Perfection, 11of 28
"PERFECTION"
by Jim Smith
Fine print: I don't own Star Trek and I'm not claiming to. I just own the story. Ask me before you do anything with it.
Chapter Eleven.
"Computer, begin emergency shutdown procedure, authorization Janeway theta tau six four."
The Hrunting's computer only chirped back at the admiral. There was no reason to expect that command to work any better than the last eleven, but there was little else for Janeway to do in her confinement. "Computer," she went on, "cross-link the main replicator control bus into the force field generator relay. Authorization Janeway kappa rho pi nine three one." Nothing. "Computer, open write access to security permissions database, authorization Janeway iota alpha sigma." Nothing.
"You're wasting your time." She could hear Jimenez's voice coming from the doorway before he came around into view. Vystir was by his side, as usual. "Ijhel reprogrammed the computer. It probably doesn't even recognize your voice pattern, let alone your access codes."
Janeway shrugged, but said nothing.
"What do boronite, yominum, and anti-azidoazide mean to you?" he asked.
Concern spread across her face, but she remained defiant.
Jimenez nodded. "I think they mean something. Merrani sensed that boronite and yominum were on the mind of the Stormwind's captain. They were transporting those substances to Intercomplex 934, weren't they?"
Janeway maintained her silence. For now she preferred to gather information rather than disclose it. Vystir's mood had improved, but not much. Whatever Janeway might have missed, it hadn't completely relieved her concern from speaking to the Borg Queen. That could present an opportunity.
"Don't look at her," Jimenez demanded, "look at me. I want to know what those materials would be used for."
Janeway said nothing. Was he worried that she was bothering Vystir? Was he trying to protect his companion?
"Anti-azidoazide is highly unstable," he continued, "but it's relatively trivial to replicate. Boronite and yominum are rare in this region of space. I think you were transporting it to Unimatrix Zero, and they intended to use it in a weapon. Well, they didn't wait around for you. They obtained their own supply."
That broke Janeway's poker face. She'd spent months coordinating this operation. The idea was to make the Borg think Unimatrix Zero was synthesizing omega molecules. Evidently, the Zeroes had gone into business for themselves. The red herring in her plan was now a richer prize than the actual goal.
Her eyes confirmed what Jimenez wanted to know. "It's not just any weapon. It's bait...and to lure the Borg in, it would have to be absolutely irresistible to them."
"We have to notify the Collective," Vystir blurted out.
"No." They stop talking for several minutes, continuing the discussion telepathically. But when that wasn't enough to resolve the disagreement, Jimenez returned to vocal communication. "We have to assume that if the Borg were willing, or able, to pursue this, they would have by now. The Queen left this up to us. She must have a reason."
"Perhaps," Janeway deadpanned, "she'd rather not risk any drones when she's got two misguided individuals to do the work for her."
Vystir tried to ignore her. "Nathan, it's not right to unilaterally decide how to act in the best interest of the Collective. We have to trust the superior perspective of the whole."
"For the past twenty years, that perspective has been fixated on assimilating human civilization at any cost," Jimenez argued. "They see my species, my culture, having something they lack, something that would be a major step forward in their perfection. Well, my biological distinctiveness says you have to think outside the box once in a while. The Borg aren't going to get this weapon the way they normally do things. They're going to have to trust us."
Janeway continued to prod. "What makes you think you can trust them?"
"We're not the fools you think we are, Admiral," he sneered. "I trust the Borg to do what's in their best interests. And in a few hours, it will be in their best interests to assimilate this shuttle on my terms."
"'Your' terms?" the admiral observed.
"That's right." Jimenez looked deeply into Vystir's eyes. "They won't overlook you. I won't let them."
His peculiar gallantry made her quiver, and it was clear to Janeway that the mood had caused them to exchange various dirty thoughts. Without another word, they hurried back to the foredeck, presumably for one last pre-assimilation fling.
The admiral was left alone again, but this time with a better assessment of her captors. Jimenez and Vystir had bonded over their desire to abandon the Federation for an interconnected, collective society. But the hive mind they really wanted wasn't the one the Borg had to offer. Vystir, it seemed, wanted a Borg lifestyle only insofar as she could be at the center of it. And Jimenez was just looking for whatever collective would let him express his devotion to Vystir. Neither of them were going to find what they were looking for. Neither of them would be happy to learn their true motivations didn't align as much as they chose to believe. Somehow, some way, Janeway would have to make sure they realized this painful truth, before it was too late.
"Computer," she said aloud, "identify all software revisions marked Ijhel, authorization Janeway gamma epsilon two..."