Chapter
3
"Erram, what the hell happened?" Blakeney demanded. "I wanted that ship disabled not destroyed!"
"I'm sorry, Captain," apologised Erram, checking his readings. "I think our weapons fire must've caused a core breach. The systems were still weak after the battle."
The bridge crew looked at the wreckage on the viewscreen. For a few moments, the bridge remained silent as everyone thought about what had just happened. Their former First Officer and, in most cases, good friend had just been killed.
"Goodbye, Nick," Blakeney stated under his breath. But there'd be time for mourning later, right now they had a job to do. "Lieutenant Parson, can you tell what course Mister Ryan had laid in?"
"I think so, Captain," responded the helmsman. "According to the sensors he was heading for…" he paused whilst he checked the data, "the badlands."
"Good work, Jo," the Captain complimented. "Set a course and engage at maximum warp." Parson carried out the order and soon the Warrior had entered warp speed.
"If Nyah has gone to the badlands it would explain a lot," Fortescue reasoned. "They'd be the perfect hiding place for the smugglers."
"Indeed," agreed Blakeney. "The Maquis used them to good effect, so there's no reason why the smuggling ring shouldn't."
"Captain," Phillips said, "what if Nyah hasn't gone to the badlands. Maybe Nick put in a fake course so we'd be fooled as to her real whereabouts."
"Maybe," Blakeney reasoned, "but at the moment all we have to go on is his course. We'll proceed to the badlands. Miss Fortescue, you have the bridge."
The Captain crossed the bridge but just before he entered his ready room, the voice of Lieutenant Gaskin sounded on the intercom, "Gaskin to bridge."
"What is it, Joanne?" Fortescue asked. Blakeney stopped in his tracks and listened.
Down in the lower levels, Assistant Chief Engineer Gaskin knelt over a person lying on the floor.
"I've just found a crewmember on deck 14," explained Gaskin. "It's Crewman Kent. He's unconscious."
"Unconscious?" echoed Blakeney. "Cause?"
"I can't tell, Captain," responded Gaskin. "But I don't think it was any kind of engineering accident."
"Get him to sickbay, Lieutenant," Blakeney moved back into the centre of the bridge. "Tell Doctor Stacey to find the cause of Mister Kent's unconsciousness." Suddenly, the turbolift doors whooshed open. Blakeney spun around and saw Nicholas Ryan stride out. "Number One?" Blakeney sputtered.
"He must've beamed over just before his ship was destroyed," Fortescue reasoned. "Which explains why Crewman Kent is unconscious."
"I am taking control of your ship, Captain," stated Ryan.
"I beg your pardon!" Blakeney gritted his teeth.
"You destroyed my ship, so now I'm using yours to complete my mission," Ryan explained. He moved away from the turbolift and crossed the bridge, heading for the conn station.
Blakeney signalled to his Security Chief, "Erram." The Bolian pulled out a type-2 phaser and fired it at Ryan. It had no effect, however, as the beam appeared to be absorbed into a green shield that appeared around the ex-drone's body.
"I think his Borg shields are still working," Erram pointed out. By now Ryan had reached conn and proceeded to throw Lieutenant Parson out of the way. He raised his left hand and injected the console with Borg assimilation tubules.
"Captain," exclaimed Phillips, "he's attempting to take control of all command functions."
"Shut him out!" ordered the Captain.
"I can't!" Phillips replied.
"Computer," said Blakeney, "transfer command to engineering. Full security alert!" Every console on the bridge went blank as the command systems were re-routed to engineering. Ryan realised what was happening and slammed the console in response.
"Dammit!" he cursed. Disconnecting himself, he made his way back to the turbolift.
"Oh no you don't!" stated Blakeney, grabbing his former First Officer, but Ryan just pushed past the Captain, knocking him to the floor. Ryan hurried into the turbolift and ordered it to take him down to deck 11, engineering. Blakeney climbed back to his feet and commanded, "Computer, re-enable bridge control. Security protocols. Authorisation Blakeney omega-five-one-four-eight!" The consoles around the bridge then came back on-line and the officers quickly began working at them again. "Blakeney to engineering."
Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Jackson looked up from his console when he heard the hail.
"Go ahead, Captain," replied the Jamaican.
"We have an intruder on board," explained the Captain, "he's heading for engineering. Evacuate that section and lock out the engineering stations."
"Yes, sir," Jackson didn't hesitate and jumped up from his chair.
In another section of deck 11, a set of doors opened and Nicholas Ryan strode out of the turbolift. As he walked down the corridor, emergency forcefields were erected at regular intervals. This was not unexpected, though, because as an ex-Starfleet officer, Ryan knew all of the procedures. Undeterred, and with a little help from his Borg implants, Ryan strode on, passing through the containment fields as if they weren't there.
One way or the other, he was going to get control of this ship.
"Forcefields are having no effect," reported Fortescue, who was working at the security/tactical station. "He's passing straight through them."
"He's entered engineering, Captain," Phillips stated.
The Captain activated the intercom, "Blakeney to security."
Down in engineering, Ryan headed straight for the command stations flanking the warp core.
"Computer," he ordered, "erect a level 10 forcefield around engineering." He heard a slight buzz as the forcefield was activated. Now to set about taking control. He began to tap in commands to a console, but nothing happened and a display told him that he was locked out. As the former First Officer cursed the computer, the main doors into engineering opened and Lieutenant Erram walked in, followed by two security officers. All three were armed with type-2 phasers. Unfortunately, however, they took a few steps into engineering and were then blocked by the containment field.
Erram tapped his combadge, "Bridge, he's erected a forcefield. It'll take several minutes to de-activate it." Without even looking at the security officers, Ryan made his way over to the console on the railings around the warp core, which he injected with his assimilation tubules, in an attempt to bypass the lockout.
Blakeney crossed the bridge and hurried up the steps in front of the ops console.
"Where is he exactly," asked the Captain.
"Engineering console sixteen-beta," Phillips told him. Blakeney came behind the ops console and began tapping in commands to the computer. "Captain?" wondered the Ops Officer.
"I'm sending an EM surge to that station," explained Blakeney. "Ryan's going down whether he likes it or not."
Before Ryan could break the encryption code, the EM surge disrupted his link. Pulses of energy rippled through his body, rendering him unconscious. Blue energy sparked across his Borg implants. Erram looked across at the body lying on the floor.
"He's down, Captain," the Bolian reported.
Blakeney smiled at Phillips then left the ops console and headed towards his chair.
"Get him to sickbay, Erram," he ordered. "Tell the Doctor to keep him sedated for now."
Not long later, Captain Blakeney poured himself yet another cup of tea from his pot. Returning to his desk, he smelt the seductive aroma of the beverage. Before he'd even had a chance to pull up his chair, the ready room door chime sounded.
"Come," he invited. Lieutenant Cate Merrick entered from the bridge, followed by Jackson.
"You asked to see us, Captain," announced Jackson.
"That's right, people," nodded Blakeney. "Please have a seat." The new arrivals seated themselves in the chairs in front of Blakeney's desk.
"Is something wrong, sir?" Merrick asked.
"I assume you're both aware of the little incident that just transpired on board," assumed Blakeney.
"We know there was an intruder on board," answered Merrick.
"But we're in the dark as to who it was," finished Jackson.
Blakeney paused for dramatic effect, then stated, "It was Nick."
"Nick?" echoed Merrick. "You mean Commander Ryan?"
"That's correct, Counsellor," affirmed Blakeney. "My former FO."
"Why was Nick attacking the Warrior?" Jackson was amazed.
"Are you aware of what happened to Mister Ryan after he left Warrior?" Blakeney inquired.
"I don't think any of the crew do," admitted Merrick. "We tried contacting him a few times, just to keep in touch, but after about twelve months he stopped returning our calls."
"After his promotion to Captain," Blakeney said, "he was given command of the Starship Legion. Unfortunately, about a year later, he and his crew encountered the Borg, which resulted in Nick being captured and eventually assimilated."
"My God, that's terrible," exclaimed Merrick.
"Presumably he was liberated from the Collective," Jackson wondered.
Blakeney nodded, "The Starship Nautilus rescued him from the Borg vessel. Most of his implants were removed from his body, though some needed to be retained so he could live. Unfortunately, his actions as a Borg weighed heavily on his conscience and as a result left Starfleet."
"He resigned his commission?" Jackson asked.
"No," Blakeney answered, "although he left Starfleet he never officially resigned."
"What must that have done to him psychologically?" Merrick thought out loud.
"Well since he left Starfleet he's turned into some kind of vigilante," finished Blakeney. "He wanders the galaxy looking for injustices that he can put right."
"That doesn't explain why he attacked us though, Captain," Jackson pointed out.
Blakeney enlightened him, "I'm not sure why, but he is trying to track down Nyah Khan, possibly with the intent of killing her."
"She must've done something that Nick thinks deserves punishing," guessed Jackson.
"Exactly," agreed Blakeney, "but we need Nyah alive as she may hold the key to bringing down this smuggling ring."
"Then surely we need to convince Nick that we're both on the same side," Merrick thought out loud.
"Well we're both looking for the Armageddon so it would seem reasonable that we search together," Blakeney nodded.
"Do you think you can convince him to work with us?" wondered Merrick.
"He was a member of this crew for five years," Blakeney replied. "I'm sure that he still has his sense of loyalty under all of that Borg programming."
"I hope you're right, sir," Jackson sighed.
"So do I, Ben," said Blakeney. He took a sip of his tea then replaced the cup in its saucer. "Mister Ryan is in sickbay at the moment, under sedation. Once I've convinced him that we should be allies and not enemies, I want you to assign him some quarters. He'll be with us for at least several hours, if not more."
"Yes, Captain," nodded Merrick.
"Aye, sir," Jackson acknowledged.
"Cate, Ben," Blakeney went on, "I want the two of you to spend some time with Nick. You were two of his closest friends and I'm sure it'll do him some good to spend some time with his old colleagues."
"I'd have to agree with you," agreed Merrick.
"Come on," motioned Blakeney, heading towards the door.
Commander Joel Stacey MD couldn't believe who was lying on the main bio-bed in sickbay. Fate had dealt him a cruel blow. Last time the Doctor had seen Nick Ryan he had been one of the most promising officers to come out of the Academy, with numerous successes behind him and just on his way to take command of his own starship. But now look at him. As if his assimilation wasn't enough, Borg implants were still visible all over his body to remind him of his terrible ordeal. He'd also left Starfleet, the organisation to which he'd dedicated his life, and was now going around the universe in his own ship, which itself had just been destroyed.
But on the up side, thought Stacey, replacing the peripheral scanner into the medical tricorder, he's in perfect health! The CMO moved away from the bed and placed the tricorder on the freestanding console in the centre of the room, which he began to work at. Lieutenant Erram was stood by the windows through to the office and another two security officers flanked the entrance doors. All three wore type-2 phasers at their waists. Stacey wondered whether all these precautions were really necessary. After all, it was only Nick! Hadn't anyone told them that he wasn't a member Borg Collective anymore?
Upon hearing the doors open, the doctor looked up. Blakeney was entering, followed by Jackson and Merrick.
"How is he?" asked Blakeney, stopping by the freestanding workstation and looking over to where Ryan was lying on the bio-bed.
"He's fine," reported Stacey. "The EM pulse had no residual side-effects and other than that he appears to be in perfect health, physically. I've got him under a mild sedative."
"Joel," Blakeney inquired, "is it possible to disable some of his Borg systems?"
"I don't think so," replied the Doctor. "All the implants he has left are there because he needs them to live. His body has become dependant on them."
"He doesn't need Borg shields or the ability to pass through our containment barriers to live," snapped Blakeney.
"True," agreed Stacey, "but even if those implants could be deactivated, I don't know enough about Borg technology to carry out such a procedure." Blakeney nodded, less than satisfied.
"Wake him," the Captain ordered.
Stacey picked up a hypospray from the equipment trolley, then clipped in a vial. Blakeney followed Stacey to the bio-bed, where the latter injected the carotid artery in Ryan's neck. Slowly, the ex-Borg's eyes flickered and then opened. He quickly sat bolt upright when he realised where he was.
"Captain Blakeney," he noticed his former CO. "How dare you interfere with my mission!"
"I cannot and will not let you gain control of my starship," stated Blakeney.
"But you are willing to let Nyah Khan get away?" argued Ryan, jumping down from the bed. "You've done nothing to allay my suspicions about you and she working together."
"We are not working together, but I cannot let you kill her either," Blakeney explained. "And as it happens we're currently on a course to the badlands. I assume that's where she's going?" Ryan remained silent. "Look," Blakeney continued, "we can either find her together, or I'll drop you off at the nearest starbase and we'll do this without your help."
"Why do you need to find her, Captain?" demanded Ryan.
"We believe she may have information about the smuggling ring that are operating in this quadrant," Blakeney told him. "She killed the informer we were supposed to get the information from."
"Same old Nyah," Ryan coldly stated. "She kills a lot of people!"
"Is that why you're trying to find her?" inquired Blakeney, "because of someone she killed?"
"Someone I met during my travels," Ryan replied. "She was a close friend."
"Nick," Blakeney tried to reason with his old FO, "you know as well as I do that killing Nyah will make you as bad as she is. Two wrongs don't make a right."
"Ugh! Don't lecture me, Captain," Ryan bitterly said. "I am going to find her and deliver what she deserves."
"That'll be a bit difficult," Blakeney pointed out. "You no longer have a ship."
"Whose fault is that?" Ryan accused.
"We are both trying to find Nyah," Blakeney reasoned. "You know where she is, but you don't have a ship. I do. Why don't we work together?"
"I work alone now, Captain!" retorted Ryan.
"You don't appear to have much of a choice, Number One," Blakeney told him.
"Don't call me that!" shouted Ryan. "I am not your Number One anymore!"
"I apologise," said Blakeney. "Force of habit."
"I know you, Captain!" Ryan gritted his teeth. "Strutting around the galaxy in your starship! But will you be strutting when… when… when there's nothing left to strut about? Hmm? Will you be strutting then?"
"Perhaps," Blakeney smiled. "Now what do you say we find Nyah together?"
"I will enter into this alliance only because I have to," responded Ryan. "Maintain your course to the badlands."
"Thank you, Nick," Blakeney was relieved. He motioned to Merrick and Jackson, who'd been watching the discussion from the console in the centre of sickbay. "Ben and Cate will assign you some quarters." Without another word, Ryan strode out of sickbay, and Jackson and Merrick hurried after him. Erram also made to go with them but Blakeney shook his head. The Captain then turned to Stacey and sighed.