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Sailor Trek: The Next Generation
Chapter 5 - Rescue Mission
"Captain, could I have a word with you?" Riker inquired. Glancing
at the others he added, "In private."
Picard nodded, having a good idea what the first officer wanted to
discuss. "If you'll excuse us?" Acceding to his request, the others
made their way back onto the bridge. As the security chief was leaving
he said, "Mr. Worf, escort the Scouts to Holodeck Two, and begin working
with them and Mr. Data. I'll be joining you shortly." Riker remained
silent, but his face had a "We'll-see-about-this" expression.
"Aye, sir."
Picard was about to address his first officer when he realized that
Q was still present. "You also, Q. *Out.*"
"Well, I know where I'm not wanted," the entity grumbled and
promptly vanished.
"That'll be the day," Picard observed softly.
After the door had closed behind them, Mars asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's... unusual for a captain to lead an away mission," Troi
answered hesitantly. "Typically the first officer does while the
captain remains on the ship."
Jupiter frowned and observed, "Gee, it wasn't like that for
Captain Kirk."
Q chose that moment to reappear, startling the two Moon cats.
"Times change," he stated. "And not always for the better."
"Shut up, Q!" several voices exclaimed in unison.
"With all due respect, sir," Riker said sharply as soon as Q had
vanished, "have you lost your mind?"
Picard regarded him with a slightly amused expression. "Don't you
think you're overreacting, Will?"
"No, sir, I don't," he responded. "As first officer, it's my duty
to handle the away missions to keep the captain out of unnecessary danger.
And in my book... hell in anyone's book... leading a rescue mission onto
a Borg ship definitely qualifies." He took a step closer to Picard.
"Sir, why are you so intent on leading this away team?"
Picard sighed and sat down. "I have my reasons, Will. Firstly, I
know my way around a Borg ship. I know the Borg."
"True," Riker conceded. "But I've been on a Borg ship as well, and
I've had experience in dealing with them."
"I think we can agree that my experiences were of a more...
intimate nature," Picard countered.
Riker grimaced. He had no real counter to that argument. Picard's
time as Locutus had given him an insight into the Borg that no one else
could match. "I can't argue with that. But I still believe that this
is a totally unacceptable risk you're taking."
"It is a risk, Number One, but it's one worth taking." Picard
paused, trying to find the proper phrasing. "It is likely... no,
inevitable, that we will have future encounters with the Borg. When
that happens, I have to be able to confront the Borg face to face. And
it's not something I can do from the bridge."
Riker looked thoughtful as he considered the captain's reasoning.
"Sir, these aren't the usual type of Borg we'll be facing. They may
react entirely differently to what you're used..."
"Be that as it may, I'm going, Commander," Picard interrupted his
first officer, his voice a little harder than he wanted. Then in a
quieter tone, he added, "This is something I have to do, Will."
Darien and the Scouts looked around as they entered Holodeck Two.
It was a featureless room, the all black save for a gold colored grid
adorning the walls, ceiling and floor. "This is a holodeck?" Venus
wondered. "It doesn't look like much."
"That is because we have not created the program for it to run,"
Data responded. He had met them at the entrance, waiting patiently for
them to arrive. "Computer: access log records and recreate the interior
of a Borg ship." Instantly the room vanished and they stood inside a
Borg ship.
The five newcomers marveled at the realism of the simulation.
"Wow," Jupiter commented. "You guys have the technology to do this?"
"The holodeck can create virtually any environment that is needed,"
Worf answered. "They are used both for recreation and for training
simulations."
"This may not be an entirely accurate simulation as Rubeus has
undoubtedly made alterations to the Borg craft," Data said.
"Nevertheless, it should provide us an opportunity to work with you."
"The captain wanted us to begin at once," Worf informed the
android. "He will join us later."
"I see."
"You don't seem too surprised that Captain Picard will be going
with us," Mars commented.
"As I am an android, I am incapable of expressing, or experiencing,
emotions such as surprise."
Tuxedo Mask frowned. "Android?"
"He's a synthetic life form. He was created, not born," Mercury
answered.
Venus stared at Data. "You mean he's a robot?"
"Android. Not a robot," Data corrected her. "Computer: Load
Borg combat training simulation alpha and begin program." The two
Starfleet officers drew their weapons and readied themselves.
Simultaneously, several of the Borg simulacrums moved out of their slots
and moved towards them.
Before either could fire, Mars cried out, "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE
SURROUND!"
Several ringlets of fire struck an approaching Borg, while a thrown
rose struck another. Both began flickering on and off, and the computer
announced "Program error."
"Interesting," Data commented as he put away his phaser.
"Computer: Freeze program." The other Borg in sight froze in their
tracks.
Worf eyed the still flickering Borg. "What happened?"
"Don't blame me," Mars said defensively. "I did what I would do
over there."
"I did not blame you."
"Computer: Arch." Data examined the readouts on the holodeck
controls. "The computer was not able to accurately interpret the effects
of Sailor Mars' attack, nor was it able to handle Tuxedo Mask's. I
surmise it will be necessary to examine the various attack modes of each
of the Scouts and have the computer analyze them in turn."
"Then let's get started," Jupiter said. "We're wasting time."
Picard entered Sickbay and, after pausing a moment to locate her,
went over to Dr. Crusher. He had been on his way to the holodeck when
Beverly had called and asked him to make the detour here. He fervently
hoped that Riker hadn't enlisted her help in trying to dissuade him from
leading the away mission. He didn't feel like fighting that battle
again. "You wanted to see me, Beverly?"
She looked up from her patient, worry evident on her face. "Yes,
Jean-Luc. It's about Ensign Harris."
Picard looked down at the biobed and was stunned. He remembered
greeting her less than a week before when she had first reported for
bridge duty. She had been an attractive young woman, not even a year
out of the Academy. Now, her skin had taken on the tone of chalk and her
expression was dull and lifeless as she stared at the ceiling. But worst
of all, on the right side of her face was obviously a Borg implant of
some sort.
He knew at once that Ensign Kristin Harris was no more. Only a
Borg drone remained.
"How...?"
Beverly shook her head. "I'm not completely certain, but I
believe that the Borg injected a series of nanoprobes into her. Once
inside, they began replicating themselves and making alterations in her
biochemistry -- even down to her DNA. They've also constructed a series
of implants which I think serve to connect her to the Borg collective."
"That would explain her inactivity at the present time. Since Q
has removed us from normal space and time, there's no connection to be
made with the collective." Picard paused for a moment. "Can you treat
her? Can you remove the implants from her as you did... as you did with
me?"
Crusher hesitated before replying. "Not at the moment, no. Your
assimilation involved a simple series of cybernetic implants, which I was
easily able to remove. But for her, I would have to somehow remove
millions, if not billions by now, of these nanoprobes. And the way
they've hooked themselves up to her cellular structure, not even the
transporter biofilters can separate them out." The two were silent for
a time. "Captain, I believe that your assimilation used a unique method,
for one reason or another. This seems to be their standard method of
assimilation. Anyone who undergoes this process may be lost...
permanently."
Picard looked up sharply and stared at her for a moment. He then
turned and strode determinedly out of Sickbay, leaving the doctor with her
patient.
His thoughts still in turmoil over what he had seen in sickbay,
Picard walked onto the holodeck without looking ahead and stopped short.
He had been expecting to walk into the middle of a simulation of the
interior of a Borg ship, but instead he saw the familiar sight of the
holodeck grid. At the far side of the room he could discern several of
the transporter test objects.
Or at least that's what they used to be. Several of the them were
charred, melted and blackened in some manner, and one had somehow become
encased in ice.
As he was taking this in, Data looked up from where he was placing
another test object in the center of the room. Anticipating his
captain's question, he explained, "We have been analyzing each of the
Scouts' attack powers. Since their powers do not adhere to the laws of
physics as we understand them, the computer was unable to correctly
interact them with the holographic simulation."
"I see," Picard said, looking over the results. "How long until
we can begin the training exercise?"
"We're nearly finished," answered Mercury from behind him. He
turned and saw the Scouts clustered around the arch, Tuxedo Mask standing
in front. Worf was standing to one side, an expression of impatience
written on his face. Mercury was standing by the arch controls and was
also holding her palmtop. She evidently had been assisting Data in
analysis of their powers.
"Only Tuxedo Mask remains to have his powers analyzed," Data said,
rejoining them.
"Proceed," Picard said, briefly wondering how a thrown rose could
cause the computer problems. His question was answered when the rose
struck the test object and deeply embedded itself in it. Picard walked
up to it and examined it with a growing sense of awe. The test object
was composed mainly of duranium, a very hard substance used extensively
for starship hulls, and yet the rose had penetrated it easily. "Most
impressive," he said, managing to keep his voice sounding nonchalant.
"Though I would be careful about throwing those through the hull, if I
were you."
Crusher entered the conference room, and found Riker seated at one
end of the long table. Seated atop the table were the two cats, in a
deep discussion with the first officer. Crusher mentally shook her head
and approached the trio. The concept of talking felines was still
something she was getting used to. "You wanted to see me, Will?"
"Yes," Riker acknowledged, gesturing to a seat. As she sat down,
"We've been planing a strategy for our next meeting with Rubeus." The
doctor immediately had a skeptical look on her face which said 'You're
discussing starship tactics with a couple of *cats*?', to which Riker
responded, "I know what you're thinking Beverly. But while they don't
have any knowledge about the Borg..."
"...we do know Rubeus," Artemis concluded.
"That's certainly true," Beverly admitted.
Riker handed her the padd he'd been working on. "The basics of
what we've come up with are outlined here."
Crusher studied the padd's contents for a moment and frowned.
"Will, this looks very similar to the strategy you used against the
Borg at Wolf 359."
Riker nodded. "We've made some alterations, such as using the
deflector dish, but you're right. The core strategy is still the same."
Beverly looked puzzled. "Won't the Borg be ready for that?"
"You have to remember, it's more than the Borg you're dealing with
here," Luna reminded her. "Rubeus is controlling that ship now. It's
him we have to outthink."
Artemis continued, "His weakness is his own arrogance. If he
thinks that you're just using a strategy that worked before..."
"...he won't bother looking for anything else." She nodded and put
down the padd. "So what do you need me for?"
"I want you to command the saucer section," Riker answered.
"Will, I'm a doctor... not a command line officer," she immediately
objected.
"You're a senior officer, Beverly, and you've been bridge qualified.
Worf and Data are accompanying the captain and I need Geordi in
engineering. And I don't want to hand this over to a junior officer.
Simply put, you're it."
Several hours later, a very tired Geordi LaForge emerged from the
bridge turbolift. He stopped short at the sight of Q lounging there...
in mid-air. He quickly recovered and went over to report to Riker.
"We're in business. I've got the main deflector rigged to emit the high
energy burst. All the phaser banks have been rigged to vary their firing
frequencies automatically and I've remodulated the shield nutations of
both sections. All other ship systems are repaired and operational.
We're as ready as we're gonna get."
"Well it's about time. All this waiting around is getting boring."
Riker made it a point to ignore Q. "Well done, Geordi. Riker to
Picard."
"Picard here. What is it Number One?"
"We're all set up here. Ready whenever you are."
"Very well." A loud crash in the background interrupted him.
Riker heard someone yell "Watch where you're aiming that thing!" then
heard the captain sigh.
"Is everything OK, sir?"
"Just a... minor disagreement between Worf and Sailor Mars," the
captain replied, sounding very tired. "One of a number of that we've had
over the last few hours." Unconsciously echoing the chief engineer, he
added "We're about as ready as we'll ever be. Considering our current
location, we can afford to have just Mr. Data on duty. That will give
everyone else a chance to get some rest before we proceed."
The chime from the door startled Darien out of his reverie. "Yes?"
The door opened, allowing Troi to enter. "Something I can do for you,
Counselor?"
"Actually, I came to see if there was something I could do for you,"
she answered. "I could sense your frustration from the other side of the
ship. Do you want to talk about it?"
He returned his gaze to the gray nothingness outside the ship.
"There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine."
Troi briefly considered her options. Ordinarily she'd leave it at
that, letting him decide on his own when, or if, he wanted her help. But
the current situation didn't allow for that. Very shortly he'd be
accompanying the captain on a dangerous away mission. There was no real
choice except to force the issue. "Sure you are," she said, putting a
patronizing tone to her voice. "You're just radiating more anger than
I've felt in Worf for an entire year because everything's just fine." An
exaggeration, to be sure, but one that was warranted.
He whirled at her, "What do you want me to say? Yes, I'm angry!
Angry at myself, because I couldn't protect Serena, that I couldn't stop
Rubeus from kidnapping her! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"Partially," she admitted. "But there's more to it, isn't there?"
He glared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Yes," he replied, his
voice calmer. "Usually I can get a sense of her, how she's doing. But
ever since Q put us here, I've felt *nothing*."
"Since Q has removed us from normal space, that's understandable."
"I know... but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with."
"But you're going to have to try," Deanna said. "In a few hours,
the captain and the Scouts are going to be counting on you when you go
onto that ship. You owe it to them, and to Serena, to be ready. So stop
your brooding and get some sleep."
"Is that an order, Counselor?" he asked, a slight smile showing.
"Yes," she said, returning the smile. "If necessary, I could have
Dr. Crusher give you a sedative."
"It's not," he replied, heading for the bedroom. Deanna turned and
headed for the door. Not a textbook job of counseling, but then this
wasn't exactly a textbook case. She paused in the corridor, trying to
sense the emotional state of the Enterprise's other guests. She felt
only the normal emotions associated with dreaming, though two of them
seemed rather... erotic. If she read them right, both involved in one
way or another... She smiled, laughing softly to herself. If they were
on board for any length of time, Will was going to have a rough time of it.
Well, there was no need to mention that to him. At least not right
away.
She was about to return to her own quarters when she winced, hearing
some rather unladylike thoughts echo in her mind. Which was odd, since
she normally only felt emotions, being half Betazoid. It took a full
telepath, such as her mother, to communicate with her in this manner.
She pressed the call button and the door opened in response,
allowing her to enter. Dressed in the robes of a Shinto priestess, Raye
stood up from where she had been kneeling in the center of the room.
Deanna could see a large fire blazing there, but could tell from the lack
of heat that it was holographic in nature. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
the Sailor Scout asked.
"Well, I was on my way to my quarters, when I heard some rather...
strong thoughts." She took a couple of steps into the room. "I can
guess at the source of your frustration, but I don't think the captain
would appreciate it if you did *that* to the ship's computer."
"It's just that I can't read anything from *this*!" she exclaimed,
viciously snapping off the hologram. "And that damned computer won't
allow a real one in here." She glared at where the holographic fire had
been for a moment before what Deanna had said sunk in. "Wait a minute...
You *heard* my thoughts?!? I thought you were only an empath."
"With other nontelepaths, that's true," Troi admitted. "But you
seem to have a higher psionic potential than other humans." She paused
and sent, *Can you hear this?*
Raye started. "Yes, I did."
*Try sending to me.*
*You mean like this?*
Deanna nodded.
"Wow."
It was nearly eight hours later when Riker entered the fully manned
battle bridge. It seemed odd to be embarking into battle without either
Worf or Data there, but he had full confidence that their replacements
could handle their posts. In fact, Chief O'Brien had served as a tactical
officer before, on the Rutledge during the Cardassian conflicts. "Are
we all set Chief?"
"Yes, sir," O'Brien replied.
"Good." Riker moved to the center seat and realized that it was
already occupied by a white feline. "No offense Artemis... but I believe
you're in my chair."
"Sorry," the cat easily replied. "It's just the best place to stay
out of everyone's way... or at least it was." He jumped out of the chair
and vaulted himself onto the bridge railing.
Riker was sitting himself down in the command chair as Q appeared.
"Oh, good. We're finally getting this little show on the road."
Riker thought it best for all concerned to ignore the entity's
usual sarcastic commentary. He may not like it, but Q's presence was a
necessary evil for this to have any chance of working. "Q, can you
protect the stardrive and saucer sections simultaneously?"
"Of course," he replied with his typical smugness. "It's as easy
as," and snapped his fingers.
Crusher looked up from the command chair as Q materialized on the
main bridge. He smiled and bowed melodramatically. "At your service,
madame capitan."
Luna, seated in the first officer's chair, shook her head.
Riker nodded. "Good. Whenever you're ready, Q."
"Your wish is my command," Q answered. Deciding to take the
opportunity to needle Riker a little, he added, "Number two." As Riker
glared at Q, he snapped his fingers. Smoothly, the viewscreen shifted to
show the normal starfield it usually did.
"We're in the Terran system," Ro reported, "fifty thousand
kilometers outward from lunar orbit."
"Red alert," Riker ordered. As the alert klaxons were sounding, he
added, "Riker to Crusher. Stand by."
"Standing by," the doctor answered over the intercom.
"Picking up a tachyon surge," O'Brien said. Ahead of them space
seemed to ripple and flow, and Rubeus' Borg ship appeared.
"Right on cue," Riker said. Q glanced at him with an uncertain look.
"Borg power levels are low. Their EM field is low enough to permit
transport," said O'Brien.
"Didn't I say so earlier?" Q snapped irritably.
"Riker to Picard. Our guests have arrived. Stand by for transport."
"We'll be waiting for your signal. Picard out." The captain looked
over the assemblage of Starfleet officers and Sailor Scouts. Worf and
Data were waiting patiently for the signal to beam over, whereas their
allies where practically champing at the bit to various degrees. Only
Mercury seemed at all at ease, but that was because she was distracting
herself with her computer.
"Why don't we just beam over now?" Tuxedo Mask finally asked.
"It's all part of the plan," Picard reminded him. "The Enterprise
sections are to provide a distraction by creating the impression that
we're trying to sneak a shuttle inside their EM field. Rubeus may not
know that it's currently too low to be effective, so hopefully we may be
able to remain unopposed for a time." This seemed to mollify them to a
degree.
"Don't worry Darien. We'll be there soon enough," Venus said,
patting the tuxedo clad warrior on the shoulder. "As they say: 'They
also serve who stand at the plate.'"
"They also serve who stand and wait," Data quickly corrected her.
"Whatever," she growled.
Rubeus stared at the monitor incredulously. "Impossible! They
should have been destroyed! How did they survive?!? And how did they
end up here?"
"Riker to Crusher. Engage autoseperation sequence."
Beverly touched a control on the command console. "Autosep
sequence engaged." The was a faint clanging sound as the saucer
separated from the stardrive section. It accelerated to full impulse
and banked to port as it cleared from the other half of the Enterprise.
"Commence fire."
"The saucer section is now five hundred meters distant."
Riker nodded while noting that the saucer had opened fire with both
of it's phaser banks. So far, so good. "Engage warp engines. Put us on
the far side of the Borg cube Ensign."
The warp engines surged, propelling the stardrive section faster
than light for a brief second. Unlike the Picard maneuver; which would
put the ship nose to... side with the cube; it came out of warp at
roughly the same distance that it started, only now it was at the far
side of the enemy vessel.
"Open fire, Chief," Riker ordered. "All weapons."
Ro turned the ship to allow O'Brien to utilize as many of the ship's
phasers at once as he could. In rapid succession, the chief unleashed a
barrage from five of the stardrive's phaser banks, and he threw in a
constant volley of photon torpedoes for good measure. "No discernable
damage to the Borg vessel," said O'Brien.
Riker nodded. That was to be expected when dealing with the Borg.
"Helm, evasive pattern omega."
Rubeus watched the battle on the monitors and chuckled gleefully as
the Enterprise continued to fire. "Use all your phasers and photons!
You can't possible harm this ship! But I can harm you." He mentally
directed the defense systems to concentrate on the stardrive section.
The stardrive section shuddered. "They've locked onto us with a
tractor beam!" O'Brien yelled as he redirected the phasers to target the
source. "Shields are being drained."
"Bridge to engineering..."
"I'm on it!" LaForge quickly answered. "Attempting to remodulate
shield nutation."
Luna glanced at the panel readouts. "The stardrive section is in
trouble. I think we're going to have to accelerate the plan to phase
two."
"Agreed," Beverly answered. "Mr. Steiner, fire antimatter spread."
"Aye, sir." Ensign Steiner activated a control on the tactical
grid which released magnetic containers of antimatter attached at
various points to the saucer. They shot out at and around the Borg ship
in a dizzying display of pyrotechnics.
'Now for the next step,' Crusher thought. "Launch the shuttle.
Helm, evasive pattern delta four."
Rubeus found his attention drawn to the saucer section. "So,
you're hoping to sneak a team here, hoping to rescue Sailor Moon, hmm?
Fools!" Deciding to preempt that strategy, Rubeus shifted the weapons
system to concentrate on the saucer, and intensified scans for a shuttle.
A bright flash announced the severing of the tractor beam. "We've
terminated the tractor beam. Rubeus seems to be shifting his attention
to the saucer section."
"Well, he's going according to script so far," Artemis commented.
"He's expecting the shuttle to have the away team on it."
"Let's not disappoint him, at least as far as the away team goes."
He took a deep breath before saying, "Riker to Picard. It's time,
Captain. Good luck."
"Hey, we'll tell you all about it when we get back from trashing
that creep!" Jupiter's voice answered. Several enthusiastic cheers
followed. Riker couldn't help but smile himself.
"I'll echo those sentiments, Number One. Picard out."
"I just hope there is a later," Riker said to himself. "Chief, drop
the shields and beam them over."
*Good luck, Raye. I hope you can get her back.*
*Thanks, Deanna,* came the reply. Then more forcefully, *We will.*
The away team materialized inside the Borg ship; Picard, Data and
Worf all with their phasers drawn. The Scouts paused for a moment to
take in their surroundings, then Mercury got busy scanning with her visor,
while Data was utilized his tricorder. Venus shuddered inwardly. It was
eerily like the simulations they had run earlier. "Gee, those holodecks
are good!"
"They do have their uses," Picard responded. "But not entirely
accurate." He pointed to a nearby power distribution node which had a
large crystal embedded in it. Other nearby ones were also similarly
modified.
"Interesting," Data said. "It would seem that the Borg power system
has been modified. But I am uncertain as to why."
"I think I know," Mercury answered. "It's to make it compatible
with technology used in Rubeus' original ship."
"Thereby allowing them to fully integrate his ship into the cube,"
Picard said. He looked around. "As interesting as this is, we better
get moving. Data, Mercury... are you getting any readings?"
"Tricorder readings are limited. I am unable to get a fix on
Sailor Moon."
"Same here," Mercury said.
Tuxedo Mask had been looking around through all this, as if he were
listening to a distant voice. "It's there, but very faint," he said, his
voice just above a whisper. He motioned them down a corridor. "This way.
Hurry!"
They followed him further into the Borg ship. "How does he know that?"
Picard asked Sailor Mars. "He wasn't doing this on the holodeck."
"Serena wasn't on the holodeck, either," she answered. "He's always
been able to get to her whenever she's in danger. There's some sort of
psychic link between the two of them."
"Well, well," Rubeus remarked. "We have guests." He watched them
make their way through the ship, unopposed for now. Other monitors show
the two sections of the Enterprise still firing, but now at a more frantic
pace and the stardrive section had also unleashed it's own antimatter
barrage. He chose to let the automatic systems handle them, preferring
instead to concentrate on the new arrivals.
"So, they came all this way to get to Sailor Moon. It'd be a shame
to disappoint them. But I should prepare a proper welcome for them."
Roaming through the Borg ship was just as disturbing now as it been
before. Everywhere they turned, other Borg were moving, performing
various maintenance tasks or were lodged in their individualized slots.
But so far, they made no move to impair the progress of the away team.
Picard knew that would change before long.
Tuxedo Mask stopped, and looked around. "She's close. Very close."
"I am still not getting any other readings," said Data.
"Me neither," added Mercury. "Wait a minute! I've got a large
number of Borg closing on our location. All sides!" As she said this,
several Borg came into view, advancing on the away team.
"Looks like the free ride is over," Jupiter commented as she
summoned her power. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Her attack struck two
Borg and they collapsed amid a shower of sparks.
Picard tapped his comm badge. "Picard to Enterprise. Encountering
resistance." When there was no response, he tapped it again.
"Enterprise, come in!"
"The Borg have started jamming communications with the away team,"
Steiner reported. "And I've lost the transporter locks on them as well.
Communication with the stardrive section are unaffected for now."
Beverly nodded. "Status of the shuttle?"
"It's almost in position," Luna answered.
Troi had a faraway look in her eyes as she listened to a voice only
she could hear. "The Borg are trying to stop them, but their fighting
their way through," she said.
"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" An thick blanket of fog descended in the
corridors hiding them from view of the Borg. Simultaneously, Mars cried
out "MARS FIRE IGNITE" and a wave of fire cleared an escape path for them,
which they eagerly followed.
They actually continued to move unimpeded for a while. Then two
Borg tried to block their way. This time Venus took the initiative.
"VENUS METEOR SHOWER!" The wide beam of light struck the Borg, rendering
them inoperable. They pushed onward, only to be blocked by more Borg.
The Starfleet officers fired as one, temporarily clearing the way.
"I've got the power signature of the Silver Crystal!" Mercury
exclaimed.
"Yes, she's in here!" Heedless of the danger to himself, Tuxedo
Mask raced into an adjoining chamber but stopped short when he saw what
was in there. "No..." he whispered, horrified. The Scouts likewise
halted, aghast at the sight before them.
Only Mars was able to find her voice. "Serena, what have they done
to you?" she whispered.
On the main bridge, Troi stiffened as she heard Raye's thoughts and
softly said, "Oh no!"
"What is it?" Luna asked.
"Serena. She's..."
The Starfleet officers stood silent behind the Scouts. Worf and
Data had seen this before.
Picard had been it before.
This was what he had feared they would find, but had hoped not to.
Sailor Moon stood before them, having been implanted with Borg cybernetic
devices much as Picard had been over a year before.
Serena had been assimilated.
Rubeus entered the room, and stood by Sailor Moon. "Greetings, I've
been expecting you. Allow me to introduce you to... Sailor Borg."
Next time: Sailor... Borg?
The battle continues in the next chapter -- "In the name of the
Moon..."
(
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