Second order of business...

Posted on Tue Aug 23rd, 2011 @ 2:35am by Captain Nathan Cowell MD & Lieutenant JG Toshie Minamoto & Lieutenant Jasad Broca

Mission: Tomorrow's Arizona
Location: Main Engineering, Deck 5, USS Arizona
Timeline: Following 'First order of business'

Having 'handled' a situation in Sickbay as swiftly as he could, Commodore Nathan Cowell made the journey from Deck 7 to Deck 5 to visit the Engineering section. Out of all the other departments, Engineering would have the most exposure to their 'guests'. That being the case, he only hoped that a cooler head had prevailed in the Engineering compartment when the drones had come looking for the other members or his crew. The Commodore stepped out of the turbolift, his drone shadow right behind him, and made the short walk into the compartment where he found Lieutenant Minamoto and Broca staring down a drone.

"Which one is that?" Nathan asked One, indicating the female drone that had brought Broca back from the surface.

"That unit is designated Twelve," the drone answered as they walked up to the group.

"I see you've all had a chance to meet Twelve... I'm sure the pleasantries were short, sweet, and as uncomfortable as all hell..." Nathan said, drawing the attention of the room from the drone to himself. The fact that he was being flanked by yet another drone was no doubt something everyone in the Engineering compartment would be curious about. The Commodore slapped Lieutenant Broca on the shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze.

"I'm glad to see you haven't started shooting holes in my warp core out of shock at being waylaid and relocated rather abruptly. Good man," the old man said in a tone only loud enough for the Cardassian to hear.

"I'd be much more concerned for our recent security escort," Jasad said softly, "because I was pretty sure she was going to drill some heads with her rifle when we got taken. Commodore, Sir, if it isn't impertinent to ask... what exactly is going on here? We haven't been properly briefed about the... ah... emerging situation." He didn't add that he'd nearly had a heart attack when the Borg had accosted them and beamed off-planet. The idea of losing his identity into a communal collective did not sit well with him.

Of all the things she would see on her deck, Toshie never expected to see a Borg drone standing silently in front of her. She had missed the away mission due to the concussion she suffered earlier, but she was feeling better now, or had been until she saw that sight.

Seeing the Commodore approach with another drone just made it worse, she had no idea what was going on and she was going to raise hell until she did. "Commodore, just what the hell is going on? What happened to the away mission and who is this standing on my deck?" She stood next to Jasad and had her arms crossed, a stern expression on the petite woman's face.

"That one over there," Nathan said pointing to the drone that had been there a while, "is Twelve. The one behind me is One. They are part of a seventeen drone team here to make some upgrades thanks to a temporary alliance with the Queen on the planet. We'll be beefing up our shields, some hull upgrades... and whatever else we can get up to snuff in the time we got."

At hearing her name, One stepped forward and regarded the two Engineers, "Which of you is the Primary Adjunct of this compartment?"

"That would be Lieutenant Minamoto," Nathan answered for the two, indicating the human of the pair. One's head cocked to the side just slightly as she relayed the information to the the drones that had been specifically designated to work in the Engineering section during their 'visit'.

"We have relayed this information to the rest of the drones. They will follow your verbal instructions and route their inquiries regarding specific requirements through you to save Commodore Cowell from having to personally approve the work," the drone announced.

"See, that's what I'm talking about. Everybody working together, playing nice..." the old man said as cheerfully as he could muster before grabbing Broca by the shoulder and pulling him off to the side.

"Find out anything interesting?" Nathan asked once they were out of earshot.

Jasad nodded, "I haven't had time to consult with the rest of the away team, but I think my findings are solid. Most of the equipment down on that planet is fallow. That is, not being used for anything. FTL datalines were only carrying a small percentage of their potential throughput. Subsidiary and Tertiary nodes were inactive. Commodore, the facility on that planet can probably be used to extend control over a dozen star-systems, coordinating many trillions of Borg. As best I can tell, either they are planning a major expansion in the near future, or they have just suffered a major contraction."

He shook his head, "Though... I hesitate to imagine what could 'contract' the Borg to such a degree. The fact that they are anxious to work with us makes me wonder. Could they have encountered a force that is a threat to their survival? And if so... what do they expect us to do about it? We are only one ship, and even with the best of their technology at our disposal, there is no reason to imagine that we might fare better than they have. I also wonder... if we do have something they can use, why not simply take it from us? What can we possibly have that they value... but can't afford to seize by force?"

"Well, funny you should mention that, my boy," Nathan said with a slight chuckle, "Seems these metal heads don't know how to use the Solaria Gateway, which means they're stuck here, cut off from the rest of the known galaxy. Come to find out, and don't spread this around that you know because I'm sure someone would just grill you for more info than you have, the Borg have been so beaten down by 8472 in this era that they've pretty much been wiped out. That would explain what you found out down on the surface, and it would also explain why they are so willing to help us. Kind of one of those situations were their enemy is so overwhelming that they can't risk robbing themselves of any advantage they can get... including helping us for a little piece of knowledge they don't already have thanks to their ineptitude at creative thinking."

Toshie stepped forward at the Commodore's introduction, giving One a brief and curt nod of her head, but not saying anything to it for the moment. She looked over at the Commodore, "Are we sure that's safe, Sir? Introducing Borg technology to our ship? That stuff wreaks havoc with power systems and ODN relays."

Her head followed the Commodore's movements for a moment as he dragged Jasad aside and then snapped back to the drones standing there since she couldn't hear the side conversation. Borg! On her engineering deck... Still, she bit down any rude comment that was boiling in the back of her mind. She had been a teenager, barely, during the last Borg attack on Earth, and the Dominion War, including the devastating Breen attack, all happened before her teen years ended. She still remembered the tension and fear that pervaded around her at the time.

A smile forced itself onto her face, not one of joy, happiness, or affection, but a pure, bare, dutiful smile with no emotion behind it. "So... could I receive an overview of the specific modifications you want to do, and what I have to work with from your end?"

One didn't turn to regard Toshie as she replied, "We will adapt your shields to mirror those of a Tactical Cube. Your power systems will be adapted to handle the power output. Your power generation plants shall be adapted to increase their efficiency and load capability. Your warp power generation will be enhanced for each of the section of this vessel to allow for maximum effectiveness in all modes of operation this vessel is capable of. Your hull will be upgraded with new alloys to increase the energy diffusion and concussion resistance parameters. Your Engineering collective will be required to assist us in making major system modifications that our nanoporbes are not able to handle themselves. Your collective will not be at risk of accidental assimilation from exposure to these techniques."

The Commodore and Lt. Broca walked back just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation, "See, you just have to help them with the heavy lifting, they'll do the hard stuff."

Jasad was less than pleased. "Perhaps it is my upbringing on Cardassia, Sir," he said, "or perhaps it is the result of many years of study on a planet where people claim not to lie." He took up his tool satchel from a storage cabinet as he spoke. "But I have learned that what people don't say is as important as what they do say. We have just been made a promise by the greatest threat that the Federation has ever known. And what have they promised? That they will not assimilate us *accidentally.*"

With that, he turned to their new Borg 'friends', patting his satchel. "How shall we begin?"

Twelve stepped forward, "We require access to your replicator technology. There are tools in our database that will assist us in the modification of your power generation plants. Thirteen through Seventeen will require technicians to aid them in improving your power transfer network. Route the necessary support personnel to the main distribution node in each of this vessel's warp core chamber so that we may begin."

As Twelve explained what the Borg needed, Nathan pulled Lt. Minamoto aside, "Listen up, kiddo. I know this isn't an ideal situation, and I'm not exactly peaches and cream about it either for obvious reasons... But I've seen their technology first hand and if they're willing to help us get on par with their defensive technology, then I'll happily look away for a while and let them do the work. From what I'm piecing together about this whole period in our potential future, we've got much more to worry about elsewhere in this galaxy than the Borg. So just keep an eye on them and let them do what they're offering to do. I'm sure if there's any funny business going on, you'll be able to spot it. But don't go looking for trouble where there isn't any either... Just stay skeptical, like I am."

The old man let it sink in for a second before clapping the woman on the back, "Have fun. I've got a few more stops to make, so you people carry on. Lemme know how everything goes."

Nathan waggled a finger at One, who began moving in his direction, and made for the connecting corridor to the Engineering compartment, leaving Lt. Minamoto and Broca to their work.