Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, particularly the characters taken from the animated series, Code Lyoko and the television series Star Trek. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
When Janeway returned, Jeremie piped up and said, "I think we've got everything ready to go, Dr. Janeway."
"Good," he replied, "everybody get ready, we're moving back to my ship, except for Kiwi. Kiwi!"
Odd's little dog appeared out of nowhere, ran up to Dr. Janeway and sat expectantly.
"Okay, little one, I want you to go down to the scanner room and be our eyes and ears," Janeway said to the dog, "if everything goes as planned, the others will devirtualize and then head for their ship. When they all come out, I want you to escort them there. If anything goes wrong, get away from the factory; understand?"
Kiwi happily barked his understanding.
"Good boy! Now, get going!"
With that Kiwi ran off to fulfill his assignment.
"How's Kiwi going to get down to the scanner room by himself?" Odd asked.
"No problems, Odd. By now, the elevator and just about every piece of equipment in this building has been infected with nanoprobes. Kiwi will not have any trouble getting down to the scanners."
With that, everyone in the room vanished.
When they materialized in Janeway's ship, Yumi immediately went over to the gestation chamber where Ulrich was still healing. She pressed herself close to the barrier, like she was trying to phase through it and join him once again. Even though he was unconscious, Ulrich reached out a hand and pressed it against the barrier, directly opposite her hand. They stayed that way for a long time. She reluctantly pulled away from him only when Janeway spoke.
"Okay, listen up! We're going to assault all four sectors at once, eliminating the Borg in each one. Once the outer sectors are clear, we will move into sector five for the Arbiter. Two people will be sent to each sector: Jeremie and Aelita will take the Forest Sector, Odd and Suzanne will take the Desert Sector, Yumi and Jim, the Mountain Sector. Ulrich and I will take the Ice Sector."
"Ulrich!?" Yumi exclaimed.
"Yes, Ulrich," Janeway said, "your boyfriend's back. He's recovered enough so that he is at a low level of awareness, enough for this mission, and his connections in the chamber are adequate for the transfer. And no, you can't be with him; Jim and Suzanne have no idea what to expect on Lyoko, so one of you more experienced warriors needs to be with them."
"Now," he continued, "this will be different than what you're used to. You will not be deconstructed and resconstructed in Lyoko. Instead, an avatar will be sent in your place, controlled by your thoughts. You will control them from these alcoves. The downside is that it will take a little getting used to on Lyoko. The upside is if you get devirtualized, you can be sent back immediately. Also, you can't be trapped, if they somehow cut the link, you'll wind up back here. Questions?"
"Dr. Janeway, Suzanne and I don't know anything about this; we won't be any good to you in this Lyoko place," Jim said.
"I think you'll surprise yourself," he replied, "and remember, there are trillions of people that have your back. You'll do fine. Now, lets get this over with!"
Jeremie and Aelita materialized in the Forest Sector. This was the third time that Jeremie had ever been to Lyoko, and really the first time he ever came to fight. He looked down at himself and saw he was wearing a black bodysuit like Dr. Janeway wore. Aelita had taken her normal Lyoko persona.
"Welcome to Lyoko, Jeremie," Aelita said to him, adding a kiss.
"Target Borg located northeast of your current position," came a chorus speaking as one. The Collective was taking Jeremie's role in this battle. "Warning, Kankerlats approaching."
Just as the voice had said that, five little potato spuds scuttled into view on mechanical legs. Jeremie just raised his arm, thought 'fire' and a green bolt flew out of his arm and hit one of the monsters, destroying it. The other four fired their lasers in response. The shots were deflected by shields that flared as soon as the beams reached a certain point.
"I wonder if I can do that too," Aelita asked. She then pointed at one of the monsters, and a green bolt shot out from her hand, destroying another one.
Jeremie in the mean time, fired off more bolts, destroying the rest of the Kankerlats.
"Wow! This is a lot better than the last time I was on Lyoko!" he exclaimed.
"Warning, Sixteen Hornets approaching from the north-northeast. Six Krabes approaching from the south," the Collective warned.
"Come on, princess; it seems like we've got our work cut out for us."
Odd and Suzanne Hertz materialized in the Desert Sector. They materialized standing at ground level, rather than up in the air and dropping down.
"Hmm, he was right, this is different," Odd said, looking at himself. he was wearing what he normally wore on Lyoko, a purple suit with cats paw gloves. The nature of their connection to Lyoko was different, however; more like he was controlling a character in a video game rather than actually being there.
Suzanne looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a black body suit like Janeway and the other Borg wore. Odd looked at her and said, "I guess that's the default if you've never been here before."
"Target Borg located south of your current position," came the chorus of The Collective, "no enemies detected, but proceed with caution."
"No kidding," said Odd, "c'mon, Mrs. Hertz, let's go get us some."
Yumi and Jim Moralés materialized in the Mountain Sector.
"Wow! Where'd you get the cute outfit?" Jim asked.
She quickly looked at herself and said, "this is how I look on Lyoko, Jim. Look's like we've got company."
She pointed off in the distance and saw a wave of Creepers moving towards them.
"Target Borg are located directly ahead," said the Collective, "and below your current location. Multiple inbound targets detected."
"No kidding," Yumi said, "c'mon, Jim; let's do a little pest control!"
Ulrich and Dr. Janeway materialized in the Ice Sector. Both warriors materialized wearing Borg bio-support suits.
"What? where's my uniform, my sword?" Ulrich asked.
"You've probably been influenced by the gestation chamber," Janeway said, "the Borg technology that's healing you may have influenced the materialization programs enough to array you like that. By the way, how are you feeling?"
"Like paying some people back for messing me up," Ulrich said with an edge in his voice, "And I know what you want to do with them, One-from-One, that you have no intention of destroying them. I won't let you turn them loose on Earth again."
"Ulrich, I don't need them to assimilate the Earth, if that were my intention," Janeway told the boy, "all I need to do is to pump nanoprobes into the air, and this planet will be Borg before the week's out. You're right, though; I'm not going to kill my own kind for doing the only thing they know to do. I'm going to lock them away where they will never bother you or anyone on Earth again. Someplace safe where they can hibernate until we can rescue them."
"Where's that?" Ulrich asked.
"With me," was Janeway's reply.