CHAPTER 60 OF The Phoenix and The Wolverine.
# I DO NOT OWN THE COPYRIGHT TO BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, STAR TREK OR MARVEL. PLEASE ENJOY THE FANFICTION!#
"Fifty-five minutes?!" yelled an incensed Natalie.
Paul smiled grimly. "Yes, I recommend you all arm yourself with different types of weapons from the wall. The borg tend to adapt when you use the same one too often. Headshots are one shots that stop them in their tracks permanently; remember that!" He turned to Laura. "I have a bladed weapon for you."
Laura frowned at him. "I'm good thanks."
Paul shook his head at the invincibility of youth. "This weapon has got a laser edge and will cut through borg-centurion armored parts like butter. You can alternate between it and your hand blades." He took down a katana from the wall and handed it to Laura. The teen hesitated before accepting it. She slowly removed the katana from its sheath, pressed the small button on the hilt and smiled when she saw the red-laser edge light up.
"Thanks," she said grudgingly. Paul turned to Oma, who was already shaking her head.
"I have my own weapon," then the ensign gestured at some of the mounted guns which floated off the wall. Orion sat up in shock and whined while Paul, Natalie and Red One stared at her.
"Metal is my specialty. I will tear them apart." Oma let the weapons hover for a moment before returning them to the wall. Laura, Q Junior and Starbuck grinned at their stunned expressions while Six seemed proud.
It took a moment for Paul to find the words. "How…never mind, but I expect an explanation when we're far from here and in a safe place." Oma nodded. Paul turned to Q Junior but the sentient hologram was already lifting two modified Markus-three handguns with rapid fire action."
"These seem appropriate, where are the bullets?" Paul found it disturbing at how cheerful the hologram was and at how quick Q had been to identify a very effective weapon. "Here's a pack." Q junior thanked him as he accepted the box of clips.
Paul turned to Red One.
"I'm already armed and have enough bullets, Paul." Once again, he was a bit taken aback at how independent the centurion was, he suspected its tele-encephalic inhibitor was missing. Had that been done on purpose? He glanced at Six and Natalie who didn't seem bothered.
"Alright." He reached for his repurposed weapon. The sniper rifle had become a rapid-fire semi-automatic. He had been adjusting it during the recent chat. "You follow me and we have a good chance of escaping here before blowing it back to Hades." He turned to snap fingers at Q Junior and Red One. "Over there on the wall is a detailed map of this underground structure, study it now in case I get eliminated during the escape. "The two moved once he was done. Oma and Laura shared a look and followed their teammate and the centurion.
Paul sighed and turned to find Natalie in his face.
"Can I help you?" asked Paul in an irritated tone.
"You have the plans here for the resurrection tech no?" There was a desperate look in her eyes. Paul decided to take pity on her.
"Those ships were never built at this base, that was someone's else's project." He tried to go around her but Natalie moved with him.
"You're saying there are no backups here?"
Paul frowned at her. "No. what would be the point of hiding such sensitive info in an abandoned underground base? Besides, we didn't think that Cavil would kill us, then wipe our memories and keep us in suspended animation until he brought us out for his sick amusement." Natalie wanted to speak but Paul was losing his patience.
"If the borg get out, the resurrection tech will the least of all of our problems, so for the love of whatever deity you worship, get your frakking priorities in order." He stalked off to a cupboard, strapped a large dagger to his belt, and began to stuff a shotgun and extra ammo into his backpack.
Natalie tried to follow him but Six stopped her. "Let it go." Natalie turned to her sister.
"You don't understand, we need that tech. With it, we have a bargaining chip with Cavil and may be able to stop him from coming after us…"
"Paul is right," cut in Six. "The tech right now is not important." Natalie stared at her, hurt. Then Six lowered her voice. "But he is. He's an engineer who built our ships, maybe he built the resurrection ships but chooses not to remember. So, wouldn't it be best that we get him off this hellhole as soon as possible and unto the basestar with Ellen?"
Natalie's expression cleared, relieved at Six's words. "You're right. For a moment; I thought I had lost you."
Six snorted. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
"I would like my gun back." The Sixes jumped apart to find Starbuck standing quite close to them. How much had she heard? And how in the world had she crept up on them without them noticing? The colonial kept glaring at Six until she handed the gun back to the infuriated colonial.
"Thanks for loaning it to me." Six tried for a jovial tone.
Starbuck glared at her. "Don't. Ever. Mention. It." Then the colonial stalked off to choose a semi-automatic from the weapon wall. Six found her nervousness growing, she prayed the colonial didn't shoot her and Nat in the back.
#
Laura and Oma stood behind Red One and Q Junior as they studied the map in less than fifteen seconds. The golden centurion walked back to Natalie and Six, but Oma inclined her head to Q Junior to stay back.
"Okay, before we move out, do we trust this man?" asked Oma.
Laura shrugged. "He didn't lie once while he was talking."
Q Junior looked to make sure no one was watching. "Yeah, he was telling the truth,"
said Q Junior in a very low voice. Then he frowned at Laura. "I didn't get the chance to ask. But, what the hell are you doing off the Xavier? You weren't supposed to be here."
Laura stared at him and noticed Oma was also giving her a questioning look.
"You two ask me that now?"
"Yes," chorused Oma and Q Junior in a whisper. Laura sighed.
"Your mother showed up." If not for the current grave situation, it would be comical at how their eyes widened.
"Are you sure?" asked a stunned Q Junior.
"She showed up after you and Red One dived into the wormhole." Continued Laura at a fast pace. "She snapped her fingers, teleported me to med bay, showed me a table with your pulse rifle, medical supplies and a tricorder and told me to pick two outta three for the mission, beamed down to the surface with me, escorted me to the wormhole and stayed behind to speak to a shocked group of colonials, our folks and the cylons."
Q Junior closed his eyes in frustration. "Yep, that's my mum." Then he opened his eyes and looked at Laura. "So, that's why your tricorder and the medical gear are working. She must have shielded you as you traveled past it, while my tricorder was dead on arrival."
"Okay. To be honest, I actually feel better knowing, your mum is here," said Oma to Q Junior's surprise. "Let's join the others before they get more suspicious."
"Gather round people!" bellowed Paul who now looked like a one-man army bristling with weapons. He quickly lay out ammo clips for everyone who was packing some serious gun-ware "Stock up on clips. We now have 51 minutes until this place explodes. While Red One and Q Junior have the map, I will take point, they will take lead if I fall. We have ten minutes to get to the last lift I left working. Getting to the lift is the easy part, surviving the ride to the surface is gonna be hard. Any questions?"
They all shook their heads, each aware of the several ticking, linked bombs attached to an underground reactor.
"Move out!" ordered Paul as he led the way.
"May the Gods help us all," muttered a pale Starbuck.
"So, say we all," solemnly said Nat to the colonial's surprise.
#
The hallway was empty but that seemed to make it more foreboding as the small motley group ran down it with weapons drawn.
"How do we know the elevator is still working?" asked Starbuck who stayed close to Paul.
"Cuz, it's the only one I left intact." Replied Paul. "I kept destroying the others whenever they repaired them, while leaving this particular one alone. It didn't take long for them to stop repairing the blown-up ones."
Starbuck gave him a skeptical look. "You forced them to adapt."
Paul shrugged. "Perhaps. Or they are just waiting for me to get on that elevator in order to assimilate me."
Starbuck sighed. "We're going to regret this, aren't we?"
Paul grinned at her and kept moving. Everyone kept their eyes and visors peeled as they rounded each corner expecting the borg. Eight minutes into their journey. Paul held up a hand stopping the group in their tracks.
"Why are we stopping?" whispered Natalie who came to the front.
"Something's not right. It's too quiet," said Paul.
"Maybe they found your bombs?" asked Kara.
She could see Paul's gunmetal complexion lighten; the equivalent of going pale. "Then we and everyone else will be frakked." He moved his gun to his left hand while he dug out what looked like a small transparent screen out of his right pant pocket. Kara tensed. The device looked like a modified colonial padd but on a much smaller scale. Paul applied his right thumbprint and a map appeared on the screen with several blinking red lights. Kara surmised those were the bombs. She moved closer and tried to count the lights.
"You placed fifty-three bombs?" gasped Natalie whose complexion was a ghastly shade of white.
Paul nodded absently. "I wish I had placed more but I was running out of time and luck. If they all go off, we're golden." He switched off the device and placed it back into the zip pocket of his right pant leg. Kara tracked the location, in case she had to retrieve that device if things went awry.
"We have 41 minutes left," quietly reminded Q Junior who had snuck up on them. Paul glanced at him. "Tell me something I don't know. Let's move out." Paul took lead once more and they all followed him. He stopped once more at a corner before looking at the others.
"Around this point is where the elevator is. Wait here and let me take a peek first." He waited for them to know, then he moved off. It wasn't long before he returned with a grave expression. Paul didn't waste time in informing them of his findings.
"We have at least forty or more borg between us and the elevator." They stared at him in horror. "They are clearly waiting for us. Okay, this is what we'll do…"
"Sir," interrupted Oma. "Point me at them, let me show you what I can do." Paul stared at her for a moment.
"Just moving them out of the way is not going to be enough…"
"She will take them apart, I've seen her do it," said Laura, while not telling him Oma had done it to centurions in the modified holodeck danger-room onboard the Xavier during training. No need upsetting their temporary allies for the moment.
Paul hesitated for a moment. "Fine. But tell us if you can't."
"Will do sir," said Oma as she took point, a steely light in her eyes. Their group of seven turned the corner to see a chilling site of rows and rows of dead-eyed borg. Once they got closer, the borg began to speak.
"We are the borg. Resistance is futile. We are the borg. Resistance is futile." The borg began to move forward bringing up their weapons to bear. Paul turned to Oma as she raised her arms.
"Whatever you're about to do, you better…" he never got to finish as before him the unbelievable began to happen. The first line of borg began to fall to pieces. Literally. Arms, legs, heads and torso, blood and other fluids flying in different directions. Then the next line and then next and soon all of them were silent. Paul stared at the carnage in horror, then turned to stare at Oma. The young ensign's face was ashen. As if she too, was shocked by what she had just done. Orion whined and hid behind Red One. The centurion also seemed frozen in place, as if in shock. Q Junior in contrast was too calm.
"Well done Ensign Kadretti," said Kara with grim satisfaction. Laura gently patted her friend's back while Natalie was shaken as well. Six nodded. "This had to be done."
Paul pushed his fear down to his core, he would dwell on what he had just seen later…if they made it out alive. "The elevator is this way." He tried to sound confident as they began to walk through the strewn body and metallic parts. Paul punched in a code and was relieved to find it still working, then the double doors slid open for them to see an elevated platform. He pointed at it. It was completely exposed by the sides and the roof and was in the midst of a very wide shaft which seemed to rise to dizzying heights. The walls of the shaft had thick black cables attached and there were at least three ladders also traveling the length of the shaft. Around the edges of the platform was a space of around two feet. Any borg could easily crawl up from beneath them.
"That's the elevator."
Laura swore. "Oh hell no. You have got to be kidding. We're gonna be sitting ducks on that death trap!"
"Which is why most of us have guns to hold them off long enough to get to the surface. Now, get on. This ride will last twenty-five minutes at full speed." Paul waited for them to stand on the platform before he activated it, then he shot at the panel destroying it before running to jump onto the rising elevator.
"Fan out in a circle, and keep your eyes on the walls. The borg bastards are pretty good climbers."
Red One eyed Paul. "Fantastic." Paul raised an eyebrow at the sarcastic tone.
#
Lady Q stood demurely as she watched the x-men, the colonials and the cylons wait. It was obvious that they were getting restless. Most of the colonials and cylons had been giving her odd looks which she smiled politely at. Honestly, she just wanted to roll her eyes at their absurd behavior.
Anyway, Lady Q wasn't being idle. While they gawked and waited she was looking at what the motley crew deep in the facility were doing. They had made it to the elevator and not far behind them were the borg…wait! The borg?! What in all tarnation were they doing here?!
Lady Q planted a bright smile on her face when in reality she wanted to scream and throttle a certain god of war. She walked over to Logan who was glaring at the miniature wormhole.
"Captain, if I may trouble you for a moment?" As expected, certain individuals took a lot of interest in her words. CAG Lee Adama approached; his eyes suspicious. The XO Saul Tigh turned his good eye on her, baleful. Boomer and Ellen crept up, hanging on her every word as for Dr Grey, she warily watched the rest of them. Lady Q really was impressed by the telepath's spot on instincts.
"What's on your mind Lady Q?" asked Logan in a casual tone.
"In case you do find a way into the facility, I may need to enter with you." Now, that caught his attention and Lady Q hoped he was getting the unspoken message. As a member of the Q continuum she could not help these sentients so much. She could offer clues but most of it was up to them.
Logan stared at her for a long moment. "How do we get your signal down into the base?" Inwardly Lady Q sighed with relief. The man certainly had brain and brawns.
"One of the holo-emitters on board the shuttle you arrived in. Ensign Rogers can grab it and hold it so I can enter with you." Everyone's attention swung to the hapless colonial ensign.
Logan studied Lady Q for a moment, then nodded. "Fine." He turned to Lee and Saul "Is it okay if Rogers retrieves the device?"
"I'll go with him," said Lee quickly. Logan tried not to roll his eyes. He wondered if Lee saw this as a chance to finally get a peep inside the shuttle or was just very suspicious of Lady Q or both. "Okay, just go and come back quickly in case the wormhole goes down."
"Certainly sir," said Lady Q brightly before she turned and ran towards the shuttle. Lee and Rogers looked at each other and took off after the hologram.
Logan held back a chuckle and turned to find Boomer staring intently at him.
"Do you need something?"
"Your hologram, Lady Q appears capable of independent thought." Logan was quite aware of how everyone was paying a lot of attention to this particular conversation.
"Lady Q is unique…as is her son." Boomer opened her mouth to speak but Logan pressed on.
"I cannot tell you anymore, because that is classified." Something in his eyes warned the number eight cylon not to press her luck. But Logan was certain that the cylon will try to obtain information one way or the other.
Lee was panting by the time they reached the shuttle, even Rogers seemed less worn out by the impromptu race. Lee glared at Lady Q who was standing by the entrance, arms folded as she waited for them.
"Did…did you have run that fast?"
Lady Q smiled at him. "The captain did order me to get the holo-emitter and return quickly, so I ran." Lee had the impression, she had just indirectly told him how stupid he sounded.
Yeah. This was definitely Q's mother. That thought was reinforced when the female Q turned and phased through the wall into the shuttle. Lee was shaken but Rogers appeared calm and he walked into the shuttle. Probably because Rogers saw this all the time.
The colonials failed to see Lady Q snap her fingers behind her back as she waited in the shuttle thus creating a new cabinet in the posterior hull which now had a holoemitter.
Lee found his eyes drawn to the very alien tech of the Starfleet shuttle. He stood gaping as he took in the shiny consoles and the very clean light grey walls with the sensible shuttle seats. Lee found himself itching to take the shuttle out for a long spin.
"Ensign Rogers, please look at the small cabinet in the middle of the wall at the back of the shuttle. The ensign moved without question but Lee shot a dark look at the female Q, his wonder at the shuttle temporarily forgotten. Lady Q ignored him and concentrated on the junior colonial officer.
"Tap lightly with your fingers and the cabinet will open." Rogers did as she instructed and Lee crowded him to watch what was going on. The small compartment slid open and inside was a holoemitter that was identical to the one that Q Junior had on his left shoulder.
"Please bring the device over here." But before Rogers could reach for it, Lee grabbed it first and marched over to Lady Q.
"What is this?"
The female Q raised an eyebrow; amused at his blustery attitude.
"It's a holoemitter just like my son's. However, this one will project my form inside the structure."
Lee eyed her suspiciously. "That's all it does? How do I know this isn't dangerous? How many holoemitters are on this ship or the Xavier?"
Rogers gave his commanding officer an exasperated look behind his back.
Lady Q knew exactly what he was feeling. So, this was the behavior her son and the Xavier crew had been dealing with? By the stars they all deserved medals.
Lady Q decided to give the CAG a small piece of her mind. "Oh, it does a lot more than just project my image..." Lee opened his mouth to speak but she spoke over him. "However, any information on the holoemitters is classified. But, if you wish to waste everyone's time as well as the lives of the trapped crews just because you desire to satisfy your curiosity, then be my guest. Because, I won't be the one explaining to a pissed off Captain Logan and an upset Dr Grey on why you decided to be a first-grade idiot at this particular point in time."
Lee stared at her with his mouth open. Rogers' embarrassed expression was of a junior officer who wanted to be anywhere but be here.
Lady Q made a motion of straightening her Starfleet tunic as she waited for him to recover. "Now, I know you want to do a threat assessment of my capabilities but shouldn't we be doing that concerning a wormhole that snatched seven of our people?"
"You're worried about the wormhole," blurted out Rogers. Lady Q and Lee stared at him.
"Yes," said Lady Q. "And there are very few things that I worry about."
"Why are you concerned about the wormhole?" asked Lee. He even sounded halfway polite. Lady Q was relieved he was finally asking the right question.
"Gentlemen that I can answer as we walk back at a fast clip." She turned and phased through the hull while the two colonials ran out of the ship, Lee was still clutching the holoemitter.
Lady Q kept her pace brisk and began to talk when they caught up.
"There is a naturally occurring wormhole in Federation space known as the Bajoran wormhole. When we're in a safe place and Q Junior is back you can ask him about it.
Now that wormhole has varying levels of energy that keeps it operational and stable. But I have never seen a wormhole on the surface of a planet and for it to remain stable it must require an ungodly amount of power."
She saw their interest perk up at her odd and deliberate choice of words. Good.
"So, what happens if the wormhole destabilizes?" asked Rogers.
Lady Q smiled brightly. "It will begin to suck up the planet's surface right down to its highly radioactive core until there's nothing left." She ignored their startled expressions and kept walking.
"This risk is of course concerning, because it's possible that something is controlling this particular miniature, planet side wormhole." Let them chew on that for a while.
"So, it's not natural," said Lee. Lady Q resisted the urge to literally give him a gold star for a semi-original thought. She had just spelt it out for him.
"Correct," said Lady Q briskly. "Now, do you see why I need to go in there?"
"But pardon my words Lady Q, you're not exactly corporeal," said Rogers politely. "What could you possibly accomplish in there?"
Oh ye of little faith.
Lady Q smiled at him as they reached the others. "Never underestimate what a Q is capable of, Ensign Rogers." She turned to see Lee watching her suspiciously. Lady Q grinned mischievously at him.
#
Q Junior kept his guns ready as the platform kept rising. It was now ten minutes into the ride and the borg were yet to appear. It was making him very nervous. He turned to check on the orders and found Paul just behind him, studying him.
"So, your mother is topside?" For a moment, Q Junior was at loss for words as he wondered how Paul knew then it clicked.
"You eavesdropped on us."
Paul shrugged, clearly not bothered. "I stayed alive this long by keeping my eyes and ears open, besides you were in my hideaway where I had listening devices as well as sensors."
Q Junior nodded as he turned back to the face the edge of the exposed platform. "Fair enough." He hoped Paul would leave him alone but the cylon planted himself on Q's left.
"I just wonder what kind of a mother would send her son down here?"
Q Junior tried not to grit his teeth. "I told you, we really didn't have a choice. Our friends got grabbed so I dived in without taking permission."
"Guts and loyalty. Damn, you make a bloody good centurion." At his words, Red One who was on the far side swung his head round and Q Junior could have sworn that the centurion was glaring at Paul's back.
"How long have you been here?" asked Q Junior.
Paul stared at him. "And brains too, knowing when to change the subject."
"How long?" persisted Q Junior.
Paul sighed. "Five months, three weeks and five days." Q Junior stared at him.
"Alone?"
"Not really, I had Orion and the old age centurions," then Paul's grey expression darkened. "…then the borg bastards showed up and…" He stopped then raised a hand.
"Do you hear that?" whispered Paul. Then Q Junior heard it, a very faint, repetitive click-clank noise coming from beneath them.
Q Junior nodded, now worried for the others.
"Tell the others quietly," whispered Paul as he pointed his modified semi-automatic towards the edge of the platform. Q Junior lightly ran to the others, from Laura's expression, she had already heard them. Q warned the others before taking a position close to Paul.
The noise got louder and then on the left side of the platform, the first borg metallic arm slammed down on the platform from beneath. Laura ran up to it before Paul to say a word and she used her new laser-metal katana to slice the arm off. There was a clatter as the borg lost its balance and fell back down the shaft but more arms appeared and Laura continued to hack with them with frightening speed and a determined look on her face.
"Don't let them grab you!" warned Paul as in-front of him one of the new borg which had a Number Eight head emerged. He quickly shot it in the head. "And target the vulnerable area." He didn't have to spell it out that he meant headshots. Paul didn't want to give the borg any ideas.
"We are the borg, resistance is futile. We are the borg, resistance is futile." Paul gritted his teeth in annoyance as he shot rapidly at several borg who stuck their heads out. He really hated those words and knew that if he survived; he was going to need lots of therapy. Orion stayed beside him, quivering and tense, not barking so as not to distract the defenders of the most indefensible elevator in this underground base.
Oma tried to suppress her fear as she dismantled a borg whose body was halfway exposed, two appeared in his place and they both brought up their modified right arms. Her eyes widened. "Watch out for their phasers!" Even as she shouted, she clenched her outstretched right hand the right hands of the two borg compacted and exploded. Oma used her magnetism ability to slam the body parts turned projectiles into the three borg that showed up.
"Mutants detected. Secure and detain for assimilation." Paul almost froze. That was the first time, he ever heard that. What the frak was a mutant?! Then he heard the click-clank noise beneath his feet intensify as if the majority of the borg were now moving towards…Laura and Oma who were side by side on the left side of the platform.
Mutants. Was that what Laura and Oma were? Paul ruthlessly pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he ran to Q Junior and Red One.
"Watch our backs!" He glanced at Six and Natalie, the both of them were at the back of the platform shooting the borg in the head with cylon efficiency. When one was low on ammo; she would quickly load while the other covered her. Rinse and repeat. Well, at least these cylons were good for something. Kara was a few feet from them, using both hands guns with almost cylon efficency. Then a wave of borg rapidly crawled up the shaft wall until they were twenty feet above them on the left and turned at the same time to hurl themselves at Oma and Laura.
Paul barely had time to react before he heard Laura yell.
"Fastball special!"
Oma extended her left hand towards Laura, and made an upward motion and before Paul's disbelieving eyes, Laura suddenly levitated and was flung by an invisible sling towards the plummeting borg. As if in slow motion, Paul saw Laura use her new katana to slice and dice her way through the borg, dropping body parts and she seemed to be stepping on air by the time she reached the last target. Then the same 'force' grabbed her and dropped her back quickly and gently to the platform.
"Thanks," quickly said Laura to Oma before dashing to the edge of the platform as more borg stuck heads out.
"They have moved to the right side!" yelled Red One. Paul felt his heart rate climb. The borg were now changing tactics.
"Switch!" yelled Paul as he ran to the right side. Laura and Oma followed him and Q Junior and Red One switched. Paul kept shooting as more and more borg began to climb the wall possibly in an attempt to launch themselves again.
"Watch out below!" warned Laura. Paul felt his heart go cold when he heard the noise beneath their increase tremendously. There were going to be too many for them to deal with and he was already running low on ammo. He reached for his backpack, flung it to the floor as he knelt down to grab a clip. "Reload!" Q Junior passed him with a hand out and grabbed a clip and reloaded in a blur before going back to firing.
Part of Paul wanted to marvel at these 'children' but they were in a very precarious situation.
He looked up and the borg who had climbed the walls had stopped and seemed to be waiting for them to get closer and the forces beneath were yet to reveal themselves. The borg were going to charge them at the same time, one group from above and the second one from below.
"Get ready to change tactics!" yelled Paul. But in his heart; he knew they were all doomed. Might as well take as many of them with us.
"They are waiting for us to get in range." Said Red One who was using the telescope in his visor to observe those beneath them.
"I have an idea," said Oma grimly. She moved to the center of the rapidly rising platform.
"You're the target, Oma." Warned Red One.
Paul saw Oma smile coldly. "Perfect." She raised her right hand towards the borg above them while pointing her left towards the floor, then she closed her eyes as she began to levitate. Paul felt his hair rise all over his body as if in the midst of an electric storm and even Laura, Six and Natalie's hair were rising upwards. Orion pressed himself close to Paul's leg and he could feel his poor hound's terror mirror his own. There was a crackling noise as electricity arcs appear around the borg above them.
"We are the borg. Resistance is…." The chant of the borg above was cut off as they disintegrated into small metallic pieces and large fleshy bits and Paul heard a cracking noise beneath their feet as the hidden borg clinging to the bottom of the elevator disintegrated. There was a loud noise of several small metallic pieces falling from above and beneath them before blessed eerie silence.
Paul stood frozen as he stared at a clearly exhausted, pale sweating Oma who slumped to her feet. Q Junior ran to her and pulled out their med equipment while Laura stood guard.
"The borg…they have stopped coming," said Paul when he found the words. Six and Natalie were extremely pale as they stared at Oma. Red One had tilted its head and continued to observe Oma…as if in the presence of a very dangerous sentient weapon.
"Frak yeah!" yelled a jubilant Kara who made Natalie wince in shock. "And that is how you do it!" Her joyous expression was replaced by a worried one when she saw how tired Oma was.
"You alright ensign?"
Oma nodded weakly, silent for a moment.
"She needs rest," said Q Junior. Oma shook her head.
"Give…me…a stimulant." Paul wasn't sure he heard right, then he realized Q Junior was staring at her.
"Are you sure…?" began the hologram.
Oma nodded, her expression determined. "We don't have a choice." After a long moment, Q Junior sighed and used the spray-thingy on the ensign's neck. Paul noticed how her colour improved suddenly and how her eyes brightened. Now, he was very interested in whatever was in their medipack.
"This isn't over," said Laura, drawing everyone's attention.
Paul nodded solemnly. He checked his monitor. "We've got another eight minutes left before we reach the top and a total of twenty minutes before the bombs go off. Stay sharp everyone."
#
A small wormhole appeared close to the large underground nuclear reactor. Out stepped a pissed off Ares. He had been watching on the side lines and nothing had gone according to plan. The fools outside should have been inside by now and being assimilated as the cylon away teams had been. Then he noticed the bombs that cylon Paul had planted. This could seriously derail his grand scheme. Ares walked to the first bomb which had been strategically placed on the reactor's outer hull, hidden by paint similar to the color the hull.
Ares had to reluctantly admit that this Paul was smart…and devious. Then Ares smiled coldly; but he was the God of War and he will have his glorious battles in his name. He poked at the bomb and disengaged the firing mechanism. It won't go off when the time came and the chain reaction won't occur. Ares laughed softly at himself as he regarded his work. His grin widened as he used his sense to observe the befuddled fools outside who were staring at the second miniature wormhole. Ares wasn't bothered by any of them, soon they would all be borg and that would force the colonials and cylons to go through his giant wormhole when it was finally ready. Ares kept chuckling to himself as he made the second wormhole disappear and disabled the forcefield. His laugh got louder when the fools appeared stunned for a moment before heading into the complex.
"Now, back to my companion, I really couldn't have done all this without it." Still crackling like a mad forgotten god, Ares stepped back into his wormhole and it also winked out of existence once he disappeared.
Hi everyone! I hope you're all having a good week. Please enjoy this story as I try to complete it. Thanks again for all the reviews!*
