The slimmest of Chances

Posted on Tue Aug 23rd, 2011 @ 4:58am by Lieutenant Jasad Broca & Lieutenant Xishaal Idrani
Edited on on Tue Aug 23rd, 2011 @ 8:16pm

Mission: Tomorrow's Arizona
Location: Borg Unimatrix Complex, Former Administrative District, Archadia III
Timeline: Current: After Uneasy Alliance Pt. I

Xishaal walked at a steady but measured pace, keeping her eyes on her tricorder and her antennae focused on her surroundings. It amazed her to find out that the Archadians had lost this world to the Borg, despite their physical prowess and force of arms. In the end, perhaps it was the thing that made them unique that made them desireable to the Borg.

Every so often she rechecked her weapons to ensure that they worked properly and to get a read on where any of their guests might be. After witnessing their use of personal transporters, Xishaal suddenly hit upon an idea.

"Mr. Broca!, What are your thoughts on setting up a mobile transporter dampening field?..." Xishaal asked the Engineer.

Jasad nearly winced as the Andorian shouted his name. Was that an Andorian affectation, he wondered? Was she deaf? "My immediate thought is that it could be seen as a provocation," he said, glancing around and taking readings. "Not to mention that anything which would block the Borg transporters would also block our own. I don't think getting stuck down here in the middle of an overwhelming force is much of a strategy to cope with trouble, Sir."

As he scanned, he began to notice something unusual about the power consumption in some of the nearby nodes. Focusing his tricorder on them briefly, he collected a definitive reading and moved on. They crossed over some FTL datalines next, and he performed subspace induction scans, filing the curious results onto the tricorder's on-board memory. "If they decide they want us," he opined, "the best we can hope for is a quick escape. Though, if they really want us, I doubt we have more than seconds before we are had." It was a bleak assessment of their situation, and declaring it out loud only served to darken his mood.

Xishaal shook her head at his assessment "...Mr. Broca.." She said as she moved closer to him "...did you not see the drones simply teleport at will? Is it not a logical thought process that if these...Borg wanted to come after us, then as Starfleet officers, we should take any and every precaution to prevent our assimilation by them? Or is your assessment that there is simply nothing to be done to prevent them from getting in close and taking us?" Xishaal said, her voice neutral "..creating a dampening field to prevent our being taken by them..."

Xishaal stoped her comments before she finished as she began to pick up something strange happening from the other direction. She put away her tricorder and casually gripped her phase rifle in her hand. "....I don't ever plan on going gentle into that goodnight Mr. Broca.." She murmured to herself as she continued moving past him.

"The Sun Sets," Jasad said, "without consulting us." And then, as though his words were a secret signal to fate, everything started going wrong. He had begun fiddling with his tricorder to see what could be done about improvising a dampening field, if only to placate their Andorian escort. As he did so, creatures that had been lumbering through the complex without much speed suddenly became flickering Cheetahs of light and terror. He reached for his phaser, but his fingers never touched the grip. Bio-mechanical hands were upon him, and a confinement beam drank up the scream that came unbidden to his lips.

Xishaal knew that her fears had just been realized even as Mr. Broca had spoken them. Had he simply just did what she asked instead of arguing with her, perhaps they wouldn't be in this predicament. the last thing she saw was the form of a drone suddenly appearing behind the Lieutenant and reaching out to him. Before she could even raise her rifle to fire....it was too late, her world vision suddenly became white with the appearance of a confinement beam as she too was teleported away.

-------------------------------------------


Lieutenant Xishall Idrani
Chief Operations Officer

&

Lieutenant JG Jasad Broca
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer