# Chapter 6 – Attack on the Stronghold

Minnik stood with Seven on the engineering deck of the Phoenix. They were still in orbit about the planet where they had discovered Voyager. The modifications to fit Voyager's warp drive into the Phoenix were complete and all the appropriate diagnostics had been run. They were ready to move on the Captain's command, and so she and Seven had little to do but wait. Minnik examined the Borg appendage at the end of her arm. In the past six years, she hadn't given it much thought. Now, the thought of having it removed both intrigued and scared her. "So you intend to have everything Borg removed?" she asked.

Seven nodded from her station. "I do."

"I spoke with the Doctor," Minnik continued. "He asked me to try and convince you to do your operations in stages. Stopping at certain points to let your body and systems adjust."

"Did he indicate that this will reduce the risk of removing all my Borg implants?" Seven asked.

"No. My perception is that he expects you to be satisfied at a certain point and the full set of operations will be unnecessary."

"And what have you decided?" Seven asked.

Minnik considered her answer while still adjusting the Borg appendage before her. Seven had obviously made up her mind and didn't want to discuss her situation any further. Minnik's situation was different. "The Kazon would not tolerate someone as disfigured as me. I would be discarded."

"Fortunately, we are not in a Kazon sect," Seven commented. "In fact, Captain Janeway considers you a valuable member of this crew."

"Indeed," Minnik said. "She was quite impressed when I refit the shuttle's warp drive and nacelles after someone ran it above specifications for several hours the other day. In fact, I did it largely by myself, since my superior officer was indisposed." Minnik smiled when Seven looked adequately sheepish.

"There are prosthetics that you could use," Seven said, apparently decided not to comment.

"Substituting one appendage for another," Minnik observed.

Seven frowned. "Not quite. Your Borg appendage serves no useful purpose outside a Borg vessel. The prosthetic you get from the Doctor could be fashioned to function as a normal hand."

"Not exactly like my original, I know. I spoke at length with the Doctor." Minnik let her arm fall to her side. "Did you know there was a Star Fleet officer who was assimilated by the Borg, and after he was liberated, all his Borg implants were successfully removed without a problem?"

"Yes. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise. He was Locutus of Borg, one of the few drones given a proper name. I was in the Collective when he was assimilated during the incursion into Federation space to test their capabilities."

Minnik became pensive. "I knew that. Sometimes I try not to remember." The Borg memories were there, if she went looking for them. Her Kazon memories from before her assimilation were there as well. In their own ways, both were difficult to remember. Ironically, the past five years on the planet and now on Phoenix had been the most fulfilling of her life. The constant search for food and water as a Kazon became irrelevant as a Borg drone. Specialized implants supplied all that was needed, with the required energy to make it all possible transferred during regeneration. Moreover, she could contribute, something a Kazon female typically couldn't do. "What do you suppose they're talking about?"

"They are undoubtedly planning the proposed rescue mission," Seven replied.

"Don't you think we all should be in on the planning?"

"I aided for a time when the maps were being created. Eventually, I would guess we will be called back in to offer input regarding the final plan."

"Has Chakotay said anything?"

"Only that he expects the rescue effort will be carried out soon."

Minnik looked about engineering, wondering how life would change when over a hundred new aliens were added to the crew. Most would go to Voyager, but would some come to the Phoenix? What would they think of her being Kazon? She remembered Seska and the Nistram's interaction with Voyager. Would they accept her?

"Have you decided?" Seven asked again.

"The Doctor says my operation will be like that Star Fleet officer. Apparently the whole process is in the Federation database, put there by the doctor who did the procedure. Do you suppose we'll end up in a Federation database?"

"The Doctor is a sophisticated collection of programs and sub-routines," Seven responded. "In effect, he is a Federation database, and so, we are already there."

"Well, anyway, the whole procedure will be relatively easy, according to the Doctor. I won't have a long recovery period." She touched to top of her head. "He says I'll even get my full head of Kazon hair back."

"You don't sound happy about that."

"You should see my hair," Minnik responded with a laugh. In truth, however, she felt guilty. Guilty that Seven's recovery would be measured in months, and perhaps years, instead of days. One part of her wanted to do as the Doctor suggested, and convince Seven not to proceed with the full operation. But another part knew exactly how Seven felt. She again raised her Borg appendage and examined it. "I've already asked the Captain," she confessed. "As soon as she approves, the Doctor will remove all my Borg implants as well."

#

S'par leaned over the holographic projection in front of them. She had just shown Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, and Saychek the layout of the stronghold and what she remembered of the disposition of the Vidiians throughout the compound. "The field generators are here, here, and here," she said, pointing to three areas on the map. "These first two cover the barracks where the prisoners are kept and the dilithium mine. The last one, their main command center." She pointed to the command center. "Once the shields are down, a full bombardment of the command center and surrounding area will take out most of the Vidiian Fragment."

"Regardless of what the Vidiians have done, we will not become murderers," Janeway replied.

"Besides, we only have a limited number of torpedoes," Saychek added. "We need to be discriminating on how we use them."

S'par then pointed to the barracks. "If we decide not to unleash the might of this warship on the Vidiians, I suggest we beam ourselves down to this point, where the barracks join. There will be some guards there, but we can quickly overwhelm them."

"There's only nine of us and hundreds of Vidiian soldiers," Chakotay commented. "A direct assault seems too risky. They can be on us in a moment."

"There are hundreds of prisoners," S'par countered. "If we free them, they will rise up and help us fight. We can set a defensive perimeter here, and defend this position and eventually launch an assault into their main command center."

"We have no idea of the prisoners' condition," Chakotay said. "I've seen how the Vidiians treat prisoners. They might be unable to aid us."

"I have seen how they treat prisoners as well," S'par barked. She didn't look happy with Chakotay.

Janeway decided it was time to end this exchange and refocus the discussion. "I agree with Chakotay. We have no idea of the prisoners' condition, and we can't rely on them. We should find a way to extract the prisoners with minimal contact with the Vidiians."

"The Vidiians must be punished," S'par countered.

Janeway shook her head. "I know how you feel, S'par. They have done terrible things. Our main objective here, however, is to free the prisoners."

"Perhaps we could use the transporters and beam them up to the Phoenix all at once after destroying the field generators?" Chakotay suggested.

Saycheck shook his head. "With Voyager, maybe. With the Phoenix, we'll be restricted to twenty at a time, maximum."

"I've already decided Voyager stays here," Janeway cut in. "It has no warp drive or impulse. Relying on Phoenix to tractor it about is just too risky. We could get the prisoners, and then be easily chased down."

Chakotay was doing some mental calculations. "If we assume two hundred or so prisoners, that means at least ten minutes over the site for a full evacuation using the transporters."

"Two hundred?" Janeway questioned.

"I can only assume we'll be freeing all the prisoners and not just the Voyager crew."

Janeway nodded. Of course they couldn't leave anyone behind. "Can we fit that many aboard the Phoenix?"

"It will be tight," Saychek agreed, "but doable. We'll have to have someone aboard the Phoenix coordinating each transport and where they rematerialize."

S'par laughed. "The main Vidiian force from the command center will be on us in less than five minutes," she said. "If the prisoners can't fight, the few of us that go to the surface won't be able to hold them back."

Janeway examined the map of the stronghold more carefully. There were three barracks arranged at ninety degrees from each other where the prisoners were kept. According to S'par, only two were being used. In the fourth direction was to the main command center of the stronghold about two hundred meters away. On the other side of the command center were the houses of the Vidiian Fragment. Courtyards, walking paths, pools. The Vidiians lived there in luxury. "We need a way to keep the Vidiians occupied and away from the prison barracks," Janeway commented. She turned back to the others and noticed Saychek leaning in his chair, his hand on his chin in thought. "I know that look," she said. "What are you thinking Saychek."

Saycheck leaned in to study the map more closely. "It occurs to me that we will be in a Borg vessel when we launch this assault," he began. "Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."

"What do you mean?" Chakotay asked.

"You said yourself during the outbrief of yours and Seven's reconnaissance. The inhabitants of the planet are none too fond of the Borg. If we pretended to be an invading Borg force, perhaps that is the distraction we need to give us time to evacuate the prisoners via the transporter."

"Deception?" S'par snarled.

"Yes," Saycheck responded. "We could rig the comm system to sound like a multi-voice Borg transmission for whatever the Captain says. After the Vidiians refuse to lower their shields, we'll knock out these two field generators leaving the one protecting the command center intact."

"You think the Vidiians will not venture to the barracks if they think they are still defending the main area of the stronghold from the Borg?"

"Precisely."

"There will still be some Vidiians on guard in and around the barracks," S'par commented. "If their prisoners start beaming up a group at a time, I can't imagine they'll not notice."

"But not that many guards if we time the assault correctly," Janeway countered. She sounded excited for the first time. "S'par, the first part of your plan to secure the barracks area we can accomplish. If we're able to distract the Vidiians, we won't have to worry about protecting ourselves from a counterstrike from the command center."

S'par glanced back at the map. "It might work," she said slowly, warming up to the idea. "I would suggest we somehow neutralize their sensors so they can't scan the Phoenix completely, or communicate outside the stronghold. That would help with the deception. They might believe it is a planet wide attack."

"Perhaps we could ionize the atmosphere above the stronghold before we begin," Chakotay suggested. "Not enough to interfere with the transporter, but enough to disrupt their sensors."

"A poleron burst into the upper atmosphere would be enough," Saychek agreed. "We could discharge as we approach the planet, but before we attract attention. Anything we do, however, will slow down the transporters."

"I think that's worth the risk," Janeway put in. She looked at the other three thoughtful. "I'd like Ak on the surface, but I also think he might be the best one to operate the transporters."

"I agree," Saychek said. "I suggest Kizati stay aboard as pilot as well."

"We'll need someone at tactical to manage the bombardment," Chakotay commented. "I think I should be on the surface, to make contact with the Voyager personnel first before they're beamed up. Saychek, how do you feel about staying with the Captain on the bridge?"

Saychek nodded.

S'par grunted. "There will only be five of us for the landing party."

"It will have to do," Janeway said after a time. "We will have the element of surprise." She nodded her head, making a decision. "That's the basic outline of our plan. Chakotay, work with Saychek and S'par on a timeline and present it to the rest of the crew for comment. When you all are satisfied, we will proceed at the earliest possible time."

#

The crew of the Phoenix was assembled on the bridge. Captain Janeway stood in the center and turned to look at all of them in turn. "Many of you have approached me concerning pursuing medical treatment to remove your Borg implants. The Doctor informs me there are some risks and a period of recuperation for each of you, some more so than others." She paused, and looked at Seven and Chakotay for a moment. "I fully support your decisions, and I intend to honor your wishes. But I must deny those requests at the present time. I need each of you now to pull off this rescue attempt on the stronghold, and I can't wait for the recovery period. I intend we move immediately.

"All of you have had a chance to look over the proposed rescue mission and comment. Your inputs have been invaluable. It's ambitious and dangerous, but I believe we have an obligation to make the attempt. Kizati informs me at top speed, we can be in position above the stronghold in eight hours. According to our calculations, our arrival time would be about four hours before their local dawn. S'par believes this to be the optimum time to extract the prisoners."

She again looked about the small group. No one complained. No one displayed the slightest apprehension. Janeway nodded in satisfaction. "We will proceed with the plan. In the eight hours we are approaching the stronghold, S'par will brief the away team on what to expect and what you need to do. Chakotay, work with Ak to discuss the logistics of when and where to beam the prisoners onto the Phoenix. Then I want each of you to get some rest and regenerate. Doctor?"

"I'm here Captain," the Doctor responded through the comm system.

"Keep Voyager safe for us. We'll be coming back shortly."

"Understood Captain."

Captain Janeway turned to her pilot. "Kizati, best speed to the stronghold."

"Aye Captain"

"The rest of you are dismissed. In eight hours, we launch our attack."

#

The Borg sphere exited warp well inside the system and continued on course directly to the fourth planet. No ships challenged their approach. In fact, the few small craft they monitored upon entering the system scattered and gave them a wide berth. The sphere went to the night side of the planet, and soon enough the illuminated limb of the planet disappeared over the horizon and darkness loomed before them. Below, some lights of an inhabited compound could be seen peppering the basin in the southern continent.

Before achieving orbit, the sphere discharged an innocuous poleron burst. The atmosphere above the southern continent became ionized and reflected and scattered electromagnetic energy trying to pass through. On the ground below, an auroral display danced in the night sky. Viewed from above, the Borg sphere was treated to a kaleidoscope of colors below and around them.

On the bridge of the Borg sphere, the mood was tense. Captain Janeway stood next to her command chair in the center, with Kizati at her pilot station and Saychek nearby. Kizati adjusted thrusters, and then turned to the Captain. "We're station keeping above the stronghold. I can hold this position for about an hour."

Janeway tapped her comm. badge. "Commander, is the landing party ready?"

"Yes ma'am," Chakotay responded. "Ak is standing by at transporter control and ready to beam us down and the prisoners back up."

Janeway turned to Saychek. "Let's get this started then. Open a channel and prepare torpedoes for surface bombardment." When Saychek indicated a connection had been established with the stronghold, she began.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile…"

#

Thank you scifiromance, Rono777, Djsmith and Alaster Boneman for your comments on the last chapter. Regarding the feasibility of Seven having all her Borg components removed, in a series where a person was split into her human and klingon halves, two people were combined to form a new person and then resplit, the ship gets stuck in a black hole and then escapes by going through a "crack" in the event horizon, and time itself was altered so the crew could get back within the seven year series limit, I think many things are possible...