STAR TREK/THE REIGN: HIVE MIND

Fan fiction Crossover by Lance Berry

CHAPTER 5: OUT OF THE FRYING PAN…

"And I'm just supposed to let you leave with our flagship?" General Hackert was saying in astonishment, not quite certain he had heard Picard correctly.

"General," Picard replied as quickly yet as civilly as he could manage, "What lies on the other side of that tear in space will make fighting the Calvorians the equivalent of taking on a pack of kindergarteners, should that ship choose to enter your dimension. Even with the upgrade my engineer has made to the Horizon's systems, I'm not sure if we can stop it. I am certain though, that your Heavy Cruisers, at their current power levels, are nowhere near up to the task! We have to take the Horizon through that opening and at least attempt to keep the Borg on that side. They've already done enough damage in our universe—we can't allow them to cross into another!"

Hackert considered Picard's words, his demeanor, very cautiously. He checked something on his dsp, then said, "In spite of the rocky start we got off to, I can tell you're a damn fine captain, Jean-Luc. The three Heavy Cruisers that were supposed to detain you—the Prestige, Brooksfield and Atlantis—are only moments away from the battle site. I'll order them to rendezvous with you instead, escort you through to your reality and aid you in any way necessary."

"With all due respect, General, you need every ship available to—"

"The battle's going well enough," Hackert said firmly, cutting him off. "And if these 'Borg' are as deadly as you say they are, you're going to need all the help you can get. Transmit the schematics on the tactical upgrades you made to the Horizon, and I'll send it to those three ships. Once they're through the aperture with you, they'll be under your command until they return—with the Horizon—to this universe. Perhaps once this is over, our cooperation will have made this Q more amenable to returning Captain Christenson and his crew to us."

Picard nodded in deference. "Let's hope so, General. We'll also send information on the Borg…just in case."

Hackert sighed lightly and sat back in his chair. "I have to thank you for your aid, Captain. You may not be David Christenson, but you came through as surely as he would have, when you had no obligation to. If by some chance you're not able to keep the Borg out of our realm, don't worry; they will pay some cost for tangling with us." He smiled, certainly, then said, "Good luck, Captain Picard."

"Thank you, General. Horizon out."

With that, the viewscreen switched fully to a view of the gaping interdimensional aperture, the Borg cube still holding position on the other side. Oddly enough, the cube hadn't moved forward at all…it simply stayed in place, as if waiting for something. Picard looked at it uneasily, then turned to Worf. "Lieutenant…send all information to General Hackert, as requested."

Worf tabbed a couple panels on the security console, then looked at the captain. "Transmitted, sir. And sensors show the three Heavy Cruisers assigned to us have just entered the system."

"We're being hailed, Captain," Deanna said from her post at communications. "The Heavy Cruiser Atlantis, audio only."

"Let's hear it," Picard said as he reclaimed his chair. There was a moment's pause as Deanna worked her controls, and then a strong-sounding woman's voice came over the comm-line: "Captain…Picard? This is Captain Charlotte Blancq, commanding the Atlantis."

"Picard here, Captain."

"General Hackert informed us very quickly of your situation, and he's just sent over the tactical schematics, so I guess we're going to make adjustments on the fly. We're under your command until we take out this 'Borg' of yours. Afterward, you and your crew are to make whatever arrangements you can to transfer to whatever other ship or planetary base you may be familiar with in your own realm, because the General wants the Horizon back." Blancq's tone left no room for debate of any kind.

"Captain, I am well aware of the General's terms," Picard said patiently. "Be aware, however, that the Borg are without a doubt the most significant enemy you have ever faced. My suggestion is that if the tide turns fiercely against us, if your ship possesses a self-destruct function, you may wish to use it, rather than let a single Borg soldier infiltrate your ship."

"Captain, when one of our ships self-destructs, it leaves a two light-year circumference of space completely uninhabitable for two solar years. Trust me, if the tide turns against us, I'll give you the signal to jump to warp so you can get out of the way."

Picard raised an eyebrow. "I'll look for your flare. Let's get underway, then." He checked coordinates on his armrest console, then said, "All ships, move to heading four-one-one by three-seven-six. The Horizon will head into the aperture first, with the Atlantis and Brooksfield just aft of our port and starboard sides respectively. The Prestige will follow directly astern of us, and I urge you all to be prepared to engage the enemy as soon as we cross over."

Picard gave the Borg cube one last look, pushing down his fear deep inside as he said, "Mr. Data, move us into position and take us in."

"Aye, sir," Data said as he easily worked his helm console. On the viewscreen, the aperture began to grow closer, its maw seeming to widen, preparing to swallow the Heavy Cruiser and its sister ships, much like the whale swallowed Jonah in that biblical tale.

Seated at the Ops console, Riker tabbed in a few short commands, bringing up a tactical view of the battle site near Jupiter, where the United Earth Force fleet was engaging the Calvorian Alliance's ships. The UEF fleet was taking some heavy casualties, but they had also managed to disable no less than five of the dreadnoughts in the enemy's pack. "Good luck, folks," was all Will could manage to say, and wondered for just a moment if perhaps the captain could convince Starfleet to spare a few ships in return for the aid they were receiving, once the Borg were dealt with. Will had recently been offered command of the Melbourne, which he had declined…but for a cause as worthy as this, he would gladly accept charge if he had the chance to come back and aid these people.

As the Horizon drew closer to the opening, it became apparent to all that the interior of the aperture resembled more of a tunnel as they got a better look at it. A swirling miasma of darkness occasionally highlighted by bright bolts of energy charges which looked like lightning, if one was of a mind to romanticize such things. The Horizon moved closer, ever closer, entered…

"Captain!" Worf said in concern, then turned his head to face him. "The three Earth Force ships are not following us in!"

"We're receiving a transmission from Captain Blancq," Deanna announced. "There's terrible interference though!" Without waiting, the counselor keyed in some simple commands to her board. A quick, terrible screech almost overloaded the ODC speakers, but it quickly died down to a thick, persistent static which intruded upon Captain Blancq's words:

"…tain Picard! …is…Blancq! Our ships…trying to…aperture, ….something's blocking us! We're…to enter…can't! …get through! …hear me, Picard?"

"This is the Horizon, I hear you, Captain! Can you hear me?"

"Sir, the aperture is closing behind us," Data announced.

"On screen!"

The viewscreen image instantly shifted to an aft view behind the Horizon. Surely enough, the interdimensional rift was closing, cutting off all view of the three escort ships, the battle site behind them…everything. Within mere seconds, it had closed entirely, and all that was left were the stars.

"Damn Q!" Wesley uncharacteristically swore, but then winced when he realized he had. He looked over his shoulder at the captain. "Sorry, sir."

Picard shook his head. "No, no, Ensign…I share the sentiment whole-heartedly. I haven't the faintest as to what Q's gaming on, but we are truly on our own."

A heavy silence settled onto the Horizon's bridge momentarily, but it was soon broken as Data announced, "Reading harmonious micro-pulsations across the board, Captain. We are now fully in our own universe."

"Forward view."

Data tabbed another panel on the helm console. The viewscreen switched to a shot of the Borg cube, holding position above a moon. All around it were the wrecked, desiccated corpses of starships, and something else…something that made the jaws of nearly every officer on the bridge drop to the floor…

Counselor Troi was the first to acknowledge the horrible truth of what they saw, and was unable to keep the astonishment from her voice. "Is that…is that the Enterprise?"

On the viewscreen, moving through the wreckage of the ships, striking at the ruined hulls with a green Borg laser in order to ensure there were no survivors, was the Enterprise…now covered from stem to stern in Borg power distribution nodes, processing conduits and other cyber-organic tech. Aside from its distinctive shape, the starship was otherwise unrecognizable as a Federation vessel.

"The ship has been completely assimilated," Worf reported from his console, and even he was unable to keep the surprise from his voice. "I am reading 951 personnel aboard, all assimilated. They are all Borg."

"Wait," Picard said suddenly. "951 crewmen? The Horizon's complement is 952, isn't it?"

"Yes…yes, it is," Deanna answered first.

Riker got to his feet. "Then what happened to that one crewmember? Killed?"

"Or taken…" Picard said thoughtfully. "Taken for whatever reason. It doesn't make sense, that a Borg incursion upon any vessel could lead to only the loss of one life. The Borg don't kill when assimilating, unless threatened. And with what we've seen of that other universe, I'd imagine Captain Christenson's crew putting up far more of a fight. Far more of a threat."

Riker nodded in agreement. "There'd be greater casualties, if anything…not less."

"Right, Number One. Ensign Crusher—where are we, exactly?" The captain demanded, then glanced at Data and Worf in turn as he said, "Data, hold this position. Worf, scan the Borg cube, tell me why it's holding position like that!"

The officers all rushed to carry out the captain's orders. In turn, the answers were:

"Holding position, sir. Ninety-five thousand kilometers away from the cube."

"We're in the Sol system, Captain. The cube is holding position above Earth's moon. Lunar defenses have been knocked out."

"Sir, I am picking up a great amount of power being directed within the center of the Borg cube."

"Directed at what?"

Worf shook his head in frustration. "Unknown, sir. Whatever it is, the Borg seem to be fully distracted by it. Apparently, the Enterprise is operating as a point guard, ensuring the safety of the cube while the Borg commit their energies to whatever they're doing."

Picard and Riker exchanged a look. "I hate to interrupt them while they're in the shower," Will said, "but I'd say it's time to pay the Borg a visit."

Picard smiled slyly and nodded. "Agreed, Number One. Unfortunately, this ship has no transporters, so you'll have to take one of their troop transports and make your way aboard the cube. I hate placing you in such a perilous position, Will—"

"We'll be fine, sir," Riker broke in, doing his best to deliver an offhand smile of reassurance for his captain and friend.

"Just so, Number One," the captain said, then turned and took his chair. "Mr. Crusher, bring us about to heading three-five-three by two-three-nine. We'll swing around the cube, dropping off Commander Riker's team. Then we'll hold off the Enterprise…for as long as we can."

"Aye, sir," Wesley replied, making the course adjustments.

Riker headed for the lift. "Worf, Deanna—you're with me." Upon the counselor's puzzled look, Riker added, "I just get the feeling we might have need of your empathic touch."

Worf had sent the signal for other duty-shift crewmembers to replace them at their stations, and before the trio had finished entering the lift they were replaced by three crewmen descended from the tactical section above, the topmost portion of the three-tiered bridge. "Coming about on heading 353 by 239, sir," Ensign Crusher reported as the lift doors closed behind the away team.

"Sir, the Enterprise has come about and is on an intercept course," Data stated casually, as if preparing to square off against a Borgified version of their own ship were an everyday occurrence.

What I wouldn't give to not possess emotions right now, Picard thought as he observed the android. What he said instead was, "Then I guess it's time to see if Mr. La Forge's assertions about this ship being able to go toe-to-toe with our own are accurate."