Continued.......
"Data," Riker said, looking at his trusted friend, "there's a Borg data node. Take Shapiro with you and see what information you can download from it."
"Perhaps I can download their tactical database and ascertain what occurred to the vessel," Data replied, continuing the thought. Data nodded to Shapiro as the two moved towards the node, while Riker and Thompson moved out.
Inside the vessel, Riker and Thompson took in the alien surroundings. The walls were rounded, organic looking, with pulsing veins of energy running along the walls. Fleshy membranes hung from the ceiling. In the center of the room was a chair that appeared to have been grown out of the floor of the vessel. The only source of light appeared to be from glowing sections of the walls. Riker noted the overall rumbling sound, as if he were inside a living organism, much like Tin Man, and yet, colder, more alien.
Thompson noted the chair was fitted for a large humanoid, for something possibly over ten feet tall or so. The silence around them felt "creepy" to Thompson.
Riker looked over at the wall, noticing several pulsing 'veins' running through it. He moves to the wall and scans it with his tricorder.
"They appear to be organic conduits...they're carrying an electrodynamic fluid," Riker remarked.
"Possibly an energy source of some kind," Thompson theorized.
"Could be. Our crew could spend weeks analyzing this," Riker smirked.
The two officers walked along the wall to a section of wall that appeared to be blinking colorfully; scanning with their tricorders, Riker found what appeared to be 'neurochemical pulses' going through the opening in the wall.
"It looks like this is some form of neural matrix...there's neurochemical activity in here, and it's laced with neuropeptides," Riker noted, looking at his tricorder's readings.
Thompson nodded, and checking his upper sensor band, "it's possible it's their analog to a computer core or a sub processor."
On the Borg vessel, Data worked as quickly as possible to retrieve the information from the node. There was a quiet moment, then a scraping sound that piqued Data's curiosity. He had turned off his emotion chip, otherwise he would have likely felt fear at the moment, which would have been complete counterproductive to his mission. Shapiro glanced around, as another scrape echoed through the ship. He glanced at the Borg amalgamation, his hands beginning to sweat. Through the noise, Data continued to work.
Riker and Thompson were at opposite ends of the alien chamber, studying its various features. Thompson was eyeing a large section of the wall that appeared scorched and torn.
"Commander, this damage here appears to have been caused by a Borg disruptor beam," he relayed, reading his tricorder's scans. "The wall appears to be....regenerating itself." He said that last bit with a bit of surprise. Space-based life was not something he was too familiar with, and regenerating ships were completely new to him.
Thompson caught something out of the corner of his eye in the adjoining chamber. Moving to see what it is, he looks down to see...
The dead Borg appeared to have pulsing, growing alien tendrils all about it, feeding on it....consuming it. It was being absorbed into the ship.
"Thompson..." Riker called out to his colleague to get his attention...
On the Borg vessel, Data continued to work, he was almost finished. The Borg atrocity stood off to one side as Shapiro stood guard, his phaser rifle at the ready. Another scraping sound....followed by a distant booming sound. A weapon firing? Or something else?
The download completed, as Data stepped away from the console. He recalibrated it for lifesigns and began scanning the corridor as another scraping sound echoed.
The Borg next to Data and Shapiro that had been attempting to assimilate the alien vessel stops its futile effort, and then looks past the two Starfleet officers towards the direction of the sound and then walks in the opposite direction, as if it were retreating from it. 'Curious...' thought Data. Completely uncharacteristic for the Borg to act in this manner.
A loud CRASH! came from nearby as if metal were being twisted apart. Data turns back in the direction of Shapiro, reacting to where the noise came from.
SICKBAY
Deanna was talking to Beverly about the crew's health and getting caught up with the next round of psych evaluations, as she had a few moments to spare during the away mission.
Suddenly, Deanna gets a psychic flash, a visual of Shapiro, the security guard that went with Will and Data, screaming in agony. The backlash was enough that even Deanna felt it, faltering in her steps towards Beverly in her office. Crusher rushed to catch her.
"Deanna!" Crusher called out in concern for her friend's pain. She pulled out her tricorder, and began scanning her with one hand, while helping her up with her other arm.
The look of panic on Troi's face rose, "Data and Riker are in danger...."
"Counselor, what are you...." Beverly began. It wasn't like Deanna to have psychic flashes of this magnitude before.
"Get them out of there!" she nearly cried as she felt another wince of pain.
Doctor Crusher tapped her combadge, "Crusher to bridge."
Back on the alien vessel, Riker and Thompson have come back together as the compare notes, and are about to take a sample back to the ship, when they hear Data's voice calling to them from the Borg vessel.
"Commander!" called Data, a sense of urgency in his voice.
The two reacted, running out of the alien vessel, back towards where they entered. Data is standing in the corridor, his tricorder open, Shapiro at point ahead of him.
"Commander, there is something else in here with us...and it is not a Borg," Data tapped a few commands into his tricorder. "I cannot localize it. It appears to be within twenty meters of us."
"Perhaps the 'pilot' of that ship has returned," Riker remarked. He put his tricorder up and drew his phaser.
Riker's badge chirped as the away team heard their captain's voice over the comm. "Picard to away team."
The First Officer tapped his badge quickly in response, "Go ahead, Enterprise."
ENTERPRISE BRIDGE
Picard sat at his seat, Troi to his left, Perrin at the science station, and EnsignTiilan at ops. Troi had a worried look on her face.
"Commander, stand by for transport. We're getting you out of there," Picard said over the comm.
"Good idea, Captain," Riker replied.
"Energize," Picard ordered, glancing to Tiilan.
Tiilan worked the ops console, where Data normally sat. The console beeped back at her, refusing to cooperate.
"Captain, I can't get a lock on them..." Tiilan reported over her shoulder to the captain.
"What's the problem ensign?" Picard asked as he rose from the captain's chair.
"It appears to be some kind of bio-electric interference..." Tiilan replied. "It's coming from whatever's approaching them..."
BORG VESSEL
On the Borg ship, the four Starfleet officers awaited transport, as another scraping sound echoed through the chamber, the tension rising. An alien SHRIEK let out, making Shapiro grip his rifle tighter. His knuckles were white with tension.
"It's within eight meters..." Data reported.
"Everyone, let's get out of here, put some distance between us," Riker ordered as the away team moved down the hall. Shapiro led the team, followed by Data, Riker, and Thompson at the rear.
ENTERPRISE BRIDGE
"Perrin, we need a lock on our crew," Picard said, a sense of urgency in his voice as he walked over to the Trill manning the science station.
"Conventional signal locks and bio-locks aren't working..." she said, her voice trailling off. She tapped a few commands and reported, "I'm attempting to narrow the confinement beam."
The console beeped back at her as that method failed. Perrin could swear the console was mocking her, toying with her. "Come on Enterprise, give me something I can work with...." she said in a motherly voice, as she stroked her hand along the outer edge of the console.
She glanced up seeing the captain look at her, and replied, "sometimes it helps to ask nicely..."
Picard smiled a little, "All haste, Lieutenant."
"Aye sir," she said as she tried locking on the very intermittent signal she was getting from the crew. Luckily, they had stopped, but the interference continued. She was scanning through, and suddenly, it hit her. If she couldn't lock onto life signs, lock onto what was different from everything around them - the minerals and elements in their bones! Grab that and what's around it, and you grab the crew!
She snapped her fingers, and started working the console. As she did, she bit part of her lower lip as she worked, a habit she picked up from her second host, Elis Perrin. Picard was watching over her shoulder as she reported back to him. "Captain, I figured out a way to grab the crew and get them out. I'm going to try a skeletal lock."
"A skeletal lock?" Picard asked, not having heard of it before.
"It's a trick I adapted from Korvin Perrin. To beam out when normal signal locks fail, lock on what you can, and expand your confinement beam around it. Grab the minerals of a lifeform, and everything around it with your transporter, and you grab the lifeform when you beam them out," she said. "I'm energizing now."
BORG VESSEL
Shapiro got a little ahead of the rest of the team, hoping to secure the area ahead so they could transport out. Another clearing in the ship, as Shapiro glanced around to get the lay of the opening, he checked the three pathways out, then glanced down at a dead Borg in the corner, and towering over it, a large, ten-foot tall, three legged alien.
Its limbs were obviously cramped in the Borg corridor. Without warning, it lunged at Shapiro with blinding speed, slashing him, sending the tall security officer flying like a rag doll back towards the others.
Data, attempting to protect the mere human blocked a blow by the alien, which had tossed Shapiro, but was lifted by the alien's other arm and tossed against a bulkhead. As Shapiro hit the floor, he began screaming as he dematerialized. Data, Thompson, and Riker dematerialized as well as the alien took a swing at them too.
BRIDGE
Perrin turned around from her station as she reported back to Picard, "Got 'em captain."
"That's a trick we'll have to add for the academy lessons," Picard said as he turned to return to his captain's chair.
He was interrupted by the purple Tiilan at ops. "Captain!"
To be continued....
