A Most Interesting Development
by Ben Church
b_church@yahoo.com
Feedback! Please!
Disclaimer to follow.
"The Time Is 0700 Hours." the Computer said, as the lights
went on. Ensign Sean Fogerty got up and headed for the head. The
lights hurt his eyes.
"Computer, half lights." he ordered. Obediently, the
lights dimmed to a more tolerable level, giving his eyes time to
adjust. He took off his sleeping garb and stepped into the sonic
shower. It woke him up and cleaned him, but as far as he was
concerned, it would never be as good as a real water shower.
"Computer," he said, as he got out. "Access music files,
20th century composer, Williams, John. Play random track." He
smiled as the music filled his quarters. Then he got ready to
start his day.
"Ah!" Neelix greeted enthusiastically. "Good morning
Ensign! How are you today?"
"I'm all right." Sean said. "But the day is young." He
smiled to show the Talaxian chef that he was joking. "How about
you?"
"Oh I'm doing quite well today, thank you." Neelix's
cheerful attitude had gotten on Sean's nerves at first, as had
his incessant attempts to cheer him up.
Sean had never considered himself a cheerful person. The
best his mood usually got, he said, was not depressed. But
eventually they'd gotten used to each other.
"So what's on the menu for today sir?" Sean asked,
practicing a Scottish accent he'd perfected over a century ago.
"Well I tried that recipe you gave me for hash browns,"
Neelix told him. "I think I've managed to come up with a
reasonable facsimile, seeing as how we've a shortage of Terren
Potatoes. I've also got some fruit juice."
"Sounds good, hook me up." Neelix, having also gotten
used to Sean's penchant for old Earth Slang, knew what he meant.
Taking his tray, he scanned the mess hall for a place to
sit. Seeing a possibility, he headed in that direction.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked Harry Kim.
"Not at all." Kim said. "Haven't seen you for a while. What
have you been up to?"
"Oh, you know, same old same old. I'm taking a turn on Brig
Duty."
"How do you stay awake?" Kim grinned.
"I'm writing my memoirs of this voyage." Sean answered
truthfully. "I just finished the second chapter."
Stardate 48315.6
Sean looked around the station Terok Nor. Or Deep Space Nine
as it was now called. He shook his head. He hoped he never ran into
any Cardasians. He'd spent a long time on Bajor during the occupation.
He'd left twenty years ago when his friend and Fellow Immortal Willow
Rosenburg vanished on a deep space charting mission she was flying for
the Federation.
He'd attended the memorial service held for her, knowing in
his heart, as did her other friends who knew of her Immortality, that
there was a good chance that she was alive.
Fergus, Ben, and Angel went after her, and returned with news
of the wreckage of her ship, but no Willow. Ben and Angel kept looking
for her, that was the last he'd seen of them.
Sitting in Quarks bar now, he sighed in regret. He'd been
unable to return to Bajor, and so had not been present when his comrades
in the resistance had finally driven out the Cardasians.
Ever since he'd taken Tiernan's Quickening, in his first
battle, he'd had memories of Ireland's struggle for freedom since
before the Celts. He'd even joined in the struggle in 2005, and had stayed
in the fight until it had ended in the unification of Ireland in 2025.
Many aspects of life before the third world war were lost in that
horrible catastrophe, but thanks in large part to his, and others' efforts, the
history and culture of Ireland and Scotland survived.
But the struggle for freedom never ended. At one time or
another, he'd been wanted by the Klingons, before their alliance with
the Federation, the Romulans, and in recent decades, the Cardasians,
for joining in the fight that many of their subject planets had waged.
And now here he was, recently graduated from Starfleet Academy,
again. And waiting to meet an old friend.
"So there you are Old Man." a feminine voice laughed from
behind him. He turned, startled. Only one person called him that.
"Dax!" he cried, leaping to his feet. "How are you youngster?"
They both laughed and embraced. The nicknames were an old joke
between them. Sean was only the Symbiote's elder by about a hundred
years. Not that long really. He'd known several of it's hosts, male
and female. He'd assisted in the capture of Juran, the host that had
killed three people.
He'd always had to suppress a snicker when he'd heard Sisko
call Curzon "Old Man".
Sean looked Jadzia Dax up and down. "No offense," he said, his
centuries of life had taken the edge off his shyness. "But you look
a lot better than your previous host."
Dax seemed to consider this for a moment. "None taken." she
decided. As they sat, she turned serious. "How are you taking your
new mission?" she asked him.
"I'm not really happy about it." Sean admitted. "I mean, the
Maquis are only protecting their home, just like the Bajorans-"
"And the Irish, and a hundred other species you've fought for."
Dax interrupted. "I've heard it before."
Sean blushed. "Sorry. But don't worry. I have no intention
of sabotaging the mission, if that's what you're wondering. But Fergus
is all set to defend them with all the centuries of experience he has.
Which at two hundred years isn't too shabby."
"I swear, every time I look at that man, I can just picture him
going after someone with a sword. Not as a lawyer."
"Yeah, go figure."
The Badlands
With a bit of effort, Ensign Fogerty pulled himself to his
feet. "Man," he grunted. "When they say `Badlands` they aren't
kidding." He looked down at his tunic. "Looks like I died." he
thought. The front of his tunic showed the residual burns of the
console before him exploding. Which it had.
He took quick stock of his situation. He was alive, most of
the others in the security station were not. One was however, but
with a deep cut in her calf. He ripped the sleeve off his tunic and
tied it around her thigh to stem the bleeding, then, as an after
thought, removed his tunic altogether to bandage her wound. Then he
helped her up, she was semi-conscious, and took her to sickbay.
Sickbay hadn't fared any better in, whatever had happened.
Tom Paris was frantically helping what he guessed was the EMH with the
wounded.
"Room for one more?" he called over the red alert noise.
"Sure," Tom replied tensely. "Why not?"
"While I'm here," Sean offered. "You two need any help."
"If you've enough knowledge," the EMH accepted. "You can see
to any new arrivals." He pointed to the extra medical tricorder and
ignored him.
The Present
"Brig duty. Sigh." Brig duty wasn't always boring. Every now
and then a minor squabble would break out, or someone would manage to
get drunk, and then it was kind of interesting.
He didn't always pull Brig duty, he actually mostly monitored
the ship from one of the several Security Stations. Once or twice he'd
even gotten bridge duty on the night shift. Plus he'd had his share of
Away Missions.
He sat back in this chair, looking absently at the PADD in his
hand. He'd reached sort of an impasse in his writing, wondering what
he should leave out, and what he should include. He sighed and put the
PADD down. He closed his eyes briefly and remembered a time earlier in
the year, when he'd had quite an interesting guest in the Brig.
Stardate 52004.9
Ensign Fogerty cast another uneasy glance at the cell, and
the Borg Drone imprisoned there in. He'd missed the Captain's
conversation with it, her, whatever. He'd come on duty just after
she'd left. In fact, he'd narrowly avoided colliding with her.
He couldn't say exactly what it was that made him so nervous
about the Borg. He didn't think they could assimilate him. But the
fact remained that it was a possibility. And if that happened, if
the Borg learned the secret of Immortality...
He shuddered just thinking of it. At least he wasn't bored.
She hadn't spoken to him once since he'd arrived. That was another
thing that unnerved him. Every other prisoner had struck up a
conversation with him, or at least done something. But she just stood
there, not moving, not speaking, he wasn't even sure if she was
breathing.
"You are afraid of me." Her voice made him jump.
"What?"
"You are afraid of me." she repeated.
"I think it's safe to say that most of the crew is afraid of
you." he told her. "Does this surprise you?"
"The Borg do not get `Surprised`."
"Of course not the unexpected is irrelevant."
"Precisely."
The conversation lapsed into an uncomfortable silence for
a moment. Uncomfortable for him anyway.
"Why?"
"What?"
"Are you're auditory nerves malfunctioning?"
This made him laugh. "No, my ears are working perfectly. I
just don't know what you mean."
The Drone seemed to ignore his laughter. "Why do humans fear
assimilation."
"Let me answer that with a question. What happens when an
individual is assimilated?"
"They are joined to the collective. Their thoughts become one
with all Borg."
"But what happens to the person, their personality? The part
of them, that makes them what they are?"
"Their memory engrams are stored in implants."
"So, in essence, they are trapped, with no hope of escape, or
even of the release of death, with no input, complete deprivation of
everything."
She digested this. "It is a reasonable facsimile of what this
means. Yes."
"There's your answer." Sean told her.
She had not spoken to him again after that.
The Present
The stark grid of the holodeck greeted him when he
entered. He realized he should have decided on a program before he
decided to use his holodeck rations. Shrugging, he decided to play
one until he thought of one he'd rather play.
"Computer," he said. "Run Program Fogerty One, level 9." He'd
just beaten Level 8 last week. Usually he played a beaten level for
a while until he'd beaten it five times in a row, but he was bored.
He needed to release the tension he'd built up on the Brig.
The grid disappeared, to be replaced by a dark forest. He held
still, listening carefully for the opponent he knew was out there.
He almost didn't hear them, but at the last second, he spun,
and parried the blow. The impact drove him to his knees, and he looked
up at his assailant.
"Fogerty." the man growled, his gravely voice fitting perfectly
with his appearance. He was over six feet tall, and built like a tank.
His armor was old but strong, and his helmet was fashioned out of an
animal skull.
"Kurgan." Sean said, through gritted teeth. The Kurgan was
trying to force his blade down, and it was almost all the Ensign could
do to keep it up.
The Kurgan. The most feared of all Immortals, Tut had told
him. Until Connor MacLeod had taken him out. Sean had first met
the Highlander at Tut's wedding a couple centuries ago. Since then,
they'd only seen each other at the Tut and Sita's anniversary parties.
Connor had told him about the Kurgan though. Enough for Sean
to create this holodeck simulation. What better way to test one's
skills than against the most fearsome opponent one could find?
He wondered idly who would have won in a battle between The
Kurgan, and Gabrielle's friends, Xena and Hercules.
"Tuvok to Ensign Fogerty."
"Computer freeze program." Fogerty slid out from under the
frozen Kurgan and tapped his combadge. "Fogerty here."
"Report to Transporter room three immediately." Tuvok
instructed.
"Yes sir."
When he arrived, Tuvok regarded him silently. He was wearing
a trenchcoat over a simple jumpsuit.
"Sorry for being out of Uniform sir." Sean apologized. "But
you caught me on the holodeck, and you said Immediately,"
"There is no need for apologies Ensign." the Vulcan reassured
him. "You were off duty. However, a situation has arisen that
requires your expertise."
"What expertise?"
"We have discovered a Borg outpost station with a lone human
life-sign aboard." he said.
"Again," Sean said, confused. "What expertise?"
"To be honest, I am not certain. However-"
"I told the Lieutenant your presence would be advantageous."
Seven declared, having just entered. "You will see why shortly."
Tuvok and Sean both looked at her rather suspiciously.
"Very well." Tuvok said. He led Seven, Sean, and three other
security officers onto the platform. Sean quickly shed his trenchcoat
and tossed it away. He'd want as much freedom of movement as possible
on a Borg station.
As soon as the Borg corridor took form around them, all the
security officers drew their phasers, as did Sean. Seven wielded a
phaser rifle, while Tuvok operated a tricorder.
"The life signs are this way." Tuvok said, leading them off to
the right.
Several Borg Drones passed them, and ignored them.
"That's something I never quite understood." Sean admitted to
Seven. "A species as aggressive as the Borg, just ignores several
potential Drones?"
"Are you complaining Ensign?" Seven asked.
"Lord no. I just don't understand it."
"It is difficult to explain." she said. "I believe the human
phrase that best describes it, is `they have better things to attend
to`."
"Ah."
"Our objective is right around the corner." Tuvok said, ending
all conversation.
"What's a human doing on this station anyhow?" Sean wondered.
When they turned the corner, and saw the young woman imprisoned
in the Assimilation chamber, he found out.
"Oh my God," he said, in spite of himself. "Willow?"
Sunnydale California, 1999
Sean looked around at the courtyard of Sunnydale Highschool.
It had been cleared of students by the Principal. He still couldn't
believe Joe had gotten that Toad to agree to this.
He looked down at his script at the scene they were about to
rehearse. He grinned for about the 50th time since he'd gotten this
part. His first movie part, and it was a major role.
He was playing a Werewolf named Scott in the Indie Horror/
Comedy: Welcome to The Hellmouth. The director and star, Joseph
Macleod, no relation to the Immortals he'd discovered, was playing the
male lead. A good Vampire.
It was one of the most unusual plots he'd ever heard of. A
town is built on the Mouth of Hell, and all sorts of Supernatural
nasties were running around. Then this valley girl moves to town and
proceeds to save the world from said monsters with the help of a
Vampire, Joe, who was also her love interest, a Werewolf, himself,
a Witch, who was the Werewolf's love interest, a snotty bitch, a wise
cracking sidekick, there was always one, and the inevitable mentor.
Joe had also written the script. He'd cast some of his college
friends in it, and had gotten permission to film it in his hometown.
"Where does Joe get this stuff?" Sean had wondered. His
teacher, Tut, was a stuntman, but Sean had gotten, after much haggling,
permission to do most, if not all of his own stunts. For instance,
in the scene coming up, he was going to be thrown from the second floor
walkway to the courtyard below. This should be fun.
"Oh god this is good." Sean sighed after taking a sip of the
Root Beer in front of him. It had been a long day on the set. He must
have been thrown from the walkway fifteen times. But it was worth it.
He loved his work.
"Um," a hesitant voice said. "Excuse me."
Sean turned to find a pretty redhead standing by his table.
"Uh, yeah?" he said.
"Are you, um, in, in the movie that's being filmed?"
"Yeah I am." Sean smiled. He figured she was some local who
wanted a part in the movie.
He turned out to be only half right. She was a local, but she
didn't want a part in the movie. She wanted to know how Joe had known
as much about the Hellmouth events as he did.
They'd wound up becoming good friends. Especially when
Vampires had attacked the cast. They'd won, and secrets had been
revealed.
The Present
"You know this woman?" Tuvok asked.
"We have to get her out of there." Sean said in answer. "What
are they doing to her?"
"Attempting to assimilate her." Seven stated simply. "As they
have for over ten years."
"Dear God," one of the officers said.
Tuvok merely raised and eyebrow and put away his tricorder. I
will wish an explanation. But now is not the time."
Seven went to the controls and opened the chamber. Sean caught
Willow as she slumped to the floor and hoisted her into his arms.
"The Borg will not wish to give her up." Seven said. "We must
return to the beam out coordinates quickly."
Seven led the way with Sean right behind her. Tuvok brought
up the rear.
"Here they come!" one of the Ensigns cried. A quick phaser
blast reinforced his statement.
"Seven to Voyager."
"Voyager here." Janeway's voice came through.
"We have retrieved the human, but are being pursued. We must
be beamed out as soon as possible."
"Acknowledged. Stand by."
"Stand by she says." Sean muttered. Willow lay limply in his
arms.
"They have adapted to my phaser frequency." Tuvok said, and
switched places with one of the other Ensigns.
Seven stopped short. "Our route has been cut off." A force
field had been erected before them.
"Voyager to Away Team." Janeway called. "They've adapted their
shields, we can't penetrate them to beam you out."
"Understood." She turned to Sean.
"I will require your assistance." She grabbed him by the front
of his tunic and thrust him into the force field. Energy crackled as
his constant contact with the field slowly overloaded the systems.
"I'm reading a power drain on the station." Kim said.
"I just got a lock on them Captain." Paris said. "But
something's wrong with Ensign Fogerty's communicator."
"Seven to Voyager. Have you a lock on us?"
"We do," the Captain said. "But it looks like we're losing our
lock on Fogerty."
"Do not be concerned. Initiate Transport on my mark."
Seven waited five more seconds and pulled a barely conscious
Sean Fogerty out of the field. "Mark."
Sean's convulsing body appeared in Sickbay as did a comatose
girl, and Seven and Tuvok. The other security Officers had been beamed
to the transporter room.
"What happened to him?" The Doctor exclaimed, rushing to Sean's
side.
"I held him in the force field to allow for our escape." Seven
told him. "Do not be concerned. He will recover."
"I'm the Doctor, I'll decide whether or not I should be
concerned."
"L-listen t-t-t-to h-her." Sean managed to get out, still
feeling the effects of the field. "S-s-see to th-th girl."
The Doctor still looked hesitant.
"C-comp-puter, r-r-r-"
"Computer initiate EMH Override 1, clearance 1-9-7-8." Seven
finished.
The Doctor blinked. "He'll be fine." he decided, and turned
towards Willow.
Tuvok observed calmly.
"Y-y-you c-couldn't have w-warned me?" Sean said, glaring at
Seven and struggling to his feet. The energy was beginning to drain
from him. But slowly.
"There was not time."
Sean shrugged and looked at Willow. "You knew she was down
there. You knew what she is, and you knew what I am, this whole time
you knew, and you said nothing?"
"When I first knew, it was against the Borg's best interests
to reveal that to the Captain."
"And after that?"
"It was not truly her concern."
"Well it is now." Janeway said, having entered silently, with
Chakoatay behind her. "Who is this girl, and what's going on? What
did you mean Seven knew what you were? How did you survive the Force
Field, and why wasn't this girl assimilated?"
"I can answer the last question captain." The Doctor said.
"The Borg nano-probes were unable to assimilate her because her immune
system adapted even faster than they did. But the Borg kept pumping
new ones into her, and it looks like they were beginning to wear her
down. It was only a matter of time."
Janeway looked at Seven and Sean. "Care to explain the rest?"
Seven looked to Sean.
Sighing, Ensign Fogerty sat back.
"A lot of what I have to say is going to be very hard for you
to believe." he said. "And I must insist that it not go out of this
room."
Janeway nodded. "Go on."
"I was born on Earth, near the city of Washington D.C. In the
year 1978."
"Are you El Aurian?" The Doctor asked.
"No Doctor, though some would argue that I'm no more human than
any alien. I am Immortal. There is only one way I can die, and if you
don't mind, I'll keep that information to myself. There are others
like me many of whom are a lot older than I am.
"This is Willow Rosenburg. She is also Immortal, which is why
the Borg were unable to assimilate her. She's about the same age as
me. We first met in the year 1999.
"She disappeared over twenty years ago on a deep space mission.
I knew there was a good chance she was alive, but I never thought I
would find her out here.
"The Borg found out about us when they captured Willow I guess.
But Seven knew what I was from the beginning. And there's something
else. We all try our best to hide what we are, in fear that someone
who wont understand will come after us, or that we'll become Lab Rats,
which has happened more than once. If the Doctor ever examined me, he
there's a chance he would have discovered what I was. So I installed
a program in his matrix that kept him ignorant. I've never once gone
to a routine physical, but your records will show that I have, and that
I've had perfect health most of the time, but there's also falsified
records of a few broken bones, accidents on the holo-deck and I
underwent treatment for Altarian Flue once."
Sean gave a half smile as he told the computer to erase the
program.
The Captain and the others in the room took some time to
absorb the information he'd just given them.
"You're right." Chakoatay said. "It is hard to believe."
"But it is an explanation." Janeway said. "And I'm willing to
take it on faith until Ms. Rosenburg can corroborate your story." She
turned to the Doctor. "How is she?"
"I'm not sure." he answered. "The Nanites in her system are
being destroyed as we speak, but I can't be sure what kind of damage
has been done to her by the years of constant invasion. Her body
should recover, but there's no way to tell if her mind will."
"I might have a way to remedy that." Sean said.
"Is it safe to wake her?" Janeway asked.
"She is awake." The Doctor said quietly. Sure enough, her
eyes were open, but there was no sign that anything was going on in her
brain.
Sean looked approvingly at the program that was running. He'd
recreated the Bronze for one of his already existing programs, right
down to the lighting. For the purposes of this program, he'd also
recreated Willow's friends from his own memories of them, and Willow's
stories. Xander, Angel, Buffy, Joe, Micky, Giles, Cordelia, Jesse,
they were all there. Even Oz was there. Sean had never met Oz. All
he knew about the boy were Willow's and the other's stories, and
pictures. He hoped it was accurate enough.
"Computer," he said. "Freeze program."
He went to the door, and took Willow from Paris. "I'll take it
from here Tom." he said. Taking Willow inside, he sat her down at the
table with Buffy and Xander.
"Computer, resume program."
"So Willow," Buffy said. "What have you been up to?"
No response.
"Hello," Xander said, waving his hand in front of her eyes.
"Hellmouth to Rosenburg, come in!"
"You'll have to excuse her." Sean said. "She's had quite a
shock, and well, I was hoping you guys could help her snap out of it."
"I think we could handle that." Jesse said. "So Willow, how
are you and Oz doing?"
Sean may have imagined it, but he thought he saw something
flash in her eyes. He looked up at the stage, where Oz was playing.
Getting up, he listened to Willow's friends continue to attempt to get
her to open up.
"Hey Oz." Sean said to hologram.
The orange haired boy stopped playing, to the mild
consternation of Joe and Micky, who'd been trying to play a song.
"What's up?" Oz asked.
"Willow needs you. She's gone into some kind of coma, and I
think you can bring her out of it."
Oz immediately jumped down from the stage, barely taking the
time to put down his guitar. He hurried over to Willow's table, where
it seemed that her friends did seem to be getting through to her.
She blinked.
"Hey Willow," Oz said, sitting beside her.
Sean was absolutely sure this time. She seemed to twitch at
the sound of his voice. And her head seemed to have inclined a bit.
"How are you feeling?"
"Oz?" she said. Almost too quietly for Sean to hear. He took
one of the two swords he held in his hand, and put it on the table just
within reach of her hand. Then he backed up a bit.
"Computer delete all characters." Willow definitely jumped
when all her friends disappeared.
Drawing his own sword, Sean rushed her. "There can be only
one!" he shouted, swinging the blade at her head.
Both swords were made in the holodeck. They were programed to
vanish before they could harm either person. But it turned out to not
be necessary. Sean's blow was parried before it ever reached her. She
stared at him in shock, her sword blocking his.
"Sean?" she asked weakly. "What are you, where are, huh?"
Willow Rosenburg sat in Sean Fogerty's quarters, waiting for
Sean to return with the Captain. Lord, over twenty years had gone by
since she'd gotten caught in the wormhole that brought her to the
delta quadrant, and stranded her ship on a world with no atmosphere.
Once her ship's oxygen stores had run out, she'd lain "dead" for at
least a year before the Borg discovered her. She sighed.
Sean had filled her in on the events in the Alpha Quadrant
since her disappearance, up to Voyager's own disappearance of course. It
kind of blew her away.
"Computer," she said. "Play something by composer Amos, Tori."
"There have been two composers by that name." the computer
stated.
"Oh yeah," Willow giggled. "I forgot. Play something by the
one that lived in the Twentieth century."
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Janeway asked again.
"You're both welcome to stay, you know that. And I hate losing a crew
member." She alone had come to see them off. The rest of the crew,
even the ones who knew about them were not there. The official report
would say that the shuttle had been lost in a warp experiment, and the
two were presumed dead.
Sean smiled, as did Willow.
"I'd certainly like to Captain." Sean said. "I'm gonna miss
all of you. But me and Willow have some catching up to do."
"That and the Borg won't give up trying to get us." Willow
added. The centuries had given her much more confidence in herself.
"It's better for Voyager if we're not aboard. We've been around for
a long time, and picked up some tricks. We'll be all right."
"Last one to get back to the Alpha Quadrant buys the
Synthahol." Sean said.
"Sounds good." Janeway smiled. "If everything goes well, we'll
meet you there. Godspeed."
"Thanks, you too."
Willow and Sean turned away after making their farewells, and
boarded the runabout.
"On the road again," Sean sang softly as they brought the
engines online. It hadn't taken Willow long to familiarize herself
with the advances made in recent years.
"I just can't wait to get on the road again." Willow joined in.
"The life I love is making music with my friends. I just can't
wait to get on the road again." they sang together.
Voyager receded behind them as they took a slightly different
route home.
"You know who the Borg remind me of?" Willow said as they
entered warp. "The Cenobites." She shuddered slightly at the memory.
"The what?"
"Oh, I didn't tell you that story?"
The End??
Disclaimer:
First, a Continuity note or two: In my story Who Wants to Live Forever,
I connected the Highlander and Buffy universes, and established that
Willow would one day become Immortal. In "Do You Take This Vampire" I
introduced Sean, a new Immortal, who took his first head in "How I Won
My First Battle", the Immortal's name was Tiernan.
This takes place during the summer hiatus between the fifth season of
Voyager, and the fourth season, which introduced Seven.
Star Trek and all associated characters belong to Paramount pictures.
Buffy and all associated characters belong to Joss Whedon.
Highlander belongs to Rysher Entertainment I believe. (
geocities.com/area51/dimension) (
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