Season 15: Episode 4 - Vox Populai

[James Ramort]

[Starbase, Operations Centre]

Malik looked to the group. Some were eager, some brave and some were scared. But above all else he felt proud, proud and honoured to be serving in Starfleet alongside these people and protecting the citizens of Earth. Malik ran a hand through his hair which was slick with sweat from the day's exertion and shouldered his rifle once more. "A pleasure to meet you Ensign Alvarez. Alright, those volunteering to contain sector G, let's go." He caught the eye of the young Trill ensign, she must have been fresh from the academy and simply nodded to her, trying to convey strength and support before moving off.

[Starbase, Promenade Sector G]

The quick jog to this section of the promenade took less than a minute, Malik, those who followed him and a quartet of station security personnel quick-marched in formation towards the Borg breakthrough. Surprisingly, no one was actively scanning with a tricorder and so turning a corner, the group came face to face with the enemy. The Borg didn't hesitate and opened fire killing three security instantly. They were within melee range, Malik brought the butt of his rifle into the face of one drone and barrelled forward pushing them both to the ground. However, with nanites came increased strength and the drone quickly grabbed the Risan's neck and began to squeeze. Malik gasped at the unexpected strength of the infected crewman as blackness began to engulf his vision...

[Sol Station | Promenade Deck, Sector G]

Ramort followed the Squad of Security around the corner when the Borg opened fire. Beams of polarised Nadion Particles shooting only narrowly above his head. Around him, the yellow of the Security Officers Uniforms were painted black with the scorch marks from the Phasers Impacts. The Officers wearing them falling to the floor. Dead.
Another shot of panic grabbed a hold of him, making his ears ring and his blood falling cold as ice. But there still wasn't time to panic, there just wasn't time for him to fully realize the situation.

With the Borg ever coming closer, he quickly turned to his side and aimed his phaser. Words from his instructors echoing through his head. Pointing and Aiming. Breathing and Aiming. Concentrating and Aiming. Aiming and finally .. Shooting.
His phaser gave off the beam. Then another, then another.
The first went a bit too high, leaving its marks on the hull plating on the wall behind.
The second one connected, taking down a drone. The third one too. 2 Drones down, many more to go. Then he saw the Lieutenant being in the Borgs grip.
Keeping his Phaser trained on the Borg giving off one shot after another, he made his way to the Flight Officer. Shooting at the Drone was to dangerous. Lieutenant Grippen was not only his Commanding Officer right now, as the senior Officer of their Squad. He also was Discovery, he was part of his new family. Ramort needed to do something about that Drone. He could not allow any more of their comrades to die today, even if it meant moving himself into danger.

He grabbed the Drone by its arms, feeling the former Officers muscles tensed so strongly the muscles nearly had to be snapping. He threw himself against all that force. The only thing in his favour was that the Drone had been a Scientist too before being assimilated. If he had been a Security Officer he probably would not even stand a chance but so he began to slowly free the Borgs grip around the Lieutenants neck.

[Malik Grippen]

[Starbase, Operations Centre]

Vadok arched a trademark Vulcan eyebrow at James, remembering a time in the Academy where the two of them had something of a rapport with each other.  Then, he saw the glassy look in his eyes, how far away his voice sounded.   Time for correction would be when their lives weren't in danger.

To his question, Vadok answered evenly "Science, I specialize in Xenosciences and also some expertise in Chemistry.  Though I certainly would trade in that time for a higher caliber rifle." he said, replacing the cell in his before giving a nod of readiness and following Lieutenant Malik.

[Starbase, Promenade Sector G]

With the Promenade erupting into combat once more, Vadok found himself disadvantaged at the proximity of the Borg Drones and was attempting to backpedal while firing into the mass.   Much in the way the young Ensign moved could be seen almost as robotic as the Borg, a quick pull of the trigger and a swivel to the next target, rinse and repeat.

Vadok got off two good shots before a drone wrenched his weapon away from his hands and cracked it across his face sending him crashing into the wall of the promenade.   The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth and he could already feel his left eye swelling.   Through his good eye he could just barely see the Lieutenant being strangled by another drone.

He fought to stand and stumble to aid Malik, already seeing drones correcting their own courses to intercept him.   Vadok wasn't a warrior, but Lieutenant Malik measured up much more to that standard.   Even with more Borg looking to engage the Ensign, this was the logical trade.

Once man of science for one solder, on a battlefield the choice was easy.

Reaching out a hand Vadok slammed a nerve pinch into what he hoped was still an appropriate cluster on the drone.  He couldn't tell if he would even catch the Lieutenants gaze and just hoped the intention was clear, even with Borg shadows already darkening his flank.

It was the logical choice.

[Sol Station | Promenade Deck, Sector G]

Ramort followed the Squad of Security around the corner when the Borg opened fire. Beams of polarised Nadion Particles shooting only narrowly above his head. Around him, the yellow of the Security Officers Uniforms were painted black with the scorch marks from the Phasers Impacts. The Officers wearing them falling to the floor. Dead.
Another shot of panic grabbed a hold of him, making his ears ring and his blood falling cold as ice. But there still wasn't time to panic, there just wasn't time for him to fully realize the situation.

With the Borg ever coming closer, he quickly turned to his side and aimed his phaser. Words from his instructors echoing through his head. Pointing and Aiming. Breathing and Aiming. Concentrating and Aiming. Aiming and finally .. Shooting.
His phaser gave off the beam. Then another, then another.
The first went a bit too high, leaving its marks on the hull plating on the wall behind.
The second one connected, taking down a drone. The third one too. 2 Drones down, many more to go. Then he saw the Lieutenant being in the Borgs grip.
Keeping his Phaser trained on the Borg giving off one shot after another, he made his way to the Flight Officer. Shooting at the Drone was to dangerous. Lieutenant Grippen was not only his Commanding Officer right now, as the senior Officer of their Squad. He also was Discovery, he was part of his new family. Ramort needed to do something about that Drone. He could not allow any more of their comrades to die today, even if it meant moving himself into danger.

He grabbed the Drone by its arms, feeling the former Officers muscles tensed so strongly the muscles nearly had to be snapping. He threw himself against all that force. The only thing in his favour was that the Drone had been a Scientist too before being assimilated. If he had been a Security Officer he probably would not even stand a chance but so he began to slowly free the Borgs grip around the Lieutenants neck.

[Starbase, Promenade Sector G]

With the two officer's help, Malik could finally suck in some much needed air. Had they not been there the Risan would surely be dead. With the drone's grip pried away Malik finally managed to get a phaser shot off, stunning the drone just in time as more deadly bolts came into the drone's back that were intended for Malik. During the scuffle, the remaining station security personnel quickly erected a forcefield between them and the majority of the borg-pack. There were only a few drones left on their side of the barrier as more shots were exchanged. Malik used the deceased drone's body as cover and fired again taking a couple down, hoping the others would take the rest.

Once that battle was done, the drones behind the forcefield simply stood still and watched with their cold black eyes. As if waiting for something. In a hoarse voice from nearly being strangled, Malik spoke up "We should get back to Ops and check in with the situation there..."

[Jettis Jyur]

[spoiler]

Tanner grinned at M'Nia's response and returned the warmth with a nod. She kept M'Nia close, allowing the rest of the convoy to form a line as they moved towards the escape pod. Fortunately, they had encountered only one Borg drone so far. Despite the challenging conditions, she was finding herself surprisingly at ease in the close-quarters skirmishes. Even with a split lip, bruised knuckles, and a sore rib. Sore ribs. It's possible there were multiple but adrenaline made her unsure.

"Hey, M'Nia," Tanner said as they navigated past the fallen Borg communications officer, "When this is all over, we're getting very, very drunk." She paused at a junction to gain her bearings, "This way. Engineering is...this way." Her brow furrowed, looking to M'Nia for confirmation"Right."She chuckled nervously and with a motion urged the group to keep moving. Impressively the convoy maintained a brisk pace.

"We're almost th-"A sudden sound up ahead made Tanner freeze. With a quick hand signal, she conveyed the message to pause. Comfortable in leaving the group momentarily, knowing everyone was armed and with trained security officers at the rear, Tanner stealthily scouted ahead.

From her pocket, she produced a small bell she had scavenged when finding the survivors. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the bell down the corridor. It tinkled lightly as it bounced, eventually falling silent with a final jingle. If it was a Borg drone she had heard, their typical behaviour would reveal itself "" ignoring the bell and moving further down the corridor to investigate.

The tension in the air lingered as they awaited any sign of the approaching threat, and Tanner remained vigilant, ready for whatever lay ahead.

"That sounds real good to me. Not a big drinker but after this, well count me in!" Yeah spending time with tanner would be nice. "yeah you're right on target. That is the way to engineering alright! Nice navigating!"
M'nia tried not to hold her breath as she waited too see what would happen. Was it a drone or a survivor?

[NPC Doctor Meelar Phlome | Deck 10 | Jefferies Tubes, 2nd Intersection | USS Discovery NCC 78393-B]

Phlome let out a soft sigh at seeing another survivor come about. She took a moment to respond, especially because she was still tense at the way the explosive device was held threateningly before, though she had to admit that she too was glad to be in one piece. And for them to be safe, too. Still, the uncaring way that 'Zero' spoke made her visibly uncomfortable. All life was important to be kept, and she believed with all her heart. She would have been mad, but decided to let it slip, instead focusing on Murphy's words, "A-Ah... well if you are heading that way... w-would you mind if I came with you?"

She asked, her face looking expectantly at an answer, stopping momentarily to wait for whom she presumed to be 'Zero' to give his thoughts. To her surprise, however, the actual Zero appeared behind him, explaining the confusion succinctly to her. She supposed it made sense, a small smile forming on her face, "O-Oh... my bad then... still, it makes me happy to see you three."

She adjusted herself slightly to keep herself from putting more pressure on her arm, falling silent to listen to Zero's brother's own set of problems, and his intent to find his daughter, Theresa. She wanted to convince him not to do that. She wanted to get to the shuttle and try and analyze the blood sample taken from Kitaa with whatever equipment was within. She needed to find a way to find the Borg, realizing now that it had been cowardly to escape the Medical Labs without running those tests before.

But she knew that the love of a Father was too strong. Taking control of her fear, she looked at Murphy and then over at him, "I am not particularly looking for anyone... but as I said, it's good to see survivors," She paused, "If you want to help your daughter... I will help you. But we must be quick about it... I also don't think it will be long before they come about and find us... the Escape Pods are most likely our only hope at this point..."

She prepared to resume her descent, while she waited to see if her offer was taken, or if they would continue with the plan. Then, she swore she could hear someone else coming, footsteps resounding on the metal.

"Uh... so how big is your group...? Is there someone else I should know about? Any wounded?"

[Jeffries tubes]

[ As Murphy]

Murphy nodded when he heard why Jettis was staying.  He understood all too well.   He did admire Jettis's bravery. He was a lot braver than Murphy felt right now. Odds were that this was impossible and for all they knew, their friends and loved ones were just"¦gone. Or any of them would make it to the end of the day?

Who knew if Vinny - The real Vinny who liked rattling technobabble about microbes-  was still in there? One minute he was there, and the next, he was trying to kill them all. Like some puppet on a string.  He would do anything to get that Vinny back. The thought made him sick to his stomach. "œI'm - I'm staying with you. Once we find escape pods  or something, I'm gonna try to help you find them. We-we're not leaving anyone behind if we can.

He couldn't believe he was saying that. Here he was, in a Jeffries, running for his life with only a wrench as a weapon, and most everyone he knew  on the hunt to kill him. He was terrified and exhausted, and definitely claustrophobic, but he had to try.

Murphy could hear some more movement coming up in one of the tunnels ahead. It was impossible to tell anything in these tunnels, much less if someone was assimilated or not. Harrington noticed, however. "œ Guys! It's a Borg! Run!"

[/spoiler]

[ USS Discovery - Deck 10, Jeffries, 2nd Intersection --> Portside intersection]

Jettis nodded as the Doctor requested to join them. Any injured they ran into would certainly benefit, two doctors would always be better than one. "You're more than welcome," he answered, turning toward the control panel that sealed the hatch behind them. "We haven't encountered anyone else so far, I'm not sure how many made it out of the Lounge with how crowded it was for the broadcast." Fortunately, his brand new access codes worked and with a hiss, the door sealed, and they were free to continue in any of the other five directions.

He turned back to face the others as they spoke, eyes snapping over to Meelar. He tilted his head, brows scrunching as the Doctor offered to aide him. Scanning her in confusion, fumbled for a response blankly. He wasn't sure what to say. Zero he'd known would refuse to leave. It was just in his brother's nature, and he knew better than to waste time arguing, especially when time was so critical.

But this officer he'd met moments ago. No - not even met. He'd made a flippant comment and failed to introduce himself or show any sort of interest or compassion. And yet, without hesitation she had offered to help.

Before he could gather his thoughts, he heard Murphy speak up to echo the sentiment. Somehow, that shocked him even more than Meelar's offer. He could feel the fear pouring off the ensign - off of all of them, really. So for him to even consider staying behind with him was more than Jettis expected.
Any words of appreciation he thought of didn't seem to be enough. He was paralyzed, unthinking until a small bead rolling down his cheek snapped him out of it. Taking a step back, he turned. "I wouldn't - couldn't ask anyone to do that. It's practically suicide, I know that." It wasn't truly an answer, but he didn't want to acknowledge that right now. He didn't have it in him to say yes, but he didn't have it in him to say no, either. "We need to check that there are any lifepods remaining, and I wouldn't blame any of you for taking the opportunity."

He didn't have time to come up with a more decisive answer, when Harrington's callout caught his attention. Quickly spinning towards the direction he pointed, he glanced hesitantly down both other paths. It was pretty much a flip of the coin either way, but there was no sound resonating through the tube on their left. "This way. Do you have that tricorder? If you can, try see if you can fine tune it enough to detect which direction lifesigns are and how far." Even if the tricorder couldn't manage to differentiate between Borg and non-borg, the heads up would be invaluable. He didn't have his own to know if there was enough of a difference for the device to pick it up. But, given she had scanned herself to prove she was safe, he was willing to bet there was at least something that gave it away.

Taking off down the hallway, he was grateful at least this direction had tubes you could fully stand in. Even moreso he was grateful it wasn't incredibly difficult to outrun the borg, it was outsmarting them that became difficult.
The hall seemed clear for awhile, with no signs of other life. However Jettis stopped running as he swore he heard a voice. Holding his hand up to silence everyone, he stared down the hallway. There were lights, but it was so dimly lit that even squinting didn't help make out any discernible shapes.

The silence stretched onward, until a harsh jingling caught his attention. He tensed as neared, until he saw something small and metallic approaching. Noisily, it landed in front of him.

Frowning, he didn't move immediately, eyeing it. It wasn't a bomb, and it didn't seem to be dangerous, though. So after a few moments, he took a step forward, stooping to pick it up. It continued its obnoxious jangling, as Jettis shot a confused look down the hallway.

He hesitated to call out, but then again he hadn't heard much about borg using jingle bells as a method of attack. And besides that, there was at least one hot on their heels, so they had no choice but to forge forwards. The footsteps following them were present, but distant. Grip tightening on the cannister again, he debated if he would be able to throw it far enough behind them to clear the blast zone if need be. "Hello?" Jettis finally called out, tossing a cautious glance behind them.

[Tanner Lachlyn]

Time slowed after tossing the bell. Her breath was held, unsure if she'd be in a fight any moment. Then she heard it, jingling again. Someone had picked it up, and that someone wasn't Borg. Tanner exhaled a relieved sigh, her tense shoulders easing. Peering down the corridor towards her convoy, she emitted a soft whistle""a signal for M'Nia to proceed with the others.

However, a voice disrupted the calm as it called out, 'hello'. Her brow furrowed as she recognized it; a voice that didn't belong on her ship. What had the transmission mentioned about changelings? Phaser gripped firmly, she emerged from her tunnel into the adjacent space.

The sight before her stirred conflicting emotions. It was him""Jettis. Her instinct was to run into his arms, but she restrained herself. Tears glistened in her eyes as she spoke quietly, "Jettis?" She paused, "Or are you? He's supposed to be on a different ship. You better have a damn good explanation before I shoot you."

[Zavrol Gohun]

As Gohun traveled the Jeffries tubes he arrived at a junction with a Borged crewmember in it. Gohun turned the phaser on high stun and made short work of the Borg. Gohun looked over the crewmember thus was weird. How were they getting borgified.
"Computer activate emergency medical holographic program" With that the image of  Dr. Lewis Zimmerman appeared.
"State the nature of the medical emergency. Ah yes I see a unconscious person." With a quick wave of a medical scanner. (No one knows where it came from the EMH makes a startling announcement.
" This person has been stunned by a phaser. If there is nothing else I will be on my way"
Gohun looked at the EMH with great annoyance.
"This person has been Borgified somehow. No gear no mechanical just a Borg. We need to figure this out."
With an annoyed look the EMH started scanning again.
"You realize the technological to detect a psychic line of mental connections does not exist yet. But I will examine the------ that's strange this person has Irumodic Syndrome. This person's DNA has been rewritten. I need to study it further."
Looking around Gohun speaks "We don't have that kind of time doctor. I need a way to incapacitate the borgified"
With great annoyance "It's called assimilate and I need more time to study the condition. I'm a doctor not a fortune teller." With that the EMH starts doing more scanning and Gohun moves on to make more chaos.

[M'Nia]

"This person has been Borgified somehow. No gear no mechanical just a Borg. We need to figure this out."
With an annoyed look the EMH started scanning again.
"You realize the technological to detect a psychic line of mental connections does not exist yet. But I will examine the------ that's strange this person has Irumodic Syndrome. This person's DNA has been rewritten. I need to study it further."
Looking around Gohun speaks "We don't have that kind of time doctor. I need a way to incapacitate the borgified"
With great annoyance "It's called assimilate and I need more time to study the condition. I'm a doctor not a fortune teller." With that the EMH starts doing more scanning and Gohun moves on to make more chaos.

"Gohun! Am I glad to see you! They didn't get you either!" After hearing him talk to the emh, "I was wondering that too. How are they assimilating people? Sounds like their DNA is somehow being rewritten according to Dr EMH here! Man this is scary stuff! Doc are you detecting any borg nanites in her?" M'nia asked.

[Lorut Vila]

Discovery Shuttle Ozark-Spacedock
Day 1

Vila turned "off" her console and, in a single fluid movement, detached her phaser, set it for "max stun" and followed the others off the shuttle. She hated not knowing her enemy. It was much easier to kill Cardassians (and other Alpha Quadrant weirdos she'd run into in her time) because she knew how they fought, had learned their tactics, and how to outsmart them. THIS was new. She was crazy as hell, and she was always ready for a fight, but still. It was best to know what she faced.

A bit late to get that message.  We're going in anyway.  Phasers out, we're going in hot!...Be aware, guys... someone just tried to kill us.  Fight our way out of the bay and get to a security station, hopefully we'll find non-assimilated.  Our goal is to make it to Starbase Operations and see what they are doing up there.

Going in hot? OF COURSE she was. She moved forward. She'd considered pushing him aside so she could go first, but she was already on thin ice, and so she left it alone. He was fully capable of taking care of himself.

"I am ready," she murmured, her face tightening slightly as her jaw clenched and she prepped herself to fire at will.

She stepped off the shuttle, firing, as promised, at anything that wasn't in a Starfleet uniform.

Then let's try to keep the Borg's attention on us..." the Admiral stated.

There were two things that happened about this time.  The first was that the Titan seemed to vanish from the fleet, both visually and its signal.  It was followed by flashes of phasers and torpedoes appearing out of nowhere as the Titan came into view flying through the fleet before... recloaking?

The second thing is that Captain Tuvok stepped into the Operations Center, both quietly and with an eerie smile on his face.  The three commanding officers hadn't taken notice as the phaser in Tuvok's hand raised up and fired at the trio.

"CAPTAIN," she yelled, moving him out of the way, and to the floor, firing as she went down, too. After a moment, when she was certain it was safe, she barrel-rolled out of the way slightly. "Sorry about that," she said, aloud, but stood up quickly, firing as she went.

Nearby, bodies littered the ground, and she bent quickly, pilfering a phaser rifle off of some poor redshirt schmuck. "Looks like you should've chosen better at the Academy, kid," she said, to no one in particular. She stood again, feeling slightly better having two weapons at once.

"TORRA?" She hollered. "Please check in!" She wanted to move down the corridors, but she realized that moving slowly and pointedly was her best course of action today. Even she recognized the need for patience and planning.

[Rayek trLhoell]

NPC Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams
[Spacedock - Ops]

The Fleet Commander spoke up, looking at the screen.  "Admiral, there's a ship coming in... no wait, it's at Jupiter.  I don't think its controlled either."

"What makes you think that?"

"... because it's the Enterprise..."

The Captain looked shocked, and immediately checked the viewscreen towards the fleet.  Sure enough, the Enterprise F was still in the center, firing on Spacedock.  So Nevir turned back as the computer identified the ship.  NCC 1701.... D!

".... Picard got off the Titan.  Probably the same way we did.  They have to know something we don't." he stated, as the Admiral nodded.

"Then let's try to keep the Borg's attention on us..." the Admiral stated.

There were two things that happened about this time.  The first was that the Titan seemed to vanish from the fleet, both visually and its signal.  It was followed by flashes of phasers and torpedoes appearing out of nowhere as the Titan came into view flying through the fleet before... recloaking?

The second thing is that Captain Tuvok stepped into the Operations Center, both quietly and with an eerie smile on his face.  The three commanding officers hadn't taken notice as the phaser in Tuvok's hand raised up and fired at the trio.

Spacedock
Day 1

"CAPTAIN," she yelled, moving him out of the way, and to the floor, firing as she went down, too. After a moment, when she was certain it was safe, she barrel-rolled out of the way slightly. "Sorry about that," she said, aloud, but stood up quickly, firing as she went.

Nearby, bodies littered the ground, and she bent quickly, pilfering a phaser rifle off of some poor redshirt schmuck. "Looks like you should've chosen better at the Academy, kid," she said, to no one in particular. She stood again, feeling slightly better having two weapons at once.

"TORRA?" She hollered. "Please check in!" She wanted to move down the corridors, but she realized that moving slowly and pointedly was her best course of action today. Even she recognized the need for patience and planning.

The Grazerite, upon arrival at Spacedock Operations, didn't take exception to the fact that Lorut, her junior, took the vacant station - what the Bajoran woman lacked in rank she made up for with lived experience - something that the short-lived Grazerite knew was of more importance; so instead, Torra made use of her former medical training to help those injured - both in their group and those already in the Spacedock Operations room.

Torra was off in a quiet corner of the room with one such injured, her attention on her task not on the conversation of her superiors, when a shout of warning cut through her focus.   The Captain was in danger!?  A glance about showed Admiral Tuvok firing towards the trio of Command officers.    That made no sense to the Grazerite.  Did he think them Borg?!

A leap from Lorut took Captain Tekin out of harm's way but the others were not so fortunate.   While others dealt with the attacking Vulcan Admiral, Torra ran to the injured Command officers and dragged them out of the line of fire, behind a console, and then checked to see if they were still alive.  They were in a poor state but Torra did her best to stabilize them.

Hearing her name, Torra called back.  "I'm here.  I have injured that need medical attention."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery-B - Deck 1  Jefferies] Stardate 78288.5  (April 16, 2401)

Under the cover of the hissing steam, Rayek had quickly popped opened a jefferies panel that, according to the ship schematic he had memorized his first week aboard, opened to the side wall of the Captain's Ready Room head.  With his phaser still on maximum output he phasered a hole through that wall - avoiding the wiring and EPS lines and piping.  The hole was just large enough for him to wriggle his way through.  Once on the other side, then he reached back through the hole to refit the jefferies panel and 'tack-weld' it into place with short bursts of his phaser.

Rayek then backed himself into the far corner of the head standing just to the side of the hole he had made, ready to deal with any attacker that tried to approach via the head door or that hole.  He strained, holding his breath, trying to listen through the wall for movement in the jefferies tube.

[J.B Dersch]

[Bridge ]

[As One]

Unsanctioned movement in Jeffries tube.

She grabbed her phaser to follow him should she have to fire, but before she could make a move, a cloud of thick, hot steam billowed out of the vent, sending her reeling slightly as the thick cloud filled the bridge.  For a brief moment, she couldn't see drones 056239 and 346572 due to all the steam billowing from the tubes.

Quickly moving to the nearby operations console, she began regulating the bridge life support systems to dispel the steam and shut down the jet of water streaming from the pipes.

[Jeffries tubes]

[ As Murphy]

Murphy nodded when he heard why Jettis was staying.  He understood all too well.   He did admire Jettis's bravery. He was a lot braver than Murphy felt right now. Odds were that this was impossible and for all they knew, their friends and loved ones were just"¦gone. Or any of them would make it to the end of the day?

Who knew if Vinny - The real Vinny who liked rattling technobabble about microbes-  was still in there? One minute he was there, and the next, he was trying to kill them all. Like some puppet on a string.  He would do anything to get that Vinny back. The thought made him sick to his stomach. "œI'm - I'm staying with you. Once we find escape pods  or something, I'm gonna try to help you find them. We-we're not leaving anyone behind if we can.

He couldn't believe he was saying that. Here he was, in a Jeffries, running for his life with only a wrench as a weapon, and most everyone he knew  on the hunt to kill him. He was terrified and exhausted, and definitely claustrophobic, but he had to try.

Murphy could hear some more movement coming up in one of the tunnels ahead. It was impossible to tell anything in these tunnels, much less if someone was assimilated or not. Harrington noticed, however. "œ Guys! It's a Borg! Run!"

| Lt. JG Dersch/Drone 356697 | USS Discovery |

Non-Assimilated Found, Moving To Engage Targets.

Drone 356697 raised his Rifle up and moved to follow them. Then something tripped him, As the drone fell he quickly fired off a Pot shot at the group. The Shot glazed Murphys arm.

Target: Injured..

The Drone slowly got back up still slowly recovering from the fall

[Zavrol Gohun]

"Gohun! Am I glad to see you! They didn't get you either!" After hearing him talk to the emh, "I was wondering that too. How are they assimilating people? Sounds like their DNA is somehow being rewritten according to Dr EMH here! Man this is scary stuff! Doc are you detecting any borg nanites in her?" M'nia asked.

Gohun was surprised by crewmen was this really a shipmates or a changeling. For a brief moment Gohun considered using a laser pointer and seeing if the cat followed. But that might not go over as smoothly as Gohun thought. Gohun thought about asking questions but he didn't know any of the answers.
The EMH looked annoyed "I just told Gohun what I found when I figure out more I will let you know and no I have found not nano probes just the presence of Irumodic Syndrome. Which is weird for his age."
Gohun looked over. "We need a plan."

[Tekin Nevir]

Discovery Shuttle Ozark-Spacedock
Day 1

Vila turned "off" her console and, in a single fluid movement, detached her phaser, set it for "max stun" and followed the others off the shuttle. She hated not knowing her enemy. It was much easier to kill Cardassians (and other Alpha Quadrant weirdos she'd run into in her time) because she knew how they fought, had learned their tactics, and how to outsmart them. THIS was new. She was crazy as hell, and she was always ready for a fight, but still. It was best to know what she faced.

Going in hot? OF COURSE she was. She moved forward. She'd considered pushing him aside so she could go first, but she was already on thin ice, and so she left it alone. He was fully capable of taking care of himself.

"I am ready," she murmured, her face tightening slightly as her jaw clenched and she prepped herself to fire at will.

She stepped off the shuttle, firing, as promised, at anything that wasn't in a Starfleet uniform.

"CAPTAIN," she yelled, moving him out of the way, and to the floor, firing as she went down, too. After a moment, when she was certain it was safe, she barrel-rolled out of the way slightly. "Sorry about that," she said, aloud, but stood up quickly, firing as she went.

Nearby, bodies littered the ground, and she bent quickly, pilfering a phaser rifle off of some poor redshirt schmuck. "Looks like you should've chosen better at the Academy, kid," she said, to no one in particular. She stood again, feeling slightly better having two weapons at once.

"TORRA?" She hollered. "Please check in!" She wanted to move down the corridors, but she realized that moving slowly and pointedly was her best course of action today. Even she recognized the need for patience and planning.

NPC Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams
[Spacedock - Ops]

The Grazerite, upon arrival at Spacedock Operations, didn't take exception to the fact that Lorut, her junior, took the vacant station - what the Bajoran woman lacked in rank she made up for with lived experience - something that the short-lived Grazerite knew was of more importance; so instead, Torra made use of her former medical training to help those injured - both in their group and those already in the Spacedock Operations room.

Torra was off in a quiet corner of the room with one such injured, her attention on her task not on the conversation of her superiors, when a shout of warning cut through her focus.   The Captain was in danger!?  A glance about showed Admiral Tuvok firing towards the trio of Command officers.    That made no sense to the Grazerite.  Did he think them Borg?!

A leap from Lorut took Captain Tekin out of harm's way but the others were not so fortunate.   While others dealt with the attacking Vulcan Admiral, Torra ran to the injured Command officers and dragged them out of the line of fire, behind a console, and then checked to see if they were still alive.  They were in a poor state but Torra did her best to stabilize them.

Hearing her name, Torra called back.  "I'm here.  I have injured that need medical attention."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery-B - Deck 1  Jefferies] Stardate 78288.5  (April 16, 2401)

Under the cover of the hissing steam, Rayek had quickly popped opened a jefferies panel that, according to the ship schematic he had memorized his first week aboard, opened to the side wall of the Captain's Ready Room head.  With his phaser still on maximum output he phasered a hole through that wall - avoiding the wiring and EPS lines and piping.  The hole was just large enough for him to wriggle his way through.  Once on the other side, then he reached back through the hole to refit the jefferies panel and 'tack-weld' it into place with short bursts of his phaser.

Rayek then backed himself into the far corner of the head standing just to the side of the hole he had made, ready to deal with any attacker that tried to approach via the head door or that hole.  He strained, holding his breath, trying to listen through the wall for movement in the jefferies tube.

[Main Ops - Spacedock]

His vision flashed as with a slight oomph Nevir's world spun as he was tackled by his own officer.  But the timing was more than admirable, as he was able to see the phaser shot sail over where he had just been standing.  He laid there on the ground stunned, barely registering that Vila just literally saved his life.  The Admiral wasn't so lucky, as he took a shot to the back and fell.  The Fleet Commander was also hit, but he ended up diving behind cover.

As the world began to make sense again, he could hear the action as phaser fire was exchanged.  Multiple shots.  And people were dropping as they had been caught unexpectedly.  Nevir looked across as he saw Torra dragging the limp body of the Admiral behind cover.  He hated to think that the man was dead.. but he assumed if Torra was moving him she noticed something he didn't.

"What is it?  Borg?" he shouted, pulling his weapon out. He heard multiple responses, but it was the same thing.  Tuvok had a bunch of officers with him, and he was firing into Ops.  He wasn't even trying to hide that he wasn't the real Tuvok.  As the Captain peeked over, he had to admit... there was nothing more unsettling than seeing the Vulcan give that creepy smile.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Nevir shouted, as he fired back from cover.  His response was a laugh.

"Just trying to correct a mistake Captain.  Your crew wasn't supposed to be able to get off your ship."

His voice was changing as he spoke, and when Nevir looked back up, he saw himself firing on his crew.  Finally the pieces fell into place.

"Changelings..." he muttered, as they engaged.

A giant shutter throughout the station alerted them to the fleet outside.  The Fleet Commander was shouting.  "Report!"

"Sir!  Station shields are down to 30%... we're losing shield coverage on the outer docking rings.  Phaser banks are fried, but we still have torpedoes.  There is a ship that has broken from the fleet... its the Titan. They... they can cloak?"

The station shuddered again... hard, and the officer who was reporting while in cover spoke.  "We're losing docking ring 7!"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge ]

[As One]

Unsanctioned movement in Jeffries tube.

She grabbed her phaser to follow him should she have to fire, but before she could make a move, a cloud of thick, hot steam billowed out of the vent, sending her reeling slightly as the thick cloud filled the bridge.  For a brief moment, she couldn't see drones 056239 and 346572 due to all the steam billowing from the tubes.

Quickly moving to the nearby operations console, she began regulating the bridge life support systems to dispel the steam and shut down the jet of water streaming from the pipes.

[Jeffries tubes]

[ As Murphy]

Murphy nodded when he heard why Jettis was staying.  He understood all too well.   He did admire Jettis's bravery. He was a lot braver than Murphy felt right now. Odds were that this was impossible and for all they knew, their friends and loved ones were just"¦gone. Or any of them would make it to the end of the day?

Who knew if Vinny - The real Vinny who liked rattling technobabble about microbes-  was still in there? One minute he was there, and the next, he was trying to kill them all. Like some puppet on a string.  He would do anything to get that Vinny back. The thought made him sick to his stomach. "œI'm - I'm staying with you. Once we find escape pods  or something, I'm gonna try to help you find them. We-we're not leaving anyone behind if we can.

He couldn't believe he was saying that. Here he was, in a Jeffries, running for his life with only a wrench as a weapon, and most everyone he knew  on the hunt to kill him. He was terrified and exhausted, and definitely claustrophobic, but he had to try.

Murphy could hear some more movement coming up in one of the tunnels ahead. It was impossible to tell anything in these tunnels, much less if someone was assimilated or not. Harrington noticed, however. "œ Guys! It's a Borg! Run!"

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]
(as Ensign Ruthie Falleq-Tekin)

Ruthie stood up with phaser in hand, as the three of them stood up as one, but she hadn't moved when gas started to flood the bridge. At the same time, two new directives were sent to the Borgified crew.

Eliminate all Unassimilated

Target lock: Spacedock

Secure Discovery Bridge

Find and destroy the Titan.

As the Kinley-drone moved to retake the Discovery Bridge, and Dem-drone was moving to find and intercept the unassimilated, Ruthie-drone, aka 056239 moved to the weapons station and began typing controls into the targetting system.  Both the Borg hivemind and the existing intelligence of the science officer was being used against the wayward ship.  Another order came in, an alteration.

Sulu, Galaxy, Lemenche, Discovery, Savak.

Redirect priority of objectives.

Find and control or destroy the Titan.

The rest of the fleet will finish Spacedock.

The Discovery stopped firing on Spacedock and started predicting where the cloaked Titan was before its weapons could be used on Discovery.

[M'Nia]

Gohun was surprised by crewmen was this really a shipmates or a changeling. For a brief moment Gohun considered using a laser pointer and seeing if the cat followed. But that might not go over as smoothly as Gohun thought. Gohun thought about asking questions but he didn't know any of the answers.
The EMH looked annoyed "I just told Gohun what I found when I figure out more I will let you know and no I have found not nano probes just the presence of Irumodic Syndrome. Which is weird for his age."
Gohun looked over. "We need a plan."

"No kidding! I am open to suggestions! We need to get off the ship! I don't know how they did this but I do not want to be assimilated or worse, killed by a friend! I think there is an escape pod left in engineering if we can get to it! Pretty sure that's where Tanner was heading. Unfortunately we may have to shoot our friends and crewmates to get there. I don't like it but we need to survive." she took a breath. This was bringing back memories of the terok mission when she was on Challenger. She would do whatever she had to do. She may not like it but she would do it. She was a starfleet officer and she wouldn't let the borg win. Not on her watch. "Tanner, shall we go find that escape pod?"

[Jettis Jyur]

Time slowed after tossing the bell. Her breath was held, unsure if she'd be in a fight any moment. Then she heard it, jingling again. Someone had picked it up, and that someone wasn't Borg. Tanner exhaled a relieved sigh, her tense shoulders easing. Peering down the corridor towards her convoy, she emitted a soft whistle""a signal for M'Nia to proceed with the others.

However, a voice disrupted the calm as it called out, 'hello'. Her brow furrowed as she recognized it; a voice that didn't belong on her ship. What had the transmission mentioned about changelings? Phaser gripped firmly, she emerged from her tunnel into the adjacent space.

The sight before her stirred conflicting emotions. It was him""Jettis. Her instinct was to run into his arms, but she restrained herself. Tears glistened in her eyes as she spoke quietly, "Jettis?" She paused, "Or are you? He's supposed to be on a different ship. You better have a damn good explanation before I shoot you."

[ USS Discovery - Jeffries, portside intersection ]

Jettis' confusion remained, as a whistle came from a short distance away. It wasn't a borg, however it didn't put him at any ease either. Straightening, his eyes darted toward the tunnel it seemed to come from. He readied himself for who - or whatever might come out of there. He wasn't ready for it to be Tanner. Lowering his hand, he stared down at her in disbelief.

A few confliction emotions flashed through his glassy eyes. Scanning her, his eyes rested on her phaser for a moment, before flicking back up. The similar glimmer of her eyes was noticeable even from this distance, as the corners of his brows scrunched up. "Tanner, it's me, I swear to you." His eyes searched hers, realizing with defeat there was no way for him to prove it. Not immediately. Anxiously glancing behind him again, he quickly closed the gap between he and Tanner. "Listen, I would love to explain, but we will both die, and I need to find Theresa," he answered, a mix of frustrated and apologetic. Quickly leaning down to kiss her, he didn't want to give her the opportunity to argue further.

As he looked up again, he quickly realized why she had whistled earlier - she had an entire convoy of people following her. "There's borg this way, we need to find a different path!" He called out. Things had become a whole lot more complicated, very quickly. The detour had cost them precious time as it was, making a roundabout way into Engineering purely from memory was getting difficult. The more turns and backtracking they needed to do, the more Jettis lost track of where they were meant to be in the labyrinth of maintenance tunnels.

Turning back toward the other four, he checked in with Murphy and Meelar. "Are you alright to keep going?" Not that saying 'no' was much of an option anymore.

[Tanner Lachlyn]

The unmistakable confidence with which Jettis approached her, coupled with the lingering effects of his kiss, left no doubt about his identity. This wasn't some changeling imposter. No, this was her Jettis. A flush spread across her cheeks as she glanced at the crew members who had just witnessed the personal moment.

"Uhm," she nodded in response to M'Nia's question, "Yes, we should go find it."

Rule #5""no PDA at work""made her cringe momentarily. But rules could be discarded when faced with the threat of the Borg.

Tanner's attention honed in on one of Jettis's remarks. Theresa? Why was she here? A new wave of panic surged. Trained officers could handle this terrifying situation, but for a child, it was a nightmare.

However, her questions had to wait. She absentmindedly licked the split on her lip and surveyed the various Jeffries options, "Sticking together makes sense. We just need to pick a direction and hustle. I have a medkit in my pack, but now might not be the best time to use it. Unless it's unbearable pain, I can administer a hypo for that."