Suspicion

Posted on Tue Aug 16th, 2011 @ 6:43am by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia DeVries

Mission: Tomorrow's Arizona
Location: Commodore's Ready Room, Bridge, USS Arizona
Timeline: Directly after 'Strange Encounters'

Commodore Nathan Cowell walked into his Ready Room with his new First Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia DeVries, following closely behind. They both had been witness to one of the most unorthodox and arguably the most out of character interaction between a Federation vessel and the Borg Collective since Janeway made her temporary alliance with them back in the 2370's. Either this would mark yet another strange alliance between humanity and the Collective... or it was just a prelude to a very bloody and neigh impossible fight for survival. That alone made the atmosphere in the Ready Room heavy, even before either officer opened their mouths. Of course, Nathan wasn't about to let the silence hang for long.

"So, Colonel, do you think these cybernetic shitheads are sincere? Not really like them to suddenly want to talk..." Nathan grumbled as he sank into his chair, "I almost want to say this is a set-up... but with us being so far in the future... who knows what the hell has happened... You got any theories?"

Having been on the receiving end of a few temporal situations herself over the length of her career, the marine nodded slowly as she ran the gauntlet of thoughts through her head. "I think they're being about as honest as they can be. If it were a set up or if they truly caused us any harm I don't doubt they would have already issued some sort of attack against us. Our ship, though a powerhouse in our time, is rather mundane in these parts. I doubt we'd offer much resistance."

Nathan nodded slowly, "You have a point..." The fact of the matter was, there was nothing the Commodore could think of that the Borg could want from them. That alone made everything about this whole affair feel rather lopsided. Nathan drummed his fingers against his desk as he contemplated it for a moment.

"I'm not sure what they want from us, if not to outright assimilate us for sheer numbers' sake..." the old man said out loud, hoping the Colonel might have some measure of input.

Stace could understand the Commodore's frustration... she herself felt a bit of it herself. "I don't think that's it at all. Perhaps we have something they need... something they no longer have here."

Nathan sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I don't suppose that's too far fetched... I just wish they hadn't been so vague about it. I'm sure their Queen will be a little less vague but I'm really not looking forward to hearing what she has to say..."

"So don't go," the Colonel suggested with a shrug. "You could always delegate the job out to someone else."

"Yeah... and if I hadn't told them who I was, that might work..." the Commodore muttered, "I'll just have to get a plan B worked out to save my ass if it all goes down hill. Maybe we can get those Marines employed for a while."

Stace nodded in agreement. "I'm sure they'll be more than willing to participate in some action... I know I would. As for plan b... something tells me you're not going to be needing one. Have a bit of faith in the ol' chrome domes."

Nathan frowned at hearing that, "Faith... in the things that assimilated my home world right in front of me... yeah... that'll happen..."

The old man wasn't sure where her optimism came from, but for a fleeting moment he envied it. It would have been nice to be so confident that they weren't walking flagrantly into some trap, and that things would work out for the best. Such optimism just wasn't in the aging El-Aurian, however, and so he pushed aside his envy and replaced it with the pragmatism that had kept him alive for six hundred years.

"All the same, I'll think of a back-up plan anyway. It will at least make me feel better, and there's nothing wrong with a little self-assurance, right?" the Commodore said finally.

"Do what you want, old man, it's your show," Stace shrugged, "I'll take care of things around here while you're gone."

"Good to know," Nathan said in a half-sarcastic tone, "Just don't blow anything up."

"Parish the thought..." the Marine said in mock abhorrence. With a smirk, Col. DeVries rose from her chair and departed the Ready Room, leaving the Commodore to his 'plan B' contemplation.