Chapter Eleven: Tunnels of Feros.
The Normandy reached Feros perfectly on schedule. To Shepard's surprise, there was not a Borg cube present in orbit, merely a smaller scout vessel, a sphere. Not necessarily no threat at all, but certainly not a Cube - although the debris of a Starship in orbit was proof that it had teeth of its own.
"This we can deal with," he said softly to himself, and then he turned to the tactical station. "Williams, tactical analysis."
"The debris belongs to a Miranda class survey ship assigned to Citadel space to run routine surveys," Ashely replied heavily, looking at her on sole with a downcast expression. "USS Apollo. She never stood a chance, sir. I don't even see any weapon residue matching Starfleet signatures."
More losses to make the Borg pay for. The Apollo probably responded to the initial distress call from Feros, not the Code 47. Still, Shepard took it as an ill omen.
"Target the sphere, full spread of torpedoes, bring her down," he ordered, bringing his attention to the screen.
Williams executed the command immediately, the volley of red torpedoes sailing towards the Borg sphere almost gracefully. Shepard was immensely satisfied when, a moment later, the Borg sphere exploded in a red and green flash, green gases expanding outward.
"That takes care of the space presence," Alenko commented from Ops. "Just leaves the Borg on the ground."
"Don't remind me, Lieutenant," Shepard said with a smile. He felt oddly cheered by the sight of a Borg vessel burning, but it was only a minor victory - more would be needed in order to end this incursion. Much more, blood and sweat and other sacrifices. And so he headed off, determination in his face and stride, to provide more.
In the transporter room, Shepard's selected team was waiting. In addition to Liara, who looked extremely uncomfortable with the Hazard Suit she wore, he had picked Williams, Wrex and Garrus, as well as Tali to do any tech miracles that might be required. Apart from those already in armour, they were all in Hazard Suits, all holding TR-116's (save Wrex, who held his shotgun, and Tal, who held a Type-2 phaser). The team was awaiting his instructions, and he sighed, not liking what he had to give them.
"Ok, team, here's the score," he said, catching their attention as he entered the room.
"There's a Starfleet Intel operative down there who needs extraction and unfortunately we're the best ship in range. Unless my intel is appalling," and here he threw a look at Liara to confirm what he said, "it's all dark, confining tunnels and Borg down there."
"I... can't speak for the Borg," Liara said slowly, apparently missing the joke. She looked at the expectant faces of the team nervously, clearly uncomfortable with what was being asked of her. "But the area we are transporting into mainly consists of confining tunnels and corridors."
"Yay," Williams out in, a quirky, bitter half smile on her face.
"With their kinetic barrier upgrades, the Borg have something that can hold back the projectiles from the TR-116," Shepard continued, ignoring the interjection. "But with Tali's upgraded phaser weaponry we have an estimated... fourteen?"
"Twenty," Tali corrected absently, engrossed in her tricorder.
"Twenty shots between us that the kinetic shields won't stop," Shepard finished, nodding. "Don't waste them."
He paced slightly, looking each of them in the eye. He felt the need to try and emphasise just how risky the situation they were entering was.
"I've fought Borg up close," he said, frowning at each of them in turn. "They're faster than you think, and stronger, and they sneak up on you as well. Don't let them near you, don't let them touch you." He stopped, uncertain about the next thing, but then he spoke. "And if one of the team gets assimilated, shoot them. I expect the same for me. Better dead than Borg."
"Agreed," the timid voice of Liara T'Soni spoke up.
"Agreed," Williams added.
One by one, the whole team echoed his sentiment. He smiled softly, and the team began moving onto the transporter pad. Shepard caught Liara before she did so.
"This obviously interrupted whatever prep you were doing for your meld," he said softly.
"Yes," Liara replied, "but the preparation was only a luxury, not a necessity. If you prefer, we can complete the meld upon our return."
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "This situation only emphasises how short of time we are."
He gestured that they should take their places on the pad, and Liara nodded, moving to her assigned location.
"We're beaming in close to the colony," Tali said to the team. "I've got the co-ordinates."
"Energise," Shepard ordered the transporter operator.
It was dark in the tunnel they'd beamed into, just as Shepard had feared. His torch barely illuminated the area directly in front of him, showing hints of cracked concrete walls and loose cabling. The rest of the team followed his lead, and he made sure to keep his weapon low.
"Remember, they don't attack unless threatened or unless you're their objective," Shepard threw back at them, hoping to avoid provoking the Borg in what was essentially their territory. "Make no aggressive moves unless left with no alternative."
A chorus of affirmatives reached him, and he breathed a soft sigh of relief. They weren't quite the security team he'd ask for nor,ally. But they were just as efficient as one.
Slowly, the team advanced through the darkness. Liara seemed the jumpiest of them all - she had put the TR-116 in her belt mounted buffer and had taken out a type-2 phaser, clearly something she felt a little more comfortable with than a bulky rifle. Wrex seemed the least ill-at-ease in this place, holding his shotgun at ease and walking without the furtive glances into the shadows the others kept throwing. Tali seemed focused - very focused - on her tricorder, which at least prevented her from seeming too nervous at their surroundings.
"This is too quiet," Garrus hissed into the darkness, TR-116 held tightly in his hands. "Where are they all?"
"You want Borg to show up?" Williams said, equally nervous.
"I want there to be something to shoot at instead of this oppressive atmosphere," Garrus replied testily. "Borg, Thresher Maw, army of deranged varren..."
"Be careful what you wish for," Tali said grimly from ahead. She motioned for them to take cover.
At the end of the passageway was a t-junction. And at the t-junction stood a Borg, working on what looked like a Starfleet console, albeit one augmented by blocky black Borg tech and seemingly altered to a Borg LCARS display.
"Sir? Options?" Garrus asked, now sounding more nervous.
Shepard stood up, aiming carefully with his TR-116 - but to his surprise, Tali stood up and pushed the barrel down.
"They'll ignore us until we hamper them, and shooting one in the head counts as hampering," she said sternly. "Sir," she added for good measure, suddenly aware that she'd just spoken to the Captain.
The others looked at Shepard, waiting for him to make some kind of decision.
"She's right," he said finally, lowering the rifle. "And there's probably more of them ahead, they'd be alerted if we shot it. We'll sneak past the drone."
"Sneaking around Borg isn't exactly how I wanted to play this," Wrex put in.
"Stow it, Lieutenant," Shepard said sharply. "I'm the Captain follow my lead."
"Yes sir," Wrex said, though no one missed the slight sarcasm.
Shepard gestured for people to start moving. First, Tali, who knew the way, crept past the drone, focusing on her tricorder the whole time and trying to look unthreatening (or just to nervous to look otherwise, Shepard couldn't tell). Shepard crept past the drone next, looking at it uncomfortably. It ignored him.
Ashley threw a venomous look at the Borg as she passed it, as if for all the world she could glare it to death. It ignored her too.
Wrex didn't even sneak, he walked past the Borg, almost bumping into it. Shepard threw him a look when he reached the rest of the squad, and he shrugged.
Liara passed the creature, murmuring quietly to herself all the while. She almost ran once she had gotten past it, but managed to control her fear.
"What were you murmuring?" Tali asked. Liara shook the question off.
Garrus was the last to come, moving quickly and efficiently. He seemed rattled, but was holding it in.
The Borg threw the collection of Starfleet officers a cursory glance, the red laser light aiming at them. Shepard tensed, waiting for it to attack - and then it turned back to it's work, seemingly uninterested. The Captain sighed with relief.
"Ok, now where?" he asked. Tali motioned with her hand for them to follow her, further down the tunnels.
At the end of the tunnel system, there was a ramp, leading up to a long hallway - the other side of the hallway was blocked off by rubble, but there was another ramp, leading up to a gantry that appeared to cross over the rubble. Borg were in this hallway, some on the gantry, and some down in the main part of the hallway too. They were moving about, studying yet more Starfleet style consoles.
Most importantly of all, by Shepard's estimation, at the end of the hall came the distinct sound of phaser fire.
"The Starfleet Intel operative?" Garrus asked.
"Sounds like it," Shepard said with a nod.
"What's the plan?" Ashley asked, her fingers tense on her rifle. Shepard grinned.
"Ok," he said loudly. "Weapons free ladies and gents, time to be a threat!"
He swung his TR-116, aimed at the nearest Borg, and fired. It's head exploded - clearly it had not activated its shields.
"Finally, some action!" Wrex yelled, racking his shotgun. His shots took out another drone. Another moved towards Ashley, only to be enveloped in a blue haze - and then lifted of the ground. Ashley was unsure if she had to shoot at it, but wasn't given the choice - the drone smashed into the nearest wall at high velocity, first once, then twice, then a third time. Liara - whose arm was held out, aiming at where it had been - lowered her arm and breathed out.
"Damn," she murmured. "That's a neat trick."
"You should see Asari Commandos," Liara replied. "They're even better."
Tali and Shepard moved up the gantry. A drone moved to intercept, kinetic shields blazing, but Tali shot it with her modified phaser and it exploded, the kinetic shield useless against Starfleet phaser tech.
A few more steps.
At the other side of the hall, down another ramp from the gantry, there was a man, stood in cover, firing down the hall at about five Borg with what looked like a bulky, heavily modified phaser rifle. The man was definitely Lieutenant Reed, but he wasn't in a Starfleet uniform. Instead, he wore a black outfit, dominated by a double breasted leather jacket fastened up to the neck, and a turtleneck collar underneath.
He ducked into cover as the Borg returned fire with their modified disruptor arms. Shepard lined up a shot with his TR-116, watching from the corner of his eye as Tali did the same, and then fired.
The first Borg went down in a shot. The second had a kinetic shield that held off the first shot, but a concentrated volley from Shepard and Tali took it down. The rest were picked off methodically by the phaser of Reed.
The Borg dealt with, at least for the moment, Tali and Shepard jogged down the ramp to the Lieutenant, who nodded as he saw the two approach.
"TR-116," he said, staring at the rifle. "Decent alternative to what I'm carrying."
"What are you carrying?" Tali said, staring at the unusual rifle in surprise and fascination.
"Infinity Modulator, or IMod," the man said, sounding tired. "Part of the tech Voyager brought back when she relayed in a few months ago. You're wearing a Hazard Suit, so you know what kind of anti-Borg ingenuity that ship came up with, but this baby was a little more classified."
"Could have used that a few days ago," Shepard said with a smile.
"I'm sure you could have," Reed said, "but you know SI research division. Never let anything go without dissecting it first."
"True," Shepard said, and extended a hand. "Captain John Shepard, USS Normandy. This is my Chief Engineer, Tali'Zorah."
"Lieutenant Reed, SI," the man replied, shaking Shepard's hand with a firm, confident grip. "Take it you got the Code 47?"
"Yes," Shepard said, slipping into his "military business" mien. "We're here to extract you and the data."
"It's not that simple, I'm afraid," Reed said, almost apologetically. "You know about the Zhu's Hope colony?"
"Yes," Shepard replied. It was a small colony, somewhere nearby on Feros.
"I need to get there," Reed said, "and I need your team to come with me."
"What?" Tali put in. "By now they're all Borg!"
"On the contrary," Reed said with a grim smile. "They're not. And they can never be."
"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"The details are, necessarily, classified," Reed said, waving the question off. "We need to get at least a sample of colonist blood and get it to my rendezvous."
Shepard frowned at him.
"If I'm risking my crew to get this 'sample', I at least want to know more about it," he said simply. Lieutenant Reed frowned, and then nodded simply.
"I can understand that, Captain," he said amiably, looking at Shepard with respect in his eyes. "Alright then, I'll tell you some basics. There's a plant on this world. Sentient, old. Called the Thorian. Starfleet discovered that the spores from the Thorian affect people, make subtle alterations to their DNA. Among the alterations is an immunity to assimilation. The infecting plant-spores destroy the nanoprobe infection!"
Shepard exchanged glances with Tali.
"Plant spores that destroy nanoprobes?" he said disbelievingly.
"Yup," Reed said, a grin on his face. "Sounds too good to be true, but the results check out. We need to get there pretty sharpish - with the modifications made from these spores, humans could be as immune to assimilation as Species 8472!"
Shepard nodded, duty overriding his concerns - as well as the promise of another anti-Borg weapon.
"At the least, we should assist the colonists," he said. Reed nodded.
"Absolutely," he agreed - but there was something slightly off about his voice that made Shepard suspicious.
The team met Shepard on the other side of the hallway, where he introduced Lieutenant Reed to them. There were a few odd looks - especially at his outfit, which wasn't standard Starfleet gear at all - but no one said anything. The Lieutenant did waste any time once the group had rendezvoused; he pulled up a holographic display of the Zhu's Hope colony.
"Ok," he said, pointing out the layout, "there's a highway here we'll need to traverse. Shouldn't take more than twenty, maybe twenty five minutes to get across it. No idea what resistance we might receive on the way from the Borg - the fact that you took their damn ship out probably helped a lot, Captain."
"We'll assume there will be Borg to deal with," Shepard said grimly, and the team exchanged grim looks - even Wrex had seen enough Borg to last him a while. "But its fairly open terrain, not something the Hive is used to dealing with. We'll have a distinct advantage."
"From there," Reed continued chirpily, "there's an elevator down to where the vast majority of Zhu's Hope colonists live."
The team looked at each other, silently debating with themselves whether they actually liked this plan.
"Alright people," Shepard said, his voice becoming commanding, and everyone's attention was now focused on him, "we need to go save these colonists. It'll be tough, but I know we can do it."
The team looked more enthusiastic now, each of them filled with confidence from Shepard's words.
"Wrex, Garrus, you're on point," Shepard said, indicating a nearby exit. "Williams, cover our six. Reed, Tali, Liara, stay with me. Move out!"
And without further dallying, the Starfleet team moved out, heading for the highway.