Amy Brown led the security team through the Borg vessel. So far they hadn't been attacked, but then they hadn't actually started trying to blow stuff up yet. They had so far planted three of the six bombs, and were moving to the fourth.
"The next target is just through the next chamber." Gomez whispered.
They moved through the entranceway, as Amy stepped in then she just stopped, Lt. Hannigan almost walked into her. It was easily 50 floors high, a truly giant chamber. But it wasn't sheer size that caused her to gape, the walls were lined with maturation chambers, all growing Borg drones.
"At a guess, a facility this size could turn out drones at the rate of one-hundred-thousand a day." Hanningan said.
"Wow." It was all Amy could think to say.
They hurried across the catwalk, to the other side.
They had just finished planting the bomb, when all hell broke loos.
Borg drones beamed in all around them. She dived for cover behind a large pulsating tube, as she did so she saw Hannigan take cover behind a console. One of the guards went down with darts sticking out of him; she could see the skin around the one in his had begun to turn grey. Gomez crouched behind some machinery, Amy saw a Borg appear behind her, they were using the shroud, she called out in warning, but wasn't heard over the sounds of battle, she razed her phaser to take out the drone but the machinery protected the drone as well. It plunged tubules into Gomez neck and dematerialized.
She turned back to the battle, just in time to see a drone unshroud in front of her. It razed it's arm to assimilate her, but she was just fast enough to hit the arm with a phaser blast, and the forearm disintegrated the force of the blast causing the drone to take a step backward to regain its balance, and send Amy flying. She staggered to her feet and tried to clear her head as it came toward her, at last she could see properly, her phaser rifle was lying between two pipes. She dived for it but the drone was there, impossibly fast, it grabbed her with it's other arm, but couldn't keep it's grip with only one hand, the back of her tunic ripped and she fell to the deck, with a thud. As it bent toward her she could see the damaged arm being rebuilt by nanites, just a little closer she thought, it bent over her, grabbing her by the shoulder, she whorled in it's grip and fired the hand phaser point blank into its chest. But it was already too late. As it slumped over her she could see the room dissolve.
The Atlantians surged them, Decker dived for the door, and just about maid it, long triple jointed arms maid a grab for him, as he scooted through the door.
He saw one of them pulling McKenzie toward one of the tubes, she was struggling, but it seemed to be to no avail, Decker fired his phaser rifle, the blast hit the thing square in the back, the hole seemed to knit back together as he watched, and the creature didn't even stop. It just kept going toward the tube; he fired again, this time at the creatures arm. At last a result; it dropped McKenzie. She stumbled toward him; he dashed forward, grabbed her under the arms and pulled helped her toward the door.
"Sir, I can't walk, you should leave me You'll never make it with me." She protested trying to push his arm off her.
"No. I've already lost to many men to those things, I'm not going to let them get you, and besides what would I say to Jo?" His attempt at humour was lost on her, but at least she was content to let him drag her to the door.
"Quiche, can you beam us back to the ship?" Decker asked of his com badge.
"…Sir, but… not… we have… our own." The link was so full of static that they could hardly make out what he was saying.
"Quiche, beam us out."
"…Repeat… is failing."
" Energise!" The soft light of the transporter engulfed the, Decker permitted himself a sigh.
They materialised on the transporter pad in one of the transporter rooms.
"Beam Her to sickbay and I need to get to the bridge." Decker ordered the tech.
"That won't be possible sir." The Bolian said. "I'm afraid the ship is under anti-intruder lockdown, security fields are blocking transport to all major locations, you can make your own way, and deactivate the field in a local area like a doorway with your command codes, but the journey is not advisable. The only reason we could get you on board is that the shields have been destroyed."
"What?" Decker asked.
"Some sort of energy beam just drained them."
"Oh." Decker said.
"How close can you get us to the bridge?" McKenzie asked.
"I could put you in the captains read room." The Bolian replied.
"How close to sickbay?" Decker asked.
"Corridor outside the door. But it's risky they might get you before you can get in."
"What are they, what happened?"
"Some sort of robot, they beamed on board after Atlantis pulled us in, they've been grabbing people and beaming out. That's all I know."
Suddenly one of the Robots materialized in the doorway. Decker and McKenzie fired their phasers at it but to no avail, it moved toward the Bolian with a single-minded determination. It's arms latched onto his shoulders. The two officers concentrated their fire on its arms, and managed to dislodge one the Transporter tech dropped but the thing kept hold as it dematerialized.
"Damn." Decker cursed.
"Sir I would suggest trying for the armoury, the photon torpedo launchers would probably have more affect." McKenzie suggested.
"Where is the nearest armoury?"
"There should be one on this deck. I could beam you there."
"Ok But keep your head down whilst I'm gone."
"I would be more than happy to oblige sir." A small smile tugged at her lips, it seemed like the ghost of her normal one. He slipped his arm under her shoulders and helped her to the console.
As he walked back she programmed to system to keep a lock on him should he need to get out in a hurry.
"Energies." He said from the pad. She traced a circle on the pad and watched as it lit up under her finger, showing the buffer was filling. She tapped another control and slid her finger the other way to empty the buffer and deposit the captain in the armoury. Then she slumped behind the console, and hoped that one of those things didn't get her.
Amy came around strapped to a table in the Borg vessel. This was not good, her com badge and phaser had been taken, and she turned her head to see Lt. Hannigan, her second in command of security, and the others strapped to tables. Lt. Hannigan was already too far-gone and was having an eyepiece fitted. Engson Gomez was already standing motionless in the centre of the room. A green light shone on her. As Amy watched her skin turned even greyer, and her body dissolved, a cylinder about the diameter of a dustbin came up underneath her. A drone moved up and took, almost with reverence, a metallic spine from the table, and as Amy watched the skin split down what was left of her back and up her neck. The spine was inserted into the hole that then closed; automatic arms razed a robotic torso towards the remnants of Gomez, and clicked into place small appendages clamping on the remaining flesh, the arms and legs were fitted to the torso next. Then her head split open and a transponder descended to slip into place in her skull.
Amy gasped, as the Borg Queen turned to look at her.
"I thought I should be here in person." And then at Amy's incredulous look. "No silly girl, I am not here just to see you be assimilated, I am here to witness our victory, our greatest our as we gain the technology of species 5702."
McKenzie jumped as her com badge chirped, and nearly banged her head on the console.
"Sir?" She responded.
"Yes, its me McKenzie, can you beam me back?"
"Eye sir." She responded as though it had been an order, even though it had sounded more like a request. As she worked the console, she wondered if he was always this nice. She hope so, it would make this assignment a lot more fun. He rematerialized on the pad, along with most of the armoury.
As soon as he rematerialized Decker stepped of the pad and gave McKenzie a Photon Torpedo Launcher, the weapon was surprisingly light and small, that was because like the ship, it was designed to replicate the torpedoes on demand, or at least three at a time. It was a grey tube with the trigger on the top, designed to be mounted on the shoulder so you cold pear through the sight and hit the trigger, but when Decker had tried it, he found you could shoot from the hip, with it under your arm, and your hand wrapped around to reach the trigger, the guidance system, was activated by a button on the hand grip that projected a laser which the torpedo flowed.
"Ok, Can you beam me to my ready room, and then stay low, even though your better armed try and avoid dukeing it out with one of those things."
She smiled at him and started reprogramming the coordinates for his ready room.
Decker stepped onto the pad, and felt the transporter tug at him then the room dissolved.
Amy twitched her hand and found that she could feel something in her pocket. After some careful manoeuvring she got it out and into view, it was the micro-pad that was the remote for the bombs they had planted, it made her wonder where the ones they hadn't had a chance to place were? And for that were any of them still active? She tapped at the controls with her fingertips, and to her delight the symbols began to turn green, it meant they were still functional and active, but not armed. She cold arm and detonate them from the micro-pad, but would this be the best time? Would there be a more appropriate time later? Like maybe when she wasn't tied up.
Gomez, no, that wasn't Gomez anymore, it didn't eve n look like her anymore, All that was left was The Borg Queen, she, it turned from watching the Atlantian colony resist all attempts at assimilation, it seemed to notice the pad and moved toward Amy, the hell with it, she thought, and began arming the bombs, they turned orange, all except one, that went dark, disengaged she hoped it was one of the spars, she was almost out of time, she hit the pad, and, nothing, the Queen stood over her, she tapped it again.
"I have set up a jamming field, your Starfleet signal won't get through." She scoffed. "What is that, you are holding? Give it to me."
Amy didn't move.
The clamp on her arm released.
"Well then we will see how much more obedient you are as a drone." She extended her arm and tubules flicked out.
In the last act of a helpless person Amy twisted her arm so the tubules hit the pad, and ejaculated nanites all over it, a black spider web of Borg technology grew over it, as the Queen interfaced wit it. Amy could see through the growing spider web the symbols turning read one at a time.
"What have you done?!" The Queen shrieked. Amy just smiled as the explosions rocked the ship. Panels exploded, and Borg drones spasmed, the Queen went insane, throwing herself around, until she collapsed on the floor, the clamps released Amy.
In the corner of the room she found a com badge, and tried to contact the Excelsior but to no avail, all she could get was static. Something had gone seriously wrong.