"Counterforce"
By T. Cummins
2001
(Story based on characters and environments created and owned by Paramount and
Marvel)
Chapter Two – "Chemistry"
Anthony Stark found himself in what he had been told would be Voyager's transporter
room. His onboard sensors confirmed the atmosphere was indeed the appropriate mixture
to support human life. He immediately gathered as much data on his new surroundings as
he was able. Although the initial contact with Captain Janeway diminished his fears
somewhat, Stark knew that the Kree would not have been satisfied with simply
teleporting him out of the way. He was convinced that he would have been sent to an
extremely inhospitable location and was still wary of almost everything new he
encountered.
He remained standing on the transporter pads running diagnostics and sensor sweeps until
Seven entered the room.
"Mr. Stark, I have been sent to escort you to the bridge."
Although he remained on guard, Stark was instantly intrigued at the site of the former
Borg crewman. He ran multiple scans and discovered the intricate cybernetic implants
that still permeated her organic systems, but his main interest was unexpectedly
emotional. On earth, because of his talent, wealth and striking appearance, Anthony Stark
was accustomed to the company of exceptional female splendor, but Seven affected him
in a way that left him feeling oddly detached from his circumstances. The attractive,
athletic shape of her body was in no way concealed by her uniform, but it was the
powerful beauty of her face and the noble efficiency of her movements that seemed to
invade his innermost desires. He instinctively realized for his own sake he would have to
keep his feelings under control. "I thank you. Excuse me. May I ask your name?"
Seven suddenly felt an uncomfortable flush. She did not want her first contact with him
to be a breach in courtesy. She hurried to cover her error. "I am called Seven. We are
expected momentarily. Shall we go?"
Stark had always relied on his instincts and he decided to take a gamble. He reached up
and placed his hands on the sides of his helmet. Seven's attention instantly focused on his
actions. She was determined to learn as much as she could about this man and his
mechanisms. A moment later the pressurized seals opened with a hiss, he removed the
helmet and took a deep breath. Stark's muddled, dark brown hair, finely trimmed goatee
and ruggedly handsome features greeted her as he stepped off the transporter. He bowed
slightly with a broad friendly smile as she took an uncomfortable step backward. "A
pleasure to meet you Seven."
As they made their way through the corridors toward the bridge, Seven assaulted Stark
with a nearly unending barrage of questions about his origins and the nature of the
technology powering his armor. He answered with as much detail as he thought was
appropriate and managed to flavor the exchange with his innate conversational charm.
While they walked Seven unconsciously moved closer to her companion until they were
nearly touching. Her tone and posture became unusually cordial and relaxed until she
noticed a passing crewman smiling at her. She suddenly stiffened in embarrassment as
she led Stark into the turbo lift. She fell silent until they reached the Captain and he was
left wondering what had altered her behavior.
"Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you." Janeway smiled and gestured around the room.
"I'd like to present some of my crew. This is First Officer Chakotay." After walking
across the bridge, Chakotay happily shook Stark's gloved hand and nodded in respect to
the restrained power in the armored man's grip. "Behind me is science officer Tuvok who
is native to the planet Vulcan." Tuvok quietly nodded an acknowledgement that Stark
returned in kind.
Before Janeway could continue Mr. Kim quickly interrupted. "Captain, I'm picking up a
Borg cube on an intercept course. At our present speed they will make contact before we
can reach the nebula." The next moment the main viewer clearly showed the Borg ship
advancing on their position. Janeway and Chakotay seated themselves.
Seven joined Tuvok at the science station leaving Stark standing alone near the turbolift.
He took a few steps forward as he studied the image on the screen. "Peculiar design for a
space vessel."
When the approaching cube entered weapons range it instantly locked its weapons.
Captain Janeway instantly called the ship to battle readiness. "Shields up. Red alert."
Stark instinctively replaced his helmet. Simultaneous phaser blasts and tractor beams
suddenly rocked the ship.
"We haven't had enough time to make repairs. Our shields are failing." Harry
automatically began rotating the frequencies to extend their use to no avail. Everyone on
the bridge knew it was a matter of time before Voyager was cracked open by a Borg
particle beam, except Tony Stark.
"I'm open to suggestions people." Janeway's request did not fall on deaf ears.
"Captain. I've dealt with situations like this all my life. Can you use your matter
transporter to get me on that ship?" Janeway instantly refused. "Captain, I'm going to be
killed with the rest of you if you don't at least let me try!"
When a power conduit exploded near Harry, Janeway relented. "Seven, beam him to
where he can do the most good." Seven hesitated for a moment then went to help Kim
with the coordinates.
"Thank you Captain. I'll contact you as soon as I can." Stark spun on his heel and hurried
to the turbo lift. Moments later he had been successfully beamed aboard the attacking
vessel.
As quickly as it had begun the battle ceased. Harry monitored Starks progress through the
Borg ship with elation. "I don't know exactly how he's doing it but Mr. Stark is causing
massive amounts of damage over there and in all the right places." The mood on the
bridge shifted from concern for Stark's apparent sacrifice to that of guarded optimism.
"The drones are trying to gang up on him and it looks as if he's wading though them as
though they were a bunch of children. He's firing some kind of energy weapon to destroy
their distribution nodes faster than they can repair them. Captain, they can't stop him.
The cube is going to explode any minute."
Chakotay suddenly voiced his concern. "When that ship goes, we'd better be as far away
as possible. Can you beam him back?"
Mr. Kim checked the readings. "I can't get a lock, there's too much interference."
Chakotay shot a look at the Captain.
"Tom, get us out of here. Now!"
By T. Cummins
2001
(Story based on characters and environments created and owned by Paramount and
Marvel)
Chapter Two – "Chemistry"
Anthony Stark found himself in what he had been told would be Voyager's transporter
room. His onboard sensors confirmed the atmosphere was indeed the appropriate mixture
to support human life. He immediately gathered as much data on his new surroundings as
he was able. Although the initial contact with Captain Janeway diminished his fears
somewhat, Stark knew that the Kree would not have been satisfied with simply
teleporting him out of the way. He was convinced that he would have been sent to an
extremely inhospitable location and was still wary of almost everything new he
encountered.
He remained standing on the transporter pads running diagnostics and sensor sweeps until
Seven entered the room.
"Mr. Stark, I have been sent to escort you to the bridge."
Although he remained on guard, Stark was instantly intrigued at the site of the former
Borg crewman. He ran multiple scans and discovered the intricate cybernetic implants
that still permeated her organic systems, but his main interest was unexpectedly
emotional. On earth, because of his talent, wealth and striking appearance, Anthony Stark
was accustomed to the company of exceptional female splendor, but Seven affected him
in a way that left him feeling oddly detached from his circumstances. The attractive,
athletic shape of her body was in no way concealed by her uniform, but it was the
powerful beauty of her face and the noble efficiency of her movements that seemed to
invade his innermost desires. He instinctively realized for his own sake he would have to
keep his feelings under control. "I thank you. Excuse me. May I ask your name?"
Seven suddenly felt an uncomfortable flush. She did not want her first contact with him
to be a breach in courtesy. She hurried to cover her error. "I am called Seven. We are
expected momentarily. Shall we go?"
Stark had always relied on his instincts and he decided to take a gamble. He reached up
and placed his hands on the sides of his helmet. Seven's attention instantly focused on his
actions. She was determined to learn as much as she could about this man and his
mechanisms. A moment later the pressurized seals opened with a hiss, he removed the
helmet and took a deep breath. Stark's muddled, dark brown hair, finely trimmed goatee
and ruggedly handsome features greeted her as he stepped off the transporter. He bowed
slightly with a broad friendly smile as she took an uncomfortable step backward. "A
pleasure to meet you Seven."
As they made their way through the corridors toward the bridge, Seven assaulted Stark
with a nearly unending barrage of questions about his origins and the nature of the
technology powering his armor. He answered with as much detail as he thought was
appropriate and managed to flavor the exchange with his innate conversational charm.
While they walked Seven unconsciously moved closer to her companion until they were
nearly touching. Her tone and posture became unusually cordial and relaxed until she
noticed a passing crewman smiling at her. She suddenly stiffened in embarrassment as
she led Stark into the turbo lift. She fell silent until they reached the Captain and he was
left wondering what had altered her behavior.
"Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you." Janeway smiled and gestured around the room.
"I'd like to present some of my crew. This is First Officer Chakotay." After walking
across the bridge, Chakotay happily shook Stark's gloved hand and nodded in respect to
the restrained power in the armored man's grip. "Behind me is science officer Tuvok who
is native to the planet Vulcan." Tuvok quietly nodded an acknowledgement that Stark
returned in kind.
Before Janeway could continue Mr. Kim quickly interrupted. "Captain, I'm picking up a
Borg cube on an intercept course. At our present speed they will make contact before we
can reach the nebula." The next moment the main viewer clearly showed the Borg ship
advancing on their position. Janeway and Chakotay seated themselves.
Seven joined Tuvok at the science station leaving Stark standing alone near the turbolift.
He took a few steps forward as he studied the image on the screen. "Peculiar design for a
space vessel."
When the approaching cube entered weapons range it instantly locked its weapons.
Captain Janeway instantly called the ship to battle readiness. "Shields up. Red alert."
Stark instinctively replaced his helmet. Simultaneous phaser blasts and tractor beams
suddenly rocked the ship.
"We haven't had enough time to make repairs. Our shields are failing." Harry
automatically began rotating the frequencies to extend their use to no avail. Everyone on
the bridge knew it was a matter of time before Voyager was cracked open by a Borg
particle beam, except Tony Stark.
"I'm open to suggestions people." Janeway's request did not fall on deaf ears.
"Captain. I've dealt with situations like this all my life. Can you use your matter
transporter to get me on that ship?" Janeway instantly refused. "Captain, I'm going to be
killed with the rest of you if you don't at least let me try!"
When a power conduit exploded near Harry, Janeway relented. "Seven, beam him to
where he can do the most good." Seven hesitated for a moment then went to help Kim
with the coordinates.
"Thank you Captain. I'll contact you as soon as I can." Stark spun on his heel and hurried
to the turbo lift. Moments later he had been successfully beamed aboard the attacking
vessel.
As quickly as it had begun the battle ceased. Harry monitored Starks progress through the
Borg ship with elation. "I don't know exactly how he's doing it but Mr. Stark is causing
massive amounts of damage over there and in all the right places." The mood on the
bridge shifted from concern for Stark's apparent sacrifice to that of guarded optimism.
"The drones are trying to gang up on him and it looks as if he's wading though them as
though they were a bunch of children. He's firing some kind of energy weapon to destroy
their distribution nodes faster than they can repair them. Captain, they can't stop him.
The cube is going to explode any minute."
Chakotay suddenly voiced his concern. "When that ship goes, we'd better be as far away
as possible. Can you beam him back?"
Mr. Kim checked the readings. "I can't get a lock, there's too much interference."
Chakotay shot a look at the Captain.
"Tom, get us out of here. Now!"