CHAPTER 16
When Janeway and Seven emerged from the Control Center the rest of Voyager’s
senior staff leapt to their feet and gathered around the couple. Quietly,
Janeway and Seven brought them up to date on what had transpired and informed
them of the strategy meeting the following morning. Janeway asked all of them to
review any personal logs they might have concerning the Borg. More specifically
their interactions with the Collective when Seven had been kidnapped by the
Borg, Unimatrix Zero and their final interaction when they blasted through the
transwarp hub and back into the Alpha quadrant. Everyone agreed to prep for the
remainder of the night and meet at Janeway’s home for breakfast the next morning.
Janeway and Seven gathered their carryalls and bid good night to the senior
staff and the admirals still discussing the evening’s events. Radcliffe had
organized a hovercraft for them and the driver was waiting at the main entrance
of Headquarters. He walked them to the cab and then excused himself to secure
overnight accommodations in the transient BOQ at Headquarters. Janeway and Seven
climbed into the cab and in a few short minutes were walking through the gate of
Fremont Lane returning to their home.
The next morning Radcliffe arrived first and went into the kitchen to organize
enough coffee for everyone while Seven put together a feast of french toast and
sausage. By the time Janeway had emerged from the shower and finished dressing
the aromas emanating from the kitchen drew her like a magnet. Radcliffe caught
sight of her as she walked out of the master bedroom and by the time she reached
the kitchen island had a fresh mug of coffee poured and ready for her. Nodding
her thanks, she moved to answer the door chime that heralded the arrival of the
rest of the senior staff.
The breakfast meeting was lively and Radcliffe soaked up the stories Voyager’s
officers told of their adventures. He had, of course, studied the Borg during
his time at the Academy and knew all the conventional wisdom Starfleet possessed
of the Collective, but Voyager’s interactions with the Collective served to
expand his understanding. The Borg Collective became almost a living entity for
him as he listened to how Voyager, her captain and her crew had thwarted their
attempts to assimilate and destroy the ship over and over again. Seven’s
observations gave an insider’s perspective of the hive mind and provided a
revelation to the Starfleet officers as well.
“If what Ronnik says is true the Queen isn’t dead. We know that Admiral Janeway
infected her with the neurolytic pathogen because she lost control of the
interspatial manifolds and the entrance and exit apertures of the transwarp hub.
It had to have destroyed her. But now they’re saying that she’s not dead. I
don’t understand how that can be,” commented B’Elanna.
“It is possible that the Queen we interacted with is indeed dead. But the
Collective is about survival and there is always a selected female drone ready
to be elevated to Queen. The adjuncts of Unimatrix 01 all carry special
programming. Each of them has abilities outside the scope of ordinary drones.
Either the secondary or tertiary adjunct is always female, but only one of them
at any given time. That female was typically assimilated at a young age and
raised within the Collective. In the event the existing Queen is deactivated or
killed that adjunct will be elevated to control the hive mind and become the new
Queen. She is assisted by the Primary Adjunct. An adolescent female will be
programmed and trained to assume the duties of the elevated drone by the Queen
and the other adjuncts,” said Seven impassively.
Every eye in the group widened and focused on her in amazement. “But, but…that
would mean…then you were…but that …that’s not possible…is it?” sputtered
B’Elanna.
Janeway stared at her fiancée for a long moment. “My God, I liberated the heir
apparent from the hive mind! You were supposed to be the next Queen. No wonder
the Borg kept coming after you: I kidnapped a Borg princess!” And now I’m going
to marry her. How did I ever get so lucky?
“Well, that certainly explains your insufferable arrogance. And why you were
chosen to speak for the Collective,” snorted B’Elanna indignantly. She caught a
glimpse of Ethan and let out a hoot of laughter. “Breathe, Radcliffe, breathe!”
Tom thumped the young man on the back to jump start his diaphragm and the group
around the table relaxed, chuckling. Seven regarded her partner’s aide with an
amused smirk on her face.
“Will this adversely affect our ability to interact, Ensign Radcliffe?”
“I... you… Queen," he wheezed. "I…no, ma’am!” he managed with an audible gulp.
“That is very good news, Ensign. I would hate to have to drink sub-standard tea
every time I visit my wife at her office from now on.” Radcliffe flushed red at
the comment as the group howled with laughter.
“Wow…wife. You don’t think the arrival of the Borg will delay the wedding do you?”
asked Harry.
Janeway laughed at the concern in his voice. “Absolutely not, Lieutenant. Not
even the Borg can stop my mother from putting this wedding on. And the Starfleet
brass wouldn’t think of crossing her and missing it. The wedding will proceed as
planned, I assure you.”
Twenty minutes later the group entered the main entrance of Starfleet
Headquarters and proceeded to the third floor conference room. Ethan saw to it
that everyone had what they wanted to drink and then left for the transport
center to take care of things at their Utopia Planetia offices.
Janeway was talking quietly with Seven, B’Elanna and Tom when a young ensign
entered the room and told her there was a priority communication for her. She
followed him into the COMM center and took a seat at the terminal he indicated.
A moment later the screen came to life. Her former Tactical and Security Officer
faced her.
“Tuvok! It’s wonderful to see you, old friend. How are you feeling?”
“I am well, Captain. My treatments are complete and have been deemed successful.”
“I’m so glad to hear that. When will you and T’Pel leave for Earth?”
“We should arrive at the Vulcan consulate in San Francisco early next week. We
will be on Earth for the full week prior to your wedding.”
“That is good news. There are a few get-togethers planned and I know everyone
will be anxious to see you.”
“I was contacted by Starfleet Security and notified that there was a Borg
incursion in which you are involved. Do you require my presence earlier than
planned?”
“No, my friend. Do you remember General Korok from Unimatrix Zero? He sent one
of his ships here to pass along some tactical information they’d discovered.
Apparently, the Collective has a new Queen and is rebuilding.”
Tuvok frowned at the news. “Does Korok deem the Collective a threat to the
Federation?”
“They discovered something in the tactical logs they obtained when they took
over some Borg ships recently. Starfleet is working to decipher the logs and the
Free Borg ship that came to warn us is enroute to McKinley Station to help us
interpret the tactical data. We’ll be able to build a working threat assessment
once we have all the information.”
“I will keep in close contact with Security and Intelligence until we depart.
Please contact me immediately if the threat assessment indicates imminent danger
and I will arrange transport to Headquarters.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary, Tuvok, but I’ll let you know if I’m wrong.
Either way, I’ll see you soon. Give my best to T’Pel.”
Tuvok made his goodbyes and signed off. As Janeway was leaving the room the
ensign that had originally fetched her called her name.
“Captain Janeway? I’m sorry to keep you, but there’s another communication
coming in for you. I’ll route it to the same screen you were on before, ma’am.”
Kathryn nodded and returned to the screen as it sprang to life. Facing her from
what was obviously a ready room was a distinguished looking steely-eyed
Starfleet Captain. His bald head took nothing away from his handsome features
and the strength of his personality resonated in his speech and demeanor.
Jean-Luc Picard was a force to be reckoned with in anyone’s book.
“Captain Janeway, I’m delighted you were available to take my call.”
“Good morning, Captain Picard. We still have a few minutes before the first
planning meeting is supposed to start. What can I do for you?”
“Is there any additional information on what the Borg are up to? We’re making
best possible speed, but Enterprise won’t dock at McKinley Station until very
late tomorrow night. Will that put us behind?”
“I doubt it, Jean-Luc. The Borg vessel isn’t due into McKinley for fifty-six
hours or so. We’ve downloaded the tactical logs they brought with them, but
Intelligence is still working on decrypting them. Until the Borg arrive and help
them out we’re all behind.”
“Isn’t Seven of Nine working on the decryption? I would think she would be the
logical one to do so.”
Janeway’s clenched jaw told the captain of Enterprise much more than her words
did. “So far Starfleet has shown a distinct aversion to the idea of Seven
helping out.”
Picard shook his head, realizing just how valuable a resource Starfleet was
discarding. “Perhaps we ought to speak privately as two captains who have
extensive …experience …with the Borg?”
Janeway could work politics with the best of the Starfleet bureaucrats. “That
might be an excellent idea, Jean-Luc. We’ll have to chat when you arrive. Until
then, safe journey my friend.” Both officers nodded and the screen went blank.
This time Janeway returned to the conference room without interruption. Taking
her seat she updated her officers on the results of the calls she had taken.
Everyone was excited that Tuvok’s health had been restored successfully and
looking forward to seeing the Vulcan again.
As they spoke quietly among themselves the door opened and a striking blonde
woman entered. Commander Elizabeth Shelby was Starfleet’s expert on the Borg and
had been instrumental in rebuilding the fleet in the aftermath of the disaster
at Wolf 359. She was only slightly taller than Janeway, but possessed the same
commanding demeanor. Her curly hair was piled atop her head and a strong jaw
below flashing green eyes gave ample testimony to her temperament. She moved
gracefully into the room and dropped the stack of PADDs she carried onto the
table. Leaning across the wide conference table and extending her hand she
greeted those present. At least the only one who mattered to her.
“Dr. Hansen? I’m Elizabeth Shelby. I can’t tell you how much I’ve looked forward
to meeting you.”
Seven hesitantly shook the offered hand. “How do you do, Commander? I prefer my
Borg designation. Please call me Seven of Nine or just Seven.”
“Of course, Seven. What do you think about Korok’s warning?”
Seven glanced at Janeway before responding. “I have no data on which to base an
opinion, Commander Shelby. I am waiting for the decryption of the logs like
everyone else.”
Shelby looked confused for a moment and then quickly regained her equilibrium.
“Of course. We’re all waiting to learn what tactical information is contained in
those logs. Good morning, Captain Janeway. Would you introduce me to your staff
officers?”
Janeway returned the greeting and proceeded to introduce the remainder of
Voyager’s senior staff. Before she finished the door opened again and Admirals
Nechayev, Ross, Chapman, Patterson and Quinn entered with their aides. Nechayev
took her place at the head of the table and opened the meeting.
“Good morning everyone. If you’ll all get seated we’ll get started. Shelby, pass
those PADDs around to everyone. They contain a partial decryption of one of the
logs Ronnik transmitted to us. Our intelligence department is working on the
rest of them, but it will take a while to make sure they’re decrypted and
translated correctly. We’re hoping that Ronnik and his crew will give our
Intelligence department some assistance once they reach McKinley Station.”
Tom Paris spoke up without thinking. “Why don’t you have Seven working on it?
She knows all the Borg encryption algorithms and can translate the data…”
“Lieutenant, you’re in a meeting way over your pay grade. We will rely on proven
Starfleet personnel and protocols to decrypt and translate the data nodes. It
would behoove you to keep your opinions to yourself until someone with a higher
rank asks for them. Am I making myself clear?” Nechayev’s tone brooked no
argument.
“Crystal clear, Admiral.” Nobody in the room looked at anyone else, but the
stunned looks on the faces of Janeway, Shelby and Patterson spoke volumes.
Quinn’s face remained impassive.
“Then let’s continue. What we need to do today is to determine the most
efficient methods of protecting the Federation and most specifically the Terran
sector from a concentrated Borg incursion. Let me preface that discussion by
stating that every operable ship of the line has been mobilized and is either
enroute to its assigned area of operations or will be deploying from McKinley
Station or Utopia Planetia within the hour. What we need to do here is to put
together a plan for early detection of an incursion and for rapid communications
and deployment of forces in the event of one.”
“Admiral, I would suggest that most of our emphasis be on early detection. If we
control that, successful deployment to meet a threat will follow naturally.”
Shelby was still somewhat dazed at the refusal of Nechayev to even discuss using
Seven of Nine, but politically savvy enough to know that arguing would do
nothing but hamstring their efforts when Nechayev dug in her heels.
“Starfleet Command agrees with you, Commander. I’m tasking you to develop sensor
protocols and parameters to detect the subspace formations of transwarp and
slipstream corridors.”
Shelby nodded. “We’re fortunate that when Voyager infected the Collective with
their neurolytic pathogen four of the transwarp hubs were destroyed. That means
that there are only one third of the possible exit apertures in our quadrant
than there used to be. If we can determine how to configure our deep-space
scanners we should be able to provide ample warning of an incursion. It also
means that the Borg can’t invade with as many ships as they once could.”
Janeway and her staff listened as the Starfleet brass discussed their ideas with
a dawning realization that Starfleet had no real understanding of how the Borg
operated, let alone how to level the field of battle so that Starfleet stood a
fair chance of defeating the Collective. Shelby had obviously studied the Borg,
but her lack of firsthand experience with the Collective limited what she was
able to do. What fueled Janeway’s fury was Nechayev’s persistent refusal to
entertain any suggestion made by Seven of Nine or to even consider utilizing the
former drone to develop a defensive strategy. Seven, for her part, remained
impassive in the face of Starfleet’s obdurate stubbornness, but it was clear
that she regarded their attitude as inefficient in the extreme.
After an hour and a half of frustration Janeway listened as Nechayev adjourned
the meeting. “We’ll take this up again in three days when the Free Borg vessel
arrives at McKinley Station. Until then this meeting is classified Most Secret
and the highest security protocols apply to the discussion here.” She stood and
began to gather the PADDS in front of her. When she had them in her grasp she
nodded to Shelby and strode out of the room. Admirals Chapman and Patterson left
together and Quinn quickly followed.
The Voyager crew gathered around their captain, most of the speaking at the same
time. No one could believe that Starfleet was deliberately ignoring Seven of
Nine’s capabilities to decrypt and translate the Borg tactical data. In addition,
none of the suggestions made by any of them regarding sensor parameters had been
adapted. The Starfleet brass had apparently decided to function as it always had.
Unfortunately, old-fashioned protocols would not protect the Federation in the
event the Borg attacked. Everyone in the room who had actually faced the Borg
knew that, only the flag officers of Starfleet did not.
B’Elanna’s temper got the better of her for a moment. “I can’t believe Nechayev!
It’s thinking like hers that’s going to get all of us on the front lines killed
while she stays safe behind the blast shields here at Headquarters! And I
noticed she put a rear-echelon officer in charge of the defensive sensor net.
Like she’s going to know what to look for or how finely the arrays need to be
calibrated! Dammit, Captain, unless something changes real fast this is going to
be a disaster!” Tom’s elbow in her ribs shut her up and as she swung around to
confront him caught sight of Commander Shelby standing by the conference table
gathering her PADDs.
“I’m not quite the incompetent you make me out to be, Lieutenant,” she said
stiffly.
Torres at least had the good sense to flush in embarrassment. “No offense
intended, Commander. I let my mouth run away with me.”
“None taken,” Shelby said as she stalked out of the room.
“Well, that’s just great, B’Elanna. Now we’ve got Starfleet’s Borg expert pissed
off at us! Way to go, honey.” Tom cracked. B’Elanna just smacked him on the arm.
“Don’t worry about that too much,” said Janeway, “I’ll head to her office and
try to smooth things over. I’d have to do that even if B’Elanna didn’t shoot her
mouth off; it’s obvious that Shelby’s recommendations won’t work if she sticks
with conventional Starfleet protocols. We’re going to have to convince her to
use more creative sensor configurations if there’s going to be any actual
advance warning. Everybody, head to my offices at Utopia Planetia and start
putting together a report of the sensor array configurations and enhancements we
used around the transwarp hub and in the Northwest Passage. Do an analysis of
the settings and try to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each set of
configurations. Radcliffe will get you any help you might need. Seven, you’re
with me. Let’s go try to corrupt Commander Shelby and bring her over to the dark
side with us. We’ll join the rest of you as soon as we can.”
* * *
Commander Shelby was furious as she stormed out of the conference room and
headed back to her office. The nerve of Janeway’s Engineering Chief! Hadn’t she
tried to befriend Seven of Nine? Didn’t they realize how limited Starfleet’s
options were? Couldn’t they see what she was up against? That thought suddenly
brought her up short in her headlong rush.
Of course they knew what she was up against. They knew better than anybody what
she was up against. They’d faced it themselves more times than any other
Starfleet crew and survived to report back. They’d allowed themselves to be
assimilated to infect the hive mind; they’d challenged the Collective at every
turn. Janeway had taken on the Queen one-on-one to save Seven of Nine and her
officers had actually prowled the corridors of Borg cubes. They didn’t have to
rely on schematics to know what a Borg shield generator looked like; they’d seen
them in person. They’d destroyed them with explosives to allow Voyager to beam
technology and crew on and off Borg ships. They’d actually stolen a transwarp
coil from a damaged sphere and used it to travel 20,000 light years! Oh yes,
Voyager’s officers knew what she was up against; only too well.
Arriving back at her office she dropped into her chair and checked for any
messages she might have missed while in the meeting. She put her elbows on the
desk and rested her head in her hands as she contemplated the impossibility of
erecting a sensor net around the Alpha quadrant that would give them warning of
the imminent arrival of the galaxy’s worst thugs. The quiet chime of her door
startled her a few minutes later.
Straightening up she called out “Come!”
The door opened to reveal Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine. The two women
entered the office and hesitated slightly after greeting her. She gestured them
to the chairs in front of her desk and leaned back in her own as they sat down.
“I came to apologize for Lieutenant Torres’ remarks,” began Janeway once they
were seated. “She’s a brilliant engineer and there’s no doubt in my mind that
we’d never have made it back from the Delta quadrant without her. But she has a
rather volatile temperament and doesn’t think before she speaks on occasion. She
truly didn’t mean any offense; she was just frustrated with the Starfleet
ability to stonewall.”
“I didn’t take any offense, Captain Janeway. I understand how she feels. But you
need to realize that there are some of us who take the Borg just as seriously as
you do even if we haven’t been face to face with them.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, Commander. Because I’m going to be very frank with
you right now. There’s no way that the protocols Admiral Nechayev outlined can
possibly protect the Alpha quadrant. If the Borg opt to invade, Earth will be
assimilated within a week.”
“I wouldn’t be quite that dismal in my predictions, Captain. But you’re right
when you say that we need to think on a broader scale. I have some ideas for
sensor calibrations that will increase their sensitivity by a factor of at least
four.”
Janeway and Seven exchanged glances and Seven gave an almost imperceptible shake
of her head. “We were thinking of some array configurations that were a bit more
powerful than that,” Janeway said casually.
Shelby maintained her calm demeanor. “I don’t believe that you can configure our
arrays to that scope of sensitivity and still maintain a contiguous net.”
“There are ways to overcome those gaps in the array coverage.”
“Captain Janeway, I’ll keep your comments to myself, but it seems to me as
though you’re proposing untested and possibly dangerous sensor enhancements. I
suggest you don’t mention them to anyone else.”
Janeway gave an internal sigh of frustration. “I understand your desire to
adhere to Starfleet protocols, Commander, but you’re going to discover very
quickly that the standard Starfleet protocols are totally ineffective against
the Borg. Remember this: the Borg survive by adaptation. And they’ve assimilated
a lot of Starfleet officers. They already know the standard protocols and have
created ways around them. There is no way any standard protocol can adequately
protect the quadrant.”
“I’ll take your comments under advisement, Captain. Thank you for your input.”
Shelby rose and extended her hand. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a
meeting with Admiral Nechayev. I assume I can reach you at your office if I have
any questions?”
Janeway stood and shook the offered hand. “Yes, I’ll be at Utopia Planetia for
the next week. And you’ll be able to reach Seven at her office in Cambridge
during that time too. After that we’re gone for ten days.”
“Vacation?” asked Shelby with a faint smile.
“Honeymoon,” replied Janeway with the wry grin her officers knew so well.
“I see. My congratulations to you both. I assume I’ll see you again at the
meeting in two days. And now, if you’ll excuse me?”
Janeway and Seven took their leave and strolled to the transport center, deep in
a discussion that continued through the shuttle flight to Utopia Planetia. By
the time their shuttle touched down at the shipyards they had arrived at a plan
of action.
“Now all we have to do is sell the crew on it,” commented Janeway.
* * *
“WE ARE THE BORG. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. YOUR BIOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL
DISTINCTIVENESS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR OWN. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.”
Elizabeth Shelby’s head was pounding to the sounds of Borg drones moving toward
her across the Control Center. Starfleet officers fired phasers which glanced
harmlessly off Borg exoplating. Assimilation tubules shot from Borg hands as the
drones approached her and reached for her throat…
“Computer, end simulation.” Shelby closed her eyes and rubbed her temple in a
vain effort to eliminate the throbbing of her headache.
“Acknowledged. Simulation ended,” replied the computer.
“Commander, do you want us to reset and try it again?” interjected the holodeck
officer.
“No, Lieutenant, I don’t think that will be necessary. Fifteen failures in a row
ought to tell us something. It’s back to the drawing boards, I’m afraid.” She
stood and wearily gathered her PADDs as the Control Center vanished around her
to be replaced by the open struts of the holodeck grid. “Thank you all for your
help this afternoon. I’ll call you if we need to reschedule more time.”
Nodding to the holodeck crew she exited the cavernous room and took a turbolift
back to her floor of the Headquarters building. Once settled back at her desk
with a fresh cup of coffee in her hand she began to mentally review the
progression of the sensor array simulations they had run. Beginning with the
most sensitive calibrations and adjusting to less and less sensitivity, each of
the fifteen simulations had failed to provide advanced warning of a Borg
transwarp incursion and Starfleet had been soundly defeated each time.
How do I tell the brass that the vaunted sensor net we built after the Dominion
War is worthless? We told the people of the Federation that it would be a
‘protective web’ around them and would provide so much advanced warning that
Starfleet would be able to deal with any threat. And now I can’t set any of them
to recognize a transwarp corridor exit when it’s forming. By the time the array
picks up the triquantum wave signatures the exit aperture is open and Borg cubes
are flooding out. Unless we get unbelievably lucky and the aperture forms within
a thousand kilometers of a sensor pod we can’t see them coming. Janeway was
right; our protocols are useless. And after I told her off I don’t think she’s
going to be too willing to help me.
Shelby’s career had been stellar to that point, but she could see a desk job in
some backwater spaceport looming in her future if she failed in her mission. She
had convinced Starfleet brass that she was the Borg expert and she couldn’t even
manage to get their sensor arrays to recognize a transwarp aperture. Some
expert!
She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger to try and
ward off the impending migraine she could feel forming behind her eyes. There
was no denying it she had failed utterly on the first assignment she’d been
given that was critical to Federation security. Granted, she’d helped rearm the
fleet after Wolf 359 with some weapons that would give Starfleet a few minutes
equality in a firefight with a Borg cube. But the Borg ability to adapt meant
that any weapons they used were effectively blocked after half a dozen rounds
were fired. Once that happened all you could do was pray you could outrun the
tractor beam; because if you didn’t, then you got assimilated. Period.
And yet Janeway and her crew had been able to take Voyager through a transwarp
hub and survive. Not only survive, but also blow a Borg sphere to smithereens in
the process. With one shot if the weapons logs were to be believed. How did they
do it? There was a great deal of data regarding Voyager’s return to Earth that
was immediately classified Top Secret and sealed. And Shelby knew that the
Department of Temporal Investigations had been deeply involved in the
de-briefings of the senior staff. Some of the logs had been destroyed by order
of the Federation Council to keep the data in them from being used in violation
of the Temporal Prime Directive. Those secrets were lost to Starfleet forever
and Shelby couldn’t shake the feeling that the Federation was going to pay a
heavy price because of it.
Sighing heavily she turned to her terminal and began to record her logs, hoping
to finish before she had to call for a hypospray for her migraine.
* * *
“But Admiral, don’t you see that without her input we’re operating in a vacuum?
That she could provide critical data to us?”
“Captain Picard, your dedication to security is commendable, but the decision
has already been made. Our response to Korok’s warning will be formulated and
executed by Starfleet personnel. No civilian contractors will be involved for
security reasons.”
Janeway sat stoically through the exchange, her expression stony in the face of
Starfleet’s inflexible stance. It was obvious from the opening remarks of the
meetings with Ronnik that Starfleet was not including Seven of Nine in their
plans against the Collective. It made no sense to Janeway in light of Admiral
Quinn’s graciousness to her. But the expression on his face during the meetings
indicated that either the Federation President or the Council had overruled him.
Not even the pleas of Picard were given credence.
Once the Borg vessel had docked at McKinley Station events had moved at nearly
warp speed. Ronnik assigned two of his crew to help decrypt the data nodes they
had captured and once the information contained in them had been translated the
threat to the Federation, and more specifically Earth, had been obvious. The
Borg had targeted humanity.
The only bright spot in the data streams indicated that the Collective would
need nearly a year and a half to ready itself for an invasion of the magnitude
necessary to assimilate Earth. They had time to prepare a counterstrike to
eliminate the threat. The only problem was the counterstrike, as envisioned by
Starfleet, would fail and the chosen commanders of the counterstrike knew it.
Starfleet proposed sending a three-pronged armada deep into the Delta quadrant
and attacking the Collective at its heart. Two prongs of the attack would center
on the remaining transwarp hubs and the third would attack the Collective’s
Unicomplex, and by extension, its Queen. Janeway had been placed in overall
command of the task force; her fleet would attack the Unicomplex while Picard
and Will Riker would each lead a strike force against a transwarp hub. All three
of the captains had fought the Borg and realized that the proposed strategy
could not succeed without considerable technological advancement and Starfleet
was not proposing any new technology for their fleets. Short of a miracle the
proposed offensive would be little more than a suicide mission. But Janeway was
resolved not to go down without a fight.
She and Seven had anticipated Starfleet’s position and formulated a plan which
would give the proposed armada as much protection and firepower as possible –
without Starfleet’s knowledge or authorization if need be. All she had to do now
was convince her fellow commanders to deliberately disobey their orders with her
and they just might stand a fighting chance. Her focus returned to the meeting
at hand when Commander Shelby asked her a question.
“Captain Janeway, your logs indicate that you were able to monitor Borg
transwarp corridors fairly often during your time in the Delta quadrant. Did you
have your sensor arrays configured specially to do so?”
“No, Commander, we monitored for subspace disturbances and fluctuations and
keyed the sensor arrays to immediately check for triquantum waves if a subspace
variance was detected. By setting our sensors to automatically trip for
additional scans it kept our Operations officers able to monitor more ranges of
readings and allow the arrays to automatically monitor some anomalies and trip
alarms for us. I’m sure that you can configure our quadrant arrays to do the
same.” The look on Janeway’s face told Shelby that she knew full well the
planetary arrays couldn’t be fine-tuned that much.
“Thank you, Captain. We’ll proceed with those protocols.” Shelby’s cool response
belied her inner turmoil. It was obvious that Janeway did not plan on giving her
any help. She would just have to get it from other sources.
When the meeting adjourned an hour later Janeway, Picard and Riker had been
given their preliminary orders. Janeway had been given command of the USS
Boudicca, a dreadnaught currently under construction at Utopia Planetia. She had
been ordered to assemble her senior staff immediately and begin staffing the
rest of the assignments on the ship when she returned from her honeymoon. Picard
and Riker were to complete their crew complements and fill any gaps in their
senior staffs as well. Starfleet’s Research and Development section was
beginning work on weapons, shields and armor for the fleet and the TPG had been
tasked to attempt to come up with a faster-than-warp drive as quickly as
possible.
Starfleet Operations was assigning vessels to the armada and scheduling them
into Utopia Planetia for refits and upgrades. Janeway merely had to keep on top
of the refit schedules, staff her battleship, develop the tactical plans for the
fleet with Picard and Riker, train the ships and crews under her command and
marry Seven of Nine in eight days. Mercifully, the only task among those that
had to be completed in the next week and a half was the wedding and she was
fully prepared to let everything else go to facilitate meeting that particular
deadline.
As the meeting’s participants filed out of the conference room Janeway caught up
with Jean-Luc Picard and Will Riker. The three designated fleet commanders
stepped out of the flow to have a quiet word.
“When are you scheduled to leave McKinley Station?” Janeway asked of her fellow
captains.
“We’ve got another forty-eight hours here before we deploy back onto active duty
status,” replied Riker.
“Then, given what we all heard in today’s meeting, may I suggest a dinner party
at my home tomorrow night? Bring Deanna, Will. And Jean-Luc, why don’t you bring
Doctor Crusher along? I’m inviting Admiral Pulaski and our EMH so she’ll have
someone to talk to. Say 1830 hours?”
Both officers nodded their agreement. “Kathryn, that sounds like a wonderful
idea. Can we bring anything?” asked Picard.
“No, Jean-Luc, just yourselves. Don’t worry, I’ve got a case or two of Chateau
Picard stowed away for special occasions. I’ll be sure to decant a few bottles.”
All three of them laughed at the pointed jibe and began to make their way out of
the building. “I’ll send you the address and access codes later this afternoon.
I wanted to talk about…”
Voices faded as they descended the building steps. Unbeknownst to them,
Commander Shelby was standing in the shadows across the corridor, listening to
every word the three fleet captains had exchanged.
“1830 hours tomorrow night at Janeway’s home. Well, at least now I know what my
timeline is and where I’ll need to get access.” The short blonde turned on her
heel and headed back to her office at a fast clip.