Worlds Without End, Part XI

"Well, admiral," Picard said under his breath as his eyes slowly scanned the fleet. "I see you take the Borg seriously." He stood on the observation deck of the Enterprise, and as he lost count he realized why Thrawn had put the Enterprise at the rear of the fleet for the coming operations. It looked like he'd just have to take the reports word for it: Two hundred warships, and this was only one of five fleets Thrawn had assembled to engage the Borg. No, not engage, annihilate. This fleet was here to remove all trace of the Borg from this galaxy, and as Picard looked over the hordes of Imperators, Interdictors, Victorys, and Dreadnaughts, he was much more confident in their ability to pull that off. The worrying of the past few days -of the Borg descending on Earth and consuming it- faded. With the Empire standing with them, Picard had little doubt that the Federation could hold back the Borg indefinitely. The nightmare would remain just that, the ethereal constructs of the paranoid.

But we still have a part to play in this, Picard thought. We can't be children, expecting the Empire to protect us from everything. That would open the door to a whole new host of problems. Picard turned away from the view and entered the turbolift, emerging onto the bridge. He paused, but this time by design. He saw his crew, and knew that they were prepared to fight with all their convictions, and he was proud of them. They didn't have mile-long ships with massive guns, but they were prepared to stand their ground with whatever they did have, even though most had faced the Borg at least twice. Commander Riker left the captain's chair and took his own seat as Picard came down. Seven was still on the bridge in Troi's place. Hopefully she'd speak up if she saw a weakness in the Borg's defenses.

Picard paused as the thought fully percolated in his mind, and he felt some embarrassment at it. Of course she would, he thought. She's proven that she's on the Federation's side in this, and she's demonstrated how valuable an asset she is. Her initial reports on Imperial technology had been almost as insightful as Data's, but much easier to understand. Despite the implants, despite her mannerisms, she was human, and he was getting a little frustrated with himself that he was still distrustful of her.

"The admiral seems to have quite a party planned," Riker remarked.

"Just wait until the guest of honor arrives," Picard replied. He switched on the ship's intercom from his chair. "All hands, this is the captain. As you know, we are about to once again come face to face with the Borg. Three times the Enterprise has faced them, and every time we have resisted them. I am certain, that with this ship and your dedication, that this time will be no different. While we have not been assigned a primary position in this battle, we are still nevertheless going to be called upon to ensure that they are stopped, and that they are driven back. I know that your actions today will do just that, and give credit to the name 'Enterprise.'" He keyed it off. "That confident enough for you, Number One?" he asked under his breath.

"That certainly sounded like Jean-luc Picard to me, sir," Riker said with a smile.

"Captain," Lt. Travis said, "Admiral Thrawn has given the order to advance."

"Helm, you have the coordinates," Picard said. "Engage." And the armada vanished into hyperspace.

"Ships approaching Grid 812 of Unimatrix 01 prime. Diverting ships to intercept...."

"Ships approaching Grid 1006 of Unimatrix 02 prime. Diverting ships to..."

"Ships approaching Grid 127 of Unimatrix 01 prime. Diverting shi..."

"Ships approaching Grid 573 of Unimatrix 02 pri..."

"Ships approaching Grid 403 of Unimatrix 01 prime. Diverting ships to intercept. Engage and assimilate."

The Enterprise dropped out of hyperspace along with the rest of the fleet. "Red alert," Riker ordered, and the lights shifted accordingly.

"The Borg?" Picard asked Data.

"I am detecting thirty-two cubes in this area, captain," Data reported.

"On screen," Picard said. The picture shifted, and there they were, as many as he saw in his nightmares. But this time, they were the ones who were on the defensive, as the Imperial fleet moved in to intercept. The Borg, as always, ignored the danger, and rushed to engage. "Hold position here," Picard ordered.

"Load all torpedo bays," Riker said. "Stand by weapons."

"Shuttle crews, stand by for launch on the captain's order," Seven instructed. Riker had shown Picard the results of several simulations on the idea of using shuttles to beam explosives onto cubes. They had shown some success with it, so Picard had them make the preparations, although if the Borg were still around enough to need it against this armada it was doubtful it'd make a difference.

"Fleets 2 through 5 have reported, sir," Lt. Travis interjected, "They've engaged the Borg."

Picard nodded, and watched as the final engagement began.

Major Taar stood at his post at fighter tactical on board the Incaciad. "All fighters, stand by for launch," he ordered, carefully examining the positions of the fleet and the Borg cubes on his display. He tapped his lips a couple times, then hit the comm. "Squadron commanders, you are to engage cubes eighteen through twenty. Primary target remains tractor beams, secondary target, beam weapon emplacements. Sensors, torpedo emplacements, are targets of opportunity." It was impossible not to smile as he looked at how overwhelmed the Borg were. "Launch all fighters."

Anticipation was high on the bridge of the Incaciad as the Borg closed in to optimal range. Thrawn stood silent, still, watching and noting everything they did. In the background, a junior officer was counting down the seconds until optimal range would be met. At six seconds, he spoke. "Captain, instruct the Derilux and Phalanx to activate on my command," he ordered.

No one knew the details, but everyone knew that Thrawn had been up to something secretive on the two Interdictors. Hopefully it was something special, because the Borg entered optimal weapon range.

"Now captain," Thrawn said with the casualness of a man who could bombard paradise with neither a smile nor a tear, but the calm voice of necessity.

Despite the overwhelming advantage, there was a gnawing fear in Picard's guts as he saw the Borg fleet grow larger and larger on the viewscreen. When the cry came, he literally jumped.

It had come from Seven. She'd fallen out of her chair and was screaming in pain. "Turn it off!" she wailed.

Picard was about to speak when Travis spoke up. "Sir, all sensors are down! We've got nothing across the board!"

"Mr. Data?" Picard said as he turned to his second officer.

"Electromagnetic sensors appear to still be functioning," Data said. "I'm re-routing to tactical."

"Medical emergency," Riker started to say over the comm, but the sudden feedback was almost deafening.

"What the devil is going on?" Picard demanded, but then he looked at Seven, and it all clicked into place.

"Security, bring Seven of Nine to Sickbay," Riker ordered.

"Belay that," Picard said, still watching her where she lay. "Take her to the brig."

"Captain!" Seven wailed. "Please!"

"Have Dr. Crusher meet her there, but keep an eye on her," Picard said.

"Sir-" Riker began.

"Commander, monitor the status of the battle," Picard said as two security officers picked Seven up and began carrying her towards the turbolifts. "I have a feeling the Borg have pulled a rather crafty turn on us."

"Captain, if-"

"You have the bridge, Number One," Picard said, heading for the other turbolift. "Mr. Data, see if you can find a way around this communicator problem. I'll be in the brig, looking for answers."

The fleet slowly closed in on the Borg cubes like a pack of patient sharks. The cubes moved sluggishly through space, weapons fire lancing out at the Imperial ships. The star destroyers closed in and began broadsides, battering the cubes with their turbolasers. Meanwhile, the fighters flew past the perimeter of the battle and began engaging the cubes near the center of the Borg fleet. The swarm of tiny starships began strafing the surface of the cube, while the ship fired wildly at the small craft. The shots were hopelessly off target, and one even struck a nearby cube, causing more damage than the fighters. Taar watched from his station, monitoring the battle. He did nothing to hide his amusement of this turn of events. "We are the Empire," he said in barely audible tones. "To resist us is futile."

Dr. Crusher stopped short as she entered the brig and heard the screams. "Captain, what's going on?" she demanded as she stormed over to where two security guards tried to restrain Seven, but with her Borg enhanced strength it was more like hanging on for dear life. "Why isn't she in Sickbay?"

"Something's going on with the Borg and I want to know what it is," Picard said over the din. He turned back to Seven. "Now what are they doing?" he demanded.

"Please, captain!" she pleaded, clawing at the side of her face. "Make it stop!"

"Tell me what's going on," he said firmly.

"I don't know!" she wailed. "Please, I don't know..." her voice descended into sobbing. She thrashed, shaking one of the guards loose, and Picard put his hand to his phaser. Dr. Crusher pulled out a hypospray and tried approaching, but he grabbed her arm.

"Captain, she's in pain!" she protested.

"Why?" he demanded. "What are the Borg doing out there?"

Crusher pulled her arm free. "Let me stop her from tearing her face off and maybe we can find out." She put the hypospray to Seven's neck, and the ex-Borg collapsed, unconscious. She turned and glared at Picard. "What's the matter with you?" she demanded, all thought of rank cast aside.

"Our ship's been sabotaged," Picard said. "And the moment it began she started acting like this. What I want to know is if the Borg are using her to try and stop us."

"All right," Crusher said. This was the middle of a fight with the Borg, who were always ones to pull rabbits out of hats. "I can try to find that out, but you have to give this some time, captain."

"Time? For all we know the Imperials are suffering the same effects! We don't have the luxury of time!"

"Well, captain, would you like the real answer, or should I make one up, because I can't give you the real one unless you give me that time!" She pulled out her medical tricorder and began scanning. "The problem is centered in her frontal lobe, the left hemisphere of her brain... It's one of her Borg implants," she admitted. "Her subspace transponder."

"So they are using her," Picard said darkly.

"That's not-" Before she could continue there was a small beeping sound and one of the displays lit up, revealing Data.

"Captain, due to the interference, I am using the internal..."

"What do you want," Picard interrupted. There was no time for Data to state the obvious.

"I believe I have found the cause of the problems on board the ship, captain," Data replied.

"As do I," Picard muttered, looking at Seven's unconscious form.

"I have analyzed the sensor logs. There was a massive power surge from two of the Imperial starships just before the problems began. The Interdictors, sir."

"Your point, Mr. Data."

"Sir, Interdictors produce massive gravitational shadows, that is what they are designed for. But there are no gravitational anomalies at this time."

Picard stopped for a moment. "How do you know? The sensors are off-line."

"I have modified the deflector dish to scan for any evidence of gravitational anomalies," Data replied. "There are none, sir."

"Fascinating, now what is the point, Mr. Data?"

"Sir," Data continued, eternally patient, "I have noticed the Borg cubes are not fighting in an efficient manner. Their propulsion is slow, their weapons often off target, their shields ineffective." He paused. "I believe the Interdictors have been modified, sir. They are no longer creating gravitational interference, they are creating subspace interference; interference on a scale like nothing we have ever seen."

"So you're saying the Empire's the one doing this to us?" Picard said incredulously.

"Not intentionally, sir. This is a weapon against the Borg; we are simply collateral damage, as it were."

Picard was about to reply, but he thought it through. The gravity projectors generate as much power as a small fleet... and Thrawn had specifically asked for subspace technology. Yes, it would be an excellent weapon to use against the Borg, who communicate using subspace. Oh, it wouldn't be perfect, but it would be a severe hindrance. Naturally, the side effect would be to overload every subspace receiver in the area, including-

A sickening sensation crept into his stomach. Including the one in the skull of Seven of Nine.

Picard held his hand up over his eyes, rubbing his temples. "Thank you, Mr. Data. Well done." He finally looked back up at Seven's unconscious form. After everything she'd done, in the end, he wouldn't let himself trust her. He'd let his own hatred for the Borg blind him, made him turn on a loyal member of his crew.

"Security," he said, "take her to Sickbay. Doctor, please do whatever you have to to ease her suffering. I'll be on the bridge."

Thrawn watched as the fleet closed in around the final two cubes; after the massive damage already inflicted, and his subspace interdictors, their resistance was negligible. "What are our losses?" he asked as one of the cubes already began to explode.

"Minimal, sir," Captain Jarrol said, and there was no mistaking the satisfaction in his tone.

Thrawn nodded and turned to one of his aides. "Order all fighters back to their ships, and have the fleet prepare to move on to our next target." Turning back to Jarrol, he asked, "What is the status of the other fleets?"

"Fleets 2 and 5 have defeated the Borg and are continuing to the next system," Jarrol reported. "Fleet 4 is still fighting, and Fleet 3 had to stop to destroy a Borg held planet. They will be moving on in twenty-seven minutes."

Thrawn nodded and watched the last cube explode. "Alert all commands," he said, "go to hyperspace."

"Ships approaching Grid 1 of Unimatrix 01 prime. Diverting all ships to that location. Engage and assimilate."

To a machine, all things can be reduced to numbers. Forty-three cubes were waiting in the Napuli System when three of the Imperial fleets arrived, consisting of six hundred thirty-seven warships and over three thousand fighters. With numbers like that, the battle lasted less than twenty minutes.

But the survivors weren't machines; they were humans -well, humanoids- and the victory put a smile on many faces, including that of Major Taar. It seemed the only one who wasn't smiling was Admiral Thrawn, who observed the battle almost in the same manner as a machine, except that he was capable of anticipating the human element within. "Report," he said.

Jarrol spoke, stifling a yawn. It had been a long engagement. "All Borg ships destroyed, two Borg planets have been secured, and bombardment is proceeding; no signs of resistance."

"And the Milky Way?"

"Our scout ships are reporting no sign of the Borg on their side of the wormhole," Jarrol said.

"Good, we seem to have cleaned up Piett's mess rather nicely," Thrawn said, walking off the bridge. He entered the holotheater; the Emperor soon appeared. He filled him in on the results of the battle.

"Very good, admiral," the Emperor said. "The Borg threat has been eliminated then?"

"No, your highness," Thrawn said. "We have merely expunged them from our space. Based on this campaign, I don't believe the Borg will ever stop. They don't care if they die, they will keep coming after us and our worlds until one of us is destroyed.... unless..."

"Unless what, admiral?" the Emperor said wearily.

"Unless we destroy the wormhole, your highness," Thrawn said. "That would ensure the Borg will never return."

"No," the Emperor said sternly. "I will not be denied by some collection of cybernetic lemmings! Do whatever is necessary to ensure they do not return, admiral, even if it means exterminating them... but I will not close the wormhole. There's too much to be gained in the Milky Way."

Go To Part XII
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