Resistance [Backpost]

Posted on Sun Mar 31st, 2024 @ 9:39am by Lieutenant Commander Sotra & Lieutenant Commander Melanie D'BrooNi- Haistro

1,620 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: USS Excelsior - A
Timeline: Frontier Day 2401

ON

Something had hit the Vulcan like the proverbial freight train unexpectedly. Her destination had been the Bridge to take part in the frontier day celebrations, watch the Enterprise launch from Space Dock and Admiral Shelby's speech but things had gone sideways rather quickly when the younger crewman seemed to be moving with a single mind and voice. She had a distinct feeling this was related to the federations most implacable enemy, the Borg.

A young human male had struck her , the skin on her forehead splitting allowing a trickle of green blood to colour her cheek. She could feel a cool hand pressing the spot where she had started to bleed as her vision started to return, blurred but returning.

"What has happened?" her voice was croaky and horse and she couldn't remember how she had made it from the corridor outside of the main shuttle bay to the corner of Cargobay three.

"Let me take a look," a female voice rang out. "Can you sit up?"

There was a snapping noise and the lady came into focus clearly in medical uniform. A tricorder was now wafting gently in front of the Vulcans face.

"Indeed" Sotra said, the world coming back into focus once more, it was a stark realisation. The deck rumbled beneath her, the faint whine of phaser fire and scream of someone of the receiving end of a blunt force impact along with other tell-tale noises that spoke volumes about the battle taking place on this new state of the art vessel.

"Doctor what is the situation on board the Excelsior?" Sotra plucked at her collar releasing the top button that was holding her collar close to her skin, she needed to breath, a most unVulcan thought given she was breathing just fine, so much so she could smell the smoke in the air. "Are we under attack by Borg?"

"We are it seems," Mel said. "But it seems to be a specific sort of Borg. They all seem to be under the age of 25 including I fear, my 16 year old daughter who attacked me but I was able to knock her out with a hypo in our quarters and get us here. The weird thing is she has not left my side the journey here and I can tell you no Borg materialised and injected her the "usual" way. They seem to have found a new way to assimilate. Which is terrifying. I want off this ship. I believe you can help me in that respect. I need to get her to safety, to a lab where I can try figure out what's happening. It is not safe here."

"Indeed" Sotra added, climbing to her feet and quickly collecting herself and allowing the Vulcan like stoic out shell to once again engulf her.
"Which deck are we on and do you know which section?"

"Indeed. The borg have initiated some sort of invasion and all you say is indeed?" Mel said in amusement. "I mean no hypothesises, no thoughts at all? What kind of a Vulcan are you anyway?

"One that has been thrust into the same situation as yourself Doctor with little to no background or information pertaining to their method of invasion, for lack of a more accurate term". she responded crisply not wanting to berate the good Doctor as they were both of the same rank and of the scientific track going by the collar colour the both sported.

"Whatever. Look, we are in cargo bay 3. But I don't have the authority to pilot one of those shuttles. Do you? And have you any weapons?"

"I am a class two pilot certified on most forms of shuttlecraft" her words equally as cool and direct as before as she started to readjust herself to the situation. She was also starting to rebuild her detachment and mental defences. Although Vulcans were touch telepaths they could still easily be bombarded by the strong emotions of others, especially were their were more than one personality emanating from this women, she logically assumed she was a joined Trill.

"Excellent. Well then," she snapped her med kit shut and secured it to her and reached down to lift up her daughter. "There's a shuttle. Lets commandeer it and get the hell out of here before any more Borg show up. They have taken the bridge. There's no orders coming through from command. We have to fear the worst."

"Allow me Doctor" Sotra offered as she started to lift the teenager. A Vulcan's strength is far greater then a Trill so it made sense for her to shoulder the burden and allow the Doctor more freedom of movement given their situation.

The pair darted for the cargo shuttlecraft as a communication channel opened ship wide.
"This is the bridge, we have retaken it. The fleet are engaged in battle with Earth Spacedock... We need help up here, the Borg have taken control of the ship, the Captain is dead" the line was cut as the young man screamed in fear and pain.

The telltale rumble of the great vessels engines sparked to life, the Excelsior was moving.
"I suggest we move at a more accelerated pace. Please use that console to open the space doors" Sotra pointed with her free hand before punching in the commands to open the rear shuttle hatch.

Mel shuddered at the man screaming over the comm. There was nothing they could do. Any attempt to get to the bridge would meet them and anyone else with the same fate. She nodded at the Vulcan opening the console doors, happy to see her security level lent to that.

"I think for protection, she's not due to wake up but who knows what's going on with these assimilations," Mel said punching some more buttons and creating a force field around her unconscious teenager. She was eager to make use of whatever scans and medical programmes she could to try work out what was happening but weapons seemed a smarter option presently. They had no idea what they could be facing out there.

The shuttle hatch finished descending and quickly with a grace and speed Sotra had moved into the shuttle, deposited the young women on the rear couch and then started for the cockpit. It was now that the deck shuddered with a force of external impact, repeated impacts in fact.
"I believe we are being fired upon!"

"Yup and you better believe I'm targeting them right back. Shield's are up and holding. I have not come this far, escaping an alien queen possessing my husband, keeping my daughter safe and loosing my baby boy to be taken out by a load of quasi borg. By the pools NO," Mel said firmly. She was ready to go .... what was that phrase Keiben had used sometimes, am old Earth film reference, Rambo?

Sotra lifted off as the Doctor dropped into the co-pilots seat, the large space doors still rumbling open and the doors behind them tearing open with streams of partly assimilated crewmembers pouring in.

Sotra slapped the rear hatch button, closing it as rapidly as she could as she pushed the shuttle forward. Arching amber beams lighting the black of space beyond. Earth just visible off to the left. The Excelsior was indeed under attack.
"Brace for impact" she coolly announced as she spotted a stray photon torpedo barrelling down on the shuttlebay.

The torpedo tore past the shuttle, missing by centimetre's but barrelled into the open shuttlebay. It erupted in heat and flame, shards of twisted metal scattering at speed away from the ship, several large molten shards hitting the shuttle. Sotra was sent from her seat, the side of her head slamming into the environmental systems controls.

Mel swore. "Computer damage report," she yelled as she pulled the Vulcan best she could back up and started scanning her head wound. "Can you keep flying?" she asked.

"Hull integrity is at 78%,"

"Reroute any non essential systems to the hull," Mel said looking back to the Vulcan for an answer.

"I will endeavour to function adequately Doctor" came the cool if somewhat strained reply.

"Course set of Luna Colony at full impulse!" the Vulcan taking the small shuttle in the opposite direction to the attacking fleet that she could now see was comprised solely of Federation Starships... All of them. "Doctor. Please verify the sensor readings. Every federation vessel in the Sol system appears to be fluctuating between Starfleet signatures and... Borg!"

"You are correct," Mel said. She almost cursed but it would be held emotional and irrelevant behaviour by the Vulcan women. "It seems to be a far larger invasion than first surmised."

"Indeed" the shuttle had banked around and the full scope of the attack was now visible through the main viewport. Earth Spacedock was taking fire from a coordinated fleet of Starfleet Vessels, all unloading their entire weapons payload on the behemoth starbase. All the pair could do was watch as barrage after barrage impacted the shields and a single vessel swept through trying to defend her. Sotra stole a quick look at her read outs... "That is the USS Titan under the command of Liam Shaw".

"I do not know a Liam Shaw," Mel said keeping an eye on the same scene. "Last I heard Captain Riker commanded the Titan."

"The Titan has been in Spacedock for refit. She is no longer a Luna Class but the new Neo-Constitution". Sotra felt as if she was just filling the silence with unnecessary words as the watched the scene unfold. Titan was moving fast, gracefully weaving between the subverted Starfleet ships. Then the unthinkable happened... All they could do was watch.

OFF

 

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