Resistance - J.M. Dillard [85]
“There cannot be too many,” the Klingon responded, “if they cut the number guarding the chamber by half.”
“Or if there are more, they’re all needed to tend the queen.”
Worf considered this, nodding faintly. His intense gaze strayed beyond her, in the direction of the great chamber.
“Are we going, sir?” Leary asked. In the gray light, her skin was sallow, her eyes shadowed. Beverly began to worry that the effects of the tri-ox were starting to wear off—Leary needed to get back to the Enterprise in less than an hour. But it was a moot point, she realized. If Leary didn’t get back to the ship by then, no transfusion in the world would save her life.
“We are,” Worf replied. “Doctor Crusher, you will remain between Ensign Leary and me until we are in the chamber. We will clear a path for you to the queen and cover you while you administer the hypospray. But if you are unsuccessful—or if circumstances require it—I will not hesitate to destroy her with our weapons. I appreciate the importance of scientific research, but we cannot fail in our mission.”
“Of course,” she said. “I wouldn’t expect it to be otherwise. But…Worf,” she began, then paused, hesitant. “If we encounter the captain—”
“I will do whatever I can to avoid harming the captain,” Worf countered swiftly, his tone uncharacteristically soft. “But that might not be possible.”
“I know. I just wanted to say that…whatever happens…I know that you have to do what’s necessary. I…I trust you to do what’s right, however hard that might be. And I know that he trusts you, too.”
Worf glanced down—humbly, she thought—and let go a long breath. As he did, the natural sternness of his features eased to something fleetingly but remarkably gentle. This, she thought, is what his wife must have seen in him. And then just as quickly, his fierce pride returned, though his voice was very quiet and not quite so deep.
“A Klingon would do everything possible to save the life of his commander. But he also would not permit that commander to live if living brought dishonor upon him. I will try,” he said, “to be Klingon for him.”
14
A SINGLE DRONE STOOD GUARD AT THE ENTRY TO the queen’s chamber, its face obscured by shadow, its body backlit by pulsating greenish light.
Beverly’s phaser had already proved useless once. She knew that she couldn’t rely on it in the queen’s chamber. Besides, she had a more important weapon to focus on once they were inside. With Worf’s permission, she set the phaser to overload and sent it skidding along the ground toward the lone Borg. It stopped a meter in front of the drone.
She held her breath as the drone took a step forward to examine the mystery object. That was all they needed as the phaser exploded beneath the drone. For one millisecond, its body froze, the dark mass at the center of a dazzling nova. Then the blast faded, and the drone crumpled and dropped.
Leary and Worf stood motionless in place, weapons trained on the open entry to the chamber. Like them, Beverly did not move but held perfectly still, listening for the sound of approaching footfalls.
She could hear only her own rapid breath. The corridor and chamber were eerily silent—as though, she thought, someone is waiting.
Several seconds passed before Worf at last gave a nod and began to move; Leary and Beverly followed. As they stepped over the drone’s body and over the threshold of the queen’s chamber, Beverly felt an unpleasant thrill in the pit of her stomach.
There were black-and-white forms in the near distance. Someone was indeed waiting.
The chamber was a huge, high-ceilinged vault, so open and hushed it reminded Beverly oddly of a cathedral. She had never before set eyes on the queen, but she recognized her at once.
The queen was standing upright—or rather, her flesh-and-metal head and shoulders were supported by an entirely prosthetic body. Her arms, legs, and torso all were constructed of the same brittle black carapace worn by the drones but vastly different at the same time. It was a young body, strong, distinctly feminine.
As was the face, pale and still as sculpted