into the breach rode the five thousand

A Chapter by Dave Donovan

the battle ensues....

“Captain, I'm detecting a low frequency set of emissions leading away from this sector of space.” Lieutenant Hadley, the sensor operator, mentioned, as the crew returned to their duties after the clear-up operation had almost finished.

“Any chance it”s the rebel cube?” Captain Rex asked.

“No, it”s heading the other way, sir. Towards Earth.” Taylor tapped some of the keys on his console, trying to isolate the signal as best he could. Nothing worked.

His console was badly damaged, some of the touch sensitive surface was wrecked beyond repair, and needed to be replaced, but they didn't have the time just now.

He heard a sigh from behind him. It was the Captain. “And we”re in no shape to take them on.”

“Damage report!” Harper called out, expecting the worst. “How badly were we hit?”

“Primary hull scorching and a major hull breach in the secondary hull between decks twenty three and twenty five.

“Engineering reports the port plasma conduit of core one has been holed, but a force field is holding right now. Weapons systems are currently offline, torpedo rooms say we have seven quantum torpedoes left in the front and three at the rear, and our starboard sensor array is out of action.

“Primary shields are inoperative, secondary is at twenty two percent and holding steady, tertiary shields are currently offline. We have several decks reporting loss of gravity control and eight decks report that the inertial damping field is down in those areas.

“Casualties are numbered in the thirties. We have at least twelve fatalities over three sections.” Ensign Taylor answered, checking his relays for the details as he spoke.

“Quite bad, then, huh?” Harper half-joked. “But we”re still able to fight, aren't we?” She asked her voice hopeful.

“If there aren't too many of them, yes ma'am.” Taylor responded without looking up from his console.

Rex tapped his combadge.

“Engineering, this is the captain. Ensign Beatty, do you read?”

“Beatty.” Beatty”s” voice crackled through the speakers on the bridge almost as if he were in a hollow tunnel. “What can I do for you captain?”

“I need you to get the weapons and shields back online as quickly as you can, we”re gonna need “em, son. Can you do that?” Rex took on the sound of a concerned father talking to his only son.

“Aye, sir. But I”ll have to isolate this o.d.n. network fault first, that”s the reason for the weapons being offline. We took a piece of shrapnel through the conduit, and it fried the system a bit. I”ll have it online in a few moments, I hope.”

“Okay, you've got less than an hour to get it all done.” Rex told him, and then shut the channel with a tap of his badge once more. He secretly hoped he could do it, an ensign running all of engineering on a ship this size? The thought chilled him to the bone. “Helm; set course for Earth, best impulse if you please.” He added, settling back into his chair.

“Aye, sir.”

******

Thunderchild limped gingerly towards earth, her damage giving her the appearance of a grotesque gargoyle rather than the beautiful swan-like shape she had previously enjoyed. As she approached, the Image of the Earth became more and more apparent in the view screen on the bridge.

“Magnify.” Rex intoned his voice even and measured as he spoke.

Instantly, the screen image increased magnification to almost ten times the size, leaving no doubt as to just what they were seeing against the background of the earth; a cube, almost invisible due to the cloaking device. All that could be seen was the shifting image of the earth folding through the solid square sides of the Borg vessel as it moved across the face of the planet.

“Damn it.” Rex cursed, holding his chin in his hand.

“One escaped.” Harper breathed, unable to believe her eyes.

“The cube is currently in orbit above San Francisco, and is geostationary at this time.” Taylor reported his voice unsteady as he spoke.

“They”re just orbiting, doing nothing. It doesn't make any sense.” Hadley told them, watching his screens fervently.

“Why?” Rex asked of no-one in particular, confused as to why the Borg would travel all this way just to sit there and do nothing.

“Maybe their weapons are up the creek.” Harper volunteered, hopefully.

“I don”t think so.” Rex responded, his gut instinct telling him otherwise. “Scan the area carefully.” He ordered.

“No signals of any kind.” Taylor stated after a few seconds” pause. “No exhaust efflux, no evidence of any other Borg vessels as yet.”

“Where would you hide if you were them?” Rex asked Harper, turning towards her for a moment.

“Polar regions?” She suggested, her voice rising slightly at the idea.

“Scan the polar regions carefully, ensign. I want to know if anything seems out of the ordinary.” Rex leaned forward in his seat, anxious for the first sign of an enemy.

“Scanning. Nothing so far, but the magnetic fields are interfering with our sensors, sir.” Taylor told him, his hands flying over the controls as quickly as possible.

Agonizing moments passed. Rex fidgeted, fighting to resist the temptation to interfere with the ensigns efforts.

“Anomaly detected, sir. It”s a large engine signature above the north pole that seems to be moving slightly south and to port.” Hadley announced finally, his face displaying excitement for a moment.

Suddenly, alarm klaxons sounded the red alert as the ship rocked with the explosions from a powerful attack.

“Battle stations!” Rex ordered above the din, holding tight to the arms of his chair. “Ready all torpedo tubes. Show me the target.”

The view screen flickered to show the image of a second cube that was approaching from the rear of the starship.

“Aim for their power systems.” Harper added her voice catching as she spoke.

“Fire one.” Rex watched as the blue sparkling ball sped through space towards the huge cube and impacted on the hull in a massive explosion that seemed to leave the Borg vessel reeling. Secondary explosions rocked it, sending shock waves throughout the massive machine. As soon as the shock waves reached the surface, the cube exploded, sending pieces flying in all directions.

“What the - ?” Harper asked the surprise in her voice evident at the sudden destruction of the Borg cube.

“That shouldn't have happened.” Rex raised his eyebrows at the thought that the Borg could be so easily destroyed.

“There must've been something wrong with their ship.” Harper sounded stunned as she watched the pieces disintegrate into smaller and smaller parts that spiralled away into the void.

Another shot rocked the ship, followed in quick succession by three more almost simultaneously.

“The other ships have de-cloaked and are firing!” Taylor reported, gripping the edge of his console for dear life as the ship bucked and rolled from the onslaught. “Four of them! Closing from the north east bearing 235 Mark 25.”

“Lock weapons and fire!” Rex ordered, trying not to become unseated as he spoke.

More torpedoes spewed forth at the cubes, catching two of them in the conflagration. The torpedoes found their mark, smashing through the hulls of the vessels and out the other side easily.

“Fire phasers! Target the explosions!” Rex shouted, raising his fist in a punch at the thin air.

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