Captain Decker stood on the transporter pad waiting for the rest of the Security team; he was wearing a thick, black coat over his normal uniform. He adjusted the strap of the Phaser Rifle, the new CX900 had duel firing modes, constant beam, like all the older models had, and pulls fire, which was more powerful, but has less containment, the new model had rechargeable, kinetic power cells. The rest of the security team came in wearing similar coats and all carrying Phaser rifles.
Decker turned to the ensign manning the transporter console.
"Energise." He ordered, and the sleek interior of the San Francisco transporter room dissolved into the Antarctic plane.
Two of the Archaeologists walked up to greet them, Decker recognised Mike, and waved in greeting.
"John! I didn't know you were going to come, if I had I'd have tidied up a bit!" He called as way of greeting.
"I don't know it's tidier than my room." He replied. "Ok, beta team fan out and begin monitoring, for any signs of Borg activity, Alpha team you have the night shift so go get some rest." He said noticing the security teams, who were looking as though they didn't want to be there, and it had nothing to do with the impending Borg threat, and more do with the temperature.
"Come John, I'll show you what we have gotten up so far." Mike said moving off to a tenet.
Shortly afterward, Decker was looking over the most intricate piece of technology he had ever seen.
"What does it do?" He asked.
"Well we aren't entirely sure, but we aren't technicians, what do you think?"
Decker murmured turning the small device in his hands. "Have you tried powering it up?"
"No, where would you start?"
"If you put in the presence of an oscillating EM field then it might promote an electrical response."
"Ah you mean like the old AC method, it's worth a try, and all we need is a magnet."
Several minutes later they had the equipment set up, and were ready to give it a try.
"Ok let's go for it." Mike said, Decker pushed the control and the electro magnet started rotating the circuitry came to life and a blue green light emanated from it, and swung around the room, before spluttering out of life.
"That was disappointing." Decker said.
The following morning Decker stood with Mike and the rest of the Archaeologists, the security team scanned the horizon.
"Open it up!" Mike called, and the phaser drill cut through the last layer into Atlantis.
"We have cut into the central ring, we believe that this would be where meetings would take place, a town centre if you would." Mike said.
The archaeologists set up an elevator with the crane and started sending people down, Mike, Adam and two of the security officers, a young Ensign Sing and Lieutenant Merewether.
Mike was the first off the elevator, his life's work, all his ambitions; and Decker's once, but not after Starfleet had taken him, he didn't care for the past any more, just the future. They were still friends, but Decker had changed, he hadn't been the same for years, since Wolf 359. He was shaken from his musings as the Elevator brought another load of people, three more of his fellow archaeologists and another security officer.
A sound caught his attention; he whirled about to see a door open and Ensign Sing move to cover it.
Silly girl, he thought, what is going to be in there after thirty thousand years? An Old one?
They moved into the room holding up flashlights to illuminate the walls, the room was huge, easily four hundred metres high, and almost double that across, in the centre there was a small alter with an impression in the top, it looked as though some thing should be placed there. But what? The shape of the impression reminded him of something, but what. Maybe Decker would have a clue.
Then it dawned on him, and he placed the device he and Decker had been working on in the recess. It fitted! The blue green shimmering light swung around the room and projected a map over the walls.
A transporter beam distracted him, and he saw a Borg drone appearing, it moved toward Lieutenant Merewether, he pointed the phaser rifle at it and fired, but another came up behind him and the shot went wide. Ensign Sing swung her weapon at the drone on Merewether and fired. The lance of phaser fire smashed into the drones chest and sent it skittering backwards smashing into the alter.
"Behind you!" She called. Mike swung around to see a drone behind him it raised it's arm and the assimilation tubules sailed toward his neck in slow motion yet at the same time happening all to quickly, all he could do was scream.
On the surface Decker could hardly contain his excitement, despite what Mike thought he was still fascinated by the past, Atlantis specifically. And now he was going to see it! It would be the best thing to happen to him in a long time, since Wolf 359, where his parents were killed, or assimilated by the Borg. A scream cut across the Antarctic wasteland.
"Shit! All units get down there NOW!" He called to the security officers scattered around the hole. He jumped, grabbed onto the lift cable and abseiled down. By the time he landed on the cart his gloves were shredded.
He jumped down onto the floor. A Borg drone came out of an open door, he fired into it's chest the pulse blast smashed the drone in the shoulder, tearing off one cybernetic limb and spinning the drone around the second shot slamming into it's head. Commander McKenzie jumped off the cart and sighted into the room from which came an ominous green glow. They ran in to see Sing shooting into the chest of a drone with little affect, and Merewether lying ominously still. The drone pulled its assimilation tubules from Mike's neck and turned to the Starfleet officers.
Decker shot three blasts into the chest of the nearest drone that sent it ricocheting back but did not do enough damage to stop it, they had adapted.
Leaving the fight he ran to Mike.
"John they can't know what I know. Kill me now, quick." Mike gasped as the Nanites shoved through his veins, making them expand painfully.
"No there has to be another way." Decker replied turning to fire at point blank into a drone's chest, it exploded in a rain of molten metal, at point blank rang the shields didn't do much good.
"Kill me damn it! Don't condemn me out of some twisted loyalty!"
"No!" Decker yelled as Mike grabbed the barrel of the phaser rifle and held it to his head.
"Just pull the trigger. Please." Decker turned pulling the rifle from Mike's weakening grasp to shoot another drone; at the same moment he pulled the hand phaser from his belt and shot Mike.
McKenzie re-modulated his phaser shot the drones off Sing she tried to stand but couldn't.
"Don't move." He said. She nodded and looked at something over his shoulder. He followed her gaze to see a drone raise some sort of projectile weapon. He dodged and saw a dart impact on the wall behind him. McKenzie returned fire with his phaser and the drone went down.
One jumped him from behind, and bore him to the ground with its weight. He saw Merewether.
"Merewether help me damn it!" He called. Merewether turned to show the side of his face covered in grey veins.
"Resistance is futile." He intoned in a rough voice, and moved toward McKenzie, he picked him up, with that inhuman strength that Borg had, and began to choke him.
The plasma grenade took Merewether in the side and sent his broken corps smashing into the wall. The second shot blew the Borg on McKenzie's back to smithereens, the heat form the explosion seared his face causing him to wince.
McKenzie picked up his dropped phaser rifle and targeted the last Borg. As he fired the drone dematerialised. He hit his COM badge. "Commander McKenzie to Starfleet. There is a Borg vessel in Earth orbit, it must be destroyed!"
"Understood. Dispatching ships." The calm voice came over the com channel.