Overextended

Chapter 7 of Ardra

Voyager sat guardedly after the maniacal Borg assault. A dozen shattered cubes drifted among a vast debris field, victims of single torpedo shots. The last one to fall was lit from within by rolling flashes. One side blew out as it keeled and went lifeless. The bridge crew were stunned at the carnage.

Paris scanned the wrecks. "I guess we called the Borg queen's bluff."

For how long, Janeway wondered. The architect of this destruction, the enigmatic woman called Ardra, was showing the strain. "Secure from red alert." She joined Ardra at the main viewer. "Quite a mess. Am I wrong, or did this tax your resources?"

Ardra clenched a fist. "Queenie! She knows that everything I do has to be maintained. Keeping the Q bottled up; keeping a Borg fence around my home system. It cost them six cubes to learn I wasn't kidding about that."

"If that's her game," Janeway said, "she'll be back, hoping to overload you."

"Then she'd better hurry. We spell casters need to renew every twenty four hours."

Tuvok finished his own scan. "Captain, I recommend withdrawing, to allow Ardra time to recharge."

With a frown, Janeway returned to her chair. "And I told Queenie we were done running. Very well—helm, set course for Sanctuary." This was an asteroid field orbiting a quasar, whose radiation foiled all attempts to scan the sector. Seeing Ardra head for the conference room, Janeway followed.

Ardra settled on the sofa and rested feet on a table. "I had to drop my renewal spell, so your ship is just an ordinary ship again." She noted Janeway's concern. "Don't worry—your cup still works."

"Refill," Janeway said, watching the cup become full again. "So—any ideas?"

"I can always find Queenie's home world and turn it to ash."

"Preferably nothing so drastic."

Ardra laced fingers behind her head. "As I said—you're as bad as Picard." She went so deep into thought that Janeway was hesitant to speak. "Now that's interesting." More heavy thought. "My home world had thousands of teleports left by a race called Teknikers. I found one that linked to a moon-sized sphere. The Teknikers left one in each galaxy. That's how I got here from Andromeda."

Janeway had to set the cup down. "Andromeda?"

"Yes. The sphere in this galaxy was found by some nasties called Dominion, and they're giving the Romulans fits. I tested some of its links, which are portals large enough for a ship to pass through. One of them came out in a sphere that had been turned into a commercial operation, full of ships. My mind made contact with an entity called 'Orchidia'. I left behind a locator beacon that I'm now going to activate." Ardra practically went into a trance, as if leaving her body behind on some cosmic journey. A tense fifteen minutes passed until she returned to the land of the living.

"This entity," Janeway ventured. "Can you trust it?"

"Of course. She's a sister."

"In whose employ? Queenie is also a sister, you know."

"I had a sense they were quite powerful," Ardra went on. "If they follow my trace here, they'll get a chance to meet the Borg. And I can always shut down that portal if they want to be difficult."

Janeway's head was spinning. So much had happened today. "How long will it take them to arrive?"

"I had images of leaps across long distances."

"Hyperjump?" Janeway decided on another refill. "That's unknown technology in this galaxy. Let's hope only one of them shows up, until we know what we're dealing with."

They returned to the bridge, where Tuvok made a rough calculation of arrival time for the Orchidia entity. Janeway waited that long before returning to the battlefield. "Ardra, can you restore the wonder weapons for a short while?"

"Only one at a time. Shields, I think. If things get hairy, I'll fetch Queenie here as a hostage."

Some time later, as expected, a force of Borg arrived, eighteen strong.

"They wish to speak," Tuvok said.

Janeway watched the screen. "Show us."

The Borg queen herself was leading the attack. "Our scan reveals a reduced level of enhancement. Ardra is weakening. Surrender her to us, so we can study her brain."

"My brain is on nobody's autopsy table, Queenie! I'm going to spank your iron backside!"

"My shell is composed of—"

"Who cares!"

The Borg began their bombardment. The pyrotechnics lit up the interior, but the infallible shields prevented too much jarring.

"Captain," Paris said, "another ship is entering the sector!"

"Magnify." Janeway gaped at the elegant white predator whose wings had a slight droop. Twin pylons curved up gracefully to mount the engines. The long neck was powering up a star glow at the nose. A near-blinding spear of light lanced through a cube, blowing it apart. When Borg weapons turned on it, the ship simply vanished and appeared behind them. Another cube was sliced apart.

"I'll be right back," Ardra said. She winked out, returning a moment later with the Borg queen, who remained as unflappable as ever.

"Borg on the bridge!" yelled a security man.

Janeway held out an arm. "Hold your fire." To Queenie: "Call off your ships if you want to have any left."

"I have done so," Queenie said, "but only to meet your new allies."

The unknown ship now faced them, the hellish weapon still charged.

"Captain," Paris said, "if he hits us with that, I'm not sure even our new shields will save us. Hold on—message coming in."

On screen appeared a dark-haired man with rugged features. His black leathers were pulled up at the sleeves to reveal wrist guards. "You looked like you could use some help."

Janeway rose and approached the helm. "You speak English."

With a guilty rub at her neck, Ardra said, "Did I mention the spheres also link to other dimensions? That's Commander Moast of the starship Orchidia, representing the Earth Protectorate."

"Earth?" Janeway pondered. "We took a very different path in your reality."

"Captain," Tuvok announced. "Their entire complement is four individuals."

"We're extremely automated," Moast said. "I see you are as well. Is the gray-fleshed one your AI assistant?"

"I am queen of the Borg," Queenie said, "and your ship now belongs to me."

Moast turned an amused look to someone off screen. "You're rather extravagant with your resources."

Janeway had been remiss in the awesomeness of the encounter. "I'm Captain Janeway of the Voyager, representing the Federation, also of Earth."

"Why don't we meet," Moast suggested, "as we can't stay here for long."

"Certainly, Commander. I'll beam you directly to the bridge."

That came as a shock to Moast. "Teleportation? We hadn't thought that possible. One moment." He looked aside. "AI module to the bridge." He stood up. "We're ready."

In seconds, Moast materialized with a lozenge-shaped object hovering at knee level. "Well, Ardra, suppose you tell us what the problem is?"

Ardra hooked his arm flirtatiously. "I'm stretched a little thin, and it would be a big favor if your could help Katy get home. Then I can cut this whole Delta quadrant thing loose."

"That would be me," Janeway said. "We're stranded here from the alpha quadrant. My crew has been waiting years to find a way back."

Queenie watched the lozenge object. "You will identify this."

"That," said Moast, "is Orchidia's traveling mobile emitter. I named her after the ship. Avatar, report."

There appeared yet another gray-fleshed woman, this one clearly a hologram. She had a spiky white punk hairdo. Her black leathers left only hands and face exposed, a face with electric vampire eyes.

"Simple local programming," Queenie said, "with limited network range."

Ardra cast her a glance. "Let's not be catty. I like her already."

Orchidia studied Ardra, and spoke with a matronly electronic voice. "Species demonstrates advanced psychokinesis with enhanced link between conscious and progenitor mind, in which thought becomes reality via energy conversion of metals stored in the limbic system."

"In other words," Ardra said with a spread of the arms, "magic!"

Moast was obviously proud of his assistant. "She achieved avatar status after receiving an alien brain implant, and is now fully sentient. She's saved us more than once with an emergency hyperjump." He turned to Janeway. "Why don't we go to your astrogation center and figure out how to get you home."

"Wonderful," Janeway said. "Ardra, what about Queenie?"

"I'm tempted to sever her link with the hive and take her home as a sidekick."

Moast pried his arm lose. "It sounds like cruel and unusual punishment."