Salvage Work
(reposted due to technical issues)
Voyager sat off the cube with an escape course programmed into the helm should it suddenly start to move. Sensors checked every part of it against known dimensions in the database and the crew made preparations to board the cube in order to inspect components. When it came to deciding who was going to go over at first, Naomi went with the Doctor on account of his holographic form which would be immune to any pathogens they had been unable to detect. Half an hour before he was due to beam over, Icheb was still instructing him on important things to look for whilst onboard the cube. The plan that Icheb had drawn up and approved by Naomi involved getting to a processing centre and reviewing all the information contained in its sensor logs. If they had to leave in a hurry, then at least they would have a rough idea of Borg ship locations, patrols and any battle sites which they should avoid. It was only after the navigational data was transferred to Voyager for later review would they begin salvage work. At the right time, he and the Doctor walked to the transporter room where Icheb handed over a phaser to the hologram.
"Might I remind you that I save lives – not take them" the Doctor said.
"We have scanned the ship numerous times, but I believe that Naomi would say 'Better to be safe then sorry'. Please take it" and the Doctor took it from Icheb with a small smile. "Icheb to the Bridge"
'This is the Bridge' came Mezoti's voice.
"The Doctor is ready to beam over to the cube"
'Naomi here. If you see anything threatening, then I want you to signal for a quick beam out' Naomi said.
"Understood" replied the Doctor.
'Lowering shields for transport' Mezoti said, and the transporter console beeped twice.
"Energising" and the Doctor was beamed over to the cube. "Transport complete" said Icheb.
'Keep a good lock on him'
"Aye, Captain" Icheb said.
# # # # #
"Damage report" Naomi turned in her chair to look at Mezoti manning the Ops station.
"Azan and Rebi have got starboard phasers on line again. However they report the replacements can not get above 55% power" her friend said.
"Can they do anything about it?" Naomi asked her.
"No" came the reply. "The phaser power conduits are coated with a non replicateable material to stop them from being copied by hostile forces" and Naomi could see the sense in that. It stopped Starfleet's weapons from being scanned and copied, though she wished that wasn't the case right now.
"Very well. Have the boys take a break for ten minutes before starting the repairs to Deck 5" Naomi ordered.
'Doctor to Voyager' came the Doctor's voice over the comm link.
"Naomi here. Go ahead"
'I have located the processing centre, and I'm downloading the files to Voyager's computer now' and Mezoti's console started beeping.
"We're getting it now" Naomi said. "Have you been able to discover why the cube was just left here?" she asked.
'No' came the reply. 'The Borg appear to have whipped the computer core before activating the self destruct. I have been able to ascertain the status of the vital components' the Doctor added.
"And?"
'Warp drive has been completely destroyed, shields are inoperable but the emitters might salvageable and weapons are offline but useable' the Doctor said.
"Is that it?" asked Naomi.
'According to this display, there is a functioning Transwarp coil onboard' and Naomi and Mezoti gasped.
'Icheb to the Doctor' came the Brunali's voice. 'Did I hear you correctly?' he asked.
'You did, Icheb. I am no engineer, but I believe there are a lot of materials and components that you bring over to the ship and install on Voyager to get home quicker' and Mezoti's console beeped again.
"Download complete" she announced. "Shall I send a copy to the transporter room for Icheb to study?" the girl asked.
"No… I think we all better talk about this in the conference room. Have Azan and Rebi meet us there in half an hour. Doctor, its time to leave for now. Icheb, beam him back aboard" Naomi issued the orders like a seasoned veteran.
'One moment' said the Doctor.
"Is something the matter?" asked Naomi, glancing down at the screen next to the chair.
'There is nothing to be concerned about. I just wanted to bring some tissue samples aboard for testing' and Naomi thought about it before allowing it and having Icheb beam the Doctor directly to Sickbay from the cube.
'He is aboard' said Icheb after a few moments.
"Come up here, Icheb. We need to talk about this. I want you to go over the data as much as you can and give me a report in half an hour's time. You know what I want" Naomi said.
'I am on my way' said Icheb.
"I'll be in the ready room" said Naomi to Mezoti. "You have the bridge" and the other girl nodded.
"Aye" and with that, Naomi walked into the ready room to work. The girl had grown up quite a bit since the deaths of the crew, and she tried to be a bit like Captain Janeway. Naomi had promised to complete Janeway's promise to get the ship back to the Alpha Quadrant, though there were no members of the original crew – bar the EMH who technically wasn't a crewmember according to Starfleet. Naomi decided to review the fuel status and how far they could travel at the average cruising speed. The girl was certain that with the Transwarp drive recovered from the cube, they could go even further then with the standard warp. She wasn't sure though how much fuel it would consume, so she left that to Icheb and the other former borg drones to sort out. As it was, Voyager could go as far as 100 light years with the currant levels at Warp 6.5, but that was assuming no issues like alien attacks or what Naomi called "Space Weather". She was so absorbed into her work that she lost track of time and was surprised when the comm twittered.
"Naomi here" she said, tapping her comm badge.
'We're all waiting for you' said Mezoti.
"Oh the meeting…" Naomi said. "I'll be there in a minute" and she saved the work, shut off the console and left the ready room.
# # # # #
"… and now the report on the cube's systems" said Icheb. The monitor changed to show a cut away of several sections of the cube with pulsing dots in different colours. "According to information taken from both the cube and the scans from Voyager, we have been able to determine that there is about 15% of the cube that we can recover in terms of equipment. This includes shield emitters, sensors, power conduits and the transwarp coil" and the mentioned parts appeared on the screen.
"What about weapons?" asked Naomi. "If we face another attack, I would like to do so knowing that we can defend outselves properly. We are undermanned as it is" she added.
"Disrupter beams were rendered useless, however several of the torpedo magazines still have torpedoes in them. With you permission, I will begin transporting them to the ship" Icheb said.
"Good work" Naomi said. "Doctor, any ideas as to the reason some of the borg did not abandon ship?" she asked.
"According to my toxicology tests, there was a virus simuler to the one that Icheb was the carrier of" replied the hologram. "However, those drones were isolated from the collective's mind and the cube ordered to detonate after they had abandoned in the sphere" he added.
"It seems that the drone's infection spread to the cube's systems and aborted the sequence" Mezoti said. "Which, of course, is all the better for us" she added.
"Azan and myself can begin to remove parts as soon as you wish" Rebi said.
"Better get it started now" Naomi said. "What is your estimated time to completion?" the girl asked.
"Several hours" Azan said.
"That long?" Naomi asked.
"Indeed" said Icheb. "Although the cube is on minimal power, most components are still charged. It would be advisable to wait for them to be completely drained of power before removing them" and Naomi nodded at this. She trusted Icheb on this bit of information.
"Very well" she said. "Now about the information taken from the navigational logs" the girl continued, "Have you been able to discover any useful information?" and Mezoti nodded.
"It seems that this area has a number of patrolling cubes and probes. I believe that with the information, we can avoid most of the ships. However, there is something I wish to ask your permission for" she said.
"Go ahead"
"Our alcoves were damaged during the attacks. While they have not been affected so far, it would be advisable to get spare parts for them. I would like to take apart eight alcoves on the cube to give us enough" Mezoti said. "I would also like to check if there are any power sources the Borg captured. They may have taken them with them, but it would still be worth a look" and Naomi understood what she was saying.
"I assume that you mean to use anything that you find to power the alcoves" and Mezoti nodded.
"It could help out the power they take up. Each of the alcoves uses 30 Megawatts of power, and with all five active, it would take 150" Icheb said.
"Can you turn Seven's old one off?" asked the Doctor.
"I am afraid not" said Icheb. "Seven's alcove is the alcove that controls ours. If hers was to be shut down, all of the information stored in the units would be lost completely" he added.
"Well let's get on with the task of salvaging what we can" Naomi said. "Dismissed" and when she stood, the others did so automatically. Her four friends knew what they were doing, so Naomi remained to man the bridge. Sensors showed nothing in range, so she called up a few simulations to test herself in a battle if none of the others could help her. She lost all of them, but she was still able to inflict severe damage to the enemy ship – even though one time she flew Voyager into the bows of the Romulan warbird. From time to time, she beamed over supplies from the cube to the cargo bays for temporary storage.
# # # # #
"Damn it…" said Mezoti under her breath as a console sparked and blew out.
"What happened?" asked Azan.
"I was attempting to remove the secondary data transfer cable from the console when it shorted out" Mezoti said.
"Can you get anything from this?" Azan asked, and he gave it a few experimental pokes.
"Everything has been depolarised" Mezoti wiped her hands on the replicated overalls she wore. "I'll have to go down three decks and attempt the same thing" and she started packing up her tools.
"Keep in contact" Azan said as she walked out of the chamber. He watched her go before going back to his task of removing shield emitters from their slots in the bulkhead.
'Voyager to Away Team' Naomi's voice came over the comm link.
'Icheb here. Is something the matter?' asked the oldest of the former drones.
'No, but I wanted a progress check on what was going on' Naomi said.
'Work is progressing slowly but steadily. I believe we may only be an hour over our original time of completion' Icheb said.
"Azan here" said the boy as he tapped his badge. "One of the consoles fused and depolarised. Mezoti has gone down three decks in order to obtain the required parts. Because of the large amounts of power, she is unable to contact you directly" he added.
'How is Rebi?' asked Naomi. 'I haven't been able to contact him either'
"I do not know" said Azan hesitantly. "He should have heard your hail. I shall attempt to locate him" but Icheb's voice came over the channel.
'I have finished my current task. I will go locate Rebi and obtain a progress report' he said.
'Keep me informed, Naomi out'
'Icheb to Azan. How long until you have removed the secondary gyrodyne relay?'
"I have not yet begun that task. The shield emitters are harder to remove then I expected them to be. I estimate ten minutes until I begin removing the relays" Azan said.
'Very well. Complete your tasks while I search for Rebi. Icheb out' Azan continued his work whilst talking to Mezoti who had reached the needed console.
"After I have finished my tasks, would you require… would like you some help?" asked Azan.
'Thanks, Azan. I think that would be needed…' Mezoti was cut off by Icheb shouting.
'ICHEB TO VOYAGER! MEDICAL EMERGENCY! TWO TO BEAM DIRECTLY TO SICKBAY!'
'What is going on?' asked Mezoti over the comm link.
"I am uncertain" said Azan.
'Naomi to Azan and Mezoti. Stop what you're doing. I'm beaming you back to the ship' and a few moments later, Azan was beamed away and deposited in Sickbay along with a rather grubby looking Mezoti. Icheb was hovering a short distance away from the operating table where the Doctor rushed around attending to Rebi who had a large bleeding cut to his forehead. Azan battled down the odd feeling to run to his twin's side.
"This is no good" said the Doctor, and he turned to face Icheb. "I need you to assist me" he said.
"I have no medical qualifications" said Icheb.
"Yes… well you just became a nurse. Let's go!" and he dragged Icheb over to the table. Just as Naomi arrived at Sickbay, the Doctor asked everyone to leave while he and Icheb worked. They did so, and Azan and Mezoti went to get themselves cleaned up.
# # # # #
Mezoti stripped off and stood under the water shower and let it unwind and massage her aching muscles. As it did that and also cleaned the grime off that had clung to her like a second skin. Water showers were quite rare on Voyager as well as most other Starfleet ships, but one or two rooms had them. When it was clear that they would be by themselves, Naomi had said they could all pick their own rooms as a place of sanctuary. The boys had gone for rooms near the cargo bay where they normally lived, but Mezoti had picked one with a real water shower near Naomi's quarters – the girl having refused to take Janeway's old quarters. As she stood under the water, Mezoti forgot about Rebi who had suffered nothing more then a fractured skull and a few cuts and bumps, and allowed her mind to think about what she had read about Norcadians and their development. As she did so, the girl let her hand drop downwards between her legs…
A/N:
Well after a break of several months, I have updated with a new chapter!
To bring you all up to date, the crew were killed by a pathogen, but Naomi and borg kids survived. They effect repairs and bury the crew before heading back to the Alpha Quadrant. They meet up with some Norcadian ships who think they have kidnapped Mezoti (she's a member of their race) and there is a battle which ends up with a few ships disabled, one defiantly blown up and numerous casualties. After they have set off, they detect a Borg cube sitting dong nothing and so they begin salvage work.
Naomi is settling in to her new role as Captain very well so far.
Regarding Mezoti, this was something discussed at great length by me and XRaiderV1 though many nights and he suggested to me that I show Mezoti going through the Norcadian version of puberty, as should the rest of the kids. However, we came up with an interesting plot idea, so you'll have to wait a while. And if anyone from the fanfiction staff happens to read this, then rest assured we have worked it out in such a way that it passes your ratings and standards. There will be no explicit stuff going on, but I shall mention it in passing between the Doctor and Mezoti. Tell me what you think of this please - sometimes even *I* need your help!
Now if you all wait a little while – about a month/two months – then you will get multiple new chapters from me regarding updates from me in the following genres: Harry Potter, HarryPotter/Worst Witch, Lazytown, Star Trek Voyager, Battlestar Galactica and maybe even a little Power Rangers if you're all very lucky. If anyone has any good plot ideas (or really bad ones lol), then send them in.
Please review - reviews make me happy and smiling and bubbly and will help stoke my mind for another chapter - possiblly involving the Borg.
Regards
Robert
Pixel And Stephanie's real name for those who didn't know!