From: ueh@pool.sunyit.edu (Eric Hausgaard)
Subject: ST: 3GEN [4/7]
Organization: State University of New York -- Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 07:59:21 GMT


----------------------------PART FOUR---------------------------------------


when they woke they would breed like wildfire...
     He directed his thoughts to the bridge, and was there in a
millisecond.  That attractive Picard woman was sitting in the
Captain's chair, looking bleak.  He was secretly delighted; the
more discouraged she was right now, the more grateful she would be
for his assistance.
     "Captain," he said politely.  "May I consult with you and Mr.
Cole in your Ready Room?  I have a suggestion."

     "Nanites," said Barnabas incredulously.  "And they agreed to
cooperate--but do you think they'll spread fast enough to make a
difference?"
     "They will, indeed," replied Moriarty.  "Stimulated with a
low-intensity photon beam, they will replicate themselves twice a
second.  At that rate they will have penetrated into the entirety
of the Borg's primary systems within 15.81 minutes."
     "How do you intend to introduce the Nanites to the Borg ship?"
asked Jack.
     "We couldn't possibly launch a bomb or even a probe to take
them over there," Barnabas mused.  "The detonation would destroy
them.  We'd need an away team to release the Nanites directly into
the Borg's computer system."
     "Indeed," said Moriarty.  "And the Borg will soon have
restored enough power to regenerate their electromagnetic shield,
so you must act as soon as possible."
     Barnabas looked at Jack.
     "Make it so, Number One," she said.
     Barnabas gave a short nod and left the Ready Room.  Before the
door closed his voice could be heard saying, "Salek, Mordon,
Amburil, you're with me."
     "I hope you're right on this one, Moriarty," said Jack to the
face on her computer screen.
     "Trust me," said Moriarty, and disappeared with a flourish
that was pure satisfaction.  The Nanites, invaluable little
microscopic robots that they were, wouldn't actually destroy the
Borg's ship, but they would paralyse it quite effectively.  They
would even infect the biocircuitry of the Borg themselves.  If only
Commander Cole and the others could get over there in time...


From:  Cmdr. Barnabas Cole
  To:  Capt. Jacqueline Picard
Subj:  Eureka!

     Salek, Mordon, Amburil and Commander Cole walked quickly
towards the transporter room.
     "We have little time," breathed Barnabas, "but it will have to
do".
     An ensign ran up behind them, with four hand-held consoles.  
"Sir", she said, "we have prepared your computers for you.  Each
one has a  resident copy of the Nanite distributor.   We cannot
tell how long it will take for each Nanite cell to make a
successful infection, nor can we ensure that the Borg will be
unable to combat this security breach."  She handed one hand-held
to each member of the away team.
     "Thank you, Ensign T'Keyn.  Dismissed."
     "Good luck, Sir." she added, and she was gone.
     They reached the transporter pads and stepped up.  A hint of
sadness entered Barnabas' voice as he spoke.
     "Anyone who does not wish to come on this sortie may be
excused without any further consideration," he said, "and there are
significant risks to be taken before we return to the Enterprise."
     He looked around to Salek, standing at attention on the
transport pad.  He did not flinch.  Mordon stood behind him. 
Mordon shifted his feet and then opened his mouth.
     "Permission to speak frankly, Sir?" he asked.
     "Granted."  Barnabas turned around to face him.
     "Sir, if you had not chosen me, I would have volunteered.  I
did not join  Starfleet to just walk around the decks of a
Starship, Sir, I wish to be of service to Starfleet."
     "I will note that in my report, Mordon." Barnabas almost
smiled.  Mordon snapped back to attention, and Barnabas turned back
around to face the transporter technician.  He stood motionless for
a second, waiting, and then nodded to the technician.
     "Very well then, Energize."
     The technician had been given randomized parameters, so that
they might potentially land on any of the upper decks of the vast
Borg cube.  The enterprise flickered out of sight and just as
quickly the away-team found themselves surrounded by the dull
metallic webwork of walls around them in the Borg ship.
     "Location please, Amburil." Barnabas asked, as he went down on
one knee and started typing on the screen of his console.
     "Sir, we seem to be on the 137th level, in the top left corner
of the Borg cube."  She paused. "Relative to the position of the
Enterprise, that is."  Barnabas watched as fear and excitement
danced in the back of her eyes.  
     The away team glanced up and down the long corridors.  
Amburil's eyes settled on the nearest Borg unit and as she surveyed
its greying flesh and the apparent rigor mortis around its sallow
cheeks and blackened eyes she shuddered slightly, and then pulled
her eyes away.
     Barnabas drew himself up from the floor where he had been
unpacking the computer equipment and looked at her, and at Mordon
who was slowly mastering himself as his facial expression fought
between fear and confidence.  The fear heightened their senses and
their eyes often jerked suddenly to the ends of the corridors as
the massive ship hummed and pulsed around them with a sort of
syncopated heartbeat.
     Barnabas spoke.
     "It is not a pretty sight, is it?  That one that Amburil was
looking at seems to be of Terran origin, possibly even an addition
from Earth during the Borg's voyages.  We must, however, get down
to this fast so don't worry about him, or any of the others."
     Salek began to speak.  "Until we become a priority problem,
our presence will remain irrelevant to them.   This is no
compliment to us, of course, but we will be free to do our work
without any interference from them.  At least for a while.  It is 
safe to assume that the Borg have no agitated state.  They are much
like the old Terran 'binary computers'; One or Zero, On or Off,
relevant or irrelevant.  However if we are successful, we will soon
become a threat to them.  Caution is advised."
     Barnabas nodded.  "We will have to split up four ways.  If we
only give the Borglink one infection of Nanites to deal with, it is
possible they could decrypt the Nanite microcode and block their
activity.  I have just patched the generator code for each of our
consoles to use a different algorithm.  Mordon, your  Nanites have
been encoded using the Enigma device.  Salek, your Nanites have
been encoded with a variant of the Level Two Starfleet Encryption
Standard.  Ensign Amburil, you have a little number that Ensign
T'Keyn has developed herself.  Encryption is her hobby, it seems. 
My own console has been impregnated with a live version of the
Romulan Cyberspace Worm carrying Nanites as a child process."
     Salek looked up at Barnabas, his eyes flashed with great
interest and slight apprehension.  Commander Cole guessed what he
was thinking and nodded his head.
     "Yes, the very same Worm that was unleashed by a certain young
Romulan who will forever remain nameless."    
     Salek looked back down at his feet again.  "Sir, will they not
be able to decode these?  Stopping the Nanites once the encryption
is gone would be possible even for the technicians on the
Enterprise.  The distributed computing power of Borg makes the
Enterprise's ship's computer look like an abacus."   He was plainly
uncomfortable.
     "Hopefully they will not have time.  Once each of us has made
the initial infection..."  Barnabas paused, as his silvery
complexion pulled itself into a brief moment of consideration. 
"No, I do not believe they will.  The Nazis never did crack the
Enigma."
     Something clicked inside Amburil's head, and she nearly fell
over.  She began to speak.  "Sir, the Nazis did not crack the
Enigma, but they did capture those who did know how to decipher the
Enigma.  The Borg may try to capture information about our
cryptography from our computers, from the Picard, or even from
another Starfleet ship if one comes into range."     
     Barnabas frowned suddenly, and tapped his communicator.    
"Barnabas to the Bridge, Come in Jack."  His voice was agitated.
     The crackle subsided as the communicators moved away from the
channels that were blocked on the lower decks of the Borg cube.
     "Jack here, Barnabas you should have maintained silence...
What's wrong?"  Jack's voice betrayed concern, however it was still
as even and composed as ever.  Barnabas dropped his shoulders and
let out a deep breath.
     "Jack, I'm worried.  They may try to access the Enterprise's
computer, and gain information about the encryption algorithms
we've used here.  Perhaps we can keep them out... But if we do they
may find another source around, perhaps the Picard, or another
hapless ship in range for computer link.  If they decrypt the
Nanite code they will be able to stop them.  My plan was to  give
them four kinds of Nanites to stop instead of one.  Even that may
not be enough."
     The comm link crackled again.  Jack rose to her feet.  The
comm link was broken.  The Borg's electromagnetic shielding was
cutting off the communicators.  She closed her eyes and put her
hands out over the console  in front of her.  The comm link did not
reopen.  The bridge crew watched her silently.  Her mouth tensed
and then her face relaxed again.  Perhaps she was  praying.

     Barnabas tapped his communicator again.  It came to life and
then shut off again.  His chiselled features took on a harder look
than any of the away team had yet seen on him.  He flipped down the
lid of his console and put the unit under his arm.     "Mordon,
find the nearest gangway and climb down as many levels as possible. 
I will be following you and I will climb up as many levels as I can
muster.  Amburil, you will run down that gangway.  You should be
able to get at least one-third of the way down that corridor. 
Salek, you are no doubt the most fit person among us.  I am
counting on you to get as far as you can.  
     "In exactly five minutes you will all stop where you are and
energize the photon induction beam.  Affix your unit on the wall of
the ship, pointing the beam into the conduit.  The carrier signal
for the Nanite programs will hopefully appear to the Borg to be
part of their own communications.  We cannot tell how long each of
our units will take to infect the Borg's systems or if it will work
at all.  We will not meet again here.  If the Borg systems are
paralysed then they will most likely be unable to prevent us from
being beamed back."
     "What about resistance?" asked Amburil.
     Salek pulled his phaser out of his belt and showed it to them. 
"The phasers should be set on the lowest of the Kill settings. 
That should be enough to disable one or two of the Borg before they
can shield themselves from it.  After they have learned about us,
we should be able to kill one or two more with the phasers on their
highest setting.  If in grave need, set  your phaser on overload. 
The blast should be enough of a signal to the Enterprise to get
them to beam us back, in the event that our communications do not
return.  It may be that our communicators will function on the
higher levels as well.  The Borg seem to take a compartmental view
of security."
     "Enough for now.  Five minutes, and God speed you."   Barnabas
wheeled around and tapped Mordon on the shoulder.  "Let's go."
     Amburil ran down the corridor, keeping to the left side and
crossing the intersections with as much care and stealth as was
possible.   She stopped and listened after what seemed like several
minutes of silent running.  Her watch indicated that only two
minutes had elapsed.  She could not be certain where she was,
because all of the corridors appeared the same.   She turned to go 
down one of the corridors to her left, and her heart stopped.
     She looked in and saw a low table.  A wounded Klingon was
surrounded by four Borg units.  Over the table was a high intensity
light that was shining straight down onto the table, as if it were
a focused spotlight piercing fog.  She pulled her phaser and fired
at each of the Borg units.  Three fell  immediately, disabled but
still writhing, and the last one standing blocked her shot and
turned around to face her.
     "Resistance is Irrelevant. Drop your weapon." it intoned.  She
flipped the phaser on to its highest power level and shifted
frequency bands.  She fired twice at the Borg's head.  A sickening
smell surrounded her, and the charred headless body of the Borg
fell.  It did not move again.    
     Running to the side of the Klingon she found him unconscious. 
It occurred to her that she had never heard of Klingons going
unconscious before, but perhaps it was possible.  His forehead was
burnt open by a low level Laser burn, and he was bruised from the
scuffle.  His left leg was cold, but  otherwise he seemed intact. 
His phaser, uniform, and ceremonial sword were lying in an open
drawer on the far wall of the chamber.  
     Already  her pricked ears picked up the faint rhythmical
marching of more Borg on the way to replace the ones she had
killed.  She shook the Klingon's shoulders but he did not yet stir. 
Her watch bleeped, and she looked down at it.  Four minutes up. 
She had not gotten far.  It would have to be enough though.  
     "T'Keyn, I hope you're as brilliant as Number One thinks you
are," she breathed.  She stood up on the table where the fallen
Klingon lay and reached above the lighted hood that illuminated
him.  She hid the unit behind a mass of wiring and flipped the
power switch.  A faint hum rose out of audible range, and  the beam
turned on, evidenced only by a tiny dot on the surface of the
energy  conduit that ran along the ceiling.  She smiled to herself
and began to step back down.
     A strong arm grasped her around the waist and lifted her down. 
Caught.  She tried to twist in her captor's iron grip but was
unable.  Looking down she saw the dark brown skin of a Klingon
warrior.  It was not the Borg.  She was safe, then, perhaps.
     The Klingon spoke.  "Your coming was fortunate.  It would have
been better to die than to suffer the dishonour of becoming one of
them.  Yet, I find I owe my gratitude to a woman.  You have killed
four of them here, I see.   And the one in the corner will surely
trouble no-one again.  There must be some Klingon blood in you!" 
He laughed in the bellowing way of the Klingons and released her. 
He sank back down onto the table.  Amburil noticed he was wincing
with pain, and that the leg that had been cold was still limp and
lifeless.  She got him his uniform, phaser, and other effects and
smiled.
     "No Klingon blood, but my Grandmother used to say that our
family descended from a long line of Royalty."
     "Then surely it is so.  You fight with great courage.  I thank
you."  He was already dressed again, and he put his klingon blade
back into its sheath.
     "Can you walk?" she asked.
     "We shall see."  He said, standing.  He wobbled and then
stood, and then limped to the doorway.  Even limping he carried
himself with dignity.  
     "We will go now."  he said.
     "We have been cut off from the Enterprise, my communicator is
dead.  We cannot be beamed back to the Enterprise." she explained.
     "Perhaps my communicator will function, even so."  He spoke
into his wrist in harsh Klingon syllables.  "Two to beam up, I
believe you would put it," he said to Amburil, "You will come back
to the Bird of Prey then, with me."
     She hesitated and then agreed.  Their plan was cut short by
the whirring and clicking of approaching Borg.  "I must restore my
honour" he said to her swiftly, and went into the corridor.  
     He returned and wiped his blade.  "There was only one," he
said.  He tapped his wrist again and speaking two syllables that
she did not understand the Borg ship faded out of her sight and
she found herself in the dark interior of a Klingon Bird of Prey.

From:  Lt. (JG) Konnu      
  To:  All                 
Subj:  Time was running out...

      Konnu rubbed the freshly sealed wound on his shoulder. He
looked at Kate Tanthis.
     "Thank you. You are familiar with Klingon medicine?" he asked.

     "Why, Konnu you don't remember... I fused a broken arm of
yours only two years ago."
     "The... Salk? Yes. I remember now. Are you still...tlhogh...
married to him?"
     "Of course. Not even the Borg could tear us apart." Kate
smiled as she offered a slightly battered tricorder to Konnu.
"This was tucked under your tunic."
     "Yes. It has important information on the Borg. I hope." Konnu
got off of the bed and looked into the adjacent area of the
sickbay. A Borg soldier was being treated by a doctor and a vulcan.
Konnu had heard that a Borg would be present on the Enterprise.
     "Lt. D'pyrann is having a tough time of it. The Borg are
really lashing into him." Kate said. Her concern was evident in the
tone of her voice. 
     "He bears his pain well." Konnu put his torn and bloodied
tunic back on and made for the exit.
     "Konnu, don't you want a new uniform?" Kate asked, fearing
what the captain might say.
     "I do not have time to change clothes, I am needed in battle.
Thank you once again." With that Konnu walked out of the door and
into the hall. He spent several minutes wandering the halls,
looking for the turbolift. 
     "jiHtaHbogh naDev viSovbe'... (I'm lost)" Konnu muttered to
himself. Suddenly, a panel in the wall beside him began to speak in
Klingon. "/* Do you require assistance? */" asked the computer in
a masculine voice with some strange sort of human accent.
     "English will do."
     "As you wish. Are you looking for the turbolift my fine
Klingon gentleman?"
     "I am not a gentle-man!" Konnu started to get upset. "Just
direct me to the bridge."
     "No need for anger, but I suppose that is easier for some..."
The voice paused for a second. " Turn left at corridor 22-E. The
turbolift is 6 metres away from that corridor." Konnu grunted and
began walking away.

     The aft turbolift on the bridge hissed open. Konnu stood
within. "Lt. Konnu reporting for duty. Permission to come aboard
captain." 
     "Well, I can't really object as you are already here. Welcome
aboard Mr Konnu." Jack said.  Konnu recognized his friend Maverint
Slike seated at the Conn.  "I'm sorry I haven't had the time to
review your file in detail Mr. Konnu, what areas are you
specialized in?"
     "Tactical and security, captain."
     "Perfect..." a small grin appeared on Picard's face. Konnu was
quickly brought up to date on the plan to introduce nanites into
the Borg.
     "So when their memory is destroyed by the nanites, what will
happen?" Konnu asked.
     "Like any computer that runs out of memory, they should simply
stop everything, we hope." informed Jack. Suddenly a communication
was broadcast on the bridge.
     "Cole to bridge."
     "Bridge here." Picard responded.
     "We have the nanites in tow, and are ready for transport."
     "Very well, proceed." Jack thought for a second and then
added, "Maintain an open channel Number one. I want to know what's
going on  over there."
     "Aye captain. We are beaming over now."
     "Good Luck. Mr. Konnu, take the tactical station, until Salek
returns." Picard finished giving orders for the moment and sat down
in the chair. 
     `Very strange...' thought Konnu. ` A Romulan weapons officer?'
He ignored this oddity for the moment and dumped his tricorder's
information into the main computer. He began analyzing the sensor
scans of the Borg ship.
     Suddenly, a blip from the tactical control panel diverted his 
attention.  "Captain! The Picard is uncloaking for another attack!" 
Konnu reported. 
     As the crew watched, the Klingon battle cruiser de-cloaked and
everyone could see the energy discharge forming around  the tip of
the ship's powerful disruptor cannon. Before the shot could  be
released, however, a force beam from the Borg ship lashed out and 
neatly cut off the right warp engine. This made the battle cruiser
go  out of control, spinning slowly like some kind of strange disc. 
The Picard's shot was discharged.  Everybody on the bridge of the
Enterprise  cringed in anticipation of a direct hit, but
fortunately, the powerful  ball of energy missed the ship by
several kilometres. The Picard  narrowly managed to regain
directional control as it brushed past the  Borg ship. The Klingons
engaged their cloaking device, but their  presence was occasionally
betrayed by plasma sparks trailing from the  ship's severe wound.
     "Time to Borg regeneration?" Jack asked. How long did Barnabas
and Salek have?
     "Approximately 4 minutes captain." Konnu replied. An ensign
who was monitoring the science station spoke next.
     "Captain, I'm picking up some strange readings from the Borg
ship..." the ensign reported. She nervously moved aside as Picard
walked over.    
     "Looks like they're trying to raise their electromagnetic
shields again." Jack tapped her communicator. "Mr. Cole how much
more time do you require?"
     "Just another minute, or two... We have to be thorough or the
nanites won't accomplish anything! We are trying to sssspppkkkk..." 
 
     The channel was overcome by static. Konnu attempted to reopen 
communications. He smacked the control panel in frustration. "No
good captain. The Borg have raised their electromagnetic shields.
We cannot beam them back or communicate with them."
     "Shuttles would be too risky..." Jack was already looking for
alternatives.
     "Actually captain," Konnu said, " my tricorder scans of the
Borg ship have revealed the locations of their weapons hard points.
We could fly 2 shuttles inside the Borg shields, and close enough
to their ship to be inside the minimum range of their weapons. We
would only need some covering fire from the Enterprise..."
     "Good idea, but why 2 shuttles?" Jack asked.
     "A shuttle's transporter can only safely transport 2 persons
at a time." 
     "Good thinking. Get out there Mr. Konnu."
     "Aye captain." Konnu turned for the turbolift door but stopped
as he heard Maverint Slike's familiar voice.
     "Captain, I request permission to be assigned to this duty."
Slike said. 
     "For what reason? I think you'd better serve us here..."
     "Because Ma'am, I've been in a shuttle piloted by Lt. Konnu
before..." 
     "That was a long time ago Lt. Slike!" Konnu barked.
     "I see. Very well, just make sure you all come back." Picard
turned and stared at the viewscreen as the turbo lift doors shut.

    Konnu and Maverint got off of the turbolift and began running
for the shuttle bay.
    "bipivHa'law' (you look terrible)" Maverint growled as they
ran.     
     "You are improving. The last time you spoke in my language you
told me I had dirt under my fingernails."
    "I meant to say you had honour..."
    "Honour! You speak of honour when it was you who won 50 credits
from me in a poker game and you never gave me a chance for a
rematch!" 
     "I was busy getting married at the time... Rematch tonight if
we get outta this?" 
     "Be prepared to lose."

     Konnu and Maverint arrived at shuttle bay 2 and met the two
people who would pilot the other shuttle. Ensigns Martinez and
Wolffe fired up the shuttle `Fermi' while Maverint and Konnu manned
the `Galileo-12'. As the shuttles left the Enterprise, Konnu turned
to Maverint.
     "How have you improved your Klingon accent so well?"
     "Oh, it's easy. I just pretend a Klingon is jumping on my
chest."     
     "Hahaha. Your sense of humour has improved as well!"


From:  Lt. Maverint Slike  
  To:  All                 
Subj:  Put Into Action 

     "Enterprise, this is shuttle Galileo 12. We are 100 kilometres
from the limit of the Borg electromagnetic field. We will cross the
barrier in 1.4 minutes."
     "Understood, Galileo."
     "So you took a tour of duty aboard the Picard, Konnu?... I
thought you'd never leave a post of power aboard a battlecruiser
like the Sovereign Class..." Maverint said rather slyly to his
friend.   
     "It proved to be... tiring." Konnu replied bluntly, then
quickly turned his attention to making minor course corrections.
     "Tiring?!" Mav smirked. "I never thought I'd hear that word
come from a Klingon mouth."
     "I was being polite..." Konnu lowly rumbled. "I held my post
with honour, but it proved to be below my abilities. I wanted
something more... challenging."
     "Having an older brother for a superior officer is about as
challenging as you could get, I suppose..." Maverint trailed off,
realizing the slight faux-pas he made with the mention of Krador.
"We are about to pass through the electromagnetic barrier. Shuttle
Fermi, what is your status?"
     "We are following 4.5 kilometres behind you, sir, on a
parallel course." came the reply from a young ensign.
     "Good." Maverint acknowledged. "Once you pass through the
barrier, proceed to the coordinates in your flight computer and
locate any of the away team in your section of the Borg ship. Do
not power your engines for any reason. It will make you stick out
like Taklian phlea on a poodle. Galileo out."
     "An earth poodle would never be able to withstand the weight
of a Taklian phlea seeing as they outweigh an average human by 200
pounds." Konnu remarked. "Oh... I see... Maybe I was wrong about
you acquiring a better sense of humour..."
     The shuttle shook slightly as its hull passed through the
'shield' surrounding the Borg ship.  "We have passed through the
electromagnetic field." Konnu reported.   
     Maverint tapped his communicator. "Away team, this is
Lieutenant Slike. Respond please."
     As Konnu fired thrusters to bring the shuttle to a full stop,
Mav got his reply.
     "Lieutenant." came Barnabas' voice, his tone posing the
question he needn't ask.
     "The Borg have put up their electromagnetic field around the
ship. I am aboard one of two shuttles positioned out of the Borg's
firing arc sent to retrieve your away team." Maverint replied.
     "Our nanite infection has caused significant damage to the
Borg's operation. The power conduits are radiating more
sporadically in the passing minutes." Barnabas said, the odd
pulsing hum in the background giving proof to his conjecture.
     "Understood sir. The on-board computer has locked onto your
coordinates. Are you ready for transport?" Maverint asked.
     "Have you located the other members of the away team?"
     Maverint looked over at Konnu who was noting the incoming
communications from the other shuttle.
     "Shuttle Fermi reports they have beamed aboard Mr. Mordon"
Konnu replied.
     "Did you copy that, sir?" Maverint asked.
     "Acknowledged, lieutenant. You have a positive lock on Mr.
Salek and Ensign Amburil?"
     "The computer is unable to locate Ensign Amburil's signal on
board the Borg ship, sir. According to the shuttle's sensors, her
signal is 4000 kilometres away."
     Konnu looks up from his panel. "Her signal matches a point on
the projected flight path of the Picard. She must be aboard."
     "Bring us aboard the shuttle then, Lieutenant."
     In seconds Barnabas and Salek were aboard the Galileo 12.
Maverint pivoted the shuttle with the thrusters and fired the
nacelles enough to get them to the Enterprise before powering them
off again. It was when he looked up at the viewport to see the
progress of the Fermi that his heart jumped. Missing the
communication panel the first try, he opened a channel to the
Fermi.
     "Ensign Martinez! Shut down your engines! Before..."
     The cutting beam sliced through the hull of the Fermi and in
seconds it was gone, the sparks of its destruction snuffed out in
the vacuum of space just as fast as they appeared.
     On the bridge, Jacqueline saw the explosion.
     "Ensign! Fire a Riker spread!" she ordered quickly.
     Anti matter crackled around the shuttle as the Borg cutting
beam continued to discharge on and off, searching for it. Konnu
powered the engines and Maverint piloted it through the spread.
     Half a minute later, the shuttle touched down inside the
hangar bay and Barnabas, Salek, Konnu and Maverint made their way
to the bridge.


From:  Cmdr. Jacqueline Picard
  To:  Bridge Crew
Subj:  Moment of Silence

     Jack stood motionless, staring out at the charred wreckage of
the Fermi as it drifted past the main viewer.  Three good
crewmen... the faces of the dead formed themselves automatically in
her mind, and she shut her eyes against the pain of it.  Martinez,
with her black curls and sparkling brown eyes, small face glowing
with excitement, ready to take on absolutely anything.  Wolffe,
grave and bearded, dependable almost to a fault.  Morden, boyish in
appearance, but a brave and impressive fighter, willing even to
give up his life in the service of Starfleet.  All of them dead,
within seconds.  They would never come back, never.  Just one shot
from the Borg ship had ended their dreams, their plans, their
lives.
     "Captain?" said a voice.
     She turned and saw Barnabas coming down the ramp.  His uniform
was torn and filthy, and his eyes were even more haunted than
usual.  Konnu and Maverint followed close behind him.  Salek
resumed his place at the Tactical station.
     "Where is Ensign Amburil?" said Jack.
     "She is on board the Picard, sir," Konnu replied.
     "As long as she is safe.  Mr. Cole, your report, please?"
     Barnabas took a deep breath and began to reply...

From:  Counsellor T'Pryn
  To:  All
Subj:  Patience and Hope

     "This is going to be the last one, I think," grunted James. 
"If I cut off any more of these receptors, I might kill him."
     T'Pryn glanced at the readout of Nikctalos' vital signs.  It
was hard to tell how well he might be; the body temperature of a
Borg was always so low, a two-degree increase might not be anything
to worry about--or it could be a raging Borg fever.  Nikctalos
himself remained motionless and silent, and T'Pryn's knowledge of
his condition extended only to his mental discipline.  That was
still strong, thanks to her intervention, and would hopefully be
stronger still when the last receptor to the Borglink was shut off.
     "Counsellor.  Is this safe?" asked James.
     "Your pardon, Doctor," said T'Pryn.  "My mind was occupied. 
Yes, I believe this will be safe.  You may proceed."
     "You get a lot more Vulcan in a crisis," noted N'Dok as he
prepared another betaparazine injection.
     "It is calculated," said T'Pryn.  "It would not be logical to
allow emotion when it could be detrimental to my efficiency as an
officer."
     "Makes a certain amount of--gods!"  James jumped back as
Nikctalos' body began to convulse violently.  T'Pryn's hands were
torn from the Borg's skull; she staggered back and caught herself
just in time to keep from falling.
     "Computer!  Activate restraint field!" shouted James.  A red
glow surrounded Nikctalos' body and the convulsions stopped, but
the readings on the scanner continued to fluctuate wildly. 
"Counsellor!  What's happening to him?"
     T'Pryn took a deep breath, stepped forward and laid her hands
on Nikctalos' head once more.  "Chaos," she said.  "An enemy
attacking from within, like a disease.  Hundreds of thousands,
multiplying, growing..."  She snatched her hands back before she
began to share Nikctalos's pain.  "I believe the Borglink is
sensing the intrusion of the Nanites into their central system. 
Nikctalos feels it too.  He is... dying, Doctor."
     James's boyish face took on a look of unusual grimness.  "Are
you sure?"
     "I am certain.  He will die."
     "Not if I can help it," muttered N'Dok.  He whirled and
shouted, "Kate!  Bring me 3 more cc's of betaparazine!"
     "What do you intend to do, Doctor?" asked T'Pryn as the Chief
Medical Officer's Second hurried over with the requested injector
and pressed it into James's hand.
     "If he's going to die anyway I've got nothing to lose," said
James.  "I'm going to kill the rest of those receptors."  He
scrutinized the neural scanner a moment, then crouched down and
pressed the injector against Nikctalos's temple.  For a moment
nothing happened, and the Borg's vital signs continued to flicker. 
Then everything seemed to stop dead.
     "Is--" began Kate.
     "Shhh," said James, watching the scanner.
     Bleep.  Body temperature began to creep back down.  Bleep. 
Heartbeat stabilizing.  Bleep.  Blood pressure decreasing to
normal.
     "I did it!"  James gave a whoop and threw the injector up in
the air.  He grabbed the startled Kate and whirled her around in a
dance of joy.  "He's alive!"
     "He appears to be still connected to the Borglink in a subtler
way," observed T'Pryn.  "If he were wholly cut off from their
influence, I do not believe he could survive.  But the conscious
part of their interference has disappeared.  He is still of Borg,
but more himself than I believe any Borg has ever been.  And his
consciousness is returning.  He will be exhausted and need time to
regenerate, but he will recover."  She withdrew her hands from
Nikctalos' brow.  "Your performance has been quite adequate,
Doctor.  The Captain will be pleased."
     "She'd better be!" said James.

From:  Barnabas Cole
  To:  Jacqueline Picard
Subj:  It Worked...

     "It worked", said Barnabas grimly, still gazing at some
indefinite point in space.  The viewscreen still showed the Borg
ship, now paralysed, but the shuttle was gone.  Forever.  "We split
up, and I haven't communicated with Amburil since we split up, but
Salek, Morden, and I went together a little ways until we found a
very long shaft.  There were no rungs, but there was a large metal
pole which must have been used for the elevator, but the elevators
were not in sight.  Morden climbed onto it, and
quickly slid out of sight.
     "Feedback to the ships computers show that his unit was the
first to infect the Borg, and his unit did the most damage.  He got
almost to the relative bottom of the ship.  I got up three levels,
climbing up slowly by holding onto conduits and access holes,
decided to run lengthwise until I felt I had reached the centre of
the ship or at least nearly.
     "The Borglink didn't accept the handshake from my unit, so I
shut it off and ran over one more corridor.  I encountered a Borg
unit, and shot him.  I didn't see any more of them.  Morden radioed
me to tell me that he had set his unit up and that it seemed to
have taken root.  He also said he hadn't run into any of the Borg
on his level, and he thought perhaps he had reached an engineering
or computer room.  We don't have maps of the cube's layout, so we
can only guess.  I didn't hear from Salek or Amburil.  
     "I set my console up a second time, and this time they cracked
my code.  They stopped my Nanites.  I wrote the cypher on that one
myself, and I had thought it was a good one. They got back 'inside'
my own computer and deciphered its logic.  I don't know how they
did that.  If it had run, the Borglink would have overflowed
sooner, and they wouldn't have been able to squeeze off that shot."
He cursed himself inaudibly.
     Jack sighed.  "I know what you're thinking" she said, "and
you're wrong. There is nothing more that can be done, and as much
as this hurts us, we could not have done anything else, in good
conscience."
     Barnabas looked around, his face was now forcibly calm but
still grim, and his wrinkled forehead was sweaty.  His eyes
betrayed worry, something he didn't normally allow himself to show.
     "You don't have any Betazoid blood in you, by any chance?" he
asked. He did not smile, but his lips lost a little of their bitter
curl and the hard lines on his forehead softened.  He knew she
couldn't read his mind, but she knew him well and it didn't take
telepathy to tell he was deep into a personal battle with his own
regret.
     "I want to sink into bed and not wake up for a long time" he
added, "but we still have this ship to deal with.  I think we've
got them in deadly embrace, and we could systematically destroy the
ship."
     Barnabas did not think she would give the order to fire.  _In
war, who can judge right and wrong?_ he asked himself.  _Yet the
Borg would kill us all without hesitation if it suited their
purposes._  Their cold activities seemed to leave them no room for
guilt or ethics, yet they did seem capable of reprisal.  For what
could the shot at the shuttle have been but a last attempt to
inflict damage?  
     The Enterprise stood over the crippled Borg ship,  as if
poised for the coup-de-grace.
     "How is Nicktalos?" Barnabas asked, quietly.

From:  Lt. Konnu/Capt. Picard 
  To:  All
Subj:  Borg Saga (Edited)

     "Who is Nikctalos?" asked Konnu.
     Jack shook her head.  "He's a Borg.  Believe me, it would take
too long to explain."
     "Not the Borg I saw in Sick Bay?"
     "Yes."
     Konnu raised his eyebrows.  "A Romulan at Tactical and a Borg
in Sick Bay -- this is the strangest ship I have ever been on. 
Well.  You say, Commander--" he looked at Barnabas-- "that you
think the Borg ship should be crippled by now.  But we have no way
of knowing how far the Nanite infection has spread."
     "True," said Barnabas reluctantly.  "According to our previous
calculations, the Nanites would have infiltrated the whole Borg
network by now *if* all of the hand-helds had operated at optimum
efficiency.  We can't be sure how effective the Borg have been at
stopping this infection.  All we can say is that they appear to be
crippled and that they have not fired a shot since the one that
destroyed the Fermi."
     "So any second now, the Borg could be tearing this ship
apart!"  Konnu looked grim.  "We need to distract them until we can
be sure the Nanites have done their work."
     "Captain," Mac Scott reported from the engineering console at
the back of the bridge. " The cloaking device will only operate for
another 5 minutes until I have to shut it down."
     "Well," Jack addressed the bridge crew, "any suggestions?"  
     "Captain," Salek turned around from the Ops station. "We could
lead the Borg on a high warp chase. It would buy us time..."
     "Bah!" Konnu almost spat out a racial slur until he checked
himself. The Romulan was a higher ranking officer.
     "Perhaps the Klingon has a better suggestion?" Salek spat.
     "That will do Centurion." Picard was getting upset. The
Klingon and Romulan were already exchanging deadly looks. "Well Mr.
Konnu, have your say."
     "We could make for the Lodge asteroid cloud. Once there, we
could use the asteroids to our advantage! We could hide amongst
them and wait for the time to attack the Borg!"
     "That might not--" began Jack, but Salek interrupted her.
     "Captain!  Incoming transmission... It's being forced to the
screen!"
      The crew gasped as they watched the form of a Klingon-Borg
appear on the main viewer.
     "G'arecth!" Konnu shouted after recognizing his old friend in
this new, hideous form.
     "The G'arecth unit no longer exists. I am Laboitor, of Borg.
Your preparations are irrelevant. Your attempts to harm us with
small creatures are irrelevant."
     "He's bluffing!" said Barnabas.
     "Bluffing is irrelevant. You will now unconditionally
surrender to the Borg. We will reclaim the Borg unit we seek, and
you will all be assimilated. Any further resistance will result in
the destruction of your vessel."
     Jack made a slashing motion across her throat to cut
communications. The main viewer returned to showing the outside of
the imposing Borg ship.
     "They may or may not be right about the Nanites," she said. 
"Mr. Konnu, I think we're going to have to take your suggestion. 
Mr. Slike, take the helm; I'm counting on you to keep this ship
from colliding with any of those asteroids.  Estimated time to the
Lodge asteroid cloud?"
     "Five minutes at Warp Nine, Captain."
     "Plot cours 127 bearing 280 mark 7.  Cloaker to half-power,
Mr. Salek, and... engage."  Jack turned and sat down in the
Captain's chair as the Enterprise wheeled and shot off into the
void, the Borg vessel in lumbering pursuit.
     "It appears to be barely able to keep up with us, Captain,"
said Barnabas.  "I think the Nanites aren't quite as irrelevant as
the Borg thought they were."
     "Good," said Jack.  "Let's see how long it takes before
they're *really* relevant..."

From:  Capt. Jacqueline Picard
  To:  All
Subj:  Omega Hour

     "Borg vessel remains in pursuit," said Maverint.  "Now
entering the Lodge asteroid belt."
     "Steady as she goes, Lieutenant."  Jack rose from her chair
and began slowly to pace the bridge.  "There is no time to call an
official council on this matter, but I would like your input. 
Lieutenant Konnu, you may consider yourself part of this council
for the moment."
     "My thanks, Captain," said Konnu.
     Jack gave him a short nod of acknowledgement.  "It seems clear
that the Nanites are doing their job.  The Borg ship is unable to
maintain a prolonged pursuit and has made no effort to fire its
weapons."
     "Electromagnetic shield strength is decreasing steadily," said
Maverint, his eyes on the helm readout.
     "That's consistent with the projected results of a late-stage
Nanite infection," said Barnabas.  "I think there can be no doubt
that our operation has been a success."
     "In that case, we have the potential to destroy the Borg
ship," Jack continued.  "The question is:  should we?"
     "If you will permit me to suggest, Captain," said Salek from
above, "such an attack upon a crippled vessel might be considered
grounds for an all-out war between the Borg and the Federation."
     "And if the Borg decide to make a war out of this," Barnabas
added sombrely, "we won't be able to use the same tricks on them
again.  They learn from every battle.  They'll develop a complete
defense against future Nanite infiltration, and a resistance to
plutonium explosives, and we'll be no better off than anybody who'd
never met the Borg before.  We'd be dead in the water."
     "It is certain that the Federation could not withstand an all-
out Borg assault," rumbled Konnu.  "One ship was able to destroy
six Federation vessels during the last encounter with the Borg. 
The reappearance of another Borg ship suggests that they may have
a great number of other vessels which, if employed in this battle,
could conceivably destroy the Federation as we know it."
     Jack looked grave.  "I am aware of that, Lieutenant.  However,
the danger of not destroying this ship may be just as great."
     "What is the purpose of the Borg in invading this sector?"
Konnu asked, heavy brow furrowing.  "They do not seem to be bent
upon conquest.  They treated the Picard as if it were a mere
obstacle to their real goal."
     "It was," said Jack.  "They want the Borg unit you saw in Sick
Bay -- Nikctalos D'pyrann.  However, he is a Starfleet officer, and
I do not intend to let him go."
     "Is one Borg worth the lives of three crewmen?" asked Salek in
astonishment.
     "For once I find that I agree with a Romulan," said Konnu. 
"This does not seem to make sense."
     "When I entered this battle," said Jack tightly, "it was not
my intent to lose _any_ crewmen.  The fact that we have lost three
is indeed a blow to the Enterprise.  However, the Borg are a threat
which must be dealt with.  They are not known for compassion:  who
is to say that, given Nikctalos, they would not immediately destroy
this vessel and move on to conquest of the entire sector?  That is
a risk I am not inclined to take, sirs.  No, Nikctalos will remain,
and we _will_ finish this battle."
     An asteroid tumbled past the screen and on into the reaches of
space.  "That looked a little close, Mr. Slike," said Jack.
     "Sorry, sir.  Electromagnetic fluctuations from the Borg
vessel seem to be altering the trajectories of these asteroids. 
Recommend we exit the field as soon as possible."
     "Recommendation accepted," said Jack.  "It would be extremely
embarrassing to beat the Borg and then be pummelled to death by
asteroids."
     Maverint laid in the new course.  "The Borg's electromagnetic
field is off, Captain.  They seem to have experienced major power
loss to their systems.  Regeneration rate has dropped to 10% of
normal capacity."
     "They're dying," said Barnabas.  "They're no threat to us
now."
     "Agreed," said Jack.  "Mr. Salek--"
     "N'Dok to Picard," crackled James's voice through the
communicator.  Jack touched her badge.  "Yes, Doctor?"
     "I've just managed to isolate Nikctalos D'pyrann completely
from the conscious part of the Borglink!  Or so Counsellor T'Pryn
tells me."
     "That is correct," confirmed T'Pryn's quiet voice.
     "How is he?" asked Barnabas.
     "He's pretty ragged out, but I'll say he should be back to
normal within a couple of days."
     "That's good news, Doctor," said Jack.  "Keep us posted. 
Picard out."
     "Captain!" said Maverint.  "Energy levels increasing on the
Borg ship!"
     "Communication coming through," said Salek almost at the same
moment.
     "Open channel," said Barnabas.
     The half-Klingon, half-Borg Laboitor appeared on the screen. 
One hand was clutched to his chest as if he were suffering the
advanced stages of a heart attack; the other gripped the metal pole
beside him for support.  "Borg unit 889 349 246 345 001 has been
terminated," he rasped.  "It has become irrelevant."
     "So it has," said Jack crisply.  "And so have you.  Mr. Salek,
prime all weapons--"
     "Captain!" shouted Maverint.  "The Borg ship is about to self-
destruct!"
     "Warp Eight, Lieutenant!  Engage!"
     Maverint's hands flew across the console.  The Enterprise
veered and shot out of the asteroid belt like an arrow from Orion's
bow, just as the Borg ship convulsed, glowed white-hot and exploded
like a supernova.  Chunks of flaming debris hurtled past the
Enterprise, and the ship rocked.
     "Captain!  Aft shields down by 30%!" came Mac Scott's voice
over the intercom.
     "Transfer all power to the aft shields!" shouted Jack. 
"Lieutenant, increase to Warp Nine!"
     "Increasing... we've made it!"
     "On screen, Mr. Slike."
     The main viewer filled with the image of the vast black
reaches of space, what had once been the Borg ship now a mere
twinkling star among a thousand.
     Jack took a deep breath.  "Drop to Warp Two, Lieutenant.  Lay
in course for Starbase 643.  Mr. Salek, open a frequency to the
Picard."
     "Hailing frequency open," said Salek, and Jack found herself
looking at the weary face of the Picard's Captain.  "Captain
Krador," she acknowledged.  "May I congratulate you and your
crewmen for their valiant efforts in the service of the Klingon
Empire and of the Federation.  And may I also extend my condolences
on the loss of your crewmembers.  We too have suffered losses in
this battle, but as you can well see the struggle was not in vain."
     "Indeed," growled Krador.  "We have your Ensign Amburil on
board our ship.  She was responsible for the rescue of one of our
officers.  For that you have our gratitude."
     "We will rendezvous at Starbase 643, if you are amenable to
the arrangement," said Jack, "and we will retrieve our Ensign
there.  You would also be very welcome to stop and refresh
yourself, and I feel certain also that the Starbase will be glad to
provide you with whatever resources you will need to repair your
ship for the journey home."
     "Our thanks, Captain Picard," said Krador.  "We will meet you
at the Starbase.  Krador out."  His image vanished.
     Jack let out a long breath and turned to see Barnabas looking
at her.  He looked more tired than she had ever seen him before. 
"Mr. Cole," she said quietly, "you are dismissed.  Go and get some
sleep."
     Barnabas looked as though he were about to protest, then
nodded slowly and trudged up the ramp to the turbolift.  Jack
turned to Konnu.  "Lieutenant, I appreciate your great service to
this ship, but you are no longer required for the present:  I offer
you the freedom of the Enterprise.  If you wish, quarters will be
provided, or you may wish to engage in a battle simulation on the
holodecks--"
     Konnu bared his teeth in a slow Klingon smile.  "You know your
Klingons well, Captain."  He saluted her and headed after Barnabas. 
Jack watched him go and then collapsed into her chair.      "This
has been the longest day of my life," she said.


From:  Doctor James N'dok
  To:  Capt. Jacqueline Picard
Subj:  Borg Infiltration

    James was busy at work. He had just managed to sever the new
Starfleet Borg completely from the Borg-consciousness. A report was
due and...
    "James!" It was Kate. N'Dok wheeled around to come face to face
with a Borg.
    "Abduction is irrelevant. Return our malfunctioning unit."
    James was getting angry.  "Wanna know something you piece of
tin? YOU'RE irrelevant."  He raised his phaser and fired at the
Borg, apparently killing him.  "And so are the Borg," he added.

    "N'Dok to Picard!"
     "What's up, Doctor? How's our patient doing?"     
     "Just fine Captain, but we've, uh, had a vistor."
     "A visitor? ..." Jacqueline paused. "A Borg?"
     "Yes sir. I killed it."
     There was a brief pause. James concluded that Jack was
checking with the bridge staff to confirm. "We didn't detect it,
Doctor."
     "Uh oh. This doesn't seem good, Captain."
     "I agree, Doctor. Senior Officer's meeting in 10 minutes."   
     "Yes sir."
     James took a moment to reflect. "I hate this..." he muttered.


From:  Capt. Jacqueline Picard
  To:  Senior Officers
Subj:  Cleanup Job

     "The Borg Dr. N'Dok shot may have been the only one," said
Jack.  "But we can't be sure of that.  Our sensors aren't telling
us anything."
     Silence.  She stopped pacing around the council table and
gazed at her officers.  Barnabas, having enjoyed precisely thirty
seconds of sleep before the meeting was called, sat at the far end
of the table looking like the creation of an unusually inventive
taxidermist; James was a little wild around the eyes after his
encounter with the Borg; Salek and Konnu were busy exchanging
baleful glares; and even the effervescent Mac looked sombre.  Jack
herself felt like she'd been dragged backward through a Tigellian
harvester.  The only one who seemed to have it all together was
T'Pryn--but then with Vulcans, one never knew.
     "I've tried modifying the sensors to pinpoint the Borg," said
Mac wearily, "but nothing seems to pick them up.  They've got to be
wearing some sort of sensor-jamming device--or maybe it's built
into them.  Or there aren't any more Borg on board, but for some
reason I kinda doubt that."
     "So do I," said Salek dryly.  "It would seem logical--" T'Pryn
glanced at him sharply, then smiled-- "that if the Borg were able
to transport any units off the ship before it exploded, they'd do
so.  Not as we would, to save individual lives, but rather in one
last attempt to destroy us."
     "How many Borg do you think would have made it here, then?"
     "There is no way to be certain," growled Konnu.  "Except to
make a complete manual sweep of all decks."
     Jack nodded.  "Mr. Salek, coordinate Security and make it so."
     As Salek rose from his seat and headed toward the door, Konnu
said, "May I be permitted to participate in the sweep, sir?  I
would like to familiarize myself with this vessel."
     "And you'd hate to miss a good fight, no doubt," said Jack
with a half-smile.  "Proceed, Mr. Konnu.  Oh, and both of you--"
     Salek and Konnu stopped and looked back.
     "Try not to kill each other, will you?  It's the Borg we're
supposed to be fighting, not ourselves."
     The grin that tugged at the Klingon's mouth was a little bit
sheepish, Salek's raised eyebrows equally so.  The door hissed shut
behind them and Jack continued, "Well.  The question is--"
     "I have a question," said Mac abruptly.  "If there are any
Borg units left on board, how are they functioning?  On board their
ship they depend on a computer network, so they can act together. 
Without that Group Mind, they're useless."
     "In fact, they generally die," added Barnabas, who was
starting to look somewhat less stuffed and more like his old self
again.
     "Right," said Mac.  "So how are they functioning now?"
     Barnabas looked at Mac.  Mac looked at James.  James looked at
T'Pryn.  T'Pryn looked at Jack.  And a single word came from five
mouths at once:
     "Moriarty."
     "Did you call me, Captain?" came the familiar cultured British
voice over the intercom.  Now, however, it sounded unusually
strained.  "My pardon, but I am finding myself somewhat taxed at
the moment."
     "I imagine you are," said Jack crisply.  "How long ago did
they penetrate your system?"
     "Approximately fifteen minutes ago a Borg unit appeared in
Holodeck One and jacked itself in."
     "Is it still there?"
     Moriarty's voice had a catch in it.  "I--don't know, Captain. 
I have been cut off from assimilating any sensor readings. 
Jacqueline, is this what it's like to be blind?"
     The plaintive note in the last sentence made Jack's throat
tighten, but she refused to let it show.  "Can't you fight them?"
     "I am making every effort--Jacqueline, I have no time to speak
-- 
 "Seize the moment, Mirabor...Seize the moment" -- Picard 
   "The closer to the solution, The more problems occur"   
              Even *I* don't want my opinions
    All Flames/E-mail to ueh@sunyit.edu until I graduate....