The Final Frontier 8

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Text File | 1994-08-07 | 14.7 KB | 332 lines

TF01 3,I Locutus - Part 4 4,by Ryan Nicol Here it is again, and sorry to those who've seen it already. All the best, Ryan To clear up a small matter that may have been worrying some people, Ard'rian Mackenzie is the character that was featured in the Third Season episode: "Ensigns of Command", in which Data had to evacuate a colony before an alien race, the Sheliak, claimed the planet they were on. Ard'rian was one of the colonists, interested in robotics, etc, and hence Data, and helped him to win the colonists' confidence and turn them away from their leader, Goshevon, who wished to stay and fight. This is just by-the-by, in case some of you haven't seen the episode or have forgotten her name and couldn't associate it with that episode.... And now Part Four; enjoy, Ryan. I, LOCUTUS ------------ by Ryan Nicol --------------- PART FOUR The human known as Riker had performed its duties well. It had aided the Borg in the inevitable assimilation of its home-world, Earth. It had provided the Borg with necessary knowledge for them to fulfil their purpose. But now it was irrelevant. Assimilation of the Earth was nearing completion; what was left was the dismantling, and then destruction, of all Earth structures. The culture had become one; the people had become one - with the Borg. And then there was the re-birth as Locutus arose from the ashes of its own destruction so the Borg's spokesman was returning. One spokesman was all that was necessary. With the full backing of the Borg, it would carry the message far; it would aid in the assimilation; it would show the futility of any attempts at resistance. The Borg whole had decided, and so its decision was sent to that which had been called Riker. Without argument, the Borg known as Riker left its central post and headed towards the area where it would be re-assimilated, this time as one of the many; as part of the whole - to serve as a unit in the combined effort of the Borg. * * * * * * * * Where am I? Where ever he was, there was an accompanying presence to be sure. The presence of the Borg; not individual members of the whole. But of all Borg. Every where. How is this possible? There was nothing to look at; nothing to feel, taste, or smell. There was only that presence of the Borg. And knowledge. He had access to it all; access to all areas of Borg consciousness. He stopped himself short of acting. Actions would raise alarms. And alarms would notify the group consciousness of his existence, if they didn't know of it already. He would have to be careful. Ard'rian - Borg - Locutus - alive - two - Borg - ships - Earth - assimilation - proceeding - approaching - Riker - Borg - assimilation - required. All flitted through Data's consciousness. All was known. But he had to be extremely careful. One false move would alert the Borg Whole to his whereabouts, and they would no doubt see him as a threat. They would attempt to route him out like a virus in a computer system. He would have to choose his path carefully, very carefully..... * * * * * * * * How foolish he had been. How vain and unthinking; to ever think he could escape the Borg. Resistance is futile; it was something he had forgotten, something that had seemed unreal once he had thought he had beaten them at their own game. But the laugh had been on him, and it was he who was now paying the price for ever thinking he could beat the Borg. Assimilation is inevitable, they had told him; he should have believed them. Picard stared out of his Ready Room window, and into the darkness of space, a view he always cherished. Now that familiar sight was blemished by the large metallic-looking Borg ship, as it loomed over him, casting a mental shadow over him. Beverly Crusher had shown him the brain scans, the computer-image of the biological "computer virus", as she had called it, that was steadily wiping out his very brain cells and replacing them with those of "Locutus'". This time it was different; previously, he had been taken and assimilated fairly quickly. But now; now he knew what was in store for him, what was slowly happening to him, and how they were destroying him, brain cell by brain cell. And that was the most horrific part of it all. "Captain." At the sound of Geordi La Forge's voice, he spun around. "What is it, Mr La Forge?" Geordi hesitated for a second, then continued. "I've studied this "virus" as much as I can, sir. And I can see no way of destroying it. It seems to have bonded with your own DNA structure, and is working at the molecular level. Not to mention, it is a damn sophisticated thing, too." He was silent for a moment, then said. "I'm sorry, sir." Picard nodded, slowly. He hadn't expected otherwise. Foolish of La Forge to think he could outwit the Borg... "Captain to the Bridge." Worf's voice boomed through the intercom system, bringing Picard out of his chair in an instant. He and Geordi marched out of the room and into the Bridge, to find the bridge crew standing silently to one side, eyeing the half- metallic being that stood before them, its large mechanical arm extending as it moved towards the conn. * * * * * * * * He knew everything. And yet he could do very little. The knowledge that the slightest alteration in the Borg's workings would bring the Borg Consciousness down upon him stifled his ability to act. He had considered entering a command that would put the Borg to sleep, as he had done when the Enterprise last battled the Borg as a whole, but that option had disappeared. The Borg learnt from their mistakes; the Borg adapted, because the Borg had to survive. No longer would they allow themselves to be placed in jeopardy, thus all commands that could pose a threat to the Borg had been placed under strict control. Only a unanimous decision by all Borg, where all components of the whole agreed to the ruling, would allow such measures to take effect. And though Data was in the Whole, a part of the consciousness, he could not command all members of the whole to agree to go to sleep. Thus few avenues were open to him. And he knew it would take one minor disruption to bring the whole group down on him, seeking him out and destroying his very essence from their consciousness. And one of those options now presented itself. Data prepared himself for the total onslaught he would face, as he readied himself for what he was about to do. * * * * * * * * Riker's eyes shot open. The confusion of his current predicament sent his mind reeling as he tried to hold on to something, some fact he could take as certain. Then he realised that he could move his neck, his toes, and his fingers on his left hand. But his fingers on his right hand.... He lifted his head, and was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea that threatened to draw him back into the darkness from whence he came. But it was the sensation of dire peril, of mind-blowing fear that pulled him up into a sitting position. Then he noticed the metallic arm; that massive artificial appendage that represented all that he held as disgusting and vile, as anti- life.... And the pain and mental anguish of what he remembered came pouring over him like an avalanche; the memory of the rape as his own individuality was crushed mercilessly was enough to draw a gut- wrenching sob from his palid lips. And then he looked around him. It seemed as if there were hundreds of them there in those gloomy surroundings, all lying on those metal tables like bodies in the mortuary, ready for the knife.... Riker tried to stand, still clutching the side of the table as the dizzy spell once more washed over him. His mechanical arm clanged against the neighbouring table, and the sound echoed down the large, otherwise silent, room. He stood still for a moment; waiting, fearing for an army of Borg to come lumbering towards him and force him back to his table, to join those multitudes in their collective slumber. But none came. Almost instinctually, Riker reached for the left side of his face. And his worst nightmares were realised as he touched cold metal. It was then that he realised that his vision was also tainted; instead of merely seeing the surroundings as they actually were, the room seemed less gloomy than before, and he could see distant things in greater detail. He reached for his left eye, and stopped short. If it was so, he didn't want to know. Slowly, he lowered his hand - his only hand - and started forward, trying to find a way out of this nightmarish hell in which he had been placed. * * * * * * * * They were after him. The simple act of interfering with their plans for William Riker had resulted in the awareness of his presence, and of the potential threat he represented. He had attempted to interfere in their plans, and that could not be tolerated, not by the Borg. But Data was working quickly, using the Borg's very systems to elude them from his presence. As he skirted from one system to another, so he hid himself like a crafty computer virus, creating false impressions and spurious leads while at the same time covering his tracks. But the Borg weren't fools. They learnt quickly. They knew what was irrelevant, and thus phoney; it was merely a matter of time before the collective consciousness had worked the kink out of the system; it was inevitable. * * * * * * * * "State your purpose for being here." It was a futile demand, and Picard knew it. But it was one he made none-the-less. The being continued to ignore them, as if they were not there, and looked around the bridge at the various stations. Out of the corner of his eye, Picard saw Worf drawing his phaser, and grabbed the klingon's wrist. "No!" He paused, and continued more calmly. "You are not to fire at them." Worf eyed him wearily, but replaced his phaser to his belt. After a moment's pause, Picard said: "If you shoot it, they'll just send another; it's fruitless to try shooting them individually." "The view screen!" Someone yelled, and all eyes turned to look at it. Before them, they could see a large beam of energy reaching out towards the Earth from the Borg ship. Nothing happened for a long time, then slowly, a large piece of the surface seemed to be pulled from its roots, up into space. All was silent on the bridge. It was soon broken by a high-pitched sound as the air shimmered a few feet away from them, and two more Borg appeared. Ensign Ro looked up from the security console, near which she had been standing. "Sir, reports of Borg-sightings are coming in from all decks, but the majority are from Engineering." Picard nodded slowly at this, and caught the eye of an apprehensive- looking Troi. "Assimilation is under-way." He said, finally. "I'm in contact with them." * * * * * * * * Riker stumbled down the path, faceless humans on either side of him - faceless for the fact that they were now Borg. He hadn't looked down at his mechanical arm since he had first noticed it, nor lifted his only hand to touch his "face" since he had first done so. It was too much to think about, and there was far more he had to do than worry about his own mental and physical rape. Yet still he could not hold back on the vile, impure feeling he perceived within him, of the violation he had undergone. A familiar face caught his eye, and Riker did a double-take. It was a face he knew, alright, yet this time it was without expression, without the animosity that he normally associated with it. Yet this was something more fearful than animosity that he felt when he stared into those glassy eyes of Goshevon. And you wanted to stay with your colony, Riker thought as he stared at the once-leader, I wonder what your answer would be now if you had to make that choice again.... But there was nothing he could do for Goshevon, so he turned from the lifeless body, a body without a soul, and moved on down the aisle, the metal floor ringing with every step he took. And then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, against the far wall. Slowly, he made his way towards it, moving between the tables, quickening his pace as he neared it. He passed the final bed to find what he hoped he wouldn't see - the mutilated remains of Lieutenant Commander Data. Riker paused for a moment, taking in the sight. Arms, legs, torso, and head, all abandoned there in their various parts, stacked in the corner of this Hell. With his one free hand, he picked up Data's head, and looked down at it, a feeling of intense grief washing over him. What the hell had happened, to him, the Enterprise, Ard'rian? Assimilated was the answer, the only answer. Under what circumstances he had been separated from the whole, he did not know, but when he was separated, he had taken with him all the knowledge he had gained while under that inhuman guise. Ard'rian had been assimilated, Data had been assimilated, and Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew were in the process of being assimilated into the Whole. But Data.....? The chips from the android's head were missing, and the memory of Data being placed into the Whole was strong. And the last memory, what was that last memory? Of danger? Not to him, but to the Whole..... He left Data's head with the rest of the disassembled body and made his way down the long room of tables. He knew where Data was, and he knew time was running out. * * * * * * * * Jean-Luc Picard had been separated from his people. Worf had tried to stop it, but his attempts had been ineffectual. Picard looked around the bare room in which he had been placed, so as to keep him from supplying his fellow-officers with knowledge he gained from being joined to the whole while at the same time being Captain Jean- Luc Picard. He stared at the Borg who stood before him, whose eyes stared right through him, glazed over and unseeing. That face, so much like his own. They were monitoring his decline, that was sure; watching him to make sure nothing went wrong. Nothing would go wrong. It was inevitable, and Picard knew it. Resistance was futile. END OF PART FOUR