Here we go!
Chapter Four: To the Last
Corellia
Tenel Ka thrust with her turquoise-colored lightsaber at the advancing drone. "You… do not… want to do this!" she said, the transparent aluminum plate of her gas mask fogging up a bit even as the Borg drone parried her blade. She spared a single glance at the battlefield.
She and Jacen were at the extreme left of the small clearing, with the Jedi arranged in a shrinking semi-circle. The MACOs were pouring explosive slugs into the drones, but for every one they killed, two more took their place.
Jacen thrust his green blade at an assimilated Selonian. "Ah, wanna hear a joke?" he quipped while swinging overhead with his blade.
The drone blocked with the lightsaber from its right arm while thrusting with its left at Jacen's stomach. The young Jedi disengaged and parried the incoming plasma blade away. "This isn't good!" he yelled.
Tenel Ka ducked a horizontal slice and stepped forward into the drone's guard. The Hapan princess then deactivated her lightsaber and kicked the drone right in the head, snapping its neck. Tenel Ka then pulled a knife from her belt with her prosthetic hand and threw it at the drone attacking Jacen.
The blade embedded itself in the Borg's back. The drone slid to the ground, servos whining.
Tenel Ka let out a sigh of relief, but her danger sense flared. "Jacen, watch out!" she shouted.
Jacen's head darted about, not seeing the drone emerge from seemingly nowhere. The drone raised its right arm and assimilation tubules shot out of its prosthetic. Before he could do anything, they pierced his skin and injected him with Borg nanoprobes.
A white-hot anger flashed through Tenel Ka's soul. "Get away from him!" she screamed, shoving the drone away from Jacen with a telekinetic push. She then ran over to him, mind racing. "You will be all right, Jacen. You will be all right."
A dozen meters away, Jaina let out a scream, dropped to her knees and clutched her head. Tenel Ka knelt and grabbed Jacen's left arm. Blue veins were already snaking their way across his skin and he was shivering badly. She pressed the button on his armband, releasing a flood of nanoprobe antivenin into Jacen's bloodstream.
The change was almost immediate as Jacen stopped shaking and the veins faded. "Thanks," he murmured. Several drones advanced on Tenel Ka and Jacen, but were cut down by MACO phaser fire.
"Watch your six!" Hox shouted at them.
Near the center of the semi-circle, Luke and Kyle were nearly unstoppable. Luke's emerald blade was a blur as he deflected disruptor bolt after disruptor bolt. He closed in on a half-dozen drones, batting away their firepower before closing in and slashing at them with his lightsaber. The drones switched from disruptors to lightsabers almost instantly, but the first two were too slow and were cut down by the Jedi Master.
The remaining four were able to block his next assault, he quickly batted away one of the drone's blades and stabbed him in the chest. His danger sense flared, causing him to duck a horizontal slash at head level and roll away from another's attack. The Jedi Master quickly got back to his feet and began parrying a series of thrusts from the drone, backing up in order to lure it away from its comrades. As soon as it was a few steps away from the last two, he parried away one of the blades and then decapitated the drone with a single swipe.
Kyle's stormtrooper rifle was close to overheating as he poured blaster bolts into the advancing drones. "They're adapting to my weapons!" he shouted. He holstered the glowing rifle and pulled out his rail detonator. "Adapt to this," he snarled, firing off an explosive round right into the middle of a pack of drones. It detonated right in their midst, ripping the black-suited bodies apart and sending metallic shrapnel and bits of flesh flying.
Kyle turned his hazel eyes to his old friend and teacher. "Luke, what the hell are we doing here? There's no point!"
Luke parried away another thrust and stabbed at the last drone. "I don't know myself, Kyle. There is something here, some purpose to it."
The drone backed away from Luke's thrust and retracted the right blade, letting loose with a disruptor bolt. The silvery bolt grazed Luke's arm-right below his armband. He grunted with pain before skewering the drone.
Coruscant
The Enterprise's main impulse engines fired, sending the Sovereign-class cruiser hurtling along. The turbolift door on the bridge suddenly opened, and the last thing Picard expected to see stepped out.
Spock emerged from the alcove, decked out in a modern Starfleet uniform. "Captain Picard, after having reviewed my service record, I find that I never formally tendered my resignation."
Picard regarded him, right eyebrow arched. "A mistake?"
Spock shook his head slightly. "An omission."
Picard let a smile cross his face as he motioned to the seat next to him. "Commander Data is on assignment with the Defiant, Captain Spock."
The elder Vulcan nodded and sat next to Picard.
"Well, there goes the last chance of the Borg," Tirsek remarked. "Firing solutions ready, firing."
The Enterprise's dorsal saucer phaser banks fired a half-dozen beams at the Borg, striking the flat gray surfaces of multiple cubes and slicing deeply into them. While she did that, the Defiant-class heavy escorts let loose with volleys of pulse phaser blasts and quantum torpedo barrages.
The comparatively awkward cubes fired off energy-draining tractor beams, cutting beams and barrages of photon torpedoes while the Starfleet ships circled the edge of the Borg armada.
While the Enterprise and the Defiant 'wolf pack' distracted the cubes, a swarm of New Republic starfighters flew in. "All wings, report in. Red wing, standing by," Wedge reported.
"Gray wing, standing by."
"Blue wing, standing by."
"Green wing, standing by."
Wedge checked his weapons and status of his shields. "Watch out for flak bursts and get our K-wings and B-wings into the targets."
The cubes began firing off multiple rockets and torpedoes. A hundred kilometers out, the shells of the rockets split apart, allowing dozens of smaller rockets to emerge like deadly seeds. Fifty New Republic starfighters exploded within the first few moments of the battle.
Wedge sent his X-wing into a series of sharp twists and dives, all the while keeping his brown eyes on the target in front of him. He, Tycho, Wes and Hobbie were escorting a squadron of K-wings in for a strafing run. The space around them was already becoming thick with ion cannon bolts and Borg flak bursts.
"We'll be in range in thirty seconds," Tycho said over the com.
Wedge nodded, but noticed something odd on the surfaces of the closest Borg cubes. He contacted the Enterprise. "Enterprise, this is General Antilles. I am observing unusual activity on the surface of the cubes. Several… hatches are opening. Please confirm."
The bridge of the Sovereign-class starship shuddered gently as it took fire. Spock checked his monitor. "Confirmed, General. Purpose is unknown at this time."
Tirsek's eyes suddenly widened. "Captain, tell the fighters to break off."
Spock looked up and over at the Andorian with his cool green eyes. "Reason, Lieutenant Commander?"
Tirsek pursed her lips and her antennae drooped. "The Borg have just adapted to starfighters."
Hundreds of small orbs, each twelve meters in diameter, shot from the hatches on the Borg cubes. Within seconds, large clouds of spheres surrounded the cubes.
Wedge growled and began shouting orders. "All wings, hold formation and fall back. We don't know what these things are capable of." He targeted the closest sphere and fired off a burst from his quad lasers.
The sphere's shields flickered a bit as it absorbed the lasers. Within seconds, several whitish cutting beams shot out from recessed emitters and struck Wedge's X-wing. He snarled and pushed forward on the control stick, sending the snub nose of his fighter down. After a few seconds he pulled back on it, 'leveling' it out and allowing a perfect shot at the belly of the sphere-until several more cutting beams lanced out and nearly hit him.
Wes' voice came over the com. "Ah, do these things have blind spots? I've been circling them and can't find any."
Tycho's voice, calm as ever, responded. "Borg cubes don't have aft sections or port and starboard designations. They're just big cubes."
Wedge ignored the chatter and squeezed the trigger, firing off a sustained barrage at a sphere, breaching its shields after about a minute and a half of continuous fire and dodging. The blood-red bolts shredded the outer armor before ripping the entire superstructure apart in a fireball.
By now, the main New Republic fleet had moved to within slugging distance with the Borg armada. Ion cannon turrets swiveled around and lined themselves up before firing off the azure lightning. The bolts hit the surface of the Borg cubes, shorting out shield emitters, weapon systems and generally playing havoc with the cybernetic systems of the Collective.
For their part, the Borg unleashed energy-draining tractor beams and photon torpedoes. One unlucky Nebulon-B frigate was caught in a crossfire from two cubes and lost its shields within seconds. A single cutting beam shot out and sliced right through the engineering section. Several fuel tanks exploded, ripping through aft compartments and destroying the entire engineering section. The resulting shockwave destroyed the forward command section and sent it hurtling along into oblivion.
Ackbar's bulbous eyes kept track of the battle. "Send reinforcements to sector seven. The Reliance and Battle of Yavin are taking heavy-" He paused when the status indicators for both MC-120 cruisers went red. The Mon Cal's mouth formed an approximation of a frown. "Send reinforcements to sector seven."
The Millennium Falcon weaved through the Borg cubes, quad lasers sending out a steady stream of plasma bolts. Mara thumped her control stick in exasperation. "This is useless, Han! We're doing nothing here."
Han touched his headset with one hand while sending his beloved freighter into a twisting dive. "We're distracting them, red. That counts for something."
The Falcon shuddered and bucked as a half-dozen spheres flew in from all directions. [This is new,] Chewie remarked.
Leia checked the sensors and sighed. "We're surrounded. Any ideas, flyboy?"
Han smirked and flipped a few switches on the control board. "Just a few things I 'borrowed' from Starfleet, honey."
Two hatches opened up on the forward prongs of the Falcon and two small phaser cannons popped out, causing Leia's eyebrow to arch. "And how long were you planning on waiting before you told me about those?"
The former smuggler shrugged and targeted the 'underside' of a Borg cube. "Well, the Falcon's my baby, Leia. And I do know how much you don't like me talking shop."
The two phasers traced a line across the Borg's hull, causing little damage but definitely getting its attention. An energy-draining tractor beam lanced out and tracked the YT-1300 freighter, attempting to capture it. Han smirked and sent his beloved ship into a series of dives and sharp turns, evading the bright-green energy field. "Learn a thing or two from border patrol, you amateurs!"
The Neutral Zone
The Titan swerved and bobbed, taking fire but also giving as much as she got. The Luna-class ship, along with the Mizuno and Kino, targeted a cube and fired multiple phaser blasts. The reddish-orange beams sliced through the Borg's shields as their frequencies and modulations changed, preventing the Borg from adapting and blocking them. The Mizuno's dorsal torpedo launchers spat out numerous quantum torpedoes that targeted the holes in the Borg's grayish armor plating and exploded inside the hull itself, completely destabilizing the hull and ripping the ship apart from the inside.
On the Titan's bridge, Admiral Ross and Fleet Admiral Akaar stood in the ship's observation lounge just aft of the bridge and examined the battle along the border. "Thank god for Voyager," Ross mumbled as he looked over reports from the front.
On the Klingon front, the Klingons had thrown themselves into the battle. A K'Tinga-class heavy cruiser, nearly a century old and with both wings aflame from plasma leaks, crashed into the hull of a Borg cube, dropping the shields in that section and producing a charred hole in the armor plating.
Three Vor'Cha-class attack cruisers closed in and poured heavy disruptor fire into the gap, boring a large hole in the superstructure. A tractor beam from an undamaged section locked onto one of the cruisers, enveloping it in a green sphere of energy. Within moments, the IKS Tos'Fal lost its forward shields. A single photon torpedo hit the forward command pod, penetrating the armor and destroying the oblong structure.
While it fell back, the other two Vor'Cha-classes turned to starboard and sped off, weapons firing. The greenish disruptor bolts damaged the Borg's hull, blowing holes in the grayish hull and sending out large chunks. Quantum torpedoes found their mark and one more cube was turned into space debris
Martok slammed his gauntleted right hand onto his armrest. "Reinforce the fleet near Narendra! Our forces are taking a pounding there!"
The com officer glanced over at the irate chancellor. "Chancellor, Consular Tomalak is contacting us."
Martok growled. "Put him through."
The main viewscreen changed from a three-dimensional image of the battle to a headshot of Tomalak. A grim smile crossed Tomalak's admittedly regal features. There was a puff of smoke here or there, but otherwise all appeared calm. "How goes it, Chancellor?" he asked smugly.
Martok's good right eye twitched. "We're holding, but just barely." He smiled. "It is a good day to die, and a good day to drag these petaQs down with us."
Tomalak nodded. "With your permission, I'd like to send some of my ships to reinforce Narendra."
Martok's mouth dropped open in shock, but the corners soon twisted into a smile. He barked out a laugh. "Tomalak, you shall command a ship in the Black Fleet of Sto-Vo-Kor!"
Tomalak paused. "I believe that's a good thing…" He closed his eyes, shook his head and terminated the link.
A half-dozen Meret-class incursion cruisers broke from the Romulan group, turned to starboard and moved off. Their nacelles flashed, and each shot forth at warp 7.
The Narendra System
The IKS Gorkon shuddered under the impact of a dozen Borg disruptor blasts. Klag, son of M'Raq, gripped his command chair's armrests. "Keep firing!" he shouted over the din. He turned to his right and bared his fangs at his first officer. "It looks like today is a good day to die!"
Commander Laneth barked a laugh. "It is always a good day to die!" He turned his head to the gunnery stations lining the starboard bulkhead. "Borg cubes at 215 mark 34 are damaged. Let loose with transphasics and disruptor blasts at their weakened hull sections!" He suddenly glanced down at a small screen embedded in his chair's armrest. "Captain, Romulan warbirds entering the system and forming up with Toq's forces!"
Klag let loose with a laugh. "Send them my thanks." He glanced over the situation monitor and nodded. "Have them reinforce near the Oort Cloud. If we hold them off there, we can drive them back out of our territory!"
The Meret-class warbirds dropped out of warp near the edge of the infamous system, sight of an attack almost forty years ago. Now the Romulans came as allies, their disruptors tearing into Borg shields even as Borg tractor beams swept out in attempts to ensnare them and strip them of their shields.
K'vort -class cruisers fell in line with them, blunting the Borg advance, albeit temporarily. Two Romulan warships veered off under a withering assault from a cube, one of them splitting open and venting atmosphere-and bodies.
Corellia
Lusa's lightsaber spun around, sending back a flurry silvery Borg disruptor bolts. Her lightsaber hummed and screeched as it cut through the air, leaving an afterimage to anyone who glanced at the blade.
Next to her, Commander Data's TR-116 rifle targeted the advancing drones and blew neat holes into their chests, sending out small bits of shrapnel with each impact. "We should retreat," he said.
Lusa shrugged. "It's Master Skywalker's call, sir. He's down here for something, but-" She suddenly upholstered a type-two phaser pistol, aimed it and fired, killing a drone that was advancing on Zekk from behind. "He's after something here. And what it is, I don't know."
Zekk glanced over at the Chironian science officer and threw her a salute before turning back to the other half-dozen drones around him and Jaina. "How many is this?" he shouted.
Jaina turned her brown eyes to him. "I lost count. You think they'd give up by now."
A blur to her left attracted her attention. It quickly resolved itself into Taran'atar, wrestling with an assimilated Wookiee. "The Borg understand warfare better than I thought, young Jaina. They know the sacrifice of a few is nothing if the goal is achieved." He pushed the furry drone off, pulled out his disruptor pistol and fired a half-dozen rounds at the huge, gangly drone. The whitish polaron bolts hit the Borg's shields and, after a few rounds, penetrated and ripped through the armor beneath. Taran'atar nodded before hefting his battle ax once more and plunging into the fray.
In the back, Jag knelt behind a rock next to Hox. The former drone suddenly grabbed Hox's arm. "Let me help! I can be useful!" he half-shouted, his eyes wide.
The Suliban's eyes narrowed. "And I should trust you why?"
Jag's head suddenly darted to the right. "Look out!" he shouted.
Hox turned and, in one smooth motion, brought up his TR-116 rifle and shot a drone just before the drone killed him. The drone fell back, sparks shooting from the holes bore into it. Hox's lipless mouth narrowed even more. He then unholstered a phaser pistol and placed it in Jag's trembling hands. "This has an IFF transponder, kid. If you aim for any of my men or the Jedi, then this pistol doesn't work." He grabbed Jag by the shoulder and brought him gas mask-to-gas mask. "And if you do that, I will kill you myself. Get it?"
Jag nodded. "Got it, sir."
"Good."
Near the center of the semi-circle, Luke and Kyle stood together, back to back and lightsabers held out. A pack of drones attacked Kyle, lightsabers thrusting from all directions and humming. He parried the first few stabs, getting inside the guard of one and skewering it on the end of his plasma blade. The grizzled Jedi Master then turned to the others, but his danger sense flared.
He spared a glance over at Luke and saw him telekinetically pushing one drone away while dueling with three others simultaneously. His green plasma blade was a neon blur as he thrust, parried and swung faster than even Kyle could keep track of.
One of the drones stepped in front of Luke, getting itself skewered on the plasma blade. Before Luke could react, one of the other drones stepped around and extended its prosthetic-replaced right arm nanoprobe injection tubules snaking out. Luke pushed it away-but the tubules writhed and snaked out even further, piercing Luke's skin just below his right ear.
The Jedi Master let out a bloodcurdling scream as the nanoprobes raced through his bloodstream. His ice-blue eyes widened as his heart raced. He half-closed his eyes and held out his hand, telekinetically shoving the other drones away from him while reaching for the armband with the other. He pressed the green button-but the unit sparked and shuddered before the indicator lights died.
Lusa looked over and pulled out her tricorder. With one deft motion, she activated it and scanned the Jedi Master. Her blood turned ice-cold as she read the analysis. "The antivenin injectors have been fused." Her face took on a look of stark horror before she dropped the tricorder and her lightsaber and grabbed the sides of her head.
A scream shot from her, Tenel Ka, Jacen, Jaina, Zekk, Lowie and Kyle at about the same time that the first implant sprouted from Luke's skin…
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