The Enemy (Part 4 of 8)

Posted on 18 Sep 2013 @ 8:55pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Lieutenant Ammar Fahad & Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Lieutenant JG Victoria Crawley & Ensign S'Ranna T'Srrr'Kharh & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Lieutenant JG Jacrux & Ensign Ariadne Fleming & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Tarishiana Barel & Alexander Iella & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Arthur Willis & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Petty Officer 1st Class Victarion Jaqen & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & EMH Mark X-C "Shirley" & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont

2,678 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 04 - Exodus
Location: USS Galileo - Main Bridge, Various
Timeline: MD 03 - 0136 hrs

[ON]

Previously, on The Enemy (Part 3)...

Jared may have only been a linguist, but before his time in Star Fleet he, had to worry about pirates and other intruders. So he had made a habit of carrying weapons with him wherever he went. He was pretty sure he was violating a regulation or two, but at this point he really didn't give a rat's ass.

He pulled a phaser, moved the setting to kill and fired at the nearest Borg. He knew that they would adapt pretty quickly but that didn't concern him overmuch. He also had a particularly nasty and no doubt illegal double edged fighting knife that he kept honed to a fine edge. The Borg would have a damn hard time assimilating that.

Lirha watched with stricken eyes as her XO was assimilated and then abducted, his body de-materializing with the Borg drone back to the cube. Panic and grief washed over her after witnessing the awful scene, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted when she caught the sight of a drone in her peripheral vision. It closed in on her fast, and she raised her phaser in preparation to fire.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

"Target acquired," came the multiple voices and directive. A memory of a thousand encounters had made the decision easy. This was the leader, if one took that one, then the rest tended to lose the incentive to resist.

Eight of Twelve moved in toward the Green Skin female. A species designation of 6253 came up, which only proved to corroborate that the Collective had encountered before and had assimilated. Indications were that species 6253 made excellent drones. A crewman of lesser importance attempted to intercept and Eight of Twelve swept him aside with one powerful enhanced sweep. Eight of Twelve bore down on the Green Skin female.

Jacob was cut off from directly helping Captain Lirha. He was caught in a no man's land trying to get to Mor'an's position to assist her, the woman he wished would fall in love with him, and his Captain. He did the only thing he could, he grabbed a small broken piece of metal on the floor, it was about the size of a baseball and hurled it at the head of the Drone headed for the Captain, "Hey Ugly!" He yelled at the nasty Drone, "Why don't come and get some?" He then yelled to the Captain, "Captain Lirha! Get out of there! Get to your ready room, barricade yourself in there and increase the room's magnetic frequency to 1.3 joules so they can't transport in for some time!"

S'Ranna leapt, powerful hindpaws extending with feline grace, evading the jabbing of the drone's assimilation tubules, landing on the damaged bulkhead with a low oomph and immediately steadying herself with her tail. She scampered upwards until she was practically hanging from the ceiling, intertwining herself between the fused and damaged metal, and avoiding touching the exposed relays sparking and burning. The drone attempted to follow her but was far too heavy and lumbering, and the bulkhead collapsed away, crushing its skull in. It fitted once, twice, then fell still. S'Ranna turned her eyes from the carnage beneath and flattened her ears, trying to block out the screams.

Lirha listened to the different screams and sounds of battle which echoed across the bridge. Her ears picked up the words from the large chief science officer, and while she appreciated his concern, there was no way in hell she was going to go and hide in her office while the rest of her crew was being assimilated. Instead, she aimed her phaser at the drone's chest and fired a clear shot right as it reached out for her.

An impact of metal from a piece of metal hit hard on left side. The armor of the left shoulder caught most of the impact but it also managed to hit Eight of Twelve's head throwing it off and a temporary halt in progress. Focus came back to Eight of Twelve and the sound of the collective made it more imperative that nothing should interfere. Eight of Twelve resumed its progress. Already the injection tubules were extending as Eight of Twelve closed the distance to the female species 6253.

The Orion captain looked on in horror at her failed phaser attack, then began to backpedal to distance herself from the drone whose tubules she could see were ready to insert themselves into her neck. As her right foot went backwards, her pant leg became caught on the nearby steps down to the forward conn, and she cried out with surprise as she tumbled backwards. A bright white flash erupted in her vision when her head and back slammed into the floor, and her mouth opened wide as she attempted to gasp for air after the wind had been knocked out of her.

Eight of Twelve responded with smooth efficiency. The drone bent at the waist, extending a single hand toward the Orion. The assimilation tubules closed the gap, piercing the skin of the woman's neck. Thousands of microscopic machines dove into the inferior species' blood stream.

Lirha cried out in desperation. She was helpless to defend herself and she let out a loud gasp when her green skin was punctured. The feeling of the tubules injecting into the soft tissue of her neck was repulsing, then suddenly her body went limp as a flood of nanoprobes began to course through her veins and take control of her motor functions. "...Help...." she whispered to anyone around her, unable to prevent the terrifying realization of what was happening to her.

Mor'an abandoned her station as a drone came at her from behind. She inhaled through her nose, standing as still as a tree as the drone approached her. She would be calm. She would not fail. She would keep the Borg from obtaining her knowledge. The drone fired its weapon, but she ducked and avoided it easily. Rolling to the side, she came up around the Borg drone and placed a hand on its disgusting skin. She didn't know if her powers would work on the drone, but it was worth a shot. Mor'an focused her mind, but when the drone didn't stop she knew it was useless.

By that time the drone had turned and was facing her again. Mor'an dropped to a crouch and swept the drone's leg out from under it. The drone came crashing down, but Mor'an was already up and ready by the time the drone was getting up. She jumped to gain momentum and spun, landing a round kick to the drone's head. The well-aimed kick knocked s get power back to the shields as soon as we break free. The drone's machinery from its face, causing it to sputter and shake. Mor'an left the drone to cope with its missing bits of machinery and went to join the rest of the crew in the fray.

Victarion had pulled back when the Borg drones had come, his eyes wide as he moved to behind a console, sinking behind it. He took a padd, frowning as he tried to see the status of the ship...trying to use it to see the systems that were now inaccessible due to the Borg being in the way.

Jared saw the large drone toss aside a Security Ensign and grab for the Captain. The quarters were too tight and for him to take a chance as firing his phaser. There was too much of a chance of hitting the Lirha.

So he did the only thing he could do. He launched himself at the big Drone like an ancient Earth Strong Safety.

Aria had taken cover, the projectile rifle ready. She swore, because Jared was in the way and she couldn't get a clear shot. What angered her more than anything was this...people attacking them so close. Because there were officers here with the weapons to take them out if needed, but with the crewmembers fighting them so close it was impossible for Aria to fire.

The distance was almost closed and Eight of Twelve reached with its other limb to gather the green skinned species 6253 female when an impact on its right side hit. Eight of Twelve staggered from the impact but the enhanced legs kept it upright. Temporarily new orders filtered in to neutralize the immediate threat and with a powerful grab of its left arm Eight of Twelve pulled the offending man around and brought its right arm with the injection tubes to start the assimilation process.

Jared twisted around trying desperately to escape or at least buy the Captain more time, but was unable to twist out of Eight of Twelve's grasp. He did however manage to get his knife out and thrust it upwards. The knife struck in what would have been the Drone's most private of parts, if it had such a thing and the blade was razor sharp. However he was also wielding with his off hand and just slightly awkwardly so he wasn't sure how effective the blow would be or whether it would prevent him from being assimilated.

The drone recognized the damage, and nanites were instantly allocated to stem potential bleeding from the wound. The pause was momentary, and Eight of Twelve didn't release its deadly grip on the man. Assimilation tubules, freshly removed from the vessel's commander, entered the nuisance's neck.

Jared had made a serious miscalculation, that wasn't exactly how he put it to himself, it was a much more graphic description, But then the little nanites entered his blood stream and he forgot all about that. In fact he forgot all about who he was as he became part of the collective.

The thoughts inside Jacrux's mind spun together, a disjointed cacophony rising over the pulsing pain emanating from the gash along his hairline, the injury gained during the initial encounter with the Borg cube when he'd been thrown against the bulkhead and knocked out for some unknown amount of time. He wiped green-tinged blood away from his eyes and stumbled against the door to the Bridge as the ship gave another lurch. Somehow, the door controls yet worked, stuttering open just long enough for Jac to slip through, immediately throwing his back to the wall and holding the phaser rifle he'd snatched from a weapon's locker on his way back to his station.

The grim situation on the Bridge coalesced into one thought, the same one that had roused Jac from unconsciousness with the ominous blare of an alarm no space farer ever wanted to hear. Intruders on the deck.

The Borg drone had the captain in its grip-no, the Captain slumped to the deck, the gentle giant of a CSO now had the drone in his grip, then he didn't, the Borg had Jared, they both fell away from each other, Jac's keen eyes immediately locating the damning assimilation tubule retreating into the Borg's hand. He aimed, fired, hands steady through the fog of rage clouding coherent thought. Jac charged the drone, still firing, a war cry torn from his lips as he adjusted his aim for a vulnerability, the eye of the drone, a mere meter away.

But the drone moved fast, too fast, and the shot turned into a desperate defensive swipe to deflect the blow. The blow shattered the rifle in Jac's hands, and the half breed stumbled back. Instincts hammered into him, bred into his Rihannsu half, kept Jac alive. He fell into a Ch'Vashrek stance, then another, dodging blows as they came, helped mainly by the drone's injury-hampered movements. Rage eliminated the pain in his head and the tiredness from sleepless nights of worry, giving fuel to Jac's fight, but he knew he couldn't continue to dodge. One blow nearly clipped him, Jac only escaping by half falling, half bending over a work station, the damaged console hot against his back. He lashed out with the splintered end of the plasma rifle, still aimed for the vulnerable area he'd missed with his shots. The jagged splinter stabbed through the Borg's eye socket, metal shrieking against metal as the drone recoiled and tore the splinter from Jac's prosthetic hand.

Jac immediately took advantage of the opportunity and threw himself away from the drone, debris crunching under his body as he rolled back to his feet. His initial rage stabilized, his thoughts clearer, he narrowed his eyes and spread his feet into a different fighting stance. The Borg turned toward him, the piece of metal jutting from its eye socket, too wedged to be quickly removed. The drone started for Jac again, but this time, instead of dodging defensively, Jac met the attack head on, spurred by the half-formed plan in the back of his mind. One crushing blow from the drone met Jac's raised right arm in a block that nearly smashed Jac off his feet, but he managed to only slide back a foot or so, grabbing the Borg's arm in a tight grip. The drone reflexively grabbed back, dragging Jac toward it with all of its formidable strength, obviously expecting resistance, its other hand raised and ready to begin the assimilation. But Jac did not resist. Instead, he went with the Borg's drag, using that momentum and diving under the outstretched arm. The motion twisted the prosthetic in its socket, artificial tendons and ligaments sending waves of 'no' through the attached nerves. Jac did not allow the pain to go on for more than the blink of an eye. His fake hand spasmed as he sent a command through the cybernetics, and the arm separated from his shoulder with an anticlimactic 'click.'

The sudden absence of Jac's weight on the end of the arm sent the Borg drone off balance, falling forward, for the briefest of moments, the automaton already reanalysing and re-establishing its equilibrium, but an instant was all Jac needed. He bounced off the ground, kicked the back of the drone's knees, knocking it further off balance, and grabbed the Borg by the back of the neck, smashing the drone's face into the back of the chair in front of his station. Bone cracked and shattered under Jac's strength, the metal frame of the chair dented deeply by the impact, and the Borg went limp, falling to the floor, the shattered end of the phaser rifle now driven through the Borg's eye socket and deep into its fractured skull.

Rage roared defiance in Jac's mind. This thing dared to invade his ship, dared to try and assimilate him! He brought his booted foot up and stomped on the Borg's skull, over and over, only stopping when the ship gave another shudder and knocked him back into the work station.

His training reasserted itself, pushing the rage away for a more suited time, returning Jac's senses. He slumped against the console, panting for air like someone half drowned. His gaze darted from the dented chair to the dematerializing Borg, idly noticing that the bastard still had his arm in its grasp-stealing it away as scrap. Jac laughed, he had to, no matter the situation; the Borg stole his damned arm!

With the drone now occupied with another crew member and the tubules no longer deep in her neck, Lirha collapsed on the floor of the bridge and lay limp. Her body twitched and convulsed with the agony of millions of nanoprobes taking over her mind and body. "...Commander..." she looked over at Scarlet with a helpless and terrified look in her now-grey eyes.

Scarlet sprinted to the Captain, grabbing hold of her to drag out of the way, and out of the line of fire. She propped her up against the wall, touching her face to see the tell-tale tendrils creeping through her skin. "We've got you, Lirha, you hear me? We got you...hang on..."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

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