"They own the most powerful ship.... and what do they do with it,

'uhh lets see if we can find some space anomaly today that might

RIP IT APART!'" -- Neelix



Chapter 3 -- Intruder Alert!

"I can see that your interpersonal skill still need a lot of

work, Seven," the Doctor noted, trying to defuse the situation. "But

I'm afraid that will have to wait. We need to know what has happened

since the ship left the Borg derelict."

"Very well," Seven replied. "We came out of warp shortly after

entering the system. Sensors showed that the anomaly we were

investigating was very close to the fourth planet, inside the atmosphere.

We closed on impulse power, and entered a standard orbit. An away team

consisting of Commander Chakotay, Lt. Command Tuvok and Neelix was

dispatched..."

"That's not what I had in mind," the Doctor interrupted her. "If

we're to properly understand the situation, we need details."

Seven was not convinced. "The type of 'details' you are referring

to are irrelevant."

"Hardly," he retorted. "The smallest detail could prove to be

the critical bit of knowledge we require. Now please start again from

when Voyager was approaching the planet."

"Since you deem it important I will provide the 'details you wish.

But I believe it to be a very unproductive use of our time." Seven

turned to the Scouts. "As I said, we approached the planet on impulse

power. When we reached the proper distance from it, Captain Janeway..."



"Standard orbit, Mr. Paris," Janeway ordered.

"Entering standard orbit," the helmsman confirmed.

Janeway eyed the planet silently while Tom slid Voyager into

orbit. Other than the fact that the color of the world seemed paler

than other Class M planets she had seen over the years, there didn't

seem anything odd about the small planet. In fact, from all appearances

it seemed to be rather peaceful. But Janeway knew all too well that

appearances could be deceiving. "What can you tell me, Harry?"

There was a slight delay while the young ensign glanced over the

sensor readouts before replying. A glance over to the ops station told

Janeway that whatever the results where, he wasn't happy with them.

"It's hard to be sure, Captain. I've got a fix on the anomaly about

one kilometer over the planet's surface, but there's an odd background

energy field that's interfering with the sensors."

Janeway frowned. "What kind of energy field?"

"I don't know, " Harry confessed. "I'm still trying to identify

it, but the sensor interference isn't making it easy."

"I've never seen anything like it either," Chakotay put in,

concentrating on the panel situated between the captain's and first

officer's seats. "It seems to be some form of negative energy, but

considering the abundance of life down there it doesn't appear to be

dangerous to organic life. We may be able to get clearer readings by

sending down an away team." After a moment, he looked at Janeway, who

had yet to answer him. "Captain?"

She hesitated for another moment before nodding. "Agreed," she

said, reluctance obvious in her voice. "Prepare an away team. But

don't take too long down there, Chakotay. There's something about this

planet that's giving me a bad feeling."

The tone of her voice caused Paris to half turn in his seat at

the helm, and he exchanged an uncertain look with Harry. At the

tactical station, the ever unflappable Tuvok raised an eyebrow, but had

no other reaction. Chakotay noted out of the corner of his eye that

even Seven of Nine seemed slightly perturbed by the captain's unusual

attitude. Indeed, he was slightly disturbed by it as well, but all he

said was "Aye, Captain." He pointed briefly to Tuvok and the Vulcan

accompanied him off the bridge.



"Commander Chakotay!"

Chakotay halted at the entrance to the transporter room, turning

to face the caller. He had already figured it out from the voice alone

just who it was. "What can I do for you, Neelix?"

The Talaxian halted, breathing heavily. He had obviously rushed

to make it down here. "Commander, I take it you're leading an away

mission to the planet's surface?"

Chakotay nodded. "That's right." Neelix opened his mouth to

speak, but Chakotay preempted him. "I know what you're going to ask,

Neelix. But I want to keep the away team complement down to a

minimum."

"That may be true, Commander," he agreed, "but the Borg are no

doubt sending a ship here, given the fate of that other ship. Which

tells me that we won't be able to linger here for very long. So, given

that our supply of edibles is starting to get on the low side, we should

make the best use of our time here." He paused for a moment. "And given

that I am the resident expert on edible plant life, I should accompany

you down to the surface."

"Commander, I am hesitant to agree, but there is a certain logic to

what Neelix says," Tuvok said.

Neelix literally beamed with pride. "Why, thank you, Mr. Vulcan."

"Far be it for me to argue with Vulcan logic," Chakotay said.

"Come along Neelix."



Neelix blinked, as he found himself slightly disoriented by the

sudden change in light levels when they materialized on the surface.

"That's odd," he commented, checking the local plant life with both

his tricorder and his own senses. "I thought we were beaming onto the

day side of the planet."

"We did," Chakotay answered him. He pointed upwards to where the

local sun was plainly visible. But instead of being a dazzling ball of

light, it appeared to be only a pale yellow disc, not much brighter than

the Earth's moon at full.

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "This is most peculiar. The local sun

is a G5 main sequence star, and the planet is approximately 1.25 AUs

distant from it. Seeing as there is no particulate matter in the

atmosphere, these factors should combine to give a light level

approximately that of Earth."

Chakotay eyed his own tricorder and examined the data it was

collecting. Nothing seemed to stand out as out of the ordinary except

for... "There's that energy field Harry detected. But it's a lot more

extensive than we thought. It's permeating everything around us --

plants, animals... even the soil."

"Everything we can scan," Tuvok noted. "The interference from it

is limiting our tricorder ranges to less than thirty meters."

"There is an energy dampening quality to it," Chakotay agreed.

"That probably accounts for the low light level as well." He reached up

to tap his commbadge. It was time to fill in the captain.



Janeway listened carefully to Chakotay's initial report. "Is the

energy field dangerous?"

"Only if we stick around for an extended period... say a week or

more," the first officer answered through a haze of distortion.

Janeway cast a glance to Harry who nodded, indicating that he was

working on clearing up the signal. "And, Captain, we're having some

difficulty reading your signal clearly."

"We're having the same problem," Janeway responded. "It must be

another effect from that energy field. Harry's working on clearing it

up."

"Captain, with the data from the away team's tricorders, I've got a

line on identifying the field." Harry paused, not quite believing what

was displayed on the panel. When he did speak, he sounded almost

embarrassed. "It's a... Nega-energy field."

"Nega-what?" Janeway exclaimed.

"Harry, you just made that up didn't you?" Tom asked in a voice

that was only half serious.

"It sounds ridiculous to me too, but that's what the computer's

saying it is," Harry said, sounding a bit defensive.

"Nega-energy is a bioelectric field that was radiated by an

entity known as the Negaforce," Seven spoke up from her position just

behind Harry. She stepped out from the operations station and faced

the captain, who was frowning. There was something familiar about

that name, but she just couldn't place it. "The Negaforce itself was

an extremely powerful extradimensional being that was presumably

destroyed by Sailor Moon."

If anything, Harry looked even more perplexed. "Sailor Moon?"

Janeway snapped her fingers. "Now I remember. Jean-Luc Picard

gave a brief talk about them at a Starfleet tactical conference shortly

before we left. Sailor Moon is part of a group known as the Sailor

Scouts. And while they may have the appearance of teenage girls, they

possess extraordinary powers. Five years ago, they help the

Enterprise D in an encounter with a rogue Borg ship." Addressing

Seven, "As I recall, Sailor Moon was briefly assimilated."

"Correct," Seven replied.



Chakotay stopped his tricorder scan and look around their

position. He didn't hear or see anything amiss, but something was

causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. It was only

a feeling that something was amiss, but it was something he had learned

to trust from his earliest days with the Maquis. "Captain, I don't

think we're alone down here."

"I am not detecting anything dangerous in our vicinity," Tuvok

observed, be he drew out his phaser nevertheless. It was only logical

to be prepared for any eventuality.

Each of them felt a wave of pressure wash over them, and found

themselves suddenly surrounded by several humanoid shaped forms. But

their resemblance to other humanoids ended there, for they appeared to be

more insectoid; their green skin apparently composed of a chitinous

substance and their eyes large and bulging outward from their head.

Before Chakotay could do or say anything, the leader heft the staff it

was carrying and brought the top downward sharply in their direction.

The resulting bolt of energy slammed into the Talaxian, knocking him to

the ground. "Neelix!"



"I've lost contact with the away team," Kim said urgently.

"Voyager to Chakotay, respond," Janeway said, hoping against hope

for some answer from her first officer. Unfortunately, the only response

she got was silence. She turned to the operations station. "Harry, get

them out of there. *Now.*"

Harry tried to comply but found his attempts frustrated. "I can't

get a lock on them," he said. "The background energy field has

intensified. It's scattering the targeting beam."

"Try intensifying the annular confinement --" Janeway's suggestion

was interrupted as the ship bucked suddenly, the intensity of the motion

temporarily overwhelming the inertial dampeners. "Report!"

Paris struggled with the helm, trying to stabilize the ship.

"Something's grabbed us, Captain. We're being dragged down."

"Full impulse," Janeway ordered instantly.

"Full impulse, aye." Paris made the necessary inputs to the helm,

then shook his head. "We've slowed, but we're still heading down."

"We're entering the atmosphere," Seven reported.

As if fate decided to add to their litany of troubles, the

intruder alert chose that moment to sound. 'Now what?' Janeway thought,

then said somewhat tersely, "Report."

"Multiple intruder alerts on decks five through twelve," Harry

answered. "They're teleporting right through our shields."

"Get security teams to those areas at once," Janeway ordered

Ensign Graves, who had taken Tuvok's place at tactical. She nodded and

began relaying the orders. "Harry, erect forcefields on all decks."

"Yes, Ma'am," Harry said, complying with her orders.

"Security teams are reporting that phasers are mostly ineffective

against the intruders," Graves said. "They can slow down the intruders,

but not stop them."

"Damn," Janeway swore softly. "Reinforce the forcefields

protecting vital areas of the ship. Computer, disable command functions

in all areas controlled by the intruders. Authorization, Janeway Gamma

Echo Four Seven."

"Command functions disabled," the computer answered.

The deck pitched sharply again, reminding Janeway that they still

had other problems. "We're still going down," Tom said needlessly for

one look at the viewscreen told Janeway that. "Altitude fifty

kilometers."

"We have to get loose from this beam," Janeway muttered as she

looked to her own console and monitored the sensor readouts for herself.

An idea came to her, and a hopeful look came across her face. "Bridge

to Engineering. B'Elanna, I need you to rig the warp engines to

generate a warp field around the ship, set to a frequency that is

counter-variant to the beam on the ship."

"We're setting it up," the lieutenant answered. "How much warp

power do you think you'll need?"

"I'm not sure," Janeway admitted. "Maybe all of it. Or more."

She turned to Harry again. "Harry, I need you to set up a link between

the sensors and the warp engines. The warp field needs to be on the

correct frequency for this to work, and the aliens may alter it when

they realize what we're doing."

"Aye, Captain," he responded.



"OK, let's make this quick," B'Elanna told her people. "Carey,

set up the engines to generate the field around the ship."

"On it, Lieutenant," he said while moving over to the warp drive

control console.

B'Elanna had already turned her attention to someone else.

"Vorick, make sure the sensor linkup Harry is setting up is feeding

into the warp drive controllers." The Vulcan nodded. Meanwhile,

B'Elanna checked for herself the condition of the warp core. If the

captain was right, they may need to push it to the limit and possibly

beyond.



Tom looked up from the helm, concern evident . "We better make

it quick. Our altitude is nine point seven kilometers and falling."

"We're set down here," B'Elanna's voice said over the intercom.

"Sensor linkup to warp drive controls set," Harry added.

"Not a moment too soon," Janeway said. "Engage!"

Down in engineering, B'Elanna tapped the control to energize the

warp coils, generating the warp field around the ship. Outside, the

nacelles elevated to flight configuration and glowed a bright blue. On

the bridge, Janeway could almost hear the hum from the engines as the

power built up. The viewscreen display told everyone that the ship's

descent to the surface was visibly slowing. "Bring the engines up to

full, B'Elanna."

"Aye, Captain."

"I'm reading subspace fluctuations from the anomaly," Harry said,

his voice taking on a note of alarm. "We're almost on top of...."

The ship rocked again, but this time the motion was accompanied

by a sudden flash of light. "We're loose!" Paris noted with relief,

but it was tempered by another look at the status board. "Altitude is

one kilometer. But we lost the impulse engines in the process."

"The warp engines are offline as well," Harry added, then he

began reading off the litany of damage. "Main power is down, and

so's auxiliary... Captain!"

The alarm in Harry's voice tore Tom's attention from the helm

for a moment, and he could see that Harry was fully justified.

Captain Janeway lay sprawled on the deck, apparently unconscious.

This, combined with the absence of both Chakotay and Tuvok put him in

the unusual position of being in command. "Seven, see what you can do

for the Captain." She nodded, already getting out the emergency medical

kit stored on the bridge. "Harry, I've got to set the ship down. Set

us up for an emergency landing. The thrusters are working, but they're

too sluggish for my tastes." He took a quick look at the navigational

sensors. "I just hope the ground is solid."

"Perhaps solid ice would suffice," Seven put in. Mystified, Tom

looked up and got a good look at the main viewscreen for the first time

since they had broken free. "We appear to have been translocated to

another planet, over it's polar ice cap."

"It'll have to do," Tom said, returning his attention to the

helm. "Because we aren't getting back into orbit with only emergency

power."

"I've configured the inertial dampeners for landing," Harry said.

His voice seemed steady to Tom, but he had a feeling his friend was

half watching Seven attend to the captain. Not that he blamed his

friend. If the bridge had been designed differently, he'd probably be

doing the same. "And I've transferred available emergency reserve to

the thrusters."

"Thanks, Harry." And now we see just how good a pilot you really

are, he added silently to himself. "Altitude seven hundred meters...

six hundred..." The ship chose that moment to pitch sharply. Tom

grabbed the helm with one hand, while trying to steady the ship with

the other. "Sorry about that."

"It's our friends down below," Harry said. "They're causing

disruptions in the command pathways and the ODN lines. I'm rerouting

around the damage."

Within moments Tom felt the helm grow more responsive. "That's

better. Good work, Harry. Altitude two hundred meters. Extending

landing struts." Four panels opened on the bottom the secondary hull

and the landing struts deployed and locked into position. Tom made

some final adjustments to the helm and settled the ship gracefully down.

With the ship now landed safely on the ice, Tom was free to leave

the helm. He knelt down beside Captain Janeway. "How is she?" he

asked Seven.

"Stable for now. However, I cannot find any physiological reason

for her being unconscious."

Tom knew his own medical knowledge was limited, but he still found

that hard to believe. But until she did wake up, he was in command.

And he knew that Captain Janeway would want him to be certain of

Voyager's safety before her own. "Harry, what's the status on the

intruders?"

"Still there, but at least their numbers have stopped increasing.

They may not be able to send anyone else through the anomaly. The warp

engines triggered it, sending us here. That's why the beam broke." He

looked up. "By the way, I just a line on what it is. It's not a wormhole

at all, but a quantum flux."

Tom shook his head. "Translation, please Harry."

It was Seven who elaborated. "It is a spatial phenomena that can

serve as a gateway between universes. Which evidently this one does."

"Great," Tom muttered. "And we thought just being in the Delta

Quadrant was bad."

"We should be able to return via the flux in a more controlled

manner," Seven stated. "But I would suggest we deal with the

intruders first."

Tom nodded in assent. "Good point. Harry, flood all compartments

with the exception of the bridge and main engineering with anestazine.

With luck that should knock them out."

"If it does not, then the majority of the crew will be

incapacitated," Seven pointed out.

"Got a better idea?" Tom asked.

"Not at present," she admitted reluctantly.

"Releasing anestazine," Harry said. There were several moments

of silence on the bridge as they waited for the results, if any. "I

don't think it's working, Tom. The aliens are still moving about,

and..." He paused, then swore in frustration. "I don't know how they

did it, but they just knocked out the internal sensors."

"What were they doing?"

Harry took another quick look at the sensor record. "It looks

like there are two large groups trying to force their way into

engineering and the bridge." Involuntarily, everyone's eyes turned to

the various bridge entrances. There was no sign at present, but no one

doubted that the aliens were trying to burn their way through the force

fields barring their way. "There's a few others scattered about the

ship. Some form of patrols, I guess."

"We need some form of weapon against them," Tom said. "Obviously

our phasers aren't enough, even on the highest settings." He looked at

Seven. "Got any ideas along those lines?"

She looked thoughtful. "Possibly. I may be able to modify a few

units to be more effective. But it would require access to Cargo Bay

Two."

Tom nodded. "Don't let me stop you, then. Harry, go with her."

Seven didn't appear too happy with this. "I can accomplish the

task myself.

"I'm sure you can," Tom responded smoothly. "But your still

going to need someone to watch your back. Besides, two people going

along can get more phasers back up here."

Seven still didn't look happy, but she made no further objection

as she followed Harry into the Jeffries tubes.



"We had reached deck three before the aliens intercepted us. I

told Ensign Kim to proceed ahead of me to Cargo Bay Two while I dealt

with the immediate threat. After I had done so, I followed. Seeing

that Ensign Kim had not arrived, I decided to go to Sickbay in the hopes

of procuring the Doctor's help," Seven said, concluding her tale.

"So how'd you handle the aliens back on deck two?" Jupiter asked.

Seven fixed a steely stare at her before responding. "I am Borg."

The tall Scout glared at Seven's back as she turned her attention

to the console. "Yeah, you certainly are," she muttered.

"Excuse me," the Doctor said to the Scouts before going up to

Seven. Pitching his voice for her ears, "Seven, I realize that they've

been less than friendly towards you, but that isn't an excuse for you

to be rude in return."

"As you noted, Doctor, it is they who have been hostile."

"That's because you're a Borg," he retorted, his voice rising.

"It's only natural that they would have hostile feelings towards you.

But treating them as if they were beneath contempt isn't going to help

matters any!" He glanced down at the console. "What are you doing,

anyway?"

"Attempting to access the internal sensors. We need to determine

the disposition of the alien forces before we can proceed." She ceased

her efforts, obviously frustrated. "Unfortunately, the internal sensors

are still offline."

"It looks like they're concentrated in three areas." All eyes

turned to Mercury. "One is just outside a large room on deck eleven..."

"Just outside engineering," Seven said.

"...another is massed at what looks like an entrance to the bridge.

The third is in a large room on deck two."

The Doctor had taken this opportunity move behind her. "Deck two,

section thirteen," he noted. "The mess hall. They must be using it for

a command post until they can take the bridge. I doubt they're there for

the cuisine."

"There are several other life forms present there. I think

they're members of your crew."

"Wait a minute, Mercury," Sailor Moon objected. "I thought you

said that you couldn't get accurate readings because of that

interfering whatever."

"That's true. But I've been working on filtering out the

interference. The readings still aren't as accurate as I would like,

but they'll have to do." She paused as another item appeared on her

display. "Hold on. There are some instabilities beginning to show up

in the quantum flux."

Curious, Seven moved behind the Scout to look at the readouts

for herself, the Doctor shifting himself to one side. "I recognize

these readings. They are preparing for an interdimensional transport."

In answer to the questioning looks she was getting, "The Borg have

used a similar process."

"The Borg can move between universes?" Mars asked. "What, not

enough for you to assimilate here?"

"We wished to improve ourselves," Seven stated.

"So they're getting ready to bring in reinforcements," Tuxedo

Mask mused.

"I do not believe so," Seven replied. "It appears they are

getting ready to send something through."

"You mean they're going to teleport the whole ship through?"

Sailor Moon asked.

Seven shook her head. "Unlikely. I do not believe that they

possess the power needed to teleport Voyager. And with the ship's

propulsion systems damaged, they cannot lift it off the surface to

make contact with the flux."

"Then what are they sending..." The answer hit Mercury like a

thunderbolt. "The crew! They're going to transport them over. Or

at least the ones they hold in the mess hall."

"Then we better get moving," the Doctor said. He slapped the

mobile emitter onto his arm, downloading his program into the small

device. "We need to devise a plan, get to the armory, then move

quickly once Seven has completed her task."

"The optimal chance for success is to strike at all three

areas simultaneously," Seven said. "That would give the aliens

minimal time to react."

"Sounds good to me," Venus said. "We'll split up into three

groups. I'll take engineering..."

"I'll go with you," Jupiter said, adding to herself 'If only to

make sure you don't touch the warp core.'

"I should go to the bridge," Mercury said. "If your captain is

still unconscious, I may be able to help figure out what's wrong with

her."

"I'll back you up," Mars said.

"I guess that leaves the mess hall to me and Sailor Moon," Tuxedo

Mask said.

She looked up at him, smiling. "Hey, we're a natural team."

The Doctor seemed satisfied. "That sounds like a reasonable

disposition of our forces. Seven, you guide Venus and Jupiter to

engineering; I'll go with Mars and Mercury, and..." His voice trailed

off as he belatedly realized, "It seems we've run out of guides."

"No, you haven't," a weak voice came from the surgical bay. All

heads turned to look in that direction. Harry was sitting up on the

biobed, looking weak but alert. "I'll go with the third team."

"Just what do you think you're doing, Ensign?" the Doctor snapped,

storming up to the medtable.

"Like I said, I'm coming along," the ensign replied.

"Absolutely not! I just finished putting you back together,

Mr. Kim. You need time to recover."

"I'm fine," he responded, sliding off the medtable. His next

actions belied his words however, as when he attempted to stand on his

own, he swayed unsteadily then hurriedly gripped the table. "Whoa."

"Fine, are you?" The Doctor noted with some concern that Harry's

face had grown visibly paler and that he was sweating profusely. The

hologram quickly scanned him, but was relieved that there were no new

problems detected. "I think this should demonstrate to you that you're

not. You need rest, Ensign."

"Maybe you're right," he admitted. "But you still need my help.

You've already decided to split up into three teams. You and Seven can

guide two of them, but who's going to guide team number three?"

The hologram looked uneasy. "We'll find someone else."

"Like who? Like it or not, Doc, I'm it."

The Doctor grimaced, for it seemed that Harry did have a point.

"Very well, Ensign. You'll accompany Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury to

the bridge. That way, if something does happen to you, Mercury and

Lt. Paris can tend to your medical needs." He looked over to Sailor Moon

and Tuxedo Mask. "I guess I'll be your guide to the mess hall."

"Great," Sailor Moon said. "I'm getting a little hungry anyway."

"What else is new?"

"Mars!"

The Doctor broke in before the conflict could escalate. "If Mr.

Neelix left any of his cooking available, you may want to pass on it."

"What, is his cooking that bad?" Sailor Moon asked.

"He hasn't caused any fatalities among the crew yet, but there's

always a first time."

Jupiter smiled. "Sounds like he learned to cook the same place

you did, Mina."

"Very funny," the blonde growled.

"We should be going then," Seven said, heading for the Jeffries

tube entrance.

"Do you really think you can make the phasers more effective

against them?" Mercury asked her.

"It should be possible by utilizing Borg technology." She paused,

considering. "However, the information contained in your computer

regarding the Negaforce will increase the chance of success." Without

further ado, she entered.

"Gee, thanks," Mars commented, following the Borg into the

crawlway. Mercury, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask followed her.

The hiss of a hypo was heard,as the Doctor gave Harry an

injection. "That should help you keep on you feet, Ensign. But don't

overdo it."

"Thanks, Doc." Harry slid of the biobed and slowly made his way

over. Pausing for a moment as if to gather his strength, he entered.

"Go ahead," the Doctor told the remaining Scouts. "I'll take up

the rear."

"OK by me." Jupiter bent down and entered.

Venus flashed the Doctor a smile before she went in. "Once more

onto the beach."

The Doctor stood stunned for a moment before he finally entered

himself, calling after her "That's not how it goes!" The hatch closed

with a clang, leaving the now empty Sickbay behind them.



Next time: We find out what's happened with the Voyager away team,

while the Scouts and their newfound allies put their plan to liberate

Voyager into motion.