Disclaimer: Star Trek the Next Generation is property of Paramount Pictures and all respective cast, crew, and employees. I am not making a profit off this. This is simply for fanfiction enjoyment.

Summary: The Borg have returned and have captured Data. Using very different tactics from their last encounter with the android, they will stop at nothing to gain control of the Enterprise … and Data may not survive the ordeal.

Eternal Scars

"Captain," the ensign spoke, his mouth suddenly going dry, "may I speak with you?"

"Of course," Captain Picard responded, pointing Ensign Tim to the small room in front of the Bridge. As the two made their way to the captain's Ready Room, Ensign Tim wrung his hands around each other, his nervousness keeping them from staying still.

"What can I do for you, Ensign?" the captain asked as he settled down into his chair. He gestured toward the couch across the other side of his blacktop desk. Ensign Tim sat down and struggled to keep his voice from stuttering. He was a lowly Ensign asking the captain of the Enterprise to rethink his last commands; what the hell was he thinking? But he cleared his throat and forged ahead before fear could force his voice into submission.

"Sir, I know that you ordered me to stay on the Bridge in the upcoming mission, but I respectfully request to be put on the away team. The team that is going to be on the Borg Cube."

The captain took a deep breath before he spoke. He looked at the nervous officer sitting in front of him.

"Ensign, I know that you would like to help in combat, but the Borg is not just any adversary. It is the most powerful species Starfleet has ever known. I would need your navigation skills on the Bridge to keep the Enterprise safe."

"Thank you, sir. But Ensign Michaels can take my place on the Bridge. I need to be with the away team," the ensign made sure he met the captain's eyes before continuing, "Data is my friend… Actually, he's not only a friend, he's like a father to me. He and I have been there for each other when we each faced challenges. He was there when I thought I was responsible for the death of my parents. If he is in trouble… If the Borg somehow is trying to use him against us like Lore did, I can talk him out of it.

"He helped me see that I didn't kill my parents. That I'm not a bad person. Please, give me the chance to let him see that he's not one either."


When Data opened his eyes, the blinding light forced them shut again. After downloading all he could from his subconscious, what was left of his emergency subroutines forced him back into consciousness. When Data tentatively opened his eyes again, he found that it was not a blinding light; just dim light that vastly contrasted the pitch black he had seen when scanning the Borg Clone's codes.

He was lying on the floor, in the exact position he was in when the Borg Clone left him. He immediately began to shiver, and ice fell from his eyelashes. The freezing cold had been turned back on. Ice had long since solidified on every trace of moisture on his skin, robbing his body of heat.

"Cancel temperature reduction. Restore temperature to twenty one degrees Celsius. Code seven, four, eight." Data said. But the voice that came out was not his. It was the Borg Queen's voice. Every inflection, tone, and pitch were mimicked perfectly by the android.

Instantly, the cold shut off and the temperature in the room rose significantly. He didn't even think before he said it. Was it an automatic program that had kicked in, or was it… intuition? Had Data finally acted on a human emotion he had searched for so long?

Data reminded himself that he did not have much time to think about such matters. He was glad he had only mimicked voices in his friends' presence. Had he used it in his last encounter with the Borg, the Queen clone might now guard against it, knowing he had this ability. He then realized that now both his arms and legs had been shackled.

"Release arm and leg shackles," came the seductive female voice. The shackles instantly unlocked, freeing their grip on the android.

Cringing, Data slowly sat up, shifting his weight to his lower body. The ice on his skin cracked and shattered, dripping icy water down his legs. Again recalling his emergency subroutines, he brought all reserve electronic strength to his wounded legs. Bracing his arms against the walls next to him, he slowly brought himself to his feet. Once he shifted his weight to his two feet, the pain that erupted almost forced that android to his knees. The stinging surged up and down his legs. Intensified electrical signals forced the android to cringe from his open wounds. But Data knew that if he stopped now, he might never get back up again.

Scanning what he had downloaded from the Borg Queen, he searched the lines of codes for what he needed. Data had almost all he needed to stop the Borg Queen… almost. His downloads stopped just short of what he would need to deal the final deadly blow to the mechanical drone. It was almost as if the Borg leader were taunting him, laughing at his futile attempts to destroy the one enemy that had escaped from him and Starfleet so many times.

"Computer, remove forcefield and cancel security warning," the Borg Queen's voice again emanated from the android, "authorization Alpha, Circuit, Zeta."

The forcefield buzzed in reply and dissipated, crackling as it opened the only doorway that imprisoned the android. Limping, Data made his way out of the darkened chamber.

Uploading this time, a full map of the Borg Cube, he planned a route that would lead him to the main computer. Unfortunately, that same route would also force him to pass several Borg. Even with a detailed map of the Borg Cube, there was no avoiding the mechanical beings.

"As long as they are connected to the collective," Data said to himself, "they will not harm me." However, even as he thought this, somehow, he knew that he would not reach the main computer without a confrontation. The Borg didn't exactly need provocation to attack.

Making his way down the tunnel, Data tried his best to quiet his nervous breathing. He would need to make his next move as silently as possible. As he approached the mouth of the tunnel, the back of the lone Borg guard came into view. Data crept behind the Borg, biting his lower lip to keep from wincing out loud as he limped toward the machine. Suddenly, the Borg turned its head… straight into Data's left fist. The Borg's eyepiece shattered and its jaw broke at the next blow. As the Borg turned on Data, Data reached behind it and yanked the tube that connected to the Borg's headpiece. Instantly, the Borg was cut off from the collective; its emergency signal silenced. As it fell, Data cradled its dead body and laid it softly on the floor. The sound of its body hitting the ground would surely catch undue attention.

Almost instantly, he heard the pounding. Thundering footsteps echoed down the tunnel, announcing to all that the being making the noise was irate. Quickly, he ducked into a neighboring tunnel and hobbled down its length, unable to grab the weapon in time; there was no mistaking the voice that arose moments later.

"Find him," the female Borg leader said, most likely addressing a Borg that usually accompanied her. It wasn't a yell, or even an audible volume, but Data's heightened android senses heard it loud and clear. It was the cold, calculating voice of the Borg Queen, intent on seeking the prey that had escaped from her grasp.

In point zero seven five seconds, Data brought up the downloaded map of the Borg Cube with details of its wiring.

"Computer, turn emergency signal on in Quadrant four, level one." Data, mimicking the Borg Queen's voice, said. Only this time, his voice was so low, no human (or any nearby being) could have heard it. But the computer did, and it complied instantly, setting off a loud emergency signal on the opposite side of the Cube.

Data finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief when the pounding footsteps faded away. However, his hands still quivered and his inputs were on at full alert.

Data crept through the rest of the tunnel, not wanting to make a sound even though he knew the enemy was out of hearing distance (even for her). But after winding through several tunnels and chambers, he stopped short.

The only way to get to the main computer now would be to pass a large corridor lined with Borg. All of whom, by now, would have been alerted to the escaped prisoner.

Taking a deep breath, Data took one last look at the corridor ahead of him… and ran. Ignoring the augmented pain in his wounds, he forced his legs to carry him across the length of the corridor. He had not gotten far when several Borg blocked his path. Using his momentum, he pushed two Borg out of his way and broke the arm of the third. One tried to kick his legs out from under him, but he hurled an injured Borg at it and the two collapsed in a heap. Soon, all Borg were on top of him. Two forced his arms behind his back (even though only his left arm was functional) and the rest approached him in an all-to-familiar attack.

Concentrating, Data closed his eyes and collapsed to the floor. Just at the rest of the Borg were upon him, he sent electric signals everywhere. From his wound-riddled body to even the surface of his skin, pulsating signals were sent to all parts of his body. Finally, Data intensified these signals, using all strength he had in him.

Like all things mechanical, the Borg were made of conductive material. Everything in them electrocuted. What wasn't metal was damaged by flying sparks and error messages. Each Borg collapsed at the mercy of foreign, intensified electrical signals.

When the last Borg fell, so did the android. It took him several minutes, an eternity for an android, for Data to even gather the strength to move. The Borg Cube's main computer was just ten feet away.

Using his one good arm, Data dragged his broken body to the heart of the Borg Cube. It was a long, painful journey, and now Data finally understood why time was relative to his human colleagues. It seemed like an eternity for the android to close the distance.

When Data finally reached the main computer, he heaved himself up onto the black surface. Leaning against the panel, he focused his eyes on the controls….

"Ooommph."

Something hit Data hard across his chest. Recoiling, he was thrown back several feet, where he landed with a painful thud on the floor. Wincing, he looked up to see his attacker. It was the Borg Queen clone.

Starfleet's greatest enemy pointed a photon rifle at the android so that the end of its barrel was two inches from his face.

The Queen clone smiled, her wide grin engulfing the lower part of her face. She activated the weapon with the push of a button. The whir of rifle powering up resounded in Data's ears and all he could see was the pulsating emerald hue of its barrel…

The explosion that followed forced Data's eyes shut and the ground shook beneath him.

"What the-"

Data tentatively opened his eyes. The explosion had not come from the Queen's weapon.

BOOM!

Again the ground shook beneath him, this time more violently.

Distracted by the attack on her precious Borg Cube, the clone turned away from her prisoner to the viewscreen behind her.


"Fire!" Picard commanded.

When the Enterprise was within two hundred kilometers of the Borg Cube, she took full advantage of her newly acquired speed. The high-powered warp core glowed sapphire as the ship closed the distance between her and the Borg Cube. Even the Cube's sensors could not keep up with the speed of the Enterprise . When the Enterprise was within one hundred kilometers, the away team, standing at ready on the transporter room, was beamed instantly aboard the enemy ship. Then, the Galaxy-class ship raised shields and fired.

It didn't take long for the Borg Cube to recover from its shock. It returned fire with light green phasers. However, the Enterprise was just a blur as it dodged bullet after bullet. Each time she flew by the Borg Cube, she fired a stream of red phasers and a barrage of photon torpedoes.


The instant the away team boarded the Borg Cube, they stood ready to fire. Armed with randomizing phasers, the team hoped they would last as long as possible before the Borg adapted.

But when they fully beamed aboard, they found that this sector of Borg had not been awakened from the collective. At least not yet.

"Lovely creatures, aren't they?" Will Riker asked sarcastically.

"Ch-Charming," Ensign Tim replied, looking at the soulless creature next to him. Although he had prepared to fight Borg in his Academy training days, in the practice runs, he did not have the chills running down his spine that he did now.

Next to them, Worf stood ready for any sort of attack. Even coming from a species that seemed born to combat, Worf was unnerved. As the Cube rocked and swayed from the Enterprises' assault, Riker continued walking, amazed that these Borg still did not move even when their ship was under attack.

But his unvoiced questioned was answered when all Borg around them snapped their eyes open.

"Oh God…"


While the Borg Queen conducted the Borg Cube's defense against the Enterprise , Data inched his way to the control panel nearest him.

The Queen clone saw his movements from the blurry reflection on the overhead control panels.

"DON"T MOVE!" she shouted, aiming the photon rifle at him. A Borg came to its master and she handed the rifle to it.

"Make sure he doesn't move," she instructed her minion. Although she could have instructed her Borg to fire at the Enterprise , it was a glory she wanted to have all herself. She could destroy the enemy that had destroyed her sister, once and for all.

Data watched helplessly as the Enterprise circled the Borg Cube. The Queen's shots were getting more precise now. The thick green lasers began landing on the Enterprise 's shields each time. The Borg Queen followed the Enterprise 's blurry afterimage as it dodged bullets. Soon, she could accurately predict its next location.


"Shields are down to forty-seven percent!" Lieutenant Williams shouted over the phaser blasts and emergency signal.

Emergency sirens blared throughout the Enterprise and its light bathed the ship in a rhythmic red glow.

"Divert unessential power to shields!" Picard commanded.

"Aye, sir!" Geordi La Forge shouted from Engineering. He punched in commands on the sleek panel at his fingertips. The lights on the Enterprise dimmed ever so slightly as Geordi diverted whatever power he could salvage to the shields. Within seconds, however, quantum torpedoes landed heavily on the Enterprise 's shields, evaporating the extra power Geordi had armed the ship with.

A display panel on the back of the Bridge exploded in sparks sending the ensign working on it flying back, reeling in pain. Shields were now down to forty-five percent. Picard didn't even know how much the shields were powered by his chief engineer. The next shot had hit so quickly. Although it was better than nothing, it was clear who had the better advantage.


Data stared at the long Borg holding him captive with the precise aim of his photon rifle. One shot from the weapon would cause the already weakened android to suffer irreparable damage. And the enemy holding it could literally detect the slightest movement of its victim.

Footsteps in the distance caused both the Borg clone and Data to look up. Data looked to the side, where the sounds were coming from.

"Mmph... ugh!"

Another Borg emerged from the darkness, reporting to its master. In its arms it held a struggling being. Data craned his neck around the Borg in front of him to get a better view.

The Borg Queen smiled, beaming with pride at her pet Borg. Plunging her hand into an overhead compartment, she grabbed the weapon inside. Her hand emerged holding a photon pistol. Quickly, she grabbed the being from the Borg and stepped in front of the android.

When the Borg Queen stepped into the light, she was holding the pistol to Ensign Tim's head. Ensign Tim struggled, but the Queen's grasp was so tight, it was difficult to breathe. When his eyes caught sight of his android friend, he stopped struggling, his body paralyzed in shock.

"Data… what have they done to you?!"

His superhuman friend who possessed the strength of twenty men was reduced to a frail, broken victim. Barely any artificial skin was left on Data's right arm. Wires jutted out in all directions and from the way Data had his hand resting on his chest, it looked as if he could no longer move it. The rest of his body fared no better. Wounds riddled his chest, legs, and face. Ensign Tim could see the stains from where Data's internal fluid had long since leaked and evaporated. His thighs had such deep wounds, he wondered if his friend could walk.

"Give me the security codes to the Enterprise ," the Borg Queen demanded, pushing the barrel of the pistol into Ensign Tim's temple, "or I will kill this human."

Ensign Tim froze, swallowing hard. The Borg Queen grabbed even tighter on him, forcing the air out of his lungs. He stared with pleading eyes at Data.

"Don't give it to her," he thought, unable to speak because of the Queen's death grip.

Data stared at Ensign Tim, who was seconds away from being killed. The shaking of the Borg Cube was getting less violent now. Data guessed that it was because it had adapted. Any following shots from the Enterprise would not even phase the enemy ship.

"Sigma, Sun, Theta, Delta," the android's voice was barely above a whisper.

"NOO!!" Ensign Tim cried.

The Borg leader joyously released her grip of the Ensign and turned to her main computer.

"Data! Why did you do that?!" Ensign Tim asked, rushing to Data's side, "How could you give it away?!"

As Ensign Tim said this, he laid a gentle hand on the android's left hand. The two Borg, whom had not been given any further instructions by their master, stayed where they were, watching the verbal interaction between the Starfleet officers.

Making sure his back was toward the two Borg, Ensign Tim slipped a high-powered hand phaser from the front of his belt to Data's left hand.

"Your emotion chip must be getting to you," Tim said, making sure the conversation continued.

"I-I am sorry," Data replied, enclosing the phaser in his fist, "but you were in danger."

Ensign Tim mouthed the next words.

"On my count…one… two…"

"YOU BASTARD!! The code didn't work!" the Queen clone's voice erupted.

Everything happened in an instant. One second, Ensign Tim was silently mouthing to Data a countdown to a simultaneous attack. The next, the ensign was thrown to the wall next to the android. A flash of green that followed Tim's body confirmed Data's worst fears. One shot from the photon pistol was all it took to kill the ensign.

"TIM!!" Tears began to fall down the android's eyes. His friend of over ten years was dead. A decorated officer of Starfleet what had made a great difference even at the beginning of his career, had been reduced to a lifeless heap on the floor.

His eyes turned from the body of his friend to his murderer. The same being that now threatened the Enterprise and the only family he had come to know. The same being whose sister had killed countless Starfleet officers with the aid of her Borg.

The Borg queen clone advanced toward the android, grabbing the photon rifle from the Borg that looked to its master for direction. She was going to kill the android right then and there, no matter what it took. And she would make it suffer as long as it could.

But the android was now fueled by rage. Days on end he had been coerced, beaten, and tortured. And now, his friend was dead. All because of the cold, soulless, murderer before him.

"You gave me the wrong security code!" the Bog Queen shouted, powering up the rifle even as she brought it to the android's face.

But the android was too fast. In point zero two seconds, Data fired the high-powered phaser at the Queen's hand, knocking the weapon from her grip.

"That is correct!" Data shouted, defiance burning in his eyes, "You are stating a fact!!"

As the rifle landed, it released the bullet that had been powered up. The emerald photon penetrated the back wall, gouging a deep hole in its surface.

Data then fired three successive shots with his phaser, each with its own intended target. He killed the two Borg by firing a shot at the pipes at the tops of their head that connected them to the collective. The third, he hit the Queen squarely in the chest. However, she quickly recovered and dove for the photon rifle that lay on the floor between them.

Data scrambled for the rifle, clawing at the ground to move him forward. His hand grabbed the handle of the gun the instant the Borg Queen touched its barrel. Data's left hand found the trigger of the weapon, and he fired. The photon that blasted out of the barrel threw the Borg Queen back, slamming her against her own main computer.

As the Borg Queen slumped on the floor, Data took that time to get on his feet and holster the weapon properly. Amazingly, after a few seconds, the Borg Queen got back up to her feet. Her chest had a deep wound from the bullet; her internal wiring was now exposed. Another shot threw her back, but she still got right back up and advanced toward the android.

Finally, after the third shot, she had adapted. The photon bullet fizzled weakly on her invisible shield.

"What're you going to do now?" she asked sweetly, stepping toward Data. She relished how the android now trembled with each advancing step.

"This!" Data answered. As the Queen stepped again toward him, he stepped forward as well, tossed the useless rifle aside, and took out all his rage on the Queen. He kicked the Borg Queen with his right foot, making sure to connect with he exposed internal wiring.

"AUUGHH!!" Finally, it was the Borg Queen's turn to feel real pain. The Queen doubled over and Data seized the opportunity. He punched, kicked, and pounded the Queen with all his might. The Borg Queen had programmed herself to adapt to bullets from weapons, but nothing could prepare her for the unexpected physical combat of the android. Finally, when the Borg Queen lay on the floor, bruised and in pain, Data picked up the discarded rifle.

"I've adapted to that," the Queen boasted, still able to gloat in her agony.

"I know," Data replied. As the Queen tried to get up, Data fired several successive shots of his phaser at the Queen. In a split second, he fired a steady stream of bullets from the photon rifle at the same location on the Borg Queen. The Borg leader had adapted to the rifle and phaser, but not to the two combined.

"Do not hurt my friends." Data warned just before the shots dealt a final, deadly blow to the Borg Queen clone.

"AUUUGHHH!!!!"


Riker's face turned red as a Borg grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him in the air. His breathing instantly cut off, the First Officer's tried desperately to pry the Borg's hand from his neck, but it was like a mouse trying to escape from a lion's grip.

Worf was busy fending off the Borg that were surrounding him. The Borg in front of him swiped at his head, and he ducked to avoid the blow.

All of a sudden, the Borg that were surrounding both Worf and Riker stopped. In an instant, all seized in place, their limbs locking. Simultaneously, they fell stiff as a board to the floor. The Borg that had gripped Riker's neck released its hold, its fingers locking flat. Riker took several hungry lung-fulls of air before he was able to speak.

"What happened?" he asked, the color returning to his face.

"They're dead." Worf commented, kicking at the lifeless Borg on the floor next to him.

"But how?"


Data made sure the Queen was dead before he finally relaxed. His labored breathing echoed in the chamber. The Borg and their Queen was finally dead. The Borg had one great weakness. As long as they were connected to the collective, they remained the cold, calculating followers of the Queen. But without their leader, the collective was dead. And so were the Borg.

Data leaned against the nearest wall, suddenly feeling all of his wounds. The pain was so great, it brought the android to his knees. Finally, he collapsed on the floor, and this time, Data had a feeling that he would not regain consciousness.

To be continued…

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