Adam Allgood pianodrums@aol.com I have noticed that other authors post disclaimers before their stories. Here's one. Sailor Moon, and all related characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha, Bandai, Dic, etc. Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, and all of it's related characters belong to Paramount Pictures. Any other characters were created by me. Star Trek: Sailor Moon Mutual Dilemma Star Trek: Sailor Moon The Encounter Chapter 8 Ten minutes had passed since the air-raid alarms sounded, and nothing seemed to be happening. Devon and his classmates were herded downstairs, where they assumed tornado positions. There was, at first, a panicked silence throughout the school, as everyone feared the worst. Every once in a while, a muffled sob broke through the air, as a student's apprehension got the better of him or her. Now, there was a relaxed murmuring, and the air was becoming hot with people's body heat. Devon began to grow uncomfortable. The crouched position that he was required to assume was putting stress on his back. This was not what he had expected for his first day at Grass Valley! Finally, the shrill alarms cut off, and teachers began to reassemble their classes. There probably would not be much work for the rest of the day, because everyone, including the teacher, was too excited to work on algebra. "Did you see all of that smoke in the sky?" Clara approached Devon from behind. Her voice was high pitched with excitement. "Y-yeah. It was really something, wasn't it?" Devon raised his eyebrows for emphasis. He wondered what those things in the sky were. There were some strange occurrences throughout Tokyo all week. First, there was an elliptical explosion. Next came a rash of disappearances. Now, this! Devon amused himself by imagining totally ridiculous explanations for the phenomena. Maybe there are aliens in the sky, and they are the cause of the disappearances. Devon laughed without moving a muscle. He imagined what it would be like to greet the visitors from another world, and pictured what they may look like. Perhaps they're like giant pickles with eyes! Or maybe, they are tiny, the size of flies. Anyway, no sense in wasting time on impossible possibilities like aliens, right? Captain's log: Supplemental It has been three hours since we entered the corona of the sun. My crew has been endeavoring to come up with a solution to our immediate problem. Our multiphasic shields cannot withstand the extreme temperatures for much more than two hours, and the Borg are maintaining their position just outside the corona, no doubt waiting for their meal. We need to come up with some kind of weapon that we can use to disable, or preferably to destroy the Borg. Data and Geordi have been working on a possibility. When we engaged the individual Borg in the Omicron Theta system, we destroyed their ship by causing a solar eruption. Unfortunately, the parameters are different in this situation. We cannot fire our phasers into the corona without igniting the gases around the Enterprise. We would be completely destroyed, and the resulting explosion may set off an even greater eruption that could affect this Earth. We must come up with other solutions. However, right now, I have other business to attend to. We completely violated the Prime Directive by bringing up civilians from this Earth. Now, we must follow through with our plans. Captain Picard moved through the corridors of his ship. He glanced occasionally at the scenery as he went by. Although he was in command of the largest, and strongest vessel in Starfleet, Picard felt a sense of loss for his former Enterprise. This ship seemed much colder, and more unfriendly than his old ship. The hum of the engines were different. Even though the engines on this vessel were more powerful and quiet, Picard missed the old ones. It was a terrible feeling; leaving the wreckage of his former ship on the surface of Veridian III. Picard trusted the old Enterprise D with his life. He hoped that he could do the same with the Enterprise E. The crew has only been with this vessel for a year, and the captain hoped that it was enough. Right now, his trusted officers were working on a plan to disable or destroy the Borg sphere before they burned in the corona of the Sun. "Captain, I believe that there is a possibility for us to consider." Data's voice intruded into the captain's thoughts, but the message that that interruption brought was music to Picard's ears. "Please elaborate, Mr. Data." Captain Picard shuffled over to the Engineering station that was located towards the rear of the Bridge. Data and Laforge were intently watching a diagram on the panel. "I believe that Geordi has an analogy that he would like to share with you," Data said. "Please, I'm all ears!" "Captain, do you recall the sport that was extremely popular on Earth during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries known as 'ice skating?' " Laforge stared at the Captain in an odd fashion. He was probably still adjusting to the new implants that replaced his VISOR. Picard raised his eyebrows, curious as to the relevance of this subject. "Yes, of course I have heard of the sport. It is still quite popular on many Federation planets. Why?" "Well, in ice skating, there is a prank that people used to pull on unsuspecting bystanders. When the victims would be standing around without moving, a person would rush at them on his skates at a high speed. Just before that prankster collides with the group, he would veer sharply, releasing a spray of ice onto the crowd." Geordi grinned, imagining a group of wet, and unhappy people scowling at a laughing trickster. "I see," said the captain. "And do you intend to pull a similar 'trick' on the Borg?" "Yes sir!" "And may I ask you how?" At the captains question, Geordi turned, and motioned to Data, who took center stage. "Sir, I propose a plan in which we take the Enterprise 'ice skating.' As of now, our vessel and the Borg are on the far side of Sol. This way, there would be no danger to Earth. We should position the ship to face away and perpendicular from the Sun. When the Borg sphere, in the course of its orbit, takes it directly into our flight path, we will engage our warp engines. The resulting energy release should cause a chain reaction, and set off a series of explosions behind us. When we approach the Borg, and come within a few kilometers, I will reset the course and 'veer off.' The explosions behind us, the 'mist,' will continue forward and engulf the sphere. If we travel away from Sol at a speed of warp two point three, we will arrive at the breakaway coordinates three point eight seconds after engaging warp. The 'mist' will impact the sphere zero point five seconds afterward. We will increase speed to warp nine; escaping damage." "Splendid, Data!" Exclaimed Picard. The plan seemed perfect. There was no way that those cybernetic cretins could escape that! "Make it so!" "Captain, the computer and I must make all of the calculations. I apologize if I sound arrogant, but my positronic matrix responds more quickly; and a human brain cannot react fast enough to veer away." "That's fine, Data!" said Picard, who was still pleased to have a method of destroying the enemies whom he hated with all of his soul. Unfortunately, a new thought entered his mind. This thought began to tug at his concentration, and it filled him with a sudden guilt. The Sailor Scouts' friend would die along with Roshalon. The captain pushed the nagging sensation away. Tuxedo Mask would probably want death more than continued existence as Roshalon. Also, he had a shipfull of lives that would not survive unless he put this plan into action. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, right? All decks, now hear this! Red alert! All hands to battle stations. Civilians brace for impact. We are going to attempt a maneuver that will, hopefully, bring us away from the sun, and destroy the Borg. The ride will be very rough and dangerous. We must prepare for immediate evacuation should we fail. I repeat: Red alert! All hands to battle stations! Civilians brace for impact! Captain Picard finished his message and moved towards the command chair. He sat down and opened the panel on the armrest of his chair. "Data, move us into position." "Aye sir." The android got up from the science station and took a seat at helm. "What?" Serena exclaimed. Serena, Mina, Raye, Amy, and Lita were in the quarters that were assigned to them. Serena was lying in bed, almost fully recovered from her loss of consciousness. Mina and Amy were sitting on the bed looking down at their friend, whose head was right beside them. Raye and Lita were seated in chairs beside the bed. Mina had her shoes off, and was sitting cross-legged. The red alert klaxons began to sound just after the captain's speech over the intercom. "What?" Serena shouted again. She was in disbelief. "They want to destroy the Borg!" said Raye angrily. "But what about Darien?" asked Amy. "No! No, they can't do this! They can't kill Darien!" Serena sat upright in a flash. "We have to stop them!" "But what about the captain's orders?" asked Amy. "He said not to interfere with the Borg's destruction." Serena started to cry again. "No, this cannot happen!" She jumped out of bed, and onto her feet. Still light headed and weak, she collapsed into a heap. Sobbing, she pulled herself up, and went for her shoes. "Whoa, careful!" exclaimed Raye, jumping up to assist her friend. Raye already had her shoes on. Amy and Lita stood up as well. "I for one do not want to sit here while they kill Darien!" shouted Lita. Mina reached for her shoes, and started to put them onto her bare feet. All of the girls finally stood. With Serena in the lead, the five exited their quarters, and headed for the Bridge. "We're in position now, captain. The Borg sphere should enter its position in forty seconds." Data continued to work furiously at his console. The viewscreen showed the Borg slowly moving along a path towards the center of the screen. Once they arrived, the Enterprise would cut loose with the fury of the Sun. An eerie quiet filled the Bridge. There wasn't much to do but wait. Waiting was terrible. There was no guarantee of success, or even survival. The adrenaline could be tasted into the air. Riker gripped the armrests of his chair. His hands were tingling in anticipation of this maneuver. "Borg ship enters position in twenty seconds." The science officers and engineers in the rear of the Bridge moved into their crash positions. This was going to be a turbulent ride. They would be going to warp inside a solar system with a solar flare lapping at their heels. It was not something that these officers would like to experience without a handhold. "Borg ship enters position in ten seconds...nine..." Captain Picard took a deep breath, and held it. "Eight...seven..." The turbolift doors opened! Picard whirled around angrily to see which member of his crew so blatantly disregarded the seriousness of the situation. "Six...five..." The five girls practically exploded onto the bridge. "Captain, you must stop this now!" Serena cried, tears in her eyes. "Don't do this, please!" shouted Raye. "Four......" Time seemed to slow down. "Take cover...Now!" cried Picard "Darien will die!" shouted Serena. "Three......" "You'll die if you don't take cover now!" cried Picard "Stop the countdown!" cried Raye. "Belay that!" "Two......" "Take cover right now d--- it!" Mina and Lita instinctively listened. Raye and Serena continued forward. "One......" Amy suddenly reached out and snagged Raye and Serena in her arms. With a display of physical strength rarely seen from her, Amy dragged the struggling girls to a handhold. "Noo!" screamed Serena, louder than ever before. "Engaging!" The Enterprise shot forward like a shot from a cannon. Serena stopped her cry, and began to say something else. "Moon......" "Breakaway in one......" "Crystal......" "Second" "Power!" Serena was engulfed with light as her transformation sequence ejected energy from her brooch. *** The Borg were curious. The Enterprise was changing position inside the corona of Sol, and it was facing outward. It appeared as though they would try to escape. The Borg would not let that happen, however. They prepared a tractor beam to ensnare the NCC-1701-E. However, the Borg predicted that the humans would be expecting Borg offensive. The sudden course change may be to initiate a new weapon. Just to be safe, the unit Roshalon would be moved to the protected center of the sphere. This was done. Roshalon watched through the eyes of the Borg. The Enterprise leapt forward at warp speed! They would collide in three seconds! Also, the warp plasma was creating a chain reaction behind the Enterprise. The Borg raised their defense screens, and lanced out their tractor beam. Then something totally unexpected happened. The unit Roshalon had a major malfunction! The Collective was almost completely disconnected. However, the most curious thing was that the unit Roshalon suddenly grew a tuxedo, and a mask! The unit was regressing back to its original identity! With one second until the shockwave's impact, the Borg's most important unit had failed for some unexplained reason! "Borg attempting to lock onto us with a tractor beam!" shouted Worf. The Enterprise shuddered violently as opposing forces threatened to rend the ship. "Engage to warp nine!" Shouted Picard. "Attempting to, sir!" called out Data. "Shockwave impacting Borg, sir!" said Worf. On the viewer, a blinding white light impacted the sphere. The tractor beam vanished, and the light completely blocked the Enterprise's view. The wave continued forward, right towards the ship. "Engage, Data!" The Enterprise leapt away from the explosion at superluminal velocity. "Setting a course for Earth, sir." said Data. Picard nodded, and then turned towards the four girls and Sailor Moon, a cold fury in his eyes. Sailor Moon spoke first. "How dare you do that to my Darien! I swear to you, in the name of the moon, you will be punished for what you have done!" Sailor Moon couldn't believe what she was saying, but she felt that she had to go on. Picard gritted his teeth and tapped his communicator. "Security to the Bridge! Escort our 'guests' to their quarters, where they are to be confined until further notice!" Worf moved towards the girls. He pointed to the turbolift. Sailor Moon shoved him backwards, and made a beeline for the lift. Worf restrained himself. After all, these were just children...well...women; and very attractive women too (for humans). The six entered the turbolift and the doors closed behind them. "Captain..." Data began. "I am scanning the vicinity of the explosion, and I am unhappy to report that I am detecting a vessel on our sensors. It is the Borg." Picard muttered a curse. At least they had bought themselves some time for survival. Hours had gone by without any significant action. The entire city of Tokyo was on standstill since the dramatic explosions racked the afternoon sky. It was now almost four o'clock. The schoolchildren had been instructed by the administration to remain on campus until the radio broadcasted an "all clear." Devon wondered just how the emergency management would register an "all clear," given that this sort of thing has never happened before. They could be stuck in that school for a long while! Devon turned his attention to the other students in the classroom. Some of them were sprawled out on the floor, asleep. How could someone sleep at a time like this? Devon was incredulous. Kids were amazing! Devon noted that Clara was on the opposite side of the room, engaged in an animated conversation with several of her friends. She was unaware of his attention toward her. The teacher was intently listening to the radio, anxious to leave the school. She had explained to the class that the explosions were probably harmless. What could they have been? "What are we going to do?" Sailor Mars was pacing the length of the scouts' quarters. They had been confined there since they tried to rescue Darien; first from the Borg, and then from these Starfleet people. What was with these space travelers? They are so bent on destroying the Borg, that they are willing to kill innocent civilians to accomplish the goal. "I think we should wait here" said Mina. The others afforded her a surprised look. Mina explained herself. "I mean, it appears to me that these people can't destroy the Borg, so Darien isn't in so much danger. And also, the Borg are our common enemy, so I think that we should try to befriend these Starfleet officers instead of fighting a war between two foes." "That is very logical." Amy had both of her eyebrows up. Such reasoning usually came from her. The others realized that Mina had been a scout well before them, and apparently very good strategy. "How can these people trust us now?" asked Lita, who was sitting in a chair opposite Mina. "We should apologize for our actions." At Raye's suggestion, Serena jumped to her feet from the bed that she was sitting on. "What? Raye, these people tried to kill Darien!" "I know, Serena, but in order to save Darien, we are going to need some help. The Borg are definitely not going to help us, but these people might." "We need to set terms, and form an alliance." Amy's suggestion brought nods from the others. Mina stood up and walked over to the comm panel by the door. She pressed the pad with her index finger. Immediately the door opened and a tall security guard moved into the room. "What is it?" The guard's voice was gruff. "Could you please tell Captain Picard that we would like to speak to him?" Mina threw out her most innocent voice. She shuffled her foot on the floor, moistened her lips, and gave the guard the most wide-eyed, sad puppy dog expression that any human has ever created. The guard's gruff barrier started to melt, and all of his resistance crumbled away. "Sure." "Back off, now! I can't believe you did this to me!" Tuxedo Mask launched a bouquet of roses into an advancing Borg soldier. He remembered everything. The Borg had taken control of his mind, his body. He couldn't push the influence away, until something happened. Serena transformed into Sailor Moon, causing Darien to become Tuxedo Mask. This allowed the consciousness of Darien to overwhelm the Borg influence. The influence was still there, buzzing in the back of his mind. He could hear the Voice in his head. Roshalon. Your unit is malfunctioning. Stand by for re-assimilation. All individuality will be erased. Tuxedo Mask could hear Roshalon trying to respond. He tried with all of his strength to destroy Roshalon. However, it just wouldn't go away. It kept trying to take over once again. Two more soldiers were approaching. Tuxedo Mask dove back into reality. He whirled to run the other way, but discovered three more soldiers advancing. He was trapped. Suddenly, Tuxedo Mask lunged forward. The soldiers tried to stop him, but he continued inexorably toward his goal. Reaching it, he leaped off the ledge that defined the deck, and was swallowed by the abyss that was the Collective. *** "How can I trust you, when you gave me your word not to interfere, and then did so on my Bridge at a most crucial point?" Picard's tone was sharp. Serena shrank back, knowing that the emphasis of that sharpness was placed on her. "We are really sorry about that, sir," began Raye. "We weren't ready to grasp what you were about to do, and we reacted rashly." "You sure did!" barked the captain. "You put my entire ship and crew at risk. Do you know how many people that is? One thousand. One thousand fifty men, women, and children were endangered because of you. What about the people on Earth? Would you let billions of people be conquered just because you have one friend on board that ship?" Picard winced at his own scold. He recalled a time years ago when a "certain" first officer refused to let a friend die on a Borg vessel. That unwillingness to risk the life of one man caused the destruction of the first Borg mothership to attack the Federation. Picard continued calmly. "I understand your feelings, however you must realize that there is much more at stake here." "We know, captain," said Lita. "That's why we want to help." Tuxedo Mask pressed his feet against the ledge and leapt off. Instantly, he was in free fall. He twisted his body around to look behind him. He saw a blur as deck after deck rushed upward. The only way he could tell that it was him moving was the strong wind that was blowing upwards from below. The ground below him seemed to rise up, like a beast ready for its meal. Suddenly, the wind died down, and Tuxedo Mask felt true weightlessness. Shocked, he looked around him. He was at the geometric center of the entire sphere! He looked at the hundreds of decks in the distance. They orbited him like planets around the sun. Tuxedo Mask realized that if he moved in any direction, no matter the direction, he would gradually pick up speed, and then fall in that direction until he impacted against a deck. Gravity on this ship moved away from the center, away from him. It was the opposite of what you would find on a planet. Tuxedo Mask. The voice erupted from every direction in existence; up, down, left. It even sounded within his own mind. It was deafening. Tuxedo Mask had never heard anything so loud. He suddenly realized, to his horror, that he was in the center of the Collective. Your resistance is futile. You will surrender yourself to Roshalon. "Never!" cried Tuxedo Mask. His voice sounded unbelievably small compared to the thunderous chorus of the Collective. "Nice try, my Darien," an all too familiar female voice resounded through the abyss. Only two people had ever called Darien theirs; his dream, and his nightmare. At this time however, it was the recesses of his darkest fears and disgusts that permeated his mind and soul. Darien screamed at the top of his lungs, "I am not yours! As long as I live you will never have my soul!" "Oh, my dear Darien, haven't you learned by now that death is irrelevant?" Darien began to feel his resistance crumble as the voice of Roshalon joined that of its queen. "We are the Borg. The Sailor Scouts will be assimilated." Captain to the Bridge! Worf's curt, bass voice cut through the Sailors' meeting with Picard. At the same time, the Red Alert klaxons began to sound, and red lights bathed the room in tense light. "I'm sorry, but I must return to the Bridge." Captain Picard stood, and began to walk out. "May we join you?" asked Raye. "I'm afraid not. However, to keep you up to date with the situation as it unfolds, I'll keep the comm system on." The scouts sighed in frustration. Well, it was to be expected. Captain Picard turned his pad towards the Sailors, and the screen showed events on the Bridge. Captain Picard left the Ready Room, and the girls could see him enter the Bridge. "Report, Number One" said Picard, in his typical command voice. "The Borg have changed position, and are now on an intercept course for Earth." Riker's face registered concern. "Captain, there are billions of people down there!" "Bring us in position between the sphere and the planet." "Aye sir!" Data's voice rang out from the OPS station. The planet Earth began to grow on the screen. "Captain, the Borg are hailing us" said Worf. "Onscreen." The screen was filled with the image of the Sailor Scouts' assimilated friend. Now, the teenager's head was almost completely encased with circuitry. "U.S.S. Enterprise, registry NCC 1-7-0-1-E, you will disarm your weapons systems and discontinue your attempts to intervene. We will proceed to Earth, where we will begin assimilation of its inhabitants, culture, and technology. If you attempt to resist, we will destroy you!" "Roshalon," began Picard, "Why aren't you attempting to assimilate us, or me?" "Locutus of Borg, your unit is malfunctioning. You will be re-assimilated once we have control over sector zero zero one." "That is very unlikely!" Picard was growing uneasy because the Borg still considered him Locutus. "We will assimilate this sector and then assimilate you. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you!" The veiwscreen image disappeared. Picard moved back to his command chair and sat down. "Time to intercept." "We will intercept the Borg vessel in thirty seconds." "Status of weaponry." "Our weapons systems are inadequate to compete with Borg defenses." Worf sounded quite angry. "Status of Borg." "Borg appear to be running at full power. The damage on their hull has been repaired." It seemed hopeless. For once, Picard had no ideas. "Options?" "Captain," Data was the first to respond. "I recommend that we take the Enterprise down to the planet's surface, and make contact with the people." "What? Data, I can't vio...." "Ten seconds until Borg interception. Captain, we have no choice." The door to the Ready Room opened, and Lita stuck her head into the Bridge. "Do it, sir! We'll help you all of the way!" There was a chorus of agreement from inside the office. Picard looked at the room, glanced at the viewscreen, and then at Data. "All right, Mr. Data. It seems like we have no choice. Take us into the atmosphere!"