STAR TREK - The Fourth Law

Chapter 14

"Does anyone have any idea what might be going on out there?" asked Admiral Gabriel Gregory jerking his thumb in the direction where he thought it was the space.

Rast was the captain who replied, aware of owning part of knowledge.

"Before disconnecting me from the ship, there was an attempt to maneuver it to the Delta Quadrant. I presume they are now executing this intention.

"We are lost!" muttered Yoshikawa. "If at least we remained in the solar system, perhaps the Federation could help us.

"Are they running from retaliation?" asked the admiral.

"I'm afraid not" said Picard. "Running away is not something a Borg would. I believe they are leading to Siegfried to a place where they can study it better. Probably, they believe they can assimilate the ship's technology even without us to include the Collectivity."

"It makes sense, captain" said Rast. "It is the only explanation for wanting one of the ships of the Federation, which they consider inferior and irrational technology. Moreover, nothing prevents them assimilate the technology of Reverse Teleportation Shield with time and study."

"But it's a very long trip" recalled the Vulcan Admiral. "It would take about a century to reach the earth's quadrant where the Borg live, if we were at maximum warp speed. We'll be dead before that."

"Probably there is a Borg cube on Warp speed that will intercept us on the road" supposed Jean-Luc.

Tetsuo Yoshikawa seemed somewhat resigned to say:

"This means that there is nothing else we can do... One way or another, the Borg will have what they want..."

But Jean-Luc Picard was used to believe in the possibility of victory even when it seemed impossible. He took advantage of the silence to comment.

"Maybe there's a way to warn Starfleet about our course."

"Unnecessary" said the android. "If we are developing warp speed, then the shield is disabled..."

"How is it?" Picard almost stood. "Do you mean during warp speed Siegfried is vulnerable?"

"Not exactly!" said the physical Yoshi, cooling tempers Admirals. "We have conventional shields, too, as good as any ship class Sovereign. What Rast meant is that the teleport reverse shield consume such a large amount of energy, the same that is consumed at warp speed, this ship is only able to do one thing at a time. Without the shield, we are subject to asset tracking, so the Federation should already know our position."

"Yes" said the captain of the Enterprise. "But there's a chance the ship will be hit as it goes at warp speed!"

"Not likely" Rast explained. "We have developed tricks to combat this possibility. When attacked in this situation, the Siegfried returns to normal pulse rate, restoring the shield reverse teleport. In this way, the enemy can be defeated easily."

Picard did not give up easily and went back to argue.

"But there must be a time between the start of the attack and the time when the shield is restored. It should be long enough to ensure any damage to Siegfried" Picard assumed.

"Not much can be done in twenty milliseconds" Rast said. "At least for a biological captain."

"Besides" said Yoshikawa to the despair of the hopes that still had Picard idea, "conventional shields guarantee the integrity of the ship if it were attacked while developing warp speed."

All were silent for a moment, and Jean-Luc realized that it increased nervousness because of the sound of the plasma torch trying to make an opening in the door. If he closed his eyes, that sinister, seductive voice would come back to his mind, saying:

"Come back, Locutus!"

But Picard had to resist and keep your head busy with something else. He stood and walked around the cubicle, stopping in front of a communication terminal.

"Captain Rast" he called "are you sure you cannot command the ship connecting to it?"

"The Borg changed the schedule of the ship's command. It is a language unknown to me, so that I can do nothing."

"What about the other functions of Siegfried?"

"They remain intact, however are very limited. Practically, I can only communicate with the host computer. I already calculated all variables on an intervention from it, but the Borg were careful to ensure that their orders were not affected."

"Can you try again?" asked Admiral Janus. Everyone realized that he was sweating because of fear.

"It is a risky procedure, sir. I disconnected me from the ship just because the Borg were trying to find a way to control me. If I try to connect me back to the ship, it may be that they can access my database and find the secret of teleportation reverse shield, with a little time."

"But an android is just assimilated if he wants" said Picard.

"I did not mean assimilation. There is the possibility, however small, to come into my positronic routine from the central computer of the ship. If this is achieved, they can actually fathom my search in a database of information pertaining to the shield, or compel me to open the door, as soon as I reconnect me."

"Why did not you tell me before?" Yoshi complained. "You'd better erase from his mind the data on the shield!

"I can do it" reminded Rast. "However, I need the authorization of at least one member of the high-ranking Starfleet...

"Do it!" said all the admirals at once.