The Alliance fleet dropped out of warp and entered the Solar system. They had made it this far without being detected, but inside the next hour their presence would be all too obvious. They were blazing in at full impulse, and the first phase of their plan was about to begin.
Riker glanced at the Lakota's tactical officer, Tuvok. "Open a channel to Weyoun's ship."
"Channel open, Captain." Weyoun's pale visage appeared on the viewscreen.
"Prepare to start Phase One. Split your forces at Saturn." The plan involved having half of the Jem'Hadar ships attack the Borg at Saturn, and destroy as much as possible. The Borg have not encountered any Jem' Hadar ships yet, so there was a good chance they could cause heavy damage. All ships had been equipped with multi-adaptive reflective shielding and rapidly modulating phasers. It wasn't much, but they needed all the edge they could get.
"As you wish, Captain." Weyoun punched a few commands into his console. "Ships are decloaking in one minute." Riker nodded and closed the channel."Tuvok, replace forward view with a tactical display of the Jem'Hadar attack." The view changed to a computer rendering of Saturn. There were several cubes in orbit.
"Jem' Hadar ships decloaking now, "said Tuvok.
"Maintain course to Earth." The fleet flew past Saturn while the Jem'Hadar drew first blood. They concentrated their attack on each target. The first cube they attacked was destroyed in ten seconds, unable to keep up with a new enemy and their rapid-fire modulation. They continued their attack losing a ship or two as they went.
Lochley stared at the viewscreen. "They're ripping the Borg up," she said incredulously.
"It won't last long," Riker said sourly. "They'll recover soon enough."
A total of five cubes had been destroyed, and the Jem'Hadar attackers were down to less than half strength. The remaining ships swooped in on their next target, firing continuously. Another Borg ship came to the aid of the one under attack, dividing the Jem'Hadar. After a few minutes,the first wave of Jem'Hadar were destroyed.
"Well, at least we know we can hurt them," said Lochley hopefully.
Riker didn't say anything, just stared ahead at the viewscreen as it changed back to the standard forward view. After fifteen minutes or so they began to approach Mars, and it was time for Phase Two. Mars had the second-highest Borg population in the system, as well as many cubes and even an orbiting complex. In a moment Tuvok had General Martok on the screen.
"Captain Riker...songs will be written about this gorious day." Martok was a real Klingon, through and through. The Klingon Empire was almost non-existent, Qu'onos had been assimmilated, mostly destroyed. The Klingons had been dealt heavy losses in the early months of fighting, losing seventy percent of their fleet. Martok was the closest thing the Klingons had to a leader, and the warriors were silent in reverence when he walked by.
"Q'apla, General. Good luck." Riker truly hoped this was not the last time he saw the general. He had gained a real affection for him over the last few years.
Martok laughed heartily. "Luck, Captain, is not a factor. It is a good day to die..." With that, the channel closed and the view was of the now grey planet of Mars, it was indeed a Borg world now. In a moment there were twenty-five Klingon warships decloaking in the midst of the Borg.
There was a vast difference between the way the Jem'Hadar fought and the way Klingons fought. Where the Jem'Hadar were systematic, the Klingons fought in a frenzy. They swarmed in and were everywhere, firing at everything in their path. The Borg couldn't adapt to their vicious, seemingly disorganized attack. Riker saw heavy damage on the Borg's orbiting platform and on several cubes. He hoped they could hold out there long enough.
Now, the main attack was imminent. "Tuvok, raise the remaining wing commanders simultaneously." The Vulcan punched in some commands and in a few seconds he had Gul Dukat, Commander Tomalak, Weyoun, and Captains Shelby and Sisko on the main viewer. The last few commands were given. The Cardassians and the remaining Jem'Hadar would attack the area surrounding the moon, the Romulans would attack Starbase One, and the Starfleet ships would split into three wings; two randomly attacking cubes, while the central wing scanned for Borg carrier waves to locate the central nexus. The central wing was headed by the Lakota.
Riker sat back down in his captain's chair, nearly jumping out of his own skin. The bridge crew didn't suspect, of course, he presented the ultimate facade of serenity and determination. He pulled his display over to his chair, and prepared to enter in commands for his wing. Earth loomed larger and larger on the viewer, until they were in the midst of dozens of Borg ships. He looked at his Tac display and saw that all his pieces were in place.
He closed his eyes and thought one thought. Imzadi, please be with me now...I need your strength...Never forget that I love you and Kyle...
Captain Riker stood up and looked at his bridge crew. He saw that most of them didn't look nervous, but had a fiery determination about them. They had come home, to reclaim their birthplace. He gave Lochley a small smile and nodded at Tuvok.
"Channel open, Captain."
"Riker to fleet...attack!"
-------------------------------
The Borg were under attack. That was all Locutus knew. His sphere ripped through Earth's atmosphere to leave for Mars. The unknown attackers had been destroyed at Saturn, but scarcely a quarter hour later Klingon warships were causing severe damage to the Martian colony. He readied twenty cubes for departure. He intended to repel the Klingons, and then press on to Bajor and finish the game for good.
He achieved orbit and rendevoused with the cubes and prepared to jump to Mars. He looked forward to the battle, actually he looked forward to any chance to leave Earth, get as far away from the Queen and her new lapdog. Picard's memories of Data were fond, warm memories. Locutus was bound by no such feelings for this Data, this Data had a power-mad air about him. That situation could not continue long.
Without warning, an alert was sounded. Locutus could not believe his eyes. Sixty ships decloaked in the vicinty of Earth, an amalgam of Federation, Romulan, Cardassian, and the unknown attackers. Immediately one of the cubes in his group was destroyed. As luck would have it, though, the ships nearest him were the Starfleet ships. He opened a channel to them, his customary greeting.
"I am Locutus of Borg. You will cease all hostile activities and prepare to be assimmilated. If you fail to comply, we will destroy you."
To his surprise, he was getting a response. He put the transmission on his main viewer. A man he instantly recognized appeared onscreen, but not totally unexpectedly.
"This is Captain William Riker, and you're welcome to try."