"Shields up!"
"Captain, if we raise shields we're going to have to drop the cloak!" Charlotte Richmond countered on the heels of Chris's urgent demand.
"DO IT!" Chris barked at her, not caring whether or not they were visible to the Vulcans. Not when he understood at last why T'Khut was attacked.
"Chris, what is it?" Mary rose to her feet, seeing the concern on his face and realizing something terrible had just unfolded following Kate Stokes's disjointed transmission from the surface.
Chris didn't answer her. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Charlotte, who was quickly complying with his request. As the light flickered across her console, Chris prayed he'd given the order in time, cursing himself for not foreseeing this possibility. Then again, he wasn't dealing with Borg, was he? He was dealing with Buck Wilmington, whose memories of their friendship was being used by the Collective to gain a foothold on the Maverick.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! UNAUTHORIZED TRANSPORT TO CARGO BAY 2!"
Chris swore as he heard his worst fears realized by the ship's stern alert. The Maverick entered red alert and considering the nature of their trespassers, he and the ship's computer were in agreement at the urgency of the situation. Alert panels flashed across the Maverick as the intruder warning klaxon whined through the decks of the ship. Without even needing to see what was happening in Cargo Bay 2, Chris knew if he did not act immediately, he would lose his ship. If it was not already too late.
"Computer! Initiate complete mainframe lockout of all stations on Deck 14, access permitted by voice pattern verification code!"
The dulcet tones of the computer responded in kind. "Authorization?"
"Larabee, Christopher Captain!" Chris barked, perfectly aware he might only have seconds before the ability to secure the ship's computer was lost. "Authorization code – Nimrod. Initiate lockdown now!"
"Deck 14 mainframe lockout initiated by Captain Christopher Larabee of the USS Maverick, verification by voice pattern recognition and authorization code." The computer confirmed his order a second later. Unless Chris authorized it, no one on Deck 14 would have access to the ship's mainframe without his permission. He hoped it was enough.
"Security, get to Cargo Bay 2 immediately! The Borg have beamed on board! Repeat, the Borg have transported on board!"
"Oh my God," Mary gasped as she understood at last, the reason for the battery of orders Chris issued the instant Kate Stokes revealed the danger on T'Khut. "How?"
Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer without having to hear Chris explain. Buck Wilmington's knowledge was being put to spectacular use, in particular his familiarity with Federation ethics and Chris Larabee.
"They weren't trying to distract us," Chris replied, his eyes shifting briefly to the monitor displaying the view of the shuttles returning from the surface of T'Khut, as per Alex's orders. Thank Christ, Chris thought. "They were trying to get us on the planet. By destabilizing T'Khut and risking the deaths of all the miners, they knew we'd have to intervene to avoid more damage to the timeline. They were waiting for us."
Proximity alert warnings began beeping from the Science Station. When Chris turned to Charlotte, wondering what else was going to happen next, he saw her grave expression and knew he really shouldn't be tempting fate like that. "What?"
"Captain," Charlotte met his eyes, clearly disturbed. "We're visible to all the tracking systems on the planet and in orbit. They know we're here."
No sooner than she made that statement, the communications panel began chirping excitedly prompting Jewel's fingers to fly over her console, analyzing the incoming transmissions bombarding the Maverick’s communications array. "Confirmed," she glanced over her shoulder at Chris briefly before facing front again. "We're receiving multiple transmissions from numerous sources across Vulcan making contact. Shall we respond?"
"Absolutely not," Mary blurted out before she could stop herself and winced at forgetting her place. "Sorry, Captain," the protocol officer apologized, her cheeks turning red.
Chris hardly noticed the slight because he had more significant concerns on his mind, the least of which was any perceived slight to his authority. "Jewel, maintain radio silence. Wo Chin get us to the far side of T'Khut, that will keep us out of sight for the time being."
"Aye Captain," the helms officer moved quickly into action, anticipating the order ever since he heard Charlotte announced the Maverick's visibility due to their lowered cloak. Slowly, the Maverick began sailing forward at a speed that would still allow the returning shuttles to continue their docking procedures.
"Security, what's your status?" Chris was pacing the floor of his bridge, wishing his Chief of Security were on board.
"Captain, this is Lt Nichols. Cargo Bay 2 has been sealed off with an emergency forcefield, we can't get through!"
"Of course it has," Chris hissed in exasperation. "How many of them are there?"
"According to our tricorder readings,. "One."
Without even needing to see for himself, Chris knew immediately who it was. For a few seconds, he stood there rooted to the spot, and though the rest of his bridge wanted to know what was on his mind, they knew better than to ask. When the Captain retreated into his thoughts this way, it was best to let the moment run its course, because when it was over, Chris Larabee usually had a solution.
"Captain?" Nichols interrupted, unaware of what was happening on the bridge to know better. "Captain, what are your orders?"
Chris blinked and answered in an almost detached tone. "Lt. Nichols, you and the Security Team are to hold position and do nothing. I'll take it from here."
"Chris?" Mary stared at him, speaking not for herself but for the entire bridge crew, who was starting to become a little unnerved by the Captain's demeanour.
Chris turned to Mary, wearing the look of a man who had just about enough of everything and was about to do something about it. "It's Buck down there."
Mary didn't have to ask Chris how he knew, she trusted his instincts enough to believe it to be true. However, the expression on his face made her nervous, and she wished Vin was here. The helmsman always seemed to read the Captain with far greater understanding than she, who was his lover, could manage. Right now, Mary that insight.
"What are you going to do?" Mary asked.
Chris started towards the turbo lift. "I'm going to get him back."
It did not surprise One of Nineteen, Primary Adjutant of Unimatrix 376 when he discovered the shields were raised when he transported to the Maverick. He knew he had a narrow margin of time to act before security came charging into Cargo Bay 2 in a futile attempt to engage him. Possessing its own transporter pad, separate from those in the eight transporter rooms across the Maverick, the transporter here was used mainly to beam bulk cargo on board. One knew the instant the ship detected the unauthorized transport, it would sound an intruder alert, and the Maverick's Captain would raise the shields, preventing any further intrusions.
This concerned One of Nineteen little, because Borg programming was capable of obliterating any firewall or mainframe lockout Starfleet Engineers could put into place. It might take longer, but One was confident that with enough time, he could take the ship. Thus while Chris Larabee's first action was to lock out access to the ship's computer, One's first task was to lower the emergency force fields used in the event of a hull breach, to seal off Cargo Bay 2 from the rest of the ship.
Once this was done, and security was unable to enter the bay, the former First Officer of the Maverick retreated to the near computer panel to gain access to the rest of the ship. Pressing his hand against the glass screen, the same twin assimilation nodules allowing him to transport to the Maverick from the Sumner, began its swift hijacking of the computer system. As anticipated, the initial attempt was held at bay by Chris Larabee's mainframe lockout.
One was unconcerned by this as the Borg interface began drilling through the formidable defences of the lockout to gain access to the rest of the ship. It would take a little time, but One was confident that eventually Chris Larabee's safeguards would be obliterated. It was just a matter of time.
The low hum of a transporter filled his ears before his ocular implant registered the presence of a matter transport beam. One immediately turned, thinking the cargo bay's transporter had been accessed, but logic dictated it was improbable. The Captain had disconnected the cargo bay from the rest of the ship, including the transporters. If One could feel emotion, it would be puzzlement.
The transport beam appeared a few meters away from the Borg drone, and One realized it was a site to site transport. Preparing to activate his defences, One anticipated the imminent arrival of Starfleet security officers. Making no attempt to desist in his usurping of the Maverick's mainframe, One prepared for the attack. Except when the golden shimmer formed the pattern of the new arrival, it was not a security team, but rather one lone figure.
Once again, if One could experience the emotion, the one that would most suit the occasion when he realized who was in the cargo bay with him, would be astonishment.
"Hey Buck." Chris Larabee greeted.
Returning to T'hossuth for what Vin Tanner hoped would be the last time, a few hours away did not lessen the impact of the destruction caused by the Borg invasion of Shi'Kahr or its citizens attempt to halt their advance. According to Stef, T'hossuth district had been before this day, a thriving community consisting mostly of the farmers who worked in the agricultural belt surrounding the city. Now, it was nothing but another ruined wasteland, like so many other civilizations the Borg had annexed.
Leaving behind the safety of Antara, it was still night, though on Vulcan it was difficult to tell. According to Mary, it was never really night on Vulcan, the amber sky simply turned a darker shade during the twilight hours. For all the connection he felt to this world now, he still missed the brilliance of Texas blue sky.
Breaching the barricades surrounding T'hossuth, with Vin walking beside Ezra, who was unrecognizable behind his Breen disguised armour, along with Stef and Sudoc. They were flanked by the troops Stef brought in to fight the Borg. Joining the Vulcans was the security team from the Maverick. More reinforcements had come at Stef's order, but they were holding back for now. If this plan worked and the Rods of Kell neutralized the Borg as they hoped, those troops would be needed to continue the fight since each soldier could only use the rod only once. And there were more Borg than there were rods.
"I can hear them," Sudoc spoke with a hushed voice as they travelled across the road, fractured and covered with debris from the ruined buildings flanking them. No trace of the tyrant's arrogant manner was present, just an expression of grim foreboding.
"You can?" Vin said with some surprise. As far as he knew Vulcans were touch telepaths although Mary did say, the more adept of them could sense others without it.
"Yes," Sudoc nodded, his eyes stared past what remained of an intersection, at one of the few structures still standing. "There's more of them. So many voices, yet they all speak as one."
Almost on cue, Vin's tricorder and those belonging to the other members of the Maverick crew began chirping simultaneously. The chirps overlapped each other until they sounded like the cacophony created by swallows returning to roost at night. The sudden alerts did little to lessen the growing anxiety of the Vulcan troops who were still a little wary of the strangers in the all-concealing suits who claimed to be allies.
"The Borg have detected us," Ezra announced to no one's surprise.
"Where?" Stef asked, revealing himself to be very much the general, while Sudoc had no need of that question being answered. Despite being a bloodthirsty creature, the tyrant was still the most powerful telepath of the day. If he could hear the enemy with his mind, he would already know how far away there were.
"Fifty meters and closing," Vin replied, glancing at his own tricorder and lifting his eyes in the direction of what appeared to be some kind of silo, which made sense since T'hossuth's trade was in commodities. "From over there."
"How many?" Latok stood over Vin's shoulder, peering into the tricorder in fascination. While they had their own sensor equipment, their technology was nowhere advanced enough for it to be as portable as the devices carried by these Outliers.
"Difficult to say," Ezra spoke up, his voice sounding odd to Vin through the helmet. "The Borg shields can disrupt our equipment, a tactical advantage they use to conceal their numbers, especially during a ground assault. We can extrapolate their position by the null field they generate around themselves to determine distance, but nothing so specific as to how many there are."
"It don't matter," Vin told the trio of Vulcans. "They know we're here, and we're raw materials they're not going to waste."
"I do wish you would put that differently," Ezra frowned beneath his helmet but knew Vin was right of course. The Borg would be coming and judging by how quickly the gap between the two factions was narrowing, it would be soon.
"Sorry, Ez." Vin apologized but didn't think there was any way to say it that would sound any better.
"Then we must be ready for them," Stef stated, deciding the time to act was now. If these creatures were coming, they needed to be prepared and furthermore, see if this gamble they were taking was worth the lives at risk. Casting a brief sidelong glance at Sudoc and wondering how in a'Tha he had come to be in a situation where he'd be fighting alongside the warlord, he addressed his troops directly.
"Sudoc and I will wield the Rods of Kell first," Stef said as Latok took that as his cue to step forward and opened the case handed to him by one of the soldiers. Opening it, the General nodded at his trusted Captain in thanks before retrieving two of the rods, giving one to Sudoc before he resumed speaking. "If we succeed, and we know for certain this will indeed disable the enemy, the rest of you will follow suit. Do not attempt to use the rods more than once, its ability to exhaust the mind touch is extreme."
Across the faces of his troops, Stef saw their anxiety at going into battle with an untested weapon. For most of them, the Rods of Kell were a tool of healing. It was their ancestors who used them as weapons. Nevertheless, Stef had confidence in his men. They had fought the tyrant standing beside him for years to keep Shi'Kahr safe. This time the enemy was different but their loyalty was not.
"Security Officers," Ezra spoke up taking the opportunity to remind the Maverick's crew of their role in all this. "We will provide cover fire while our Vulcan allies use the rods. The minute any drone is down, apply the neural relay. It does not matter where you fasten the device, according to Doctor Jackson, the surge will be enough to completely fry their neural transceiver."
"Aye Commander," a voice replied, and Ezra knew it was Drew Katovit.
Meanwhile, Vin watched in fascination as both Stef and Sudoc slipped the psionic weapon over their hands. It was nothing like what Vin imagined, and he wondered how it worked. The rod was a smooth shaft of copper-like metal almost two inches wide and ten inches long. Its length was covered in red crystal gems, and ornate designs in Vulcan text, surrounded by a spherical frame of delicate lattice. An opening just large enough to fit a hand allowed the wielder to reach inside and grip the rod firmly.
"Here they come!"
The alarm was raised by one of the Maverick crew, and the entire group turned towards the silo where they saw at least five Borg drones moving towards them. The drones as always, travelled at the same brisk pace, their heavy exoskeleton-armour made it impossible for them to do anything else. The ones who approached the Vulcan/Maverick group were fully transformed into Borg, from the pasty skin to the bald scalp and single eye. Wearing the same blank expression, Vin could understand why Ezra and Chris were so rocked to find Julia and Buck in this condition.
"Let us get this over and done with," Sudoc said impatiently and strode forward to meet the enemy face on.
"Wait for us, goddamn it!" Vin snapped as he and Stef hurried after the tyrant across the gravel-covered ground. In the background, he heard Ezra telling Drew to standby for orders before the security chief came after them. Knowing Ezra, there was no way he was going to allow his people to confront the Borg without leading the charge himself.
Sudoc did not answer, concentrating his mental energies on the weapon before him. Fighting alongside the Shi'Kahr felt odious to him, but after what he saw in the mind of the female 'drone' as these Outliers called her, Sudoc knew this enemy had to be put down. The only one who was going to sit in rule over Vulcan was him. He would share that with none of these soulless entities. As he held the rod in his hand, he could feel the heat of it against his palm. Sudoc wondered how much of this was an illusion of the mind.
Vin watched Sudoc closing the distance between himself and the lead Borg. Instinctively, Vin reached for the mare's leg at his hip, preparing to fire if Sudoc was in danger of being assimilated before he could use the rod. Choosing the rifle meant Vin would just wound the drones, instead of killing them which a phase rifle would do until the Borg shields adapted and rendered the weapon ineffective.
Meanwhile, Vin noticed Stef was doing the same and noted the Borg on approach were all Vulcan. Only a pointed ear gave any clue of their race since the rest of them had been twisted into Borg, following assimilation.
All of a sudden, the gems on the shaft of the rod began to illuminate, bathing Sudoc's hand in an angry red glow. The lead Borg stopped abruptly in his tracks, and the rest of the Borg followed suit, their mechanical movements making them appear like toys that needed winding up to keep performing. The drone jerked back a step, and Vin realized the mental assault by Sudoc and the rod had begun. Still wearing that expressionless mask showing no sign of fear, understanding or acceptance, the Borg drone suddenly dropped to the ground, knees first, his body spasming.
In contrast, Sudoc appeared perfectly calm, and Vin knew everything he heard about how callously the warlord used his mental powers to kill was true. Sudoc watched the Borg collapse to the ground and turned promptly to the next drone in line and concentrated. The second Borg jerked about like a marionette puppet as its neurological functions came under attack. Like the first drone under assault, this one fell face-first against the debris-covered ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Realizing the danger somewhat belatedly, the remaining three Borg converged on Sudoc, intending to assimilate him when Stef stepped forward and used the rods himself. However, unlike Sudoc, Stef could only use the weapon once, and Vin saw the grimace on his face as the general focussed his mental powers to activate it. When the third Borg stumbled, he saw Stef stagger in pain, his free hand clutching his head. Ezra grabbed him before he could fall and Vin saw the remaining Borg closing in on Sudoc.
Vin took aim and fired. The bullet struck the Borg closing in on the warlord at the knee. Energy sparked from the ruined machinery, and the drone dropped down, but Vin gave it no chance to get up, firing again. This time, he aimed for the drone's shoulder. The force of the bullet drove the Borg back, and the drone landed on his back. For a few seconds, the Borg remained on the ground reminding Vin of a turtle on its back, struggling to get up.
The final Borg, driven by the imperative of the Collective, still continued to advance. The drone never had a chance to activate the assimilation tubules in his prosthetic hand because Sudoc concentrated again and rendered him just as unconscious as the others. With all five down, Vin raced forward as the tyrant stepped back, the effect of taking down four drones on his own showing across his face.
"You okay?" Vin asked concern.
Sudoc looked up at him in surprise, not expecting compassion. "I will survive," he grunted, wrenching his hand free of the rod for now. "It is...draining, even for me."
"Okay, take a breather while I deal with these guys," Vin advised and moved towards the drones on the ground.
Reaching for the neural relays tucked away in his jacket, Vin quickly attached them to the drones lying unconscious on the ground. The one he'd shot stared at him with that blank expression and when he raised his prosthetic arm, no doubt to make an attempt to inject Vin with assimilation tubules, Vin used the butt of the mare's leg to slam the drone's hand against the ground, holding it in place. At the same time, Vin's free hand slapped the relay against his cheek.
As Nathan promised, the relays took seconds to work, and Vin watched the small discharge of energy across the drones' skin. Spidery tendrils of blue made them jerk even in their unconscious state before the neural transceiver, fixed against their necks short-circuited with a burst of energy that sent sparks in all directions. The Borg he shot, uttered a cry of pain before he too was rendered unconscious.
"Did it work?" Sudoc asked. The man was bent over, catching his breath.
"Damn straight," Vin nodded, running a tricorder across them to be sure. "They're alive, but I can read them as clear as day. Their link to the Collective is gone! Come on!" He waved at the Maverick security team, "we've got to get them to Nathan to get this crap off them."
"That is fortunate," Sudoc said, lifting his gaze to Vin. "Because the rest of them are on their way."
When Kate heard the shimmer of a transporter, she knew exactly what took place and cursed herself for not following orders.
Commander Styles wanted her to remain onboard the Sumner for just this very reason. As she backtracked to the runabout upon realising she wasn't alone, Kate knew she couldn't afford to make the mistake again. Fighting the urge to go after the Science Officer, Kate could not permit the Borg to gain any more access to the runabout than they already had. Worse yet, in her haste to leave the ship, she hadn't taken her tricorder, preventing her from scanning for Alex.
As it was, she could see the faint silhouette of bodies moving through the smoke and knew instinctively, they wouldn't be miners. She wondered if there were any of them left or were they assimilated long before the Maverick's rescue party arrived. Either way, she retreated to the ship hating it that she was forced to go without knowing for sure. Unfortunately, the peril to the Maverick was too high. The Borg could not regain access to the ship. Not in this time period.
Arriving at the Sumner, Kate crept cautiously up the ramp, cursing herself again for not taking her tricorder so she could tell if there were any Borg on the ship. Then again, as the Chief often said, 'instrumentation makes one lazy' and Kate shook her head, dismissing thoughts of Ezra Standish from her mind. He was a distraction she did not need right now. Peering over the hatchway, the runabout was streamlined enough for Kate to survey the length of the craft for intruders. The lack of movement prompted her further, and she immediately secured the hatch behind her, the metal door sliding into place with a resounding thud.
Once inside, Kate conducted a more thorough search and was satisfied no Borg hiding on board. Going to the transporter controls, she swore under her breath upon noticing its recent use. If there was any consolation to be had, there was only one transport beam. Tapping her combadge, she hoped the Maverick was aware of the problem and was able to deal with one Borg before it caused too much havoc on board the ship.
"Maverick, this is the Sumner, please come in."
The response was immediate. "Maverick, this is Lt. Richmond, what's your status, Kate?"
Relieved because it was a voice she was familiar with, Kate replied promptly. "I've lost Commander Styles, and I'm pretty sure a Borg transported to the Maverick using the Sumner's transporter pad. Furthermore, we've got Borg down here."
"Are you safe?"
"Yes, for now. I've secured the Sumner, but Commander Styles is still out there." The admission felt sour in her mouth.
"The Captain is dealing with the Borg on board the Maverick. Take off before the rest of the Borg get to you. The Maverick raised its shields to prevent more Borg from transporting on board, but it meant we had to drop our cloak. We've moved closer to T'Khut so I can probably scan for her using our sensor array."
"Do you think she might have been..." Kate couldn't bring herself to say assimilated because losing another senior officer the way they'd lost Buck Wilmington was too much to handle.
There was a noticeable pause before Charlotte spoke again. "Until we know otherwise, Commander Styles is still in one piece. Take off immediately and begin scanning the surface. At the range you're at, the Sumner's sensors should be able to find her. I'll do the same up here."
"Sounds like a plan," Kate headed towards the cockpit, determined to find Alex Styles one way or another.
"Come on!" Vin pulled the soldier named Jann to his feet after the Vulcan used the Rod of Kell and disabled yet another Borg. Like the others around him, the effort to neutralise one Borg was mentally exhausting, and Jann remained on his feet long enough for Vin to attach the neural relay to the drone’s neck and sever the connection to the Collective, but the moment was fleeting. His knees buckled beneath him, and Vin managed to catch him before he hit the gravel.
"I am alright," he said breathlessly, "I need a moment."
"Ain't doubting you there, but you need to get off the field to do that," Vin replied before seeing calling out to anyone who could hear him. "Hey, we got another one!"
One of the Shi'Kahr heard his cry and followed the ritutal they'd performed since the Borg converged on them on mass. Those who'd recovered after using the rods, returned to the fighting to act as stretcher-bearers to carry the disconnected Borg away from the scene until they could be treated by the Maverick's Sick Bay team. As Vin ferried Jann away from the main square where the fighting was the fiercest, he saw a Shi'Khar soldier retrieving the Borg.
After engaging the first five drones, the rest of the Borg had converged on the joint Shi'Kahr- Starfleet team to eliminate the Borg threat from T'hossuth. Working in concert, Ezra and his security team provided valuable cover to the Vulcan soldiers using the rods to disable the drones with their psychic blasts. As predicted by Stef, each soldier had only one use in them and was left somewhat drained after making the psionic discharge. Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to recover and they soon return to the battlefield, freeing up Security from the chore of having to remove the disable Borg from the area.
For once, it felt good to have an edge fighting the Collective, and until this occasion, Vin had no idea how powerful Vulcan telepathy could be. Thanks to Mary's lessons, Vin knew his species’ telepathic ability was strong but weaponised, it was something else entirely. Nevertheless, despite the advantage, it had not gone as smoothly as they liked. There were losses, with some drones being killed because there was no other way to subdue them in time, while some of the Shi'Kahr and Maverick crew had fallen prey to assimilation. Thankfully, the neural relays proved an effective means of deactivating the nanoprobes in their systems when caught early enough.
"Watch out!"
Vin looked up just in time to see a Borg drone approaching him. This one was female and judging by the look of her, couldn't be any more than twenty years old. Through her mottled skin and ocular implant, Vin saw she might have been beautiful once, but the Borg took that away from her too.
There was no point telling her to desist. A few of the Shi'Kahr learnt that lesson the hard way, and Vin was not about to bother now. Taking aim with the mare's leg, he pulled the trigger. As predicted by Ezra, the guns of the Old West had proved surprisingly effective against the Borg who probably thought these ancient weapons too primitive for them to bother with. As a result, when fired upon, had no defence against the kinetic assault.
Vin put a bullet through her shoulder, aiming as always to wound, not kill. The drone jerked back sharply from the force of the rifle fired at close range, staggering two steps backward. Giving her no time to recover, the second shot went into her knee, immobilising her completely. She dropped to the ground in a heap, her face registering the injury but not the pain. It was downright creepy, Vin thought silently.
"I got this one Lt Tanner!" Vin recognised Lt. Opa Loca from her voice because she was unrecognisable beneath the suit. Bending over, she placed the relay on the downed Borg's neck. The drone was flailing about, reminding Vin of a turtle of its back. The Borg armour was sparking from the assault by gunfire, and the drone seemed too preoccupied with its predicament to stop Opa's actions. The security officer waved Vin to keep going as the relay did its work.
Vin gave her a look of thanks and continued a little further ahead, leaving Opa behind when he saw at least three more drones converging on them. He raised his gun to fire and knew instinctively, that he wouldn't be able to stop all of them.
"Use this!" Jan shoved the rod at Vin.
"I can't!" Vin exclaimed exasperated and knew if he didn't make a decision in the next few seconds, it wasn't going to matter. Both he and Jann would be assimilated. Sure he was going to fail, Vin slipped the odd device on his hand and aimed it at the three Borg in approach. If he could get one, then he had enough bullets in his Winchester to deal with the other two. In the background, he heard Jan telling him to concentrate, focus his mind on doing what was necessary.
"You can! You are one of us, not them!"
The sensation was nothing like the melds he'd performed in the past. Then, the feeling of connection spread over you like the heat of the rising sun across your face, slow and gradual. Instead, the rod drew it out of him like balled lightning, and his head ached from the effort. The crystals on the shaft came alive, like the lights across his console, and what happened next stunned not only Jann but Vin too.
All three Borg collapsed before they could take another step.
As they tumbled to the ground, Vin almost joined them. Icicles of pain stabbed his mind and Vin thought he was going to throw up. Instead, he doubled over, barely managing to stay on his feet until he heard Jann's startled exclamation.
"You have the Killing Gift?"
Vin stared at him with eyes wide, horrified by the idea. "No!"
However, Vin did not know for sure. He'd never harmed anyone mentally, or intentionally that is. When Vin first came on board the Maverick and his feelings for Alex was so new, he'd inadvertently melded with her, much to her outrage. Then again, when he was in the grips of the Pon Farr Vin melded with Julia to find the coordinates leading to Alex. Even then, he hadn't killed anyone. Releasing the rod of Kell, the device dropped to the ground.
"Vin, are you alright?" He heard Ezra and realised the Starfleet officer in front of him was the Chief of Security.
"He has the Killing Gift!" Jann said excitedly and wondered how Sudoc would take this news. At present, the tyrant believed he was the only one who possessed this power and would be none too pleased to learn otherwise.
"No, I don’t!" Vin shook his head and stared at the three Borg. "Are they alive?"
If he had killed them...
Ezra glanced at Vin, ensuring the Officer of the Conn was alright before he went to examine the three unconscious drones. Running his tricorder across their bodies, Ezra looked up at Vin a moment later and allayed the helmsman's fears.
"They appear to be alive," Ezra answered.
Vin let out a sigh of relief at that, deciding this was going to be something he'd have to deal with later. "What's happening? How are we doing?"
Ezra stared at Vin a little while longer, concerned by this ability and hoped it was just the Vulcan weapon that allowed Vin to manifest such power. "We appear to be successfully ridding T'hossuth of the Borg menace. Most of the drones are subdued, there is only a handful of them left now."
Vin let out a sigh of relief. At least that was something.
In the end, it was always going to come down to this.
Chris Larabee stared across the narrow space between himself and Buck Wilmington, or rather the Borg drone his oldest friend had become, never hating the Collective more than he did at this moment. Somewhere beneath all this technology, was the roommate who'd introduced him to the girl who was his first lover, who dragged him out of the doldrums and told him to stop being a dumb ass because he had not quite aced that exam. When Buck met Sarah, his advice to Chris had been not to screw it up, because she was the one.
Buck was there for the best moments of his life and also some of the worst. No matter how this day ended, Chris intended to free him from the Collective one way or another. Having read Jean-Luc Picard's account of what it was like being a drone, he knew beneath all those implants, his friend was tearing at the walls of his prison, desperate to escape. Now that Buck was in front of him, there was no way in hell, Chris was allowing him to suffer one more moment of this torture.
"Buck," Chris spoke, ignoring the drone with its ghoulish appearance, determined to reach through the Borg machinery to the friend he knew was watching helplessly while the Collective used his body. "I know you can hear me. Just hang on, I'm doing everything I can to get you back. Do you hear me? We're going to help you, I promise. I'm not going to give up on you Buck, not ever."
"Your attempt to appeal to my humanity is pointless," the drone spoke for the first time, almost irritated by the attempt to reach the mind trapped within its Borg machinery. "We are Borg."
The voice might have been Buck's, but it sounded all wrong. Chris shuddered at the hearing of it, and once again, remembered the Battle of Sector 001, where he heard for the first time the cold demand for the Starfleet armada to surrender. "I don't care about the Borg or the goddamn Collective. You have my friend trapped in there, and I am going to get him free even if I have to tear every implant out myself."
"Your species is emotional and reactive, imperfect and erratic," One continued to speak even as the assimilation modules continued to break the chains of Chris Larabee's authorisation over the main computer. "Your presence here proves your imperfection. When you are assimilated, you will understand true harmony and order."
"Good luck with that," Chris returned, holding his ground. "I'm giving you one last chance to stop what you're doing or else I'll do it for you."
"You will not harm us because you still wish to save your friend," One replied with what was almost a sneer.
If Chris didn't know better, he would have thought the son of a bitch sounded smug.
"Captain," JD Dunne's voice came through his combadge. "The Borg will breach your lockout in less than two minutes."
"Standby to cut all power to this deck on my order," Chris answered, taking note of the images flashing faster and faster on the screen of the console the drone was using to access the ship's computer. He could very well believe within two minutes his lockout would be rendered ineffective. Chris had no intention of allowing this drone to get that far. "I want everything on Deck 14 to go dark. Not one iota of power is to be generated everywhere, do you understand me?"
"Aye Captain," JD said promptly. "Engineering is on standby."
The drone shot Chris a look, perfectly aware even with Borg superiority, it would not be able to access a system devoid of power. Still, thanks to the Captain's presence here, the opportunity to gain control of the ship was within One's grasp. Typical human arrogance and the futile hope Buck Wilmington still existed brought the Captain here, without even a weapon.
"You will be assimilated," One discontinued the penetration for the moment because once Chris Larabee was assimilated, there would be no need for it. The Captain's own authorisation would give One total access to the Maverick. "We will take your ship and bring the Collective on board. This ship is inferior, but it can be adapted to suit our needs for the return to the 24th century. "
The drone approached Chris, but the Captain of the Maverick held his ground, making no move to retreat. Once again, if One could feel the emotion, he would be revisited by the feeling of puzzlement and the overwhelming sense something was wrong. Usually, humans did not merely wait to be assimilated. Their abhorrence to the purity of Borg existence was well-recorded in the Collective's hive mind. So why did Chris Larabee not run?
The reasons were irrelevant, One decided. His course was clear. The Captain of the Maverick would be assimilated.
"I'm giving you one last chance to surrender," Chris spoke, watching the drone close in on him. "Comply."
"You are illogical," the drone closed the gap between them and clamped a hand on Chris's shoulder. "You will be assimilated, and your lockout will be meaningless. This ship will be adapted to service us."
Chris knew he was seconds away from the nightmare Buck was presently enduring, but this was always a gamble with deadly stakes. Before arriving here, he'd given JD Dunne strict instructions of what to do if this plan of his went to hell, and prayed the kid didn't have to end up blowing them both out of the airlock to save the ship. However, as Chris prepared to roll the dice on his Hail Mary pass, he stared into the face of the friend who was a brother and knew no risk was too high.
"Not a chance in hell," Chris hissed when he saw those assimilation tubules shoot out of the drone's prosthetic hand. As he felt the penetration of the metal through his uniform, Chris used all the strength he possessed to carry out what could possibly be his last act of free will. Grabbing the drone's other hand, the one unencumbered by Borg technology, Chris pressed the neural relay against One's bare skin and let the device do its work even as he felt the infusion of Borg nanoprobes into his own body.
Not that they would be there for long.
As Chris stared at his hand, seeing the skin becoming mottled as the nanoprobes found fertile ground in his bloodstream, he braced himself for the pain that would soon be asserting itself in response to the invasion. The same neural relay Chris used on the drone was hidden beneath the collar of his uniform and upon detecting the nanoprobes, discharged their payload. He didn't see the energy light show taking place within his body, but he sure as hell felt it.
It came upon him so swiftly, Chris thought he'd stuck his hand in an open plasma conduit. Every cell in his body screamed in pain and Chris was driven to his knees, barely able to remain conscious. No sooner than he'd fallen to the deck, the doors to Cargo Bay 2 slid open, and both JD Dunne and Nathan Jackson bolted into the room.
"Chris!" Nathan cried out in worry when he saw the Maverick's Captain on the floor. Even though Nathan had warned him this would happen, it still did not alter the fact the healer liked seeing none of his friends in pain.
It was nothing compared to the cry of agony that tore through the air when the relay did its worst on the former First Officer of the Maverick, now One of Nineteen, Primary Adjutant of Unimatrix 376.
JD could only stare in horror as the relay initiated the power surge through the drone's neural transceiver in a single tendril of blue-green energy. The effect to the Borg was extreme as he tried to reach for his neck, his face etched in agony before that pain became a scream. If there was any comfort to be had in the terrible scene, it was that the drone's suffering lasted only a second before the transceiver exploded on his neck, flaring up like a tiny firework, spitting sparks and embers in all direction before becoming dark for good.
"BUCK!" JD was there in two steps to grab Buck before he hit the deck hard. The youngest member of the bridge crew caught Buck before he could fall, but even so, JD had a hard time keeping him upright. Buck was not only bigger than JD in stature but due to the Borg technology encasing his body, twice his weight. The best JD could do was give Buck a softer landing as he slowed the First Officer's descent. "Nathan!"
Nathan Jackson was leaning over his Captain, administering pain relief as well as something to get Chris on his feet. They couldn't afford for the Captain to be unconscious right now. Fortunately, the presence of the neural relay was able to obliterate the few nanoprobes in his system and prevent them from replicating. Even as Nathan ran the medical tricorder over Chris, he could detect the residue of their disintegration n Chris's system.
"Chris, are you okay?"
Chris blinked and felt consciousness flood back into his brain even though he felt like he'd been hurtling through an asteroid field without a suit. Focusing his gaze, he saw the healer's worried expression and managed to croak.
"Oh, I feel terrible."
"Well take it easy," Nathan said relieved until JD's cry snapped them both to attention.
"Buck?" Chris forgot about his present state and managed to get to his feet, though his legs felt wobbly and the chicken sandwich Casey brought to him on the bridge, threatened to make an unwanted appearance.
Nathan hurried to JD who was looking at him anxiously while kneeling over Buck. Chris was right behind him, needing to know that their gamble had worked, that this was not for nothing.
"Is he going to be okay?" JD demanded, barely able to tolerate the sight of Buck in his current state. JD was spared the horror of seeing Buck like this earlier on Vulcan, but staring at his friend and mentor now, he could well understand why the Captain was willing to risk assimilation to save Buck. Given the circumstances, JD would have been more than willing to do the same.
Nathan ran the medical scanner over Buck, feeling the same disdain for seeing Buck like this. It had been just as odious when the healer had to treat Julia. After a second, he looked at both Chris and JD, who were waiting in anticipation of his answer.
"Yeah," Nathan uttered a taut smile, "he's going to be fine. The link to the Collective is gone. I got to get him to Sick Bay, but yeah he's going to be okay."
That remained to be seen, but at least they had gotten Buck back. For now, Chris was grateful for that much.
"Warning, oxygen level at ninety-eight millibars and falling."
Alex opened her eyes and then swore because the side of her head felt like someone had stomped on it. And then got really mean. Looking through the visor, the odd, gravelly texture in front of her made her blink twice. As she moved her head, the top of her helmet scraped something hard, and she pulled back, only to feel a corresponding bump behind her. Her body ached, and when she tried to move, she found her space limited. Raising her eyes upward, the hellish sky of T'Khut stared at her with indifference.
Where the hell was she?
"Warning, oxygen level at ninety-one millibars and falling."
The warning that woke her up now jerked her to full alertness with that troubling report. Alex took a deep breath and calmed herself, aware her heart rate was starting to rise, and that was not a good thing when she was surviving on a rapidly dwindling oxygen supply. As her breathing slowed and she examined her surroundings, her last memories returned to her in a kaleidoscope so vivid, it made her head swim.
Buck, she'd seen Buck.
Alex remembered Buck hitting her and the confusion of flying through the air and hitting something really hard. After that, there was just darkness, and she came to the unhappy conclusion she'd been knocked out cold. Indeed the kettle drums she could hear beating inside her skull like bad Klingon opera (really, was any of it good?), seemed to indicate a mild concussion of sorts.
"Commander Styles to the Sumner," Alex spoke, her voice little more than a croak and her throat felt dry. Worse yet, the temperature was exceeding her suit's ability to keep her comfortable, and she could feel the sweat forming on her skin. "Come in."
The response was static.
Probably interference, she realised with exasperation Looking up again, Alex realised she was trapped in a narrow fissure and somehow had to get out of it, before her oxygen supply ran out or she died from rising heat. Either way would not be pleasant. Uttering a soft groan, she pushed herself against the wall behind her and used it to stand up. Slowly, she rose her feet, her gloved hands bracing her ascent, and soon Alex found herself upright.
The fissure was not very tall, in fact, it came to an end just below her shoulders. However, the edge beyond it was a drop she would not have survived. Alex stared into the clouds of toxic smoke rising from the crater below and noted the pumice being carried by the wind. Her scientific mind immediately grasped what was happening, and knew she was exceedingly lucky to have been wedged where she was. The alternative was certain death at the bottom of a crater belonging to a volcano she was sure had been dormant until the Borg's antimatter explosion.
"Commander Styles to the Sumner," Alex tried again, deciding if she didn't get out of here right this minute, she was going to die here, and quite unpleasantly.
Another burst of static followed, but this time, she was met with a little more success.
"Commander Styles?" Kate's voice was almost euphoric. "Is that you?"
Alex felt a flood of relief hearing Kate's voice. "Kate! Am I glad to hear your voice."
"So am I Commander," the woman's relief was evident. "We thought we lost you."
"Nah, I'm too stubborn to kill, but my oxygen supply is draining, so I could use a ride."
"Keep talking Commander," Kate's voice took on a tone of urgency. "I'll find you."
Alex looked down at the crater below and at the dark sky above. "Better be soon, I think things are about to get really ugly down here."
T'hossuth was free.
The nightmare that began for the district a day ago ended with the coming of dawn. The amber sky overhead had brightened, unleashing sunlight upon the ruined buildings and fractured streets. Even in the face of so much destruction, the glow of the new day peering through cracked walls and burned out buildings, managed to look in its way, beautiful. Yet, in all the devastation, there was life. Stef's soldiers were now moving across the ruined square, sifting the debris for survivors or corpses, taking the first step to restoring this community again.
Vin Tanner sat on the seat of a stone bench that amazingly enough, survived all the bombardment and fighting the night before. The area was still cordoned off from the rest of the city under General Stef's orders since discretion was needed now. The fallen Borg were discreetly taken to the Maverick where Nathan would remove all Borg technology since none of it could be left behind. Vin guessed while there was still a chance to save the timeline they knew, Chris Larabee was allowing none of it to remain.
"Vin."
Vin was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of Ezra's voice. The security chief was still wearing his suit and more than anything Vin wished he could see the southerner's face. His head was a storm of conflicted emotions, especially after what happened with the Rods of Kel. Whether or not he would admit it, what happened had shaken Vin to the core. After encountering Svinak in the alternate universe and seeing what his mirror version was capable of, Vin never wanted to allow that kind of darkness to exist within him. The idea he might possess the Killing Gift, he snorted at that kind of power being considered as a prize, was more than Vin could stand.
"Hey Ezra," Vin greeted as Ezra took the seat beside him.
"Just thought you would like to know Alexandra is recovering well in Sick Bay."
"She is?" Vin asked, having learned Alex had gone missing for a short time on T'Khut when the Borg had laid their trap for the Maverick.
Fortunately, Kate Stokes had found her and returned her to the Maverick for treatment. However, little could be done for the Borg on T'Khut. While their trap had not caused the planet to break up, risking Vulcan too, it generated enough seismic instability to destroy the mining facilities when a previously dormant volcano became active. By the time they were aware of the situation, all the Maverick could do was watch helplessly as the place was engulfed by lava.
"Yes," Ezra nodded. "According to Doctor Jackson, she suffered some bruising and a mild concussion and at last report, was more irate at being told she needed to rest."
"Well, no surprise there," Vin shrugged and felt a pang of longing for Alex. After what happened, he wanted nothing more than to feel her touch to soothe the conflicted emotions inside of him. "It's like being married to a Klingon."
"Which is almost as challenging as being married to a Vulcan from Texas," Ezra couldn’t help but tease before his voice became sober when he saw Vin's pensive expression. No doubt the helmsman was still somewhat overwhelmed by what he had done using the Rods of Kell. "Are you alright, Vin?"
Vin looked ahead, trying to decide how to answer. "Honestly, I don't know Ez. What I did scares the hell out of me."
"It was an accident," Ezra countered quickly, "and what you did, saved your life and that of Jann's, I would not berate yourself over the action."
"Every time I think I gotta handle on being Vulcan," Vin shook his head. "Something else happens."
"I know," Ezra patted his shoulder kindly, remembering the distraught young officer who came to his quarters seeking help, just before the Pon Farr ripped Vin's mind apart. Ezra had counselled him then and since that day, Ezra knew Vin was receptive to whatever advice he had to offer. "But you have not harmed anyone since I have known you and the only reason your abilities manifested on this occasion, is because you wielded the rods. Do not censure yourself for an occurrence unlikely to recur."
"Thanks, Ezra," Vin said gratefully. "I just hope I'm not related to Sudoc or something."
The possibility, however remote horrified him. After Alex's miscarriage some months ago, Vin and Alex had talked seriously about children for the first time. While both agreed they didn't intend on expanding their family any time soon, the idea of passing on this trait to a child was something Vin didn't like to entertain at all.
"According to Stef, it does emerge from time to time in a family line, though not generationally. It may be your descendants that possess the trait, but if you and Alexandra choose to have progeny, that will further dilute the genetic pool, so the chances of this being passed on would be remote."
"Thank Christ," Vin shook off the lingering doubts in his head for now because there would be time enough to ponder this later. "So what's happening?"
"All the Borg have been transported to the Maverick," Ezra explained. "Thanks to Stef, we were able to do it discreetly to avoid more people than necessary needed being aware of our technology."
"And Sudoc?" Vin knew the tyrant could not be allowed to remain in the city now the hostilities were over. The tyrant was persona non grata in Shi'Kahr, and now the danger was over, Vin had no doubt the possibility of ending the threat he posed crossed some minds.
"I ordered Drew and two armed officers to return our mad tyrant to his territory in Jaleyl. The General accompanied him, just in case Sudoc made an ill-advised attempt to steal our runabout for its technology."
"Good call," Vin agreed, and knowing Sudoc, he might just do that. "How are Julia and Buck?"
They had just finished dealing with the Borg on T'hossuth when word reached them that Buck Wilmington had been recovered. Vin couldn't help but suppress a little smile at the blue streak Ezra cursed when he realised how this came about and what personal risk the Captain took to see it done. Vin honestly didn't think Ezra knew how to swear like that, but then Ezra was always affronted whenever Chris took dangerous risks with his life.
"Nathan is still working on Buck, but Julia has emerged from the surgery in good condition," Ezra answered, feeling more himself now he knew she was on board the Maverick, recovering from the ordeal of assimilation. "Still, the entire affair will have quite traumatic effects on all those who have been freed from the Collective. I am afraid the only true healer in this instance will be time."
"I’m glad she's okay Ez," Vin said offering Ezra a pat across the shoulder.
To that, Ezra could not disagree.
The next three days were busy ones for the Maverick.
Once the Borg threat was eliminated, the Maverick activated its cloak and returned to its original position in high orbit above the planet. There was much work to be carried out in the aftermath of the Borg's arrival on Vulcan, and now the immediate danger of the Collective was ended, the first order of business was damage control. Chris wanted to minimise the disruption to the timeline in the hopes the future they remembered would still be there when they returned home.
Nathan and his medical team continued to work around the clock, removing all the Borg implants from the drones severed from the Collective and then brought on board the ship. Once freed of the nanoprobes and Borg implants, the Shi'Kahr victims would be returned to the city, to be attended to by the community's own healers. While not as advanced as Starfleet medicine, Nathan was convinced Vulcan physicians would be able to handle the victims' convalescence.
While Nathan treated the Shi'Kahr victims for their eventual return home, Chris focussed on ensuring no traces of Borg technology remained on Vulcan after their departure.
According to Mary, the next five centuries would be turbulent ones for the planet, with a tremendous social upheaval taking place with the rise of Surak's philosophy of c'thia or non-emotion, and the subsequent fracture of Vulcan society with one faction taking to the stars. Those years did not need the added complication of Borg technology contaminating events already steeped in blood and violence. With General Stef's help, Ezra's security team was able to conduct a thorough search of T'hossuth for any traces of Borg technology escaping detection by the Maverick's sensors.
In the midst of all this, Buck Wilmington woke up.
Sick Bay was a hive of activity when Chris arrived. Other than the obligatory acknowledgement of his presence, Nathan's staff moved briskly across the floor, attending patients that occupied every bed in the place. At the same time, others stood behind sterilisation fields performing the surgeries needed to remove implants and reattach freshly cloned limbs and organs due to amputations. Chris headed directly to the CMO's office, sighting both Nathan and Josiah in the room.
The Counsellor had worked just as tirelessly as the rest of the medical staff the last three days, dividing his time between all the Maverick crew freed from assimilation. From his reports, Chris learned most of the survivors were still traumatised by their ordeal, gripped by feelings of helplessness and horror at what their Borg selves had done. Those who dedicated themselves to Starfleet lived by its code of tolerance and service, concepts utterly alien to the Borg Collective. To be forced to commit acts so contrary to those core beliefs had shaken the affected crewmen and Josiah believed for some, the effects might be permanent.
"How is he?" Chris asked when he entered the room.
"I've removed all the implants," Nathan explained, pouring Chris a glass from the bottle on his desk. It appeared the two physicians had been taking a well-needed break. "Fortunately, like the rest of the crew assimilated, the implants didn't have time to get fully entrenched, so I was able to get all of them. I've replaced his arm and eye so the physical damage at least, is corrected." Nathan glanced at Josiah as he handed Chris the glass.
"And the emotional?" Chris asked before taking a sip of his drink.
Josiah let out a heavy sigh, "don't expect much Chris. Like all the others, he's shaken, probably more so because he was apparently in charge of the drones."
Chris expected that. "I'm not surprised. Cut off from the Collective, he was the most senior ranking officer they assimilated. When they took Jean-Luc Picard, they did it for that reason. Can I see him?"
Nathan and Josiah exchanged a quick glance before the doctor answered. "Sure."
As Chris was led to the private room where Buck was resting, the Captain saw Ezra through the glass door of the room occupied by Julia Pemberton. The couple were locked in an embrace, with Julia appearing clearly distraught as she clung to Ezra. Chris dropped his gaze, feeling a little embarrassed for peeking but also grateful they managed to get her back. For his part, his affection for Julia made him hope this terrible experience did not shatter the bubbly, spirited young woman who could make him smile even on the greyest of days.
"How is she?" Chris asked Josiah beside him.
"Like the others," Josiah shrugged. "She's pretty broken up. You know Julia, she rarely sees the dark in anyone, even in herself. What happened to her while she was assimilated let her be nothing but that. It's going to take time to shake it off."
Chris cursed softly and wondered what state Buck would be in when he saw his oldest friend. Didn't matter, Chris told himself firmly, whatever Buck's condition, Chris intended to be at his side. If it wasn't for Buck, Chris wouldn't be Captain of the Maverick. Hell, he might not even be alive. Chances were, he'd be at the bottom of a bottle somewhere, rotting his liver in grief.
"Damn those sons of bitches," Chris swore under his breath. "You know, we fought them because they were enemy, I expect to feel that hostility as a natural product of war, but I've never hated them until now."
"I know," Josiah patted Chris on the shoulder, understanding. "He's in there. Go on."
"What about you?" Chris stared at him.
"I think he's had enough talks with a Counsellor for today," Josiah replied, stepping back and letting Chris go on alone. "I think now he needs a friend."
Chris met Josiah's gaze, "he's not a friend Josiah. He's family."
Buck was afraid to sleep.
Last night, he woke up and realised he was back on the Maverick, in a bed, he recognised immediately was one found in Sick Bay. Through the window, he saw stars outside and because he was thirsty, was able to reach for the jug of water beside his bed to pour himself a glass, with a hand that was not a mechanical prosthetic but flesh and blood. For a few seconds, he'd merely sat there after taking a sip, feeling the cold water run down his throat and savouring the cold spreading across his body on the way down.
Then he wept.
He wept because Buck still didn't know if he was dreaming and this would all fade away in a blink of an eye, some cruel illusion perpetrated by the hive mind to keep him sane so he could continue to function in their Collective. Even when the exhaustion forced sleep upon him, Buck was not at peace. In his slumber, he heard them, heard the chatter of so many who spoke with one voice but devoid of any sense of joy that ought to come with communion. Instead, it inflicted upon them mental slavery and called it harmony. Plagued with the memories of his assimilation, the Borg wouldn't even spare its victims that, Buck was forced to relive his ordeal in his sleep.
Now he was terrified to close his eyes.
Inez had come to see him this morning, and though he felt immeasurable happiness to see her, to take in her perfume in his lungs and feel the silk of her lips on his skin, there was a tiny part of him that couldn't accept she was real, and he was home. All he remembered was the walls surrounding him, the one that allowed him to see outside himself but nothing else. What if he snapped inside his prison? What if all this was just a way for his mind to cope with his incarceration? What if the Collective found him here and tore him away from this sanctuary too?
"Buck."
The sound of Chris Larabee's voice made him turn sharply to the Captain, and he stared at his friend, the same friend whose words had reached him in the darkness, who somehow managed to give him hope even when he wanted to die.
"Buck, I know you can hear me. Just hang on, I'm doing everything I can to get you back. Do you hear me? We're going to help you, I promise. I'm not going to give up on you Buck, not ever."
Chris would tell him the truth. Chris would never lie. If he had faith in anything, he had to have faith in that. If not, they might as well take his sanity, because there would be nothing left to cling to anymore.
"Chris," Buck stared at him and Chris came up to his bed.
"How are you doing?" Chris saw his friend and knew immediately Josiah was right, Buck was anything but fine.
Buck looked around the room and stared at Chris a moment before answering in a quiet voice. "Is...is this real?"
Chris blinked, feeling a fresh surge of fury at the Collective who had done this to his friend. He could see Buck’s desperate need to believe just like Chris recognised the fear and the uncertainty there. The Captain swore on his life, he would burn the whole goddamn Collective to ashes if he had the chance. Swallowing thickly because the emotion of anguish for his friend was affecting him too, Chris reached for Buck’s hand and gripped it tight.
"Yes," Chris nodded. "This is real. You're home, Buck. We've ripped every trace of them out of you, they're gone. I promise."
"I can still feel them Chris," Buck met his eyes, barely holding it together. "I can feel them crawling around in my head."
"I know," Chris did not have the heart to tell Buck in his fragile condition, he would probably always feel the Collective. Picard had said as much in his report about assimilation. "But they're just voices you can ignore."
Buck nodded and drew in a deep breath, blinking slowly as he brought himself under control. "Thank you for not giving up on me Chris," he said after a moment. "I heard what you said when I was..."
"You never gave up on me," Chris spared him having to say the word 'assimilated'. "Be pretty bad manners if I did the same."
Buck eased back into his bed, accepting Chris’s words and the weight of them on his mind. Closing his eyes, he lowered his head against the pillow and felt the strength drain out of him with Chris's hand still in his.
Chris didn't move, pulling himself a chair and suspecting Buck would sleep no other way. The Captain didn't know how long he could stay in Sick Bay with so much to do, but one thing was for certain, five years ago, Buck Wilmington saved his life by being the best friend he ever had.
It was time for Chris Larabee to return the favour.
It was time to go home.
Or at least try to get home, Chris Larabee thought as he sat in his command chair, preparing to leave Vulcan’s orbit for good.
Although Buck was absent from the First Officer’s seat beside him, Chris felt a sense of hope his old friend would retake his position once sufficient time passed, and Buck came to terms with what happened to him. The same went for Julia whom Nathan had agreed to release from Sick Bay into Ezra’s care. The Chief Engineer was spending her convalescence with Ezra who intended to help her through this trauma by being present when she needed him.
Chris had no doubt every member of his crew who was assimilated by the Borg would be suffering the same distress and required gentle handling for some time to come. While he was confident Nathan and Josiah were up to the task of caring for their mental welfare, Chris knew as Captain, the best he could do for them was to get them home to the 24th century.
“Captain, I’ve set the coordinates as requested,” JD Dunne announced from his usual station and Chris had to admit, it was good to see the kid there. Even if his bridge felt incomplete right now, at least some semblance of it was returning to normal. “With the course plotted and at maximum warp, we should reach Bajor in under a week.”
“You think this is going to work?” Mary asked Chris from her customary place next to him.
“I think so,” Chris answered, confident Alex’s suggestion as incredible as it sounded when the Science Officer first proposed it, would work. “The Celestial Temple is ten thousand years old, so it should still be there.”
“I know that,” Mary answered, “the question is, will they help us?”
“I think there’s a good chance,” Alex spoke up from her Science station. “The last time we were on Bajor, I had a chance to talk to Colonel Kira. Before he vanished, Captain Sisko was able to make contact with his wife, explaining he was being taken by the wormhole aliens because he was the Emissary. The species does not exist in normal space-time and have no concept of linear chronology, so if he’s in their dimension, there’s a good chance he’ll hear us.”
“While I adore a good gamble,” Ezra commented, wishing their only hope of getting home did not rest on such uncertain ground, “I would prefer better odds.”
“So would I, but we’re out of options,” Chris added, appreciating Ezra’s concerns. “Besides, when we fly into the wormhole and cut our engines, that’s bound to get someone’s attention, and if Ben Sisko is one of the Prophets now, I don’t think he’s going to want us messing up the timeline either.”
“True,” Mary could not disagree on that point.
As Ezra implied, it was a gamble. However, Chris was also preparing for the worst if they failed. Bajoran space and what lay beyond was distant enough to ensure the Maverick would not interfere in the development of the Alpha Quadrant if they were forced to remain in this era.
On that note, Chris turned to the Security Chief. “Ezra, raise our cloak before we hit warp. I don’t want anyone seeing us en route.”
“Aye Captain,” Ezra nodded, more than happy to comply. After the last few days, the entire crew could use a nice, uneventful trip to Bajor.
In the view screen, the view of Vulcan and T’Khut began to shrink as Vin took the Maverick away from the twin worlds at half-impulse speed. “Vin, the minute we clear the system, take us there at maximum warp.”
“You got it, Captain,” Vin replied, tapping the helm controls with the ease of someone glad to be in his rightful place again. After his time on Vulcan, Vin was happy to be back at the helm of the Maverick once more.
Chris stood up from his command chair and walked over to the helmsman, remembering Buck wasn’t the only friend who was in turmoil during this trip to the past. Vin too had been battling some rather personal demons himself.
“You okay pard?” Chris asked quietly.
“Yeah,” Vin looked up and saw his Captain and friend staring at him with a hint of concern. “I reckon I will be. You know, you were right.”
Chris raised a brow. “I was?”
“Yeah,” Vin nodded as he saw Vulcan and T’Khut grow smaller in the view screen the further away from the planets they travelled. “You said I ought to go to Vulcan one day, see for myself what it was like. You were right, I should have.”
“If we get home,” Chris gave him a little smile. “You still can.”
“I might just do that,” Vin nodded, aware he had some business to conduct on Vulcan that would make this a certainty.
“Provided our future is still there,” Chris shrugged and turned back to his command chair. “What are our chances of that?” He threw the question at Alex.
“I say pretty good,” Alex smiled. “We’ve made sure there are no traces of Borg technology left behind on the planet and thanks to the efforts of our Chief of Security, we’ve managed to erase any records of our existence from the planetary surveillance records.”
Ezra gave her a look, “a feat I could not have managed without you, my dear.”
Chris smiled, aware the two had managed to run a focussed baryon sweep across all surveillance systems on Vulcan, erasing any recordings collected by the planet’s tracking devices when the Maverick was forced to lower its cloak. “Well, good work either way.”
“What about Stef and Surak?” Mary stared at Chris, aware the Captain had a final meeting with the General and his son before their departure. “You think they’re going to be okay?”
“It’s time for us to go.”
Chris transported down to Shi’Kahr once all the crew was on board, waiting to begin the journey home. The Captain wanted a final audience with the General whom he quite liked and felt a little sad knowing when they returned to the 24th century, Stef would be long dead, a footnote in the history of his son’s legacy. Without Stef’s invaluable leadership and help, they would never have cleansed Vulcan of the Borg or restored the future to its rightful course.
Their meeting place was in the deserted square of T’hossuth, where the Away Team found S’tash hidden in the drain pipe. Since his and Surak’s return to Shi’Kahr, Chris knew Stef had taken the boy and his sister Norath, one of the drones Vin had shot with his mare’s leg, into his home. Sadly, their parents had not survived the Borg invasion of their district.
“You are returning home?” Stef asked, not revealing the truth he knew about where in time these Outliers originated.
“We hope so,” Chris nodded.
“And the one called Vin, he would go with you?” Surak inquired.
“Yes, he’s a valuable member of our crew and my friend. Besides, his wife would never let him stay.” Chris remarked with a little smirk.
“His future is with them Surak,” the General said goodnaturedly, patting his son on the shoulder. “He came home to us when he was needed, that is enough.”
S’tash came forward and said meekly. “You are leaving now?”
Chris lowered to his knees so he could see S’tash at eye level, still unable to believe he considered for a brief moment, to leave young S’tash to his fate. Even if this boy would become the founder of the Romulan Star Empire, the young eyes staring at him with admiration and gratitude was an innocent. S’tash was not so different than Billy and that moment of doubt was something Chris would crush ruthlessly if it ever surfaced again.
“Yeah,” Chris nodded. “You gonna be okay, kid?”
“He and his sister are welcome in our home for as long as they need it,” Stef answered for S’tash, seeing the genuine concern in this Outlier for the young boy.
“I have always wanted a younger brother,” Surak added, having grown quite fond of S’tash since they came into contact with these Outliers and the strange circumstances they found themselves. “And it appears this is the only way to acquire one since my parents will not consent to having another child.”
The General rolled his eyes in exasperation, prompting Chris to laugh because it appeared even Vulcan teenagers could be smart asses. It made him miss Adam, and suddenly Chris decided, he was eager to get going, because he didn’t just need to get his crew back to their own time, but Chris wanted to return home too. If the Fates were kind and the timeline remained intact, their families, including Adam, would be waiting for them in the future.
“You take care S’tash,” Chris brushed a hand against the young boy’s cheek.
“Will we see you again?” S’tash asked quietly. After being saved by this Outlier and seeing the ship this man commanded, S’tash knew he would never forget the Captain of the Maverick.
Chris met Stef’s gaze briefly and shook his head. “I’m afraid not S’tash. My world is very far away, and it will take a long time to get there.”
S’tash’s face registered his disappointment, and once again, Chris felt a pang of sadness at having to say goodbye to this child but was grateful S’tash would be in good hands at least.
“Hey, you’ll see me in here,” he tapped the boy on the forehead. “Just like I’ll see you in mine.”
S’tash smiled sadly as Chris stood upright. Looking at Surak, Chris found it hard to equate this teenager with the giant of Vulcan philosophy he would someday be. In some sense, Surak reminded him a little of Vin when the Vulcan first came on board the Rutherford. Unassuming, bursting with potential and more thoughtful than anyone gave him credit.
Stef regarded the Outlier, and though they did not speak when their eyes met, their wordless exchange spoke volumes. The Captain had given him hope the future for his people would be bright, even if it had to be hard-won. Furthermore, his son would have a crucial role in building that future.
Breaking contact with Stef, Chris turned to Surak. “Have a good life Surak. Be true to yourself always. Despite what you’ve seen these last few days, we’re more alike than you can possibly imagine.”
“I believe so,” Surak nodded, still holding in wonder, the place Josiah Sanchez had taken them on board the unseen ship in the sky. “I will always dream of you.”
Chris knew he would, and as he tapped his combadge to return to his ship, he took in the sight of Surak, suspecting he would never be able to see the Vulcan philosopher in the same way again.
To him, Surak would always be this young man, on the cusp of changing a galaxy.
Chris turned to Mary and smiled. “Yeah, I think they’re going to be fine.”
As the view screen revealed the Maverick leaving Vulcan, Vin took a last look at the red planet and knew he would never think of it in quite the same way again. A part of him would always feel the call of the desert, and the need to stand on the red sands of Seleya to feel the Watcher’s eye on his back. If there was one consolation to be had in all this, it was finally discovering his connection to his homeworld.
And no matter how things might be in the future, that would never change.
THE END