Escalation
Author: Sara
Act 2
[10:15 p.m.]
Icheb's split second of warning launched both Janeway and Chakotay into action even as the cube accelerated toward them, tractor at the ready.
"Captain, they're right on top of us." Shouted the startled con officer.
"Evasive maneuvers, pattern Janeway Omega 6." The captain ordered.
Chakotay's response followed on the heels of her orders. "Arm all weapons. Set phasers to pattern Tuvok-random alpha."
"Target their weapons." Janeway added.
Voyager shook violently as the Borg fired a direct hit into the port nacelle. Janeway struggled to keep her balance and remain in her seat. "So much for that sleep." She told herself as she clung to the armrest. "Return fire!" she called to her tactical officer.
"Shields at Seventy percent." came the ops report.
"Captain, I can't shake them." Crewman Morris reported from the helm.
Janeway sighed, cross-training Morris at the helm was one of Tuvok's better ideas, just not during a Borg attack.
Voyager's First Officer rose and made his way across the deck to help the inexperienced pilot. He nearly tumbled to the floor when another blast from Borg weaponry shook the ship. "Are they trying to shake us to pieces, or blow us up?" he growled.
Reaching the helm he gave Morris a reassuring pat on the shoulder and took a look at the terminal. They didn't have many options. The cube was literally on top of them and closing fast. Morris was pushing Voyager to its limit. But, he was doing a better job than he had indicated.
"Engineering, all auxiliary power to helm." Chakotay ordered.
Janeway glanced over her shoulder as both Tuvok and Kim exited the turbolift and took their stations. "Tuvok, we need a few seconds. See if you can't damage their weapons enough to buy us one or two."
"Acknowledged." answered the Vulcan as he took his station.
"Shields at fifty percent" Harry reported. An explosion from the console behind him pelted the back of Harry's neck with debris. The lights flickered, but returned and Harry quickly ran a check on internal systems.
Tuvok made some small adjustments to the phaser setting Chakotay had ordered and began attacking the cube in a pattern he had been waiting to test.
"It's working, Tuvok. They're loosing power to the grids you're targeting." Harry reported. "They're going to have to shift to a secondary weapons array."
Voyager continued to shake as the Borg returned fire, peppering them at every opportunity. Tuvok's new rotating frequencies were doing the trick and so far, the Borg appeared unable to adapt as readily as in the past.
"Who the hell is driving?" Paris asked almost before he exited the lift.
"No critiquing. Just get over here." Chakotay answered.
Voyager shook again and Harry grimly announced the result. "Shields at twenty-six percent."
Tom had sprinted across the deck and slid to a halt at the First Officer's elbow. "Sorry, sir. I was monitoring. I may have an ace for us."
"I'd settle for three of a kind." Chakotay answered fighting to remain on his feet. "You ready?"
Paris relieved Morris, who looked ever so grateful to be out of the hot seat. Paris on the other hand, looked eager to be there.
"Cube switching to secondary weapons array." Tuvok reported calmly.
"Shields are failing." Harry offered without disguising his trepidation. "They are activating their tractor beam."
"Hold on." Paris announced. He took Voyager into a roll guaranteed to keep them safe from a tractor lock, if they survived. Coming out of the roll he accelerated and without waiting for orders, set course for his selected destination.
"Mr. Tuvok, do you have an option for us?" Janeway asked looking up from the data on her terminal.
"A nebula bearing 03 mark 1. It contains ample concentrations of alpha-lethianone."
"Go ahead, Tom. Let's see if we can't shake them loose while they can't see us."
[10:22 p.m.]
Engineering was in shambles as Voyager made its run away from the cube. The possibility of a new hull breech was foremost on her list of priorities as Torres worked to control the damage the Borg were inflicting. She looked up from her task at station 12 as the drones materialized at substation 17. "Kahless." she breathed as the automatons began to move about their assignments. "No! Stay back, don't initiate hostility." she ordered as two of her crewmen moved to attack the intruders.
Acting quickly she moved to her own station, praying that her legs were faster than the drone moving toward her computers. "Computer, initiate departmental lock-down. Authorization Torres Twenty-two Sigma. Route all Engineering functions to the Bridge."
"Acknowledged. Transfer complete."
B'Elanna glanced over her shoulder as the drones began attaching themselves to the ship's hardware. "Engineering to Bridge. Intruder alert."
"B'Elanna"? Janeway responded.
"Captain, I've got at least twenty drones down here and a skeleton crew."
"Evacuate, Lieutenant."
B'Elanna nodded even though she knew the Captain couldn't see her. "You heard her, people. Fall back, now!" She waited until the last of her crew moved behind her before turning to the door. Her last glimpse of engineering showed her two drones, injectors at the ready, approaching her station.
[10:23 p.m.]
"Status on the cubes?" Janeway asked knowing she could not save her crewmen below unless they were able to avoid the drones themselves.
Paris glanced at his data, "In pursuit. Although Tuvok must have hit them harder than we thought. I should beat them to the nebula."
"Captain, I'm reading 30 drones in Engineering," reported Harry.
"Crew status?"
"They're all out. B'Elanna managed to reroute Engine control to the Bridge and initiate the new lockdown sequence. The Borg are connected to the computer and are trying to work around the new protocols."
"Tuvok."
The Vulcan was already moving toward the lift issuing orders to security as he went. Janeway watched him and hoped that the preparations he had encouraged would be enough. "Keep me informed, Commander."
Tuvok met her gaze as the lift began to close. "Acknowledged."