Organization: Penn State University
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 15:31:15 EST
From: <CGM101@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: The Vigilante part 4b

general disclaimers apply

All poetry is taken from from "The Collected Works of Robert Service"
Without permission but great respect

all poetry in part 4 (cited or not) taken from the poem:
"The Soldier of Fortune" by R.W. Service


***********************
Lawrence E. Nagy
in care of:
cgm101@psuvm.psu.edu

*****************************************************




                   T H E   V I G I L A N T E

                              IVB

                        "Ring of Spears"
                          (continued)



              Must I now forever and forever go from you?
              Ah, yes I must...for if I do this thing,
              How can I look into your face again?
              Knowing you think me more than half a king
              I with my craven heart, my honour slain.
              ..........
                        "The Soldier of Fortune"
                              Robert Sevice


    Soon all carriers were blossoming an assortment of small
fighters.  The Vigilante had to pull further back to stay out of
the way of the growing swarm of small ships.
    "Sir," S'Erlet said "Current count of fighters is 1,238 and
growing."
    The Borg were currently visible only on high magnification
and holding warp 9.  Suddenly the Leader's ship glowed blue
around its gun ports.  It released two large beams of blue
light.  The beams continued long after they had disappeared into
the distance.
    The Vigilante was watching the ship and the Borg on a split
screen.  The beams had merged to one by the time they hit dead
center on the middle, left Borg cube.  The cube suffered no
obvious major damage, but its lights seemed to dim slightly and
some sparks erupted from the impact area.  All six cubes,
however, immediately dropped out of warp.
    "I think they just pissed them off." O'Malley whispered to
herself.
    "I think your right, Ensign" The Captain responded from
behind her.
    At warp 9.05, the fleet had to almost immediately drop out
of warp to keep from running into the Borg.  The fighters and
other ships leaped forward attacking all six cubes.  The
leader's ship had dropped out of warp as soon as it had fired.
It now approached at impulse speeds.
    The carriers stayed just out of standard Borg range allowing
their fighters to do the work for them.  The five undamaged
cubes started taking immediate tolls on the fleet.
    Each cube projected multiple tractor beams holding the
larger ships at a safe distance while their shields absorbed
what weapons that could be released on them.  The Borg then
initiated their cutting beams, one ship at a time.
    The fighters headed through the Borg's shields and fired
indiscriminately on the cubes.  The Borg's reaction was
immediate, they started firing energy charges into the swarms of
fighters.  The charges took out several of the fighters at a
time.
    "Sir," Norton said "I've got a message coming from one of
the Borg cubes."
    "Put it on the screen." Anthony responded.
    The screen changed to a scene of a bearded humanoid with
several Borg adaptations.  Sections of the mans hair and beard
were shaved to make room for an appliance.  Tubes lead from his
shoulders over his head connecting to the appliance.  His eye
that wasn't covered was bright red, like the man's they saw in
the message earlier.
    The voice was mechanical and sounded like several were
talking at the same time.  "The fighters are irrelevant." It
said  "You will all be assimilated like the rest of your people.
Resistance is futile."
    "Have we gotten any of the pilots yet?" Anthony asked.
    "No, Sir" Norton said "The Borg defenses against the
fighters are too quick, and the ships aren't well shielded we
have no way of knowing who to track.  When they're hit, they
explode immediately"
    "Tell them to keep an eye open, there might still be
somebody we can grab." Anthony looked back at the image on the
screen continuing to tell all how irrelevant and futile the
whole situation was.  "And get that off the screen."
    The on going battle reappeared.  One of the large ships that
had moved in on the cubes was beginning to break up.  The cube
had several tractor beams on it and was splitting it down the
middle.  So far, they hadn't seen any escape pods launched from
any of the ships.
    Then a new strategy became apparent, the fighters after
getting through the shields were able to blast holes in the Borg
ships.  They then flew into the ships.  The cube this seemed to
work best on was the one hit by the long range blast.  But
several others also appeared to have been entered by fighters.

.............

    By the time Sir Utlin had made his way to the launch deck,
his wing and many others had already launched and were engaging
the enemy.  His personal fighter was a modified (of course)
X1-90 single pilot attack craft.  It had dual warp blasters
mounted on the sides where the standard phaser cannons should
be.  There was a standard phaser cannon in the nose, taking the
place of survey equipment.  The survey equipment was meant for
peace time missions and war time surveillance missions, neither
of which Sir Utlin was involved in anymore.
    The craft was also fitted with experimental life support
equipment.  The equipment was said to extend life support time
indefinitely, but he'd never needed it.  As Sir Utlin waited for
the fighter to be prepared for launch it occurred to him that he
had no place to go if he did survive the battle.  His life
support may last indefinitely, but he only had limited food and
very limited room to 'live' in.  These things shouldn't concern
him at this point though, his first mission was to fight
valiantly in the battle.  If, in the end, he found that he was
still alive, he'd worry then.
    When the ship was placed on the launch line in front of him,
Sir Utlin placed Commander Travois' sword in the standard, but
never used, scabbard behind the seat.  He folded his cape and
also placed it behind the seat.  He then took the helmet off the
seat and put it on.   After he lifted himself into the cockpit
he connected the helmet's wires to the navigation and fire
control computers and secured the belts.  The straps pressed him
firmly into the custom fitted seat.  The g-suit he wore under
his uniform inflated to prevent high-g black outs.
    The launch sequence was projected into the face shield of
the helmet.  "Sir Utlin," came  the Voice from flight control
"You are cleared for launch." as soon as the voice ended, the
seat seemed to wrap around him.  The launch tube rushed at him
then suddenly turned to stars, black and mayhem.

.............

    The Vigilante had parked over-head looking down on the
action.  The Borg ships remained in their formation but the
damaged cube seemed to stray a bit.
    "Sir, I believe the lead ship is about to fire on the Borg
again.  I read the same power build up as before." Norton
reported.
    Soon the ships that were maneuverable broke from the attack
and away from the line of fire.
    "Keep us away from them." Tarva said as some of the swift
fighters headed in their direction.
    "Have any of the fighters come out of the cubes yet?"
Anthony asked.
    "I haven't read any exiting fighters" S'Erlet reported.
    As soon as the path was cleared, except for the two ships
still held by tractor beams, the Leader's ship fired again.
This time, it targeted the cube that seemed to have taken the
most damage from the fighters.  There wasn't even distance
enough for the two beams to appear to fully become one.  The
cube glowed bright blue as the energy from the beam dispersed
around its shields.
    As soon as the ship ceased fire, the fighters swooped back
in on the Borg.  This time, however, the fired on cube broke
formation and went after the leader's ship.  Apparently, after
firing the weapon, the leader's ship wasn't able to maneuver
quickly.
    A good third of the fighters broke off from the remaining
five cubes and attacked the one going after their leader.  The
four remaining maneuverable cubes seemed to take this as a cue
and spread out.  They stopped using the grab and cut technique
and started firing more energy charges.  The fighters and ships
quickly succumbed to the new method.  Even the carriers that had
stayed in the background were now targeted.
    The large carrier that had released the shuttle took several
hits in the side.  It had continued releasing fighters and had
even collected some damaged ones on the giant bottom door.  Now
it rocked from internal explosions as the fighters inside
ignited from chain reactions.

............

    When Sir Utlin launched from the Star Controller he had a
difficult time not being hit by any of the fighters.  He could
hear the constant chatter of the fighters from his command.  All
semblance of order or controlled attacks had disappeared.  The
Borg dealt with them in a very efficient manner, just destroy
anything that comes near.
    Before he had a chance to approach any of the cubes, he
heard the Star Watcher's warning of 'fire in the tube'.  He
didn't hesitate in following the other fighters pulling away
from the enemy.
    He thought that he could hear the shot, using the Star
Watcher at point blank, in the middle of battle, like this, was
unheard of.  When he swung around back toward the Borg he
expected to see only five ships.  Instead, he saw all six, only
this time one had broken formation and was going after the Star
Watcher.
    The Star Controller tried to divert the Cube but only
sustained damage as it passed.  Sir Utlin could see the his ship
rocking from exploding fighters and fuel.  It wouldn't be long
before Commander Travois made good on the Pledge of Following.
Many of the other fighters headed toward the Cube to protect
their leader.  Sir Utlin knew it was fruitless, they should
concentrate on the damaged ship.  Perhaps they could at least
destroy one.
    Diverting his course toward the damaged Cube, the last he
saw of the Star Controller was it lining up for its destiny.
"Good by my friends." he said aloud and accelerated to his own
destiny.

............

    The great carrier lumbered toward the cube attacking the
leader's ship.  As it approached, they could see that no escape
pods were being ejected.  The immense carrier, the pride of its
fleet, was dwarfed by the single cube.
    When the carrier was attached to by the tractor beam, Norton
looked up and said "She's powering up her warp engines."
    Before anybody could react, the carrier jumped to warp and
collided with the Borg ship.  The explosion rocked the Cube
causing most of one side to cave in and open to space.  They
could see debris flying from the opening.  Almost immediately
the hole slowly started closing in.
    The leader's ship had taken sustained damage and didn't have
the power to pull away from the Cube while it was regenerating.
While the hole was still open, the fighters took the opportunity
to enter the ship.  Several small surface explosions could be
seen from the damaged caused by the fighters on the inside.
This was the first time fighters on the inside were obviously
doing something.
    The number of maneuverable ships had been greatly reduced.
Only five seemed in relatively good repair.  The rest were
either disabled like the leader's ship, or destroyed.
    The four remaining undamaged cubes strung out across the
battle area.  They began meticulously destroying all ships in
their path.  It was as if they had had enough of this game and
it was time to clean up.
    The Borg ship involved in the collision was only about two
thirds finished with its repair to the hole when it locked back
onto the leader's ship.  This time the cutting beam took obvious
chunks out of the haul.  As these pieces were absorbed into the
superstructure of the cube, the hole closed up a little more.
    The Borg's advancing destruction of the leader's ship was
evident, but still no escape pods were jettisoned.  Suddenly,
the Borg let go of the ship and moved away from it.  Just as the
Cube got some distance, the ship self destructed.
    Within a few more minutes, one of the remaining ships made
another suicide run on a cube that had grabbed it.  This time,
however, the Borg were ready for it and the ship exploded
harmlessly against the cube.
    The remaining ships and fighters took the same tactics, as
the Borg got a hold of them, they would implement some sort of
suicide maneuver.  Though valiant, none were successful.  The
Borg had learned from the first ship to do it and were prepared
for it.

............

              **********
              No! No! my mind's made up. I gaze above,
              Into that sky insensate as a stone;
              Not for my creed, my country, but my Love
              Will I stand up and meet my death alone.
              Then though it be to utter dark I sink,
              The God that dwells in me is not denied;
              "Best" triumphs over "Beast" -and so I think
              Humanity itself is glorified....
              **********


    Sir Utlin flew wide around the other Cubes.  Through his
radio he could hear the reactions to the destruction of the Star
Controller.  The destruction also seemed to push four of the
remaining Cubes into action.  They fanned out and started
destroying every thing in their path.
    One of the things he heard his comrades doing was flying
into the Cube the Star Controller had just rammed.  This sounded
like a good idea.  With his extra fire power he may be able to
open a hole big enough to get into the damaged cube.
    On approach, his sensors read no shielding from the Cube.  A
few other fighters were flying around the ship virtually
ignored.  They seemed to be indiscriminately firing on the
superstructure.
    He switched to a general scrambled frequency "Attention,
this is Red Wing Commander, what wing are you?" the ship to ship
signals had very limited range to keep down the confusion.
    "Go ahead, Red Wing Commander, this is Blue Wing, or at
least what remains of it."  Blue Wing was from Star Fire, a
small but highly decorated carrier, it was one of the first
destroyed.
    "Do you have any strategic targets on these things?" he
asked as he swooped over the massive ship.
    "No sir, not really, we've just been hitting anything that
looks important." returned the young voice.
    "Have they returned fire?" Utlin asked making a high-g turn
and flying back.
    "No Sir, We think Lord Dowe's guns shorted them out pretty
good.  They must be ignoring us to fix the damage."  Sir Utlin
couldn't tell which of the ships was talking to him since all of
them continued their strafing runs.
    "Well" he said "I think it's time we go pay them a closer
visit."  Utlin said as he lined up for his run.
    "Sir, a couple of us went in, but we haven't heard from them
and we can't seem to make that much damage anymore."  The voice
came back.
    "I think I'll give it a try."  Sir Utlin said and powered up
all of his weapons.
    "Sir, if you open it, we'll follow you in."  the boy sounded
confident, confident that he was about to die.
    The ships stopped their normal runs and started gravitating
toward his position.  When their flight patterns seemed to be in
sync with his, he started his run.
    This time, instead of coming in parallel for the normal
strafing, he went straight at the ship.  His right index
fingered started pumping the trigger for the warp blasters.  The
fighter bucked every timed he fired its blasters.  He poured
full power to the front shield and continued to fire.  The
surface of the Cube disintegrated under the blasters.
    His scanner showed a large open area inside the cube about
30 finlars from the surface.  Debris had started flying out of
the hole from depressurization.  He continued to pump the warp
blasters causing explosions deeper into the hole.  He then
turned the phaser cannon onto automatic pulse, maybe it would
held chop up some of the debris.
    Just as he approached the opening, his first instinct was to
back off the throttle to hopefully navigate to the interior.
Instead, he punched the throttle up full and was pressed into
his seat from the acceleration.  He was tempted to hit the warp
engines but knew that was instant death.  He continued to pump
his warp blasters but all he saw were explosions and debris
hurling at him.  He let go with a primal scream as he flew into
the destruction.
    The promise to stay alive was the furthest thing from his
mind.
              **********
              "And now, my butchers, I embrace my fate.
              "Come! let my heart's blood slake the thirsty sod.
              "Curst be the life you offer! Glut your hate!
              "Strike, Strike, you dogs! I'll not deny my God!"
              **********

............

    Finally, the six cubes reformed and warped away.  The one
cube that had been struck originally seemed unable to maintain
the perfect formation.  The six, however, continued back on
their original course.  This time they held a much slower pace,
warp 8.6.
    Just before they warped away, Norton said "Sir, I read an
explosion on the damaged Borg ship."
    "On the screen." Anthony said.
    Anthony put the six ship formation on the screen then zeroed
in on an area of the one cube that wasn't holding perfectly in
the formation.  On its surface were a series of explosions that
appeared to be initiated from the interior.  Finally, just as
the cubes jumped to warp, a lone, single seat fighter emerged
from the hole.
    The fighter emerged into a sea of debris.  Suddenly alone,
left behind by the ship it came from.  It limped slowly through
the devastation surveying for survivors that weren't there.
    Tarva turned to Anthony "Sir, I believe we have our only
survivor."
    Captain Anthony turned to Commander Norton "What's your
analysis of that ship?"
    Norton was already studying his tactical scanners. "Sir, I
read one life form, apparently uninjured.  The ship no longer
has warp capability, but has life-support."
    "Open hailing frequencies." Anthony said.
    "Hailing frequencies open" Norton returned.
    Anthony stood and looked at the fighter on the screen as if
he were talking directly to it "Attention fighter, this is
Captain Anthony of the United Star Ship Vigilante, do you read
me."
    There was a short pause then a voice came back "This is Red
Wing Commander, please state your position, I do not read you on
my scanners.  They could, however, be damaged."
    Anthony smiled, this was a pretty cool cat.  "I did not
state our position, but I do offer you our assistance."
    There was another pause "Your a bit late to be offering
assistance."
    "Does that mean you do not desire our assistance?"
    The small ship did a few turns and loops, obviously looking
for the source of this conversation. "If your really around
here, I would definitely appreciate your assistance."  He didn't
sound too committed.
    Anthony smiled "Okay" he said "Now, here's where your going
to have to trust us."
    "I don't like the sound of that."
    "Don't worry," Anthony said "have I ever lied to you."
    There was some nervous laughter in reply.
    "Now, what we would like you to do is shut down all power to
your weapons and engines." Anthony said very carefully.
    "And then what?" he was almost flip.
    "And then wait."  Anthony said then added "I must warn you
that if you power anything up, we'll be forced to interpret that
as a sign of aggression."
    "Is that all?"
    "That is all, do we have a deal?"  Anthony was beginning to
like this guy.
    "I don't seem to have much of a choice.  Powering off now."
The man still didn't seem too convinced.
    Norton looked up "He's powered down all main systems."
    "Okay" Anthony said "Tell Shuttle Bay Two to lock on to the
fighter with the tractor beam.  Have transporter room two stand
by, if he powers up, pull him out and destroy the ship."
    "Aye, Sir." Norton said as he reach to his comm switch.
    Anthony then added "Also, have security meet us in Shuttle
bay two."
    Norton grinned slightly and said stiffly "Of course, Sir."
    "Commander Tarva, Your with me." Anthony turned toward the
lifts with Tarva a step behind.

...........

    What was going on, were the Borg back? Was he dead and
talking to Lin'hrlar himself.  Was he just space happy and
hallucinating?  It was too soon for that.
    It didn't matter, with his warp drives out of commission, he
had no where to go.  He had enough supplies for a month but what
good would that do him at sub-light speeds?
    He breathed deeply whispered a short prayer to himself then
started shutting down his systems.  What ever was going to
happen he hoped it would happen soon.  How long should he wait
to power back up before they wouldn't take it as an act of
aggression.
    What if they just wanted him to power down so they could
attack him.  Some sort of pirates waiting to salvage what little
debris was left of the fleet.
    Suddenly his ship jerked, he almost reached up to power on
thinking he was being attacked, but hesitated.  There were no
explosions, there were no lights he wasn't under attack. The
ship was moving on its own.  This wasn't possible, unless
something was pulling.  He started looking around maybe he could
see something.
    The stars in front of him started looking blurry.  Some
seemed to be getting close too quickly.  The stars shimmered and
disappeared revealing a large dark gray ship.  He was extremely
close, his reflexes caused him to jerk the joy-stick hard to
port to avoid a collision.  It  didn't work, of course, since he
wasn't under his own power.
    He appeared to be heading directly toward the back of the
ship.  Four large, flatten, cylindrical, engines, spread out
from the body, two above him and two below.  The engines glowed
soft blue down the sides.
    Ahead of him the four engines swept away from a large
bulbous body.  The ship was smooth and symmetrical, there were
no gun turrets, or ports.  It was no wonder they wanted him to
power down, a lone fighter could reek untold damage on this
ship.
    There were three doors in the very back of the ship two
smaller ones side by side over a much larger one.  The door on
the right started opening and his craft was being pulled toward
it.
    "Well," he said to himself "that looks like my destination."
    Where the door had been, was replaced by a shimmering blue
force field.  His ship glided smoothly through the field and
into a well lit bay.
    There were two other ships in the bay, both looked like some
sort of transport one had star drives, the other did not.
Standing to the side were some people in baggy black uniforms,
must be this ships security.
    A couple appeared to be like himself, sons Lin'hrlar the
others were some creatures unlike anything he'd ever seen.  His
ship came to rest directly in front of the reception committee.
He pushed the canopy open button but kept an eye on the group
the whole time.
    One of the group stood out, he was wide shouldered with
non-alien features.  He had long hair like a High Commander, but
he was clean shaven, like a warrior.  He stood in the middle
flanked on either side by both dark skinned creatures and few
other non-aliens.  One thing he noted was that they all carried
side arms.  Another thing very strange occurred to him, some of
these creatures were apparently females.  What strange creatures
these were to not only bring females with them, but arm them
too.
    They continued to wait for him to conclude any business he
needed to, very courteous.  He disconnected his helmet and stood
up, then stepped down on to the ships built in ladder.  When he
was half way down, he removed his helmet and placed it on the
seat, then reached behind the seat took out his cape.  By the
time he jumped to the deck the red cape was flowing out behind
him.
    A dark skinned non-alien approached him and handed him two
small devices.  From the way he motioned it appeared that one
was to be place in his ear, and the other around his neck with
the disk on the front of his throat.
    It could be a trap, something so they could control him.
Sir Utlin hesitated, waiting for some kind of explanation.  He
also rested one hand comfortably near his battle blaster.
    Finally the man with the long gray black hair stepped
forward holding a small device in his hand.
    "Well come aboard the Vigilante." he said through the device
in his hand.  It was some sort of translator.  "I am Captain
Anthony, I believe we've already spoken."
    Sir Utlin snapped to attention and saluted, including a
slight bow of his head "I am Sir Utlin Robe'than, First Officer
of the Carrier Star Controller, and Commander of Red Wing
Tactical Fighter Squadron.  I am in your debt for your
hospitality, Captain."
    The Captain though obviously unfamiliar with the salute,
immediately returned it.  He then said through the box in his
hand "It would make communication much easier if you could use
the devices you were given."  He then indicated the objects Sir
Utlin still held in his right hand.  "They'll allow the computer
to translate automatically"
    Sir Utlin considered the devises carefully, they seemed
harmless.  He started with the piece for the ear.
    "A lot better then this contraption." the Captain said
apparently in Sir Utlin's own language.  What a marvelous
device.
    He then strapped the other piece around his neck, it fit
like a piece of jewelry.  "What is this piece suppose to do?" he
said.  The rest in the room smiled as if they recognized the
question, but he heard it in his own language still.
    "That device translates for the rest of us.  By
inconveniencing you slightly, the rest of the crew will not have
to wear the translators while you are with us." the Captain
said.
    "Now for the rest of the introductions."  The Captain
continued.  He indicated the short dark skinned female creature
standing next to him.  "This is my first officer Commander
Tarva."
    Sir Utlin looked at the creature, she almost looked normal
but her forehead rolled slightly and her hair started at about
the top of her head.  She looked like she was a cross between
the Children of Lin'hrlar and some of the even uglier creatures
standing about.  He considered 'her' for a moment then decided
that since she had been indicated as second in command he would
treat her as he would wish to be treated aboard the Star
Controller.
    He gave her his stiff salute and slight bow, the same as
he'd given the Captain, "Commander Tarva".
    She comfortably returned both, but didn't say anything.
    "If I may inquire," the Captain said "by what name are you
used to being addressed?"
    They had given him simple names, obviously how they
addressed one another.  He'd given them his full title, his own
people would know the proper salute, these people did not.
Their translator changed the words for them but didn't indicated
customs.
    "I am officially addressed as 'Sir Utlin'" he said formally.
    "Very good, Sir Utlin"  The Captain said as another creature
came in.
    He looked almost normal but he was completely bald, had
pointed ears and a very slight green complexion.  As the man
approached Captain Anthony indicated him and said "Sir Utlin,
this is Commander Norton, he is in charge of security on the
Vigilante."
    "Commander Norton." Sir Utlin said and repeated his salute.
    Norton retuned the salute without hesitation.  Then turned
to the Captain "Sir, if I may".
    The Captain looked slightly unsure then said "Of course."
    Commander Norton turned back to Sir Utlin "Sir, I'm going to
have to ask you for your side arm, for the time being."
    Utlin hesitated for a second then decided that they really
didn't have to ask.  He pulled it from his holster and handed it
Commander Norton, who took the weapon bowed slightly then handed
it to one of the creatures standing nearby.
    "Now," the Captain said "If you'll come with us we have much
to discuss before we can get you settled in."
    "I believe we do." Sir Utlin agreed and followed the group
out of the hanger.
    As they left, he noticed that technicians were circling his
fighter with scanning devices but appeared to be keeping a
respectful distance.  If this was a sign, of how he was going to
be treated, it might not be too bad.
    They entered a nearby room with a long table at on end and
rows of chairs facing it.  It was some kind of seminar or
meeting room.
    Sir Utlin was ushered to one of the chairs then Captain
Anthony, Tarva, and Norton also took seats.  Two of the ugly,
ridged, dark skinned creatures took guard positions on either
side of the door.
    "To get started, perhaps I should tell you who and what we
are.  Perhaps I can answer some of your obvious questions before
asked." The Captain said.
    "That sounds like a good way to start." Utlin agreed.
    Before Anthony could begin a piping sound came out of the
ceiling. "Bridge to Captain Anthony." came a female voice.
    "Anthony here, go ahead"
    "Sir, we have the Borg back in scanner range"
    "Very good, maintain distance."
    "Aye, sir" returned the voice then the speaker obviously
turned off.
    Utlin looked slightly alarmed "The Borg have returned?"
    "No" Anthony said "We jumped to warp to follow them as soon
as you were in the bay."
    "I didn't feel the acceleration." Utlin returned.
    The Captain smiled proudly "You rarely do."
    Captain Anthony then proceeded to tell Sir Utlin about the
Federation and their encounter with the Borg.  He also told him
about the development of the Vigilante to spy on them and gather
information.  Then finally about their presence during the
battle.
    This infuriated Sir Utlin. "You mean that you sat back and
watched the remains of my people get destroyed by these evil
creatures and did nothing?  How could you, what kind of
creatures are you?"
    The battle seemed to weigh heavily on the crew of the
Vigilante.  These allegations obviously disturbed them.
    "What would you have had us do?" Anthony asked coldly.
    "You could have helped us, you obviously have some sort of
weapons." Sir Utlin insisted.
    "Yes, we have weapons, very similar to what your ships had.
Do you think that in the end, we could have made a difference?"
Anthony was speaking very carefully.
    "You could have done something, maybe helped destroy one of
those things."  Sir Utlin knew now why they had taken his
blaster, they must have predicted his anger.
    Anthony sat back, obviously disturbed by the events.  "You
don't know how much this decision weighs on me and my staff.
All of us have been personally affected by the Borg."  Anthony
shook from some kind of memories.  "But we have a duty to our
own people.  They are depending on us to return with information
that they may be able to use to defeat the Borg once and for
all.
    "If we were to valiantly engage in a hopeless battle, then
we would have betrayed the whole Federation.  They are depending
on us to do our best to return with the intelligence they need."
Anthony looked at Sir Utlin carefully, hoping to see some sort
of understanding.
    Utlin sat back and considered Captain Anthony's argument, he
tried to put himself in their place.  As a warrior, it was tough
to understand sitting out such a battle.  But perhaps, they had
a point, to put ones own civilization over another dying one.
It was what he was doing, not caring about the needs of their
civilization.
    "I suppose," Utlin said slowly "I can understand the reasons
that would cause you to stay out of our battle." he hesitated
then continued "I can also understand the pain and helplessness
you and your warriors must have felt doing so."  With that said
Sir Utlin suddenly felt a closeness to these people and the
inner conflicts they must endure.  He prayed that Lin'hrlar
would look after them.
    "With that cleared up," Commander Tarva said "We must make
some decisions."
    "Such as?" Sir Utlin tried his best not to talk down to this
female creature.
    Captain Anthony spoke up before Tarva could answer "Sir
Utlin, I must excuse myself, there are other duties that I must
attend to."
    "I fully understand, Captain" Sir Utlin said and stood as
Anthony did.
    "I leave you in the very capable hands of Commander Tarva, I
know she will be able to help you find a proper place among us."
With that Captain Anthony turned and exited.  At the same time
Commander Norton excused himself and took the guards with him.
    Sir Utlin soon found himself alone with the creature who was
second in command of this ship.  He was very uneasy with the
thought of a Female on a war ship but a female alien in charge
of one would take some real getting used to.  He looked at her
as she took her seat across from him.  She seemed short even
compared to her comrades, but very confident.  There had to be a
reason she was second in command.
    After he took his seat she spoke again "As I said, we have
some decisions to make.  First we'd like to have permission to
examine and repair your fighter.  When we finally reach our
destination, you may wish to have use of it."
    "You mean you haven't examined it yet?" Sir Utlin sounded
slightly surprised.
    Tarva smiled "We've done all we can without touching it,
they have strict instructions to respect your property."
    "I have some personal property I'd like to retrieve before
your technicians start working on it." Utlin decided to see how
far he could push it.
    "Very good.  Now about what we're going to do with you.  I
figure there are several options you could chose from if you
wish."  Tarva said remaining very business like.
    "I get to chose my fate?" Sir Utlin asked surprised.
    "Of course, we do not want you among us if it is not where
you want to be.  That brings us to your first option, we could
repair your craft and send you on your way."
    Sir Utlin frowned at this thought.  There was literally no
place for him to go.
    "Now if you wish we could take you to the Borg and let you
fight your own battle, this is I guess very similar to the first
option."  Tarva was mentioning these options knowing full well
Sir Utlin probably wouldn't seriously consider them.
    "Do you have any less drastic options for me." he asked
giving her lead to continue.
    "We do not take observers on the Vigilante" Tarva said
"Therefore, if you chose to remain, you will have to join the
crew.  Our crew is made of a diverse number of different peoples
from different cultures, if you chose to join us, you will have
to accept that.  You will have to accept our mission and our
goals.  We will, however, try to work with you to find for you a
position worthy of your skills and experience.  Does this sound
acceptable?"
    "Just like that?" he asked "How do you know you can trust
me, that I won't work for my own agenda?"
    Tarva leaned forward, Sir Utlin could see a fire in the
creatures eyes that sent a chill down his spine.  "We will not
stand for any part of this crew not being part of the team.
There is no room out here to deal with infractions in any but
the harshest of manners."
    Sir Utlin had to keep himself from swallowing hard, perhaps
he would be better on his own.  "What if, in the future, I wish
to leave the Vigilante?"
    "As long as your departure would not adversely effect our
mission, we could not prevent you from tendering your
resignation."  Tarva said simply.
    "Can I have some time to think about it?" Sir Utlin asked.
Perhaps if he had sometime to get a better feel for what these
people were all about.
    "Of course, but we don't know when the Borg will get to
where their going.  So you may not have time to become a proper
member of the crew by the next emergency."
    "I'll just have to risk it."
    "Until then," Tarva said "Lets get you set up in your
quarters.
    "Very good." Sir Utlin said and stood with Commander Tarva.
    When they walked out of the room, the two guards that had
been in the room with them were waiting just out side the door.
The first place they went was to the shuttle bay.  Sir Utlin's
fighter was flanked by several guards who came to attention as
they approached.  Several techs continued to walk around the
craft with hand scanners.
    Sir Utlin climbed up to the cockpit and removed a few
things; first was a long straight sword from behind the seat,
the other was a pack of apparently personal gear.  He then
approached Commander Tarva who was talking with a large bearded
man.  Sir Utlin wore the sword in the seldom used loop on his
belt and carried the bag as he approached.
    "Sir Utlin," Commander Tarva said "this is Commander
Dolittel, he is our Chief Engineer and will in charge of the
repairs of your craft."
    Before Sir Utlin could properly salute Commander Dolittel
held out his hand and said "Welcome aboard."
    Not knowing the proper response, Sir Utlin held his hand in
reply.  Commander Dolittel took hold of his hand with a firm
grip and shook it saying "I can't wait to take a look at that
fighter of yours, don't worry, we can get it flying better than
new."
    "I hope you can." Sir Utlin said not knowing how to respond
to this man.
    "Now if you'll excuse me, with your permission, we'd like to
get to work."  Dolittel said after letting go of Utlin's hand.
    "Thank you." was all Sir Utlin could think to say.
    As Dolittel walked away, Utlin could see him motioning to
technicians and heading toward the fighter.  He then looked at
Tarva questioningly.
    "I must apologize for the informality of our Chief Engineer,
he is not a great military man, but he is a gifted engineer."
Tarva said, then headed toward a door.  "Now, lets see if we can
find proper quarters for you."

   Sir Utlin was assigned what was called junior officer's
quarters.  It had two rooms with two bunks in one of them.
Tarva explained that there were no singles available, but this
was the next best thing, since he would not have a room mate.
    Commander Tarva then took the time to show him the different
features of the room, including the 'replicator' and 'head'.
She showed him how to access the computer verbally to get a list
of foods and other things available through the replicator.  He
wasn't sure how it worked but was intrigued with the technology.
    Commander Tarva then took him on a tour of the ship,
including the very small bridge.  It would have been difficult
for him to believe a ship of this size could be run effectively
from such a small place, but it seemed to be working just fine.
He was also shown a shuttle bay they called the 'cavern'.  She
seemed quite proud of its size, but it paled in comparison with
the Star Controller.
    She also showed him several rooms she called transporters.
He wasn't quite clear about their function, but was sure he
would find out.
    He finally decided that of the functions shown him, he was
best suited for security or something they called the drop
ships.  He would have to look into them more closely.  They did
make it clear, however, that within their normal mission
parameters their was no place for his fighter.  Though it had
powerful weapons, it lacked other technology vital to
maintaining mission integrity.
    Tarva had assured him that unless somebody specifically
challenged him, he had access to the ship, within reason of
course.  He decided to visit a place of gathering Commander
Tarva had pointed out, some sort of cafeteria.  Tarva had even
suggested visiting the place on his own, to get a 'feel for the
crew'.
    He had sat in the place a short time when two non-alien
looking females approached him.  One he recognized from the
bridge, she had been introduced as a navigator the other was
unfamiliar.
    He stood as they approached "May we join you?" asked the one
with darker skin and straight black hair.  He found both
extremely attractive.
    "Of course," he looked at the red headed female "Ensign
O'Malley wasn't it?  But I don't believe we've been introduced."
he said to the other.
    She smiled "I'm Lieutenant Whitecloud, but you can call me
Anndrea." she held out her hand in the same way the engineer
had.
    This time he knew the gesture and gripped her hand and
shook.  The woman had an amazingly strong grip.
    Ensign O'Malley offered her hand and said "And please, off
duty, I'm Janice."
    As they sat down with him he decided that since they had
offered their personal names, it would be proper to offer his
too. "You may call me Ra'than" he said.
    He chatted with the two women quite a while and soon
discovered that they were roommates.  He was able to get a lot
of social information from them.  They told him about the
different species on the Vigilante.  They warned him about the
tension between the Klingons and the Kalonians, he promised he'd
watch what he said around them.  It didn't take long to realize
just what a diverse group this was and that he might actually
fit in.
    Soon they both had to excuse themselves, Ensign O'Malley had
to report for duty and Lieutenant Whitecloud had an appointment
in the Drop Team Training Room.
    "Would you like to join me?" Whitecloud asked as she stood
up.
    "What sort of training is being conducted at this time?" he
asked as they walked away from the table.
    "It's practice in hand to hand combat.  It may not be very
useful against the Borg, but it is still good for the mind and
body."  Whitecloud said.
    "And what are your duties, medical?"  They had discussed
many things but Lieutenant Whitecloud's position had never come
up.
    Whitecloud laughed, "Not exactly, I'll be leading the
exercises."
    They stopped in front of some crew quarters and Whitecloud
walked in.  Sir Utlin stayed outside.
    "Won't you come in," Whitecloud said "I've got to change
into my work-out clothes."
    Utlin hesitated for a second then stepped in.  He was just
in time to see Whitecloud disappear into the head with a bundle
of clothes.  The room had the first decorations he'd seen on the
ship.  Several paintings hung on one wall; one was of some
primitive people who looked vaguely like Whitecloud, the other
was of some kind of bird but it didn't look finished.
    "Do you like them?" Whitecloud said from right behind him.
    It surprised him because, as a bloodied warrior, he always
prided himself on being aware of what was going on around him.
"They are very intriguing." he finally said.
    "I apologize for the Eagle, I haven't had time to work on it
lately."  Whitecloud said.  She had changed into loose white
clothes that appeared to be made of the same material as the
uniforms.  "Shall we go?"
    "Yes, of course."
    As they walked down the hall Sir Utlin said still sounding
confused  "So your job is training the warriors?"
    "That's one of the duties I've taken on, but my official
designation is second in Command of the Drop Forces."
Whitecloud said trying not to brag.
    "I thought these Drop Forces were suppose to be elite
warriors, and a Female is second in command?" Sir Utlin said
finally unable to contain his shock.
    Whitecloud stopped and looked at Sir Utlin curiously "Is
there something about women in your culture you have failed to
mentioned?"
    Sir Utlin stiffened a bit "In my 'culture', we recognized
that there are certain roles for the males and females.  War was
not a role for females, neither was commanding warriors."
    Whitecloud looked at him and said "That's to bad, you
probably missed out on a lot of great talent by pre-defining the
roles of your society."  She then continued down the hall.  Sir
Utlin followed, his red cape flowing out behind him.
    When they approached the training room Whitecloud turned to
Sir Utlin.  "Would you like to join us for the workout?"
    "I don't think I am dressed properly." he said hoping to get
out of it.
    "Don't worry, we have changing facilities here."
    "ah....Great."

    The room was filled with an assortment creatures from the
Vigilante.  All were dressed in the similar white robes and were
extremely respectful of Sir Utlin and Lieutenant Whitecloud.  He
joined them for a grueling work out and then stood in for a
punching bag during the combat training.
    After an hour of humiliation at the hands these creatures he
finally admitted to himself that they were all skilled warriors
but protested "But this is a style of combat I have not been
trained in."
    Whitecloud looked at the him while the team fell silent, she
had barely broken a sweat.  "I heard that you carried a sword
with you." she said "Perhaps you have some proficiency with it?"
    "I've at least used one before." now he had her, though he
never had use for one in battle, he was recognized as one of the
best duelers in the fleet.
    Whitecloud turned and spoke to one of the Klingon creatures
who went to retrieve something from the supply room.  He
returned with two black poles with white handles, just longer
than an arm.  Whitecloud handed one to Sir Utlin, thick end
first.
    "These are a little contribution from the Klingon training
techniques.  The Federation doesn't have a tradition of using
'blades', however, the Klingon's do.  I felt that the
coordination developed through training with swords would help
in other areas of combat.  These devises are modified to be
harmless but deliver a slight electric shock on contact.  The
shock, however, does increase slightly with the force of impact.
Sir Utlin, are you game?"
    "Who shall be my opponent?"  Sir Utlin asked curiously.
    "Why me, of course."  Whitecloud returned.
    Sir Utlin almost declined he had never fought a woman before
and it didn't matter that she was second in command of such fine
warriors.  Finally, he decided that this was his new peer group
and it was time to become one of them.  "How do you turn it on?"
    Whitecloud turned hers on and took a casual on-guard stance.
The rest of the room gathered around and started cheering for
both.
    Sir Utlin took his standard stance which differed
considerably from hers.  He didn't know who should move first
but was answered by a sharp pain in his arm.  While he was
debating with himself, Whitecloud stepped forward, tapped his
arm and returned to her position.
    "Come on, wake up." she chided.
    The ensuing duel pitted the battle scarred veteran of
countless wars, Sir Utlin, against the merciless, Special Forces
warrior, Lieutenant Whitecloud.  When Whitecloud closed her
attacks Utlin could see the coldness in her eyes.  When he
gained the advantage, she never faltered she pushed a new
strategy.  He found that she could take and receive pain without
hesitation.
    At one point, they stood exchanging blows to the side, one
would take a full hit to the side then deliver one.  Pain surged
through him from the electric shock and the weight of the
weapon.  It was a test of endurance neither one would back down
from.  Sir Utlin didn't remember who broke the routine, but was
glad when it ended.
    Over an hour after they began, they knelt facing each other,
totally out of breath.  Sir Utlin could taste the blood drip
from his broken nose and pain surged from his throbbing side.
Whitecloud looked back at him with a wide smile, two different
shades of blood stained her workout clothes and a large welt had
started to rise on her cheek.  The room had filled with
spectators who watched in total silence.
    Sir Utlin surveyed the crowd, in the front of one group was
Commander Tarva standing in her formal at-ease position.  Seeing
the Commander, Sir Utlin struggled to his feet and faced her.
    "Have you made your decision yet?" Tarva asked.
    "Yes, Commander," Sir Utlin looked around "If they'll have
me."
    Tarva looked to Whitecloud who said "Welcome aboard." and
offered her hand.
    Sir Utlin grasped and shook it, then stepped back and gave
his own traditional salute.
    "Very good." Tarva said "Now we'll have to confer with
Lieutenant Golta and the Captain to assign a field commission
and position in the team.  Until then, Lieutenant Whitecloud
will issue, and train you on the equipment you'll be using."
    "Thank you Commander." Sir Utlin said.
    Tarva nodded then walked across the mat toward the door.
The crowd parted more then sufficiently to let her through
without slowing down.

    Sir Utlin sat stripped to the waist in an examination room
in the medical section.  Lieutenant Whitecloud was in an
adjoining room, probably getting the same treatment.  A large
bruise had formed on his right side from just under his arm to
just above his thighs.  There were a number of other bruises and
cuts over his body.
    "What the hell were you doing sparring with Lieutenant
Whitecloud?" The medic asked as he started to work.
    Sir Utlin looked at the man, he looked like a seasoned
warrior, what was he doing working as a medic.  "Is there a
problem?"
    The man ran a scanner done the bruised side "It's just that
most people know better than to fight with the Lieutenant."
    "Why is that?"
    The man quieted down a bit and said "I worked on the ship
that she was first assigned to, after she left Special Forces.
She kept us very busy, most incidents, however, were never
reported.  The guys she fought with were mostly too embarrassed
that such an attractive woman had bettered them in a fight.  It
was lucky for her, she would have been thrown out a lot sooner
than she was."
    "What kind of incidents?" Sir Utlin normally didn't care for
any kind gossip but he found Lieutenant Whitecloud extremely
intriguing.
    The man ran some kind of bone knitter over the broken ribs.
"It's just that she likes to hurt people.  Well I guess it's
better than killing them like she used to."
    Sir Utlin looked at the man unbelieving.
    "Its true, one of the reasons she had to leave Special
Forces was that the underworld had a price on her head.  She
couldn't be effective as an undercover agent with her face
plastered all over the place."  The medic then turned to mending
the broken nose.
    "She had a price on her head? How did that happen?"
    "It's rumored that when she was undercover, she would sooner
kill someone than fight with 'em.  You kill enough of a crime
lords best people, he gets annoyed."
    "The more I hear about the Lieutenant the more I like her."
Utlin said with a smile.
    "Well I'm glad to hear that, but if your going to keep
training with her, we'll be seeing you again."  The medic said
as he started working on the large bruise.

-----------

    Lieutenant Utlin stood in the back of the drop ship, his
back against the stern bulk head.  The troop door lay open next
to him.  He held the phaser pointed to the roof and waited.  He
listened for the  go signal from the receiver in his ear.  The
darkness around him was complete but the goggles he wore gave
everything an eerie off color glow.  The sound of phaser blasts
told him the action was approaching his position.
    Utlin thought back on the past weeks; the Vigilante kept up
its relentless warp nine pursuit of the Borg; and he learned.
He learned to speak Federation 'Standard', he learned to work
with all of the creatures on this ship, and he learned his new
job.
    They were troubled by where to place him in the Drop Team
structure.  At first they thought he would actually be best
suited for Drop Ship pilot, but he was a fighter, not just a
pilot.  He best fit in with the ground troops, the real front
line warriors.
    His field commission was a tricky thing, he was obviously an
experienced warrior and leader.  They felt like he deserved to
be highly placed.  There were, however, many on the teams who
had worked hard for their positions.  It would be difficult to
suddenly have them answering to someone who, until just weeks
ago, hadn't ever heard of Star Fleet or The United Federation of
Planets.
    They gave him the rank of lieutenant(junior grade).  At
first he thought it was much below his naturally born position,
but birth-right seemed to hold little importance to these
creatures.  He would have to earn further promotions and
importance.  This couldn't be too difficult in an organization
that allowed so many females to rise to such importance.
    He heard the signal as the team approached the ship, it was
time to give cover so they could get to safety.  He leaned out
low, looking for his comrades. They were coming in from the
right, phaser blasts following them.  He stepped out and fired
at the sources of the blasts.  When the last of the team was
aboard, he turned and followed him them in.  A sharp pain
exploded in his left arm and side causing him to drop the phaser
and throwing him across the ship.
    When he came to, one of the Klingon creatures was looking
down at him.  "You'll do better next time,..Sir." it said
gruffly.
    These live fire exercises must have been Whitecloud's idea.

-----------

    Four weeks after beginning their pursuit, Tarva was awakened
by the yellow alert.  She heard Lieutenant S'Erlet saying
"Command to the Bridge."
    When Tarva got to the bridge Captain Anthony was just
arriving on the other lift.  Commander Norton was already in his
chair and S'Erlet was busy at his station.  Ensign O'Malley sat
staring at the image on the screen.
    It was a single Borg cube, obviously at an extreme distance,
but it was just one cube.  It was also obvious that they had
dropped out of warp.
    Tarva looked at the cube "What happened to the other five?"
    Ensign O'Malley turned and looked back at Commander Norton.
O'Malley had gone ghost white.
    The Captain looked at Norton, "Well, what happened to the
other five?"
    Norton looked up at Captain Anthony "Sir, all six Borg ships
entered this one."

              **********
              I saw the spears that seemed a-leap to slay,
              All quiver earthward at the headman's nod;
              And in a daze of dream I heard him say:
              "Go, set him free who serves so well his God!"
                        "The Soldier of Fortune"
                            Robert W. Service
              **********

                                  to be continued............

don't miss:   The Vigilante VA  "Outpost"