Compile#28 September 01-12(USS Rosenante & USS Boudicca Joint) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mission: Once More Into the Breach Day 5 Stardate: Age of Makto Compile Summary (USS Rosenante - Deck 9- Gamma Shift Leader Lt. Xim - Day 5- 0856) (USS Rosenante - Main Sickbay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5 0914.5) (USS Rosenante - Main Engineering - Mid Deck - CEO - Lt. Steven Matrix, Day 5-0921) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Volus, Day 5 - 0925) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 5 - 0929) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - FO - Commander T'Larah Sullivan - 0935) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Volus, Day 5 - 0940) (USS Rosenante - Sickbay - Doctor Steven Harper, Day 5 - 0941) (USS Rosenante - Sickbay. ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 0942) (USS Rosenante - Sick Bay - Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer/COPS, Day 5 - 0943) (USS Rosenante - Main Sickbay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5 0944) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Matthew McLaren, Day 5 - 0945) (USS Rosenante, Deck 10 - Sickbay. ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 0946) (USS Rosenante, Deck 10 - Sick Bay - Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5, 0949) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - FO - Commander T'Larah Sullivan - 0950) (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - 2nd / Officer/COPS, Lt. Tom Jackson - Day 5 1000 ) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge, CO Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 5 - 1001) (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1001.5 ) (USS Rosenante - Sick Bay, Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer/COPS Day 5 - 1002) (USS Rosenante, Deck 11, Outside Primary Computer Core, Upper Level, CTAC/SEC Lt. jg Ben Soma, 1003) (USS Rosenante - Sick Bay, PO2 Emily Graatz Day 5 - 1005) (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - 2nd Officer / COPS Lieutenant Tom Jackson - Day 5, 1006 ) (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1007) (USS Boudicca - Rosenante Docking Port - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 5 - 1008) (USS Rosenante, In the Jefferies Tubes, Lieutenant jg Ben Soma, Lieutenant jg Sanok, 1009) (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay – Lieutenant Tom Jackson - 2nd Officer / COPS - Day 5, 1010) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - CEO, Lieutenant Steven Matrix, Day 5 - 1011) (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay – Combat Nurse E’Mpak- Day 5, 1012) (USS Rosenante- Deck 8 - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1017) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 1018) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere Else on Deck 28 - Medical Drone - Eight of Twelve - 1020) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere Else on Deck 28 - Volus, Day 5 - 1025) (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 5 - 1145) (USS Rosenante, Jeffries tubes – unknown deck, ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 1202) (USS Rosenante- Deck 8 - Observation Lounge - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1217) (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 5 - 1219) (USS Boudicca - Dock with Rosenante - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 1225) (USS Boudicca - Dock with Rosenante - Lt (jg) Ael Harkonnen T'Rillian - 1227) (USS Boudicca / Rose - Hard Dock Defensive - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1230) (USS Boudicca - Hard Docking Port - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1232) (USS Rosenante, Hard Docking Port, ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 1235) (USS Rosenante - Dock with Boudicca - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 1236) (Dovek II - Research Facility - Chief Scientist D’askto - 1300) (USS Rosenante - Deck 10 Sick Bay - Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 1303) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Deck 9- Gamma Shift Leader Lt. Xim - Day 5- 0856) Xim watched as the initial onslaught of their attacks took their toll on the Borg Drones before they were able to adapt to the phaser blasts taking them from both directions. However, as the Human expression stated, All Good things do indeed come to an end. The Borg adapted. =^=McLeod to Xim, looks like were firing blanks. How do you want to proceed?=^= His commbadge chirped. Xim fired another three quick bursts ineffectively against the Drones before tapping his commbadge to reply. "All troops are to fall back, reassemble at the docking port. I'll keep the Borg occupied." he ordered then looked over his shoulder at the security officer accompanying him. "You too, go now." He added. "Aye sir." the man replied, before adding, "And good luck." (reply McLeod iyw, but none necessary) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sickbay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5 0914.5) Kimiko was overlooking the remotes from the sealed labs; almost all the links were established. It appeared the evacuation was going off without a hitch, but unfortunately one never knows if something like this is successful until it is over. Soon the links were the only connection to the labs that remained. Fields would block either end of the corridor leading to the lab, powered by a mobile generator that had been returned after the whole starbase debacle. She had requested that the generator be returned to engineering but no one got around to it; however, under the circumstances, she was willing to overlook it. After a convalescing engineering officer had managed to cut off the field emitters from global control and reprogram them, then the labs were going to be about the safest place to be on this ship ~If anywhere is safe to be on this ship~ Kimiko thought bitterly. The only shiny here was sick bay was relatively untouched, They had managed to take the first group without any difficulty. The second group was a little more difficult, because the Borg had already adapted to half of the phasers which reduced the staff to using the hypos. They had managed, barely, to change the frequency on the phasers in time to repulse the third group. In its own way the third attack was the hardest one; about half of the Borg attacking wore the same uniforms as she. The tricorders did their job well and the rooms occupants knew that the Borg were coming. She knew, like everyone else, how the Borg gained their numbers, but she was not prepared to see crewman Mills on the other side of the door. There was a hesitance in the fire as her staff recognized fellow crew members, she didn’t know who fired first, but that person likely saved the sickbay by snapping everyone out of their stunned state. A voice snapped her out of her reverie "Chief, they need you in two, ruptured aorta." yeoman Johnson stated from her position. "Acknowledged" Kimiko stated and headed for the theatre. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Engineering - Mid Deck - CEO - Lt. Steven Matrix, Day 5-0921) Matrix took only a few moments to open the Mark VII case, load and arm the weapon and move up to where Conrad was already working. Sergeant Conrad made a handful of shots by the time Matrix hoisted the weapon and took aim at his first drone with the K.E.A.T weapon. Matrix squeezed off a round aimed just 5 meters to the left and back of the drone Conrad just shot. The explosive round fogged the scope that Matrix was looking through, but it cleared quickly. Matrix pulled away from the scope to inspect the results of his first use of the weapon. The drone was laying about 6 meters away from where the bullet impacted its chest plate. It was down and not moving. Matrix took aim at another drone and fired a second shot. By this time the Borg had adapted to the kinetic weapon. The bullet glanced off the drone's shield and impacted another drone beside it and just to its right. The explosive detonated as it hit the second drone knocking both to the floor, doing little damage. "They've adapted!" yelled Matrix as he looked over at Conrad. "Aye, they have sir. I suggest we abandon Engineering and come up with a new plan. At least we slowed them down a bit." replied Conrad. "Indeed Sergeant and we took out quite a few." replied Matrix as he stood up and looked around at the remaining personnel defending Engineering. "RALLY POINT OMEGA! EVERYONE OUT. MOVE MOVE MOVE!" yelled Matrix. "Okay Sergeant lets see if we can't get up to the command center. Gather your people...meet in the observation lounge on the double." said Matrix as he moved the ineffective weapon around his shoulder and picked up his duty pack. "Aye sir, understood. SECURITY TEAM ON ME!" said Conrad. Matrix leaned over the chard console nearest his location and punched up "EVACENT-007" into the computer. A visual confirmation was all he needed. The computer instantly secured and encrypted all consoles and equipment inside engineering. The Borg wouldn't be able to use engineering or its resources for their purpose. The remaining security forces and the engineering teams moved quickly out of engineering and headed toward the observation lounge. Matrix hoped he would hear better news that what he had to report to the Captain. (Reply any, none) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Volus, Day 5 - 0925) "I believe in God...the creator of everything that is, was, and ever will be, My specific faith is called Christianity...it was founded on Earth. A human named Jesus who existed over 2,000 years ago is the central figure in my faith...Christians believe that Jesus was God visiting Earth as a symbol of our salvation..." Th prisoner opened his eyes and made eye contact with Volus. Who only looked back impassively. "Humans are fundamentally flawed...imperfect beings. Christians believe that the only way the soul can ascend to heaven after the body dies is if the person accepts that they can't get there by themselves. That they need a savior. When Jesus was killed by humans, it represented God's willingness to take all of our flaws upon Himself so that we could be...clean." "Christians define hope as the knowledge that we will always have God, that God is always with us...whatever happens. That because we are saved from our imperfections, nothing here on Earth can defeat God, because God has already defeated death and evil." There was a sense of rising fear in the Engineer's voice. A sense of growing peril and perhaps a realization that all of his beliefs about his god were about to be proven pointless. {{We have captured the Artificial life form}} Volus smiled. It was a wicked evil little smirk one that probably gave the Engineer on the assimilation table a sense of utter dread. {{Confine him to an assimilation table in another section of the plexus. We will assimilate him}} {{It will be done.}} "You speak to me of religion as the basis for hope, yet I have assimilated thousands, many of them possessed the concept of religion and of Godlike beings. I myself have been worshipped by those that would be assimilated as a God. But this concept of Hope and stubborn resistance is present even among members of your species with no belief in any of the various Gods of your world. Yet you resist the inevitable assimilation of your species all because of a concept you define as hope." Volus stated. Volus stepped forward and placed his clammy reptilian hand on either side of the Engineer's jaw The tips of his natural claws biting into the soft human flesh just enough to cause discomfort. "I find it intriguing that you claim the core of your Hope originates from such an obviously flawed philosophy. The very fact that your God takes upon himself the flaws of his worshippers indicates that the God is himself therefore flawed as there can be no perfection in a flawed being. Therefore your God is nothing more than an elevated version of your own pathetic species." "Yet somehow you manage to draw a degree of strength to resist us from this imperfect flawed being. Our studies indicate that the concepts of a godlike-presence in your species is linked directly to a portion of your primitive cerebral cortex. I intend to free you of your misconceptions of this God in the hopes that you will then see the truth of the universe, that it is in fact ordered by natural processes and that hope, like your God is a mental construct created from some collective diseased consciousness and that such a thing can never protect you from assimilation." "Then the individual known as Eian O'Neill shall finally understand the true nature of his God and all that he represents as you are assimilated to serve the collective." Suddenly the doors to the compartment slid open with alacrity. There standing in the doorway was none other than the first officer of the Rosenante, Commander T'Larah Sullivan. The Vulcan was fast, even Volus had to admit that fact. In an instant, she drew a hand phaser from her belt and fired twice. The scarlet beam met two of the Drone guards, who were overcome and collapsed. Volus took a single step towards her, placing himself between O'Neill and the Vulcan. "Welcome Commander Sullivan, to our little discussion." He said even as he activated his personal forcefield and expanded it's size enough to protect O'Neill from a potential kill shot. "Have you come to rescue your engineer I wonder?" {{Seal all exits on this deck. Move Tactical Drones into position to block her retreat}} Volus ordered. (reply Sullivan, O'Neill) The Drone formerly known as McLaren rose to his feet. Several other drones moved forward along the line and began to advance towards the commander. Volus raised a hand and the bulk of the drones stopped where they were; ready to act. "Or perhaps then you have some to accept the gift of assimilation. Certainly your Vulcan mind can grasp the scope of knowledge that you would have access to once you had been joined to the collective. It is god-like, I assure you. You will accept a state of perfection, free of emotional turmoil and gifted with a sense of complete logical focus." (reply Sullivan, O'Neill) {{All exits from this level are now sealed. Access hatches have been welded closed.}} "Look at the members of the crew that have been assimilated." volus said, sweeping his arm dramatically. They all resisted at first, but now they understand the complete harmony of thought and purpose that only the collective can provide. They serve the whole. We do not kill our own, we do not steal, lie, or cheat. We are a harmonious society, one which focuses their collective knowledge, skill and ability into a useful, productive task. We do not seek conquest for the sake of conquest. We seek only to enlighten those species that have not yet reached transcendent perfection." "We sweep away crime, inefficiency, illogic, mysticism and ignorance and exchange it only for knowledge, understanding and efficiency. Is it so wrong that we only ask for some small payment in exchange of our greatest gift to all species?" He continued. {{The Drones are now in position.}} Volus gestured towards the McLaren Drone. "This human, whom you knew as Matthew McLaren. He has shed his fears, his regrets and his sorrows and has become whole. Though he is not yet fully Borg, we have learned much from him. We have adapted. We have all benefitted from his knowledge and experiences. He has high regard for you Commander. Perhaps if he explained things to you himself you would understand us better and see how fruitless and wasteful this conflict between our species is. You will inevitably be assimilated, yet you struggle against us. It is wasteful. It is...illogical." The McLaren Drone shuffled forward closing the distance towards Sullivan. It was clear to Volus that the mind of McLaren was still struggling to control the body, but this next moment would break the sprit of the man trapped within the machine and Volus would finally see him fully assimilated. (reply Sullivan, O'Neill) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Matthew McLaren, Day 5 - 0928) {{Attached the transaxial modulator to the regenerative field capacitor}} the collective commanded, and Matthew's body obliged them regardless of his desires. He had begun to hear them, the collective, speaking into the deepest reaches of his brain. Some of them tried to seduce him with promises of knowledge, glimpses of information and technology that he had never even conceived of, yet it seemed that while they could access some of his memories and some of his knowledge, that they could not quite yet suppress his free will, nor his control over the processor in his head. Matthew had been powerless to do anything other than his assigned task when they had brought O'Neill into the compartment. And it had taken all of his efforts to listen into the conversation that the delusional leader of the Borg and the engineer were conducting. It seemed an unusual conversation for them to be having on the eve of O'Neill's potential assimilation, and Matthew couldn't quite understand where it was going, but it must have had some sort of importance to the Borg leader, or the engineer would have already been assimilated. [[Nanowire integration complete]] his sub-processor spoke into his brain and Matthew crossed his mental fingers, before willing his own fingers to cross on his right hand. There was more effort than he had expected, but he could see that he was successful. The index and ring finger crossed just as they had done before his assimilation. His body may now be his own once again. The door to the compartment suddenly slid open and Matthew found himself turning to regard the Officer that had entered the compartment. At first he somehow had hoped that it might be a rescue attempt, but those thoughts quickly subsided as soon as he realized that Commander Sullivan, one of the highest priority targets for assimilation on these ships was alone; completely and utterly alone. {{Seal all exits on this deck. Move Tactical Drones into position to block her retreat}} the voice of the Borg commander stated evenly. Matthew could hear it just as he could all the other constantly muttering voices of the collective. Matthew rose to his feet, although he didn't have to wish to do so on his own. It seemed that for a change the Borg and he were in complete agreement as to how his body should be used. He stepped closer towards the commander, who had extinguished two Borg Drones shortly after entering. Already the personal shield that he carried had remodulated, he was safe from any repeat performances from those weapons. When Volus had mentioned him by name, Matthew's heart almost sank. He then began to wonder if he was truly in control of himself or not. It was something that he had to guarantee. Sullivan could not be assimilated and already the deck had been sealed and Borg tactical drones deployed across the deck in a pattern that would prevent her escape. Without help, she would join the ranks of the collective, and along with her would go the command codes and intimate knowledge of the ship and it's crew that only she possessed. He felt himself being carried, not unarguably towards the commander. He forced his yes to meet hers and then he winked. An exaggerated, heavy lidded left eye affair that hopefully let her realize that he had some control of his body. [[Nanowire integration into Borg energy cells complete.]] his processor reported. ~About time~ Matthew thought, now to test his theory to escape Borg control, which ironically he could not have devised had he not been assimilated in the first place. (reply none yet) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 5 - 0929) "You speak to me of religion as the basis for hope, yet I have assimilated thousands, many of them possessed the concept of religion and of Godlike beings. I myself have been worshipped by those that would be assimilated as a God. But this concept of Hope and stubborn resistance is present even among members of your species with no belief in any of the various Gods of your world. Yet you resist the inevitable assimilation of your species all because of a concept you define as hope." ~You've known no hope like I've known...it's happiness you're missing.~ But Eian said nothing. His heart was pounding, and he was working hard to control his breathing. Volus stepped forward and placed his clammy reptilian hand on either side of Eian's jaw, the tips of his natural claws biting into the soft human flesh. Eian squinted his eyes and took a deep breath. "I find it intriguing that you claim the core of your Hope originates from such an obviously flawed philosophy. The very fact that your God takes upon himself the flaws of his worshippers indicates that the God is himself therefore flawed as there can be no perfection in a flawed being. Therefore your God is nothing more than an elevated version of your own pathetic species." ~That's all anyone's god can be in the eyes of another...~ "Yet somehow you manage to draw a degree of strength to resist us from this imperfect flawed being. Our studies indicate that the concepts of a godlike-presence in your species is linked directly to a portion of your primitive cerebral cortex. I intend to free you of your misconceptions of this God in the hopes that you will then see the truth of the universe, that it is in fact ordered by natural processes and that hope, like your God is a mental construct created from some collective diseased consciousness and that such a thing can never protect you from assimilation." ~God uses all things according to His purpose,~ Eian reminded himself. "Then the individual known as Eian O'Neill shall finally understand the true nature of his God and all that he represents as you are assimilated to serve the collective." "Fat chance of that," Eian managed to choke out. Suddenly the doors to the compartment slid open with alacrity. There standing in the doorway was none other than the first officer of the Rosenante, Commander T'Larah Sullivan. The Vulcan was fast, even Volus had to admit that fact. In an instant, she drew a hand phaser from her belt and fired twice. The scarlet beam met two of the Drone guards, who were overcome and collapsed. Volus took a single step towards her, placing himself between Eian and Sullivan. Eian's eyes widened in terror when he saw the tactical situation she faced. Volus could easily move his drones into position around her and she would be assimilated... "Welcome Commander Sullivan, to our little discussion." Volus said, and Eian saw his personal shield extend around them both. "Have you come to rescue your engineer I wonder?" "Get out of here, Commander!" Eian screamed. But it was too late. The Drone formerly known as McLaren rose to his feet. Several other drones moved forward along the line and began to advance towards the Sullivan. Volus raised a hand and the bulk of the drones stopped where they were; ready to act. "Or perhaps then you have some to accept the gift of assimilation. Certainly your Vulcan mind can grasp the scope of knowledge that you would have access to once you had been joined to the collective. It is god-like, I assure you. You will accept a state of perfection, free of emotional turmoil and gifted with a sense of complete logical focus." Eian felt anger rising in his chest. Now that someone else was in direct danger, feelings of protectiveness came over him and if he was able, he would have tackled Volus with every ounce of strength of his being. This Borg's anti-faith rhetoric and obnoxious arrogance were bad enough...now he was trying to sell them on voluntary assimilation. "Look at the members of the crew that have been assimilated." Volus said, sweeping his arm dramatically. They all resisted at first, but now they understand the complete harmony of thought and purpose that only the collective can provide. They serve the whole. We do not kill our own, we do not steal, lie, or cheat. We are a harmonious society, one which focuses their collective knowledge, skill and ability into a useful, productive task. We do not seek conquest for the sake of conquest. We seek only to enlighten those species that have not yet reached transcendent perfection." "We sweep away crime, inefficiency, illogic, mysticism and ignorance and exchange it only for knowledge, understanding and efficiency. Is it so wrong that we only ask for some small payment in exchange of our greatest gift to all species?" He continued. Volus gestured towards the McLaren Drone. "This human, whom you knew as Matthew McLaren. He has shed his fears, his regrets and his sorrows and has become whole. Though he is not yet fully Borg, we have learned much from him. We have adapted. We have all benefitted from his knowledge and experiences. He has high regard for you Commander. Perhaps if he explained things to you himself you would understand us better and see how fruitless and wasteful this conflict between our species is. You will inevitably be assimilated, yet you struggle against us. It is wasteful. It is...illogical." The McLaren Drone shuffled forward closing the distance towards Sullivan. ~That's close enough!~ "You bastards have no right to judge other species!" Eian screamed at Volus. "You're parasites! You have no originality, no innovation, no invention...you think you're perfectionists...you just feed on others, you're just insects! You'll never amount to anything, because you accomplish nothing but consumption! You have no spirituality. You have no greater meaning! You want to know what hope is? Hope is the knowledge that there's something more important than you, you selfish piece of--" Eian was cut off, because tubules entered his neck at that moment, and the nanoprobes poured into his system. His first reaction was one of complete shock. His body tingled everywhere as the nanoscopic predators dispersed throughout his body. Seconds later, they hit his lungs and they ceased function. He gasped for air, his mouth opening and closing in complete futility. His skin complexion changed as his heart stopped. The nanobots had formed their own blood oxygenation factory, making his heart irrelevant. He watched his surroundings with blank eyes as his body became completely paralyzed. He couldn't even direct his own gaze. The restraints that had previously held him released him and he was carried by two drones to a nearby assimilation/operation table. He was laid down and strapped in, held by light restraints because of his new paralysis. They were for the convenience of the operating drones, not to keep him still. Much like a craftsman would use a vice to hold a workpiece. The pain started next. Eian watched as drones came into and out of view, manipulating his body on the outside just as the nanoprobes manipulated it on the inside. He was no longer gasping for breath, as the nanoprobes had set up some kind of interior breathing system. He felt drones holding his right arm down particularly securely, and strapping his head into a tighter vice. He saw a drone come into view with a large mechanical arm, and sheer terror gripped him as a drill emerged from a chuck in that arm, and opened up for a smaller bit. It was approaching his eye slowly, and he could neither scream nor beg, even though in his head, that was exactly what he was doing. And then it hit him. Just before the drill bit hit his eye, it occurred to him, ~You can still think. WHY can you still think?!~ Before he could explore that question, though, an infinite amount of pain exploded into his body. First it felt as though his left eye and right arm were going to erupt like volcanoes from within, as thousands upon thousands of nanoprobes rushed to the surface right before the drill bit and saw out of Eian's view hit the skin. Then the offending weapons violated his skin and ripped through flesh and bone in an extremely fast, efficient process. With minimal blood, his forearm and hand were removed completely and nanoprobes instantly sealed the breach. At the exact same time, his eye was drilled out and bits of flesh sucked through a vacuum installed on one of the drones' mechanical arms. The nanoprobes again sealed the breach and formed a mechanical sheen where Eian's eye had once been. His body was transformed in under twenty minutes. Eian's mind was rushing from one source of pain to the next, watching the stimuli outside his brain, listening to the voices that were now creeping into his consciousness...it was so much stimulation that once he got used to the pain, he could actually start to focus on a single train of thought. Focusing on one train of thought was something he had only learned to do in such extreme stimulation that the event that provided such a circumstance was too rare to make it a regular occurrence. ~God, stay with me,~ he prayed, but with the voices of the Collective streaming into his consciousness, he was having trouble forming that connection with God that had always prevailed in situations like this. He could feel that connection slowly slipping away. And that terrorized him enough to force himself to hang on. He could feel the drones opening his skin in multiple places, ripping the muscles apart and installing apparatuses. Some of his organs were removed, replaced with mechanical equipment. His vision changed as an eyepiece was fitted over his head, turning a colorful world slightly blurred by pain into a world eternally etched in a green background with a computer readout in front of him. He felt his scalp shaved and drilled open, tubes attached and snaked along his body to be plugged into newly installed outlets. He felt the weight of the mechanical arm installed into his new metal-encased stump. He felt his body moving at the Borg's commands, heard various voices of the Collective enticing him with promises of tactical scenarios of millions of worlds, with knowledge more extensive than anything he could imagine. The entire time, he remembered the words of Saint Teresa from long ago on Earth. She had struggled with the absence of God's presence and worked tirelessly to do His work, awaiting the return of the feeling of awe that had once been there. She didn't work because she thought she had to, in order to re-acquire this feeling. She did it because she wanted to do God's work "in His absence." And when she finally did feel that feeling again, she said very simply, "Jesus gave Himself to me." And that was exactly what Eian thought in his mind. The recurring, continuous mantra that he screamed out as loud as he could in his head, "Jesus, give Yourself to me. Jesus, give Yourself to me." Because that was the only thing he could command his brain to do, now that the Collective was zeroing in. And when one particularly annoying and insistent Borg demanded [[Why do you continue to resist?]] he managed to scream out in his mind, "I know I am weak and incapable and will succumb, but God chooses to use me, and I will not refuse! I will not refuse!" The only exterior reflection of this internally-waged, violent, treacherous war was a single tear that formed in his right eye and slowly slid down his cheek. (reply Volus or any in the room) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - FO - Commander T'Larah Sullivan - 0935) Volus took a single step towards her, placing himself between O'Neill and T'Larah. "Welcome Commander Sullivan, to our little discussion." The air in front of the Borg shimmered. The slight scent of ozone permeated the space between the two. T'Larah wouldn't have been a tactical officer worth her salt if she didn't know what that indicated. ~Force field, Ok phaser is useless against him.~ She holstered her phaser knowing it couldn't penetrate the field. "Have you come to rescue your engineer I wonder?" Volus' mechanical voice inquired.rhetorically. ~You know why I'm here. We have limited internal sensors because your drones have been taking them over.~ "Get out of here, Commander!" Eian screamed. "Not a chance Lieutenant, not until this Borg gets a piece of my mind." she said reaching behind her back and pulled out her tactical batons, extending them with a flick of her wrists. Now she was speaking to Volus, "Why don't you drop that shield and find out what this individual can do?" In an instant she was surrounded by drones, presumably commanded by this 'supreme Borg' to do so. The Borg raised a hand and the bulk of the drones stopped where they were; ready to act. "Or perhaps then you have some to accept the gift of assimilation. Certainly your Vulcan mind can grasp the scope of knowledge that you would have access to once you had been joined to the collective. It is god-like, I assure you. You will accept a state of perfection, free of emotional turmoil and gifted with a sense of complete logical focus." the Borg offered. "Look at the members of the crew that have been assimilated." volus said, sweeping his arm dramatically. They all resisted at first, but now they understand the complete harmony of thought and purpose that only the collective can provide. They serve the whole. We do not kill our own, we do not steal, lie, or cheat. We are a harmonious society, one which focuses their collective knowledge, skill and ability into a useful, productive task. We do not seek conquest for the sake of conquest. We seek only to enlighten those species that have not yet reached transcendent perfection." "Yet you seek conquest, your culture captures and enslaves others under the guise of enlightenment." she answered back, unimpressed with the Borg's didactics. He gestured towards the McLaren Drone. "This human, whom you knew as Matthew McLaren. He has shed his fears, his regrets and his sorrows and has become whole. Though he is not yet fully Borg, we have learned much from him. We have adapted. We have all benefited from his knowledge and experiences. He has high regard for you Commander. Perhaps if he explained things to you himself you would understand us better and see how fruitless and wasteful this conflict between our species is. You will inevitably be assimilated, yet you struggle against us. It is wasteful. It is...illogical." "Your assumption is incorrect, not all Vulcans completely embrace logic as their driving force, and I have found myself forced into another species before, pieces of my individuality wiped away. Were it not for the intervention of friends and family I would have been lost. I will fight to my last breath to stop that from happening again." she said with steely determination. The Drone who resembled McLaren Drone shuffled forward closing the distance towards T'Larah. O'Neill burst out a righteous accusation, "You bastards have no right to judge other species!" Eian screamed at Volus. "You're parasites! You have no originality, no innovation, no invention...you think you're perfectionists...you just feed on others, you're just insects! You'll never amount to anything, because you accomplish nothing but consumption! You have no spirituality. You have no greater meaning! You want to know what hope is? Hope is the knowledge that there's something more important than you, you selfish piece of--" the drone that had replaced the two that T'Larah had taken out reached down and injected nanites into him. His body was wracked with pain as the nanites viciously took control of his body system by system. Then T'Larah noticed McLaren's eyes, not the drone's met hers and winked, a decidedly non-Borg act. ~Does he have control?~ she thought. Surely they have sealed all the entrances and exits from this place, she had deduced, but with McLarens help she might get away and be able to inform the rest of the crew and pass on the knowledge that she hopefully wouldn't take to her grave. She griped her batons with a white-knuckle grip, and with a deep breath and exhalation shored herself against the fight to come. ~They can't survive with out their biological or technological components. Use that.~ As the first four drones began to approach T'Larah she side-stepped to the right and swung both tritanium / duranium alloy batons cracking one drone's skull plate with the first blow and forcing metal fragments into it's brain with the second. The metal fragments quickly made the neural tissue non-viable and the drone dropped and convulsed on the deck. A second lunged forward with a scythe-like mechanical arm appendage swinging it in a downward motion, intent on cleaving the Commander in two. T'Larah tumbled around one of the other drones and pushed it right into the awaiting blade which lodged into it's chest. Bolts of white lightning arced out grounding against the near bulkhead as the injured drone dropped to the ground unable to power his mechanical appendages. The scythe swung again this time horizontally attempting to sever her legs from her torso. She rotated her left-hand baton into a reverse grip, bracing it with her forearm she turned the swing's deadly momentum into a less then lethal push to the side. The pushed continued until she was pinned against the bulkhead. She struggled against it to free herself. The drone and it's cybernetic enhanced strength was too much for her to force through. The drone reached out with his free hand and extended the tubules in an attempt to assimilate T'Larah and end the fight then and there. ~Gotta think quickly.~ she thought then moved just as quickly. She dropped the baton in her right hand, reached up and grabbed a hand full of shield coiling and tore it off. The drone recoiled from the damage. She dropped the wires and reached for her holstered phaser. With one swift motion she drew and fired the phaser at point-blank-range. With no shielding to stop the phaser beam it struck the Borg's torso center mass and exploded out the back. The drone fell to the ground. A realization came to T'Larah. ~There were were four drones.~ She turned around to face the fourth. (Reply Borg McLaren, Volus) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Volus, Day 5 - 0940) Volus allowed a small satisfied smile to cross his lips as Sullivan and O'Neill continued to resist him. The act of resistance and overcoming it was always such a sought after flavor that Volus was actually very glad that they chose to resist, just as he was glad that the McLaren drone was fulfilling the will of the collective physically if not completely mentally. He sent the drones after the first officer of the Rosenante, hoping that she would hesitate in attacking those that were once her shipmates. He should have known better. The Vulcan woman went to work with a brutal efficiency that the Borg leader found satisfying. In her, there was a suitable opponent, a woman of action unlike the as of yet unseen captain of this vessel who did not have the courage to show his face. Just when she seemed to think that everything was handled the McLaren drone was upon her. She spun to engage him and Volus smiled when he realized that she was too late. But then something completely unexpected happened. McLaren did not strike, her, instead he grabbed her shoulder and the pair of them phased through the bulkhead opposite her position. "Arrrrgggghhhh!" Volus vocalized as he realized that the Drone was not as controlled as he had thought. Not only had he managed to rescue the First Officer of this ship, he had managed to hand the Federation crew the only active phase discriminator that they had installed into a Drone. One that was not yet tested and for which they did not have the materials to built another. {{Find them! Destroy them all}} He practically screamed into the collective. {{Your actions are illogical. Their resistance is futile. They will be accurately assimilated.}} the collective responded. {{Continue with the assimilation of this vessel}} He ordered then, knowing that it was pointless to argue with that particular strand of logic held by the collective. {{We will continue, although we will begin to minimize risk. We control all critical systems on both ships necessary to prevent their interference with us on the surface.}} Volus allowed himself a small victorious smile. {{How long until Assimilation of the sphere is complete?}} He queried {{20 hours}} the response came back to him. {{Repair and assimilate one of the transporters. I will be present at the moment of our victory.}} He ordered. {{We will comply}} the collective replied. (reply none) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sickbay - Doctor Steven Harper, Day 5 - 0941) Things were insanely crazy, especially since Ichijo had ordered all the patients to be shifted into some of the more secured wards. This would, of course work out just fine if the Borg never penetrated the department, but if they managed to gain entrance to any of those isolated compartments, they'd have an easy time of it. He believed the old phrase was 'like shooting fish in a barrel'. Still she was the CMO, and the time to question her judgment was not now. Instead, Doctor Harper worked diligently organizing the nurses so that they could transfer the ambulatory patients as quickly as possible. He was helping nurse carter lift a seriously injured patient from one of the biobeds when suddenly the nearby panel made a noise and started to open. Harper grabbed a laser scalpel and pointed at the rapidly expanding opening, ready to sever any appendage that presented itself without hesitation. Then a clear and well known voice sounded out and Steven visibly relaxed. "It's Tom Jackson- hold your fire." Steven dropped the scalpel on the biobed and reached out to help actuate the access point. The CMO had ordered them to be removed from the power grid so they were fundamentally just dead weight. It took both men some considerable effort to get the door open enough for the two officers to enter sickbay from the crawl space beyond. "I'm glad to see you sir." Steven said as he allowed a smile to grace his face. " And you too miss." he added for good measure. Jackson indicated that they needed to reseat and seal the access panel, which seemed easier to do now that a ray of liquid sunshine had appeared in the form of the second officer. The two men got to work quickly and had the hatchway re-sealed in a short span of a few moments. Still there had been enough of a physical effort to leave Steven somewhat breathless. "I need someone to look at Ensign Caliel." Tom ordered. Steven nodded, although he didn't respond since he was still catching his breath. With a quick shake of his head and a gesture to the now vacated biobed, Steven indicated that Caliel should take a seat there. Jackson called out for the CMO. "I think she's in surgery, bay one, sir. We had a critical case and she's the best surgeon we have on station at the moment." Steven offered. he then pointed to a clearly marked door, which could be overlooked for the bulk of wounded being relocated to other bays as they had been ordered to do. "It's through there, on the right side. There's an intercom." He explained. (reply Jackson) He turned his attention back to the Ensign, who had made it safely onto the black biobed. "Okay what seems to be the problem?" he asked as he turned to activate the internal scanners to get a more comprehensive reading. (reply Caliel) "Yes, so I see." he said incredulously, "I have no idea what you did, but you've shattered the Lunate and the Navicular bones completely, cracked the Styloid process on the Radius and completely crushed the greater and lesser multangular bones. I haven't seen this kind of fracture damage to a wrist in a long time. What happened?" He asked as he turned away and grabbed a subdermal field compression emitter as well as a subsonic resonator and a osteoregenerator from a stack of tools sitting bed side. (reply Caliel) "Some of this I can fix pretty quickly, but the crushed bones, those are a great deal more complex. They'll need extensive reconstruction. I can put you in a flex cast, with a built-in in pharmaceuticals hypo to regulate pain and increase usability until we can get the time to do the work on that wrist of yours. You won't be able to do everything that you could before the injury, but you can do a whole hell of a lot more than you can right now." (reply Caliel) He administered an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory by way of air hypo, before resetting the merely broken bones with the field compressor and the resonator. Once those bones were set, he began the regeneration process. With that underway, Steven had to ask the question that was burning in the back of his brain. "So tell me, how is it out there?" he asked as he shifted his head towards the main entry doors for sickbay. (reply Caliel, Jackson, Any) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sickbay. ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 0942) "I need someone to look at Ensign Caliel." Tom ordered. Steven nodded, although he didn't respond with words. With a quick shake of his head and a gesture to the now vacated biobed, Steven indicated that Caliel should take a seat there. Jackson called out for the CMO. It was at this point that the Adrenaline in Isra's system seemed to vacate the premises, and left her in an excuciating pain. She fought not to yell out as a slight movement in her wrist shot pain up her arm. He turned his attention back to the Ensign, who had made it safely onto the black biobed. "Okay what seems to be the problem?" he asked as he turned to activate the internal scanners to get a more comprehensive reading. "I... Broke my wrist, doc." she replied, breathing deeply to try and cope with the pain. "Yes, so I see." he said incredulously, "I have no idea what you did, but you've shattered the Lunate and the Navicular bones completely, cracked the Styloid process on the Radius and completely crushed the greater and lesser multangular bones. I haven't seen this kind of fracture damage to a wrist in a long time. What happened?" He asked as he turned away and grabbed a subdermal field compression emitter as well as a subsonic resonator and a osteoregenerator from a stack of tools sitting bed side. Isra grinned and frowned at the same time, choking back a chuckle. "I bet you'd not guess. It was the Borg.... I was trying to cut off an arm with a modified phaser, but he disarmed me, so to speak." she replied, at least entertaining herself with the terrible pun. "Some of this I can fix pretty quickly, but the crushed bones, those are a great deal more complex. They'll need extensive reconstruction. I can put you in a flex cast, with a built-in in pharmaceuticals hypo to regulate pain and increase usability until we can get the time to do the work on that wrist of yours. You won't be able to do everything that you could before the injury, but you can do a whole hell of a lot more than you can right now." "Thanks... How long will it take to heal like that?" she asked, knowing how the process worked through her scientific studies, but having never actually broken a bone in her life, she'd jumped in at the deep end. (Reply Steven) He administered an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory by way of air hypo, before resetting the merely broken bones with the field compressor and the resonator. Once those bones were set, he began the regeneration process. Steven suddenly turned to her as the process had started. "So tell me, how is it out there?" he asked as he shifted his head towards the main entry doors for sickbay. "You don't want to know." she replied, glancing up at him. "There's a good dozen drones stood just outside that door." she said, indicating the main sickbay entrance. This point was put home as the door seemed to move inwards as the Borg pummelled it. "I need to work on getting rid of them..." she said, looking around for a console she could hack. Most of them were dedicated medical consoles, and would take hours to get into the power systems, but there were some that had full access to the ship, if you knew which buttons to press. "Are we done, doc?" (Reply Steven) "I owe you one." she said, getting up as the cast finished attaching itself to her arm. Light, and flexible, the cast was designed to keep swelling down and hold the hypospray in place, while leaving an opening for new capsules of painkillers. She wiggled her fingers to see how much movement she had, and winced in pain as the tendons moved alongside broken bones. It was going to be a painful experience. She walked over to the console, and began tapping away, checking if the internal sensors in the area were working, and whether or not there was a power conduit in the wall opposite the door. (Reply Any) Written by Andy Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sick Bay - Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer/COPS, Day 5 - 0943) Tom's breathing returned to a normal rate. Like Isra, jackson was beat. "I'm glad to see you sir." Steven said as he allowed a smile to grace his face. " And you too miss." he added for good measure. Tom warmly shook the doctor's. He was glad to see a familiar friendly face. Tom indicated that they needed to re-seat and seal the access panel, which seemed easier to do now that a ray of liquid sunshine had appeared in the form of the second officer. With some others Jackson's point of entry was re-sealed. Tom called out for the CMO. "I think she's in surgery, bay one, sir. We had a critical case and she's the best surgeon we have on station at the moment." Steven offered. he then pointed to a clearly marked door, which could be overlooked for the bulk of wounded being relocated to other bays as they had been ordered to do. "It's through there, on the right side. There's an intercom." He explained. Tom nodded his thanks giving the doctor a thumbs up gesture. He activated the intercom. "Kimiko, this is Tom Jackson. When you are able, we need to talk" Tom said. (Reply: Kimiko) Tom nodded as she indicated it would several minutes yet before she would be free. Jackson used this pause to rest. (Reply: any in Sick Bay) (Posted by Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sickbay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5 0944) Kimiko had finished her repair, stood back and watched the surgical team close up. The surgery was a success and she should be heading back out to oversee the sick bay; however she felt a little superfluous there. At the moment there were more hands then injuries and everytime she tried to practice, some little thing that had to be done, some question had to be answered or some decision had to be made. So here she was, just watching as someone else did the job. ~You took the job, can't whine about it now.~ a tiny voice told her, ~gee, thanks. Your suppose to be on my side.~ Kimiko told herself. =^=yeoman Johnson to Dr Ichijo=^= "Yes, go ahead" Kimiko replied, dreading the news. =^=Doctor, we have two crew approaching=^= The yeoman stated through “Hostiles anywhere around?” Kimiko asked =^=Not within range=^= Kimiko nodded and replied "Thank you, keep me apprised." There were fewer people coming into sickbay then she hoped or feared. The kind of battle that these opponents offered didn’t allow for many injuries. Although the pair heading to sickbay likly meant the one or both were injured, Kimiko was perversely happy to hear that there were crew heading towards sickbay. The comm sounded again. =^=Kimiko, this is Tom Jackson. When you are able, we need to talk. =^= "Certainly, Lieutenant. we are closing now and I will be with you in just a few minutes" Kimiko took one last glance over the surgay, nodding to herself she exited the suite. "Good evening or morning or whatever, Lieutenant, How can I help you?" Kimiko asked as she watched stretcher roll past her. (Reply Jackson) (Posted by Jack) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - Matthew McLaren, Day 5 - 0945) Matthew moved toward Commander Sullivan with one plan on his mind. He tried to keep his thoughts as blank as possible until the last second. The moment that he realized that the Commander had dispatched the other three drones threatening her, he made his move. Matthew reached out and instead of striking her, he gripped her shoulder as tightly as he could without causing pain. Then he activated the phase discriminator. The two of them shifted into the phased existence of those out-of-tune with the normal universe. they could not be directly affected by anything from the normal universe, at least not fast enough to stop them from escaping. Matthew took a step forward, and in the processed pushed commander sullivan through the bulkhead and into the Auxiliary Storage bay that was well outside the Borg's makeshift perimeter designed to contain her and thereby prevent her escape. once they had passed through the wall, Matthew willed the device to deactivate and he immediately forced himself to release his grip on her shoulder. "Com-man-der." he forced himself to say, forcing the electronic vocal unit that the Borg had installed to work despite the desires of the Collective attempting to re-establish control of his body. "You have to...go. Volus... he...has a group of drones on the ...plan...et...they are after the...Tkon...sphere. They are...assim..ilat..ing...it. Time is sh..ort...must hurry." (reply Sullivan) "My pro...cessor is still...function..al...I am forcing...my body to...respond...But Nano...pro..bes..are...fighting...back... I need...medical..." For a brief instant he realized that he had lost control. His body stepped forward despite his wishes. He started to reach out his hand, the assimilation tubules snaking out. Just a half second before they were to meet T'Larah's flesh, he phased and they passed through her. Then as quickly as he had lost control, he had regained it. "Hurry...I don't know...how much longer..." (reply Sullivan) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Deck 10 - Sickbay. ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 0946) "I owe you one." she said to the doctor, getting up as the cast finished attaching itself to her arm. Light, and flexible, the cast was designed to keep swelling down and hold the hypospray in place, while leaving an opening for new capsules of painkillers. She wiggled her fingers to see how much movement she had, and winced in pain as the tendons moved alongside broken bones. It was going to be a painful experience. She walked over to the console, and began tapping away, checking if the internal sensors in the area were working, and whether or not there was a power conduit in the wall opposite the door. As she did so, the pounding stopped. She looked up for a moment, and then down at the console. The medical scanners were at least still working, Boosting their range by coupling it into the sensors in the room itself, she could see that there were no longer any Borg outside. "Tom!" she called, looking around for him. She walked to the area where Tom had gone, and saw him talking to a doctor. "Sorry to interrupt, Tom. The Borg have gone, they've obviously found a more important mission. My Captain has asked for all Boudicca crew to head back to the docking port, so I'm afraid I have to leave you to it." she said, giving him a nod. "Thanks for getting me this far." she said as she turned to leave, her modified phaser in one hand, and a fresh one attached to her belt. (reply Tom/any) The doors to sickbay opened as she approached, recognising that the Borg were gone. She slipped out, and headed towards the docking port where everyone was held up. Naturally, she took the jeffries tubes, struggling with only having one good arm, it was going to take her a while to get anywhere near... She wondered if anyone had sealed the jeffries tube access in case the Borg had tried to use them. The only way to find out was to show up there and knock. (Reply any) Written by Andy Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Deck 10 - Sick Bay - Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5, 0949) Tom was deep in thought when Isra spoke to him. "Tom!" she called, looking around for him. She walked to the area where Tom had gone, and saw him talking to a doctor. "Sorry to interrupt, Tom. The Borg have gone, they've obviously found a more important mission. My Captain has asked for all Boudicca crew to head back to the docking port, so I'm afraid I have to leave you to it." she said, giving him a nod. Tom looked at her and placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Isra, if I ever get my own ship, I want you as a part of the crew" Tom told her. (Reply: Isra) He watched as she turned and left. ~God, keep her safe~ he prayed fervently. (Reply; any present) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - FO - Commander T'Larah Sullivan - 0950) As T'Larah turned she saw McLaren's hand on her shoulder, a firm grip, but not threatening. A single eyebrow arched in curiosity as the entire deck, Volus and all the other drones took on an ethereal mist-like quality. The fourth drone in the wave attacking T'Larah swung through the pair with a mechanical arm, but went through them connecting with nothing but air. McLaren wasted no time and started walking forward, pushing T'Larah as he went. Sullivan offered no resistance as the pair passed through a couple bulkheads to an auxiliary storage bay. The phase shift disoriented T'Larah a little bit and it took her a while to get her bearings. "Com-man-der." his voice now had a metallic tone to it."You have to...go. Volus... he...has a group of drones on the ...plan...et...they are after the...Tkon...sphere. They are...assim..ilat..ing...it. Time is sh..ort...must hurry." ~Volus, so that's his name.~ "How are you still in control of your faculties Mister McLaren?" she asked. "My pro...cessor is still...function..al...I am forcing...my body to...respond...But Nano...pro..bes..are...fighting...back... I need...medical..." his voice was cut off and he cleared the space between himself and T'Larah in an instant the nanoprobe injectors deployed before she could react. Fortunately for her he activated the phase discriminator before contact was made, and the tubules passed through her neck harmlessly. "Hurry...I don't know...how much longer..." she could tell how close he was to loosing control again. T'Larah opened the door manually, "I won't forget this chance you gave me." she said and exited to find Captain Salid to report. (Reply McLaren) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - 2nd / Officer/COPS, Lt. Tom Jackson - Day 5 1000 ) Tom waited for Kimiko to finish the operation she was doing. Isra Caliel was getting her wrist tended to and he was resting. Jackson had also reported in so the CO would have their status. He allowed himself to think of his lovely Dahlia. Considering the ship was a countless number of centuries in the past, he was thinking of a person who didn't yet exist! He never fully understood time travel. Dr. Ichijo finished her work and greeted the second officer. " Hi Kimiko - its good to see Dahlia's maid of honor again" he said smiling tiredly. (Reply: Kimiko) Tom looked quickly around assessing the scene. Tom looked at the CMO intently. " Fill me in Kimiko" Jackson gently. (Reply: Kimiko) Tom kept silent as she gave him the word. Sighing, Tom filled her in. "Can we move if needed?" He asked. (Reply: Kimiko) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge, CO Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 5 - 1001) Reports were starting to filter back into the makeshift command center with a regularity that Ahmed felt reassuring. Since he'd managed to get his commbadge back, he'd managed to get reports from main Engineering, which were less than hopeful. It appeared that the borg had completely overrun the compartment, although not without loss of their own. Matrix and Jacobs had managed to encrypt the access consoles and equipment before retreating, so at least there was no chance that the Borg could control all the systems on the ship. Matrix and his people were on their way to his location directly, and Ahmed would be able to get a more detailed report face-to-face. In addition the acid provided by the Boudicca's sickbay had some some good in significantly slowing down the Borg advance on both ships. Although in some places the Acid had actually eaten holes in the deck plating. A more effective means of slowing their advance had been to increase the pull of the gravity plating scattered throughout the ship. Even the strongest of the Borg couldn't move through a gravity well equivalent to 8-Gs standard. As a result they had begun to disable the gravity plating control units. As this had to be done at every single section of plating along a given route it was a very long a difficult process, one which Ahmed had ordered harassed by any and all security and available personnel. For the moment there as a lull in the advance. The Borg had stopped moving forward and were consolidating their hold on his ship. That fact alone worried him greatly, especially since Sullivan was still missing and at this stage likely assimilated. Reports from the Boudicca were similar. The Borg advance had been slowed to a near crawl, thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of her crew and command staff. captain Durand had been injured and Commander Caskie had assumed command of the ship. Jackson had been sent to relieve sickbay, which was in the heart of the Borg infestation, and now that they were consolidating their gains would be very likely in serious risk of assimilation himself. Some reports of Borg beginning to use the Jefferies tubes and engineering access ways were disturbing. It was an area that couldn't be as easily controlled as the rest of the ship. An evil, but necessary design flaw of every federation vessel from a tactical stand point. As a result of this new information, Ahmed had ordered some of his personnel withdrawn to more concentrated areas of control, such as the secondary computer core. By contracting his own lines, he multiplied his firepower and manpower factors while forcing the enemy to extend and thus weaken their own resources. With everything that was happening, they had to take advantage of every advantage they could get their hands on. Slowing the Borg though, didn't stop them. It only delayed the inevitable. With the medical labs, science labs and almost all of the engineering stations under Borg control and cut off from communications, the majority of the resources that they needed were not available to them. Things were better aboard the Boudicca, they had managed to keep several of their engineering support bays, and a pair of science labs away from the Borg, as well as a secondary medical bay. That meant that there were still resources to be had, if they could just figure out a way to use them without murdering the entire ship's crews in the process. He had been directing several junior personnel in collecting up and remodulating phaser weapons, currently he had about a dozen people undertaking that task as quickly as possible. His ship display was a series of red blobs indicating damaged systems and a series of Green ones indicating systems hijacked by the Borg. There were more of the latter than the former, since the Borg tended to repair systems as they assimilated them. (Reply All) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1001.5 ) Kimiko looked at the second officer and noticed that that the that the officer looked a little worse for wear. The normally immaculate officer’s uniform was singed and there were a few darker stains that spoke of violence. " Hi Kimiko - its good to see Dahlia's maid of honor again" he said smiling tiredly. “Hello…Tom” Kimiko stumbled over his name, she was not used to greeting anyone by given names who were not intimate friends. ~When in Rome…~ “It is a pleasure to see you as well, though to be perfectly honest it is good to see anyone. Kimiko replied candidly The second officer glanced around the sickbay and looked back at her, then stated " Fill me in Kimiko" "We have forty-three wound currently being moved into three labs, in approximately five minutes, we'll have independent force fields blocking either sides of the corridor. Our plan of retreat is the morgue, if the Borg make a showing in force. We have had two, no, three incursions that we have managed to repel without casualties, though the last was a bit closer then I would like." Kimiko motioned to a observation room. "I currently have a couple of assimilated crew sedated will into the next decade in treatment two. The drug cocktail that Dr Candle and I developed seems to slow the assimilation process to a crawl. Its actually a fascinating process, the first component, phydroxnal reduces transmission of the probes by forming a barrier along the path of the...." Kimiko noticed that Jackson's eyes start to glaze and finished "I hope to start working on a way to reverse the process, when things are a little less frantic" The Lieutenant apprised her of the situation beyond the doors and asked "Can we move if needed?" "Beyond sickbay, I assume?" Kimiko inquired (Reply Jackson) "Without transporters, not with most of the injured" Kimiko replied "But I am confident that the labs and surgery areas are safe as anywhere on the ship." (Reply Jackson) "All of the areas in sickbay that would need wo deal with bio-containment, have the added bonus of being very difficult to break into and easily rendered independent of shipboard resources such as power, heat, and oxygen." (Reply Jackson) "Very well, if there is nothing else" Kimiko replied and left to supervise the transfer of the patients. (Reply Jackson) (Posted by Jack) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sick Bay, Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer/COPS Day 5 - 1002) After resting for several minutes and drinking some water, Tom acted. He looked around Sick Bay, Tom tried contacting the CO. "Ahmed, this is Tom. We've arrived at the end zone. Awaiting the next play" Jackson sent. Tom thought the Borg might be listening in and wanted not give away anything. (Reply: Captain) Jackson began his report. "Many players need a rest -some very much so. We have a good reserve lineup though" Tom added. (Reply: Captain) (Posted: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Deck 11, Outside Primary Computer Core, Upper Level, CTAC/SEC Lt. jg Ben Soma, 1003) "I need to address my team before we leave," said Sanok. Ben nodded and gave his friend a few moments to talk with his team. Ben thought back to the first time he had met Sanok, it seemed like ages ago now. His first mission, his first ship. Little did he know it would be the vessels final voyage, it suffered severe damage and barely limped back to base. Sanok had suggested volunteering to do patrols on Geneva to pass the time, Ben agreed and the two set off. On their first patrol a fire broke out, they managed to pull everyone to safety and then the investigation pointed towards foul play. Sanok had be abducted a short time later, it had taken awhile but Ben located and freed him, ironically enough their roles were reversed some time later. Ben had been abducted and though he didn't know it at the time Sanok and found him. Time and again the pair had somehow saved the others life over and over. Now they faced the Borg together. The Borg had taken something from Ben many years ago, caused him great pain. He had to admit that he didn't know how he would react should he ever face them but he was surprised to find he wasn't reacting quite like he had expected. He didn't know if it was because of his Starfleet training or his martial arts training, likely a combination of the two. All he knew was that he would do whatever it took to protect his current family. "I am ready now." Sanok said bringing Ben out of his musings. "Lets head out." Ben said turning to leave the group behind them. The pair started out on their assignment, at the first junction Ben pulled open and access hatch and began to climb in. Once in side he waited for Sanok to join him. "We should head to the lower decks first, engineering will most likely be a target for the Borg. They can control the whole ship from there, environmental controls, weapons, deflector, navigation, what ever they please. It would also be the most likely place to establish a new collective, they could draw power directly from the core." Ben pulled out one of his phasers and passed it to Sanok. "I've set then to a rotating modulation." He said. "We'll only get a half dozen shots before the Borg adapt." (reply Sanok) (posted by Milo Young) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Sick Bay, PO2 Emily Graatz Day 5 - 1005) Emily smiled broadly as she saw her boss, Tom Jackson, emerge from access panel. She was hoping he might have word of her betrothed PO1 Hank Stevens. She watched as Jackson issued several orders. Emily smiled, thinking how much more self-assured the man seemed. She thought ~Command fits Lieutenant Jackson~. Tom was finally alone. Emily approached her boss still somewhat afraid of the man. She waited till he turned towards her. Tom caught sight of her and smiled walking towards her. Emily was startled when he wrapped her in a bone crushing hug. "By god it's good to see you Emily" Tom said after releasing her. Emily, after recovering her composure, replied " Same here Sir". They looked each other over. Each not believing the other was really same for now. As if Tom Jackson were reading the young red headed woman's mind, Tom answered her unspoken question with "Hank's fine Emily. He's with skipper". That caused such a release of emotion that Emily burst into tears of joy. Even though Tom was now a married man he still didn't understand a female's crying at times. So he did the only thing he knew to do - he hugged her again. This simple act seemed to calm Emily down. They chatted as friends relaxing in the brief calm before the storm. (Reply: any in sick bay) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - 2nd Officer / COPS Lieutenant Tom Jackson - Day 5, 1006 ) Tom turned and regarded the CMO. He sensed some uneasiness in his ship mate. He thought silently she was stressed. She quickly filled Jackson in on the area's status. "We have forty-three wound currently being moved into three labs, in approximately five minutes, we'll have independent force fields blocking either sides of the corridor. Our plan of retreat is the morgue, if the Borg make a showing in force. We have had two, no, three incursions that we have managed to repel without casualties, though the last was a bit closer then I would like." Tom sighed - her perceptions were very similar to his. He'd be damned if he'd leave anyone behind orders or not. "I think your plan is well thought out. We won't move unless it is absolutely required" Tom stated. (Reply: Kimiko) "Should a move become necessary, we will take as many as we can with us" he paused awaiting what he thought would be a major protest from the CMO. (Reply: Kimiko) Jackson suspected he'd face a board of inquiry and a possible court marshal if he made that decision and anyone survived. Tom reasoned better some survive than none. He'd have to live with that decision - he was prepared to make it. (Reply; any in area) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay - CMO, Lt jg Kimiko Ichijo - Day 5, 1007) Kimiko watched the play of emotions on Jackson's face, she empathised with him. It was difficult to be in a command position and not be doing something right now. However relieving a position did not allow one to be proactive. There would be more Borg showing up later, she was sure, that he could beat upon. "I think your plan is well thought out. We won't move unless it is absolutely required" Tom stated. Kimiko nodded. "Should a move become necessary, we will take as many as we can with us." The Lieutenant stated Kimiko deliberately misunderstood and replied. "The only injured that are left in sickbay are somewhat mobile and I don't expect it will be too difficult to move all of the patients to a more defensible position; however I don't think it will be possible to crawl through jeffries tubes with a broken leg or shattered clavicle and fighting a rearguard action while circling the deck would not be productive, in my opinion" Kimiko paused for a moment and said "I'm sorry but I believe that I had neglected to advise that we do have limited sensor capabilities on the approaches to main sickbay. so we can know what numbers to expect if attacked" (Reply Jackson) (Posted by Jack) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Rosenante Docking Port - aFO - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 5 - 1008) It had taken a while for Josh and her merry band of two to work there way down to the docking port and meet up with Lt Trei and to be honest Josh wasn't happy with the people she was presently risking her life with. She had a Romulan, or as seemed as near as made no difference, who to all intents and purposes seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself skulking around the Jeffries tubes and as far as Josh was aware was quite happily memorising all of them so that she could report back to the Romulan Senate. As if that wasn't enough she had a weird Vulcan ensign who either seemed to think that he was indestructible or didn't seem to care either way. One of these on their own was enough to give Josh the heebie jeebies. Having both of them at once and then having to deal with the Borg on top of that was enough to make Josh want to jump right out of her skin every time she saw a shadow move. She was more than happy when they finally exited the Jeffries tubes and met up with Lt Trei who had been guarding the docking area. "Report Lieutenant" (Reply Trei) Josh listened to his report, "Very well I am waiting for the rest of our crew who were rescued by the Rose to make their way back now. Lt Trei take Lt T'Rillian and go through the docking port and liaise with anyone on the Rose's side to secure it. Ensign Vanik and I will secure this side. I'm awaiting all of our personnel to report back. Let's not keep them waiting." (Reply Trei and Vanik) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, In the Jefferies Tubes, Lieutenant jg Ben Soma, Lieutenant jg Sanok, 1009) Inside the Jefferies tubes, Sanok and Ben began making their way to engineering, the most vital part of the ship. Armed with new phasers with rotating frequencies, they crawled on hands and knees through the ship. "I have been isolated for some time. Do you know exactly how the battle is going?" said Sanok. "Do we have a chance?" "Not exactly," Ben replied. "As far as I can tell, the battle isn't going well. The Borg are assimilating the crew almost as fast as we can put them down." Ben leaned out to make sure the next junction was clear, phaser at the ready. "If we are to have a chance, we need to do something pretty drastic and fast. From what I can see, the Borg have already made far too much progress assimilating the ship. Comms are spotty at best. Internal sensors have been affected and we have had to shift the command center several times already." Things were worse than Sanok had thought they would be. Oh, he knew it would be bad, and it was logical to expect they would not prevail, but if he had learned anything from his time living with emotions, and from his friend, Ben, there was something about the power of hope. "Is there a plan, or are we simply making it up as we go?" said Sanok. They had reached a junction leading down. Checking to see if the ladder was clear, Ben swung out. "The Borg robbed me of my family once," he said. "I have no intention of allowing them to do so again." Sanok was silent for a few moments. That did not answer his question, but he realized for the first time, that his friend must be dealing with a terrible internal conflict. He knew Ben had lost his family to the Borg. He knew that it was a painful recovery period. However, since Ben was an adult now, and trained by Starfleet and serving on active duty, Sanok had assumed Ben was doing his duty, just as anyone else, with no personal struggles. What he saw on Dovek should have caused him to know his friend was going through such an ordeal. "I am with you, Ben, wherever it takes us." "I thank you for that," Ben replied, allowing a brief smile to form. They had been through a lot together and though neither had said as much, they had grown close, every little bump seemed to bring them closer. "Sanok," Ben began. "Your the closest I've ever had to a brother. Your friendship means a lot to me, and I would do anything to safeguard your life." Ben allowed a moment of silence to pass before continuing. "I just wanted to say that, in case this ends badly." This conflict with the Borg had brought many painful memories to the surface, losing his parents and then losing Marah. He would do whatever it took to ensure he didn't lose his friend. Come what may, he had voiced what was on his mind. In silence, Sanok followed Ben through the tubes. He knew he and Ben had developed a deep friendship that neither ever mentioned openly, but both knew inwardly, but the situation with the Borg had caused them to voice it. He knew it wasn't supposed to be part of his new life of logic, but he found that he liked it. When they had reached the engineering deck, and before Ben opened the hatch, Sanok finally responded. "You are my friend and my brother as well." Ben was a little surprised by what his friend said, he knew Sanok had completed the discipline of Kholinar so it must have been difficult to say. He was glad that Sanok reciprocated his feelings, it made him feel better. Vulcan's weren't known for saying such things lightly, come to think of it he couldn't remember ever hearing of a Vulcan speak in that way. Both had saved the others life, but not just in the line of duty, they shared a deeper connection then that. This was likely the only time either would speak of it, but he was glad they had it out in the open. Stepping out into the corridor, Ben surveyed both directions before giving the all clear. "Looks like they've been busy here," Ben said pointing to a door that had scorch marks along the divide. "Welded shut from the inside, they want to keep us out." "Perhaps it is meant to keep out the Borg," said Sanok. "If we can communicate with them, perhaps we will find help." Sanok did not speak anymore about what he and Ben had shared about their friendship. They said what needed to be said, and it was likely neither would ever speak of it again. It was no longer necessary to say anything more. "Maybe," Ben replied as he tapped his comm badge. "Soma to Matrix." Several seconds passed and no response. "Soma to O'Neill." Again nothing but silence. "Soma to Engineering." Same result. "Comms are down, we could cut through and find out." "Captain Salid wants us to do recon. Cutting into a room will take too much time," said Sanok. "Yeah," Ben replied. "Maybe we'd better start back." He had to admit that he was very curious to see what was going on behind that door. With Ben in the lead, the two security officers, and unlikely friends, resumed their recon of the USS Rosenante, both determined to protect their mates, and prevail against the Borg. (reply any) (posted by Milo and Bob) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay – Lieutenant Tom Jackson - 2nd Officer / COPS - Day 5, 1010) Tom smiled as he saw his favorite Klingon Combat Nurse E’Mpak approach and tell them “They will have to get past me first. Sirs”. "Welcome E'Mpak we can surely use a good warrior" Tom told her. (Reply: E'Mpak) Tom and Dr Ichijo went back to discussing what options they had available. Tom shook his head feeling like George Custer at the Little Big Horn might have. He questioned his choice to pursue command. Tom was getting another taste of what command was really all about. (Reply; any) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - CEO, Lieutenant Steven Matrix, Day 5 - 1011) Matrix and his remaining engineering teams made their way above deck. Matrix ordered the lot to report to sickbay, then rest shifts. Conrad and his security team had also reported to sickbay and Matrix ordered Conrad to rest as much as possible. Matrix walked into the observation lounge not knowing what to expect. He was tired, dirty and bloody from the wound the drone had inflicted, but alive and mad. Mad that he had lost people. Mad that the Borg had managed to damage his beloved ship in such a short time. Matrix put down his pack, but kept the K.E.A.T. Mark VI draped over his back with his hand holding the shoulder strap. He had clung to the weapon without hesitation or conscious knowledge, it was simply a tool for a new threat and mission. "Lieutenant Matrix reporting in sir." said Matrix as he did his best to gather his uniform and look presentable. (Reply any) "We fought the Borg as long as we could, my engineering teams along with Sergeant Conrad's security team managed to destroy or incapacitate nearly two dozen of the drones, but their numbers were just too great. We lost six people there sir." Matrix paused. "Engineering resources were secured, encrypted so the Borg cannot use it in any capacity. We've secured the warp core as well with a level 3 force field. The warp center has been sealed as well. Unless they bring in some sort of heavy cutting gear, they won't get in there. Redundant power feeds to the major systems have also been secured at this time." continued Matrix. (Reply any) "Sir, I've ordered Conrad, his security team and my engineers to report to sickbay, get some rest and to report when ordered." replied Matrix. (Reply any) (Posted by Steve) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Main Sick Bay – Combat Nurse E’Mpak- Day 5, 1012) E’Mpak pulled herself off the bio-bed. The injuries that she had suffered had been stabilised and were not life threatening. She winced as she stood up and moved her limbs to see what state they were in. ~I’ll survive for the moment~ She plucked up a hypospray and fitted a vile with a concoction of strong pain killers and adrenaline from a nearby trolley. A nurse came over to stop her but she glared at him and gave a soft snarl until be backed off. She injected the hyposray into her neck and took a few deep breaths as it reacted with her body. ~That feels better~ "I'm sorry but I believe that I had neglected to advise that we do have limited sensor capabilities on the approaches to main sickbay. so we can know what numbers to expect if attacked" Picked up her Mek’leth that was on the trolley beside her and slid it into her back scabbard. ~They are not getting into my sickbay. Not while there is still one Klingon alive on board~ She then scooped up a phaser rifle as she turned to Jackson and Ichijo. “They will have to get past me first. Sirs” (Reply Jackson, Ichijo) (Reply Jackson, Ichijo, any) (Posted by Robbie) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Deck 8 - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1017) Jessica found that if she wasn't fighting she was holed up trying to find a way to get the upper hand over the Borg. It was in one of these lulls that she now worked. The battle for the unified docking port between the Boudicca and The Rosenante was quickly reminding Jessica of another battle over a small town in World War II known has the Siege of Bastogne. She found it odd that how the tactics that allowed the solders to hold the city were being used to similar effect here. She marveled at how the small assault teams ran from engagement to engagement in an attempt to reinforce and hold the line. Jessica had joined the fight when needed however right now her main focus was how break the Siege and take back both ships. ~ We know the Borg strength... Adaptive shielding, superior weapons, and the ability to assimilate their opposition into their collective...~ "But how do we get by that." Jessica spoke thinking allowed, a small fist slamming down upon the makeshift workbench she sat behind. "Look at this another way." She told herself or was she talking to Lily. "What is the basis of all Borg technology." She thought letting the minutes slip past, her heard the makeshift alarm of another Borg attack. She ignored it, and soon it was silenced, and the Borg repealed. Jessica Knew the defenses of the Docking port would hold. she laid there basis and they were being constantly built upon and improved. She knew it would take a sizable Borg force to take this area. "Nanites" Jessica exclaimed has in a moment of profound genius or madness an ideal took hold of her mind. She gripped her PADD and stated to take down notes and give life to a special form of crazy. But if they could make this work. It might be the thing needed to save both ships. It took some time but when next she left the area that she had considered her own, there was a disturbing smile on her face. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - ACEO Ensign(jg) Henry Jacobs - 1018) The Journey from Main Engineering up to the observation lounge proved to be a challange for Jacobs and his security detail. Not only did they have to fight through a couple of security drones patrolling the corridors,the team also was slowed by the fact that Henry was moving sluggishly from his eye injury. All Henry could think about was the longer the injury was untreated the more inevitable it was that there would be permanent damage. They finally made it to the observation lounge doors and Jacobs brought up the rear as everyone else entered. With one hand over his left eye Jacobs entered the lounge and surveyed the room with his one good eye. He made out the most important face such that belonged to Captain Salid and noticed that Lt. Matrix also had made it to the observation lounge and was briefing the captain on the situation in engineering. Jacobs walked over to the two with his hand still covered his right eye, then he lowered it and waited for an opening to report in. "Ensign Jacobs reporting in , sir" (reply any) (posted by Darryl) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere Else on Deck 28 - Medical Drone - Eight of Twelve - 1020) Medical Unit Eight had in front of her a quandary. A highly sophisticated artificial life form made to not look or behave like one. This unit designated Maddox was as close to perfection as a non-Borg can get. Biological components melded perfectly with the artificial. The medical unit began her detailed analysis, all units were scanning. As she had never assimilated an artificial life form, she was hard pressed to know how to go about it or even begin. Minute bits of the scientist that she was still remained, they urged her forward. She began with a very intensive scan. The Borg sensors were able to penetrate the false sensor readings projected by the life form. She began sending her findings through the collective; {{ Positronic Neural Net, Calcium-Alloy Skeletal Structure, Self-Replicating Biological Sheath,}} Information poured though the scanning relays. The Eighth Medical Drone of Twelve got a response from the collective. {{We will know all there is to know about the body once it is assimilated, we have had difficulties with positronic nets and their programs in the past. We will adapt, we will overcome. Assimilate this unit's mind. Resistance is futile.}} {{Understood.}} Eight scanned for a data port, there was one, but it showed a hard wire data filter, what was once called a firewall. It would be easier to install a Borg input device. She commanded the arm with a dual-bit drill, and positioned it perpendicular to the Maddox unit's left temple. Once both of the bits were in contact, the drills began spinning at ultra high-speed. They made quick work of flesh and calcium alloy, nanoprobes stopped all hemorrhage and integrated the port to it's Neural Net. A single optical cable connected the artificial life form to the collective. {{Analyzing programing.}} [Access Denied.] {{Adapt.}} [Access Denied.] {{Secondary Programming Found. Analyzing.}} [Input Security Code for Access to Cognizance Lock-Out.] {{This program was designed to de-activate the unit if it became aware of it's true existence as an artificial life form. It may cause problems once it is assimilated, remove it.}} {{Running decryption algorithms.)) Moments went by, the only sound in the chamber was the constant hum of the energy conduits and machinery in the room. [Access Granted, Cognizance Lock-Out Deactivated.] {{Attempt Access to the Main Neural Net.}} [Access Denied.] {{Perhaps the key is not in direct access, but in a choice. Volus must deal with this personally when the unit awakes.}} (Reply Volus, Maddox) (Posted by Todd) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere Else on Deck 28 - Volus, Day 5 - 1025) All attempts to capture sullivan and regain control of McLaren had failed, and so Volus turned his attention to other tasks that required his attentions. Specifically, those related to the potential assimilation of the artificial life form known as Maddox. His Medical units had already attempted to subvert the life form directly, with no likely chance of success. There fore the collective had deemed that the most reliable chance of assimilating this particular life form was to offer it a choice; Join the collective or be dismantled. Volus entered the chamber and moved towards Maddox, taking additional precaution to verify that the individual was secured in a fashion that would not jeopardize his existence and thereby the mission of the collective. He stopped a few meters from the unit waiting for it to respond to his presence. (reply Maddox) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Somewhere on Deck 28 - ACEO Lt JG Eian O'Neill - Day 5 - 1145) {{This unit possesses higher capacity for resistance.}} {{Its brain chemistry enables it to retain focus with more stimuli. Subtracting stimuli will cause focus to wane.}} {{Acceptable course of action. Proceed.}} {{You will be assimilated.}} ~No...~ Eian insisted, but it was weak. He had regained the ability to move some time ago, but he had lost all sense of time. The pain searing through his body was nearly unbearable, and if it weren't for the nanobots coursing through his veins, he would have fallen unconscious long ago. As he watched them work on his body and experiment with making it move like a puppet, he was completely helpless to do anything about it. The only thing he regained control of was his mind, and even that was a constant struggle. But as more and more voices were added to the Collective symphony in his brain, and more pain was added as tests were done on his muscles and additional implants were forced into his flesh, he was able to retain his focus. He prayed, he tried not to think about the mutilations he was undergoing, and he thought about his family. But his prime focus was on himself and his individuality. He refused to even *think* in the plural tense--when he thought about his family and friends, about Jessica and his relationship, about his puppy Murphy, he thought about them in terms of "I" and "my", but never in terms of "we." It took the Borg a while, slow and poor innovators that they were, but eventually they realized that one of the chief reasons that he was still able to concentrate, in conjunction with the drug that slowed assimilation, was his brain chemistry. They didn't attempt to alter it--preserving it for study was far more logical. Instead, they cut off his sensory access. They shut down his nerves. He suddenly felt no pain, and at first it was a relief. Until he didn't feel anything else, either. He was a disembodied mind, with no control over his body and his only connection to the world through his eyes, ears, and the mechanical voice box they had installed in his throat. At some point during the violent and gruesome assimilation, they had drilled into his ears and suctioned out his ear bones and eardrum, and installed mechanical implants. They now shut those off as well, and Eian began to panic. He attempted to speak, but found that they had even shut off his voice box. They shut off his new eye implant and blocked his vision through his other eye with a metal plate that was drilled right into his skull. He was now completely shut off from the world. It was his worst nightmare, and it was happening right now. He would have been breathing heavily in panic if he had control over his body. But he had no way of relieving his tension. His mind was floating in cold, dark, nothingness. He could still hear the voices of the Collective, but that was literally all he heard. And they were enticing, offering rest and reprieve from this torture he was experiencing. He didn't give in. He never surrendered. He was instead taken by force. Without anything to distract himself with, his mind naturally gravitated towards the Collective, his only stimulation. And he began, strangely, to bond with them. He prayed desperately for God to give him a feeling of contentment, a feeling of hope, anything to indicate that he was still in control and that his Savior was still there. But he didn't receive that indication. He could no longer feel God's presence, no longer experience joy when thinking about Him. He was utterly alone, and the Collective was his only company. And it was relatively quickly then that his mind succumbed to the Borg's beckoning, and was reborn as Second of Five, Secondary Adjunct of Repair Unit 51. He watched as if through someone else's eyes as his nano-plated legs swung over the table edge and he stood, shaky at first. He experienced pain but could not think about it. It was very odd. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt deep, profound and unmatched sorrow. But he couldn't address those feelings. Instead, he was marched toward his duty area, where he was assigned the task of repeating the same repair on a line of Borg as they walked through. He did not require sight, hearing, or feeling. He was a component in a line of machines, and all that was involved in his activity was raising his new mechanical arm, rotating the magnetic clamp and tightening on the 'patient's' nearly ejected neural subprocessor chip, removing said chip, and installing a new one which was located in a bin of replicated chips at his feet. The programming for this task was installed into his cortical node so that it required literally no thought. From the Collective's conversations in his head, he knew that this repair would allow the Tactical Drones greater resistance to certain Federation technology. But he had no part in decision-making, no thinking, no real unique function. Blind, deaf, dumb, and numb, Second of Five was reduced to machinery. But deep inside Second of Five's brain, Eian longed to die. (reply none necessary, any) (posted by Morgan G) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Jeffries tubes – unknown deck, ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 1202) A very long trek through the Jeffries tubes has always been enough to turn people stir-crazy. Especially when coupled with the possibility of Borg assaults at any moment, or mines set by other Starfleet officers trying to take out the aforementioned Borg. ~Now... which way is the hard docking port?~ Isra said to herself as she opened a hatch. A layer of what looked like fog drifted in through the hatch, and a sicky green light shone through. As Isra peered around the corner, several Borg Drones marched around the corner, seemingly ignoring her for now. She closed the hatch, and sealed it. Obviously they knew she was there, wounded, and barely armed. She gulped, and headed back into the tubes. After crawling through more Jeffries tubes for another half an hour, Isra came upon another hatch, and opened it slowly, peering out. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante- Deck 8 - Observation Lounge - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1217) She entered the Observation Lounge, and announced herself. "Ensign Signos, reporting." Before addressing the Captain. "Excuse, me Sir, I have something you might want to take a look at." She handed over the PADD before stepping back. She let the Captain look over the PADD and the details of the plan it hold. If they could capture one of the drones, reprogram it's nanites to deconstruct and work against the established collective Borg order. The only way the Borg could foresee ably adapt would be to rework every nanite with in the entire collective. This would also give rise to a way to get the personnel we lost back the reprogrammed nanites would first hunt and seek the hostile nanites and convert them over. And Since Jessica or Lily for that matter had been able to see where such an method of attack has been used against the Borg has been used in the past. She was sure it would work. A way to unmake the Borg, to use the vary basis of there technology against them. What she needed now was the Captains blessing and the Medical, Engineering, and Science teams support to bring the plan to life. (reply Captain Salid) (Posted by Matthew Locke) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Observation Lounge - CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid, Day 5 - 1219) "That will be all lieutenant" Ahmed replied to the security officer who had just offered him a report concerning the latest on the Borg Activity. It seemed that they had finally come to a complete halt, stopping at the assimilation of most, but not all of the critical areas associated with the control of the Rosenante. Ironically enough, Ahmed and his crew still had a sizable chunk of the ship that they controlled and that the Borg seemed tactically disinterested in. They had even retreated now from the entirety of a few decks, leaving sickbay and sciences once again free of Borg influence, although Ahmed could not reasonably understand why the collective had decided to suddenly forgo their tactical advantage and press their offensive. He supposed in a strange sort of way that the luck was with them, since any other action would have certainly meant that their positions had been overrun. But for the first time since this mission began, the captain began to realize that the outcome of this encounter wasn't decidedly in the Borg's favor. He saw an opportunity to finally manage to take the fight to them. the only problem was that he didn't have any idea exactly how to do that at present. The door to the lounger slid open and the lieutenant exited and Signos slipped into the compartment. "Excuse, me Sir, I have something you might want to take a look at." she stated after she had announced herself. Ahmed reached out and accepted the PADD that she was offering him. It didn't take him long to slip thorough the pages of theoretical information. It was a long shot, but it was just crazy enough that it may very well work to their advantage. He'd never heard of trying to turn Borg nanoprobes into weapons to attack other nanoprobes but there was a good chance that the Borg hadn't either. How effective it would be would be questionable. Ahmed smiled, handed the PADD back to Signos and gave her a short nod of approval. "Come with me Ensign." he said and headed towards the hard dock link where the two ships were joined. The link between the Boudicca and the Rosenante was the most heavily secured part of either ship, and it didn't surprise him to see a sizable operational camp set up in the adjoining compartments on either side of the hatch. It didn't take him long to spot the person he was looking for. "Commander Caskie!" he called as he cut through the buzz of officers towards her. (reply Caskie) "Commander, take a look at this." he stated and held out the PADD. (reply Caskie) He waited as she skimmed the PADD before finally asking her, "Well?" (reply Caskie) "Ensign Signos theorized this idea. I think it might just be crazy enough to work. I think we can implement it if we can work out the specifics. With you, Narvak, Vanik, Caliel, Matrix, Ichijo and Jackson working on this aspect as well as a way to isolate a Drone from the collective in some manner to allow us to test it, I don't know that it can go entirely wrong." (reply Caskie) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Dock with Rosenante - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 1225) Detron saw a Vulcan Ensign and the RomulaN LT he saw earlier on the bridge come out of the Jeffries tube to meet up with him. Caskie asked for a report. He thought he covered that in his COMM call to her on the bridge, but gave her the report just as well. "I killed 6 drones using 2 vials of acid then went to bashing them up like training dummies. It was enjoyable. I will cross the dock as ordered and secure the other side sir. I will COMM when secure sir." Detron turned to LT TRilian "LT you are with me. Lets move" Detron took his Battlaff out and instructed Trilian to arm herself as they prepared to cross the dock. (Reply Signos, Caskie, Any at dock) (Posted by Edward) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Dock with Rosenante - Lt (jg) Ael Harkonnen T'Rillian - 1227) Ael heard the Commander give her orders and turned around to look at her with her eyebrow raised. Something that most Vulcanoid species did oh so well and to great effect. Unfortunately this Commander seemed to be immune to that particular effect and simply nodded her head confirming her orders. Detron crossed the dock to find a battle for control. He dialed up his battle rage and thrust his Battlaff out front. Watching him charge out in front Ael turned back to the Commander and could have sworn that she saw a smile cross her face. But all that happened was that the Commander regarded her with a steady look that told Ael that she had better follow orders and follow them now or else. So, follow orders Ael did. She cocked her weapon, since to be honest she really had no idea what she would meet on the other side of the docking port. Walking forward she finally came across a group of Star Fleet Offficers guarding the Rose side. She held her weapon out to the side and called out. "I'm Lt T'Rillian. Cmdr Caskie told Lt Trei and I to check out this side. Has anyone seen Lt Trei, I kind of lost him." Finally someone spoke up and asked if he was Klingon and Ael nodded. There was a general burst of laughter and finally someone pointed down the corridor. "I think he went that away." Ael shrugged and sat down beside them. "Oh well, no doubt he will return eventually. Our orders were to make sure that this side was secure." She looked around and smiled. "It looks secure to me." She turned to the person sitting next to her. "Does it look secure to you?" Getting a nod and a smile Ael grinned back. "Thought so." Tapping her comm badge Ael began to speak. "Lt Trillian to Cmdr Caskie. The Rose side of the dock is secure. Lt Trei however has decided to scout further to make sure." (No reply required) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca / Rose - Hard Dock Defensive - ATAC/SC Ensign (jg) Jessica Signos- 1230) Jessica watched has Lt. Trei rushed head long into battle, and sighed. ~ Maybe he was cooped up to long ~ Has she went back to more pressing concerns. She listened to what Captain Salid and Commander Caskie were talking about. Has the commander skimmed Jessica's PADD. "Ensign Signos theorized this idea. I think it might just be crazy enough to work. I think we can implement it if we can work out the specifics. With you, Narvak, Vanik, Caliel, Matrix, Ichijo and Jackson working on this aspect as well as a way to isolate a Drone from the collective in some manner to allow us to test it, I don't know that it can go entirely wrong." The Captain had told the commander, Jessica was glad that her thought was being given such creditability. She hoped It was at least the first step into an offensive against the Borg. Has Jessica waited for a decision to me made. Her eyes shifted again to the deep lavender of Lily then she spoke. "Captain, If I may, let me go... isolate and capture a drone. You know my abilities..." She let the remainder of her comment linger and waited the final decision and the next coarse of action. (reply Salid, Caskie, iyw) Jessica waited, she had one more question that had to be asked and for her it was probably the most difficult and pressing. Eian had been gone to long the Forces from Engineering had already returned hours ago. Yet, Eian was not among them and Jessica started to fear the worse. It was a tightening in the pit of her stomic that told her something wasn't right. Finally a decision was reached. Jessica waited for the Captain to step off back toward the Rose before she interjected. "Excuse me, Sir... I know this isn't necessarily a good time to ask." Her blue eyes were wide with concern. "But, by any chance do you know the fate of Lt. O'Neil?" (reply Salid) (posted by Matthew Locke) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Boudicca - Hard Docking Port - aFO - Cmdr Jennifer (Josh) Caskie - Day 5 - 1232) Josh had watched as Lts Trei and T'Rillian had headed off towards the Rose. To be honest she didn't think they would encounter many Borg or be in much danger since she knew that some of the Rose crew had already cleared their side of the docking port. To be honest it was probably herself and Vanik that were in the most danger since with all the damage the ship had taken she wasn't exactly banking on the sensors or the comms working particularly well. And while the acid bombs that she had thought up had proved fairly effective against the Borg, they had wreaked their own particular havoc on the ship's systems and Josh just knew that if she ever got out of this particular tight spot, someone, somewhere down the line was going to call her judgement on that one. She shook her head and smiled. ~If you get out of this alive will you care?~ she thought. Smiling again she realised that as long as she and as many people as possible came out of this alive Josh would give a rat's a$$ how they managed to do it even if she had to blow up the entire quadrant herself. In ones and twos the crew of the Boudicca rescued by the Rose finally started to appear and Josh was in the middle of issuing them their orders when a voice cut through everything. "Commander Caskie!" There was only one person that this voice could belong to and Josh couldn't help but jump when she heard it. Grinning she turned around. "Captain?" she queried falling back into the old routine that she was used to. "Commander, take a look at this." He held out a padd and Josh took it and began skimming through it. Salid gave her just enough time to speed read the contents before he turned and queried her again. "Well?" Josh looked up at him and nodded. "Clever. I don't see why not. I think it's doable. I think it's more than doable. I think that it's crazy enough that it might just work if we can get our hands on a live borg drone, which won't be easy. "That will be the least of our worries though. The tough part will be severing him from the collective so that they don't immediately figure out what we are planning. That is the bit that is going to be hard. Go find me a Borg drone, get your people together and I'll start organising mine." Josh waited for a minute before a thought hit her. "Captain, exactly where do you want to do this? Your place or mine. To be honest, the Biohazard Lab on the Rose would be the perfect place if you are sure it's secure since the whole module can be jettisoned if necessary." (Reply Salid) (Posted by Marilyn) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante, Hard Docking Port, ACSO Ensign Isra Caliel, Day 5, 1235) “Woah! Don’t shoot!” she said, hearing the telltale clicks of several phaser rifles in her direction. Slowly though, and with only one good arm, she climbed out of the hatch, and stood in front of the security teams for just long enough to introduce herself. “Sorry for the scare, I’m Ensign Caliel, I’ve been trying to get back to the Boudicca for a couple of hours... This is the docking port, Right?” (reply anyone) “Thanks... I need to get going.” She replied, heading through to the makeshift command centre. “Uhh.. Captain?” she asked, since it had become more of an open-plan command centre. (reply Captain Salid) “Captain Durand has asked for all of his crew to get back on board. Tom Jackson is in sickbay here still, keeping it secure, but it looks like the Borg have left it alone for now. Permission to leave, sir?” she asked, sticking to the rules. Maybe everyone on these ships were a little more lax on that, but there was no way for her to tell until something had been said. (reply Salid) Written by Andy Jones --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Dock with Boudicca - TAC/SC Lieutenant(SG) Detron Trei - 1236) Detron crossed the dock to find a battle for control. He dialed up his battle rage and thrust his Battlaff out front. He charged at the Borg like they were a gauntlet of warriors in a Battlaff training exercise. He bashed drones along his path humming a song by an old Teran group called Queen. Upon cracking several drone heads, he sang "another one bites the dust Yeah!!!" He returned to a central point of the dock and allowed the rest there to clean up. (Reply Signos, Caskie, Any at dock) (Posted by Edward) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Dovek II - Research Facility - Chief Scientist D’askto - 1300) D'askto, the genius of his time and the last hope for his entire planet, was crawling through a crawl space located behind a wall of the facility. Not too long after he and his staff had started their work for the morning, some strange sounds were heard which marked the unexpected arrival of a hostile alien species. With the entirety of the planet's starship fleet light-years away aiding in the evacuation of entire worlds, there was no military force left to stop their rampant spread. A cybernetic species, intent on transforming those that they encountered into a mockery of the living creatures that they once were. It didn't take a genius to realize that they were not here to establish peaceful relations. He and G-Rova had barely managed to escape from the initial wave of the attack. Thirty members of his scientific staff had succumbed to some sort of biological self-replicating infection that the creatures had spread among the Tkon. He didn't think it was contagious in the traditional pathological ways, but the disease was definitely not one of natural design, not considering the end results of the plague. "Faster G-Rova" he said calmly as he rounded a bend in the space. We must hurry to the bio-nmenomic gel clusters before these invaders realize it's there. If I can't isolate the sphere from them, they will take it from us and our planet will be lost." "It may already be lost, certainly you saw what they are doing to our fellows?" his assistant responded gruffly behind them. "Of course I've seen, but i have confidence that once we reach a working lab, that we can easily determine the nature of these aliens and undo all the damage that they have done, although i must admit that they adaptive qualities are remarkable." "Perhaps we'll get the opportunity to study them in depth once we've been... what was it they said? Assimilated?" she replied sarcastically. "Such wit does not become you. You are much more intelligent than that." he chastised her. "Yes, of course i am, but i can not help but feel that we're on the losing side of this issue. I mean if we do not deploy the device in time, we'll all die, our entire species. And these invaders, these Borg, they don't seem to be concerned with the continued existence of our species, of our culture." she explained. "I find it acerbic." D'askto nodded as he crawled. "I suppose you have a point." he replied, "Although I wouldn't think that we're defeated just yet. Remember that the device can travel through the temporal folds of the universe, which means?" "Which means time is irrelevant, as long as we can complete the device before our own demise." "Exactly." D'askto replied. "Ah.. here." The aging genius pointed to an access panel that looked like many of the others that they had passed on their way here. "This is it?" his assistant asked. "Yes indeed. Now let us hope that the Borg have not yet arrived." the senior scientist replied. "yes, let's" his assistant agreed. (reply none) Daniel Greene --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Deck 10 Sick Bay - Lieutenant Tom Jackson 2nd Officer / COPS Day 5 1303) While waiting for Kimiko to complete her procedure in surgery, Tom walked around the area trying to get a feel for their status. The casualties ranged from cuts and bruises to life threatening. Jackson stopped and talked to those who were not too seriously injured. Their morale was still quite good considering the tenacity of their foe. He walked off by himself for a bit of quiet and to assess their tactical situation. It didn't seem to him they could move easily. This made the choices a lot less flexible. (Reply: any in area) (Posted by: Bill W.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile ---------------------------------------------------------------------