The One that Got Away

Posted on Sun Dec 6th, 2015 @ 2:08pm by Commander Oralia Zeferino & Lieutenant Commander Nicolao

* Planet 6584 *

Dae’s shout ordering Nico and Patrick to retreat to the ship had come too late for Patrick; he’d been taken down by a phaser shot from Three of Five, formerly known as Lt. Bryce Kendrick. Nico, however, was further back and faster to react to the order. The Borg, one of old drones and two of the new inductees, had chased after Nico.

Nico had to make some snap decisions, something typical in his line of work. These involved both the people and the ship and in this case, the ship was the more urgent of the two, as much as he disliked the thought. He moved in low, firing at the few drones attempting to take the ship, changed his phaser frequency, and fired again. It was enough to move them from the hatch, and towards his hiding place. He skirted around behind the rocks, moving closer to the ship. He was hoping that he would be more attractive as a first target than the ship and as they moved closer to where he had been, he hoped for the best and ran for the ship. He’d have just a few seconds to get in and was counting on the fact that he could move faster than they could.

He’d been quick - far faster than the drones’ implants and programming allowed them to be - and the drones had no option other than to start assailing Patrick Smith’s pride and joy: his ship. Their goal was both to assimilate Nico and to prevent him from taking the ship off the planet. Disable the ship. We will repair it once the target is acquired and assimilated, came the order from the hive-mind. Each drone, those undamaged by Dae’s, Nico’s and Patrick’s attempts to fight back, moved in on the ship, intending to rip it apart if necessary.

Nico’s hands flew over the conn as he fired up the engines. Everything in him wanted to stay and fight but he was the one non-Borg left. They would make short work of him and then all would be lost. At least he could fly home and return with a full team. Oz and the rest would be safe here until he could get back and they all stood a better chance this way. The conn beeped and he immediately began the ascent, leaving the drones behind. Soon he’d entered the atmosphere and as the planet grew smaller behind him, he vented his outrage with his fists against the bulkhead.

The drones watched the ship leave while the hive-mind, the one whose primary function was to travel the universe and assimilate entities, registered a deep disappointment. Accessing the memories and knowledge of its newest acquisitions, though, it knew more biological targets and their ships would be coming. It spoke through Five of Five: “Regroup at the cube. We have two drones to assimilate and shields and weapons to construct.” She who was Oralia turned away from the ship’s impression on the snow and ice and headed back to the Borg cube. Along the way, she and the others collected the unconscious Patrick Smith and Dae Nalas.

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The Borg Collective

Nico
The Fugitive