Resistance - J.M. Dillard [24]
Beverly and Worf were already aware of the fact, of course, but Geordi let go a soft gasp, while Nave stiffened in her chair and exchanged a glance with Battaglia. T’Lana alone remained unruffled.
“This is a most distressing discovery,” Picard continued, “as the queen can issue directives. I believe she is not yet conscious, but when she becomes so, she will oversee the attack. And everything that I have sensed indicates that they will be out for blood.”
Geordi’s crystalline brown eyes were wide, stunned. “You killed the queen, Captain. And Admiral Janeway killed one in the Delta Quadrant. Are you saying they just…rebuild her that easily? Construct a new body and somehow animate it?”
Picard directed a glance and the slightest of nods at the doctor.
“The structure of Borg society closely parallels that of Earth’s insect world,” Beverly explained. “If the queen in a bee colony were destroyed, for example, a male drone would be taken and fed a special substance that would transform it into a female queen. We’re postulating that the same thing has been done here—that right now, one of the Borg drones is being transformed.”
“What you do not know,” the captain said, “is that I contacted Admiral Janeway at Starfleet Command when I first sensed that the Borg were regrouping for an attack. She gave me direct orders not to take any initiative but to wait until Seven of Nine, a rehabilitated Borg, could be sent to the Enterprise. I have since received a message indicating the time of Seven of Nine’s arrival: four days.”
“And how much time, sir, before you think the queen will be ready and launch the attack?” Nave asked.
Picard turned to her, his gaze piercing and grim. “Less than thirty-six hours. Again, I can offer no proof. I can only say that I know this to be so.” He drew a breath, then looked at each officer in turn. “It is my intention, as captain of this vessel, to disobey Admiral Janeway’s order and put the Enterprise on course to intercept the ship the Borg are constructing. It is imperative to destroy the queen before she is completely transformed and capable of launching an attack—because once that happens, the Borg will stop at nothing until all of humanity is extinct. However…” His tone, which had grown impassioned, now softened. “I cannot ask any of you to assist me in this. To do so puts you at very great risk of court-martial. Each of you has the right to register a protest and to refuse any involvement.”
He had already made his plans for just such a contingency. Beverly had offered to help him navigate to within scanning range of the Borg vessel. Once he had gotten that far, he would take a shuttle and find a way to get to the queen, while those aboard the Enterprise retreated back to safety. It was a suicide mission, but he could think of no worthier way to die.
A tension-filled pause followed.
Worf was the first to speak. “You have no choice, Captain. You must disobey the admiral’s orders. We have seen how swiftly the Borg can attack and assimilate an entire starship. They must be stopped before the queen can give them a new directive.” He hesitated, then after a brief glance at Beverly that mystified Picard, added, “You have my complete support.”
“And mine,” Geordi said. “There’s no way we can risk giving them another chance.”
“The captain already knows I’m with him,” Beverly said softly.
Nave glanced at the others; the uncertainty that had taken hold of her features melted away as she studied those of her fellows. “I’ve never fought the Borg before, but I’ll follow any order you have to give, Captain.”
Battaglia shared another glance with Nave. “Well, I have fought them,” he said, “and I’m ready to take them on again.”
Picard directed a warm glance at them all. It was impossible to put into words what such loyalty meant to him, and so he did not try. He was used to that level of loyalty from his former senior staff. But with old friends now gone, it was nice to know that the ones stepping