Perfection, 17 of 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 Seventeen.
"The Allied fleet is already on its way to attack Metanexus 211," General Korok explained to Unimatrix Zero. "With any luck, Admiral Janeway has found a way to divert Borg forces away from that facility...straight toward this one. It is up to us to keep the Collective busy until the invasion is completed. But I intend to do more than distract the Borg."
Korok signaled to one of his chief scientists, who activated a very large apparatus in the center of the chamber. It wasn't clear from the inside of Intercomplex 934 what this device was, since the most recognizable components were outside the main hull. "This," the general growled, "is the omega mortar. It will destroy every Borg vessel that comes within forty thousand kilometers of this station."
Even the Zeroes who had been briefed on this weapon were awestruck to see it up close. Commander Hardcastle had to be the one to interrupt the mood with the details. "General, with that kind of ammunition on hand, do we even need the fleet?"
Korok's tactical adviser, Alpha Sorgem, fielded the question. "Our ships, and the conventional weapons platforms throughout the intercomplex, will proceed normally. You will hunt the Borg as though the omega mortar were not available. Your tenacity, combined with the power of this device, will ensure a swift victory."
"What about the Xhiryptyr'x?" Tirava asked. "It won't do much good sending them to raid enemy ships if this mortar blows them to bits."
"When the Borg realize what they're up against," Korok argued, "they'll adapt. I don't expect their evasive action to be clever, but you can be assured it will be effective. It will fall to the Xhiryptyr'x to handle the cubes that our main forces can't."
"If Admiral Janeway's plan holds," Sorgem continued, "the attack will come within the hour. If not, the Borg will still come when they detect the energy signature of the mortar on their long-range sensors. Either way, we must prepare at once. All vessels are to report to docking bay eleven to take aboard a company of Xhiryptyr'x. The fleet will assume defense pattern lambda rho--"
An alarm rang throughout the chamber--a dull, obnoxious noise best suited to the drones that had originally constructed the station. As the Zeroes muttered to one another about the commotion, Korok looked to one of his other advisers, a Jye administrator named Pechkil, to determine the cause of the alert.
Using his Borg implants, Pechkil rapidly cycled through the intercomplex's recent logs. "There is weapons fire in docking bay nineteen," he reported. "A series of explosions in subjunctions 34 alpha through 49 gamma. Sensor data is erratic in the affected area...picking up hundreds of life signs..." He grew eerily silent just then. "General...they're not Borg or Zeroes."
"Then what are they?" Korok fumed. But he already knew.
"The Xhiryptyr'x appear to have escaped into the station," Pechkil confirmed. They're spreading into the outer junctions."
Sorgem trudged up to get a firsthand look at the data. "They're scattering, to make sure we can't capture all of them at once. It will be impossible to contain them without a substantially larger force. General, permission to--"
"Go," Korok said. "Take whatever men you need to secure the station." He then addressed the commanders of his ships. "Mobilize the fleet immediately. We cannot afford for this insurgency to gain control of a single vessel."
The Zeroes began scrambling out of the chamber, hurrying to wherever they were needed. Amid the commotion, Hardcastle made sure to stay close to Tirava. "This is it, Ava. You're gonna want to come with me."
"What are you talking about?"
"My cube is moored at docking bay twenty," he explained. "Which means we'll have go right through the thick of this thing. But I figure that's where you're headed anyway."
She couldn't argue with him. She'd been worried about Saa ever since the girl went off on her own to talk the Xhiryptyr'x into this insurgency. Now that it had begun, there was no way to be sure she could protect herself. Unlike Hardcastle, Tirava owed no loyalties to Unimatrix Zero, and had few duties within the organization. No one would miss her if she failed to report to her post, so she was better off staying by the side of her young friend. With a quick nod, the Andorian and her one-time lover joined hands and made their way out of the chamber.
"General," Pechkil fretted as the chamber quickly emptied. "If the Borg attack comes while we're busy securing the intercomplex, I can't guarantee our survival."
Korok sneered at the sniveling bureaucrat, and stormed toward his new weapon of mass destruction. Tapping a series of commands into his forearm, he opened a hatch leading to the gunner's chair. "Your guarantees are not required, Pechkil. I will deal with the Borg."