Strange New Worlds X

by Dean Wesley Smith

  “Regardless of the spelling, it suits you,” said Farragut with a flash of Kirk’s charm.

  “Thank you.”

  “Doctor Solomon tells me I was named after a distant relative.”

  “Doctor Solomon told you?”

  “I have no memory of my life before I was twenty-seven years old. I was captured by an alien race that wiped my memory clean. But I don’t even remember that. I was rescued by Doctor Solomon on one of his science missions.”

  So that’s how he did it….

  Farragut continued. “Sometimes I think I remember things. When I first heard your name, it seemed familiar. It happens to me a lot. I think I’ve been places before, met certain people, things of that nature. But that’s as far as it goes. I can’t ever make the connection. The doctor says there are echoes of the past kicking around in my head.”

  “Maybe someday you’ll remember it all,” said Jillian. Then again, maybe it is best if you don’t.

  “Approaching Borg solar system barrier,” said Kaylon, as the entire crew gathered on the bridge. “Contact in twenty minutes.”

  Jillian felt like she had itching powder in her clothes. She’d studied a few captive Borg in her lifetime, but the thought of being this close …

  “Slow to impulse, but maintain our cloak,” said Farragut. He got out of the captain’s chair and turned to face David Solomon. “It is time,” he said.

  Solomon nodded.

  “Time for what?” asked Jillian. “Have you two figured out a way to get around that barrier?”

  “We don’t have to,” said Solomon.

  “They’re going to lower it for us,” said Farragut. The Captain turned to his communications officer. “Open a channel to the Borg homeworld.”

  Jaws dropped all over the bridge as no one could believe the order.

  Jillian jumped from nervous to downright scared at warp speed. “David?”

  Farragut repeated the order. “Open a channel …”

  “Yes, sir,” said the communications officer. “Hailing frequencies open.”

  “David, what’s he doing?” Jillian asked. Solomon didn’t answer.

  Farragut moved to the front of the bridge and looked directly into the view screen. His face suddenly went blank.

  “I am Locutus of Borg,” he said, without emotion.

  Jillian pulled David Solomon into the dimly lit ready room just off the bridge. “You just told the Borg we’re here.” She crossed her arms and stretched to her full five feet ten inches. “Explain.”

  “We had to,” said Solomon. “It is the only way for us to get inside the barrier.”

  “And what are we going to do when we get there?”

  “Destroy one of their suns. We have trilithium missiles on board.”

  “Trilithium? How did you get that aboard a Federation starship?” Solomon started to answer but she stopped him by putting up her hand. “Don’t say it. Let me guess … I don’t want to know.”

  “You’re right. You don’t.”

  “Wait a minute, David. How is destroying one of their suns going to kill them?”

  “We’re not going to kill the Borg,” said Solomon.

  Jillian felt beads of sweat blossom on her forehead as her heart jumped into overdrive. She was now convinced that David Solomon, quite possibly the smartest man in Starfleet, had gone terribly mad. She moved to within inches of the scientist, close enough to smell the coffee habit on his breath. “You said this mission would bring the end of the Borg. Forever. I remember your words like you said them five minutes ago.”

  “The Borg will be gone, Jillian, but no one is going to die.”

  “Please stop speaking in riddles,” she said.

  “Remember you asked me about the fourth person to contribute DNA to Sam Farragut?”

  “You gonna tell me now?”

  “Yes. The fourth person is Tolian Soran.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You gave Farragut the DNA of a madman? The guy who killed James Kirk? Are you insane?”

  “It was the only way, Jillian. Soran’s obsession is crucial to the mission.”

  “How?”

  Solomon moved to a computer screen, punched up the view from the bridge camera and swung the screen around so that it was facing Jillian. “Extreme magnification,” he said. The computer complied.

  What she saw made it all come together.

  A giant electric white ribbon weaving its way through space. Toward the Borg solar system.

  “The doorway to the Nexus.”

  “My operatives in the Federation have been steering it toward the Borg homeworld for two years, changing the effects of gravity on the ribbon by destroying five insignificant uninhabited worlds along the way. The destruction of the Borg sun is the final step. It will turn the ribbon directly toward the Borg homeworld.”

  “You mean everyone on the Borg planet …”

  “Will be in the Nexus.”

  “You’re going to turn these monsters loose in paradise?”

  “They won’t be monsters when they get there, Jillian. That’s why we needed Janeway in the equation. She reached Seven of Nine. She knew that under all that hardware there was still a little girl who never got a chance to grow up. In the same way Farragut will reach the Borg Collective in the Nexus. All the echoes of all those souls will be heard. They will finally be at peace. Nothing else is possible in the Nexus.”

  She paced around the room as she tried to process the whole scenario. “You said Farragut will reach them in the Nexus. So he’s …”

  “Not coming back. He’s known all along. He is obsessed with getting there.”

  “But Farragut told me he doesn’t know the whole plan.”

  “He doesn’t know we’re going to destroy the sun. If he did, the Borg would know instantly when he contacts them. He believes the Nexus is simply going to pass over the Borg homeworld. He probably thinks we’re simply here to study and dismantle anything scientific left behind to prevent them from starting up again. He wants to go, Jillian.”

  Jillian shook her head. “Because you made him that way. Because of Soran’s DNA.”

  Solomon nodded. “Soran provided two things. His homeworld was destroyed by the Borg. And he was obsessed with the Nexus. Farragut needed personal revenge to sign on for this mission and an intense desire to get to the Nexus. With Janeway’s influence, he knows he hates the Borg, not the beings that were assimilated by them. We needed Picard’s echoes of Locutus to get us through the barrier and to communicate with the Borg. And we needed Kirk’s ability to pull off the greatest bluff in the history of Starfleet … along with someone who doesn’t mind bending the rules for the right reasons.”

  “But even with all the things those four people have endured, how do their memories translate to DNA?”

  “Echoes,” said Solomon. “It was so simple. If it weren’t for you I never would have figured it out.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Remember the time you injured your hand?” He reached for her left hand, and touched it briefly. She jerked it back.

  The memory brought a chill. The lab accident, the horrible burn. The rehab had taken months. “How could I forget it?”

  “You still flinch whenever anything comes near your left hand, even though the hand is perfectly normal now. Since the accident you do everything with your right hand, even though you were born left-handed. Your left hand doesn’t have brain cells, but it has a memory. It is actually scared of being hurt again. In the same way DNA can be given an echo, when manipulated with certain aspects of the donor’s memory engrams. In other words, Farragut knows he wants to liberate the Borg, he just doesn’t know or remember why.”

  Her interest was definitely piqued. “You told me about this hypothesis years ago. It’s actually true?”

  “I proved it just before I started this project. It was the missing piece of the puzzle. We always knew we’d get a great leader combining the DNA of all these captains. But this mission demanded
more. It needed the echoes of their past experiences. Farragut gets his feelings from the engrams, but not the specific memories.”

  She had to admit, it made sense. “You’re a brilliant man, David. Still, I don’t understand why you couldn’t have confided in me earlier. Especially since this was supposedly my idea. Mind explaining that one?”

  “Remember that dinner party at Starfleet headquarters a few years ago when the discussion arose about who was the best captain of the Enterprise?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “Half the table favored Kirk since he fired phasers first and asked questions later. The others liked Picard’s diplomatic ability. Remember what you said?”

  “I do now,” said Jillian, the memory suddenly vivid in her mind. “If you could combine those two, you’d really have something.”

  Solomon nodded. “I just took your advice.”

  “Bridge to Captain.”

  Sam Farragut tapped his combadge as he moved behind the transporter room control panel. “Farragut here.”

  “Kaylon here, sir. The Borg have lowered the force field. We are through the barrier and have entered their solar system. Looks like they bought your act as Locutus, Captain.”

  Sam Farragut double-checked the transporter controls, turned, and shook David Solomon’s hand for the last time. “Goodbye, Doctor. Thank you for everything.”

  “Goodbye, Sam. An eternity of peace is waiting for you.”

  Farragut moved to Jillian and gave her a firm handshake. “Wish I’d had time to get to know you better,” he said.

  “You too,” she said. “Good luck, Captain.”

  Farragut tapped his combadge as he moved to the transporter pad. “Farragut to bridge.”

  “Bridge here,” said Kaylon.

  “Transferring command to Commander Rush,” said Farragut. “Follow her orders to the letter,” said Farragut.

  “Aye, sir,” said Kaylon.

  “Energize,” said Farragut.

  Jillian hit the transporter controls. He was gone in a second.

  “We need to get to the bridge right away,” said Solomon, leading the way out of the transporter room.

  “So is this the part where I come in?” asked Jillian.

  “You have command rank,” said Solomon, maintaining a brisk pace. “You’re a science officer. And you’re the only person with those two qualifications I could trust.”

  “I’m flattered,” said Jillian, “I think. I’ll let you know if we make it out of this alive.”

  They reached the turbolift and moved inside. “Bridge,” said Solomon.

  “So you just need me to fire the torpedo and get us out of here.”

  “Exactly. Farragut is going to buy us the time we need. But the launch must be precise, within a two minute window.”

  “Cutting it awfully close, aren’t we?”

  “I knew Farragut wouldn’t be able to buy us much time.” He handed her an isolinear chip. “Here is the information you need.”

  The turbolift door swooshed open, letting in air that somehow smelled different, like a long abandoned trunk in an attic. David Solomon stepped out first.

  He turned abruptly and Jillian saw pure fear in his face, just before the Borg drone grabbed him and injected him in the neck with nanoprobes.

  “Deck five!” she yelled, and the turbolift door closed just as she caught a glimpse of the entire bridge crew being assimilated.

  She was alone on the ship.

  Farragut must have failed.

  David was gone.

  She was the last hope.

  She began to shiver, and not from the cold temperature.

  Think, Jillian. You have command rank. Act like it.

  She had one option. The auxiliary control room. If she could get there she could fire the torpedo.

  If she could get there. The Borg would know she was headed that way.

  She took a deep breath and exhaled as much tension as possible. “Stop turbolift. Deck three,” she said. The turbolift slowed, then started to move back the way it came.

  Breathe, Jillian. One way or another it will all be over in minutes. When the hell is that launch window anyway? What two minutes are we talking about?

  Her heart was hung up on her tonsils. The computer voice announced her arrival. “Deck three.”

  She reached for her side, but she had forgotten her weapon. Of course.

  She was a science officer, not a soldier.

  The turbolift door slid open and revealed an empty corridor. One hundred feet were all that stood between her and the end of the Borg. She ran, long legs eating up huge chunks of hallway till she reached the auxiliary control room door. She paused a moment, listening.

  It was quiet.

  The door whooshed open and she quickly moved to the computer station. She popped the chip Solomon had given her into the computer. “C’mon, c’mon!” she said, though it only took a second for the information to be displayed. The targeting coordinates were there, along with the timeframe. The helm would automatically turn the ship toward the nearest starbase at maximum warp the second the torpedo cleared the bay.

  The computer displayed the two-minute window.

  It didn’t begin for forty seconds. She’d made it.

  Less than a minute and she’d be home free. She drummed her fingernails on the desk. C’mon clock, move! As long as …

  The Borg drone materialized behind her, grabbed her head and injected the nanoprobes into her neck before she even had a chance to put up a fight.

  “Resistance is futile,” said the Borg. Or am I hearing that in my head?

  I hear them. A thousand voices, no, a million, no, so many more than anyone could comprehend….

  “You are part of the Collective now….”

  “Your designation is Six of Six….”

  The nanoprobes raced through her body and she began to lose muscle control. Her arms were starting to feel like jelly. She saw the clock ticking down on the computer as she grew light-headed. The voices were pulling the memories from her … ripping her private thoughts from the deep recesses of her soul.

  Daddy, I’m going to name my kitten Pandora …

  I just got accepted to Starfleet, Mom …

  I love you, but my life is out there …

  David, are you out of your mind?

  Let them die …

  Twenty-nine seconds …

  She heard them, voices crying in desperation as they were being assimilated all over the galaxy.

  Help me!

  No, please don’t …

  She felt a familiar presence cry out from the consciousness and touch her mind. “Jillian!”

  “David?”

  “Jillian! I’m losing … so sorry … please forgive …”

  She fought to maintain her identity but it was so hard …

  Resistance is futile …

  Eighteen seconds …

  She felt her mind moving toward the Collective consciousness now, as if drawn to an irresistible magnet, her strength seemingly draining out of her body. But she continued to fight. She had to. She felt David’s identity disappear into the hive, his voice now a lifeless monotone. “I am Five of Six …”

  He was gone.

  She was right behind him. It would be over soon. The oxygen in the room began to smell stale.

  Seven seconds.

  She was almost physically spent. She fought with her last ounce of identity to pull herself up toward the computer.

  The Borg who had injected her noticed. He moved toward her as she stretched for the firing button.

  Two seconds. One.

  “Launch window is now open,” said the computer. “You have two minutes to deploy.”

  The Borg grabbed her right hand just inches from the button.

  His strength was almost too much …

  But not enough.

  With her last breath as a human being she summoned her remaining life force, reached out with her left arm and smashed the launch button with
her fist.

  Her last memory as Jillian Rush was that of a torpedo headed toward the Borg sun. She smiled as much as her fading muscles would allow and blacked out.

  “Jillian! Wake up!”

  Bad dream. Borg. Six of Six …

  I forgive you, David….

  Poor Farragut. He never had a chance to …

  “Jillian! It’s David! Can you hear me?”

  She felt a hand patting her face and opened her eyes. Her vision slowly cleared as she realized she was on the floor of the auxiliary control room. “David? But you were …”

  “It’s over, Jillian. You did it. The Borg are gone.”

  “What?”

  “They’re gone. In the Nexus. And the ones not in the Nexus are being set free.”

  “So the torpedo …”

  “Dead on target. Now you know why you were essential to this mission.”

  She started to sit up but her head was pounding. “Oh, my. I think I’ve got a Borg hangover. This is like Romulan ale to the tenth power.”

  “Just relax,” said Solomon. “It will pass in a minute. Your human physiology is reasserting itself.”

  Within hours the messages began to pour in. Entire worlds that had been taken over by the Borg were contacting the Federation. The souls were being freed of their Borg hardware. Billions of intelligent beings were getting their lives back.

  “How do they all know what to do?” asked Jillian.

  “After the Borg in the Nexus became free, many left to return to their real life homes. They were still able to communicate with the Borg outside the Nexus, much like Farragut used the echoes of Locutus to reach the Collective.”

  “What kind of communication?”

  “All received the same message. One word. Peace. Didn’t you hear it?”

  “I don’t remember anything after launching the torpedo. I guess I wasn’t totally assimilated.”

  “Trust me, you didn’t miss anything. I’m going to have nightmares for years.” He hung his head. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Jillian. I really thought we had enough time.”

  “It was worth it.” Jillian sipped her iced tea, appreciating the sugary sweetness like never before. Everything was going to be all right. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder….