Showdown

Posted on Fri Jul 15th, 2016 @ 1:59pm by Captain Li Hawke & Admiral Ricky Wegener

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: IKS cha'Do / Borg Cube

* IKS cha’Do *

Li had rushed up the stairs from the galley, her mind in a whirl. She had never entertained the possibility that Sakkath was alive. The Borg had taken him from the ice planet. Dave had told her the shuttle carrying him had been taken in by a cube. But he was dead. Gilroy had confirmed it. Then had come the dark days after and the fight to regain the shreds of her life. And then….

It was almost too much. It was true, too, what she had said to Rick. It was a strike back for an old insult, from a time Li had bested her in what had seemed a trivial matter. Now she had to figure out what the hell to do and that started in one place - the Cube. She bypassed the bridge and went instead to the cabin she shared with Darwin. A quick check gave her the coordinates that Darwin and the Admiral had used. She programmed the shields to drop for a thirty-second window and moments later, transported out.

* Borg Cube *

Li materialized on the very spot Rick had so recently left in the Queen’s room. It appeared empty but she knew that wouldn’t last long. Turning slowly, she took in the room that was the domain of the Queen. Behind her she heard a door open and knew the Queen herself had arrived.

“If it isn’t the very woman I did not want on my ship,” the Queen announced in the same soft and eerie voice as usual. “Why are you here? Searching for answers, I suspect.” She stood just inside the doorway but didn’t come closer.

“Where is he?” Li’s tone was flat as she turned to face the Queen. “Surely you did not think they wouldn’t tell me? It explains why you only wanted them to come over to meet with you, but I thought it was just an old grudge.”

“Me? Hold a grudge?” The Queen smiled slyly as she began walking, circling Li as she spoke. “You must be mistaken. And as for this mysterious ‘he’ you speak of, I’m afraid that you will need to be much more specific.”

Li mentally scanned the Queen but got little more than the hum of thousands of voices. “The one you took from me. Sakkath. You know who I mean. They saw him!” She searched her own mind but there was no hint of Sakkath there.

“There are none but Borg here, Captain. We took nothing from you. Absolutely...nothing.”

“Is that what you think of him?” Li demanded. “He was mine and I…..” She stopped, debating on what direction she wanted to take. “He was my life! The loss of him almost broke me. And now I learn that the Admiral and Commander Darwin saw him here...alive.”

The Queen clicked her tongue. “So fragile. So...emotional.” She slowly raised her hand toward Li, her nanite tendrils barely extending. “I could solve that for you, you know. I could add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own, and you would then be free of this pain. You would have so many more brothers and sisters to call upon for help, to release you from this pain you seem to cling to.”

“Those brothers and sisters are not my concern. Did you think I would just let it lie? I need to see him.” She reached up to brush back her hair and the green light in the room reflected off the ring on her left hand. “Put up your shields if you wish so I can’t transport him out.”

The Queen chuckled lightly. “You couldn’t transport anyone from here unless I wished you to.” She walked toward a large chair toward the back of the room and slowly, but elegantly, sat. “Fine. I will summon the drone.”

Mere moments later, the doors opened. “Captain, this is 7 of 15.” She looked to the drone. “Do no harm to our visitor,” she said and then looked back to Li.

Li had thought she was prepared for what she was to see but when faced with the reality of Sakkath as a drone, it was almost more than she could endure. She found it suddenly hard to breathe as she stared back at him. She could see recognition in his expression but no other hint of emotion was visible. She tried to read him and got nothing but the same hum she read in the Queen.

“Sakkath,” she whispered.

“We are 7 of 15,” came the emotionless reply.

Li nodded slowly and stepped closer. “You saw Darwin and the Admiral. They told me you were here. We all thought you were….were dead. Gilroy saw it happen. If we had known, we wouldn’t have left you here.”

“We recognized the Admiral and the Lieutenant. They could have been added to our collective consciousness.”

“He’s a Lt. Commander now,” Li answered out of habit. “You know me too.” Her voice broke as she said the words. “I would have done anything to get you back home with me where you belong.”

“We recognize Captain Imzadi.” His voice was still emotionless, his eyes following hers but there was no recognition in his eyes.

The use of his favorite name for her was like a punch to the gut and she sucked in her breath sharply. As his gaze rested on her, she held it and tried once more to read him. Did they take everything away from you?

“I can only assume,” the Queen began, “that you are attempting to use your mental talents to converse with the drone. My nanites keep it from being able to communicate with you, for this, among other, reasons. But as you can see, your Sakkath is no more. This is 7 of 15.”

Li didn’t acknowledge the Queen’s words but, instead, kept her gaze on Sakkath. She hesitated, then reached out slowly, resting her hand on his arm. “I know you’re in there somewhere,” she whispered.

He looked down at the hand on his arm, looked up at her and removed it. “We are 7 of 15. We are Borg.”

“The drone is telling you everything you need to know, Captain. We are all Borg, no more, no less. Anyone you may have known is gone.” The Queen nodded toward the drone who began to turn and leave.

“She was real you know,” Li said aloud. “T’Lucia. I...I checked with Temporal Affairs. If you hadn’t been taken, she would have existed.” She closed her eyes tight. “I just thought you should know.”

7 of 15 paused as the doors opened, then continued, disappearing as the doors closed behind him.

“Has your curiosity been satisfied, Captain?”

Li wasn’t sure what to say at this point. Words seemed to fail her and she felt utterly empty inside. “You wiped him? Did you take your time sifting through all his personal memories first?”

That wicked smile returned. “I won’t lie. We made every attempt to obtain what we could before his brain was completely useless. With the help of the nanites we were able to restart his autonomic functions and salvage some of his own brain patterns. Most, however, were lost when he died.”

That was some comfort for LI, at least where station security was concerned. “So you are saying what? That you won? This was between us and should never have touched him!” The urge to strangle the woman before her was strong but LI’s good sense stayed her hand. It would be suicidal she knew. She wondered, too, if this wasn’t just a ploy to make her believe that recovery attempts would be useless.

“Do you actually believe that my drones take the time to choose favorites when they are being attacked? There was a battle, he was a casualty. It happens all the time, but your overly emotional state makes it feel like you were being targeted.” The Queen was riled but doing a good job at controlling it. “Not everything is about you, Captain. Not even this. It was a moment of opportunity.”

“Your drones don’t do anything you don’t order them to do.” Li crossed her arms as she looked back at the Queen. “Like not bothering to rescue any of the other drones left there to die. I’m done here.”

“So be it,” the Queen replied. In a bright flash of light, Li was back aboard the cha’Do.

As she rematerialized, she could already feel Rick’s icy glare on her. He was behind her when he cleared his throat.

Li turned to find him standing just inside the door of her cabin. SHe was silent for a moment, then let out a long breath. “Alright. Go ahead.”

“Did you find out what you needed to know?” he asked, tension still high and obvious to them both.

Li’s shoulders sagged. “I should have told you before I left but...I had to go. I saw him, spoke to him.” Her voice broke. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have. He recognized me, called me Imzadi...but it seemed like little more than a...a recording.”

“I’m sure she and her goons did a number on him, Li. Mostly likely, he has no real idea who he was or who you are to him, just memories.” He frowned. “I’m sorry, Li. I know it must be hard.”

“She said that most of his memories were inaccessible to her, which makes no sense. We’ve revived people before with no side effects such as that. I suspect that he knew what was to come and somehow shut himself down maybe. I don’t know. The Queen and I had some words, though.”

“Somehow, we’ll rescue him, or what’s left of him,” Rick said, trying to soothe her, but his tone turned cold. “And I swear, Li, I don’t give a damn who you are to me or what position you hold in this fleet--if you ever do anything that stupid again, I will end you!” He was angry, his finger pointed directly at her, but he was shaking. Scared. He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly. “Never again, Li! Don’t you ever do something like that again! Confronting the Borg Queen isn’t something you do on a whim, nor is it something many have done and walked away from.” He pulled away, holding her at arm’s length. His eyes stinging with tears he was trying, but failing, to hold back. “Promise me, Eyas. Promise me that--that you won’t be a...a...a fucking dumbass! Use your head and stop letting these emotions dominate you. It’s hard, I know it is, but you can’t act rashly when you’re dealing with someone like the Queen!”

He was so confused. He wanted to yell and scream at her. He wanted to hold onto her and not let her go, so happy she had returned safely but not wanting to let her go off on her own again. Hell, had she been anyone but Li she would have been disciplined immediately and left in her quarters. But what was he to do with Li?

“I understand, I do,” she said softly. Uncertainty flitted over her face and she reached out to gently wipe away a tear from Rick’s face. “But after what she did, I deserved to speak my mind to her. It was risky, yes, but she would be a fool to strike at us right now. She needs us and without our urging the other allies to let them work with us, the Queen and her minions are sitting ducks for the Krenim. I may not be able to really strike back at her but at least I made my feelings known. She took Sakkath but I don’t think she got what she really wanted. What she got was a husk, nothing more, and it’s pissing her off.”

“At least she didn’t cause him any more pain or mental anguish in taking over his body with those damned nanites.” He sat in the cramped quarters. “We need to find a way to get him back. If nothing else but to keep her from having him.”

“And let him go in peace,” she murmured. “He deserves that and I won’t settle for less. She will not keep him there, no matter what I have to do.”

“Agreed, but no more excursions without someone else knowing about it, got it?”

“Yeah.” Li nodded. “Because now that I’ve faced you, I have to go face Darwin and it won’t be pretty I am betting.” She smiled finally. ”Should I tell Max about any of this?”

“You can pull rank on Darwin and tell him to pound sand. As for Max, well...that’s not up to me, although I have a feeling he would be able to read it from you anyway. Maybe honesty is the best policy?” Rick shrugged. “He’d have to understand, Li. This is definitely extraordinary circumstances.”

“It is, but I don’t think we will get Sakkath back, not our Sakkath. Just more for me to work through I guess.” She shrugged. “I kinda feel sorry for Robin.”

Rick smiled. “It’s what he does, and he’s good at it, so don’t feel sorry for him.” He stood, putting an arm around her again for one more quick hug. “Don’t let Darwin give you too much shit.”

“Between us? Darwin always give me shit.” She grinned at Rick. “It’s what he does.”

Rick harrumphed. “Well, we have a ship and crew to save and a station to get prepared. Let’s get to work.”

“Aye sir,” Li answered, and opened the door.

*****************
Captain Li Hawke
Chastising The Queen

Admiral Ricky Wegener
Chastising The Captain

Borg Queen
Horrible Bitch