Resistance - J.M. Dillard [25]
T’Lana spoke at last, her features impassive and unreadable. “You have asked for my advice as counselor, Captain,” she said evenly. “It has not changed, nor has my position. For the benefit of the others, I will repeat it here: there is as yet no definitive proof that a threat from the Borg exists. You are asking these officers to prove their loyalty to you by risking court-martial—based on nothing more than a hunch. Even if you are correct about the existence of a Borg ship, you are still obligated to obey Admiral Janeway’s orders.”
“I shall note your objection in my log, Counselor,” Picard said. He had expected no less of her. She was ruled by logic and had not developed the same level of trust his other officers had. “Thank you all for coming.” He rose, giving the others leave to do the same. “Mister Battaglia, I wish you to remain a moment,” he added as the rest of the crew filed out. Beverly gave him a questioning glance back as she crossed the threshold. He knew that she would not approve of what he was about to do, but he saw no other option.
Still standing, Lio moved up the table to take a seat beside Picard. He already suspected what the captain had in mind and was going through his mental roster of the security staff, ready to pull out the most logical choices for an away mission. He knew the Enterprise alone was no match for a Borg cube. Their attack would need to be smaller and more focused.
“I would like you to gather your most experienced security officers,” Picard said, confirming Lio’s suspicions. He simply nodded in response, having already chosen his team. The captain didn’t need their names at the moment. “I will accept only volunteers for this mission,” Picard added.
“I don’t think any member of my team would shy away from this mission,” Lio replied. “I know I won’t.”
Picard allowed himself a grim smile before he locked his steely eyes onto Lio. “Actually, I want you to remain on the Enterprise in case this first mission fails. I will lead this away team.”
Lio did his best to cover his shock. He knew Picard was a fighter and should have anticipated the captain would assume this course of action. “But—”
Picard held up a hand to stop him. “I’ve been through this many times with any number of my officers in the past. I know all the arguments about away missions being a danger to the captain. I’m sorry, but this is too important to me to trust to anyone else.”
Lio tried not to take offense. He knew the captain well enough that his comment wasn’t meant to doubt Lio’s abilities; it was a show of how seriously he took the Borg threat. At the same time, Lio knew that he needed to be heard, no matter what the captain believed. “I’m sorry, sir. I do understand what you’re saying, but my concern isn’t about your safety on this mission, it’s for the success of the mission with you on it.”
Picard’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Go on.”
“I mean no disrespect, sir,” Lio said. “You say that you’re hearing the voice of the Borg, but I have to wonder if they are hearing your voice as well.”
“If they were aware of me, I would know it,” Picard said calmly.
“Okay,” Lio relented. The captain certainly knew more about this than he did. “But still, there’s no guarantee that once you’re on that Borg ship they won’t be able to tap into your mind in some way. It’s just too big a risk. As much as you may know about the Collective, they know just as much about you.”
Picard gave a slow nod. “What is it you have in mind?”
In the Enterprise rec room, dressed in a unitard, Nave was warming up early with the bat’leth. She’d gone the instant she was off duty. Sitting around worrying about what would happen once they encountered the Borg vessel simply wasn’t her style; physically working out was her preferred method of dealing with anxiety.
It wasn’t that she was afraid, she told herself. It was more the fact that the Borg were an unknown, and she disliked uncertainty. She’d heard all the horror stories about them, but rumors were one thing; facts were another.
She