CHAPTER THREE:
HIDING
Captain's Log Stardate 58967.9
We've been hiding behind Dinone, the sixteenth moon of Saturn, for three days while the team of officers from Lexus and Voyager attempt to repair the device made by Nanclus. So far they have had no luck. I have decided to question Rekar about the device to determine if he has any knowledge of how it is supposed to work or how it was made.
The two crews are learning to work together quickly. With more eyes and hands at work a lot gets done faster and more efficiently. I'm not convinced it will make any difference if the Borg discover us and decide to try and assimilate the crew and ship. That cannot be allowed to happen.
Steps are being taken by Julian Bashir, Quinn and the EMH to make sure that our weapons are more effective than normal by replicating the pathogen in Icheb's blood and preparing the same torpedoes that were prepared in Andromeda. There has been talk of a sacrifice that I'm pretending not to know about so far. They've been discussing a member of the crew infecting himself or herself with a new pathogen designed by the EMH and allowing him or herself to be assimilated. In theory once the assimilation was complete the pathogen would infect the Borg. I'm not so sure that allowing a member of either crew to sacrifice themselves to the Borg is acceptable.
"It will work, Jim," said Quinn when the group brought the plan of sacrifice into the open. They'd asked to have a meeting of the senior staff of both crews on holodeck 3. There the EMH simulated the effect the pathogen might have on the Borg after assimilation.
"We're not here to defeat the Borg," Jim said. "Our objective is to get the device repaired and get back to the right timeline."
"I have to agree with Captain Kirk," said Chakotay. "Getting back is the only important thing. We have injured that need medical attention they can only get at Starfleet Medical."
Kathryn was one of them. She'd been hit by some sort of energy displacement weapon and it had rendered her near brain dead. She was in stasis in the Stasis Bay and had been since she was beamed aboard. There were thirteen other men and women in that Stasis Bay for similar reasons.
"How long do you think we'll be able to hold them off if they find us and decide to assimilate?" Julian asked. "This is our only option if that happens."
"It isn't our only option," Jim said. "This ship has defenses that will stop the Borg."
"A few Cubes maybe," said Quinn. "But Jim what happens when an entire fleet of Cubes comes for us? We're one ship. We can't fight them all."
"I'll allow this research to continue," he said after a moment of looking his lover in the eye. "I want no heroics made; no sacrifices that aren't necessary. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Captain," said Quinn and Julian almost at the same moment.
Jim left them there to go and check on the status of the repairs to the device in Engineering. He was less than happy to hear that they'd been working on it all this time and were no closer to understanding how it worked or how to repair it. There had to be a way. He didn't want to stay in this timeline any longer than he had to.
"Captain Chakotay," he said, turning to the man. "I wonder if I might have a word with you."
"Of course," said Chakotay, turning to follow Jim out of the Engineering.
"They're not having the luck I'd hoped," said Jim.
"What about Donatra?" asked Chakotay. "Does she know anything more about the device than what was on the pads?"
"I'm not sure," he said. "I don't believe she does. She's been very forthcoming. I was thinking that Rekar might know something."
"He may be unwilling to help us though," said Chakotay.
"True," agreed Jim. "But then he's in just as much danger here as we are. The Borg won't discriminate when they come to assimilate us."
"There is that," said Chakotay with a smile. "Shall we go to his quarters?"
Dark eyes watched them when they were seated at the small table across from Rekar in his quarters twenty minutes later. Jim had no more knowledge of Romulans than he'd received at the academy so he wasn't sure but to him it looked as if Rekar was worried about why they'd come to him. He supposed that he would have been worried if he were in his shoes. After all he had commanded the ship that stranded them here.
"What can I do for you?" he finally asked.
"We've come to discuss the device that brought us here," said Jim, watching him closely.
"That device was destroyed with the Terix," stated Rekar.
"That's not entirely accurate," said Chakotay.
"What are you saying?" Rekar asked suddenly excited. "The device survived? Impossible."
"We transported the device to Lexus before the Terix was destroyed," admitted Jim.
"You transported the device that Nanclus invented?" Rekar asked. His demeanor hadn't changed but Jim could almost feel the anger radiating from him.
"We're attempting to repair it," said Chakotay. "Without the device we're stuck in this timeline."
"Our people are having difficulty," said Jim, eyeing the Romulan hard.
"Boy Captain," sighed Rekar, looking away from them. "Starfleet indeed."
"Look," sighed Jim. "We can sit here and debate my ability to command this ship or we can discuss fixing the device and getting home."
"What makes you think that I know anything about how to repair it?" Rekar asked.
"Nothing actually," said Jim. "We're hoping that you might have an interest in getting out of here before we're all assimilated."
"Where is the shuttle I escaped on?" Rekar asked, looking from Chakotay to Jim and back.
"In our shuttle bay," replied Jim.
"The complete schematics of the device are stored on the shuttle's computer," informed Rekar. "If I could access its computer . . ."
"The complete schematics?" Jim asked. "Were you hoping to build another device?"
"I wasn't sure what I would be capable of doing," he said. "I'm no scientist but I do want to survive."
"Well hopefully those schematics will help us get the device working again," said Chakotay.
Jim wondered which timeline Chakotay expected them to go back to. He supposed that once the device was working again it wouldn't matter. The Lexus crew could go back to the timeline they'd come from and then send the Voyager crew back to their original timeline. He just knew that he wasn't going back there.
Donatra downloaded the schematics from the shuttle and they took them to Engineering. B'Elanna and Austin studied them as the others waited. Jim decided that it was time to have a talk with Chad about which timeline he wanted to go to. Alpha shift was over so he wasn't confined to the bridge. Jim found him with his cousin, Chase in the mess hall.
"I wanted to talk to you about the timeline," said Jim when Chase and Chad invited him to sit down.
"If the device can send us back you mean," said Chad.
"Right," he replied and was silent for a moment before going on. "I wanted to ask you which timeline you wanted to go back to."
"Well our original one of course," said Chad. "We can go back . . ."
"I'm not going back to that timeline, Chad," said Jim. "I'm going back to the one we came here from."
"Why?" Chad asked after a moment.
"Because it's home, Chad," said Jim. "I love my life there."
"But it isn't really home, Jim," Chad argued. "We weren't born in that timeline."
"I understand that, Chad," he said. "But in that timeline I'm Captain. In the other timeline I'm just Jim Kirk."
"But surely Starfleet would take into consideration what we've been through and let us keep our ranks," said Chad, looking from Jim to Chase and back. "I mean we went to the academy. We graduated and were commissioned."
"And what about Quinn?" Jim asked. "What will they say about him?"
"Jim, there the same people they are in the other timeline," said Chad.
"Are they?" Jim asked. "You know how different Kathryn is in the timeline we came here from compared to our original one."
"That doesn't mean they're all different," Chad argued.
"Chase," said Jim. "Who is the head of Starfleet in your timeline?"
"Admiral Kasson," he replied. "Look, I'm sure that they'll let you keep your ranks if you come back to our timeline."
"The head of Starfleet in the other timeline is Admiral Hammil," said Jim.
"Admiral Hammil is the head of Starfleet Academy in our timeline," said Chase.
"In the other timeline Admiral Aaron is the head of the academy," Chad said.
"Admiral Aaron was killed in the Borg war of 2102," said Chase.
They were silent for a while after that. Each of them was thinking about the differences in the timeline. There hadn't been a Borg war in the timeline they'd come from. Admiral Aaron was alive and well. The friendships they'd made were still in place there. Jim knew where he wanted to go.
"They are different," said Chad with a sigh. "I still want to go back to the original timeline, Jim."
"And you can," said Jim. "I'm just not going with you."
* * *
"How'd he take it?" Quinn asked when they were in their quarters later that night. Jim had told him his decision about the timelines and that he had already informed Chad that he wasn't going back to the original timeline.
"He tried to talk me out of my decision," sighed Jim.
"Did he forget that once you make up your mind it's final?" Quinn asked with a smirk.
"Evidently," replied Jim. "It's just that I don't know what it will be like with Chad not around."
"Well we still have to get the device to work, Jim," said Quinn. "Right now we're only a fraction closer than we were without the schematics."
"We have to get it working, Quinn," said Jim. "No matter which timeline we go to we can't stay in this one."
They settled into silence as both of them though of the consequences of not getting the device to work. Jim finally fell into a restless sleep once again with dreams filled with Borg assimilation and death. When he woke up he felt no more refreshed than before. They were having breakfast when the call came over the comm.
"Red alert, Captain Kirk to the bridge!" called out Lieutenant Commander Williams. Moments later the ship was rocked by phaser fire.
Jim and Quinn both quickly disposed of breakfast and took off down the corridor toward the turbolift. Fear was palpable in both young men as they made their way to their stations. Quinn just hoped that they got the device to work soon.
"Report!" cried Jim as he walked on to the bridge. The ship rocked once again.
"The Borg have found us, sir," said Williams. "Shields are down to eighty percent. Armor is off line."
"How did they find us?" Jim asked no one in particular.
"Captain, it was as if they could see right through our armor," said Williams.
"Lock on to these coordinates," said Jim as he frantically programmed them into his console. "Fire transphasic torpedoes."
He watched on the main viewscreen as the first of the three Cubes that had cornered them exploded in space. He instructed tactical to fire on the second Cube and sighed as it was destroyed. Then the third exploded in space as he watched. With a careful sigh he sat in his chair and looked at the destruction in front of them on the main viewscreen.
"Bridge to Engineering," he said.
"Go ahead, Captain," said Austin.
"How soon can you have the armor generators repaired?" he asked.
"We'll need an hour," he said.
"We may not have an hour, Mr. Chang," warned Jim.
"We'll do our best, Captain," he replied.
"Keep me apprised," he said. "Kirk out."
Engineer crew from both Lexus and Voyager began to work on the armor generators and they sat there in space waiting for the bottom to drop out from under them and the Borg to swallow them. How long would it take for more Cubes to arrive? Surely the first three had transmitted their location back through the hive mind. The others had to know where they were. Could it be that they also knew they could destroy them?
"Captain," said Telsia's excited voice. "There are six cubes on an intercept course!"
"How far are they?" he asked, turning to face her.
"One light year," she replied.
"Bridge to transporter room three," he said quickly.
"Lieutenant Bridger here," came the reply.
"Beam the team back on board," he said. "We're leaving."
"Aye, sir, I have them," said Bridger.
"Chad, get us out of here!" he cried. "Warp nine!"
"Aye, sir, warp nine," said Chad, laying in a course and engaging the warp drive.
They shot through space and Jim relaxed. It was only for a moment though. He had no idea where they were going. Would there be Borg waiting for them when they got there? They had to figure out a way to fix the armor generators without Borg Cubes closing on them.
They dropped out of warp in a dead section of space. Jim had never seen anything like it. There were no planets around them and the stars seemed dimmed for some reason. He looked at the main viewscreen and thought about how alien it all looked.
"Captain," said Telsia. "It appears that we are in the Neutral Zone."
"Why does it look like this?" he asked.
"Unknown," she replied.
"Any Borg vessels in the area?"
"Negative, Captain," she said.
"Have the team get back to fixing the armor," he said with a sigh.
They sat in tense silence for the next two hours as they waited for their armor to be repaired. Jim felt naked and exposed in their current position. Perhaps the void of the Neutral Zone would make them vulnerable. He had no way to know what to expect here. This entire timeline was so alien to him. As he sat thinking about his exposure a Borg Cube appeared in front of them. He stared at it for a second until he remembered the crew on the hull.
"Bridge to transporter room," he said. "Get them back on board!"
"They're gone, sir," said Bridger, and Jim's blood ran cold.
THE LEXUS CHRONICLES