Resistance - J.M. Dillard [34]
The Vulcan counselor had expressed polite interest in the fact that the Enterprise scanners had detected something, but she was still unwilling to yield the fact that it was a Borg vessel. He had avoided another confrontation with her over their difference of opinion on the definition of proof, but just barely. Picard could not help noticing that she had scrupulously avoided eye contact or conversation with Worf during the encounter. It was only logical that any counselor would approach the first officer for further discussion once she had exhausted all options with the captain. Not that she would want to undermine Picard, but her level of objection would naturally lend itself to further discussion. For the moment, Picard was thankful for what he perceived as a self-imposed distancing between T’Lana and Worf. Regretfully, that distance was beginning to extend to the other members of the bridge crew as it became clear that T’Lana was singular in her objections.
Beverly alone was absent from the bridge; she’d gone to sickbay. During her half-dozing state the previous night, she’d become inspired to reexamine the many years’ worth of biomedical data collected on the Borg. She would not state what she was hunting for, only that she had a “hunch.” Picard had learned to value those hunches a great deal over the many years he had known her.
The Borg cube was too distant for them to get an image of it on the viewscreen, but Picard knew it was there.
Picard turned to his navigator. “Lieutenant Nave, on my command, I want you to take us to the Borg ship at warp one. Plot a direct route. No diverting course.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Mister Worf, I want you in control of the weapons system,” Picard said. “Take it off-line but ready to bring it back up on a moment’s notice.”
“Sir, you wish to engage the Borg with our defenses down?” Worf asked skeptically.
“If the Borg do not determine us to be a threat, we may not have to engage them at all,” Picard reasoned. “Minimal power to the shields, however, and be prepared.”
“Sir…”
“The cube’s systems are not fully online yet,” Picard reasoned. “We should be safe.” Picard knew that he was taking a huge risk, but it was the only option. There was no reasonable way a ship like the Enterprise could sneak up on the Borg cube. His only hope was that the Borg would assume they were on an exploratory mission. Surely they would know it was ludicrous for the Enterprise to take on a Borg cube on its own.
Picard looked over to T’Lana, who met his gaze. He had expected her to protest, but she merely looked resigned to the knowledge that her concerns would fall on deaf ears. When she remained silent, he turned his attention to the conn. “Lieutenant Nave, take us in.”
Nave complied.
Before twenty minutes had elapsed, the neighboring star, a superhot blue giant, appeared on the viewscreen.
“Slow to impulse,” Picard ordered.
The solar system came into view. A ring of rocky, atmosphereless planetoids appeared on the screen, followed by a pair of multiringed gas giants.
They were headed farther in, toward the terrestrial planets. At the first of them, Picard lifted his hand; Nave caught the silent signal and slowed the ship further.
In the planet’s orbit hung a solitary moon, reflecting the brilliant blue-white light of the sun.
This stunning backdrop was half eclipsed at its center by something dark and ungainly, something that pricked the hairs on the back of Picard’s neck.
The Borg cube was a hideous thing: an exposed latticework of thousands of metal conduits haphazardly bracketed by panels and laced with black tubing. Infinite rows of conduits and panels were visible beneath, dotted with the glowing lights of internal machinery. To Picard it looked as if someone had taken the inner workings of a ship and turned them inside out. The vessel had been constructed with no regard