The Farther Shore - Christie Golden [78]
“I don’t suppose you could do it from here?” asked Janeway.
“Negative. I must be on site.”
“If we’re able to reach her, do you think you will be able to disconnect her?” Janeway asked.
“I believe so.”
“Our goal is to liberate her drones, not kill them,” Janeway said, nodding in agreement. “That’s going to be tricky.” She looked around the room. “I see more than six people here,” she said.
“You’re not cutting me out of this, Janeway,” said Montgomery.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” she replied. “Seven, you’re [233] the one most familiar with how the Borg operate. Mr. Data, I can’t order you to come along.”
Data cocked his head. “I do not require the nanoprobes to protect myself from the virus,” he said. “Therefore, you can bring an extra person if I accompany you. Besides, I think my friend Commander Riker would put it this way: I would not miss it for the world.”
She smiled at him. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t assisted us, Mr. Data. I’d be honored if you’d come. Tom, Tuvok, Chakotay—you’re with me.”
“Captain, I’m in no danger of assimilation either,” the Doctor pointed out.
“I need you and Kaz here, Doctor,” Janeway said. “If something happens to us and the queen triumphs, we’ll need your expertise to continue trying to create a cure. You will quite possibly be Earth’s last hope. The team will consist of Admiral Montgomery and myself, Tuvok, Chakotay, Paris, Seven, and Data.”
She looked at them in turn. “With the exception of you, Admiral, all of us have had previous experience fighting the Borg. They’re a dreadful adversary, and I don’t relish beaming down into the queen’s own lair. But we’re taking the fight to her, and we’re going to win it. We’ve got to. Earth itself is at stake here, not just a crew or a ship. We lose here, Earth may not have a second chance.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Paris asked.
Janeway smiled. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter 21
B’ELANNA WAS ONLY a fraction of a second behind her mother. Miral screamed a war cry in Klingon, and the huge creature actually seemed to hesitate before uttering its own response. Miral moved quickly around to the beast’s left, so that the grikshak had an adversary on either side.
If only there were more light! Torres’s eyes were starting to adjust, but she feared not quickly enough. She had fought the young female in the daylight, from a tree, where she had the advantage.
It bellowed and swung at her. The area was open in front of the cave, and Torres had time to dash away. She felt the breeze as its mammoth paw swung past her, missing her by centimeters. Turning as she ran, she jabbed at it-with the spear. The blow was wild. Her strength drove it into the dirt, where it lodged for a [235] long, bad second before she was able to wrench it free with a grunt.
She heard her mother on the creature’s other side, and from the speed with which the grikshak turned its attention away from B’Elanna, she guessed that Miral’s blow had been better than her own. It presented an inviting target with its back to her, and Torres charged, screaming herself.
The spear sank deep and lodged. Blood, gleaming black in the dim starlight, began to ooze from the wound. The creature spun, bellowing in pain and rage, tearing the spear shaft from B’Elanna’s hands.
Their eyes met for a moment, then B’Elanna dove for another weapon. All she could get her hands on was a rock Miral had chipped into a weapon, but it would have to do. The female wasn’t as fast as the younger one Torres had slain, but it was hideously strong. She scrambled frantically out of the way and then unexpectedly turned back, leaping atop the beast and twisting her left hand in its thick pelt.
It roared and tried to shake her off, tossing B’Elanna about like a toy. She kept her hold and brought the makeshift knife down hard and fast.
“She’s dropping!” came her mother’s warning, and at that moment B’Elanna felt the creature beneath her do exactly that. It’s going to roll, she thought, and leaped as far away as she could. She landed hard on the earth and grunted, the wind knocked