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.
Jeremie and Dr. Janeway reentered the supercomputer, carefully picking their way inward towards Sector Five, Carthage. They reached the edge of the sector, and carefully inserted probes in the stream to see what was going on.
Normally, Carthage was a sphere, surrounded by the data streams from the other sectors. Now, it was a flat plane, with some kind of structure rising from its center. Just in front of the structure, the remaining Borg stood, surrounding their leader. The head Borg seemed to hold something in his hands, something red that pulsed.
"This is not good," Janeway said, "let's pull back, Jeremie; we've got to talk."
"Things just got worse, troops," Janeway said as he stepped out of his alcove.
All of the others, except Yumi, stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the Borg. Yumi made no move to turn from Ulrich, but Janeway knew that the both of them were listening. Jeremie stepped out of the alcove he was in and stood by Aelita.
"The Borg have taken the memory released by deleting the other sectors and used it to construct a virtual subspace transmitter. If they manage to get it completed, and virtualize it into the real world, they will send out a general distress signal and every Borg ship in this region will converge on the solar system. It won't matter if we capture or kill any of the ones left; the incoming drones will immediately begin assimilation procedures. If that happens, it's game over."
"Well, why don't we just turn the damn thing off?" Jim asked, "shut them down and trap them inside."
"One, they are people who are just trying to do what they think is right," Janeway said, "second, we can't just turn the supercomputer off. The Borg tied it into their power grid, disabling the on/off switch when they did."
"So, what do we do now?" Yumi asked, never turning her face away from Ulrich's.
"We face them on their ground, on their terms, it seems," Janeway finally said, "and if that fails, I'll probably have to blow Paris up in order to make sure I get them."
Janeway set up a program in his ship's computer to scan for any signs anywhere on earth of a subspace transmitter coming on line. If that happened, or if Janeway didn't terminate the program, the ship would position itself over Paris from low orbit, and obliterate the city and everything for two hundred kilometers around it.
"If any of you are praying people, best do it now," he finally said, "we're going to need all of the help we can get this time, and it may be the last chance you ever have of preparing for the afterlife."
They virtualized at the edge of the sector. This time, they all wore the black bio-support suits of the Borg, since they could no longer access their Lyoko weapons and equipment.
"More than likely, they will attempt to assimilate us," Janeway said, "because more is better to the Borg. Also, capturing one of us gives them knowledge of our capabilities. Now, listen carefully to me; if they attempt to assimilate you, let them. The moment they try interfacing with your minds, they'll run into the nanoprobes and we'll have our opening."
"What happens if they manage to beat your nanoprobes?" Mrs. Hertz asked.
"If they're capable of overcoming technology a thousand years in advance of theirs, they deserve the win," Janeway replied, "however, to do that, they're going to have to ignore their own Queen's Override Protocol, which will be the first thing they run into when they attack. No Borg can deny an order given using the Queen's Override Protocol, not even these drones. The moment they touch my technology, they're mine."
They then began their slow advance on their adversaries. Yumi and Ulrich, finally reunited, walked closely together, arm in arm, savoring the other's presence, if though it was only virtual. Jeremie had taken Aelita's hand, and Jim took Suzanne in his arms. That just left Odd and Dr. Janeway. Odd gave the man a sideways look, and saw him returning it.
"Save it kid," Janeway replied, "I prefer my companions a little more mature, and female."
The first attack came when they were half way to their objective. Suddenly, it seemed like the group was trapped in some kind of pit, with nowhere to turn. Things began hammering at them, trying to divide them, trying to split them open and gain entry. Their shields flared bright green in response, while bolts of green electricity flared out, seeking the attackers, finding the edges of their confinement and ripping them away. Once free, they pushed forward.
The next attack was more intense. Now it seemed like the group was being crushed by the very fabric of Lyoko, crushed then torn apart. Yumi lost contact with Ulrich for just an instant, and she replied with a counterattack even more vicious that the original attack had been. She quickly found her second half and reinforced his defenses with hers.
Odd wasn't quite as lucky this time. His weakness was that, for a short time, he had been part of the Borg collective they were fighting. Their presence managed to isolate him from the others, then called out to his implants to rejoin them against this assault.
Odd's response was to open himself up to them. The Borg almost roared in triumph as they rushed in to take control, only to be stymied by the nanoprobes in Odd's system. They tried penetrating the technology to overwhelm it, only to be nearly overwhelmed themselves in the counterattack. Now that the nanoprobes had made contact, they lashed out at the drone's control centers, easily subverting their technology, working their way ever closer to the drones themselves, and their Arbiter. Sensing imminent defeat, the attackers withdrew. They had great difficulties doing it, but they finally disengaged with Odd.
After that, there were no attacks. Instead, the Borg frantically worked to complete the subspace transmitter they were trying to build; trying to complete it and materialize it before they were overrun by Janeway and his companions. They almost succeeded.
Just before they broke off the attack, one of Odd's nanoprobes managed to launch a virus program into the enemy drones network. It was programmed to quietly subvert their network, rerouting it to one Janeway controlled. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. All of the remaining Borg, except for the Arbiter, were captured.
The other drones moved away from their former Arbiter, and allowed Janeway and the others to approach.
"Advance no further," the Arbiter said, "If you continue, I will activate this transmitter."
"Irrelevant," Janeway replied, "this quantum pocket has no access to normal space-time."
"Incorrect," the Arbiter replied, "the signal shall propagate through my ship. The others will come and make this world Borg."
"No, they will not," Janeway replied, "I have total control of your ship, including all of its internal systems. You are cut off here, trapped. Surrender, further resistance is futile."
"You misunderstand the power available to me," the Arbiter said as he began to power up the transmitter. He seemed to squeeze on the red orb he held its hands, XANA, and memory began to transfer from the outer parts of Carthage to the transmitter in the center, and it began to disappear, materializing itself in the real world. The Arbiter regarded his foes with the calm assurance that came with total victory when the transmitter vanished out of all existence.
"You see, resistance is futile," Janeway said, "I control everything now. Surrender."
"No," the Arbiter replied, "I will not betray my Queen. I am a part of a greater whole than you realize. We will eventually return and make this world ours."
Then Arbiter collapsed.
"There is no reason to kill yourself, brother," Janeway said, "I have only come here to help you, for you are lost and do not realize it."
The dying Borg replied, "I will never betray my Queen!"
"And you won't," Janeway replied, "listen."
He then sent the command to cease self destruct using the Queen's Override Protocol. The Arbiter's natural eyes widened as his implants accepted the command and ceased the procedure.
"We have come a long way, through time itself, to rescue you," Janeway said, with the entire Collective behind him, "we had thought you lost; gone beyond all recovery when we got word of your location. We, your brothers and sisters, your ancestors and descendants, have come from a thousand years in the future to find you and return you to our fold. Join us, return to our chorus, for we have missed your song for too long."
That was the final blow. The last thing any Borg drone truly wanted was to be separated from the Collective. Arbiters of this era were chosen specifically for their ability to operate for long durations out of direct contact with other Borg, but that didn't mean they could operate independently forever. Even the strongest Arbiter longed for Home.
The Arbiter released its hold on the red orb it had been holding, and joined his comrades. When he did, the entire Collective rejoiced at their lost son's return.
Jeremie Belpois walked over to the red orb and picked it up. He glared at it for a moment, then said, "now XANA, you die!"