XXVIII.

The crew aboard the Enterprise was under massive fire. Several decks had been blown to oblivion while others were not far from suffering the same fate. So far, twenty men had died in the line of fire and Captain Picard began to feel the strain of battle as he barked orders left and right about the bridge.

"Fire another shot at their starboard side! It is beginning to collapse!" he shouted over the sound of rumbling explosions coming from many decks below.

Star Fleet headquarters had taken incredible damage. Most of it had turned to black holes where rooms and docking bays once were. So many times Jean-Luc eyed it, feeling strong surges of anger that drove him to destroy the Borg ship more than he already had.

The ship rocked violently again, sending a couple of crewman flying over the front railing behind the captain's chair and into the helm. The Enterprise took a violent dip and went forward at an incredibly fast speed, making everyone hang on to the backs of their chairs or rails to prevent a fall into the view screen. An ensign rushed into the helm controls and attempted to right the ship to its appropriate position, but with difficulty.

The captain watched as his view went from stars, to debris, to the Cube again; which fired a photon torpedo toward them that thankfully missed. "Sir!" Geordi's voice rang out over the com system. "There is another hull breech on deck 20! We lost three more people and our engines are down. We are stuck in this position until I can reroute power from life support on all of our evacuated decks."

"Make it so!" Picard answered. "Enterprise to away team! Can you hear me Commander Riker?"

"Riker here sir! Worf and I are…ATTEMPTING to reach the coordinates. We were de-cloaked faster than we thought. We should reach our destination within five minutes."

"Any sign of Data and his group?"

"Negative. They're a deck above us."

"If they don't reach the coordinates FIVE MINUTES after you get there I want you to FIND THEM."

"Aye, aye sir."

Picard suddenly felt a tug at his heartstrings and looked around him. The bridge had darkened to a dull, dim light that brightened with the occasional sparking of panels being destroyed. He knew that the battle must end, and it had to in less than the five minutes that he had granted Riker and Worf.

Data, Sheridan, and Heva had been sneaking around for an unknown time when Sheridan let out a gasp of fear. He stood face to face with a drone; and it was looking right back at him.

"Commander…" he shook.

"I think they can see us…"

Data had drawn his phaser before Sheridan even had time to finish his sentence. He blasted the drone squarely in the center of its chest and grabbed Heva's arm. "Run!" he shouted.

The three of them sprinted down the black halls of the Borg Cube, the occasional drone appearing from around a corner to block their path. Each one met the same fate as their fallen brethren behind them.

Suddenly a green flash of light penetrated the darkness and Heva doubled over, crying out in pain. Data stopped and looked down at her. Her arm had been shot and it was bleeding profusely. Data hoisted her up and held the bleeding arm tight, making her wince. She knew he was only trying to stifle the bleeding.

Sheridan led the party, which became his undoing. Another flash of green light blinded them and Sheridan fell to the ground, dead.

Data shot at the oncoming drone, but it had already adapted to the phasers. In frustration, Data threw down the phaser and used every ounce of strength he had as he kicked the drone, knocking it twenty feet in the opposite direction. More drones came from the darkness only to be kicked, punched, and thrown by Data.

The more that came, the more difficult it became for Data to hold onto Heva AND get them out of the way. A drone appeared to their left and unfortunately for Data, paid more attention to it than the other drone that had come up from behind them.

It pointed its arm out at Heva and everything seemed to go silent. Data destroyed the left way drone and noticed the other, pointing its weapon right at Heva. It fired and Data pushed Heva hard out of the way, taking the shot right in his gut. He was knocked backward onto the floor and began to twitch as though he was having a seizure.

Heva crawled over to him and tried to touch him, only to be shocked as tiny waves of energy consumed his body. His face had been partially burned off and his stomach was open, revealing his inner workings. Now more than he ever had, Data looked inhuman to Heva. She began to cry in rage and cried out to Data. His head turned to her with difficulty and she could see him looking back at her. His eyes seemed…fearful.

With a cry of anger, Heva stood and grabbed a nearby pole that had fallen from the wall in the crossfire. She swung it at oncoming drones, knocking several of them senseless and others lost limbs or even their heads.

Heva continued to swing until she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and lift her up. "PUT ME DOWN YOU USELESS WASTE! PUT ME DOWN I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

She was carried hastily down the corridor and as she was, she noticed Data had been taken from the floor. She turned her head to see wisps of long, dark hair flying into her eyes. Worf had picked her and Data up and was running with them down the corridor, Riker taking the lead. Heva dropped the pole and slumped into Worf's shoulder, passing out. As they reached the coordinates, they heard a great rumble and felt the ship shake uncontrollably.

"RIKER TO TRANSPORTER ROOM ONE! O'BRIEN! BEAM US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!"

All at once, their bodies disintegrated just in time as the Borg Cube exploded into particles of dust that slowly drifted along in the vast vacuum of space.