Star Trek: Nexus crossings, chapter 5

As soon as the turbolift cleared the Ops floor, Kira tapped her commbadge to order all senior officers to meet her on the Defiant. The turbolift stopped at the auxiliary systems floor that was below Ops. The door parted and in walked O'Brian.

"Ch-" Kira stopped herself as O'Brian was no longer the stations chief engineer, "Miles, what were you doing there?"

"Sorry. I needed a private and secure station to get in contact with Starfleet headquarters."

Kira then began to lecture O'Brian, pretending she couldn't allow him the exception of joining them on the Defiant but would do so anyways for old times’ sake.

"I'm not going to the Defiant," O’Brian interrupted, "Defense sail one," he told the computer which chirped in acknowledgement.

Kira paused, obviously flabbergasted. After a few seconds to collect herself she finally spoke, "Then what were you doing talking to Starfleet if it wasn't to get recommishioned?"

"A little over a month ago, a ship that was lost in the Delta quadrant finally came back to Federation space. They were able to make the last leg of their journey thanks to a future version of their captain who provided them with technology from her time as well. A few weeks after they came back, I was asked by Starfleet command to have a look at the technology they brought back, including the future technology."

"You must have been like a kid in a candy store," Kira remarked.

O'Brian chuckled, "You're telling me. Of course the technology from the future is being kept under wraps for now. But considering how effective it was against the Borg the last time, I convinced the right people to send me the specs on the torpedo design," he said holding up the padd in his hand, "Which reminds me. I'm going to need full access to the torpedo room to make the necessary adjustments."

Kira nodded, "Of course, take as many personnel as you need as well."

"I'd love to but this tech is coded top secret since technically it hasn't officially been invented yet. So, I'll be doing this on my own."

Kira sighed in resignation, "All right. Do what you can then."

And as she said that, the turbolift stopped and the doors opened to the promenade to admit Bashir and Ezri. After stepping in and telling the computer their destination, the turbolift began to move again through the station.

There were a few moments of silence until O'Brian looked around at his friends then inhaled sharply, "Well If no one's going to ask it then I may as well: What's everyone think of these new people that came through the wormhole?"

Everyone somehow looked taken aback and surprised by the question despite on some level wondering what the others thought as well.

"Their captain seems like the kind of person who'd prefer to get to the heart of the matter rather than dance around it," Kira started, "And the fact he doesn't seem to like Saven is a plus in my book any day," she added getting a few chuckles from the others.

"Well I found Phoenix to be a pleasant person to be around. She's nice to talk to and she's quite open about herself and her culture," Ezri put out.

"Not to mention her continuous good mood is somehow contagious," Bashir added with a smile to which nodded in agreement. "Their medical technology from what I've seen seems comparable to Starfleet’s and in some ways more advanced. As they promised, they sent over all the patients including one that I have doubts that I'd have been able to keep alive even long enough to get the information from him about the Borg," Bashir said approvingly.

O'Brian shook his head, "I'll admit that they seem to have impressive technology but that doesn't change the fact that some of it is used to take a person’s memories," Bashir tried to interject but O'Brian talked over him, "I don't want to hear it Julian. You aren't the one who got cloned and stood in for you around your family and friends. Hell, and alien species implanted memories into me about being in a prison for twenty years, I still wake up in the middle of the night in chills some times." O'Brian took a couple deep breaths.

A moment later the turbolift stopped and opened its doors to O’Brian’s requested level, "I'll get to work on those torpedoes colonel. I should be able to get one finished before they come through the entrance," O'Brian said holding up the padd in his hand as if to indicate what he meant.

"Thank you Miles, we'll try to give you as much time as we can," Kira said with a nod before the doors closed.

No one said anything else for the rest of the turbolift ride. On getting out they were greeted by Nog who was waiting for them at the Defiant airlock.

"Are we prepped for immediate departure?" Kira asked Nog.

"Yes sir, colonel. The only thing holding the ship to the station is the docking clamps," he replied crisply.

Kira nodded and entered the Defiants airlock, her officers close behind. Walking briskly through the ships corridors they soon entered the bridge. Nog took the Conn; Ezri took the station for sensors and communication. Bashir having not gone with them to the bridge was now in sickbay. And Kira, after a slight hesitation, sat in the captain’s chair. Easing back into the chair Kira looked around the bridge feeling as if something or someone was missing.

"Close the airlocks and release the docking clamps. Back us away from the station and move us into position with the fleet."

"Yes sir!" Nog replied.

Soon after, a few thumps could be heard through the hull. The main screen showed a view of the station falling away as the Defiant backed up before maneuvering for position in the fleet that was now facing the wormhole entrance waiting for it to open.

"We're in position sir," Nog reported.

"Good, raise shields and go to red alert," Kira said before adding, "Let's hope they fall for our traps."

000000000000

Avries had just left his office and walking to the forward half of the bridge, "Report!"

His XO answered, "Sir, we just received a message from the station. The Borg ship is on approach through the wormhole. They estimate we have four minutes before they breach the entrance here."

"Very well. Helm, detach us from the station. If any crew is still aboard then transport them here, we can't wait for them."

"Aye sir," she responded.

Avries then looked over the data from the main displays of each station. The fleets were nearly in position with the exception of the few ships that were still temporarily docked to the station.

Taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly, Avries looked around the bridge, "Commander, inform the Ajax that I'll be coming aboard and taking command."

Noel nearly did a double-take, "May I ask why, captain?"

"I promise I'm not going to make a habit of this. It's just that I'm far more familiar with the Ajax's combat capabilities than the Hathaway's. Once I'm on the Ajax, I want you to coordinate with the Stream's Isle and take position in front of the station on either side. Once the two ships are in position, erect a field between them to prevent the enemy from boarding the station. Hold position there and provide support to the station as long as possible. Those are my orders commander."

Noel stood there a moment staring at Avries before responding, "Yes sir." He turned to Matthew at the communications station, "Communications raise the Stream's Isle and the Ajax then relay the captain’s orders."

"Aye sir," Matthew acknowledged then proceeded to carry out the orders.

As Avries left the bridge he turned back as he passed the doors," I expect to return to my ship in the same condition I left it in commander."

The doors closed before Noel could respond, "I'll try captain," he whispered. Noel then sat in the captain's chair, "Helm, move us into position by the station. Tactical, as soon as the captain has left the ship, raise the shields and arm all weapons. I want a full salvo of drifter torpedoes ready to go at a moment’s notice. Communications, ready the cyber warfare suite, I want every advantage this ship is capable of," Noel paused a moment, “Operations, inform engineering we may need to commit to the Hathaway maneuver," he finished.

There was a chorus of acknowledgements as each station rushed to fulfill their orders.

0000

Avries had just transported aboard the Ajax and quickly made his way to the bridge. Upon entering, he was met by his former XO, Lauren Hoe, "Welcome aboard captain," she said with a salute.

Avries quickly returned the salute, "Status?"

"All systems are green sir. Turrets are online, cannons are charged, and torpedoes are loaded. Secondary bridge reports ready and port and starboard engineering sections are ready for warp maneuvers. We're currently holding position behind the wormhole entrance and we're coordinating the targeting parameters with the Klingon aliens for a maximized effective strike."

"Excellent, how long until engagement?" Avries asked as he moved to the holo-display in the middle of the bridge that was surrounded by railings. Unlike the Hathaway, the Ajax was designed as a pure military vessel from start to finish. The bridge was designed similar to the old earth submarine style. 'Hot-racking' was not an uncommon event on a ship of her class.

"We're expecting the enemy to come through any minute now captain," commander Hoe stated.

Avries nodded, "Sorry for not starting with the pleasantries, Lauren."

The commander smiled, "It's not like you to let idle chit chat take priority in wartime situations Ryan. Doing that could get you killed, or worse."

Avries let out a half chuckle as he started to ask her about her married life. He was interrupted by a lieutenant at tactical, "Captain, the wormhole is opening!"

Avries immediately went serious, "Let's see it. Tactical, fire all forward weapons once the wormhole closes."

"Aye sir."

000

On the Defiant, Ezri had just told Kira the same thing. "Ready weapons and fire on my mark," Kira said staring intently at the screen as the wormhole opened.

At first, nothing changed. Then all at once, the massive cubed hull appeared, flying without care straight into the minefield. The visual effect of the exploding mines was like looking at a square-shaped sun flaring to life in front of them until the nearby remaining mines detonated giving a halo effect to the cube as it flew through the explosions without any seeming effect.

"What's the status of the cube," Kira asked.

Ezri took a moment to look over the data, "I'm reading minor damage to the Borg ships front, there is some greater damage around the edges but it's still reading minor."

Kira was stunned. This was the same kind of minefield that kept the Dominion reinforcements at bay. And this one ship walked through it with only a few scratches. "fire all weapons," Kira said finally.

"Wait!" Ezri shouted, "I'm picking up more ships, twenty nine ships. Eight are Federation, there's also some Jem-Hadar ships and some alien designs the computer can't identify."

Kira looked at the screen. The ships had undergone Borg augmentation making them looked diseased. The effect was more pronounced on the assimilated Federation vessels. The green lit 'welts' clashed heavily against the bright grey hulls. One ship had lost one of its nacelles and while the Borg replacement obviously did it job, it looked like a half-rotted limb.

Ezri looked to Kira, "The Borg are hailing us."

Kira stood up and nodded to Ezri to accept the hail, "I'm colonel Kira Nerys of the Bajoran militia-" she was cut off.

"WE ARE THE BORG! LOWER YOUR SHIELDS AND PREPARE TO BE ASSIMILATED. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOUR SHIPS AND YOUR CREW WILL ADAPT TO ASSIST US!"

Kira was about to make a half-hearted attempt to ask the Borg to leave when she was cut off again,

"This is commander Noel to all ships. Disengage communications with all Borg ships! They're trying to upload a virus on a subcarrier wave!"

Kira shot a glance to Ezri who had anticipated Kira, "He's right. The Borg are uploading something through the comm system."

"Then cut them off," Kira barked. Ezri nodded and severed the comms. Kira sat back in her chair a little more than angry.

Ezri nodded and severed the comms.

Kira sat back in her chair a little more angry, "All right, if that's the way they want to play it, fine then! All ships, fire on my mark!"

Just then one of the assimilated Starfleet ships began to move forward then started listing suddenly. A second later dozens of small objects detached and began moving to the fleet around the station.

Kira squinted at the screen, "What are those?" she asked out loud.

"They're escape pods," Ezri said.

"Sir, the Olympus is breaking formation," Nog said.

"What?" Kira shouted. The Olympus, a Nebula-class, began moving towards the flying escape pods. "Hail the Olympus!" Kira shouted.

"Audio only," Ezri said a second later.

"What the HELL are you doing?!"

"We detected human life signs aboard. We're going to rescue the survivors, Hampton out." The Olympus got closer and dropped its shields.

"Sir, I'm picking up some sort of power build up in the escape pods," Nog stated.

"What kind of build up?" Kira asked.

Before Nog could respond, green flares of energy erupted from each escape pod, each striking the Olympus in vital areas such as the bridge, thrusters, main deflector, and warp engines effectively disabling the vessel. Everyone who was watching throughout the Federation fleet was stunned by what they just witnessed.

"They converted the escape pods into fighters," Ezri said barely believing the words she just said.

The bridge crews on the Hathaway and the Stream's Isle, while regretful of seeing the Starfleet crippled, were already preparing to engage defensive measures to fight the new fighters. The captain of the Stream's Isle, Winnie Greem, had recalled half their squadrons on standby to be refitted to replace their bombing ordinance for ship-to-ship missiles, a rather easy task since they only had to replace the weapons pod,

The N-class fighter/bombers were a simple design, having a slightly flattened tear-dropped shaped structure for the one person cockpit placed at the front, while the weapons pod (shaped like a flattened oval) was placed a few meters behind the cockpit structure and a little below it. The cockpit and weapons pod are connected by two angled boomerang-like structures that made up the fighter/bombers engines giving the craft a hollow diamond shape. Soon enough, the fighter/bombers were refitted and pushed out of the Stream's Isle's compartments by their launching struts. Once they were all ready, the captain gave the order to launch. Half of the twenty-five fighter/bombers flew off to intercept the Borg fighters while the rest moved to engage the assimilated ships.

Just before the DES ship launched its fighters, Kira ordered the fleet to open fire. A flurry of phaser fire and torpedoes burst immediately from all Federation and Bajoran vessels including the station itself. Finally the wormhole closed, the Klingon and DES ships fired as the opening was halfway closed leaving little chance for the Borg to raise the defenses behind them in time. Two assimilated Jem-Hadar ships were immediately destroyed in the surprised onslaught before they hit their target on the Borg cubes' backside, Green disruptor bolts, brilliant blue particle beams, and torpedoes lanced forth striking a singular point on the Borg cube. There was some fratricide of the torpedoes with all weapons bearing down on the same targeted area but each shot struck unopposed by the Borg.

After several salvos the DES and Klingon ships ceased fire. Avries stood on the bridge waiting the few seconds needed for the fiery explosions to clear. He gripped the railing that surrounded the holographic display staring at it with dreaded anticipation. When the area was finally clear, it revealed the pocket-marked armor of the Borg hull. Though it looked like the landscape of the moon it was still unharmed.

Avries waited only a half-second before issuing his next orders, "Communications, tell our ships to scatter. Helm, tactical, warp maneuver alpha-one."

Each replied with a quick, "Yes sir!" The Ajax dipped downward; huge armored shutters folded back showing the glowing blue/white color of the warp engine nacelles as they charged up for the ships warp jump. A second later the nacelles flashed and the ship seemed to disintegrate only to reappear three hundred kilometers below the Borg fleet. Before the Ajax did its warp jump, it fired a multiple-warhead torpedo from its aft launcher. All the other DES ships, save for the Absolon, preformed the same warp jump and left their previous positions going off in all directions. The torpedoes left behind began tracking their targets, most hitting the cube while the rest hit assimilated vessels with limited success.

It was at this time that all hell broke loose. Converted escape pods launched from the assimilated Starfleet ships like angry hornets. The assimilated fleet began to engage, targeting weak points in shields to disable ships for later assimilation. The cube itself was able to track a third of the defending fleet hitting them with energy draining projectiles or holding them in place with tractor beams in an attempt to disable them with its cutting beam.

On the Hathaway which was barely holding its ground defending the station. The ship rocked and the bridge was no exception. Noel held onto his chair as the ship rocked again.

"Tactical, status on the Borg cube."

"Minimal if any damage detected. The fighter/bombers are having success in penetrating theirs shields but their armor's soaking up whatever's getting through."

Noel nodded, "Communications, inform command we need the defense platform now!"

"Aye sir!" he replied putting the order through.

A moment later, several hundred kilometers from the raging battle, two Carrier-class starships appeared along with the massive defense platform flanked by four Attack-class frigates. The defense platform resembled a giant double-bladed battle ax. The 'blades' were actually the platforms power generators while the 'shaft' was the cannon itself. Almost twice the length of a Starfleet Galaxy-class vessel it was designed to take out multiple ships in one strike. This was a weapon designed to take on fleets. The commander overseeing operations on the platform opened a communications link to the Hathaway.

"Hathaway, send the target coordinates. We're charging the cannon from a cold-start. Stand by two minutes, thirty seconds till firing sequence. Out."

Hathaway acknowledged the bridge crew already knew that the short two minutes will be far too long for lots of people today.

The Ajax was chasing an assimilated Jem-Hadar ship while taking pot shots at others it passed. The Jem-Hadar ship leads the Ajax straight at the Borg cube when suddenly the cube fired an energy-draining projectile at the Ajax. At the last moment, the Ajax veered to the left to avoid it but wasn't fast enough.

"Starboard shield are down captain!" the operations officer reported to Avries.

"Very well. Helm, warp maneuver beta thr-"

The ship suddenly lurched sideways as the Borg cube used a cutting beam to sever the ships right nacelle from the rest of the ship.

"Report!" Avries shouted as he grabbed onto the railing to pull himself up.

Within a heart beat the operations officer read the damage reports on his terminal," Starboard engineering has been cut in two sir. Secondary explosions have knocked out internal sensors in that area but I don't think there are any survivor’s sir," he said grimly.

Avries gritted his teeth, "Helm, tactical; grab whatever's left of the starboard engine and throw it at them!"

"The Esprite's already doing that sir," the tactical officer replied.

Another Attack-class ship moved in while the Ajax was coming about and used its tractor beam to propel the damaged nacelle towards the cube. Two assimilated ships physically intercepted the engine. It bounced off the first ship but exploded when it hit the second destroying it completely. The first one was unfortunate to get caught in the resulting explosion and was thusly crippled.

The Defiant was being chased by an assimilated ship of the same design which was pounding the Defiant. The bridge shook as they took another hit, a console exploded in a young ensign’s face.

"Inertia dampeners are off-line. Another hit like that and we could lose shields all together," Ezri called out.

Kira clamped down onto her chair as the shaking increased, "Evasive maneuvers, pattern delta!" she said between the shaking.

"Hold on," Nog shouted as he rocked the Defiant back and forth to evade their pursuer.

Those on the bridge and engineering were fortunate that they were more or less on the central axis of the ship. With inertial dampening off-line and backups not yet in place, crew members on the outermost sections of the ship were slammed up and down from the floor to the ceiling bouncing off bulkheads and other unforgiving solid objects. After a few more twist and turns, Defiant was able to lose its enemy and use its momentum to swing in behind and destroy it with a combination of pulse phaser cannons and quantum torpedoes.

In the brief few seconds they had to breath before their next target, Kira opened a comm-link to O'Brian, "Chief, what the hell are you waiting for over there?" she asked.

"Sorry colonel, but the station's been shaking here to. I managed to get two ready," O'Brian said through some interference.

"Well don't wait on our account," Kira urged.

"I've already loaded them. Firing now."

Two transphasic torpedoes shot out from the weapons sail facing the cube. They arced over and around a dozen ships, the lead torpedo accidently struck an assimilated Jem-Hadar battle cruiser virtually atomizing it while the following torpedo struck home on the cube. The area it hit exploded outwards, debris raining everywhere. The cube remained largely intact, how ever there was now a gaping hole in the side. The defending fleet began targeting the exposed area in earnest.

On the Hathaway Noel had the communications officer relay the exposed area as the primary target to the defense platform.

The science officer suddenly spoke up, "Sir! The cube is firing some kind of anti-proton beam. It's destabilizing the disruptive field."

"Confirmed sir, we can no longer prevent them from transporting aboard," the operations officer added.

The crew at DS9's Ops had just detected the collapse of the field when the Borg cube began firing the energy-draining pulses at the station.

Over a dozen ships started firing at the cubes emitters but, too little too late, the shields were down and the station was now vulnerable. There was barely any time to warn station personnel before Borg drones began beaming aboard. The initial attack was quickly repelled thanks to quick reflexes and previous experience. However the Borg soon adapted to Bajoran and Klingon weapons and invaded en mass. The Klingons, not completely reliant on energy weapons began fighting hand to hand with bat'leth's, daggers and whatever other blades they carried. the combat-type ArtForms, or knights as they're nicknamed, were quite successful. The Borg drones had adapted to their weapons faster than they would have liked, they quickly changed tactics and began fighting up close and personal like the Klingons. Then the Borg did something unexpected, they began shooting back. A further surprise was revealed when partially assimilated Starfleet officers beam aboard as well and began attacking. The drones while slow were strong and possessed adaptive shielding. The partially assimilated officers didn't have the adaptive shields but they were able to move faster and were able to dodge. The added psychological effect of them still wearing their Starfleet uniforms added to their effectiveness as well as instances of confusion.

The promenade, previously an area of commerce and social interaction, was a desperate battle ground. Starfleet security spent half their time retuning phaser rifles while the Klingons and DES knights held the 'front lines'. Bajorans after finding their weapons practically useless started pulling the injured and unconscious out of harm’s way. There were two squads of five knights fighting at either end of the promenade when one looked up after dispatching another drone looked up at the catwalks a Bajoran woman running from a pair of drones and trying to ward them off by firing her sidearm at them, the sickly green shields flared as each shot hit them but otherwise did nothing to stop them.

The knight leapt onto a pillar using it to jump onto the catwalk where he grabbed one drone in a headlock while using his katana to stab the other in the neck before electrifying it frying vital circuitry and organs. Immediately after which he twisted the drones head he had in his arm violently sideways killing it instantly where it dropped like a ragdoll when the knight let go. The Bajoran women looked at the two dead drones before giving the knight a thankful smile. He responded by giving her a thumbs up before he shuddered suddenly. As the knight turned around, the Bajoran woman could see a smoldering hole in his back. A drone had snuck up and fired at the knights back and fired again as the knight turned around putting him down this time.

The four other knights down below finished off the drones they were fighting with more brutality than needed and all turned at once to the drone on the catwalk, the lights of their "eyes" turned completely red. In one motion all four raised their katana's and fired continuous pulses of energy at the drone in its chest. While its adaptive shields removed the lethality of the weapons, the kinetic force behind them was actually pushing it back. This confused the drone as most species, after seeing them adapt to their weapons, would stop after seeing the futility of it. The drone inquired the sub-collective that was activated to modulate the drones adaptive shields to weapons used against them and asked it how to remove the remaining kinetic effects from those new weapons that were now pushing it against the railing behind it. Just then, all four knights shifted their aim upward and fired one final pulse at the same time at the top of the drones head causing it to fall backwards over the railing where it landed with a sickening splutch on its head with a quick shower of sparks. The knights turned back to fight more drones that had arrived with a brutality and ferocity that made even the Klingons envious if not a little wary.

The battle outside had gone on, hulks and pieces of starships lay strewn about presenting obstacles for both sides. Both the Hathaway and Stream's Isle had taken a more active role since they could no longer prevent intruders from beaming aboard.

On the Bridge of the Hathaway the communications officer issued a report, "Sir, the platform reports they're ready to fire in ten seconds."

Noel nodded, "Send a warning to all allied ships to leave the target area and line of sight."

"Aye sir."

Ships started to desperately moving out of the way. A dozen ships began tractoring crippled ships away while others covered them. Finally the defense platform sent out a general warning to the allied fleets that it was about to fire.

Raw energy erupted from the end at such speeds that the only way to avoid it was at warp speeds. Assimilated ships in the way were instantly holed before exploding as the large beam of energy punched through towards the cube. When the beam hit, the cube noticeably lurched as the beam burned its way into the large hole made earlier. Around the corner of the cube a large red circle appeared which grew lighter until it turned white hot before it gave way to the beam as it burst through. All this happened in six seconds. For half a second after the cube sat there before the area around the giant hole exploded pushing the cube downward at the front. Secondary explosions broke out pushing the cube away. After that it seemed that the Borg ship was now dead but that relief was put to a stop as the cube stopped drifting and began a slow crawl towards the defense platform. Amazingly the top corner of the cube was still attached thanks to some melted armor plating leaving the corner jutting up at an angle giving the cube a somewhat comical appearance if not for the threat its crew posed.

The commander on the platform had the weapons officer retarget for the cubes center mass. If the Borg ship survived this attack they would have to wait another two minutes at least before they could fire again if they were able to survive it. Once again a beam of raw energy lanced forth striking the Borg cube dead center this time. The cube seemed to swallow the entire blast before exploding in a green tinge of fire. The assimilated vessels that had fought up to this point had gone dark and drifted aimlessly.

On the station all the drones shook before falling over to the floor while the partially assimilated Starfleet officers grabbed their heads suddenly and screamed as they too dropped to the floor unconscious.

It had taken days to do a thorough search of DS9 to insure there were no unwanted surprises the Borg might have left. It would also take several more weeks at best to clean up the wrecks of starships and debris which posed navigational hazards as well as safety risks to would be salvagers of the Borg technology. Bashir had spent those days treating the injured along with every other available doctor. Bashir was also waiting on replicated part for a mobile emitter so a specialized EMH could assist him in removing implants from the assimilated victims.

After twenty-seven hours of work, Bashir stumbled into his quarters towards his bed. He, without taking off his uniform he was asleep minutes after hitting the pillow.

Bashir awoke with a start and rubbed his hands over his face. After asking the computer for the time he found out he was only asleep for roughly thirty-eight minutes, to which he reached above him to turn on the light and froze. There sitting in a chair at the foot of his bed was a man in a dark suit staring at him.

Bashir bolted upright, "Security, intruder alert!" he shouted tapping his commbadge.

"I'm sorry for waking you," the man said leisurely, "But I needed to talk to you alone. I had the comms deactivated so we won't be disturbed."

"And just who are you?" Bashir asked eyeing the door.

"Ah, where are my manners? My name is James Cunningham. You have done some work for my late protégé, Sloan. And just like him, I work for-"

"Section thirty-one," Bashir finished for him.