Part 13 (1/2)

”Now, if I'm to have any chance of developing something by the time we reach the Borg s.h.i.+p again.”

”I will come to sickbay momentarily,” he said as he cut the connection.

A moment later, Ensign Allen's voice broke in. ”Commander Worf, I have the admiral.”

”Patch her through,” Worf said as he sat behind the captain's desk.

He turned the screen to face him as the Starfleet insignia was replaced with the face of Admiral Janeway. Worf had never met the woman, but even on the small screen she appeared to be a formidable presence. She seemed particularly tense at the moment, in fact. Worf suspected that he knew why.

Not one for simple pleasantries, she got right down to business. ”I have recently received a communique from Seven of Nine, Commander Worf. She reports that her long-range scans do not show the Enterprise at the rendezvous coordinates. I a.s.sume you have an explanation for that as well as for why your captain is not the one speaking with me now?”

”Yes, Admiral,” he said stoically.

”And the reason?” she asked.

”We have engaged the Borg.”

11.

SARA NAVE SAT IN SILENCE IN THE CONFERENCE lounge along with T'Lana and Lieutenant Nelson from engineering. It was an odd trio, to say the least. Nave had known Nelson only in pa.s.sing; the few conversations they had were centered around warp core specifications. She always found the information enlightening but not exactly interesting. T'Lana, meanwhile, had already proved to be a hard nut to crack, and Nave wasn't ready for another go-round. It was easier just to sit silently and wait for Commander Worf than try to bother coming up with any topics for discussion. Regretfully, that left her with her own dark thoughts.

Nave's heart was in a very strange place. After she had heard Lio's dying screams, she had alternated between excruciating grief and numbness. Now she was in limbo, wanting to mourn, to cry, but she couldn't. Because now she had hope of rescuing Lio, and now her mind was busy churning out a hundred different scenarios of how she would find Lio on the Borg s.h.i.+p, how she would feel when she saw him, how she would ultimately save him.

Intruding on all this was the single sinister thought: Was it possible that the Borg had simply killed him?

No. No. The Borg would have sent him back, like the others. Once they had finished using him for his comlink connection with the s.h.i.+p, they would have identified him as the leader of the away team and a.s.similated him for his tactical knowledge. What would be bad for the Enterprise meant hope for Nave.

So she was forced to hope that the Borg transformed him-the last thing he would have wanted. Since she had transferred to the Enterprise, she had occasionally overheard a senior officer making a comment about Captain Picard's time as Locutus, about how horrifying it had been for him and for the crew. About the sense of violation the captain must have felt.

Am I being selfish, wis.h.i.+ng the same for Lio, just so that I can bring him back?

Anxiety clutched her midsection, made it difficult for her to draw in a deep breath.

Behind her, the conference room doors opened. She did not turn; she knew from the sound of his step that Commander Worf had returned from sickbay.

Immediately, she straightened in her chair and forced her dazed, grief-exhausted mind to still. You need to remember only one thing: you're going to the Borg s.h.i.+p. No matter what happens to Lio, you'll have the chance to avenge him and your friends. And you'll have the satisfaction of helping to stop the Borg.

She did not allow herself to consider for one second the possibility of failure.

She glanced up as Commander Worf took a seat at the head of the table: the captain's chair. Nave was surprised by how much she thought it suited him and worried that she was betraying Captain Picard in the process. Nave saw Worf and the counselor exchange quick looks. Apparently they had agreed to a truce: Worf's expression was determined; T'Lana's was of course more difficult to interpret, though it was definitely not unkind.

Despite her emotional turmoil, Nave was curious. After Commander Worf had ordered T'Lana to the ready room, the Vulcan had emerged first. Although she revealed no emotion, tension enveloped her like a cloud. But the counselor had remained on the bridge and sat quietly, as if nothing had happened. Worf had emerged a few minutes later and said he was going to sickbay, while T'Lana had remained maddeningly unreadable. Nave was not even sure she liked the woman.

But the larger question still hung in the air. What had he discussed with Admiral Janeway?

At that point, she banished all personal thoughts. Worf was ready to start the oddly attended briefing. She hoped she would find out the answers soon enough.

”As you all know, we will be heading back to the Borg cube,” Worf said. ”I have spoken with Admiral Janeway and, though she is displeased at how the situation has evolved, she agrees with my plan.”

”Plan, sir?” Nave asked, realizing she was jumping the gun. She was just too afraid that whatever the commander was now planning would leave her out of the mix.

Worf had obviously guessed her concern. ”You will have the chance to avenge the losses of your crewmates, Lieutenant,” he a.s.sured her. ”But we need to be cautious about this. We need to do it in a way that Captain Picard would never suspect.”

”Surely the captain would never expect that you would disobey his orders in the first place,” T'Lana said.

Worf paused for a moment. A rare smile played on his lips. ”You are still new to this crew, Counselor. I a.s.sure you, the captain knows we're coming. We just need to make sure that he cannot see us returning.”

Nave thought she knew what the commander was implying, but it was impossible. At the same time, it was a course of action the captain certainly would not antic.i.p.ate. ”Are you suggesting that we'll be...cloaked, sir?”

”Yes, Lieutenant.”

Nave nearly laughed when she saw the questioning look on T'Lana's face. Surely the Vulcan wouldn't know how to process this information. It was clearly against the terms of the Treaty of Algeron for the Federation to possess a cloaking device, unless in a situation specially sanctioned by the Romulans. Honestly, Nave was a little confused herself. Where would they obtain a cloaking device in time?

Even taking Worf's communication with Admiral Janeway into account, there was no way she could have gotten through all the red tape to get permission from the Romulans already. In spite of the threat of another Borg incursion, bureaucrats simply did not move that quickly.

T'Lana was the first to speak. ”The Defiant is the only Federation stars.h.i.+p equipped with cloaking technology.”

”That is not entirely correct,” Worf said, evoking a look of shock from Nave and one of utter curiosity from T'Lana. Nelson alone looked as though he knew what the commander was talking about. Worf nodded to the lieutenant to explain.

”The Federation has been studying cloaking technology for over a century,” he explained. ”While the treaty forbids us to use the technology on our s.h.i.+ps, it doesn't mean we can't possess it.”

”That interpretation is a matter of semantics,” T'Lana reasoned. ”One that the Romulans would surely take issue with.”

”True,” Worf said. ”But considering the recent coup in the Romulan Senate, combined with their unwarranted attack on the Federation-namely this s.h.i.+p-the Federation is taking a new look at their relations.h.i.+p with the Empire.”

”Surely, the treaty has not been rescinded,” T'Lana said.

”As far as Admiral Janeway is concerned,” Worf said, ”it is for the time being.” He turned to Nelson. ”Lieutenant.”

”Cloaking technology has been encrypted in all stars.h.i.+ps' computers constructed within the past decade,” Nelson explained. ”The thought being that the technology should be available in cases of extreme need. The encryption does requires an admiral's access codes.”

”Which we now possess,” Worf added.

”So we're going to cloak the Enterprise?” Nave asked.

”Not exactly,” the lieutenant replied. ”To cloak the entire s.h.i.+p would require a ma.s.sive amount of energy, which we don't exactly have at the moment. Since the saucer section is most damaged, we're going to have to separate from it and cloak only the stardrive section. Commander La Forge is working off the decrypted schematics and installing the cloaking device right now. He's the only one onboard with proper clearance for the procedure.”

”Meanwhile, Doctor Crusher is working on a neutralizer injection, a way to take out the Borg queen once and for all,” Worf added. ”In the meantime, we will need to evacuate all extraneous personnel to the saucer section. Counselor, I will leave you in command of that section. Your orders are simple: remain at this position, outside of the Borg sensor range, until we return. If you pick up any movement by the Borg, you will turn the s.h.i.+p around and head to the coordinates Admiral Janeway has ordered the fleet to ma.s.s. Do not attempt to slow the Borg s.h.i.+p. Your goal is to join the fight where you can be of the best advantage.”

”Understood,” T'Lana said with a nod. Nave didn't doubt for a second that T'Lana would do exactly as she was told.

Worf looked out at the three officers. ”Lieutenant Nelson will be in command of the auxiliary bridge while we are on the cube. In the meantime, we must prepare for the separation.”

”Aye, sir,” the officers responded.

As T'Lana and Nelson left the conference room, Worf motioned for Nave to remain with him. ”Once the cloak is active, we will be arriving in the vicinity of the Borg s.h.i.+p within the hour, Lieutenant,” he said. ”I need you to designate a security team. I will, of course, be leading the rescue efforts. But you will be responsible for coordinating them.”