RAGNAROK 2
Author: Rocky

"I need some help here!" Neelix yelled, or tried to, as he stumbled through the Sickbay doors. But his voice wasn't working very well; his words came out as a rasp. He couldn't muster up enough breath for a second effort.

The Doctor looked up from the patient he was working on, glancing from Neelix's soot-smeared clothes to Tuvok's badly burned body. "Good heavens, Mr. Neelix, what happened?"

"Fire, torpedo bay," Neelix gasped. "Tuvok-"

Immediately two of the medical staff came rushing forward and moved the Vulcan officer to a biobed. "Ensign Wildman, take over for me," said the Doctor and hurried over to the new patient. The diagnostic arch extended, shielding Tuvok from further view, as the Doctor began snapping out orders. "Mr. Lessing, I need-"

But what it was, Neelix did not hear. The whole room began to spin before his eyes. He lurched forward and would have fallen, but someone caught him and led him over to a vacant biobed. Through a blur, he recognized the features of Trish Gallagher.

"Just try to relax now, Neelix," she said, waving a diagnostic wand over him. She frowned. "You've got some bad burns on your hands and arms, but it's your blood gasses I'm worried about." He heard the hiss of a hypospray. "I'm giving you something for the pain, as well as a dose of tri-ox. It'll help your breathing."

He resisted her attempts to make him lie back. "Tuvok. How is he?" he whispered, though his throat hurt terribly.

"Shh. Don't try to talk," she said, wiping his face with a damp cloth, and then holding a cup of water to his lips. "Tuvok is in pretty bad shape, but not so far gone that he couldn't enter into a healing trance. It's not very effective against such extensive injuries, but it's preventing further damage from occurring."

Neelix remembered how Tuvok had lost consciousness while he was trapped under the fallen beam. "He's not in a coma, then?"

"No. And after he's stabilized, the Doctor will place him in a regeneration chamber." Gallagher finished running the dermal regenerator over the worst of Neelix's burns. "That's about all I can do. You need to lie still, though. Are you still having as much trouble breathing?" At his nod, she ran another diagnostic. "Your blood gasses haven't picked up, despite the tri-ox. I'm going to have to put you on artificial respiration until the Doctor has a chance to look at you."

After a few minutes, Neelix began to feel a bit better. Whatever Gallagher had given him seemed to be working. He attempted to sit up, although it made it harder to breathe. Holding the respirator mask tightly to his face, Neelix glanced around the room. His gaze fell on the bed next to him.

"Ensign Baytart?"

Immediately, Gallagher was back at his side. "Neelix, you need to lie down!"

"But Pablo...how is he?"

Gallagher shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid the prognosis isn't very good," she said softly.

"Captain, the torpedo launchers are back on-line!" Ayala reported.

"Janeway to Tuvok. I don't know how you pulled it off, but you did it!"

And not a moment too soon. The pyramid ship was in range, but standing between them and the Queen's ship was a large cube.

The captain leaned forward. "Prepare to fire on my order."

"Incoming transmission from the Taj," Kim said.

Janeway nodded and soon Korok's voice was heard. "Janeway, it has been an honor to fight by your side. Go forth now to victory!" There was a muffled shout in the background.

"The Taj is accelerating, Captain," Kim said.

Onscreen, they watched as the Borg cube moved toward them on an intercept course. Korok spoke one last time.

"Today is a good day to die," he said simply. The Taj rammed headlong into the cube. The resulting explosion was so bright, Janeway had to look away from the viewscreen.

No time now to mourn the fallen warrior. Korok's sacrifice had left Voyager with a clear shot at the Queen's vessel.

"Mr. Ayala, fire torpedoes!"

Three specially modified torpedoes, bearing their deadly weapon, slammed into the Queen's vessel.

"Direct hit."

The Queen's ship seemed to shimmer, then imploded on itself. Another brilliant flash lit up the viewscreen.

But even with the Queen destroyed, the battle was not yet over.

"Target another enemy vessel, Mr. Ayala. Fire."

They kept it up till there were no more torpedoes left. Gradually, Janeway became aware that all the shooting around them had stopped.

"We're receiving a transmission from the Borg," Kim said.

"Voyager. ..heavy damages upon our fleet. ..discontinue the hostilities..."

The message was so distorted it was difficult to catch the words, but Janeway had no doubt as to the meaning behind it.

"Are you saying you wish to surrender?" A burst of static was the only response. Janeway turned to Kim. "Harry, can you clean up that transmission?"

"I'm trying to, Captain, but it's difficult. Now that the Queen has been destroyed, the connections between the drones appear to have been severed."

"I wonder if they can even be considered a Collective any more," Chakotay mused.

"The enemy vessels are powering down weapons, Captain," Ayala said.

"Lieutenant Kim, contact the rest of the Alliance fleet," the captain said. "This fight is over."

Epilogue

/Captain's log. Stardate 54606.6 Our 'final' conflict with the Borg is over. Yes, it's over, and unlike many others, we've lived to tell the tale./

"Is this seat taken?"

Janeway looked up from the old-fashioned pen and paper she was using to record her log and smiled. "Now it is."

"Thanks." Chakotay took a quick look around the room as he seated himself. "The Mess Hall crowd is starting to thin out-most people seem ready to call it a night. Except you, of course."

"Except me," she agreed and bent her head over her paper once more. He didn't seem to think it was strange to find her here, as opposed to her Ready Room or quarters. She was grateful, not sure she could really explain what impulse had led her here this evening.

He glanced over at what she'd written so far. "'We won, but I'm not sure it's not a Pyrrhic victory.'" He sighed softly, and with a hint of reproach said, "The Borg as we knew them are finished, Captain."

"They haven't been totally destroyed," she countered.

"But they've been so severely weakened they won't present a threat to anyone for a long time." Chakotay took a sip from his mug. "The last of the Alliance fleet will be leaving the area in the next six hours. Their next stop is the Royal Complex. I think it's safe to assume that there won't be any more Queens."

"Perhaps," she said grudgingly. "But it would be too simplistic to assume that there won't be other attempts to form a group link, a composite mind. Look at Riley's New Cooperative. That type of group consciousness presents an attractive alternative, a safe haven, for drones suddenly left rudderless. And perhaps they will be the seed from which a new Borg Collective will rise once more..."

A shadow crossed his face. "There's always that possibility, of course, but I prefer to think that after their recent experiences the drones will value their freedom too much for that to happen."

She shook her head. "Ever the optimist, Chakotay."

"You might try it sometime," he said with a smile.

She made a face, but gamely lifted her mug to him in a toast. "Here's hoping the survivors of the recent battle have learned something about cooperation and will be able to forge a new type of life for themselves that does not involve preying on those weaker than themselves."

"Hear, hear."

"On the other hand," she said, her frown returning, "they may not. The Trefla provides a disheartening example."

He gave her an exasperated look. "You call that optimism?"

"Realism." She sighed. "And don't forget there's still another Borg fleet out there somewhere, although doubtless they've been thrown into chaos with the outcome of our battle and the demise of the Queen." She got up and went to the viewport. "I think it's a safe assumption that though our part is finished, the Borg Civil War will continue for some time."

"Sickbay to Janeway."

Janeway looked up, momentarily startled. She turned away from the window. "Go ahead, Doctor."

"I have the final casualty count, Captain. I will have the official report on your desk by 0800 tomorrow morning, but I thought you would like to a verbal report now."

Janeway shuddered involuntarily. Unobtrusively, Chakotay moved closer to her. "Yes, Doctor. Go ahead."

"Altogether 42 crewmen were recipients of medical attention, 28 in Sickbay itself, and the remainder at the triage stations set up on decks 6, 10 and 13. Injuries ranged from slight-cuts and bruises-to more severe. Five patients currently remain in Sickbay, including Commander Tuvok who sustained third degree burns over 50% of his body. He is resting comfortably in a regen chamber at present and should be released from Sickbay in another 48-72 hours."

Janeway nodded, grateful it wasn't worse. "How is Neelix doing?"

"Mr. Neelix suffered second and third degree burns to his hands and face. A bigger problem was smoke inhalation, as he has only one lung. The other 'guests' are Crewman Morrow, recovering from a crushed clavicle and damaged vertebrae and spinal cord, Ensign Lang, who required surgery to remove a ruptured spleen and repair a perforated gastrointestinal tract and Ensign Tabor, who sustained a subdural hemotamoa. All are expected to make a complete recovery."

"That's good to hear," the captain said quietly. "Now tell me the bad news, Doctor."

He didn't mince words. "Three deaths: Ensigns Pablo Baytart, Beth Ashmore and George Redman." He didn't wait for a response. "Be sure to get some rest, Captain. Doctor out."

Janeway took a deep breath, but didn't say anything further.

Chakotay took her hand and pulled her gently toward the table once more. "B'Elanna says repairs will be extensive but compared to what we've been through lately, shouldn't be too bad-the warp drive will be back online again soon and in the meantime we've got impulse power," he said reassuringly. He hadn't relinquished his grip on her hand. "We've been banged up worse and somehow always come through."

She glanced down at their entwined hands, then back at the endless vista of stars. "Yes, we've somehow always come through."

FINIS

Coming Next...Ghosts & Shadows by Andra Marie and Christina

While B'Elanna struggles to integrate three alien technologies into one workable system and get the transwarp functional, Janeway attempts to reconcile her guilt over the lives that have been lost over their nearly 7 year journey.