “They are going to make a stand here against the Destroyer so that we can make a run for the planet.”
“So long as some of us get to the planet,” Janeway replied. “Let’s see it, Mr. Kim.”
The view-screen blinked to a view of the rear of Voyager, and the crew watched hopefully as the Delta Mother engaged the first of the Borg destroyers.
——————————————————————————–
The commander of the Delta Mothership signaled her intentions to Voyager and the Colonel before she made her move. The Borg were not just going to allow the fleet to land troops on their planet, she knew that all along. But the Major felt that the Borg would have a harder time sending ships to attack the enemies that were heading for their world. They had only expected the five Attack cubes, though.
“We are coming about, Major,” the Lieutenant at the helm reported.
“Excellent. Give me a view of the Destroyer.”
The small view-screen shifted to the cube. Small flecks surrounded the giant vessel, the flecks being the attacking swarm of fighters. Several groups of fighters moved in tight formation towards the cube, each carrying out a different set of orders, in order to bring down the big cube as quickly as possible.
The Destroyer, which was vainly trying to hit the fighters that were swarming towards it with disrupter beams, did something unexpected. Invisible to those on the Delta Mother, the cube opened up a small circle on the side of their ship, and released a tiny, spherical probe. The sphere targeted one of the Khamish fighters that was moving towards the cube, and collided into it. The resulting explosion was so large that it engulfed the entire squadron that surrounded the assaulted fighter.
“What the hell was that?” demanded the Major, who stared at the blinding explosion with amazement.
“Some kind of explosion, sir,” the Corporal replied. “The sensors are reading a high level of radiation emanating from the explosion.”
“Get a fix on that squad,” the Major ordered. “How many made it through that explosion?”
“Two sir,” the Lieutenant replied. “They were out of formation at the time with engine trouble.”
“What about the rest of them?”
“Destroyed, sir,” the Lieutenant replied.
“There were two hundred fighters in that squad,” the Major sighed. “All but two of them gone.”
“Major, two more explosions have been detected. We have lost all contact with Blue and Green squads.”
“They have to be using some kind of nuclear weapon, Major,” the Lieutenant said. “A nuclear reaction involving antimatter results in a huge explosion, much larger than a conventional nuclear explosion. Any ship anywhere near such an explosion centered in a fighter squadron would be engulfed.”
“Lieutenant, order the fighters to break formation and engage the cube at point blank range,” the Major yelled across the bridge. “They won’t use those nukes so close to their ship.”
“Alpha Mother reports four of their squadrons have been lost in similar explosions,” the Lieutenant reported.
“How long until we can fire?” the Major asked.
“One minute until the MF cannon is fully charged,” The Lieutenant replied.
“Launch the Bint’Ari landing ships, and send a squad to accompany them.”
“They will reach the surface in ten minutes,” the Corporal said. “They won’t have a chance out there! There are too many Borg ships out there.”
“I don’t see us having much of a choice!” The Major replied, angrily. “Keep your station!”
“Bint’Ari ships away,” the Lieutenant reported. “White Squad is accompanying.”
“Have the Borg responded?”
“No, I would imagine that the Borg believe that they are retreating.”
“MF cannon is charged, Major.”
“Fire it then!” The Major yelled.
Seconds later, a brightly colored bolt of energy leapt from the Delta Mother’s cannon, and shot towards the Borg Destroyer. It opened up into a broad net, and collided with the cube at close to the speed of light. After the bright explosion died down, the Captain could see the barely damaged cube start to move.
“What happened?” The Major demanded. “I thought you said that the cannon was fully charged!”
“It was!” the Lieutenant nervously replied. “It seems that the fighters were unable to completely lace the cube, and there was too little antimatter to begin the chain reaction.”
“Major!” the Corporal called. “Two more Borg ships coming in to our sector. A Scout and an Attack cube!”
“Fighter status!” The Major yelled.
“White Squad is gone with the Bint’Ari, and we have lost most or all of six other squads.”
“Request assistance from the Command Mother,” the Major ordered. “Full reverse! Get us away from here!”
The mothership began to move backwards, then shuddered to a stop. The engines grew louder as they futilely tried to push the ship backwards.
“We are caught in a tractor beam!” the Corporal called. “The engines are at their maximum!”
“Activate the shield nutation program!” The Major ordered.
“It’s off-line, Major,” the Lieutenant replied. “The strain on the engines overloaded half of the computer systems. We have no shields.”
The Major continued to bark useless orders, as the Borg cube cut into the Motherships hull with a thin beam, until it reached the engine room. The beam stopped a split second before the ship erupted into a spectacular explosion.
Star Trek, Voyager, and related properties are © Paramount Studio, and the author makes no claim towards them.
Post your comments in the Forum!
April 24, 2008
Ti’Hat and the Vulcan: Chapter Fourteen
“Amazing!” Yavitz exclaimed, as she was lead into the holodeck. For the reception, Janeway programmed the holodeck for a view of Niagara Falls, back on Earth. The sky was spectacular blue, with the occasional white cloud drifting by in the wind. All of the various buildings and viewing areas that cluttered the actual falls back on Earth were removed, so that the visitors as well as the crew could enjoy the scene in its natural state.
A long table was set in front of the holodeck arch atop a platform, floating in the air, completely surrounded by the falling water. It took the group a moment to get over the vertigo of hovering several hundred feet over the bottom of the falls, but the wait was worthwhile. The usual loud rumble of the crashing water was muted for the ease of conversation, it was set at a level that simulated the sound of the falls from a great distance. Even the Khamish Colonel and Lieutenant, who came in order to open negotiations with the Bint’Ari for their war effort, were impressed with the view, as well as the technology it took to produce such a scene.
“What is this place?” Yavitz wondered aloud, as she entered.
“It is Niagara Falls, on our home planet, Earth,” Janeway explained.
“Incredible! But how is it that this can be on your ship? And what has happened to the door we entered by?” Yavitz was amazed and confused at the same time.
“This is the holodeck,” Janeway continued. “Here we can recreate any environment, using holographic technology.”
“Simply amazing,” the Colonel said. “The kinds of training exercises we could do with technology like this!”
People gathered around the table, which was covered in various foodstuffs provided, of course, by Neelix. He attempted an approximation of the nectar that the Captain had tasted on Kham, but the results were mixed. The Khamish found the flavor quite dull compared to what they had on their world, while everyone else, who had never tasted the delicacy before, found it to be quite delicious.
“Captain,” Ira began, not wanting to waste any more time. “We owe your crewmates a debt of gratitude. If they had not been on our world when the Borg come, there is a very good chance that we would be a conquered people now. But what of the future? We can’t possibly repel another Borg attack as we are now. We need to focus on rebuilding.”
“I understand your concern,” replied Janeway. “That is why I have invited the Colonel to this reception. I was hoping that your two worlds might be able to work together so that you can cooperate in your efforts against the Borg.”
“What can we possibly offer them?” Oro asked. “They have technology decades beyond anything we are capable of. And from what I have been told of their encounters with the Borg, they certainly don’t need our small, sub-light ships for anything.”
“True that there is no way you can help us in fighting the Borg vessels,” the Commander replied. “But your men, as hard as it for me to believe, can effectively fight the Borg soldiers on the surface of the planet, whereas we have little experience in actual ground battles. We could learn, but our species is ill-suited for direct combat. Your people are already trained and have the weaponry for the task. If we are to defeat the Borg, we need to attack not only their ships, but the planets they occupy as well. And quite frankly, we don’t have the personnel to do it alone.”
“Why not just destroy the planets themselves?” Oro asked. I am certain that you could do tremendous damage to a planet’s surface, or at least contaminate the atmosphere to a lethal point from space. The Borg could all be eliminated from orbit.”
“That sounds good, in theory,” Janeway replied. “But if you are going to fight an extended campaign against the Borg, you are going to have to expand yourselves. You need resources, and colonies so the Borg can’t destroy your entire population in a single attack. Worlds that the Borg have already assimilated are perfect for that purpose. They tend to be inhabitable planets anyway, so your people could live there. They have a great deal of equipment that you could use to build ships and weapons. And if you plant colonies on conquered Borg worlds, you might be able to preserve some of the culture that the Borg destroyed when it assimilated the people that lived on that planet in the first place.”
“I am not sure,” Ira said. “Our world has been torn apart. We can’t afford to send our people away to die fighting the Borg on worlds we have never seen before!”
“We can help you rebuild,” the Colonel offered. “Admittedly, it will be difficult, as our workers tend to see all drones as incapable of intelligent thought. But I am certain that some could be found that could put aside their preconceptions in order to help you rebuild. I have examined the reports of the damage to your world, and with our help, your world could be rebuilt within one of your seasons.”
“A season? You must be mistaken. Our best estimates, so far, have put the time for rebuilding at ten. How is it that you could do it in only one?”
“Our people are very different,” the Commander explained. “Your people have lives to lead, and the rebuilding of your planet would take second place to the raising of a family, or making a living. Our workers live to work. My people do not raise families, the nurses handle the upbringing of our young. I, myself have fifteen children, and have not met a single one of them. The workers among my people thrive upon this sort of challenge. In addition, we have technology that could speed up the rebuilding process considerably.
“In exchange, you will help us fight the Borg. We will attack Borg outposts and invade Borg worlds, which our two peoples will colonize together. We will help your people build ships that can travel faster than light. We will teach you to build the ships to fight the Borg, and how to fly them.
“The Captain has told me a lot about her people, about their Federation. How many different cultures have come together for the common good of all of them. Perhaps that is an answer for us. We are both threatened by the Borg, and undoubtedly we will meet other races in a similar situation. We can join together, as those in the Captain’s Federation, and work together for our own common good.”
“This is not something we can decide now,” Yavitz explained. “There would have to be a vote among our people. We would have to work out various treaty stipulations, and endless claims that each of our people will undoubtedly have. There will be a lot of things to work out before we could make such an alliance. Our own government is bound to be in chaos soon. Most of Bint’Ari’s governmental structure was completely disrupted during the invasion. It will take some time to see to it that our own planetary affairs are in order before we worry about an interplanetary alliance.”
“You are right,” the Colonel replied. “But unfortunately, that will have to wait. According to our intelligence, there is a Borg world nearby that is bolstering its offensive capacity, and could be used as a staging point for the assimilation of both of our worlds. Right now, my world is virtually defenseless. We could repel one cube with the amount of fighters we left behind, but no more. Your world could not even stand up to that much. We must go together, and attack the Borg before they can mount their offensive. Together we can deal a serious blow to the Borg, enough that our worlds will be safe long enough to rebuild, and become strong so that the Borg won’t be so much of a threat in the future.”
“I don’t think we have much of a choice, my beloved,” Ira said. “The Colonel is right. The Borg will be back, and with the help of the Khamish, we can make our world safe.”
“Ira, the Guard is in shambles,” Yavitz protested. “Yipu is dead, and most of the Guard is scattered among the various resistance groups. We are going to rebuild the entire military from scratch. Who will organize it? You and I will both be busy rebuilding other area of government, and organizing the rebuilding of the major cities.”
“You are right, as always,” Ira replied. “So, we will need a new Minister of the Guard. Oro? Are you prepared to continue to serve your people?”
“Me? But I’m bound! I can’t be in the military!” Oro protested.
“Normally, you would be correct,” Ira said. “But, it would seem that you have been in the military now for the last several weeks anyway. And, at present, I can’t see keeping to old customs that will hold back our people. And you of all our people have the most experience with these aliens. I think that you would be the ideal person to work with the Khamish and Voyager.”
“Where are Tuvok and B’Elanna?” Oro asked. “I thought that they would be here.”
“The Doctor insisted that they not be allowed to leave sickbay for a while. It seems that B’Elanna is in fairly bad shape. She has two cracked ribs, along with the dehydration and malnutrition that they both share. It seems they didn’t take very good care of themselves while they were on the planet.”
“Food was rare,” Oro grimly replied. “There were several days when no one ate.”
“They also require different nutrients than your bodies do,” the Captain replied. “What is healthy to you is lacking in their species. But there was no way to avoid it, I am happy they are still alive.”
“Not to sound impatient, but time is short,” the Colonel interrupted. “You undoubtedly have a lot of work to do in order to put together an army for the attack. The sooner we start, the better. I need to get back to my ship and contact our Queen, and inform her of our status, as well as having a diplomat dispatched to your world. We may not have a lot of time left. An attack cube has already been detected in orbit of the Kalat star, and it is bound to be dispatched sometime in the near future to at least one of our worlds. I would like to have the fleet on its way before that happens.”
“You are right. We should return to the surface,” Yavitz replied. “Could we be directed to your transporter room, Captain?”
“I will escort you there myself,” Janeway replied, as she gave the ‘exit’ command to the computer. The Khamish and Bint’Ari leaders followed behind her, each still a bit nervous about transporting again.
——————————————————————————–
“Mr. Tuvok, you may go now,” The Doctor said. Tuvok rose to his feet, and walked out of sickbay. He heard Torres complaining to another of the Doctors before the doors close that she was ready to go as well, but he would not allow it.
“Your body has been through a severe trauma. You don’t need to be off doing whatever it is that you think is so important! If you do not stop your complaining, I will sedate you.”
As the door to sickbay opened, Tuvok found Seven of Nine, who was about to enter sickbay. She stepped back, and allowed the Vulcan to exit. He turned down the hall with a greeting, and she followed.
“Mr. Tuvok,” she greeted, handing him a PADD. “I have analyzed the data you retrieved from the Borg database. It is fully decoded and the information is downloaded onto that PADD.”
“Excellent,” Tuvok replied. “Was there any information that would prove useful to the Khamish, that we could give to them before we depart?”
“Yes,” Seven replied, as the two entered a turbolift. “There is a Borg fleet massing around Planet 0495, which orbits the star the Khamish call Kalat. The Khamish do not have sufficient force to overcome this fleet. The eventual objective of these cubes is to hunt down Voyager, and then proceed to the Alpha Quadrant and begin the assimilation of the Federation. I believe that it would be best if Voyager accompanied their fleet.”
“Bridge,” Tuvok ordered the turbolift. “I was on my way to see the Captain. We should discuss this with her before we make any further conclusions concerning what would be best for Voyager.”
“Agreed,” Seven replied.
Tuvok tucked the PADD containing the analysis of the Borg data he had downloaded from their computer under his arm, and the two made their way to see the Captain.
“Come in,” Janeway replied to the chime. She smiled when she saw Tuvok and Seven enter the ready room, and offered them a seat. Seven, as usual, remained standing. Tuvok accepted the offer.
“It is good to see you on your feet, Tuvok,” Janeway smiled. “What can I do for you?”
“I have been analyzing some of the data I retrieved from the Borg network, and I believe that it would be in our best interests to accompany the Khamish in their attack on the first Borg world in this cluster,” Seven replied.
“We can’t get involved in a Borg war out here,” Janeway said. “The Borg are a dire threat to the Federation, yes, but we are in no position to stop an invasion. We would do better to gather as much information about the Borg as possible, and return safely to the Federation with it. They could use it to develop an effective defense strategy.”
“Normally, I would agree with you,” Tuvok replied. “But the information Seven has found in the Borg download convinces me of the contrary. It would seem that there is a world, designated by the Borg as 0495, that is in orbit around the star the Khamish call Kalat. It is the assigned rendezvous point of six full attack cubes, the first of which was destroyed above Bint’Ari a short time ago. The others are to first intercept and destroy Voyager, then move on to the Federation itself.”
“But why?” Janeway asked. “Why would they mobilize such a force to eliminate us? Surely the Borg could ignore us, a single ship, and move on to the Federation if they so chose.”
“It would seem that the Borg consider Voyager to be the deciding factor in both the failed assimilation of Kham and Bint’Ari. They believe that elimination of Voyager will allow for easy assimilation of both of those worlds.”
“The Collective is also disturbed by the inconsistencies in the data they have on Federation technology,” Seven added. “The appearance of the Enterprise at system J-25 and Voyager’s presence this far from Federation space has the Borg confused. The information they have on this ship is accurate, they know of its speed limitations, but they do not understand how you could have gotten here while operation within those limitations.”
“It is not like we have been operating outside those limits,” Janeway argued. “The Caretaker brought us here, and Q brought the Enterprise to J-25.”
“True, but the Borg are unaware of these facts. They believe that you are too unpredictable to be ignored. It would seem that they believe that the Federation could transport another vessel close enough to their home-system, and cause serious damage to the collective. They mean to prevent that occurrence. My presence here is also a factor. They do not know what information you have obtained from me that might be damaging to the collective. The Borg mean to eliminate or re-assimilate me in order to prevent any potentially damaging information to make it back to the Federation.”
“So they are going to get rid of us, then move on to overwhelm the Federation with five cubes? We had hard enough time dealing with one at Wolf-359. Five would be unstoppable.”
“Agreed. If we continue on with the Khamish fleet, however, we could eliminate the Borg armada, and prevent such an invasion.”
“But if Voyager were involved in the destruction of the Armada, wouldn’t the collective view Voyager as a greater threat, and put more resources towards our destruction?”
“Possibly, but I believe that the Borg will find that they have also underestimated the Khamish,” Seven replied. “If the Borg lose a world that they have successfully assimilated, I believe that they will assign this cluster a higher priority than Voyager, and we will be able to safely go on our way.”
“Meanwhile, the Khamish and Bint’Ari are condemned to constant war.”
“Both worlds would have faced that eventuality,” Tuvok reasoned. “Our presence here, now, is increasing their chances of surviving future invasions.”
“Were you able to discover any weaknesses that we could take advantage of in the data you obtained?” Janeway asked.
“The Borg consider their ships to be indestructible – the pinnacle of available technology. They do not analyze the design structure of the ships for improvement. A ship that is lost in battle is considered defective as a whole, and forgotten about. As a result, data about ships design is probably hard to come by. My preliminary scans of the data found no references to design or production of cubes at all.”
“There are several points on a Borg cube that are more susceptible to heavy damage than others,” Seven added. “I will enter those points into the ship’s computer, to be recalled later during targeting.”
“What about the collective network itself? Could you modify Voyager’s computers to interface with it? Perhaps we could plant some sort of command into the consciousness, like Commander Data did during the Borg attack on Earth.”
“That would not be advisable,” Seven replied. “Once Voyager’s computers are linked with the Collective, your ship would instantly be under the control of the Borg.”
“So Voyager would be assimilated from the inside out,” Janeway concluded. “But Data managed it, and for all intents and purposes, he is a computer.”
“A computer that has awareness of it self,” Tuvok corrected. “Commander Data is not simply a machine waiting to accept commands, like our ship’s computer is. Data could protect himself from the onslaught of a Borg consciousness for an indefinite amount of time. As far as Voyager is concerned, the Borg would simply have to realize that it was linked to it, and they would instantly have control.”
“In addition, the Borg radically restructured its internal security after that incident,” Seven added, “Such sabotage could not happen again.”
“That makes sense,” Janeway concluded. “So we are faced with a fight. We need to do some modifications on our weapons and shields, set them to automatically rotate frequencies so that the Borg will have a hard time adapting.”
“Agreed. Lieutenant Torres is scheduled to be released from sickbay in less than three hours. I believe that she might be able to suggest a few more possible improvements to Voyager’s systems that might work to our advantage.”
Janeway smiled. “Certainly. If anything, Maquis were used to fighting ships that were far superior to their own. We should start on the modifications to the shields immediately, and get that automation program up as soon as we can. The Colonel is eager to get underway, but I think I’ll be able to talk her into delaying her departure long enough to make the modifications. After all, having Voyager along certainly won’t reduce their chances of success.” Tuvok nodded in agreement.
“Tuvok, I want you to have Ensign Nikolayevich beam over to the Khamish Command Mother, and have her see about adapting their shields to a similar frequency modulation program. I know they have a fairly basic shield design that might not be sophisticated enough to handle such a program, but it is worth a try. If a cube does attack one of the Motherships, I would like to have it as safe as possible. Not only is there a lot of soldiers on each of those ships, the other Motherships couldn’t carry any more fighters. There would be a lot of those fighters stranded if a Mothership were destroyed, and the Bint’Ari failed to take the planet.”
Tuvok rose to his feet. “Agreed. I will do so immediately. Also, I will be holding two security drills before we depart, in case the Borg should beam on board Voyager.”
“Good idea, Tuvok. Have B’Elanna give me an estimate of when we’ll be ready to go as soon as she has one.” Tuvok nodded and left the room.
“Seven, how do you think you will handle another direct confrontation with the Borg?” Janeway asked.
“I am uncertain what you mean, Captain.”
“I still don’t know exactly what happened to you on that shuttle when you and Harry encountered that Borg scout, but this situation is very similar. In fact, I would classify it as much more dangerous to you. How will such a large part of the Collective so close to you affect you?”
“My initial detection of the Borg made me feel, hopeful. Returning to the Borg was something I thought I always wanted. But at the moment I could have made such a return a reality, I became afraid. It seems I have grown to value this individuality you imposed upon me. So I lashed out in anger. I am not entirely sure why I became so angry, but it resulted in the destruction of the Scout.
“I do not believe I have any further desire to return to the Collective. I don’t think my proximity to the Collective will alter that belief.”
Janeway smiled. “Please assist B’Elanna with the modifications.”
Seven of Nine nodded, and left the ready room.
——————————————————————————–
Tom walked into sickbay and had no trouble finding B’Elanna, being the only patient there at the time. After assuring two of the Doctors that his visit was purely personal and that he wouldn’t cause any trouble, he was allowed to see the bedridden Klingon, alone.
B’Elanna’s face lit up as soon as she saw him. She sat up and greeted his embrace with one of her own.
“Miss me?” she asked, half jokingly.
“Not really,” Tom replied, after a moment of thought. B’Elanna replied by shoving him away, playfully.
“Well I certainly didn’t miss you at all,” she teased.
“OK, I admit it. I was worried sick about you. I was almost certain that you had been either killed or assimilated, and I haven’t been able to sleep almost the entire time. And I am relieved to have you back.”
“That’s better,” B’Elanna replied. She reached up, pulled his head gently forward, and kissed him.
After a few seconds, Tom sat down on the medical bed beside her, and grabbed her hand.
“I thought I would keep you company, in your last hour of exile,” Tom smiled. “I just got off duty, and I’m not due back on the bridge for another nine hours.”
“Oh, no your not,” B’Elanna replied. “Your going to your quarters and getting some sleep. I’m not going to fight the Borg with a pilot falling asleep at the helm.”
Tom stood up, mockingly offended. “Over a week apart, and you don’t even want to spend an hour with me?”
B’Elanna smiled. “I know six Doctors that would love to throw you out of here, mister.”
“Fine,” Tom relented. He leaned down and kissed B’Elanna goodbye. “I suppose I’m going to get some sleep.”
“Sweet dreams,” B’Elanna replied. “Come and see me before you come on duty. I am sure I’ll need a break by then.”
“It’s a date,” Tom replied.
——————————————————————————–
As Natasha re-materialized, it suddenly occurred to her how much had changed in the last several days. Not too long ago she was dreading her job, being the handyman for the lesser departments onboard the ship. In the last few days, though, she had spent more time on away missions than she had in the rest of her career. When Lieutenant Torres had returned to duty, she had expected everything to return to the way it was. Yet here she was, beaming over to the Khamish Mothership, in order to modify their shields. She smiled at the thought of never having to fix another fried incubator or broken replicator.
She was greeted in the engine room of the Command Mother by the Major in charge of engineering. She, as well as the rest of the engineering officers, were a four-armed variety of Khamish. Natasha though it made sense, as she could remember hundreds of times she wished she had another set of arms.
“The Colonel says that you have a way to make our shields better,” the Engineer said. “The main console is this way.”
Natasha followed the Engineer towards the far side of the circular room, and marveled at how similar it was to the engine room on Voyager. Everything in the room was black, with the exception of the console screens. They glowed a bright blue, with the various keypad next to each screen were either red or white. The lighting in the room was a dull florescent, and Natasha could see the strips of red along the walls that undoubtedly flashed during an alert. In the center was a tall, cylindrical pillar that housed a nuclear reaction chamber, rather than a matter/antimatter reaction chamber like Voyager.
The console the Engineer directed Natasha to was identical to the rest in the room. In front of it sat a medium sized stool. The screen was inclined down so that one could sit while working. On the screen was a diagram of the ship, and lights flashed where each of the ship’s shield generators were located. Across the bottom read the shield frequency, 224.8 mH.
“How do you modify the shield frequency?” Nikolayevich asked.
The Engineer reached over and moved the screen through a series of menus, and stopped at one that read ‘Shield Frequency Control.’
“What good will changing the frequency of our shields do?” the Engineer asked.
“A Borg cube uses a different strategy than the Scouts this ship fought earlier. It will attempt to lock on a tractor beam, then it will use a cutter to strip away pieces of the hull in addition to conventional attacks. If you keep your shields at the same frequency, the Borg will adapt to them, and they will be useless. Setting your computer to rotate the shields frequency randomly will give the ship the extra time it needs to divert the cube’s attack.”
The Engineer rubbed an antennae, then turned and barked some orders to a nearby officer. She then turned her attention back to Natasha.
“What you are suggesting is going to take a lot of work. We did not design the shields to switch frequencies, we never thought that the need would arise. But I think we might be able to do it. We will have to run another link to the Shield Control mechanism to the main computer, and then write the program that will allow the shields to rotate frequencies automatically.” The Engineer leaned over and punched a few figures into the computer. “It will take several seconds for the shields to change frequencies, but it is better than nothing.”
“How long do you think it will take to do the work?” Natasha asked.
“Probably another ten of your hours, but the Colonel will want to do this on all five Mothers. Each of the Chief Engineers will have to come over here so that they can be instructed on what to do. That will take another hour, at least. You are welcome to stay, if you like.”
“No, I’m afraid I need to be getting back to my ship. We still have some work to do to ready ourselves for the attack.”
“I was pleased when I heard that Voyager would be accompanying us. Now I know we will be victorious!” The Engineer was beaming.
“Don’t be so certain,” Natasha replied. “We are bound to be in for one hell of a fight.”
“If your going to have an Armageddon,” The Engineer replied, “You might as well make it interesting.”
Natasha couldn’t argue, but she would rather live to tell stories about it.
“If you need any assistance, contact Voyager. Someone will answer any questions you might have.
Star Trek, Voyager, and related properties are © Paramount Studio, and the author makes no claim towards them.
Post your comments in the Forum!
April 17, 2008
Ti’Hat and the Vulcan: Chapter Thirteen
Tuvok patiently explained to the fourteen nervous Bint’Ari who had agreed to sacrifice themselves what would be required of them. Many continued to ask if there was any way that they could be rescued from the cube before it exploded, but Tuvok calmly explained why they could not. No one changed their mind about what they were going to do, and Tuvok found that a promising sign.
B’Elanna, seated inside of the shuttle, was having a hard time staying awake. She had not gotten any sleep since the invasion of Topachan, and that was well over a day ago. She was hoping that they could destroy the cube as soon as possible, so that she could finally rest
“How long after we arrive on their ship do we have before the bombs detonate?” Yipu asked.
“You will have to detonate the bombs manually,” Tuvok replied, “the transporter may adversely effect the timers. The last person to beam aboard will signal each of you when her is ready. You will all set the bombs’ countdown clocks at that point .”
“What can we expect from the Borg?” Oyi asked.
“The Borg tend to ignore individuals,” Tuvok explained. “As long as you do not tamper with any of the systems on the Borg ship, they should ignore you. However, since you will each have a potentially lethal weapon with you, there is no way to predict their reaction. If they recognize the bombs for what they are, you can expect heavy resistance. Several Borg will come upon you, attempting to eliminate the threat.
“Use careful judgment, though. If a single Borg is coming towards you, chances are it cares nothing for what you are doing, and it will pass you by. Do not attack it, and do not get in its way. If the Borg mean to attack you, they will come forth in greater numbers.”
“So you are saying, if we have to fight, we will most probably be very much outnumbered.”
“That is accurate. However, the corridors on a Borg ship are quite narrow. The Borg will only be able to attack you two at a time, if you are positioned properly. When you are onboard, you will see what I mean,” Tuvok replied. After a moment of silence, he continued. “If there are no more questions, please prepare for departure. We must get as close as we can to the Borg cube, as the shuttles transporters are short range.”
Without another word, the group crowded onto the shuttle, as Tuvok and B’Elanna made their way to the cockpit.
“Lieutenant,” Tuvok began as the shuttle lifted off of the ground, “it would seem that Voyager is indeed still in this star cluster.”
“How do you know?” Torres asked.
“In analyzing the data from the Borg database, I came upon a reference to NCC-74656. It would seem that Voyager prevented another cube from assimilating a near-by civilization nearly a day after our scheduled rendezvous.”
“Maybe Voyager is still looking for us,” Torres suggested.
“There is a strong possibility,” Tuvok replied. “Before departing the area, Captain Janeway would undoubtedly retraced our steps, in order to determine out fate. If Voyager scans the area we were harvesting for missing diallosilicate, and realizes that we had not yet begun to gather the substance from the last nebula, they might search the area more thoroughly.”
“While we are transporting the Bint’Ari over to the cube, we might as well send a distress signal. If Voyager is nearby, they might pick it up.”
“Agreed. However, it seems that the Borg have a renewed interest in the assimilation of the Federation. The collective views Voyager’s as a considerable threat. They mean to eliminate Voyager, then move on to the Federation in greater force, to prevent a reoccurrence of a Federation starship so close to their home system.” Tuvok explained.
“Home system? I always thought that the Borg were decentralized. The whole concept of a home-base for the Borg does not seem right,” Torres said.
“True, but the Borg had to begin somewhere, and it is logical to assume that if the world that the Borg first came from were somehow destroyed or conquered that it would cause a serious disruption throughout the collective.”
“We are about to enter orbit,” Torres reported. “The Borg cube will be in transporter range in less than a minute.”
Tuvok rose from his seat, relinquishing control to Torres, and went to the back of the shuttle to prepare the Bint’Ari for their beam-over. They were divided into groups of two, and each pair was assigned one of the warheads that were stored in the far back of the shuttle.
Yipu, who was paired with Oyi, watched nervously as the two groups before them de-materialized with their warheads. The pair then picked up their warhead, and stepped forward to the transport area.
“Does it hurt?” Yipu asked Tuvok, a but nervously.
“The process is painless,” Tuvok replied, “Though you will experience a momentary disorientation as you rematerialize. That can be avoided if you close your eyes during transport.”
Yipu closed his eyes tight, as did Oyi. There was no reason to act falsely courageous now. After they had transported, they would not be coming back.
“The Borg see us, Tuvok,” Torres reported. The shuttle shook violently. “They are trying to lock on a tractor beam…”
Those were the last words Yipu and Oyi heard. The two opened their eyes after the unfamiliar tingle of transport faded. The first thing the two noticed was how dark it was onboard the ship. It seemed that the Borg did not light an area unless it was absolutely necessary, which it rarely ever was.
Yipu looked up and down the corridor they materialized in, and saw the endless row of Borg lining the wall. He was struck with the momentary fear that they might immediately attack, and he unconsciously grabbed the hilt of his aria. But the Borg remained motionless in their regeneration units, and Yipu relaxed. It seemed what Tuvok said about the Borg ignoring individuals was right.
Yipu noticed the fear in his comrade’s eyes, and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Oyi smiled wearily in return. Waiting was the only thing the two could do now, and Tuvok had said that the transport of all fourteen people would take several minutes. So the two sat down, waiting for the signal from the last group.
The clang of footsteps filled the hallway. Yipu and Oyi both leapt to their feet, ready to pull their arias out of their scabbards. A single Borg approached from one end of the hallway, and Yipu glanced down the other direction to make certain that no more were on their way. Satisfied that the Borg were not alerted to their intentions, he relaxed his grip on his blade, and began to sit back down.
Oyi, however, tightened his grip on his sword. Yipu reassured his companion, but Oyi did nothing but stare intently at the Borg who was coming closer by the second. Suddenly, Oyi burst forward, and attacked the lone Borg with more fury than Yipu had ever seen. Yipu, knowing the Borg would not ignore them now, drew his sword and watched for the Borg that would undoubtably arrive to eliminate the threat.
“What were you thinking!” Yipu yelled at his companion. “That Borg was alone, and would have ignored us. Why did you have to attack it? Now we are going to be up to our necks in Borg!” As he said that, two Borg removed themselves from their regeneration stations and moved towards the two Bint’Ari.
“You don’t understand,” Oyi replied, angrily. He was so nervous that he could barely hold his sword.
“If that was some kind of play to go down in a blaze of glory, then you are damned right I don’t understand. Your hotheadedness may have cost us our planet!”
“That Borg,” Oyi spat, and he glared at his companion, “was my father.”
Yipu did not answer. He was uncertain what he could say. No one from his family had been assimilated, he had no family. If one of his parents had lived to see this day, and had been assimilated, he might have reacted the same way. To see your own father taken from you, and transformed into a monster would be something very hard to bear.
Finally, Oyi shook off his shock and confronted the Borg that was about to come upon him. Both men fought hard, pushing the Borg that had lines up to confront them further and further away from the warhead. Finally, the communicator attached to the bomb beeped, the signal that all the Bint’Ari and the warheads were safely aboard. Yipu rushed back, and pressed the button that would start the timer on the detonator. Quickly he stood back up and lifted his sword, just in time to deflect the blow of the Borg that had caught up to him.
The fighting continued furiously until the very end, when both sides were taken up in the explosion.
——————————————————————————–
The noise inside the shuttlecraft was almost deafening. Every alert klaxon B’Elanna had ever heard was sounding, as well as a few she was completely unfamiliar with. It took all her concentration to ignore the alerts and keep transporting people over to the cube.
It was no strain for Tuvok to ignore the sirens, however. He was more concerned with keeping the shuttle out of the Borg tractor beam. Tuvok was an average pilot, but continually rotating the frequency of the shields while dodging Borg shots was something that was barely beyond his reach, by his own calculations.
“Lieutenant Torres, I will not be able to evade the Borg tractors for much longer,” Tuvok said, hoping his encouragement would speed her up a bit.
“I can’t go any faster! The transporter’s recharge cycle is longer than usual because of all the damage. Just one more-”
The shuttle’s engines whined, and sparks flew from the transporter system in the back of the shuttle.
“The Borg have locked on to us with a tractor beam,” Tuvok reported.
“What happened?” Ehy, one of the two remaining Bint’Ari in the back asked.
“We have to drop the shields each time we use the transporter,” B’Elanna replied with a silent curse. “They caught us mid-transport. Damn! The transporter buffers have been damaged. We can only send one pattern at a time!”
“Send the bomb! We have to get it over there!” Ehy cried.
“This may be our last opportunity,” Tuvok interrupted. “Our shields are draining rapidly. Once they go down again, the Borg will cut through our hull and we will be assimilated. If we send the bomb, no one will be there to signal the others.”
“Then do it!” Ehy cried. “We need to-”
Ehy disappeared in the familiar blue transporter effect. Almost immediately a loud clang was heard, and the hull of the shuttle began to squeal.
“The Borg have targeted us with a cutting beam,” Tuvok explained. As he did so, a bright green beam pierced the shuttle, and began to dissect the hull. A force fields automatically went up between the cockpit and the hull breach.
The final Bint’Ari, unfortunately, was on the other side of the force field. A panicked scream tried to escape his lips as the air seeped out of the damaged hull. Unable to hold onto his seat, the Bint’Ari was dragged around the compartment by the escaping air, and eventually into the still energized cutting beam which was making its way through the shuttle. He was fused into the deck plate of the shuttle, his remains nothing more than a solid brown puddle.
“How long until we lose engines?” B’Elanna asked, her eyes on the cutting beam.
“Nineteen seconds,” Tuvok replied.
“And until the bombs detonate?”
Tuvok said nothing, merely gesturing towards his console. B’Elanna peeked over, and saw two countdowns, each identical to less than a hundredth of a second. She held her breath.
Suddenly, the cutting beam stopped, and the tractor beam was released. Tuvok wasted no time. He turned the shuttle around and ordered B’Elanna to get the shields back up.
“What happened?”
“I would surmise that the Borg have detected the warheads, and have deemed our assimilation a waste of resources, for the moment,” Tuvok replied.
“I’ve got minimal shields,” B’Elanna reported. “I hope its enough.
“The cube has detonated,” Tuvok said. “Shock-wave approaching. Brace for impact.”
The force of the explosion was felt as the shock-wave slammed into the hull of the shuttle. The star-field outside began to spin rapidly, the planet below moving in and out of the shuttle’s viewfield. With the shields still up and the shuttle intact, it was a small matter for Tuvok to stop the shuttles spin.
With no more emotion than if he had just laced his boots, Tuvok turned the shuttle back towards the surface. Torres, on the other-hand, stretched out her arms. Though she felt a range of emotions, from the thrill of victory to the sorrow of the loss of so many men, her body had other priorities. She fell back into her seat and promptly fell asleep.
——————————————————————————–
Xytin was beaming. Her abrupt change in demeanor had brought more than a curious glance from those nearby in the officer’s mess. Finally Chakotay, who had accompanied Xytin to get something to eat, had to ask why she was so happy.
“They’ve done it,” she explained. “The cube has been destroyed!”
“How do you know?” Chakotay asked. “Voyager moved back behind the nebula, so that the cube would not detect it. Since then, we haven’t seen anything it has done.”
“Ito has seen it, so I have seen it,” Xytin explained, with a grin plastered to his face.
“Ito is your husband, right?” Chakotay asked.
“He is my bond-mate, but I believe it is the same,” she replied. “It is so wonderful for both of us. He was without my voice for so long, and to be together again, especially now, is quite gratifying.”
“I think I understand what you are feeling,” explained Chakotay. “Is there any part of your experiences that are not shared with that of your other?”
“None. Our minds are joined completely. Anything he knows, remembers, feels, or otherwise experiences I can remember as clearly as he can,” Xytin explained. “What is this drink called? It is positively fascinating!”
“Hot chocolate, an Earth drink,” Chakotay replied, with a smile. “What does Ito think of your experiences on Voyager?”
“He is thrilled. We were always the type of people that suspected that there was indeed life on other planets, but we had no idea what type of people they would be,” Xytin replied. “When the Borg came, we knew for certain that there was alien life. Unfortunately, the Borg were not very friendly. We wondered if all of the other life in the universe were like the Borg. That was a frightening prospect. Now we know that there are those in the universe that are like us, peaceful and kind to other races.”
“We like to think of ourselves as kind and understanding, but we do falter from time to time,” said Chakotay.
“Of course, no one is perfect. Is it true that Ti’Hat and the Vulcan, B’Elanna and Tuvok, is it true that they are from this ship?” Xytin asked.
“Yes, it is. In fact, they are both very good friends of mine,” Chakotay explained. “For a while, I thought that they might be dead. When the Captain told me that you knew where they
were, you can’t imagine how relieved I was.”
“I am glad to have eased your concerns,” replied Xytin. “But your friends have been the saviors of my people. If you never lost them, my world might be conquered now.”
“Very true,” replied Chakotay.
“Mr. Chakotay, and Ms. Xytin! How are you doing?” Neelix approached (again proudly wearing his “chef’s hat”). “I trust the chocolate was to your liking?”
“Very good, Neelix. You are the first man I’ve met that could make anything so delicious. The men on my world don’t often cook.”
“Thank you, but there is more to come! And, if I do say so myself, you are in for a treat. For your dinner, I have prepared a delicious Vulcan delicacy, and if I do say so myself, it is absolutely fabulous!”
“I am certain it will live up to your renown culinary standards, Neelix,” Chakotay sarcastically replied.
——————————————————————————–
Janeway sipped her coffee as she looked over the sensor reports detailing the small Borg cube that they encountered. She was unable to discuss it with Seven of Nine before, as she was sent to the Command Mothership to assist in repairs. Though the Khamish reluctantly agreed to allow men to assist in the repairs, Janeway felt it best to send as many women as possible. Seven was an obvious choice.
Janeway set down her mug and replied to the chime at her ready room door.
“Come in.”
Seven of Nine walked in, and as usual remained standing in front of the table, even though Janeway had offered her a seat.
“Are the repairs aboard the Khamish ship completed already?” Janeway asked.
“No,” Seven replied. “But they are far ahead of schedule. I thought I would be more useful aboard Voyager.”
Janeway smiled, and decided to ignore the minor breach in protocol. “I suppose you are right. I did want to talk to you about the Borg ships we just encountered. Janeway offered the PADD with the sensor report on it to Seven.
Seven regarded the PADD for a moment, and looked back at Janeway, “Your question.”
“We have never encountered a Borg vessel of that type,” Janeway replied. “I was wondering if you could give me some information about it. I would like to know what to expect if we run into another.”
“It is a mid-sized attack vessel designed for maximum maneuverability. It is designed to combat species with a technology rating between .7 and 2.3. The Federation is classified with a technology rating of 3.7, so it would be inefficient to send such a vessel to aid in its assimilation. It also has a very limited range, and would not be well suited for a long journey to the Alpha Quadrant. ”
“Bridge to Captain,” Janeway’s communicator beeped.
“Go ahead Mr. Kim.”
“Captain, the Khamish Command Mother is signaling that it is ready to go,” Kim reported. “Our engineering staff will be aboard shortly.”
“Excellent,” Janeway praised. “Well ahead of schedule, too. Is there any word on that Borg cube that we detected heading towards the planet?”
“Xytin says that it has been destroyed,” Kim replied. “The probe we launched towards the planet seems to agree. We detected a large amount of radiation, indicating a nuclear explosion in orbit around the planet. No sign of the Borg cube has been detected.”
“Well, if there is a Borg cube still there, I should like to have the element of surprise working for us,” Janeway said. “Mr. Kim, signal the Khamish Command Mother. We are going to proceed towards the planet at full impulse through the nebula. Let them know that they should be prepared to deploy their fighters as soon as we emerge on the other side.”
“Aye Captain.”
“Well Mr. Paris? Lets get a move on,” Janeway ordered, as she and Seven strode onto the bridge. Janeway was pleased. Not only did it look like they had found the missing crewmembers, they also might not have to face a Borg attack cube after all. Things were developing nicely. With any luck, Voyager could be on her way back towards the Alpha Quadrant within hours.
A pinkish-blue haze filled the view-screen as Voyager entered the nebula. Janeway had always found nebulae to be fascinatingly beautiful phenomenon, but this one gave her a sense of dread. This particular cloud had been the center of some very serious problems, and Janeway hoped that they rest of their trip through this cluster would go a lot more smoothly.
“We’re coming out of the nebula,” Paris announced. Almost immediately, the pink screen blackened, and several distance stars twinkled into view. Directly ahead, one of the stars grew in size dramatically, as the fleet closed in on it. Janeway ordered an all-stop, so that they could make a sensor sweep of the area, in case any Borg ships were still lurking.
“There is a large field of debris around the fourth planet. It was definitely a Borg cube. It seems that the Borg have been quite busy on the planet as well. I am detecting heavy damage to cities on the surface, as well as some atmospheric contamination. It seems that the Borg had already begun to assimilate the planet’s environment before they were defeated.”
“So you aren’t detecting any Borg on the surface?” Janeway asked.
“None yet,” Kim replied, “But the scan will take some time.”
“What about the shuttle? Is there any sign of it?” Chakotay asked, from the front of the bridge.”
“Nothing yet. I’ll try hailing-” Kim replied, and he hurried to send the message.
“Tuvok to Voyager,” the monotonous yet happily anticipated voice that filled the bridge began, “I am reading you. I am transmitting the coordinates of the shuttle to you now.”
“It is good to hear your voice, Tuvok,” Janeway beamed. “Is Lieutenant Torres with you?”
“She is, though she is currently resting. I would not advise waking her, as it has been a long time since she has taken to opportunity to get some sleep. The last person who tried to wake her was given adequate reason to fear for his life.”
“Understood, Tuvok. We will be sending a party down shortly. Also, a Bint’Ari native we discovered in a heavily damaged ship will be accompanying the landing party. Her name is Xytin. Are you familiar with an Ito, her husband?”
“Indeed I am. I will send word to him immediately that his wife will be arriving shortly. I shall also notify the head of the government that representatives from Voyager will be arriving within the hour. The shuttle is presently near the building that is being used for governmental activities, but the First Citizens are not there. There is yet another ‘celebration’ going on, it will take some time to determine the location of either of them.”
“Very well Tuvok, we shall see you shortly. By the way, I have heard some very interesting stories about you two from this Xytin. I am very much looking forward to reading your report.”
Tuvok replied in something frighteningly close to a grumble. “Indeed. I, however, am not looking forward to writing it. Tuvok out.”
As the channel was closed, Janeway let a chuckle escape her lips. “Something tells me that Tuvok did not enjoy his stay on Bint’Ari very much,” she joked.
“Are you kidding?” Chakotay replied, equally amused. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tuvok enjoy himself.”
“True,” she replied. “But I’ll bet B’Elanna had the time of her life. It is not too often that she gets to indulge her Klingon half, and a full scale ground war against the Borg might be just the thing she needed.”
“Poor Tuvok. His entire stay on that planet must have been a nightmare. I can only imagine the total lack of logic that prevailed down there.”
“I’m just happy to have them back,” Janeway replied, as she rose from her seat. “Chakotay, you have the bridge. I need to get ready to beam down.” With that, she made her way into the turbolift.
——————————————————————————–
Word had spread quickly around the capital about the arrival of Voyager and the Khamish fleet. Within minutes of Tuvok’s contact with the ship, both of the First Citizens, several members of the Council, and hundreds of Bint’Ari people had gathered near the beam-down sight. After all, for most of the world, the only experience with aliens that they had was with the Borg. Many were afraid, but most were curious about this new alien species.
Within an hour of their conversation, Janeway beamed down with Kim, Nikolayevich, and the Khamish Colonel. The sight of the two humans brought little reaction from the Bint’Ari, since they had already seen Tuvok, who looked very similar to a human in most respects. The Khamish Colonel instilled a sense of shock and panic in the crowd, however. Tuvok and Torres immediately went forward to greet their crewmates, with no more than a passing glance at the quadruped Kham.
Yavitz and her other both hesitated at the sight of the large insectoid, but they thought it best to present their best faces, and greet the unusual being with respect.
“Captain Janeway, I presume,” Yavitz began, deciding it best to begin with the obvious. After the Captain returned her smile with a nod, she continued. “I am Yavitz, and this is my other, Ira. We are the Usumi of Bint’Ari. It is a pleasure to welcome you to are world.”
“Thank you,” Janeway replied with a smile. “This is Ensign Kim, and this is the commander of the Khamish fleet.”
“Does the Commander have a name?” Ira asked nervously.
“You would not be able to pronounce my name, nor could we translate it into something you could,” the Colonel replied, trying to keep the contempt out of her voice. After all, it was difficult to even imagine a drone as the head of a government. “You may refer to me as Colonel.”
“It is a pleasure to meet all of you,” Yavitz said. “I’d imagine that you would like to see your friends to your ship, but I would like to invite you all back for a reception later this evening. I know that we haven’t much here, after the Borg’s attack, but I think that some sort of official function should be in order.”
“Actually, we were hoping that you would be our guest on Voyager. Normally, we would be honored to accept your invitation to meet on the planet, but we feel there is some cultural differences that we should work out that might require a more neutral setting,” Janeway said with a glance towards the Colonel, who clearly was in shock at the number of men that were around her.
“Aboard your ship?” Ira asked. “That would be incredible. We would be honored.”
“Then it is settled. Tuvok and B’Elanna, I would like you to beam to Voyager, so that The Doctor can check you out. Ensign Nikolayevich will see to it that the shuttle makes it back to Voyager.” Janeway turned to Yavitz. “We shall see you again in six hours. Ensign Nikolayevich will let you know what to expect during beam up.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Yavitz replied. “I am looking forward to it.
Star Trek, Voyager, and related properties are © Paramount Studio, and the author makes no claim towards them.
Post your comments in the Forum!
April 10, 2008
Ti’Hat and the Vulcan: Chapter Twelve
“The Voyager Captain seems awfully hesitant to attack the Borg ship,” the Khamish Lieutenant commented.
“The Captain must have a lot on her mind,” the Colonel replied. “Are the fighters deployed yet?”
“All of the motherships have deployed except for Delta Mother. She was the farthest away from the nebula when the order was given.”
“Relay that Delta is to stand by. We don’t a cube sneaking up on us while the bulk of our forces are fighting with smaller ships,” the Colonel ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
“Have the Borg responded to our attack posture?” The Colonel asked.
“No, sir. They know that we are here, I am certain of it. But they are just sitting there, doing nothing. I don’t understand it.”
“Send them a message stating our intentions, Lieutenant,” the Colonel ordered.
“They are not replying.”
“Well then, send Beta and Gamma groups in for attack. We’ll see what they respond to that.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Khamish Colonel watched confidently as the two groups of fighters surged past their motherships towards the Borg ships. She was struck by the ironic beauty of it. There were five thousand small ships in each of those groups, and the great mass moved forward at her order. The Beta and Gamma Motherships looked naked after their fighters went forth, when compared with the Delta ships, who’s full compliment of fighters still surrounded it.
For a moment, the Colonel wished that she could be in her fighter, one of the tiny ships attacking the Borg. Even though she was arguably the most important part of the attacking Khamish fleet, she felt that those who were out in the fighters doing the dirty work were the ones that were really doing the fighting. But when there were Motherships involved, her place was on one of them. She would have to be content with that.
After the battle had been going on for several minutes, the Colonel returned from the viewport to her Lieutenant’s side.
“How are they doing out there?” she asked.
“Very well!” the Lieutenant excitedly replied. “It seems that those smaller cubes can’t even stand up to our bolt guns, when so many are firing at once. Each of the three Scout cubes are damaged about twenty five percent, and they haven’t even been laced yet.”
“What about the larger one?”
“It is proving to be a problem. Bolt-guns are having no effect, just like on a full-attack cube. But this smaller one is much more precise. Casualties around that cube are high.”
“How soon until we can fire with the monofilament cannon?” The Colonel asked.
“A few minutes yet. This cube moves a lot faster than a full cube, and the fighters are having trouble staying close enough to lace it.”
“Colonel!” the call came from the front of the bridge.
“What is it, Lieutenant?”
“Two more scout cubes have emerged from the nebula. They are heading straight for us,” the Lieutenant reported.
“Well? Shoot them!”
“We can’t hit them! They are too fast for our targeting system.”
“What about Alpha Mother? Have her fighters attack the cubes.”
“Alpha is too far away, Colonel. Those cubes are much faster than our fighters, anyway. I am not certain they’d get here in time.”
“How long would it take us to deploy?”
“Too long Colonel. We have already begun the process, but the cubes will be upon us before we get enough fighters out to make a difference.”
“Helm, back off!” the Colonel ordered, rushing to her command station. “Keep trying to hit them!”
“Colonel,” the Lieutenant argued, “If we move, our fighters can’t deploy!”
“Don’t you think I know that!” the Colonel shot back. “Move!”
The younger officer complied, and entered the heading into the computer. The ship shuddered under the impact of several rapid Borg shots. The viewscreen was struggling to keep up with the Scout cubes, which were blazing around the Command ship at an incredible rate.
“Move us towards Alpha Mother. Hopefully their fighters will reach us before we are destroyed.”
“Aye Colonel,” the Lieutenant replied.
“Colonel, the Borg cube has been destroyed. Beta Blue and Gamma Red is on their way to aid us,” the other Lieutenant reported.
“The Scouts are coming around for another pass, Colonel,” the Lieutenant reported.
“Brace for impact!”
“Colonel, it’s Voyager! They’ve destroyed one of the cubes!”
The ship shuddered again, and several terminals erupted in an explosion of sparks. The viewscreen swung around to the lone cube, swooping down in front of the Command Mothership. Voyager’s torpedoes entered the picture from above, and collided with the smaller ships. As Voyager entered the picture, the cube was destroyed by a series of phaser shots from the Federation ship. The Colonel lowered her wings in a sigh.
“Signal Voyager our thanks,” the Colonel began. “Make a note: All fighters to be deployed upon detection of a Borg vessel. I don’t want this to happen again.” She turned to her Lieutenant. “Status?”
“We have sustained heavy damage. It will take some time to repair. It will be at least twelve hours before we can go into Warp.”
“What about the battle? How are our fighters doing?” the Colonel asked.
“One scout left, sir. One of the two that have been destroyed already were not laced at all. The bolt-guns were enough.”
“That is good news,” the Colonel replied. “As soon as that cube is down, recall all fighters to their Mothers. Set up fighter patrols after they have returned. We are going to be here for a while.”
—
“It seems I owe you an apology,” Ira began. “Planet-bound sensors picked up the cube almost a cycle ago. Perhaps I was foolish to have questioned you, Mr. Tuvok.”
“An apology is not necessary,” Tuvok replied. “You assistance is, however. In order to insure that the warheads are not disabled by the Borg, someone must go onboard the cube to guard them.”
“But when the bombs go off,”
“The ones who go onboard with them will be killed by the blast,” Tuvok finished.
“There is no way to get them off? I mean, you can’t teleport them off? There has to be something.”
“The Borg could disable the warheads in seconds. The transporters on our shuttle do no have the capability to transport more than two people and one piece of equipment at a time. It would require several minutes to transport the fourteen people required to make certain that the warheads are detonated.”
“So I need to ask fourteen people to go to their deaths.”
“Usum, thousands of people died during the first Borg assault. Many more will die when they attack again. It is highly probable that your world will not survive another Borg attack. The sacrifice of fourteen people would be the logical course of action, if it would prevent the deaths of so many others.”
“Logical, yes, but not easier,” Ira replied. “When the Borg invaded, each person on the planet had a chance at living. If they fought hard enough, they would survive. But finding people who are willing to sacrifice themselves. That is a difficult decision for anyone to make.”
“Death in order to save an entire civilization should not be a difficult decision. If one death will prevent millions, that one must be sacrificed,” Tuvok replied.
“It is hard to find any that are so noble, even among a people who are all good at heart,” explained Ira.
“It does not require nobility, do to what it logical,” Tuvok countered.
“My dear Tuvok,” began Yavitz, who was quietly listening to the discourse between her other and the Vulcan, “sometimes it is indeed difficult to do something logical without some noble spirit. We Bint’Ari are not blesses with the freedom from our burdensome emotions, as you are. And our emotions, strongly influenced by our instincts, influence us to chose the path that will lead to our own survival. Asking someone to defy those emotions would be like asking you to deny your logic. They are too much a part of us.”
“Sir, I wish to be one of those who accompany the warheads onto the vessel.” Unexpectedly, Yipu stepped forward.
“Yipu! I can’t allow it,” said Ira. “You are needed here! Especially when this is over. Order must be maintained when the chaos of the war has subsided, and this is not an ideal time to lose the head of the Guard! There will be other people to volunteer.”
“Usum, I have nothing here. I have no family, for my parents died many years ago and I was an only child. I will never be bound myself. I live for my job, and my job is to defend my people from any danger that might present itself. To die in saving my kind- that would give my life the meaning I have always been looking for. Mr. Tuvok, I will go aboard the Borg ship. And I will find thirteen others who will accompany me. There are many in the Guard who feel as I do, who would gladly die to defend Bint’Ari.”
“That is a noble sentiment, Yipu,” praised Yavitz. “I can see why my other values your advice so dearly.”
“How long until the Borg cube arrives?” Ira asked.
“The Borg have not changed course or speed since we downloaded the information from the Borg transceiver,” B’Elanna replied. “They will arrive in orbit in four of your cycles. We managed to find seven warheads that were close enough to working condition to be of some use. We will have two people watch over each of the bombs until they detonate.”
“That is not a lot of time,” Yipu said. “By your leave, Usumi, I must go and find others who will die with me.”
Ira took a deep breath. “Very well, Yipu. I thank you for your sacrifice.”
With a slight nod, Yipu turned and hurried out of the room.
—
Janeway went to sickbay as soon as she came off duty. After the Borg ships disabled the Khamish Mothership, Voyager and the rest of the fleet had to remain behind until it could be repaired. Janeway ordered that a team of engineers be beamed over to the Command Mother to help in the repairs. After a couple of hours of dispute over having men work on their precious ship, the Khamish relented and the engineering team beamed aboard.
Since there was little for her to do until the fleet was up and running again, Janeway had decided to pay a visit to the mysterious Xytin’Ito. It seemed clear now that she and her crewmates had fled their world when it came under attack by the Borg. Analysis of the damaged part of her ship also showed that it was a Borg scout cube that had collided with the sleeper ship, destroying all but her hibernation pod. Ensign Nikolayevich suggested that the Borg did not destroy the ship because they simply could not see it in the nebula. A Borg scout would have no where near the established sensor capabilities of a Borg cube.
The fact that the Borg seemed to have a strong presence in this area of the cluster worried Janeway. Ensign Kim had already determined that Tuvok and Torres had indeed been to the other two nebulas on their flight plan, and had gathered the required amount of diallosilicate from each of them. But this nebula did not show signs that the shuttle gathered any diallosilicate at all. That left the possibility that the Borg found the shuttle as it arrived, and either destroyed the vessel, or assimilated it along with her officers. That was something she did not want to think about.
So Xytin’Ito became a valuable source of information. Perhaps she knew about the shuttle, or could give them some idea about the Borg presence in this area. There were so many questions Janeway had, and she was not certain how to begin asking them to the young woman who had, in all likelihood, lost her world.
Each of the Doctors were performing various tests on the unconscious woman. The Doctor, as usual, would not interrupt his work until the Captain demanded his attention. The same held true for each of the duplicates, none even acknowledged the presence of Janeway.
“Doctor, have you found anything?” Janeway finally asked. At once, all of the Doctors looked up and began to answer at once. Annoyed, each of the Doctors looked down and returned to their work. The Doctor wearing the holo-projector seemed to be the one they appointed spokesman, and he stepped forward.
“Her brain is beginning to return to a normal synaptic pattern, as best as I can tell. I believe that her irregular brain activity could be attributed to a telepathic link she might possess with another of her kind,” the Doctor replied.
“How could that have caused such a reaction? Was the link forced upon her?”
“There is no way for us to tell that,” he replied. “But the brainwave activity she has been experiencing could best be described as a telepathic overload. When she was put into hibernation, there was a sort of block in the link. When she was awakened, the block was removed.”
“And a flood of telepathic energy overwhelmed her,” Janeway concluded.
“Precisely. I was also able to develop a sedative that would not inhibit that process, and she is recovering faster now that the rest of her mind is not getting in the way.”
“Good work, Doctor. How long until we can talk to her?” Janeway asked.
“I could revive her now,” The Doctor replied “though I would recommend against it. She could use the rest. But I suppose you will require me to revive her now anyway, so if you will wait a moment,” The Doctor picked up a hypo and pressed it to the woman’s neck with a hiss. A moment later, Xytin fluttered her eyes open, and looked around.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“You are onboard the starship Voyager,” replied Janeway. “You are safe.”
“A ship?” Xytin asked. “This room is huge. There is no way we are on a ship.”
“Voyager is significantly larger than the ship you were on,” Janeway replied.
“Larger,” Xytin replied. Janeway could see that she was trying to figure out her surroundings. “You aren’t Bint’Ari. Wait!” Xytin spun off of her bed and backed against a wall. “Your from the cube, you must be. You are the ones who attacked us!” Her eyes filled with panic.
“No, no, we are not the Borg,” Janeway comforted. “We are here to help you, not to attack you. We are not from the cube.”
“You don’t look like the Borg,” Xytin replied, as she eased her stance. “My beloved Ito has shown me so.”
“Who has shown you?” Janeway asked.
“Ito, he is my other,” Xytin replied.
“And you share a sort of link with this Ito?”
“Yes, our minds have been bound. You do not bind your minds with those of your mate?” Xytin looked confused.
“Humans do not have any appreciable telepathic abilities,” explained The Doctor, gesturing towards the captain.
“How terrible for you,” Xytin commented. “What about you? Aren’t you human?”
“I may look human, but I am, in fact, a hologram. I have no means of exhibiting any telepathic abilities,” The Doctor replied.
“A hologram? Fascinating!” Xytin said, completely awestruck.
“I have always thought so,” The Doctor replied.
“So you are in some kind of telepathic contact with this Ito?” Janeway asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.
“Oh yes, constant. It is taking some time to “catch up” on things – a lot has happened since I went into hibernation, and we honestly never expected to sense one another again. With the Borg, and all.”
“Well, Xytin, could you tell me, where was your ship going?” Janeway asked.
“We were fleeing the Borg. We had hoped to find another world that we could settle on, in order to preserve our society. We only had two ships equipped with the hibernation system though. The other ship was destroyed before we ever went into the nebula. We were our planet’s last hope, until Ti’Hat and the Vulcan came and lead our people to victory over the Borg.”
“The Vulcan? Are you saying that this Ti’Hat and the Vulcan came to your world, and helped you defeat the Borg?”
“My bond-mate is a communications executive. He monitored all the broadcasts that he could during the invasion. He heard so many tales about Ti’Hat and the Vulcan, about how they lead our people to victory after victory. Just prior to the re-taking of Topachan, our capitol, Ito suffered the same telepathic overload that I did, and that is the last he had heard of them until now. Apparently, their raid on the capitol was a success, and every Borg on the planet disintegrated. Now, according to Yavitz, Ti’Hat and the Vulcan are going to help our people destroy the cube that is approaching Bint’Ari as we speak.”
“Another cube? Are you certain?” Janeway asked.
“Well, Ito is certain. It is hard to explain how he knows, but he is absolutely insisting upon it.”
“Janeway to bridge. Is there a Borg cube on long-range sensors?”
“Negative Captain,” Kim replied. “Though the nebula is blocking a large area of space. There very well could be a cube behind it.”
“Move Voyager in a position to scan past the nebula, and hail the Khamish Command Mother and tell them why you are moving. We may have company very soon. Janeway out.”
“Are Ti’Hat and the Vulcan their names?” The Doctor asked, while Janeway was giving the order to Kim.
“I don’t believe so, but that is how my people have come to know them,” Xytin replied.
“Do either you or your mate know what their names are?”
“Ito believes that they are called B’Elanna and Tuvok,” Xytin replied.
Star Trek, Voyager, and related properties are © Paramount Studio, and the author makes no claim towards them.
Post your comments in the Forum!
