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Sailor Trek: The Next Generation
Chapter 6 - "In the name of the Moon..."
The watcher leaned on her staff as she closely monitored the time
flow. Now that the battle had been resumed in her universe, she could
observe events directly instead of having to rely on Q for information.
Which was just as well, for the crucial moment was fast
approaching...
They stood there, frozen in shock by the sight of the assimilated
Sailor Moon.
Then Tuxedo Mask went ballistic. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!!" he
roared at Rubeus. He followed this up with a barrage of roses, then
leapt at him. Rubeus blocked the floral attack with a series of force
fields and hurled an energy blast at Tuxedo Mask. The tuxedo clad
warrior hit the wall hard, and stood there for a moment, dazed.
This galvanized the Scouts into action. The room echoed with
their attack cries as they each hurled their most powerful attacks at
Rubeus while the three Starfleet officers added their phasers to the
fray. Their efforts came for naught, for each attack was blocked by a
force field.
Rubeus stood grinning at the futility of their efforts, "Resistance
is futile!" As if they had been waiting for this signal, Borg drones
came from every entrance onto the chamber and advanced on the away team.
Through it all, Sailor Moon remained where she was, silent and as
expressionless as any of the Borg around her... except for a single
tear running down her cheek.
"Troi to Riker."
Riker involuntarily sat straighter in his chair. For her to contact
him directly, rather than going through Beverly, whatever she had to say
must be important indeed. "Go ahead, Deanna."
"Will, I've just received a telepathic report from Sailor Mars."
Troi looked over at Luna. "According to her, Sailor Moon has been
assimilated."
Artemis didn't immediately understand what she meant by that, but
knew instantly that it wasn't good. Both O'Brien and Ro had tensed up
when Troi made her announcement, and Riker had a grim look on his face.
"What does that mean?" he heard Luna ask, her voice sounding puzzled.
On the main bridge Troi and Crusher exchanged a look, each obviously
reluctant to elaborate. Hearing a pause over the comm Riker took it upon
himself to say, "It means that she is a Borg now."
It took Luna a moment to comprehend but when she did, she uttered
a loud cry of anguish. She turned to face Q, her expression clearly one
of anger. For his part, Q merely looked bored. "Q!! It's your fault
she's in this predicament! Get her off of there and back to normal!
NOW!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," the entity replied, for some reason
choosing to do so from the stardrive section. "I have my instructions to
the contrary."
On the battle bridge, Riker shot Q a sharp look. "From who?"
"That, as they say, is for me to know and you to find out."
Luna gathered herself, preparing to attack Q no matter the
consequences. But before she could, she felt a restraining hand on her.
"It won't accomplish anything," Beverly told her. "Besides, if the away
team can get her back, I should be able restore her." 'I hope,' she
added silently. "Now, what's the position of the shuttle?"
Luna forced her attention back to the tactical display she had been
monitoring. "It's... it's maneuvering into position, using thrusters
only." The saucer trembled under the impact of weapons fire as she was
giving this report.
Riker saw the saucer take the hit. "Beverly, what's your status?"
Crusher's voice sounded strained when she responded a moment later.
"We've lost shields, and impulse engine one. But we still have phasers."
Riker nodded just as the stardrive section itself shook from
incoming fire. "You've done all you can, Beverly. Withdraw the saucer
section to a safe distance. It's up to us now."
There was a momentary pause from the other end. "Understood. Good
luck, Will." The saucer banked as it began limping from the battle.
"Shield strength is down to seventy five percent," reported O'Brien.
He checked the sensor readouts, and reported more bad news. "The Borg
just reestablished their EM field. Transporter use is impossible.
Their shield strength is increasing, too."
Riker nodded grimly. It was getting time to play their trump
cards... and hope that Rubeus hadn't stacked the deck against them.
"Begin charging the deflector, Chief. Stand by to fire on my mark."
Inside the battle was over. Each member of the away team was held
firmly by a Borg, save for Jupiter and Worf, who were struggling mightily
against the hold two Borg held on each of them. Even then, it looked as
if either one could break free if the Borg were any weaker. Scattered
all around the floor were the bodies of Borg drones that had fallen in
the struggle and the motionless form of Data.
It had been a near thing, Picard reflected as he watched Rubeus
gloat. It had merely amounted to a matter of numbers. There had simply
been too many Borg for them to fight off.
They had adapted to the phasers quickly enough, forcing the
Enterprise crewmembers to resort to melee combat. This was fine for Data
and Worf, but Picard quickly found himself immobilized. Worf was using
his mekh'leth to good effect, but soon found himself grappled by two Borg
drones that moved in on him while he was dealing with a third.
The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask fared better. Rubeus not withstanding,
the Borg were still, for whatever reason, unable to adapt to their powers
and they took full advantage of this. But more kept coming despite the
casualties they were taking, and one by one the Scouts were quelled.
Even so they might have had a chance had Data not been deactivated.
The android was moving to liberate Mercury, reasoning that her fog
ability would enable him to free several of the others without hindrance
and give them a chance to turn the tide. A Borg intercepted him,
distracting him for a brief second. In that time, Rubeus teleported
behind him and pressed a certain spot in the small of his back. Data
had collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut. The captain grimaced
as he realized how Rubeus must have known how to deactivate Data. Picard
had known the location of the android's off switch and therefore, by
virtue of his assimilation into the collective, so did the Borg. And
that evidently extended to Rubeus as well.
Picard involuntarily flinched as another Borg approached him and
two talons extended from the back of it's hand. He pushed down the
terror that arose at the thought of being assimilated again.
He was momentarily spared that fate. "Not yet, my friends," Rubeus
said. The Borg moved off. "There'll be time enough for that later.
But first..." Two panels behind him shimmered and showed views of the
two sections of the Enterprise. The stardrive was still firing
constantly, but the saucer was evidently withdrawing from the battle.
"Before you rejoin the collective, Picard, I'd thought I would show you
the destruction of your pitiful starship." Before anyone else could
say anything, he turned to Sailor Moon. "Sailor Borg..." Tuxedo Mask
growled at that. "...destroy the Enterprise. Start with the saucer
section first."
She made no reply, but a glow came from the broach containing the
Silver Crystal which intensified quickly. A beam emerged and struck the
crystal projection on a nearby power distribution node causing it and
others like it to glow as well.
Mercury watched through her visor, which was still deployed,
collecting data. The beam was running through the Borg power system,
using the entire ship as a conduit for the weapon. Also, she could tell
that the Silver Crystal was not drawing upon Sailor Moon's life energy,
but instead was drawing upon the entire Borg collective, taking a
minuscule bit from each until it added up into a massive amount.
Riker stared at the screen as the Borg ship pulsated with that white
glow again. Before he could give any orders, the intense beam of energy
shot out from it, striking the saucer. When the main screen cleared, he
was somewhat amazed that it was still there. "Riker to Crusher, report!"
"We're alright, Will," the doctor answered. "Q protected us, just
like he said he would."
"Would I lie?" Q's voice came over the comm channel.
Riker frowned and glanced over at Q standing beside him. Q returned
the look with his usual smug look. "What's the matter, Riker? Can't
believe I can be in two places at once?" As he said this the Borg struck
again, this time at the stardrive section, also with no effect. "Oh,
give it up already!" Q demanded irritably.
Rubeus stared at the viewers in a nearly apoplectic rage. His
ultimate weapon had fired twice and had hit both sections of the
starship. Yet somehow, inexplicably, both remained in existence. "How
can this be?" he muttered.
"Having problems, Rubeus?" Picard inquired, his voice holding a
hint of amusement.. When he saw both sections emerge unscathed from
the attack, he felt his spirits rise a little. Perhaps there was still
a chance after all. If not for them, then at least for his ship and
crew.
For his part, Rubeus was struggling to control his anger. Both
sections of that starship should be dust now... even less than dust!
There was no way this was possible, unless... He nodded. Yes, that
must be the reason. Somehow, someway, a small part of Sailor Moon must
be resisting his control over her.
He took a moment to contemplate what to do about that. After all,
it wouldn't do for the key to his triumphant return to resist him every
step of the way. He had to have total control over her, body and mind.
Her will to resist, her spirit, would have to be broken beyond repair.
And he knew just how to do it. He turned to Sailor Borg and gave her a
silent command through the collective.
Mars watched Serena turn slowly and walk over to Tuxedo Mask, who
remained silent himself as this grotesque parody of the woman he loved
approached. She swore to herself the different kinds of hell she was
going to visit on Rubeus for this atrocity. In her mind she felt Deanna
council her to remain calm, but she ignored this advice, choosing instead
to focus on breaking loose from the grip of the Borg holding her.
Unfortunately she wasn't having any better luck than the others in that
department.
She froze momentarily, all thought of escape forgotten when she saw
what Rubeus intended. Sailor Moon had stopped in front of Tuxedo Mask
and her right hand shot out, gripping him by the throat and closing her
hand. Rubeus was forcing Serena to kill Darien. "NO! Serena, don't!!"
"You've got to break free, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter cried. Mercury
and Venus also added their pleas.
*Deanna, you've got to help me reach her!* Raye cried out mentally.
*Please!*
*I'll try, Raye,* the counselor sent back. She wasn't too confident
she could reach her with her own limited psi abilities, but she
nonetheless sent, *Sailor Moon! Listen to me!*
"It really doesn't matter if your ship is destroyed or not," Rubeus
said in a conversational tone. He might have been discussing the weather,
as opposed to gloating over having one of his enemies throttle the other.
"Soon this ship will leave, and the Enterprise won't be able to follow."
"Where are you going?" Picard asked.
"Not a place, Picard, but a time."
Mercury stopped her entreaties to Sailor Moon for a moment. "You're
taking this ship to Crystal Tokyo. To your own time."
"Correct. My own ship's time travel capabilities were destroyed
when I crossed over to Picard's universe, but the Borg have their own
method which is much more efficient."
Picard felt a cold lump form in his chest. "The Borg have time
travel capabilities?" he breathed. In retrospect, he should have
expected that. Sometimes it seemed as if there wasn't anything beyond
the Borg.
"Oh, yes, Picard," Rubeus laughed evilly. "We do..."
"Sir, the Borg cube is emitting chronometric particles," O'Brien
reported. "It's forming a temporal vortex."
"Time travel," Riker said to no one in particular. He hadn't
counted on the Borg having that ability. They'd have to work fast to
stop them before it was too late. He looked over to Artemis. The white
cat had been assigned a vacant station on the battle bridge and had been
feeding Riker the same tactical information that Luna had been providing
Crusher. "The shuttle...?"
"In position!" the cat informed him.
"Then proceed, Artemis." Time to play their first trump card.
"Detonate the shuttle."
"With pleasure." Artemis stabbed a control with his paw that sent
out a signal to the shuttle, now positioned less than ten meters from the
hull of the cube. On board the unmanned craft, ironically enough named
"Einstein", a series of overrides were engaged and the containment fields
for the ship's small warp core were disengaged. Simultaneously, magnetic
fields separating a large quantity of antimatter from it's matter
counterpart suddenly deteriorated and a series of explosive charges went
off, forcing the two to mingle, causing a massive and uncontrolled
matter/antimatter reaction. The resulting annihilation of tens of
kilograms of antimatter and matter caused an explosion much larger than
any photon torpedo... but one more akin to a warp core breach.
The main viewscreen darkened as the computer automatically
compensated for the sudden appearance of a small sun on the hull of the
cube.
The Borg ship rocked violently. "No!" cried out Rubeus, damage
assessments from the collective flooding into his mind. The foremost of
these was that the time warp ability had been damaged, and the time shift
had to be aborted. "This can't be!" He glared at the Enterprise
stardrive section on the main viewer. It's weapons couldn't have caused
this, so what had happened? He focussed his attention on directing the
drones to begin repairs to the cube. Once they were complete, he would
crush that insignificant starship like a bug.
Picard flicked his eyes back and forth between Rubeus and Sailor
Moon. If there was a chance of reaching her, of her being able to break
out from the control Rubeus had over her, now was the time. "Fight,
Sailor Moon," he quietly urged her. "Don't let Rubeus control you. Fight
against the hold he has on you. You can break through the control the
Borg collective has on you. I've been able to do it, so can you!"
Deanna closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to reach Serena's
suppressed personality. Unfortunately, she wasn't having much luck. Her
own psi abilities were just too weak to pierce the Borg control.
She felt a small form jump into her lap. "You're trying to reach
Serena telepathically, aren't you Counselor?"
"Yes, but I'm not having much luck."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance." The crescent moon symbol on her
forehead began glowing. "I can add my psi abilities to yours, and maybe
together we can reach her." A beam lanced out and touched Troi's head,
forging the link.
The combined consciousness called out, *Serena!* At first they only
perceived the cacophony of a multitude of voices echoing through the Borg
collective. But beneath it they dimly heard a small voice.
*Help me!*
*We're here, Serena. Fight through the Borg unimind.*
*Luna? Is that you?*
*Yes, Serena. And Counselor Troi as well.*
*Help me,* she cried out desperately. *He's making me kill Darien.
I can't stop him!*
*Yes you can,* the two responded, reassuring her. *We'll guide you,
but you have to have the will to break through. If not for yourself,
then for Darien.*
The Scouts added their voices to Picard's, calling out even more
urgently for Serena to resist. Picard stopped in midword. He wasn't
sure, but he thought he had seen her grip loosen slightly... and was
that a hint of awareness he saw in her eyes? Was she beginning to break
the hold over her?
Darien felt himself able to take a breath. Was her grip loosening?
He looked in her eyes, and saw awareness flooding back into them.
She blinked. "Darien?"
"Fight it, Serena. Fight the Borg! Break free!"
"Silence, all of you!" Rubeus had become aware of their actions.
"She's completely under my control. Sailor Borg, I command you: kill
Tuxedo Mask!"
She blinked, and her grip relaxed visibly. Then, in a barely
audible voice, she said one word: "No."
"I think that got their attention," Riker noted with grim
satisfaction. The matter/antimatter explosion had gouged a large hole in
the side of the Borg ship. Several of the crystal spires on that side had
been destroyed as well.
"Very impressive," Q observed, not sounding particularly so.
"What's your next trick going to be?"
"Just you watch. Chief...?"
O'Brien nodded. "Almost ready sir. The deflector will be fully
charged in a moment."
The watcher nodded to herself. The critical moment was now. All
would be won or lost depending on the outcome of the next few minutes.
Sailor Moon cried out as Rubeus brought the full weight of the Borg
unimind to bear on her. She fought against being submerged again, but
the sheer weight of the collective was simply too much for anyone.
*YOU WILL DESTROY HIM, SAILOR BORG!*
*No!* she cried out mentally. *I won't! I am Sailor Moon!*
The others called out encouragement to Sailor Moon which was all
they could really do, held as tightly as they were by the Borg. Suddenly,
Picard realized that the grip of the Borg holding him had loosened. If
he wanted, he could easily break free. But as far as he could tell, this
didn't apply to the others. There wasn't much he could do alone. The
Borg had already adapted to his phaser, but maybe if he could reach
Worf's mekh'leth...
*Locutus.*
He started. Had he heard that inside his head? Yes, there was
something there, almost a soft murmur in the back of his mind.
Then all at once the realization struck him. Somehow, he *knew*
that some part of the collective was still resisting Rubeus' control. And
it was this part that was giving him the chance to get free, to do
something. But what? Unbidden, an image appeared in his mind.
Picard didn't bother to reason where this new information came from.
He chose instead to act on it and twisted loose from his captor and took
two quick strides towards Rubeus.
Rubeus turned, briefly distracted. "What are you doing, Picard?!?"
"This." The captain swung with all his might and punched Rubeus
right in the nose, staggering him. It didn't really hurt him, but had
the desired effect nevertheless.
Sailor Moon gasped as the pressure Rubeus had been bringing on her
suddenly eased. "My name is *not* Sailor Borg!" Her hand reached for
the Silver Crystal.
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"
The watcher allowed herself a slight smile. Unless something
happened to disrupt the timeflow, all should proceed smoothly now.
Q didn't think she could break free of the collective. It would
take him a while to pay off that bet.
"Mr. O'Brien, fi--" Riker's voice trailed off in confusion. "What
the hell?!?" The reason for his puzzlement was clear. The Borg ship had
been surrounded by a white, diffuse aura. It was similar to the glow
that had been seen before the super weapon had fired, but this seemed to
have a softer, almost healing quality to it. A tendril of the energy
emerged from the light and headed for the saucer.
"Evasive!" Crusher ordered, seeing the wisp of energy approach.
"Belay that!" Beverly looked sharply at the Counselor. Both she
and Luna looked worn from their mind meld, but her eyes were clear.
"It's not an attack, Beverly. In fact, I think it's going to be of
great help to one of your patients."
The doctor looked back at the screen. The energy tendril was
nearly on top of them. "I hope you're right, Deanna." Instinctively
she braced herself for the impact, but there was no shock from it. It
simply passed right through the hull.
Nurse Ogawa gasped and took a step backwards as a white glow
emerged from the ceiling and enveloped Ensign Harris. The glow hid her
from view for several moments but when it faded, her skin had resumed
it's normal color, and there was no sign of the Borg implant.
Ogawa immediately opened a medical tricorder and scanned her.
"I don't believe it," she muttered, tapping her comm badge. "Ogawa to
Dr. Crusher."
"Go ahead, Alyssa."
"Doctor, I'm not sure how, but all evidence of the Borg nanoprobes
have been purged from Ensign Harris' body. She's completely back to
normal."
On the bridge, Luna nodded in satisfaction. "You did it, Serena."
Picard squinted from the light emanating from Sailor Moon as he felt
his way towards Data. The others were also trying to shield their eyes
from the glare but could do little more as they were still on the grip of
the Borg save for Rubeus, who was staring at Sailor Moon in utter
disbelief. Finally making his was to the insensate android, Picard
pressed the activation switch, and Data immediately sat up.
At that moment the light faded, and a voice proudly proclaimed, "I
am Sailor Moon!" The Scouts cheered while Picard noted with some
amazement that her skin color had resumed it's normal hue and that there
was no sign of the Borg implants that she had moments before.
"Interesting," Data remarked. "It would seem that events have
proceeded apace during my deactivation." He turned to his captain with
a quizzical look. "Are we winning?"
Silence reigned on the battle bridge as the crew stared at the Borg
cube. All the various crystalline projections had been eliminated by
the energy wave. It now looked like the typical Borg ship they had
gotten used too, albeit with a large hole in one side.
O'Brien found his voice first. "What the bloody hell was that?"
"Offhand, I'd say that Sailor Moon just broke loose," Q remarked.
"Probably that 'Moon Healing' something or other."
"How about that... He does have a brain!"
Q shot a glare at Artemis and snarled, "How would you like to visit
Spot again, cat?"
"Not now, Q," Riker said. "If they've been able to free Sailor
Moon, then it's time to pull our people out of there. Chief, can you
get a lock on the away team?"
O'Brien checked the tactical board. "No, sir. The Borg EM field
is still up. Wait a minute... I'm picking up a signal."
Riker frowned. "Let's hear it."
They heard once more that cold, toneless, many-as-one voice.
"We are the Borg."
"Uh, oh," Artemis remarked.
"Yeah," O'Brien absently agreed. "They almost sound angry."
The same voice echoed through the confines of the cube. "You will
be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological
distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
Picard and Data didn't wait to hear the end of the Borg litany, nor
for Rubeus' ranting protestations that followed. The captain grabbed
Worf's mekh'leth from the floor and raced to free the Sailor Scout
nearest him, in this case Jupiter. While not as skilled as Worf with
the weapon, he did have some slight ability in handling it and was able
to quickly dispatch one Borg holding her. His second slash with the
weapon was halted by the other Borg that grabbed his arm and held it
fast. He struggled to free his swordarm in vain and saw the Borg raise
it's other arm, talons extended.
Suddenly the Borg flailed about as it found itself being lifted up
by Jupiter. Giving a wordless cry, the tall Scout heaved the Borg over
her head and threw it with all her might, sending it crashing into the
Borg holding Venus.
Meanwhile, Data moved with android speed to liberate Mercury, intent
on completing what he intended to do just before being deactivated. The
Borg moved to stop him, but despite being much stronger than any organic
being, it was no match for his android strength and was quickly
dispatched.
"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"
Rubeus peered through the now fog-enshrouded room. While he couldn't
see anything, he was able to hear Venus give her attack cry (no doubt
freeing Mars) to be joined seconds later by the other Scouts. Of course,
thanks to Sailor Moon, he had no way of monitoring the battle, since his
link to the Borg had been destroyed. But it was safe to assume that they
all were free by now. "Damn you, Sailor Moon!"
"Speak for yourself, Rubeus." He whirled to face the source of the
voice. The fog was lifting, allowing him to see an outline of Sailor
Moon. "You used me to try to kill my friends, to kill the man I love.
And for that, you will *pay*."
"We'll see about that," he snarled, taking a step in her direction.
Before he could anything else though, he found his path blocked by red
rose.
"Yes, we will see," Tuxedo Mask said while moving next to Sailor
Moon. Picard moved up on her other side, while the others lined up
behind them.
"It's over, Rubeus," Picard said.
"Yeah, you're finished!" Mars added.
"Do you think I fear you?" Rubeus ranted. "I was able to handle all
the Scouts before. And even without the Borg, I still can --"
"Oh, *shut up*," Picard said and fired his phaser at him. No
forcefield blocked the beam this time, but it still did little more than
stagger him.
"I like your style, Captain," Tuxedo Mask said. "I think it's time
to get rid of the garbage, right Sailor Moon?"
"Right!" she agreed, producing her Moon Scepter. "You've caused us
enough trouble, Rubeus! In the name of the Moon..."
"...Mercury..."
"...Venus..."
"...Mars..."
"...and Jupiter..."
"...and the starship Enterprise," Data put in, getting into the
spirit of things and drawing an odd look from Worf. Picard smiled
slightly.
"...we'll punish you!" they finished in unison.
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" The white beam lanced out at Rubeus,
obscuring him. When it cleared, he was gone.
"Did you forget I could teleport?" cam a voice from behind them.
Spinning around, they saw Rubeus standing there, black energy crackling
around his hand. "Any last words?"
"Yes," Data answered. "Look behind you."
"Android, that's the oldest trick ion the book. Do you really think
I'm going to fall for tha- gak!" Rubeus grimaced as a cybernetic hand
gripped his shoulder. It released him seconds later, giving one brief
moment where he thought he was safe. Then he felt the nanoprobes surge
through his system, altering his biochemistry, and he collapsed. He was
being assimilated. "NO! This can't be happening! I am Rubeus!!"
Several Borg moved past him, advancing on the Scouts, and the voice
of the Borg collective spoke again: "Rubeus is irrelevant."
"For once I agree with the Borg," Picard said.
"Yeah, but we still got our work cut out for us," Venus said.
"Then let's get to it," Sailor Moon said and the attack cries of the
Scouts echoed through the area, along with a flurry of roses.
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"
The stardrive trembled as the Borg resumed their attack on the ship
as well. "They've locked a tractor beam on us. Shields are being
drained," O'Brien cried out.
"Let 'em have it, Chief," Riker responded. It was now time to play
their ultimate trump card. "FIRE!"
Geordi watched the warp core with concern as the flow of matter and
antimatter into it accelerated, generating power well beyond it's
designed specifications. All of this energy was then funneled to the
main deflector dish.
"Here goes nothing..."
Riker held his breath as he waited for the deflector energy discharge
to begin. The last time they had tried this, the Borg had already
prepared themselves for the high frequency EM blast and it simply bounced
off their shields. There was little reason to think that this ship was
any less prepared for it, but there was a slight hope that they weren't
able to absorb it as they had before.
But if they did have the power to deflect the beam... Riker
squelched that thought. If they were able to deflect it, it was very
likely he wouldn't have to worry about it for very long.
The beam emerged from the deflector and struck the cube in the
center of the crater created by the shuttle explosion. For a brief
second, it coruscated off a force field. But the Borg were depleted in
energy reserves by the transit between the two universes and by the
battle with the Enterprise, and the force field soon collapsed. The beam
cut deep into the cube and Riker could see secondary explosions occur
all along the facets of the cube.
Inside the cube, things were rather chaotic. The ship was shaking
violently, making it hard for them, with the exception of Data, to stay
on their feet. About the only good thing was that the Borg had backed
off, suddenly more concerned with repairing the ship. Picard watched
without sympathy as the now assimilated Rubeus moved off to do the will
of the collective. "What's happening?" Jupiter cried out.
"I would surmise that the Enterprise has opened fire with the main
deflector," Data responded as calm as ever.
Mercury peered through her visor. "He's right. The power systems
are going wild." This wasn't hard to believe, as all around them the
power conduits and distribution nodes were exploding as they overloaded
from the Enterprise's attack. "It's going to explode any minute!"
"It would appear that it's time to leave," Picard noted, tapping his
comm badge. "Picard to Enterprise." The ship gave a particularly
violent lurch at that point and he would have been sent sprawling to the
deck if Venus and Mars hadn't helped steady him. To one side, Jupiter
was helping Worf in a similar manner. The Scouts were still able to
retain some measure of footing, thanks to their greater strengths.
Not sure if he missed the reply, Picard tried again. "Picard to
Enterprise." No response came. "Something's interfering with
communications!"
Mercury made a quick mental adjustment to her visor. "The Borg are
still jamming communications. Their EM field is also blocking
transporter function as well."
"Merde," said Picard. The shocked look he got from Sailor Venus
indicated that she understood what he had said. "We have to get off
this ship. Any suggestions?"
"What about the Sailor Teleport?" asked Venus.
Mercury nodded. "Yes. The energy jamming it must have been coming
from the modifications Rubeus made to the ship, and Sailor Moon
destroyed those."
Jupiter looked concernedly around them. Their previous uses of
the Sailor Teleport had been with only one extra person at most. This
time they had Data, Worf and Picard to account for as well. "Can we
take everyone with us?"
"No choice," said Sailor Moon. "We have to try." The Scouts formed
a circle, with the others standing in the center. Picard felt the hairs
on the back of his neck rise as he hung to Data, trying to remain more or
less on his feet.
"I'm reading massive fluctuations in the Borg power generation
grid," O'Brien reported. That was an understatement. The surface of
the cube was alive with energy as random discharges skittered along the
facets and several explosions could be seen as well. "It's going to blow
any second, Commander."
"Can you get a lock on the away team?" Riker asked again.
"No, sir. That damned EM field is still there. But even if it
wasn't, there's so many energy discharges that I'd doubt we'd be able to
cut through all the interference."
Riker didn't even bother asking Q. He had made it perfectly clear
earlier that his only actions her would be protecting the Enterprise.
He could try badgering the entity into helping, but right now he hadn't
the time. His first priority was to see to the safety of the ship.
"Cease fire. Ensign, bring us about and proceed away from the Borg ship
at best possible speed."
"Aye, sir," Ro and O'Brien responded after a brief moment of
hesitation.
Guinan stood by the large windows in Ten Forward. Being a civilian,
she of course had no battle station. In fact, she really should be in
her quarters now, like the rest of the Enterprise's civilian population.
But she had never been one to remain there even during the fiercest
fighting the ship had seen, and she wasn't about to start now.
Besides, the battle was over for the most part. The saucer had
long since withdrawn from the battle and she gazed in the general
direction of where she thought the stardrive section was still confronting
the Borg. Since they were far outside visual range, she could only guess
what was happening out there.
She turned suddenly and looked around the room, sensing something.
Even so, she was still startled from the pulse of light. Nine people
had instantly appeared in Ten Forward.
The Scouts staggered, panting as if out of breath. "Whoa! That
teleport really took it out of me!" Jupiter said in between breaths.
Venus nodded. "Well... we never had to transport so many people
before."
"That was an interesting mode of travel," Picard observed.
"Though I will stick to using the transporter, if you don't mind."
The stardrive section raced away from the doomed ship, trying to put
as much distance from it as possible. Since the main deflector had been
burned out by the beam, it was restricted to running at impulse power,
and even there it couldn't run anywhere near it's maximum speed. All
too soon, cracks appeared all along the cube's surfaces and, with a
mighty flash, the once mighty Borg vessel exploded.
Crusher looked up at the sound of the forward turbolift doors opening
and noted with relief that Data, Worf and Picard seemed none the worse
for wear. But before she could say anything to them, the rear turbolift
doors opened, revealing...
"SERENA!" came Luna's joyful exclamation at seeing her unharmed.
She vaulted onto the bridge railing and covered the distance between them
in a rather prodigious leap.
Sailor Moon gave her a gentle hug. "I'm OK, Luna."
Picard turned to the viewscreen. He could see that the shockwave
had already impacted with the stardrive sections, but was easily
absorbed by it's shields. Still, it was continuing it's inexorable
march towards them. "Shields status?"
"They're out," Crusher answered. Then over the shipwide intercom,
"All hands, brace for impact!" Seconds later, they felt the deck pitch
violently when the shockwave hit the saucer section.
"Didn't we just go through this?" Jupiter grumbled, picking herself
off the deck.
"Well, she did warn you," Mars pointed out, having grabbed onto the
bridge railing herself.
"Damage report!" Crusher ordered.
"Both impulse engines are down now, and we've got an outer hull
breach on decks twelve and thirteen," Steiner reported. "Contained
with forcefields. We can still maneuver with thrusters."
"Sounds like we were lucky," Picard remarked.
"Very," Crusher replied. She got up from the command chair. "It's
all yours again, Jean-Luc. I better go down and check on Sickbay."
"Not so fast, Doctor. That can wait until we've put the ship back
together."
She smiled, "Well, if you insist, *sir*," and sat back down. "Helm,
maneuver us to rendezvous with the stardrive section."
"So it's over?" asked Sailor Mars.
"The Borg ship destroyed and Rubeus along with it," he answered.
"I'd say that qualifies as over." He glanced over at the Scouts and saw
the looks of relief and joy in their faces. Even Sailor Moon was smiling
as she and Tuxedo Mask embraced one another.
Troi watched, concerned. She could sense that all wasn't quite
right with Sailor Moon. She eyed the girl again, and this time saw the
haunted look in her eyes. The Counselor sighed inwardly. She had seen
the same look in the captain's eyes just over a year ago.
It wasn't quite over just yet...
Next time: Rubeus is dead (finally!), the Borg ship destroyed and Sailor
Moon rescued. All would seem to be well, neh?
Well, not quite. There are still a few issues to deal with in
"Recovery".
Sailor Trek: The Next Generation
Chapter 6 - "In the name of the Moon..."
The watcher leaned on her staff as she closely monitored the time
flow. Now that the battle had been resumed in her universe, she could
observe events directly instead of having to rely on Q for information.
Which was just as well, for the crucial moment was fast
approaching...
They stood there, frozen in shock by the sight of the assimilated
Sailor Moon.
Then Tuxedo Mask went ballistic. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!!" he
roared at Rubeus. He followed this up with a barrage of roses, then
leapt at him. Rubeus blocked the floral attack with a series of force
fields and hurled an energy blast at Tuxedo Mask. The tuxedo clad
warrior hit the wall hard, and stood there for a moment, dazed.
This galvanized the Scouts into action. The room echoed with
their attack cries as they each hurled their most powerful attacks at
Rubeus while the three Starfleet officers added their phasers to the
fray. Their efforts came for naught, for each attack was blocked by a
force field.
Rubeus stood grinning at the futility of their efforts, "Resistance
is futile!" As if they had been waiting for this signal, Borg drones
came from every entrance onto the chamber and advanced on the away team.
Through it all, Sailor Moon remained where she was, silent and as
expressionless as any of the Borg around her... except for a single
tear running down her cheek.
"Troi to Riker."
Riker involuntarily sat straighter in his chair. For her to contact
him directly, rather than going through Beverly, whatever she had to say
must be important indeed. "Go ahead, Deanna."
"Will, I've just received a telepathic report from Sailor Mars."
Troi looked over at Luna. "According to her, Sailor Moon has been
assimilated."
Artemis didn't immediately understand what she meant by that, but
knew instantly that it wasn't good. Both O'Brien and Ro had tensed up
when Troi made her announcement, and Riker had a grim look on his face.
"What does that mean?" he heard Luna ask, her voice sounding puzzled.
On the main bridge Troi and Crusher exchanged a look, each obviously
reluctant to elaborate. Hearing a pause over the comm Riker took it upon
himself to say, "It means that she is a Borg now."
It took Luna a moment to comprehend but when she did, she uttered
a loud cry of anguish. She turned to face Q, her expression clearly one
of anger. For his part, Q merely looked bored. "Q!! It's your fault
she's in this predicament! Get her off of there and back to normal!
NOW!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," the entity replied, for some reason
choosing to do so from the stardrive section. "I have my instructions to
the contrary."
On the battle bridge, Riker shot Q a sharp look. "From who?"
"That, as they say, is for me to know and you to find out."
Luna gathered herself, preparing to attack Q no matter the
consequences. But before she could, she felt a restraining hand on her.
"It won't accomplish anything," Beverly told her. "Besides, if the away
team can get her back, I should be able restore her." 'I hope,' she
added silently. "Now, what's the position of the shuttle?"
Luna forced her attention back to the tactical display she had been
monitoring. "It's... it's maneuvering into position, using thrusters
only." The saucer trembled under the impact of weapons fire as she was
giving this report.
Riker saw the saucer take the hit. "Beverly, what's your status?"
Crusher's voice sounded strained when she responded a moment later.
"We've lost shields, and impulse engine one. But we still have phasers."
Riker nodded just as the stardrive section itself shook from
incoming fire. "You've done all you can, Beverly. Withdraw the saucer
section to a safe distance. It's up to us now."
There was a momentary pause from the other end. "Understood. Good
luck, Will." The saucer banked as it began limping from the battle.
"Shield strength is down to seventy five percent," reported O'Brien.
He checked the sensor readouts, and reported more bad news. "The Borg
just reestablished their EM field. Transporter use is impossible.
Their shield strength is increasing, too."
Riker nodded grimly. It was getting time to play their trump
cards... and hope that Rubeus hadn't stacked the deck against them.
"Begin charging the deflector, Chief. Stand by to fire on my mark."
Inside the battle was over. Each member of the away team was held
firmly by a Borg, save for Jupiter and Worf, who were struggling mightily
against the hold two Borg held on each of them. Even then, it looked as
if either one could break free if the Borg were any weaker. Scattered
all around the floor were the bodies of Borg drones that had fallen in
the struggle and the motionless form of Data.
It had been a near thing, Picard reflected as he watched Rubeus
gloat. It had merely amounted to a matter of numbers. There had simply
been too many Borg for them to fight off.
They had adapted to the phasers quickly enough, forcing the
Enterprise crewmembers to resort to melee combat. This was fine for Data
and Worf, but Picard quickly found himself immobilized. Worf was using
his mekh'leth to good effect, but soon found himself grappled by two Borg
drones that moved in on him while he was dealing with a third.
The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask fared better. Rubeus not withstanding,
the Borg were still, for whatever reason, unable to adapt to their powers
and they took full advantage of this. But more kept coming despite the
casualties they were taking, and one by one the Scouts were quelled.
Even so they might have had a chance had Data not been deactivated.
The android was moving to liberate Mercury, reasoning that her fog
ability would enable him to free several of the others without hindrance
and give them a chance to turn the tide. A Borg intercepted him,
distracting him for a brief second. In that time, Rubeus teleported
behind him and pressed a certain spot in the small of his back. Data
had collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut. The captain grimaced
as he realized how Rubeus must have known how to deactivate Data. Picard
had known the location of the android's off switch and therefore, by
virtue of his assimilation into the collective, so did the Borg. And
that evidently extended to Rubeus as well.
Picard involuntarily flinched as another Borg approached him and
two talons extended from the back of it's hand. He pushed down the
terror that arose at the thought of being assimilated again.
He was momentarily spared that fate. "Not yet, my friends," Rubeus
said. The Borg moved off. "There'll be time enough for that later.
But first..." Two panels behind him shimmered and showed views of the
two sections of the Enterprise. The stardrive was still firing
constantly, but the saucer was evidently withdrawing from the battle.
"Before you rejoin the collective, Picard, I'd thought I would show you
the destruction of your pitiful starship." Before anyone else could
say anything, he turned to Sailor Moon. "Sailor Borg..." Tuxedo Mask
growled at that. "...destroy the Enterprise. Start with the saucer
section first."
She made no reply, but a glow came from the broach containing the
Silver Crystal which intensified quickly. A beam emerged and struck the
crystal projection on a nearby power distribution node causing it and
others like it to glow as well.
Mercury watched through her visor, which was still deployed,
collecting data. The beam was running through the Borg power system,
using the entire ship as a conduit for the weapon. Also, she could tell
that the Silver Crystal was not drawing upon Sailor Moon's life energy,
but instead was drawing upon the entire Borg collective, taking a
minuscule bit from each until it added up into a massive amount.
Riker stared at the screen as the Borg ship pulsated with that white
glow again. Before he could give any orders, the intense beam of energy
shot out from it, striking the saucer. When the main screen cleared, he
was somewhat amazed that it was still there. "Riker to Crusher, report!"
"We're alright, Will," the doctor answered. "Q protected us, just
like he said he would."
"Would I lie?" Q's voice came over the comm channel.
Riker frowned and glanced over at Q standing beside him. Q returned
the look with his usual smug look. "What's the matter, Riker? Can't
believe I can be in two places at once?" As he said this the Borg struck
again, this time at the stardrive section, also with no effect. "Oh,
give it up already!" Q demanded irritably.
Rubeus stared at the viewers in a nearly apoplectic rage. His
ultimate weapon had fired twice and had hit both sections of the
starship. Yet somehow, inexplicably, both remained in existence. "How
can this be?" he muttered.
"Having problems, Rubeus?" Picard inquired, his voice holding a
hint of amusement.. When he saw both sections emerge unscathed from
the attack, he felt his spirits rise a little. Perhaps there was still
a chance after all. If not for them, then at least for his ship and
crew.
For his part, Rubeus was struggling to control his anger. Both
sections of that starship should be dust now... even less than dust!
There was no way this was possible, unless... He nodded. Yes, that
must be the reason. Somehow, someway, a small part of Sailor Moon must
be resisting his control over her.
He took a moment to contemplate what to do about that. After all,
it wouldn't do for the key to his triumphant return to resist him every
step of the way. He had to have total control over her, body and mind.
Her will to resist, her spirit, would have to be broken beyond repair.
And he knew just how to do it. He turned to Sailor Borg and gave her a
silent command through the collective.
Mars watched Serena turn slowly and walk over to Tuxedo Mask, who
remained silent himself as this grotesque parody of the woman he loved
approached. She swore to herself the different kinds of hell she was
going to visit on Rubeus for this atrocity. In her mind she felt Deanna
council her to remain calm, but she ignored this advice, choosing instead
to focus on breaking loose from the grip of the Borg holding her.
Unfortunately she wasn't having any better luck than the others in that
department.
She froze momentarily, all thought of escape forgotten when she saw
what Rubeus intended. Sailor Moon had stopped in front of Tuxedo Mask
and her right hand shot out, gripping him by the throat and closing her
hand. Rubeus was forcing Serena to kill Darien. "NO! Serena, don't!!"
"You've got to break free, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter cried. Mercury
and Venus also added their pleas.
*Deanna, you've got to help me reach her!* Raye cried out mentally.
*Please!*
*I'll try, Raye,* the counselor sent back. She wasn't too confident
she could reach her with her own limited psi abilities, but she
nonetheless sent, *Sailor Moon! Listen to me!*
"It really doesn't matter if your ship is destroyed or not," Rubeus
said in a conversational tone. He might have been discussing the weather,
as opposed to gloating over having one of his enemies throttle the other.
"Soon this ship will leave, and the Enterprise won't be able to follow."
"Where are you going?" Picard asked.
"Not a place, Picard, but a time."
Mercury stopped her entreaties to Sailor Moon for a moment. "You're
taking this ship to Crystal Tokyo. To your own time."
"Correct. My own ship's time travel capabilities were destroyed
when I crossed over to Picard's universe, but the Borg have their own
method which is much more efficient."
Picard felt a cold lump form in his chest. "The Borg have time
travel capabilities?" he breathed. In retrospect, he should have
expected that. Sometimes it seemed as if there wasn't anything beyond
the Borg.
"Oh, yes, Picard," Rubeus laughed evilly. "We do..."
"Sir, the Borg cube is emitting chronometric particles," O'Brien
reported. "It's forming a temporal vortex."
"Time travel," Riker said to no one in particular. He hadn't
counted on the Borg having that ability. They'd have to work fast to
stop them before it was too late. He looked over to Artemis. The white
cat had been assigned a vacant station on the battle bridge and had been
feeding Riker the same tactical information that Luna had been providing
Crusher. "The shuttle...?"
"In position!" the cat informed him.
"Then proceed, Artemis." Time to play their first trump card.
"Detonate the shuttle."
"With pleasure." Artemis stabbed a control with his paw that sent
out a signal to the shuttle, now positioned less than ten meters from the
hull of the cube. On board the unmanned craft, ironically enough named
"Einstein", a series of overrides were engaged and the containment fields
for the ship's small warp core were disengaged. Simultaneously, magnetic
fields separating a large quantity of antimatter from it's matter
counterpart suddenly deteriorated and a series of explosive charges went
off, forcing the two to mingle, causing a massive and uncontrolled
matter/antimatter reaction. The resulting annihilation of tens of
kilograms of antimatter and matter caused an explosion much larger than
any photon torpedo... but one more akin to a warp core breach.
The main viewscreen darkened as the computer automatically
compensated for the sudden appearance of a small sun on the hull of the
cube.
The Borg ship rocked violently. "No!" cried out Rubeus, damage
assessments from the collective flooding into his mind. The foremost of
these was that the time warp ability had been damaged, and the time shift
had to be aborted. "This can't be!" He glared at the Enterprise
stardrive section on the main viewer. It's weapons couldn't have caused
this, so what had happened? He focussed his attention on directing the
drones to begin repairs to the cube. Once they were complete, he would
crush that insignificant starship like a bug.
Picard flicked his eyes back and forth between Rubeus and Sailor
Moon. If there was a chance of reaching her, of her being able to break
out from the control Rubeus had over her, now was the time. "Fight,
Sailor Moon," he quietly urged her. "Don't let Rubeus control you. Fight
against the hold he has on you. You can break through the control the
Borg collective has on you. I've been able to do it, so can you!"
Deanna closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to reach Serena's
suppressed personality. Unfortunately, she wasn't having much luck. Her
own psi abilities were just too weak to pierce the Borg control.
She felt a small form jump into her lap. "You're trying to reach
Serena telepathically, aren't you Counselor?"
"Yes, but I'm not having much luck."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance." The crescent moon symbol on her
forehead began glowing. "I can add my psi abilities to yours, and maybe
together we can reach her." A beam lanced out and touched Troi's head,
forging the link.
The combined consciousness called out, *Serena!* At first they only
perceived the cacophony of a multitude of voices echoing through the Borg
collective. But beneath it they dimly heard a small voice.
*Help me!*
*We're here, Serena. Fight through the Borg unimind.*
*Luna? Is that you?*
*Yes, Serena. And Counselor Troi as well.*
*Help me,* she cried out desperately. *He's making me kill Darien.
I can't stop him!*
*Yes you can,* the two responded, reassuring her. *We'll guide you,
but you have to have the will to break through. If not for yourself,
then for Darien.*
The Scouts added their voices to Picard's, calling out even more
urgently for Serena to resist. Picard stopped in midword. He wasn't
sure, but he thought he had seen her grip loosen slightly... and was
that a hint of awareness he saw in her eyes? Was she beginning to break
the hold over her?
Darien felt himself able to take a breath. Was her grip loosening?
He looked in her eyes, and saw awareness flooding back into them.
She blinked. "Darien?"
"Fight it, Serena. Fight the Borg! Break free!"
"Silence, all of you!" Rubeus had become aware of their actions.
"She's completely under my control. Sailor Borg, I command you: kill
Tuxedo Mask!"
She blinked, and her grip relaxed visibly. Then, in a barely
audible voice, she said one word: "No."
"I think that got their attention," Riker noted with grim
satisfaction. The matter/antimatter explosion had gouged a large hole in
the side of the Borg ship. Several of the crystal spires on that side had
been destroyed as well.
"Very impressive," Q observed, not sounding particularly so.
"What's your next trick going to be?"
"Just you watch. Chief...?"
O'Brien nodded. "Almost ready sir. The deflector will be fully
charged in a moment."
The watcher nodded to herself. The critical moment was now. All
would be won or lost depending on the outcome of the next few minutes.
Sailor Moon cried out as Rubeus brought the full weight of the Borg
unimind to bear on her. She fought against being submerged again, but
the sheer weight of the collective was simply too much for anyone.
*YOU WILL DESTROY HIM, SAILOR BORG!*
*No!* she cried out mentally. *I won't! I am Sailor Moon!*
The others called out encouragement to Sailor Moon which was all
they could really do, held as tightly as they were by the Borg. Suddenly,
Picard realized that the grip of the Borg holding him had loosened. If
he wanted, he could easily break free. But as far as he could tell, this
didn't apply to the others. There wasn't much he could do alone. The
Borg had already adapted to his phaser, but maybe if he could reach
Worf's mekh'leth...
*Locutus.*
He started. Had he heard that inside his head? Yes, there was
something there, almost a soft murmur in the back of his mind.
Then all at once the realization struck him. Somehow, he *knew*
that some part of the collective was still resisting Rubeus' control. And
it was this part that was giving him the chance to get free, to do
something. But what? Unbidden, an image appeared in his mind.
Picard didn't bother to reason where this new information came from.
He chose instead to act on it and twisted loose from his captor and took
two quick strides towards Rubeus.
Rubeus turned, briefly distracted. "What are you doing, Picard?!?"
"This." The captain swung with all his might and punched Rubeus
right in the nose, staggering him. It didn't really hurt him, but had
the desired effect nevertheless.
Sailor Moon gasped as the pressure Rubeus had been bringing on her
suddenly eased. "My name is *not* Sailor Borg!" Her hand reached for
the Silver Crystal.
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"
The watcher allowed herself a slight smile. Unless something
happened to disrupt the timeflow, all should proceed smoothly now.
Q didn't think she could break free of the collective. It would
take him a while to pay off that bet.
"Mr. O'Brien, fi--" Riker's voice trailed off in confusion. "What
the hell?!?" The reason for his puzzlement was clear. The Borg ship had
been surrounded by a white, diffuse aura. It was similar to the glow
that had been seen before the super weapon had fired, but this seemed to
have a softer, almost healing quality to it. A tendril of the energy
emerged from the light and headed for the saucer.
"Evasive!" Crusher ordered, seeing the wisp of energy approach.
"Belay that!" Beverly looked sharply at the Counselor. Both she
and Luna looked worn from their mind meld, but her eyes were clear.
"It's not an attack, Beverly. In fact, I think it's going to be of
great help to one of your patients."
The doctor looked back at the screen. The energy tendril was
nearly on top of them. "I hope you're right, Deanna." Instinctively
she braced herself for the impact, but there was no shock from it. It
simply passed right through the hull.
Nurse Ogawa gasped and took a step backwards as a white glow
emerged from the ceiling and enveloped Ensign Harris. The glow hid her
from view for several moments but when it faded, her skin had resumed
it's normal color, and there was no sign of the Borg implant.
Ogawa immediately opened a medical tricorder and scanned her.
"I don't believe it," she muttered, tapping her comm badge. "Ogawa to
Dr. Crusher."
"Go ahead, Alyssa."
"Doctor, I'm not sure how, but all evidence of the Borg nanoprobes
have been purged from Ensign Harris' body. She's completely back to
normal."
On the bridge, Luna nodded in satisfaction. "You did it, Serena."
Picard squinted from the light emanating from Sailor Moon as he felt
his way towards Data. The others were also trying to shield their eyes
from the glare but could do little more as they were still on the grip of
the Borg save for Rubeus, who was staring at Sailor Moon in utter
disbelief. Finally making his was to the insensate android, Picard
pressed the activation switch, and Data immediately sat up.
At that moment the light faded, and a voice proudly proclaimed, "I
am Sailor Moon!" The Scouts cheered while Picard noted with some
amazement that her skin color had resumed it's normal hue and that there
was no sign of the Borg implants that she had moments before.
"Interesting," Data remarked. "It would seem that events have
proceeded apace during my deactivation." He turned to his captain with
a quizzical look. "Are we winning?"
Silence reigned on the battle bridge as the crew stared at the Borg
cube. All the various crystalline projections had been eliminated by
the energy wave. It now looked like the typical Borg ship they had
gotten used too, albeit with a large hole in one side.
O'Brien found his voice first. "What the bloody hell was that?"
"Offhand, I'd say that Sailor Moon just broke loose," Q remarked.
"Probably that 'Moon Healing' something or other."
"How about that... He does have a brain!"
Q shot a glare at Artemis and snarled, "How would you like to visit
Spot again, cat?"
"Not now, Q," Riker said. "If they've been able to free Sailor
Moon, then it's time to pull our people out of there. Chief, can you
get a lock on the away team?"
O'Brien checked the tactical board. "No, sir. The Borg EM field
is still up. Wait a minute... I'm picking up a signal."
Riker frowned. "Let's hear it."
They heard once more that cold, toneless, many-as-one voice.
"We are the Borg."
"Uh, oh," Artemis remarked.
"Yeah," O'Brien absently agreed. "They almost sound angry."
The same voice echoed through the confines of the cube. "You will
be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological
distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
Picard and Data didn't wait to hear the end of the Borg litany, nor
for Rubeus' ranting protestations that followed. The captain grabbed
Worf's mekh'leth from the floor and raced to free the Sailor Scout
nearest him, in this case Jupiter. While not as skilled as Worf with
the weapon, he did have some slight ability in handling it and was able
to quickly dispatch one Borg holding her. His second slash with the
weapon was halted by the other Borg that grabbed his arm and held it
fast. He struggled to free his swordarm in vain and saw the Borg raise
it's other arm, talons extended.
Suddenly the Borg flailed about as it found itself being lifted up
by Jupiter. Giving a wordless cry, the tall Scout heaved the Borg over
her head and threw it with all her might, sending it crashing into the
Borg holding Venus.
Meanwhile, Data moved with android speed to liberate Mercury, intent
on completing what he intended to do just before being deactivated. The
Borg moved to stop him, but despite being much stronger than any organic
being, it was no match for his android strength and was quickly
dispatched.
"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"
Rubeus peered through the now fog-enshrouded room. While he couldn't
see anything, he was able to hear Venus give her attack cry (no doubt
freeing Mars) to be joined seconds later by the other Scouts. Of course,
thanks to Sailor Moon, he had no way of monitoring the battle, since his
link to the Borg had been destroyed. But it was safe to assume that they
all were free by now. "Damn you, Sailor Moon!"
"Speak for yourself, Rubeus." He whirled to face the source of the
voice. The fog was lifting, allowing him to see an outline of Sailor
Moon. "You used me to try to kill my friends, to kill the man I love.
And for that, you will *pay*."
"We'll see about that," he snarled, taking a step in her direction.
Before he could anything else though, he found his path blocked by red
rose.
"Yes, we will see," Tuxedo Mask said while moving next to Sailor
Moon. Picard moved up on her other side, while the others lined up
behind them.
"It's over, Rubeus," Picard said.
"Yeah, you're finished!" Mars added.
"Do you think I fear you?" Rubeus ranted. "I was able to handle all
the Scouts before. And even without the Borg, I still can --"
"Oh, *shut up*," Picard said and fired his phaser at him. No
forcefield blocked the beam this time, but it still did little more than
stagger him.
"I like your style, Captain," Tuxedo Mask said. "I think it's time
to get rid of the garbage, right Sailor Moon?"
"Right!" she agreed, producing her Moon Scepter. "You've caused us
enough trouble, Rubeus! In the name of the Moon..."
"...Mercury..."
"...Venus..."
"...Mars..."
"...and Jupiter..."
"...and the starship Enterprise," Data put in, getting into the
spirit of things and drawing an odd look from Worf. Picard smiled
slightly.
"...we'll punish you!" they finished in unison.
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" The white beam lanced out at Rubeus,
obscuring him. When it cleared, he was gone.
"Did you forget I could teleport?" cam a voice from behind them.
Spinning around, they saw Rubeus standing there, black energy crackling
around his hand. "Any last words?"
"Yes," Data answered. "Look behind you."
"Android, that's the oldest trick ion the book. Do you really think
I'm going to fall for tha- gak!" Rubeus grimaced as a cybernetic hand
gripped his shoulder. It released him seconds later, giving one brief
moment where he thought he was safe. Then he felt the nanoprobes surge
through his system, altering his biochemistry, and he collapsed. He was
being assimilated. "NO! This can't be happening! I am Rubeus!!"
Several Borg moved past him, advancing on the Scouts, and the voice
of the Borg collective spoke again: "Rubeus is irrelevant."
"For once I agree with the Borg," Picard said.
"Yeah, but we still got our work cut out for us," Venus said.
"Then let's get to it," Sailor Moon said and the attack cries of the
Scouts echoed through the area, along with a flurry of roses.
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"
The stardrive trembled as the Borg resumed their attack on the ship
as well. "They've locked a tractor beam on us. Shields are being
drained," O'Brien cried out.
"Let 'em have it, Chief," Riker responded. It was now time to play
their ultimate trump card. "FIRE!"
Geordi watched the warp core with concern as the flow of matter and
antimatter into it accelerated, generating power well beyond it's
designed specifications. All of this energy was then funneled to the
main deflector dish.
"Here goes nothing..."
Riker held his breath as he waited for the deflector energy discharge
to begin. The last time they had tried this, the Borg had already
prepared themselves for the high frequency EM blast and it simply bounced
off their shields. There was little reason to think that this ship was
any less prepared for it, but there was a slight hope that they weren't
able to absorb it as they had before.
But if they did have the power to deflect the beam... Riker
squelched that thought. If they were able to deflect it, it was very
likely he wouldn't have to worry about it for very long.
The beam emerged from the deflector and struck the cube in the
center of the crater created by the shuttle explosion. For a brief
second, it coruscated off a force field. But the Borg were depleted in
energy reserves by the transit between the two universes and by the
battle with the Enterprise, and the force field soon collapsed. The beam
cut deep into the cube and Riker could see secondary explosions occur
all along the facets of the cube.
Inside the cube, things were rather chaotic. The ship was shaking
violently, making it hard for them, with the exception of Data, to stay
on their feet. About the only good thing was that the Borg had backed
off, suddenly more concerned with repairing the ship. Picard watched
without sympathy as the now assimilated Rubeus moved off to do the will
of the collective. "What's happening?" Jupiter cried out.
"I would surmise that the Enterprise has opened fire with the main
deflector," Data responded as calm as ever.
Mercury peered through her visor. "He's right. The power systems
are going wild." This wasn't hard to believe, as all around them the
power conduits and distribution nodes were exploding as they overloaded
from the Enterprise's attack. "It's going to explode any minute!"
"It would appear that it's time to leave," Picard noted, tapping his
comm badge. "Picard to Enterprise." The ship gave a particularly
violent lurch at that point and he would have been sent sprawling to the
deck if Venus and Mars hadn't helped steady him. To one side, Jupiter
was helping Worf in a similar manner. The Scouts were still able to
retain some measure of footing, thanks to their greater strengths.
Not sure if he missed the reply, Picard tried again. "Picard to
Enterprise." No response came. "Something's interfering with
communications!"
Mercury made a quick mental adjustment to her visor. "The Borg are
still jamming communications. Their EM field is also blocking
transporter function as well."
"Merde," said Picard. The shocked look he got from Sailor Venus
indicated that she understood what he had said. "We have to get off
this ship. Any suggestions?"
"What about the Sailor Teleport?" asked Venus.
Mercury nodded. "Yes. The energy jamming it must have been coming
from the modifications Rubeus made to the ship, and Sailor Moon
destroyed those."
Jupiter looked concernedly around them. Their previous uses of
the Sailor Teleport had been with only one extra person at most. This
time they had Data, Worf and Picard to account for as well. "Can we
take everyone with us?"
"No choice," said Sailor Moon. "We have to try." The Scouts formed
a circle, with the others standing in the center. Picard felt the hairs
on the back of his neck rise as he hung to Data, trying to remain more or
less on his feet.
"I'm reading massive fluctuations in the Borg power generation
grid," O'Brien reported. That was an understatement. The surface of
the cube was alive with energy as random discharges skittered along the
facets and several explosions could be seen as well. "It's going to blow
any second, Commander."
"Can you get a lock on the away team?" Riker asked again.
"No, sir. That damned EM field is still there. But even if it
wasn't, there's so many energy discharges that I'd doubt we'd be able to
cut through all the interference."
Riker didn't even bother asking Q. He had made it perfectly clear
earlier that his only actions her would be protecting the Enterprise.
He could try badgering the entity into helping, but right now he hadn't
the time. His first priority was to see to the safety of the ship.
"Cease fire. Ensign, bring us about and proceed away from the Borg ship
at best possible speed."
"Aye, sir," Ro and O'Brien responded after a brief moment of
hesitation.
Guinan stood by the large windows in Ten Forward. Being a civilian,
she of course had no battle station. In fact, she really should be in
her quarters now, like the rest of the Enterprise's civilian population.
But she had never been one to remain there even during the fiercest
fighting the ship had seen, and she wasn't about to start now.
Besides, the battle was over for the most part. The saucer had
long since withdrawn from the battle and she gazed in the general
direction of where she thought the stardrive section was still confronting
the Borg. Since they were far outside visual range, she could only guess
what was happening out there.
She turned suddenly and looked around the room, sensing something.
Even so, she was still startled from the pulse of light. Nine people
had instantly appeared in Ten Forward.
The Scouts staggered, panting as if out of breath. "Whoa! That
teleport really took it out of me!" Jupiter said in between breaths.
Venus nodded. "Well... we never had to transport so many people
before."
"That was an interesting mode of travel," Picard observed.
"Though I will stick to using the transporter, if you don't mind."
The stardrive section raced away from the doomed ship, trying to put
as much distance from it as possible. Since the main deflector had been
burned out by the beam, it was restricted to running at impulse power,
and even there it couldn't run anywhere near it's maximum speed. All
too soon, cracks appeared all along the cube's surfaces and, with a
mighty flash, the once mighty Borg vessel exploded.
Crusher looked up at the sound of the forward turbolift doors opening
and noted with relief that Data, Worf and Picard seemed none the worse
for wear. But before she could say anything to them, the rear turbolift
doors opened, revealing...
"SERENA!" came Luna's joyful exclamation at seeing her unharmed.
She vaulted onto the bridge railing and covered the distance between them
in a rather prodigious leap.
Sailor Moon gave her a gentle hug. "I'm OK, Luna."
Picard turned to the viewscreen. He could see that the shockwave
had already impacted with the stardrive sections, but was easily
absorbed by it's shields. Still, it was continuing it's inexorable
march towards them. "Shields status?"
"They're out," Crusher answered. Then over the shipwide intercom,
"All hands, brace for impact!" Seconds later, they felt the deck pitch
violently when the shockwave hit the saucer section.
"Didn't we just go through this?" Jupiter grumbled, picking herself
off the deck.
"Well, she did warn you," Mars pointed out, having grabbed onto the
bridge railing herself.
"Damage report!" Crusher ordered.
"Both impulse engines are down now, and we've got an outer hull
breach on decks twelve and thirteen," Steiner reported. "Contained
with forcefields. We can still maneuver with thrusters."
"Sounds like we were lucky," Picard remarked.
"Very," Crusher replied. She got up from the command chair. "It's
all yours again, Jean-Luc. I better go down and check on Sickbay."
"Not so fast, Doctor. That can wait until we've put the ship back
together."
She smiled, "Well, if you insist, *sir*," and sat back down. "Helm,
maneuver us to rendezvous with the stardrive section."
"So it's over?" asked Sailor Mars.
"The Borg ship destroyed and Rubeus along with it," he answered.
"I'd say that qualifies as over." He glanced over at the Scouts and saw
the looks of relief and joy in their faces. Even Sailor Moon was smiling
as she and Tuxedo Mask embraced one another.
Troi watched, concerned. She could sense that all wasn't quite
right with Sailor Moon. She eyed the girl again, and this time saw the
haunted look in her eyes. The Counselor sighed inwardly. She had seen
the same look in the captain's eyes just over a year ago.
It wasn't quite over just yet...
Next time: Rubeus is dead (finally!), the Borg ship destroyed and Sailor
Moon rescued. All would seem to be well, neh?
Well, not quite. There are still a few issues to deal with in
"Recovery".