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 Chapter 12 "We have determined that this is the only remaining source of significant resistance." said Roshalon. He raised his mechanical appendage, devices clicking and rotating. Worf aimed his phaser at the Borg. Roshalon turned to face the aggressor. "There is no need for apprehension, no harm is intended." He turned away from Worf, who promptly fired his phaser. The beam ricocheted off a forcefield. Roshalon turned back towards the Klingon. "Why do you resist? We only wish to improve your quality of life. We bring order to chaos." "Without the 'chaos', there would be no humanity, no drive to better ourselves!" shouted Picard. "A narrow vision. Locutus, have you forgotten us? Why do you resist?" Picard leveled his phaser at Roshalon's chest. "Locutus is dead!" He fired. As expected, the beam ricocheted off of a forcefield. Roshalon seemed not to notice. "It seems that we must improve our methods of assimilation, so that it won't traumatize uneducated life-forms. Roshalon will continue aboard this ship, to speak for the Borg." Serena stepped forward, towards the mechanical monster that resembled her love. "Darien? Why have you forgotten us? Why have you forgotten me? You promised me that you would never cause me harm." Roshalon was silent. Everyone watched in horrid fascination as a single tear moved down from his single eye. "You have not been forgotten, my love. You will become a part of something wondrous. You will join with your true destiny." Roshalon looked torn. Physically, he looked like he had just lost his best friend. However, his voice was unfaltering and cold. "I do not want to become a Borg, Darien. I want you to come back to me." "Dear Serena, your eyes are covered by those that surround you. Come closer to perfection. Become one, with the Borg." Serena, who had been meek for some time, suddenly grew vicious. "Just hours ago, you were saying that our love was irrelevant! How can I believe that that has changed?" "The Borg are not unwilling to change. We wish to better ourselves." "By killing us! By ending our existence!" "Oh, Serena, we do not end your existence, we begin it." Roshalon took a step forward, face contorting in pain. His voice remained calm and cold. "Join us, dear Serena." "You think that I want to be covered with all of those slimy metal pieces? You think that I want pieces of my body torn out to be replaced by machines? My Darien was the most handsome man alive, but you miserable wretches desecrated his body! In the name of the Moon, I will rescue Darien from your control, Roshalon!" The Borg's face suddenly lifted at these words. No longer sad, it now beamed. This confused Serena temporarily. Why would Roshalon be happy at his failure? Then she understood. "I'll rescue you, Darien!" "Moon...Crystal...Power!" In front of a stunned Bridge crew, Serena was enveloped by a surge of energy, and was replaced by Sailor Moon. This affected Roshalon deeply. He tumbled forward, and shouted a word that made no sense to anyone but Serena and Captain Picard: "Free!" A large black hat appeared over Roshalon's head, and a white mask covered his eye and lens. A tuxedo and a cape covered his ravaged body. Energy racked his body. "Tuxedo Mask!" cried Sailor Moon. "I'm trying to fight it, my princess, but I'm not sure if I can hold out for much longer!" Serena took out her scepter, and held it above her head. "I shall help you, my prince. I shall make you free again!" She leveled the scepter at him. "Queen Serenity, help me to heal my prince again!" A surge of energy leapt from the scepter, and collided with Tuxedo Mask. The healing power began to take effect. Tuxedo Mask basked in the pulsating energy delivered by his love. Suddenly, a forcefield was erected in front of Tuxedo Mask, blocking the energy. "No!" cried Sailor Moon. She increased her output, but it was all absorbed by the field. Tuxedo Mask's face registered despair. "It's the Collective!" hissed Luna. "Never believe what Roshalon says to you, Serena! He is using my knowledge against us. He is twisting all I believe in into his own propaganda! Be strong, my sweet." He collapsed, unconscious, onto the deck. "No!" cried out Sailor Moon again, collapsing beside him. "Sickbay, medical emergency! Two to beam directly to Sickbay!" Picard tore his communicator off his uniform, and placed it on Tuxedo Mask's limp body. Within seconds, they both disappeared in a haze of blue light. The Bridge officers exchanged tense expressions with the four girls. Amy stepped forward to speak with Picard. "Captain, the reason Sailor Moon collapsed was that the scepter she used feeds directly off of her energy. She'll be fine." "I'll be sure to relay that to Doctor Crusher." "Captain, what are we going to do? The Borg are taking Tokyo!" Lita's voice held agitation. She was not happy with doing nothing. Nearby, Commander Worf sympathized with Lita. He, too, had a soul of action, and he wanted nothing more than to blast the Borg past Pluto. Captain Picard pondered the situation quietly. The Borg, most definitely, have already established the Collective consciousness somewhere in the city. Why else would they have sent Roshalon to the Enterprise? There are almost nine million inhabitants in Tokyo, soon to be all Borg. Their most likely plan would be to assimilate every one of those people; in effect, creating an unstoppable army that will cover the entire planet. They had to be stopped. "I'm not sure, Lita," said Picard after a short time. "But we must act soon. Let's go to Sickbay, and check up on your comrade." Picard motioned with his hand, inviting the rest of the girls to join him. They went back towards the Turbolift. Within seconds, a car arrived to pick them up. Once inside, Picard ordered the car to the proper deck. Silence filled the lift on the way down. Finally, the quiet was broken by Raye. "Captain, why are the Borg doing this to our city? We never did anything to provoke them." Picard sighed loudly. "Six years ago, the Borg captured me, and assimilated me into their Collective mind. Ever since those six days, I have had a unique perspective on the Borg. I can say one thing about them: They are pure evil; and they must be stopped." The scouts were astonished that the man with them in the turbolift was once a Borg. It also filled them with a new hope for Darien. "Captain, how did you escape from the Borg, and become human again?" Amy hoped to discover a way to heal their friend. "My officers risked their lives to bring me back aboard the former Enterprise. They were able to plant a command into the Collective, destroying them. My own will prevented me from being destroyed as well; for all Borg are one, and when the collective dies, they die." "Can't we do the same thing here?" "They probably now have protection against our commands, and destroying the collective in that manner would kill millions of people." "Why?" "Because..." Picard did not want to break this news to them. "The Borg are probably assimilating everyone in Tokyo." Tears formed in the girls' eyes as each thought of their parents. Mina's parents were out of town, so she felt extremely lucky. The lift stopped, and deposited the scouts on deck sixteen. They rushed to the doors marked: Sickbay. Captain Picard moved toward Engineering. "I'll join you later." The girls nodded, and stepped through the doorway. Inside, they found Doctor Crusher standing over two occupied biobeds. One of the beds held an alert Sailor Moon, the other held an unconscious, but restrained Roshalon. Upon the arrival of the four girls, Serena lit up slightly. "Hi, everyone." "Are you okay?" asked Mina, walking to Sailor Moon's bedside. She stood on the opposite side of the side bordering Roshalon's bed. "Yeah, I guess so." Serena sat up and sighed deeply. This movement caught the attention of the red haired Doctor Crusher. "Please rest, dear. That battle took a lot out of you." She advanced towards Serena's bed. "But I feel fine!" Serena continued to sit upright. The doctor sighed. "All right, but let me run some more tests." She opened up her tricorder, and began to run a smaller device over Serena's body in swift, back-and-forth motions. Meanwhile, data from the device was appearing on the main tricorder located in the doctor's hand. "My, you have improved significantly since I last scanned you! Whatever enhancements you have, improves your recuperation time by almost fifty percent!" "I told you so! When can I go?" Doctor Crusher pulled out a second device. The others recognized it to be the hypospray; the device that delivers medication. "You're free to go, but I'd like to give you a mild stimulant, first." "All right." The doctor took Serena's hand in hers, and raised it. She pressed the hypospray above Serena's elbow joint, and released the gas. "Thank you" said Serena. She slowly stood up, still light-headed. The other girls walked around her, and stood on one side. They blocked her view of Roshalon. "It's all right, everyone. You don't need to blind me from seeing him." The four girls acted slightly embarrassed. As they moved forward, the doors opened for Captain Picard. He nodded briskly at the scouts, and smiled at Serena. "Ah, I see you're doing a lot better! Good." The captain moved behind them toward Doctor Crusher. "What's the status of Roshalon?" This caught Serena's attention. The doctor continued. "His subspace link with the collective is still intact. I have given him a sedative to keep him unconscious." "Can you revive him?" "Yes." Picard looked back at the five scouts, who were standing in the doorway; intently watching. "Captain, may we stay?" asked Serena. "Are you sure that you're up to it?" The captain clearly disagreed, but he wasn't forbidding it. "I'm sure." "Fine." The captain tapped his communicator. "Data, please come to Sickbay." "Aye sir!" came the disembodied voice. Minutes later, the gold faced officer entered. Picard looked at Doctor Crusher. "Revive him." Crusher took out the hypospray, and removed the small container inside it. She reached into one of the pockets in her jacket, and pulled out another container. She attached the container to the hypo, and moved toward the insensate Borg. She administered the medication, then rapidly retreated. Roshalon opened his eye, and his eyepiece lit up. The red laser beam poked up toward the ceiling. The mechanical sensor units on his head began to rotate as he scanned his surroundings. "You underestimate us, if you believe that we can be destroyed by imputted command. We constantly better ourselves, and we have adapted to your maneuver." Roshalon sat up, and looked directly at Picard. "Locutus, why do you resist us?" "I am not Locutus, I am Captain Jean Luc Picard! I will resist you with every ounce of strength I possess!" "Don't you see? We have far more Borg soldiers on the planet's surface than we did on the sphere. Our numbers are greater than yours. You've lost." Serena moved forward. "Darien, stop this now! Resist this power!" "Serena, you have no idea what you are missing by resisting us. Surrender yourself to Roshalon, and you may join Darien in the collective." "I will not listen to you, Roshalon! I will only listen to Darien!" Roshalon got up from the biobed. Data drew his phaser. "We have incorporated his biological distinctiveness into our own. Join him. It is what he would have wanted." "You lie!" Serena grew furious. She wanted to tear those evil appendages off of Darien's face. However, she was aware that by severing Roshalon's link to the Borg, she would instantly kill both Darien, and Roshalon. "Deceit is irrelevant. You must comply, Serena." "Why? Why is it so important that I comply?" Serena gasped as Roshalon moved up to her, and caressed her cheek. "You have control over a power source that is greater than anything we have encountered. We must acquire it! Serena shoved Roshalon away from her. Data leveled his phaser, ready to fire. "You will never get it! As long as I live, you will never take the Imperian Silver Crystal!" "That crystal is one of our goals...one of many." Roshalon looked at the brooch on Serena's chest. She promptly turned it away from him. "No matter. Your resistance is irrelevant. It shall be over soon." Roshalon turned to Doctor Crusher, who was standing behind him with a hypospray. "Beverly, Crusher Doctor. Human species. You too will be assimilated. "Not if I could help it!" Roshalon was not slowed by her caustic reply. "You can't." He turned to one of the security officers standing at the door. "Starfleet officer...Human species...gold uniform revealing major in security or engineering. Single pip...ensign. We will add your biological distinctiveness to our own."