The scene aboard the Bristol was one of apparent chaos. Crewmen were carrying parts to and fro, occasionally bumping into one another. Everyone so often someone would shout 'Coming through!' and push others aside with some item of importance in his or her hand. Many of the crew were working their second, or in some cases third, shift and few were without weary feelings.
Lt. Ivanovna and Commander Jevor were being assisted by two other engineers in refitting shield generator number four, which provided the protection for the starboard-aft portion of the ship, as well as part of the 'top' and 'bottom.' The work was quite draining; the temperature in the Jeffries tube, the name given to all service crawl-ways (after one of the designers), was over 30 degrees Celsius.
Ivanovna wiped the sweat from her brow and paused for a moment to catch her breath, after having heaved a particularly heavy part into place from an awkward angle. The two other engineers took this as a signal that they too could rest. Commander Jevor, however, continued working quickly and steadily, humming something to himself that no one else recognized.
"Jevor, how is it that you can continue like this? We've been at this over an hour straight. Don't you stop for a breath?" the security chief asked.
Jevor just looked at her and smiled. "I'd tease you about your endurance, Lt., but after losing four straight matches of Parisi Squares to you, I know better. Actually it's the heat that's doing it to you. On Andoria, the average temperature is ten to fifteen degrees hotter than on your native Earth," he said, pausing to tighten a latching. "It probably helps that we Andorians only need four to five hours of sleep a night too," the blue-skinned man continued.
Lt. Ivanovna grunted with annoyance. She contemplated making an antagonistic remark; she didn't like appearing weaker than anyone else around her. However, she knew he was right about the abilities his race gave him; and there wasn't the slightest trace of arrogance in his voice that might have angered her. His response was factual and good-natured. She sighed and continued with her work.
Twenty minutes later, as the four slipped out of the hot Jeffries tube and into a hallway, Jevor's communicator beeped.
He tapped it, "Jevor here."
"Status, Commander," the authoritative voice of the captain responded.
"The shield generator has been replaced. My engineers are still working on restoring warp power; I was just on my way to check on their progress," Jevor said, giving a look to Lt. Ivanovna indicating she should jump in if she had anything to add.
She nodded and pressed her comm-badge. "Captain, weapons systems are fully operational. With the shield generators working again, shields should be operational once the warp engines come back on-line," Lt. Ivanovna added.
"Keep me apprised. Captain out."
The three engineers began to head down the corridor one way, Lt. Ivanovna the other. They glanced at each other. "I have a meeting of the Security Department to deal with," Ivanovna explained.
Jevor nodded, "Thanks for your help, Lt."
Ivanovna smiled and the two groups parted ways.
While this was going on, the captain and the first officer, despite the latter's minor head injury, were having a small meeting of sorts in the captain's Ready Room. The captain sat at his desk, perusing something, while Yilaan sat across from him.
"It sounds like repairs are proceeding well," the captain said to Yilaan after his brief conversation over the intercom with Lt. Ivanovna and Commander Jevor. Yilaan nodded. The captain continued, "I have here the list of 'standard precautions' that Starfleet suggests when handling a situation with the Borg. Some things we have to deal with...," the captain let his voice trail off as he scanned the electronic message pad. "We must rotate shield frequencies randomly to attempt to prevent their piercing by Borg weapons," he began, listing some things off. "We must do the same with our phaser fire, in an attempt to find a weakness in their electro-magnetic screen." The captain sighed.
"Sir?" Commander Cecilia Yilaan said.
He shrugged. "I don't know, Cecilia. I look at this and I somehow get a sense of profound futility. Like, whatever precautions we may take just won't be enough somehow. The poor way our forces have fared against them in the past. The superiority of their technology."
Commander Yilaan sat back in her chair. "In every war, the advantage most always goes to whomever it is that is protecting his or her home. Fighting for what's important always brings out the most ferociousness, the most courage, and the most resourcefulness in someone, no matter who they are. That is our advantage. The Borg are very advanced technologically, they are ruthless, and they are very efficient. That doesn't make them unstoppable."
The captain smiled grimly, "Sure seems like it the way you just described it."
"There is always a chance. I think the Borg might just underestimate us; they might look only at our inferior technology, while ignoring our spirit," she continued, unphased by the captain's attempt at jocularity.
Captain Freeman folded his arms. "That was quite a pep-talk, Commander," he said, standing up as he did so. "I'd be there are scores of the crew who have their doubts as well. Shall we go lighten their spirits?"
Commander Yilaan stood and nodded, "Good idea, Captain. I have been noting a downward trend in morale of late myself."
The two officers strolled out of the captain's Ready Room, onto the Bridge, heading for a turbolift. As they were about to exit, Lt. O'Shea called out to them from his position at the tactical and communications console. "Captain, incoming transmission from Admiral Hanson," he said.
The captain and first officer froze in their tracks. "On screen Lt.," the captain ordered, walking back towards the center of the Bridge, directly in front of the viewscreen.
A very somber looking Admiral Hanson appeared. "Captain Freeman, the Borg have gotten by the Enterprise, and are on course for Sector zero-zero-one," Hanson said frankly, wasting no time with pleasantries.
Several gasps filtered around the Bridge from startled officers; Hanson had riveted everyone's attention on him.
"Earth? Why?" the captain finally said after a moment of silence.
"Apparently they wish to 'assimilate' it into their Collective," Hanson replied. "It gets worse; the captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard has been taken by the Borg. They have apparently altered him."
"What does that mean?" Yilaan inserted.
The admiral sighed, "It means that they've outfitted him with all of the computer chips and and bio-mechanical implants the Borg, being a half artificial and half biological lifeform, have. In effect, he is now a Borg. They are apparently able to read his mind somehow with it." The admiral frowned.
Captain Freeman merely shook his head. "I have heard of some of his exploits. He was one of Starfleet's finest captains."
The admiral nodded, "He was one of the best indeed; he will be missed." Hanson then straightened up, "I'm assembling a fleet of forty-one starships to rendezvous at Wolf 359. You're one of them. We're going to make our stand there."
Captain Freeman shook his head. "Sir, we've every available crewman on the repairs, but we are still not fully capable of warp power yet. However, I promise you, the minute we are, we'll be on our way at best possible speed."
Admiral Hanson nodded grimly. "Forty ships it is then. I'll keep you apprised of future developments. Good luck with your repairs. Hanson out." The image of the balding admiral was replaced by the shimmering of stars.
Freeman sighed loudly, both hands going to the top of his head in exasperation. He looked at Yilaan, who returned his glance with a shrug of her shoulders. He tapped his comm-badge, "Captain to Jevor, engine status!"
Jevor's voice came back over the intercom. "Sir, we're nearly there. My engineers have just finished realigning the last of the damaged power nodes along junction six. All that's left now is a restart of the warp core."
"Get it done, Commander. We need warp speed as soon as possible; I want to bring what the Bristol can muster against the Borg incursion."
"Aye sir. The restart will take twenty minutes; we'll ready after that time. Jevor out."
The captain sat back in his command chair, the impatience clear in his expression as he looked at Yilaan. "All we can do now is wait, I suppose. Lt. Ivanovna is briefing her Security people; if they try to board us like they've done to the Enterprise in the past, hopefully they'll get one hell of a fight. I'm going to authorize side-arms for the entire ship's complement, not just Security."
Yilaan nodded in approval, and the captain gave the order to allow crew access to the weapons room.
An exasperating twenty minutes went by, after which Jevor hailed the Bridge. He had barely told the captain that the engines were ready, when the captain cut him off and gave the order to engage the engines at warp 9.5 towards Wolf359.
"Sir I don't think we should push our engines so hard just yet," suggested the chief engineer. "We might be risking further damage."
"I'd rather risk further damage then sit around on my hands, Commander. Clear?" the captain shot back.
"Clear sir. You now have warp 9.5 Captain," Jevor responded. "There are risks of going this fast for an extended period of time, sir, but you already are aware of those," he added, quickly following with "Jevor out," so the captain had no time to berate him again for this last complaint.
The lights on the Bridge flickered slightly and the hum of the ship's systems noticeably increased in volume. There were no other apparent ill effects on the ship, which was traveling at near maximum speed, however, much to everyone's relief.
"Time to Wolf359, Ensign?" the captain asked.
"One day, six hours, present speed," Ensign Gates responded.
"Time of Borg to Wolf359?" asked Yilaan.
"One day, ten hours, Commander," Gates said, swivelling about in her chair to face the command crew. "That assumes their speed stays at warp nine, which was the last speed reported by the Enterprise. They're capable of going faster," she continued.
The captain and the first officer looked first at Ensign Gates, and then at each other. "Well, let's hope that their speed stays at warp nine," the captain replied.
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