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Sailor Trek: The Next Generation
By Bill Harris
Chapter 5 - Rescue Mission
PG13

    "Captain, could I have a word with you?" Riker inquired. Glancing at the others he added, "In private."
    Picard nodded, having a good idea what the first officer wanted to discuss. "If you'll excuse us?" Acceding to his request, the others made their way back onto the bridge. As the security chief was leaving he said, "Mr. Worf, escort the Scouts to Holodeck Two, and begin working with them and Mr. Data. I'll be joining you shortly." Riker remained silent, but his face had a "We'll-see-about-this" expression.
    "Aye, sir."
    Picard was about to address his first officer when he realized that Q was still present. "You also, Q. Out."
    "Well, I know where I'm not wanted," the entity grumbled and promptly vanished.
    "That'll be the day," Picard observed softly.

    After the door had closed behind them, Mars asked, "What's wrong?"
    "It's... unusual for a captain to lead an away mission," Troi answered hesitantly. "Typically the first officer does while the captain remains on the ship."
    Jupiter frowned and observed, "Gee, it wasn't like that for Captain Kirk."
    Q chose that moment to reappear, startling the two Moon cats. 
    "Times change," he stated. "And not always for the better."
    "Shut up, Q!" several voices exclaimed in unison.

    "With all due respect, sir," Riker said sharply as soon as Q had vanished, "have you lost your mind?"
    Picard regarded him with a slightly amused expression. "Don't you think you're overreacting, Will?"
    "No, sir, I don't," he responded. "As first officer, it's my duty to handle the away missions to keep the captain out of unnecessary danger. And in my book... hell in anyone's book... leading a rescue mission onto a Borg ship definitely qualifies." He took a step closer to Picard. "Sir, why are you so intent on leading this away team?"
    Picard sighed and sat down. "I have my reasons, Will. Firstly, I know my way around a Borg ship. I know the Borg."
    "True," Riker conceded. "But I've been on a Borg ship as well, and I've had experience in dealing with them."
    "I think we can agree that my experiences were of a more... intimate nature," Picard countered.
    Riker grimaced. He had no real counter to that argument. Picard's time as Locutus had given him an insight into the Borg that no one else could match. "I can't argue with that. But I still believe that this 
is a totally unacceptable risk you're taking."
    "It is a risk, Number One, but it's one worth taking." Picard paused, trying to find the proper phrasing. "It is likely... no, inevitable, that we will have future encounters with the Borg. When that happens, I have to be able to confront the Borg face to face. And it's not something I can do from the bridge."
    Riker looked thoughtful as he considered the captain's reasoning. "Sir, these aren't the usual type of Borg we'll be facing. They may react entirely differently to what you're used..."
    "Be that as it may, I'm going, Commander," Picard interrupted his first officer, his voice a little harder than he wanted. Then in a quieter tone, he added, "This is something I have to do, Will."

    Darien and the Scouts looked around as they entered Holodeck Two. It was a featureless room, the all black save for a gold colored grid adorning the walls, ceiling and floor. "This is a holodeck?" Venus wondered. "It doesn't look like much."
    "That is because we have not created the program for it to run," Data responded. He had met them at the entrance, waiting patiently for them to arrive. "Computer: access log records and recreate the interior of a Borg ship." Instantly the room vanished and they stood inside a Borg ship.
    The five newcomers marveled at the realism of the simulation. 
    "Wow," Jupiter commented. "You guys have the technology to do this?"
    "The holodeck can create virtually any environment that is needed," Worf answered. "They are used both for recreation and for training simulations."
    "This may not be an entirely accurate simulation as Rubeus has undoubtedly made alterations to the Borg craft," Data said. "Nevertheless, it should provide us an opportunity to work with you."
    "The captain wanted us to begin at once," Worf informed the android. "He will join us later."
    "I see."
    "You don't seem too surprised that Captain Picard will be going with us," Mars commented.
    "As I am an android, I am incapable of expressing, or experiencing, emotions such as surprise."
    Tuxedo Mask frowned. "Android?"
    "He's a synthetic life form. He was created, not born," Mercury answered.
    Venus stared at Data. "You mean he's a robot?"
    "Android. Not a robot," Data corrected her. "Computer: Load Borg combat training simulation alpha and begin program." The two Starfleet officers drew their weapons and readied themselves. Simultaneously, several of the Borg simulacrums moved out of their slots and moved towards them.
    Before either could fire, Mars cried out, "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
    Several ringlets of fire struck an approaching Borg, while a thrown rose struck another. Both began flickering on and off, and the computer announced "Program error."
    "Interesting," Data commented as he put away his phaser. "Computer: Freeze program." The other Borg in sight froze in their tracks.
    Worf eyed the still flickering Borg. "What happened?"
    "Don't blame me," Mars said defensively. "I did what I would do over there."
    "I did not blame you."
    "Computer: Arch." Data examined the readouts on the holodeck controls. "The computer was not able to accurately interpret the effects of Sailor Mars' attack, nor was it able to handle Tuxedo Mask's. I surmise it will be necessary to examine the various attack modes of each of the Scouts and have the computer analyze them in turn."
    "Then let's get started," Jupiter said. "We're wasting time."

    Picard entered Sickbay and, after pausing a moment to locate her, went over to Dr. Crusher. He had been on his way to the holodeck when Beverly had called and asked him to make the detour here. He fervently hoped that Riker hadn't enlisted her help in trying to dissuade him from leading the away mission. He didn't feel like fighting that battle again. "You wanted to see me, Beverly?"
    She looked up from her patient, worry evident on her face. "Yes, Jean-Luc. It's about Ensign Harris."
    Picard looked down at the biobed and was stunned. He remembered greeting her less than a week before when she had first reported for bridge duty. She had been an attractive young woman, not even a year out of the Academy. Now, her skin had taken on the tone of chalk and her expression was dull and lifeless as she stared at the ceiling. But worst of all, on the right side of her face was obviously a Borg implant of some sort.
    He knew at once that Ensign Kristin Harris was no more. Only a Borg drone remained.
    "How...?"
    Beverly shook her head. "I'm not completely certain, but I believe that the Borg injected a series of nanoprobes into her. Once inside, they began replicating themselves and making alterations in her biochemistry- even down to her DNA. They've also constructed a series of implants which I think serve to connect her to the Borg collective."
    "That would explain her inactivity at the present time. Since Q has removed us from normal space and time, there's no connection to be made with the collective." Picard paused for a moment. "Can you treat her? Can you remove the implants from her as you did... as you did with me?"
    Crusher hesitated before replying. "Not at the moment, no. Your assimilation involved a simple series of cybernetic implants, which I was easily able to remove. But for her, I would have to somehow remove millions, if not billions by now, of these nanoprobes. And the way they've hooked themselves up to her cellular structure, not even the transporter biofilters can separate them out." The two were silent for a time. "Captain, I believe that your assimilation used a unique method, for one reason or another. This seems to be their standard method of assimilation. Anyone who undergoes this process may be lost... permanently."
    Picard looked up sharply and stared at her for a moment. He then turned and strode determinedly out of Sickbay, leaving the doctor with her patient.

    His thoughts still in turmoil over what he had seen in sickbay, Picard walked onto the holodeck without looking ahead and stopped short. He had been expecting to walk into the middle of a simulation of the interior of a Borg ship, but instead he saw the familiar sight of the holodeck grid. At the far side of the room he could discern several of the transporter test objects.
    Or at least that's what they used to be. Several of the them were charred, melted and blackened in some manner, and one had somehow become encased in ice.
    As he was taking this in, Data looked up from where he was placing another test object in the center of the room. Anticipating his captain's question, he explained, "We have been analyzing each of the Scouts' attack powers. Since their powers do not adhere to the laws of physics as we understand them, the computer was unable to correctly interact them with the holographic simulation."
    "I see," Picard said, looking over the results. "How long until we can begin the training exercise?"
    "We're nearly finished," answered Mercury from behind him. He turned and saw the Scouts clustered around the arch, Tuxedo Mask standing in front. Worf was standing to one side, an expression of impatience written on his face. Mercury was standing by the arch controls and was also holding her palmtop. She evidently had been assisting Data in analysis of their powers.
    "Only Tuxedo Mask remains to have his powers analyzed," Data said, rejoining them.
    "Proceed," Picard said, briefly wondering how a thrown rose could cause the computer problems. His question was answered when the rose struck the test object and deeply embedded itself in it. Picard walked up to it and examined it with a growing sense of awe. The test object was composed mainly of duranium, a very hard substance used extensively for starship hulls, and yet the rose had penetrated it easily. "Most impressive," he said, managing to keep his voice sounding nonchalant. "Though I would be careful about throwing those through the hull, if I were you."

    Crusher entered the conference room, and found Riker seated at one end of the long table. Seated atop the table were the two cats, in a deep discussion with the first officer. Crusher mentally shook her head and approached the trio. The concept of talking felines was still something she was getting used to. "You wanted to see me, Will?"
    "Yes," Riker acknowledged, gesturing to a seat. As she sat down, "We've been planning a strategy for our next meeting with Rubeus." The doctor immediately had a skeptical look on her face which said 'You're discussing starship tactics with a couple of cats?', to which Riker responded, "I know what you're thinking, Beverly. But while they don't have any knowledge about the Borg..."
    "...we do know Rubeus," Artemis concluded.
    "That's certainly true," Beverly admitted.
    Riker handed her the padd he'd been working on. "The basics of what we've come up with are outlined here."
    Crusher studied the padd's contents for a moment and frowned. "Will, this looks very similar to the strategy you used against the Borg at Wolf 359."
    Riker nodded. "We've made some alterations, such as using the deflector dish, but you're right. The core strategy is still the same."
    Beverly looked puzzled. "Won't the Borg be ready for that?"
    "You have to remember, it's more than the Borg you're dealing with here," Luna reminded her. "Rubeus is controlling that ship now. It's him we have to outthink."
    Artemis continued, "His weakness is his own arrogance. If he thinks that you're just using a strategy that worked before..."
    "...he won't bother looking for anything else." She nodded and put down the padd. "So what do you need me for?"
    "I want you to command the saucer section," Riker answered.
    "Will, I'm a doctor... not a command line officer," she immediately objected.
    "You're a senior officer, Beverly, and you've been bridge qualified. Worf and Data are accompanying the captain and I need Geordi in engineering. And I don't want to hand this over to a junior officer. Simply put, you're it."

    Several hours later, a very tired Geordi LaForge emerged from the bridge turbolift. He stopped short at the sight of Q lounging there... in mid-air. He quickly recovered and went over to report to Riker. 
    "We're in business. I've got the main deflector rigged to emit the high energy burst. All the phaser banks have been rigged to vary their firing frequencies automatically and I've remodulated the shield nutations of both sections. All other ship systems are repaired and operational. We're as ready as we're gonna get."
    "Well it's about time. All this waiting around is getting boring."
    Riker made it a point to ignore Q. "Well done, Geordi. Riker to Picard."
    "Picard here. What is it Number One?"
    "We're all set up here. Ready whenever you are."
    "Very well." A loud crash in the background interrupted him. Riker heard someone yell "Watch where you're aiming that thing!" then heard the captain sigh.
    "Is everything OK, sir?"
    "Just a... minor disagreement between Worf and Sailor Mars," the captain replied, sounding very tired. "One of a number of that we've had over the last few hours." Unconsciously echoing the chief engineer, he added "We're about as ready as we'll ever be. Considering our current location, we can afford to have just Mr. Data on duty. That will give everyone else a chance to get some rest before we proceed."

    The chime from the door startled Darien out of his reverie. "Yes?" The door opened, allowing Troi to enter. "Something I can do for you, Counselor?"
    "Actually, I came to see if there was something I could do for you," she answered. "I could sense your frustration from the other side of the ship. Do you want to talk about it?"
    He returned his gaze to the gray nothingness outside the ship. "There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine."
    Troi briefly considered her options. Ordinarily she'd leave it at that, letting him decide on his own when, or if, he wanted her help. But the current situation didn't allow for that. Very shortly he'd be accompanying the captain on a dangerous away mission. There was no real choice except to force the issue. "Sure you are," she said, putting a patronizing tone to her voice. "You're just radiating more anger than I've felt in Worf for an entire year because everything's just fine." An exaggeration, to be sure, but one that was warranted.
    He whirled at her, "What do you want me to say? Yes, I'm angry! Angry at myself, because I couldn't protect Serena, that I couldn't stop Rubeus from kidnapping her! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
    "Partially," she admitted. "But there's more to it, isn't there?"
    He glared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Yes," he replied, his voice calmer. "Usually I can get a sense of her, how she's doing. But ever since Q put us here, I've felt nothing."
    "Since Q has removed us from normal space, that's understandable."
    "I know... but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with."
    "But you're going to have to try," Deanna said. "In a few hours, the captain and the Scouts are going to be counting on you when you go onto that ship. You owe it to them, and to Serena, to be ready. So stop your brooding and get some sleep."
    "Is that an order, Counselor?" he asked, a slight smile showing.
    "Yes," she said, returning the smile. "If necessary, I could have Dr. Crusher give you a sedative."
    "It's not," he replied, heading for the bedroom. Deanna turned and headed for the door. Not a textbook job of counseling, but then this wasn't exactly a textbook case. She paused in the corridor, trying to sense the emotional state of the Enterprise's other guests. She felt only the normal emotions associated with dreaming, though two of them seemed rather... erotic. If she read them right, both involved in one way or another... She smiled, laughing softly to herself. If they were on board for any length of time, Will was going to have a rough time of it. Well, there was no need to mention that to him. At least not right away.
    She was about to return to her own quarters when she winced, hearing some rather unladylike thoughts echo in her mind. Which was odd, since she normally only felt emotions, being half Betazoid. It took a full telepath, such as her mother, to communicate with her in this manner.
    She pressed the call button and the door opened in response, allowing her to enter. Dressed in the robes of a Shinto priestess, Raye stood up from where she had been kneeling in the center of the room. Deanna could see a large fire blazing there, but could tell from the lack of heat that it was holographic in nature. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" the Sailor Scout asked.
    "Well, I was on my way to my quarters, when I heard some rather... strong thoughts." She took a couple of steps into the room. "I can guess at the source of your frustration, but I don't think the captain would appreciate it if you did that to the ship's computer."
    "It's just that I can't read anything from this!" she exclaimed, viciously snapping off the hologram. "And that damned computer won't allow a real one in here." She glared at where the holographic fire had been for a moment before what Deanna had said sunk in. "Wait a minute... You heard my thoughts?!? I thought you were only an empath."
    "With other nontelepaths, that's true," Troi admitted. "But you seem to have a higher psionic potential than other humans." She paused and sent, Can you hear this?
    Raye started. "Yes, I did."
    Try sending to me.
    You mean like this?
    Deanna nodded.
    "Wow."

    It was nearly eight hours later when Riker entered the fully manned battle bridge. It seemed odd to be embarking into battle without either Worf or Data there, but he had full confidence that their replacements could handle their posts. In fact, Chief O'Brien had served as a tactical officer before, on the Rutledge during the Cardassian conflicts. "Are we all set, Chief?"
    "Yes, sir," O'Brien replied.
    "Good." Riker moved to the center seat and realized that it was already occupied by a white feline. "No offense Artemis... but I believe you're in my chair."
    "Sorry," the cat easily replied. "It's just the best place to stay out of everyone's way... or at least it was." He jumped out of the chair and vaulted himself onto the bridge railing.
    Riker was sitting himself down in the command chair as Q appeared.
    "Oh, good. We're finally getting this little show on the road."
    Riker thought it best for all concerned to ignore the entity's usual sarcastic commentary. He may not like it, but Q's presence was a necessary evil for this to have any chance of working. "Q, can you 
protect the stardrive and saucer sections simultaneously?"
    "Of course," he replied with his typical smugness. "It's as easy as," and snapped his fingers.

    Crusher looked up from the command chair as Q materialized on the main bridge. He smiled and bowed melodramatically. "At your service, madame capitan."
    Luna, seated in the first officer's chair, shook her head.

    Riker nodded. "Good. Whenever you're ready, Q."
    "Your wish is my command," Q answered. Deciding to take the opportunity to needle Riker a little, he added, "Number two." As Riker glared at Q, he snapped his fingers. Smoothly, the viewscreen shifted to show the normal starfield it usually did.
    "We're in the Terran system," Ro reported, "fifty thousand kilometers outward from lunar orbit."
    "Red alert," Riker ordered. As the alert klaxons were sounding, he added, "Riker to Crusher. Stand by."
    "Standing by," the doctor answered over the intercom.
    "Picking up a tachyon surge," O'Brien said. Ahead of them space seemed to ripple and flow, and Rubeus' Borg ship appeared.
    "Right on cue," Riker said. Q glanced at him with an uncertain look.
    "Borg power levels are low. Their EM field is low enough to permit transport," said O'Brien.
    "Didn't I say so earlier?" Q snapped irritably.
    "Riker to Picard. Our guests have arrived. Stand by for transport."

    "We'll be waiting for your signal. Picard out." The captain looked over the assemblage of Starfleet officers and Sailor Scouts. Worf and Data were waiting patiently for the signal to beam over, whereas their allies where practically champing at the bit to various degrees. Only Mercury seemed at all at ease, but that was because she was distracting herself with her computer.
    "Why don't we just beam over now?" Tuxedo Mask finally asked.
    "It's all part of the plan," Picard reminded him. "The Enterprise sections are to provide a distraction by creating the impression that we're trying to sneak a shuttle inside their EM field. Rubeus may not 
know that it's currently too low to be effective, so hopefully we may be able to remain unopposed for a time." This seemed to mollify them to a degree.
    "Don't worry, Darien. We'll be there soon enough," Venus said, patting the tuxedo clad warrior on the shoulder. "As they say: 'They also serve who stand at the plate.'"
    "They also serve who stand and wait," Data quickly corrected her.
    "Whatever," she growled.

    Rubeus stared at the monitor incredulously. "Impossible! They should have been destroyed! How did they survive?!? And how did they end up here?"

    "Riker to Crusher. Engage autoseperation sequence."
    Beverly touched a control on the command console. "Autosep sequence engaged." The was a faint clanging sound as the saucer separated from the stardrive section. It accelerated to full impulse and banked to port as it cleared from the other half of the Enterprise. 
    "Commence fire."

    "The saucer section is now five hundred meters distant."
    Riker nodded while noting that the saucer had opened fire with both of it's phaser banks. So far, so good. "Engage warp engines. Put us on the far side of the Borg cube Ensign."
    The warp engines surged, propelling the stardrive section faster than light for a brief second. Unlike the Picard maneuver; which would put the ship nose to... side with the cube; it came out of warp at 
roughly the same distance that it started, only now it was at the far side of the enemy vessel.
    "Open fire, Chief," Riker ordered. "All weapons."
    Ro turned the ship to allow O'Brien to utilize as many of the ship's phasers at once as he could. In rapid succession, the chief unleashed a barrage from five of the stardrive's phaser banks, and he threw in a constant volley of photon torpedoes for good measure. "No discernable damage to the Borg vessel," said O'Brien.
    Riker nodded. That was to be expected when dealing with the Borg. "Helm, evasive pattern omega."

    Rubeus watched the battle on the monitors and chuckled gleefully as the Enterprise continued to fire. "Use all your phasers and photons! You can't possible harm this ship! But I can harm you." He mentally directed the defense systems to concentrate on the stardrive section.

    The stardrive section shuddered. "They've locked onto us with a tractor beam!" O'Brien yelled as he redirected the phasers to target the source. "Shields are being drained."
    "Bridge to engineering..."
    "I'm on it!" LaForge quickly answered. "Attempting to remodulate shield nutation."

    Luna glanced at the panel readouts. "The stardrive section is in trouble. I think we're going to have to accelerate the plan to phase two."
    "Agreed," Beverly answered. "Mr. Steiner, fire antimatter spread."
    "Aye, sir." Ensign Steiner activated a control on the tactical grid which released magnetic containers of antimatter attached at various points to the saucer. They shot out at and around the Borg ship in a dizzying display of pyrotechnics.
    Now for the next step, Crusher thought. "Launch the shuttle. Helm, evasive pattern delta four."

    Rubeus found his attention drawn to the saucer section. "So, you're hoping to sneak a team here, hoping to rescue Sailor Moon, hmm? Fools!" Deciding to preempt that strategy, Rubeus shifted the weapons system to concentrate on the saucer, and intensified scans for a shuttle.

    A bright flash announced the severing of the tractor beam. "We've terminated the tractor beam. Rubeus seems to be shifting his attention to the saucer section."
    "Well, he's going according to script so far," Artemis commented. "He's expecting the shuttle to have the away team on it."
    "Let's not disappoint him, at least as far as the away team goes." He took a deep breath before saying, "Riker to Picard. It's time, Captain. Good luck."
    "Hey, we'll tell you all about it when we get back from trashing that creep!" Jupiter's voice answered. Several enthusiastic cheers followed. Riker couldn't help but smile himself.
    "I'll echo those sentiments, Number One. Picard out."
    "I just hope there is a later," Riker said to himself. "Chief, drop the shields and beam them over."

    Good luck, Raye. I hope you can get her back.
    Thanks, Deanna, came the reply. Then more forcefully, We will.

    The away team materialized inside the Borg ship; Picard, Data and Worf all with their phasers drawn. The Scouts paused for a moment to take in their surroundings, then Mercury got busy scanning with her visor, while Data was utilized his tricorder. Venus shuddered inwardly. It was eerily like the simulations they had run earlier. "Gee, those holodecks are good!"
    "They do have their uses," Picard responded. "But not entirely accurate." He pointed to a nearby power distribution node which had a large crystal embedded in it. Other nearby ones were also similarly modified.
    "Interesting," Data said. "It would seem that the Borg power system has been modified. But I am uncertain as to why."
    "I think I know," Mercury answered. "It's to make it compatible with technology used in Rubeus' original ship."
    "Thereby allowing them to fully integrate his ship into the cube," Picard said. He looked around. "As interesting as this is, we better get moving. Data, Mercury... are you getting any readings?"
    "Tricorder readings are limited. I am unable to get a fix on Sailor Moon."
    "Same here," Mercury said.
    Tuxedo Mask had been looking around through all this, as if he were listening to a distant voice. "It's there, but very faint," he said, his voice just above a whisper. He motioned them down a corridor. "This way. Hurry!"
    They followed him further into the Borg ship. "How does he know that?" Picard asked Sailor Mars. "He wasn't doing this on the holodeck."
    "Serena wasn't on the holodeck, either," she answered. "He's always been able to get to her whenever she's in danger. There's some sort of psychic link between the two of them."

    "Well, well," Rubeus remarked. "We have guests." He watched them make their way through the ship, unopposed for now. Other monitors showed the two sections of the Enterprise still firing, but now at a more frantic pace and the stardrive section had also unleashed it's own antimatter barrage. He chose to let the automatic systems handle them, preferring instead to concentrate on the new arrivals. "So, they came all this way to get to Sailor Moon. It'd be a shame to disappoint them. But I should prepare a proper welcome for them."

    Roaming through the Borg ship was just as disturbing now as it been before. Everywhere they turned, other Borg were moving, performing various maintenance tasks or were lodged in their individualized slots. But so far, they made no move to impair the progress of the away team. Picard knew that would change before long.
    Tuxedo Mask stopped, and looked around. "She's close. Very close."
    "I am still not getting any other readings," said Data.
    "Me neither," added Mercury. "Wait a minute! I've got a large number of Borg closing on our location. All sides!" As she said this, several Borg came into view, advancing on the away team.
    "Looks like the free ride is over," Jupiter commented as she summoned her power. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Her attack struck two Borg and they collapsed amid a shower of sparks.
    Picard tapped his comm badge. "Picard to Enterprise. Encountering resistance." When there was no response, he tapped it again. "Enterprise, come in!"

    "The Borg have started jamming communications with the away team," Steiner reported. "And I've lost the transporter locks on them as well. Communication with the stardrive section are unaffected for now."
    Beverly nodded. "Status of the shuttle?"
    "It's almost in position," Luna answered.
    Troi had a faraway look in her eyes as she listened to a voice only she could hear. "The Borg are trying to stop them, but their fighting their way through," she said.

    "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" An thick blanket of fog descended in the corridors hiding them from view of the Borg. Simultaneously, Mars cried out "MARS FIRE IGNITE" and a wave of fire cleared an escape path for them, which they eagerly followed.
    They actually continued to move unimpeded for a while. Then two Borg tried to block their way. This time Venus took the initiative. 
    "VENUS METEOR SHOWER!" The wide beam of light struck the Borg, rendering them inoperable. They pushed onward, only to be blocked by more Borg. The Starfleet officers fired as one, temporarily clearing the way. "I've got the power signature of the Silver Crystal!" Mercury exclaimed.
    "Yes, she's in here!" Heedless of the danger to himself, Tuxedo Mask raced into an adjoining chamber but stopped short when he saw what was in there. "No..." he whispered, horrified. The Scouts likewise halted, aghast at the sight before them.
    Only Mars was able to find her voice. "Serena, what have they done to you?" she whispered.

    On the main bridge, Troi stiffened as she heard Raye's thoughts and softly said, "Oh no!"
    "What is it?" Luna asked.
    "Serena. She's..."

    The Starfleet officers stood silent behind the Scouts. Worf and Data had seen this before.
    Picard had been it before.
    This was what he had feared they would find, but had hoped not to. 
    Sailor Moon stood before them, having been implanted with Borg cybernetic devices much as Picard had been over a year before.
    Serena had been assimilated.
    Rubeus entered the room, and stood by Sailor Moon. "Greetings, I've been expecting you. Allow me to introduce you to... Sailor Borg."

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Sailor Trek: The Next Generation
By Bill Harris
Chapter 6 - "In the name of the Moon..."
PG13

    The watcher leaned on her staff as she closely monitored the time flow. Now that the battle had been resumed in her universe, she could observe events directly instead of having to rely on Q for information. Which was just as well, for the crucial moment was fast approaching...

    They stood there, frozen in shock by the sight of the assimilated Sailor Moon.
    Then Tuxedo Mask went ballistic. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!!" he roared at Rubeus. He followed this up with a barrage of roses, then leapt at him. Rubeus blocked the floral attack with a series of force fields and hurled an energy blast at Tuxedo Mask. The tuxedo clad warrior hit the wall hard, and stood there for a moment, dazed. This galvanized the Scouts into action. The room echoed with their attack cries as they each hurled their most powerful attacks at Rubeus while the three Starfleet officers added their phasers to the fray. Their efforts came for naught, for each attack was blocked by a force field.
    Rubeus stood grinning at the futility of their efforts, "Resistance is futile!" As if they had been waiting for this signal, Borg drones came from every entrance onto the chamber and advanced on the away team. Through it all, Sailor Moon remained where she was, silent and as expressionless as any of the Borg around her... except for a single tear running down her cheek.

    "Troi to Riker."
    Riker involuntarily sat straighter in his chair. For her to contact him directly, rather than going through Beverly, whatever she had to say must be important indeed. "Go ahead, Deanna."
    "Will, I've just received a telepathic report from Sailor Mars." Troi looked over at Luna. "According to her, Sailor Moon has been assimilated."
    Artemis didn't immediately understand what she meant by that, but knew instantly that it wasn't good. Both O'Brien and Ro had tensed up when Troi made her announcement, and Riker had a grim look on his face.
    "What does that mean?" he heard Luna ask, her voice sounding puzzled.
    On the main bridge Troi and Crusher exchanged a look, each obviously reluctant to elaborate. Hearing a pause over the comm Riker took it upon himself to say, "It means that she is a Borg now."
    It took Luna a moment to comprehend but when she did, she uttered a loud cry of anguish. She turned to face Q, her expression clearly one of anger. For his part, Q merely looked bored. "Q!! It's your fault she's in this predicament! Get her off of there and back to normal! NOW!"
    "I'm afraid I can't do that," the entity replied, for some reason choosing to do so from the stardrive section. "I have my instructions to the contrary."
    On the battle bridge, Riker shot Q a sharp look. "From who?"
    "That, as they say, is for me to know and you to find out."
    Luna gathered herself, preparing to attack Q no matter the consequences. But before she could, she felt a restraining hand on her. 
    "It won't accomplish anything," Beverly told her. "Besides, if the away team can get her back, I should be able restore her."  I hope, she added silently. "Now, what's the position of the shuttle?"
    Luna forced her attention back to the tactical display she had been monitoring. "It's... it's maneuvering into position, using thrusters only." The saucer trembled under the impact of weapons fire as she was giving this report.
    Riker saw the saucer take the hit. "Beverly, what's your status?"
    Crusher's voice sounded strained when she responded a moment later. "We've lost shields, and impulse engine one. But we still have phasers."
    Riker nodded just as the stardrive section itself shook from incoming fire. "You've done all you can, Beverly. Withdraw the saucer section to a safe distance. It's up to us now."
    There was a momentary pause from the other end. "Understood. Good luck, Will." The saucer banked as it began limping from the battle.
    "Shield strength is down to seventy five percent," reported O'Brien. He checked the sensor readouts, and reported more bad news. "The Borg just reestablished their EM field. Transporter use is impossible. Their shield strength is increasing, too."
    Riker nodded grimly. It was getting time to play their trump cards... and hope that Rubeus hadn't stacked the deck against them. 
    "Begin charging the deflector, Chief. Stand by to fire on my mark."

    Inside the battle was over. Each member of the away team was held firmly by a Borg, save for Jupiter and Worf, who were struggling mightily against the hold two Borg held on each of them. Even then, it looked as if either one could break free if the Borg were any weaker. Scattered all around the floor were the bodies of Borg drones that had fallen in the struggle and the motionless form of Data.
    It had been a near thing, Picard reflected as he watched Rubeus gloat. It had merely amounted to a matter of numbers. There had simply been too many Borg for them to fight off.
    They had adapted to the phasers quickly enough, forcing the Enterprise crewmembers to resort to melee combat. This was fine for Data and Worf, but Picard quickly found himself immobilized. Worf was using his mekh'leth to good effect, but soon found himself grappled by two Borg drones that moved in on him while he was dealing with a third.The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask fared better. Rubeus not withstanding, the Borg were still, for whatever reason, unable to adapt to their powers and they took full advantage of this. But more kept coming despite the casualties they were taking, and one by one the Scouts were quelled.
    Even so they might have had a chance had Data not been deactivated. The android was moving to liberate Mercury, reasoning that her fog ability would enable him to free several of the others without hindrance and give them a chance to turn the tide. A Borg intercepted him, distracting him for a brief second. In that time, Rubeus teleported behind him and pressed a certain spot in the small of his back. Data had collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut. The captain grimaced as he realized how Rubeus must have known how to deactivate Data. Picard had known the location of the android's off switch and therefore, by virtue of his assimilation into the collective, so did the Borg. And that evidently extended to Rubeus as well.
    Picard involuntarily flinched as another Borg approached him and two talons extended from the back of it's hand. He pushed down the terror that arose at the thought of being assimilated again.
    He was momentarily spared that fate. "Not yet, my friends," Rubeus said. The Borg moved off. "There'll be time enough for that later. But first..." Two panels behind him shimmered and showed views of the two sections of the Enterprise. The stardrive was still firing constantly, but the saucer was evidently withdrawing from the battle. "Before you rejoin the collective, Picard, I'd thought I would show you the destruction of your pitiful starship." Before anyone else could say anything, he turned to Sailor Moon. "Sailor Borg..." Tuxedo Mask growled at that. "...destroy the Enterprise. Start with the saucer section first."
    She made no reply, but a glow came from the broach containing the Silver Crystal which intensified quickly. A beam emerged and struck the crystal projection on a nearby power distribution node causing it and others like it to glow as well.
    Mercury watched through her visor, which was still deployed, collecting data. The beam was running through the Borg power system, using the entire ship as a conduit for the weapon. Also, she could tell that the Silver Crystal was not drawing upon Sailor Moon's life energy, but instead was drawing upon the entire Borg collective, taking a minuscule bit from each until it added up into a massive amount.

    Riker stared at the screen as the Borg ship pulsated with that white glow again. Before he could give any orders, the intense beam of energy shot out from it, striking the saucer. When the main screen cleared, he was somewhat amazed that it was still there. "Riker to Crusher, report!"
    "We're alright, Will," the doctor answered. "Q protected us, just like he said he would."
    "Would I lie?" Q's voice came over the comm channel. Riker frowned and glanced over at Q standing beside him. Q returned  the look with his usual smug look. "What's the matter, Riker? Can't 
believe I can be in two places at once?" As he said this the Borg struck again, this time at the stardrive section, also with no effect. "Oh, give it up already!" Q demanded irritably.

    Rubeus stared at the viewers in a nearly apoplectic rage. His ultimate weapon had fired twice and had hit both sections of the starship. Yet somehow, inexplicably, both remained in existence. "How can this be?" he muttered.
    "Having problems, Rubeus?" Picard inquired, his voice holding a hint of amusement. When he saw both sections emerge unscathed from the attack, he felt his spirits rise a little. Perhaps there was still a chance after all. If not for them, then at least for his ship and crew.
    For his part, Rubeus was struggling to control his anger. Both sections of that starship should be dust now... even less than dust! There was no way this was possible, unless... He nodded. Yes, that 
must be the reason. Somehow, someway, a small part of Sailor Moon must be resisting his control over her.
    He took a moment to contemplate what to do about that. After all, it wouldn't do for the key to his triumphant return to resist him every step of the way. He had to have total control over her, body and mind. Her will to resist, her spirit, would have to be broken beyond repair. And he knew just how to do it. He turned to Sailor Borg and gave her a silent command through the collective.
    Mars watched Serena turn slowly and walk over to Tuxedo Mask, who remained silent himself as this grotesque parody of the woman he loved approached. She swore to herself the different kinds of hell she was going to visit on Rubeus for this atrocity. In her mind she felt Deanna council her to remain calm, but she ignored this advice, choosing instead to focus on breaking loose from the grip of the Borg holding her. Unfortunately she wasn't having any better luck than the others in that department.
    She froze momentarily, all thought of escape forgotten when she saw what Rubeus intended. Sailor Moon had stopped in front of Tuxedo Mask and her right hand shot out, gripping him by the throat and closing her hand. Rubeus was forcing Serena to kill Darien. "NO! Serena, don't!!"
    "You've got to break free, Sailor Moon!" Jupiter cried. Mercury and Venus also added their pleas.

    Deanna, you've got to help me reach her! Raye cried out mentally. Please!
    I'll try, Raye, the counselor sent back. She wasn't too confident she could reach her with her own limited psi abilities, but she nonetheless sent, Sailor Moon! Listen to me!

    "It really doesn't matter if your ship is destroyed or not," Rubeus said in a conversational tone. He might have been discussing the weather, as opposed to gloating over having one of his enemies throttle the other. "Soon this ship will leave, and the Enterprise won't be able to follow."
    "Where are you going?" Picard asked.
    "Not a place, Picard, but a time."
    Mercury stopped her entreaties to Sailor Moon for a moment. "You're taking this ship to Crystal Tokyo. To your own time."
    "Correct. My own ship's time travel capabilities were destroyed when I crossed over to Picard's universe, but the Borg have their own method which is much more efficient."
    Picard felt a cold lump form in his chest. "The Borg have time travel capabilities?" he breathed. In retrospect, he should have expected that. Sometimes it seemed as if there wasn't anything beyond the Borg.
    "Oh, yes, Picard," Rubeus laughed evilly. "We do..."

    "Sir, the Borg cube is emitting chronometric particles," O'Brien reported. "It's forming a temporal vortex."
    "Time travel," Riker said to no one in particular. He hadn't counted on the Borg having that ability. They'd have to work fast to stop them before it was too late. He looked over to Artemis. The white cat had been assigned a vacant station on the battle bridge and had been feeding Riker the same tactical information that Luna had been providing Crusher. "The shuttle...?"
    "In position!" the cat informed him.
    "Then proceed, Artemis." Time to play their first trump card. "Detonate the shuttle."
    "With pleasure." Artemis stabbed a control with his paw that sent out a signal to the shuttle, now positioned less than ten meters from the hull of the cube. On board the unmanned craft, ironically enough named "Einstein", a series of overrides were engaged and the containment fields for the ship's small warp core were disengaged. Simultaneously, magnetic fields separating a large quantity of antimatter from it's matter counterpart suddenly deteriorated and a series of explosive charges went off, forcing the two to mingle, causing a massive and uncontrolled matter/antimatter reaction. The resulting annihilation of tens of kilograms of antimatter and matter caused an explosion much larger than any photon torpedo... but one more akin to a warp core breach. The main viewscreen darkened as the computer automatically compensated for the sudden appearance of a small sun on the hull of the cube.

    The Borg ship rocked violently. "No!" cried out Rubeus, damage assessments from the collective flooding into his mind. The foremost of these was that the time warp ability had been damaged, and the time shift had to be aborted. "This can't be!" He glared at the Enterprise stardrive section on the main viewer. It's weapons couldn't have caused this, so what had happened? He focused his attention on directing the drones to begin repairs to the cube. Once they were complete, he would crush that insignificant starship like a bug.
    Picard flicked his eyes back and forth between Rubeus and Sailor Moon. If there was a chance of reaching her, of her being able to break out from the control Rubeus had over her, now was the time. "Fight, Sailor Moon," he quietly urged her. "Don't let Rubeus control you. Fight against the hold he has on you. You can break through the control the Borg collective has on you. I've been able to do it, so can you!"

    Deanna closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to reach Serena's suppressed personality. Unfortunately, she wasn't having much luck. Her own psi abilities were just too weak to pierce the Borg control. She felt a small form jump into her lap. "You're trying to reach Serena telepathically, aren't you Counselor?"
    "Yes, but I'm not having much luck."
    "Perhaps I can be of assistance." The crescent moon symbol on her forehead began glowing. "I can add my psi abilities to yours, and maybe together we can reach her." A beam lanced out and touched Troi's head, forging the link.
    The combined consciousness called out, Serena! At first they only perceived the cacophony of a multitude of voices echoing through the Borg collective. But beneath it they dimly heard a small voice.
    Help me!
    We're here, Serena. Fight through the Borg unimind.
    Luna? Is that you?
    Yes, Serena. And Counselor Troi as well.
    Help me, she cried out desperately. He's making me kill Darien. I can't stop him!
    Yes you can, the two responded, reassuring her. We'll guide you, but you have to have the will to break through. If not for yourself, then for Darien.

    The Scouts added their voices to Picard's, calling out even more urgently for Serena to resist. Picard stopped in midword. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had seen her grip loosen slightly... and was that a hint of awareness he saw in her eyes? Was she beginning to break the hold over her?
    Darien felt himself able to take a breath. Was her grip loosening? He looked in her eyes, and saw awareness flooding back into them. She blinked. "Darien?"
    "Fight it, Serena. Fight the Borg! Break free!"
    "Silence, all of you!" Rubeus had become aware of their actions. "She's completely under my control. Sailor Borg, I command you: kill Tuxedo Mask!"
    She blinked, and her grip relaxed visibly. Then, in a barely audible voice, she said one word: "No."

    "I think that got their attention," Riker noted with grim satisfaction. The matter/antimatter explosion had gouged a large hole in the side of the Borg ship. Several of the crystal spires on that side had 
been destroyed as well.
    "Very impressive," Q observed, not sounding particularly so. "What's your next trick going to be?"
    "Just you watch. Chief...?"
    O'Brien nodded. "Almost ready sir. The deflector will be fully charged in a moment."

    The watcher nodded to herself. The critical moment was now. All would be won or lost depending on the outcome of the next few minutes.

    Sailor Moon cried out as Rubeus brought the full weight of the Borg unimind to bear on her. She fought against being submerged again, but the sheer weight of the collective was simply too much for anyone.
    YOU WILL DESTROY HIM, SAILOR BORG!
    No! she cried out mentally. I won't! I am Sailor Moon!
    The others called out encouragement to Sailor Moon which was all they could really do, held as tightly as they were by the Borg. Suddenly, Picard realized that the grip of the Borg holding him had loosened. If he wanted, he could easily break free. But as far as he could tell, this didn't apply to the others. There wasn't much he could do alone. The Borg had already adapted to his phaser, but maybe if he could reach Worf's mekh'leth...
    Locutus.
    He started. Had he heard that inside his head? Yes, there was something there, almost a soft murmur in the back of his mind. Then all at once the realization struck him. Somehow, he knew that some part of the collective was still resisting Rubeus' control. And it was this part that was giving him the chance to get free, to do something. But what? Unbidden, an image appeared in his mind. Picard didn't bother to reason where this new information came from. He chose instead to act on it and twisted loose from his captor and took two quick strides towards Rubeus.
    Rubeus turned, briefly distracted. "What are you doing, Picard?!?"
    "This." The captain swung with all his might and punched Rubeus right in the nose, staggering him. It didn't really hurt him, but had the desired effect nevertheless.
    Sailor Moon gasped as the pressure Rubeus had been bringing on her suddenly eased. "My name is not Sailor Borg!" Her hand reached for the Silver Crystal.
    "MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"

    The watcher allowed herself a slight smile. Unless something happened to disrupt the timeflow, all should proceed smoothly now. Q didn't think she could break free of the collective. It would take him a while to pay off that bet.

    "Mr. O'Brien, fi-" Riker's voice trailed off in confusion. "What the hell?!?" The reason for his puzzlement was clear. The Borg ship had been surrounded by a white, diffuse aura. It was similar to the glow that had been seen before the super weapon had fired, but this seemed to have a softer, almost healing quality to it. A tendril of the energy emerged from the light and headed for the saucer.

    "Evasive!" Crusher ordered, seeing the wisp of energy approach.
    "Belay that!" Beverly looked sharply at the Counselor. Both she and Luna looked worn from their mind meld, but her eyes were clear. "It's not an attack, Beverly. In fact, I think it's going to be of great help to one of your patients."
    The doctor looked back at the screen. The energy tendril was nearly on top of them. "I hope you're right, Deanna." Instinctively she braced herself for the impact, but there was no shock from it. It simply passed right through the hull.

    Nurse Ogawa gasped and took a step backwards as a white glow emerged from the ceiling and enveloped Ensign Harris. The glow hid her from view for several moments but when it faded, her skin had resumed it's normal color, and there was no sign of the Borg implant. Ogawa immediately opened a medical tricorder and scanned her. "I don't believe it," she muttered, tapping her comm badge. "Ogawa to Dr. Crusher."
    "Go ahead, Alyssa."
    "Doctor, I'm not sure how, but all evidence of the Borg nanoprobes have been purged from Ensign Harris' body. She's completely back to normal."

    On the bridge, Luna nodded in satisfaction. "You did it, Serena."

    Picard squinted from the light emanating from Sailor Moon as he felt his way towards Data. The others were also trying to shield their eyes from the glare but could do little more as they were still on the grip of the Borg save for Rubeus, who was staring at Sailor Moon in utter disbelief. Finally making his was to the insensate android, Picard pressed the activation switch, and Data immediately sat up.
At that moment the light faded, and a voice proudly proclaimed, "I am Sailor Moon!" The Scouts cheered while Picard noted with some amazement that her skin color had resumed it's normal hue and that there was no sign of the Borg implants that she had moments before.
    "Interesting," Data remarked. "It would seem that events have proceeded apace during my deactivation." He turned to his captain with a quizzical look. "Are we winning?"

    Silence reigned on the battle bridge as the crew stared at the Borg cube. All the various crystalline projections had been eliminated by the energy wave. It now looked like the typical Borg ship they had 
gotten used too, albeit with a large hole in one side. O'Brien found his voice first. "What the bloody hell was that?"
    "Offhand, I'd say that Sailor Moon just broke loose," Q remarked. "Probably that 'Moon Healing' something or other."
    "How about that... He does have a brain!"
    Q shot a glare at Artemis and snarled, "How would you like to visit Spot again, cat?"
    "Not now, Q," Riker said. "If they've been able to free Sailor Moon, then it's time to pull our people out of there. Chief, can you get a lock on the away team?"
    O'Brien checked the tactical board. "No, sir. The Borg EM field is still up. Wait a minute... I'm picking up a signal."
    Riker frowned. "Let's hear it."
    They heard once more that cold, toneless, many-as-one voice. 
    "We are the Borg."
    "Uh, oh," Artemis remarked.
    "Yeah," O'Brien absently agreed. "They almost sound angry."

    The same voice echoed through the confines of the cube. "You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
    Picard and Data didn't wait to hear the end of the Borg litany, nor for Rubeus' ranting protestations that followed. The captain grabbed Worf's mekh'leth from the floor and raced to free the Sailor Scout 
nearest him, in this case Jupiter. While not as skilled as Worf with the weapon, he did have some slight ability in handling it and was able to quickly dispatch one Borg holding her. His second slash with the weapon was halted by the other Borg that grabbed his arm and held it fast. He struggled to free his swordarm in vain and saw the Borg raise it's other arm, talons extended.
    Suddenly the Borg flailed about as it found itself being lifted up by Jupiter. Giving a wordless cry, the tall Scout heaved the Borg over her head and threw it with all her might, sending it crashing into the Borg holding Venus.
    Meanwhile, Data moved with android speed to liberate Mercury, intent on completing what he intended to do just before being deactivated. The Borg moved to stop him, but despite being much stronger than any organic being, it was no match for his android strength and was quickly dispatched.
    "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"
    Rubeus peered through the now fog-enshrouded room. While he couldn't see anything, he was able to hear Venus give her attack cry (no doubt freeing Mars) to be joined seconds later by the other Scouts. Of course, thanks to Sailor Moon, he had no way of monitoring the battle, since his link to the Borg had been destroyed. But it was safe to assume that they all were free by now. "Damn you, Sailor Moon!"
    "Speak for yourself, Rubeus." He whirled to face the source of the voice. The fog was lifting, allowing him to see an outline of Sailor Moon. "You used me to try to kill my friends, to kill the man I love. And for that, you will pay."
    "We'll see about that," he snarled, taking a step in her direction. Before he could anything else though, he found his path blocked by red  rose.
    "Yes, we will see," Tuxedo Mask said while moving next to Sailor Moon. Picard moved up on her other side, while the others lined up behind them.
    "It's over, Rubeus," Picard said.
    "Yeah, you're finished!" Mars added.
    "Do you think I fear you?" Rubeus ranted. "I was able to handle all the Scouts before. And even without the Borg, I still can-"
    "Oh, shut up," Picard said and fired his phaser at him. No forcefield blocked the beam this time, but it still did little more than stagger him.
    "I like your style, Captain," Tuxedo Mask said. "I think it's time to get rid of the garbage, right Sailor Moon?"
    "Right!" she agreed, producing her Moon Scepter. "You've caused us enough trouble, Rubeus! In the name of the Moon..."
    "...Mercury..."
    "...Venus..."
    "...Mars..."
    "...and Jupiter..."
    "...and the starship Enterprise," Data put in, getting into the spirit of things and drawing an odd look from Worf. Picard smiled slightly.
    "...we'll punish you!" they finished in unison.
    "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" The white beam lanced out at Rubeus, obscuring him. When it cleared, he was gone.
    "Did you forget I could teleport?" cam a voice from behind them. Spinning around, they saw Rubeus standing there, black energy crackling around his hand. "Any last words?"
    "Yes," Data answered. "Look behind you."
    "Android, that's the oldest trick in the book. Do you really think I'm going to fall for tha- gak!" Rubeus grimaced as a cybernetic hand gripped his shoulder. It released him seconds later, giving one brief moment where he thought he was safe. Then he felt the nanoprobes surge through his system, altering his biochemistry, and he collapsed. He was being assimilated. "NO! This can't be happening! I am Rubeus!!"
    Several Borg moved past him, advancing on the Scouts, and the voice of the Borg collective spoke again: "Rubeus is irrelevant."
    "For once I agree with the Borg," Picard said.
    "Yeah, but we still got our work cut out for us," Venus said.
    "Then let's get to it," Sailor Moon said and the attack cries of the Scouts echoed through the area, along with a flurry of roses.
    "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"
    "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"
    "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"
    "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
    "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

    The stardrive trembled as the Borg resumed their attack on the ship as well. "They've locked a tractor beam on us. Shields are being drained," O'Brien cried out.
    "Let 'em have it, Chief," Riker responded. It was now time to play their ultimate trump card. "FIRE!"

    Geordi watched the warp core with concern as the flow of matter and antimatter into it accelerated, generating power well beyond it's designed specifications. All of this energy was then funneled to the 
main deflector dish. "Here goes nothing..."

    Riker held his breath as he waited for the deflector energy discharge to begin. The last time they had tried this, the Borg had already prepared themselves for the high frequency EM blast and it simply bounced off their shields. There was little reason to think that this ship was any less prepared for it, but there was a slight hope that they weren't able to absorb it as they had before.
    But if they did have the power to deflect the beam... Riker squelched that thought. If they were able to deflect it, it was very likely he wouldn't have to worry about it for very long.
    The beam emerged from the deflector and struck the cube in the center of the crater created by the shuttle explosion. For a brief second, it coruscated off a force field. But the Borg were depleted in energy reserves by the transit between the two universes and by the battle with the Enterprise, and the force field soon collapsed. The beam cut deep into the cube and Riker could see secondary explosions occur all along the facets of the cube.

    Inside the cube, things were rather chaotic. The ship was shaking violently, making it hard for them, with the exception of Data, to stay on their feet. About the only good thing was that the Borg had backed off, suddenly more concerned with repairing the ship. Picard watched without sympathy as the now assimilated Rubeus moved off to do the will of the collective. "What's happening?" Jupiter cried out.
    "I would surmise that the Enterprise has opened fire with the main deflector," Data responded as calm as ever.
    Mercury peered through her visor. "He's right. The power systems are going wild." This wasn't hard to believe, as all around them the power conduits and distribution nodes were exploding as they overloaded from the Enterprise's attack. "It's going to explode any minute!"
    "It would appear that it's time to leave," Picard noted, tapping his comm badge. "Picard to Enterprise." The ship gave a particularly violent lurch at that point and he would have been sent sprawling to the deck if Venus and Mars hadn't helped steady him. To one side, Jupiter was helping Worf in a similar manner. The Scouts were still able to retain some measure of footing, thanks to their greater strengths.
    Not sure if he missed the reply, Picard tried again. "Picard to Enterprise." No response came. "Something's interfering with communications!"
    Mercury made a quick mental adjustment to her visor. "The Borg are still jamming communications. Their EM field is also blocking transporter function as well."
    "Merde," said Picard. The shocked look he got from Sailor Venus indicated that she understood what he had said. "We have to get off this ship. Any suggestions?"
    "What about the Sailor Teleport?" asked Venus.
    Mercury nodded. "Yes. The energy jamming it must have been coming from the modifications Rubeus made to the ship, and Sailor Moon destroyed those."
    Jupiter looked concernedly around them. Their previous uses of the Sailor Teleport had been with only one extra person at most. This time they had Data, Worf and Picard to account for as well. "Can we take everyone with us?"
    "No choice," said Sailor Moon. "We have to try." The Scouts formed a circle, with the others standing in the center. Picard felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as he hung to Data, trying to remain more or less on his feet.

    "I'm reading massive fluctuations in the Borg power generation grid," O'Brien reported. That was an understatement. The surface of the cube was alive with energy as random discharges skittered along the facets and several explosions could be seen as well. "It's going to blow any second, Commander."
    "Can you get a lock on the away team?" Riker asked again.
    "No, sir. That damned EM field is still there. But even if it wasn't, there's so many energy discharges that I'd doubt we'd be able to cut through all the interference."
    Riker didn't even bother asking Q. He had made it perfectly clear earlier that his only actions here would be protecting the Enterprise. He could try badgering the entity into helping, but right now he hadn't the time. His first priority was to see to the safety of the ship. "Cease fire. Ensign, bring us about and proceed away from the Borg ship at best possible speed."
    "Aye, sir," Ro and O'Brien responded after a brief moment of hesitation.

    Guinan stood by the large windows in Ten Forward. Being a civilian, she of course had no battle station. In fact, she really should be in her quarters now, like the rest of the Enterprise's civilian population. But she had never been one to remain there even during the fiercest fighting the ship had seen, and she wasn't about to start now.
    Besides, the battle was over for the most part. The saucer had long since withdrawn from the battle and she gazed in the general direction of where she thought the stardrive section was still confronting 
the Borg. Since they were far outside visual range, she could only guess what was happening out there.
    She turned suddenly and looked around the room, sensing something. Even so, she was still startled from the pulse of light. Nine people had instantly appeared in Ten Forward.
    The Scouts staggered, panting as if out of breath. "Whoa! That teleport really took it out of me!" Jupiter said in between breaths.
    Venus nodded. "Well... we never had to transport so many people before."
    "That was an interesting mode of travel," Picard observed. "Though I will stick to using the transporter, if you don't mind."

    The stardrive section raced away from the doomed ship, trying to put as much distance from it as possible. Since the main deflector had been burned out by the beam, it was restricted to running at impulse power, and even there it couldn't run anywhere near it's maximum speed. All too soon, cracks appeared all along the cube's surfaces and, with a mighty flash, the once mighty Borg vessel exploded.

    Crusher looked up at the sound of the forward turbolift doors opening and noted with relief that Data, Worf and Picard seemed none the worse for wear. But before she could say anything to them, the rear turbolift doors opened, revealing...
    "SERENA!" came Luna's joyful exclamation at seeing her unharmed. She vaulted onto the bridge railing and covered the distance between them in a rather prodigious leap.
    Sailor Moon gave her a gentle hug. "I'm okay, Luna."
    Picard turned to the viewscreen. He could see that the shockwave had already impacted with the stardrive sections, but was easily absorbed by it's shields. Still, it was continuing it's inexorable march towards them. "Shields status?"
    "They're out," Crusher answered. Then over the shipwide intercom, "All hands, brace for impact!" Seconds later, they felt the deck pitch violently when the shockwave hit the saucer section.
    "Didn't we just go through this?" Jupiter grumbled, picking herself off the deck.
    "Well, she did warn you," Mars pointed out, having grabbed onto the bridge railing herself.
    "Damage report!" Crusher ordered.
    "Both impulse engines are down now, and we've got an outer hull breach on decks twelve and thirteen," Steiner reported. "Contained with forcefields. We can still maneuver with thrusters."
    "Sounds like we were lucky," Picard remarked.
    "Very," Crusher replied. She got up from the command chair. "It's all yours again, Jean-Luc. I better go down and check on Sickbay."
    "Not so fast, Doctor. That can wait until we've put the ship back together."
    She smiled, "Well, if you insist, sir," and sat back down. "Helm, maneuver us to rendezvous with the stardrive section."
    "So it's over?" asked Sailor Mars.
    "The Borg ship destroyed and Rubeus along with it," he answered. "I'd say that qualifies as over." He glanced over at the Scouts and saw the looks of relief and joy in their faces. Even Sailor Moon was smiling as she and Tuxedo Mask embraced one another.
    Troi watched, concerned. She could sense that all wasn't quite right with Sailor Moon. She eyed the girl again, and this time saw the haunted look in her eyes. The Counselor sighed inwardly. She had seen the same look in the captain's eyes just over a year ago.
    It wasn't quite over just yet...

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Sailor Trek: The Next Generation
By Bill Harris
Chapter 7 - Recovery
PG13

    The entity looked idly about the nexus, in his own way admiring the flow of time around him. Still, he was anything but pleased as he turned to his companion. "I still think I should just send them back right now," Q said, sounding a bit petulant. The figure next to him shook her head, stirring her long, green tinged hair.
    "That would not be a good idea. Sailor Moon needs time to adequately recover from her recent ordeal... which you bear some responsibility for, by the way." Q snorted disbelievingly. "Besides, they've earned a brief respite with all they've been through the previous two years."
    Q glowered at her and stifled the urge to transform her into a cartoonish dog. He had tried that once with her before, only to learn just how powerful she was in this domain. Of course, the fact that she had other friends within the Q Continuum didn't help matters either. It had been that incident that had led to his brief existence as a human. 
    "Very well, Pluto. We'll do it your way."

    "Captain's Log, Stardate 45239.8: The Enterprise remains in the Scout's universe, albeit one hundred years in their future, and has limped into orbit around the Jovian moon Europa while Commander LaForge completes repairs to the ship. He estimates that it will be at least one week before repairs are complete enough for the ship to travel at warp speeds."

    "Counselor's Personal Log, Stardate 45239.9: Beverly has completed an examination of Serena and has told me that she found that all Borg implants in her were purged by the Silver Crystal, and that she has completely recovered... at least physically. However, I am afraid that other aspects of her recovery will take much longer."

    "I just don't know what to do," Darien said.
    Troi watched the young man pace in her office. Even if he hadn't had a worried expression on his face, she could have been able to tell he was troubled, for it was radiating from him like a supernova. It had nearly been a full day since they had managed to extract Serena from the Borg ship. At first she had seemed fine, but since then she had become withdrawn, nearly locking herself in her quarters. Still, his pacing was starting to get on her nerves, and a counselor couldn't afford that. "Darien, sit down." After he hesitated a moment, she added an emphatic "Please!"
    He finally took a seat opposite from her. "Sorry. It's just that..."
    Deanna nodded. "I understand. You love her very much."
    "Yes," he replied shakily. "She's everything to me."
    "And yet, not long ago you broke up with her."
    He looked at her sharply. "You know about that?"
    "Yes," the counselor affirmed. "I've been talking with both Raye and Luna. I needed to know about her past if I was going to help her deal with what she's gone through." She gave him a moment to digest this information. "Why did you break up with her?"
    "Didn't Raye or Luna tell you?"
    "Yes," she acknowledged. "But I'd like to hear it from you."
    He took a deep breath. "Okay. In a nutshell, I was having these dreams, night after night. They kept telling me that unless I stayed away from her, Serena would be hurt... maybe even killed."
    "And so you broke up with her based on a dream?" Troi asked skeptically.
    He got up and began pacing again, much to her displeasure. "You don't understand. I couldn't take the chance that she'd die. I'd do anything to prevent that. Even if it meant losing her."
    "Don't you think she feels the same?"
    Darien stopped his pacing. "What do you mean?"
    She got up and face him. "Think about it, Darien. Over the past few days, she was captured and assimilated by the Borg. Then she was forced by Rubeus, through the Borg, to try to destroy this ship, along with her friends, the other Scouts. Finally she was used by Rubeus to try to kill you. And given the love the two of you feel for each other, that has to have a devastating effect on her emotionally."
    "But it was Rubeus that was trying to kill me, not..." he objected.
    "I know," Troi interrupted him. "And on an intellectual level, so does she. But it's going to take some time for her to accept that on an emotional level." She paused for a moment to let him think this over. "Don't try to force the issue, Darien. When she's ready, she'll come to you."

    The sound of the Ten Forward doors opening attracted Guinan's attention. This was one of those 'dead hours' in the lounge, in the middle of the night shift, and it was nearly deserted. The vast majority of crew not on duty at this hour were in their quarters, sleeping. Of course, there were those in the crew that swore that she was always on duty, but that was utter nonsense. 
    She was simply there when she was needed.
    She looked over to see who was entering at this time of night, but saw no one there. After a moment, the doors closed, as if on their own accord. She frowned, puzzled by the door's mysterious behavior.
    A glimpse of movement along the floor of the darkened lounge caught her eye. Looking in that direction, she spotted Luna moving towards the large windows lining the lounge. She nodded to herself, satisfied she had an explanation for the door opening.
    Luna jumped up onto the sill, and sat down, gazing silently at Europa spinning below the ship. Guinan watched her for several minutes, then moved over to join her. "Hello, Luna."
    The cat started when she spoke. "Oh. Good evening, Guinan."
    "Actually, it's very early in the morning."
    She looked startled. "Is it? I must have lost track of the time."
    "Being lost in your own thoughts will do that," the bartender answered. "Can I get you something? Some milk, perhaps?"
    "No, thank you." The cat returned her gaze outside, watching Europa spin slowly five hundred kilometers below them. Jupiter was just now rising above the horizon. It was a spectacular sight. The Red Spot was just over the terminator in daylight, and there where hundreds of storms below giving off lightning on the night side, as well as the auroras glowing in the upper layers. In short, a sight any astronomer would die for.
    Guinan ignored this and regarded the feline thoughtfully. "You're worried about Serena."
    The cat was silent for a time, but eventually nodded. "Yes. I've seen her go through a lot in the last two years, but I've never seen her like this." Luna was silent for a moment. "It's as if she's trying to distance herself as far from the rest of us as she can."
    "In a way, she is," Guinan acknowledged. "Part of her blames herself for what she did while she was assimilated by the Borg."
    Luna snorted. "Ridiculous! She had absolutely no control over that!"
    "You're right. She couldn't control it. And that will be the hardest thing for her to accept."
    Luna sighed. "We had an argument earlier," she admitted. "She accused me of not understanding what she's gone through, before she tossed me out of the room. And she's right. Much as I want to, I can't really understand what she's going through. I don't believe anyone really can."
    "Actually," Guinan observed ruefully, "There is someone who can."

    Locutus of Borg walked down the corridor of the Borg ship, then turned to face the communications monitor. At a mental command the screen flickered, showing the several of the commanding officers of the starships confronting the Borg. "Resistance is futile. You will deactivate your weapons and escort us to sector zero zero one. If you attempt to intervene... we will destroy you."
    "All ships, attack pattern alpha. Commence fire," ordered commanding officer of the fleet, Admiral Hansen. Locutus idly noted that he was known to Picard, who considered him a close friend. It didn't matter one way or another to Locutus. Friendship was irrelevant. Several starships raced in at maximum impulse and fired off volleys of phasers and photon torpedoes. Locutus directed the weapons at the nearest, the USS Melbourne. In a matter of seconds, it's shields were drained and the forward half of the primary hull had evaporated. Powerless, the hulk of the once proud starship drifted dead in space, it's crew dead or trying desperately to escape in lifepods.
    Ignoring the dead ship, Locutus turned his attention to the other ships in the fleet.
    And destroyed ship...
    ...after ship...
    ...after ship...

    "NOO!!"
    Picard bolted upright in his bed, sweat streaming down his face. He glanced around quickly before ascertaining that he was still in his quarters... still on the Enterprise. "A nightmare." And one about Wolf 359 at that. He hadn't had one of those in quite some time. Still, one didn't have to be a trained psychologist like Counselor Troi to realize what had triggered it. Recent events had come a little to close to home for his taste. Especially when the voice from the collective had echoed in his mind. He still wasn't sure how that had happened. Was he still connected in some way to the collective? Could they use that against him? Or could he turn the tables and use this link against them? Those were questions for a later time. "Computer," he said, his voice raspy, "what is the time?"
    "Oh four twenty seven hours."
    Picard sighed. It was only another hour before it was time for him to get up. Deciding that he might as well get a head start on the day, he got out of bed, intending to head for the shower. But first... "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot."

    In another part of the Enterprise, someone else had also just woken up from a nightmare. Serena sat up in the bed shivering, not from cold, but from sheer terror. It was several moments before she realized just where she was and her pulse soon slow down to a more normal pace.
    She got out of bed and moved to the window, staring morosely out into space. The magnificent sight of Jupiter through the window did nothing to lighten her mood. Indeed, she wasn't really looking at the large gas giant at all. Instead, her thoughts were firmly rooted in recent events. I should have been able to stop them, she thought. I should have kept them from using the Silver Crystal as a weapon, from making me try to kill... The memory overcame her and she began crying softly.
    "I hate this place."

    A few hours later, the door opened and to admit someone into the room. Mina peered through the darkened room, Now, how do you turn on the lights around here? After a moment it came to her. "Computer, lights on." Obediently, the computer turn the room lights to full illumination. She smiled and mentally congratulated herself on figuring that out.
    "Huh?" Seated by the room window, Serena blinked at the sudden change in the light level.
    Mina smiled and crossed over to her. "Serena, what are you doing sitting in the dark?"
    She shrugged and returned her gaze outside the window. "Nothing. Just thinking?"
    "Are you serious? Come on, girlfriend, this isn't the time for serious thinking. We just beat Rubeus and the Borg! This is a time to celebrate. And there's a big, wide starship to do it in out there." 
    When she didn't reply Mina continued, "Come on, Serena. We're going to check out that holodeck thing and see what it can really do! Why don't you come with us?"
    Her reply was muffled. "You guys go ahead without me."
    "Serena..."
    "I said no!" she suddenly shouted, startling Mina with the vehemence of her reply. "Just go away and leave me alone!!"
    For the first time in a long while, Mina found herself at a loss for words. Finally she just nodded and left the room. The others met Mina outside. "Any luck?" Lita asked. Mina shook her head in response.
    They were silent for a moment. Finally Amy said, "I don't like this. The only time I can remember seeing her this bad was when Darien was kidnapped by the Negaverse."
    "You got that right," Raye murmured absently. Then in a louder tone, "Why don't you guys go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later."
    "Where are you going?" Mina inquired.
    "To talk to Deanna. Maybe she can give us some advice about how to handle Serena." With that Raye headed down the corridor.
    "Come on you two," Lita urged. She started for the turbolift. "I don't know about you, but I've got a sudden craving to bust something up."
    "Like what?" Mina asked.
    "I don't know. Maybe we'll just run that Borg scenario, but this time put Rubeus' face on all the Borg."
    The three girls continued the rest of the way in silence, only pausing long enough for the doors to the holodeck to open sufficiently. They all stopped shortly after entering. They had expected to see the normal grid associated with a deactivated holodeck. But this scene was vastly different, telling them that the area was in use.
    The three girls looked around in confusion. "What's going on?" Lita asked. The scene before them was of a swampland and the air had a humid feel, with a low mist hanging. "I thought we had the holodeck reserved!"
    A look of consternation crossed Mina's face. "Ooops..."
    Lita turned to the blonde. "Mina, don't tell me you forgot?!?"
    "Er... Um..." she stammered. "Sorry..."
    "I'm sure there are other holodecks we could use," Amy suggested. "After all, it is still early in the day."
    "Yeah, you're right, Amy," Lita acquiesced, though she still sounded annoyed.
    Before any of them could move or call for the exit, a loud cry echoed through the area and a large form burst from the nearby bushes. It plowed right into Mina and Amy, knocking the two of them into a 
nearby pond.
    Lita instinctively readied herself as the creature charged at her. The tall girl deftly blocked it's attack, and she retaliated quickly, striking two quick blows to it's head before dealing it a sharp spin kick. The creature fell to the ground and didn't move. She was just starting to relax when a sound from behind her caused her to spin around. Worf stood there with Darien beside him, each holding a large curved 
weapon and looking as if they had been fighting creatures of this type for some time. "What are you doing here?" the Klingon demanded.
    "Sorry," Lita said. "We didn't know the holodeck was in use."
    "You should have checked the indicators before you entered," Worf said in an accusing tone.
    "Well, excuse us!" Mina groused as she and Amy tried futilely to wring their clothes out. "What kind of program do you call this anyway?"
    "According to Worf, this is his idea of morning calisthenics," Darien answered her.
    "Calisthenics?!?" Amy said in a shocked voice. Mina stared at the security chief while Lita began looking around the room thoughtfully. Worf's ever present frowned deepened. He had known he was going to regret doing Deanna a favor and inviting Darien to join him this morning. 
    Very few humans could appreciate a Klingon exercise program. Before he could say anything, though, Lita spoke up, "I don't know. I kinda like it."
    Worf instantly regarded the tall girl in a new light. If he didn't know better, he'd have said she had some Klingon blood in her.

    Deanna was looking over her schedule when the door chime sounded. 
    Come in, Raye.
    In answer to her silent call, the door opened to admit the raven haired Sailor Scout. "How did you know..." Her voice trailed off as Troi looked up at her. "Never mind. I can guess how."
    Deanna smiled. "What's on your mind, Raye?"
    "Serena."
    "I had a feeling you wanted to talk about that," the counselor replied, her smile fading. "Have a seat." As Raye was doing so she continued, "I had a similar conversation with Darien last night. Afterwards I had an impromptu session with Serena."
    "And?"
    "She's erected a rather formidable emotional wall around herself. She feels a great sense of guilt over what she was forced to do by the Collective."
    "That sounds like the meatballhead," Raye muttered. "Feeling guilty over what she couldn't control."
    "Yes, but it's understandable," Troi replied. "She loves Darien intensely, and she feels similarly about the rest of the Sailor Scouts... and especially about you, Raye."
    "Give me a break, Deanna!" she retorted. "All we ever do is fight with each other!"
    "Raye, after talking to both of you, I've found you to be the closest thing to sisters without being blood relatives," Deanna said gently.
    "The only thing that matters right now is trying to get her of this shell she's put herself in," Raye replied, trying to avoid the issue. "Any ideas?"
    "I've got a couple," she answered. "First and foremost I think we should get her to talk with Captain Picard."
    "Huh? Why?"
    "About a year ago, he went through a similar experience," Troi explained. "He was captured by the Borg, and assimilated into the collective. Eventually we were able to recover him..." She paused. "But not before the Borg used him to destroy a fleet of Federation starships."
    "Wow." Raye pondered this information. "Okay, so when's this gonna happen?"
    "Soon, I hope." Seeing Raye's expression she elaborated, "Captain Picard is a very private man. He's not one to open up to people... especially about this."
    "I don't care!" Raye exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "If his talking with Serena is going to help her, then he's going to do it. I'll go right up to the bridge and convince him myself if I have to!"
    Deanna sat back and regarded her thoughtfully. "Perhaps you should..."

    "As far as we can tell, Earth has no idea we're here," Riker said.
    Picard nodded as he sat down and looked over the desk at his first officer. "But the Earth here is in it's late twenty first century, and hasn't had it's technological development halted by a devastating World War as ours was. They must have some idea that something went on."
    "I don't see how they could miss it," Riker admitted. "There was a lot of fire being exchanged, not to mention the explosion of Rubeus' ship. Fortunately their bases on the Moon and Mars were out of position to effectively witness the battle, so that would leave ground or satellite based observations. With luck all they caught was a glimpse of us."
    "Well, the best thing for now would be to remain out of sight until Commander LaForge can get us ready to return home," Picard said. "Earth or no, the Prime Directive is in full effect here."
    "Agreed," Riker replied. "But I still would like to recommend..."
    His recommendation was interrupted by the ready room doors opening and Raye marching in. "I'd like to talk to you, Captain." She fixed a steely gaze on Riker, "Alone."
    Displeasure at this intrusion showed on the captain's face, but all he said was, "That will be all, Number One." The commander nodded and left the room. His voice deceptively calm, Picard said, "Now, Miss Hino, please have a seat and tell me what's on your mind."
    "I can answer that in one word: Serena."
    Picard's expression shifted to puzzlement. "I don't believe I understand."
    "I think you do. She's just been through hell, and you owe it to her to help her."
    "I see," Picard replied. "I'm sure Counselor Troi will do everything she can to aide in her recovery, but I..."
    "No, you owe her," Raye snapped. She leaned over the desk and leveled a finger at him. "If it wasn't for her, you'd be doing another tour of duty as Locutus!"
    The captain blanched slightly, telling Raye that her remark had hit home. Still, his voice remained even. "What would you suggest?"
    "Talk to her. You went through something similar. You should be able to help her get through this."
    "Very well, Miss Hino. I'll speak with her later this afternoon..."
    "Now," Raye insisted.
    Picard had a feeling that he was being neatly maneuvered. "You're not going to leave here until I agree, are you?"
    She shook her head. "Nope."
    They stared determinedly at each other for several moments. 
    Finally, "Very well, Miss Hino. I will contact Counselor Troi and have her bring Serena up as soon as possible." Immediately, the door slid open to admit Deanna and Serena into the ready room. Picard's eyes flicked from Raye to Troi as he belatedly realized that the two of them had conspired in this.
    Raye shrugged unabashedly. "Thanks, Captain. If you'll excuse me, I've got an appointment on Holodeck Three." She turned to exit, pausing to say, "Hi, Serena."
    "Hi, Raye," she murmured, not bringing her eyes up to look at her. Raye looked like she was going to say something else for a moment, but she simply looked back to Picard, her eyes taking on a pleading look.
    Sensing that the only thing she wanted was to help her friend, Picard's expression softened and he gave a slight nod to her. "Thank you, Counselor. That will be all." Raye and Deanna left, leaving the two of them together.
    Unsure were to begin, Picard cleared his throat uncomfortably and walked over to the replicator. "Would you like something to drink? Tea, perhaps?"
    She shrugged, not really caring one way or another. "Sure."
    "Tea, Earl Grey, hot. For two." The replicator hummed and the requested mugs materialized in short order. Picard handed one to Serena, and motioned her to a seat. "Please, sit down." The blonde girl sat down, and stared expressionlessly out the window. Picard returned to his seat and considered her for a moment, trying to determine the best way to proceed. "As hard as it is to believe, I know what you're going through, Serena."
    She looked sharply at him, showing real emotion for the first time since she entered. Rage. "Everyone keeps saying that! Well, how could you? How could anyone?!? I was the one they took over!" Tears welled up in her eyes, but she continued. "I almost killed the best friends I've ever had, the man I love! They..."
    She stopped her tirade, but Picard picked up where she left off. "They took all that you are; your powers, abilities and memories." He paused, memories flooding back of his time as a Borg. "They used you to kill, to destroy. You fought them as hard as you could, but you couldn't stop them. And yet, you feel you should have been able to stop them, somehow."
    She stared at him, some of the anger fading from her face. "How could you know..." she began, then her voice trailed off. She paused, suddenly remembering something from during her time as Sailor Borg. A memory from the Borg collective consciousness.
    A face.
    Picard's face.
    No, not him, precisely, but with cybernetic implants, like she had. 
    A name surfaced to go along with it. "Locutus," she whispered.
    Picard nodded. "Yes. I was Locutus."
    "Then the same thing happened to you..."
    "A little over a year ago," he acknowledged. "A single Borg vessel invaded Federation space, and sought me out as their 'spokesman'. I was kidnapped, and assimilated, much as you were." His voice dropped to nearly a whisper as he recalled those brief, but horrible days. "They took my knowledge of Starfleet tactics and defenses and used it to destroy thirty nine starships at Wolf 359, killing thousands of Starfleet personnel. Some of them were friends that I had known for years." He paused and looked intently at Serena. "You did better than I did. At the critical time, you were able to overcome the Borg 
collective in your mind and regain control of yourself. The most I was able to do was give Data a one word message."
    "I was only able to do that because Rubeus was distracted by the Enterprise firing that energy weapon at the ship. If it hadn't I would have killed..." Her voice choked of at the memory of what she had almost been forced to do.
    "No," Picard insisted firmly. "Not you. Rubeus did, through the Borg. They used you..." He paused for a moment. "Used us to do those deeds. The blame for those actions rests entirely with them. It is something we both need to understand." He smiled slightly. "We both need to be able to forgive ourselves."
    Serena considered his words for several moments. Finally she said, "How do you deal with it?"
    "It's a day to day thing," he admitted. "The support of my family and friends is what helped me. It will also help you. And, like all nightmares, it will fade with the passage of time."
    "I can't exactly tell my family about this. They don't even know I'm a Sailor Scout."
    "True," he agreed. "But there are others you can rely on. Luna... the other Scouts... and Darien."
    "Yeah."
    "They're concerned about you. It may not be my place to suggest this, but I think you should go to them and talk with them. Let them help you. And if you'd like, I'd be happy to have further conversations with you."
    After a minute, "Do... do you know where Darien is?"
    "That should be easy enough to find out," he answered. "Computer, location of Darien Chiba."
    "Darien Chiba is located on Holodeck Three," responded the computer.
    "Thanks," she said. Then, "Hey, wait a minute... Raye said she was going there! What's she doing down there with my Darien?!?" Before Picard do so much as suggest that they weren't alone, she turned and headed for the door, then hesitated there. "Um, how do you get to Holodeck Three?"
    Picard smiled. "I'll have someone escort you there." He got up and walked onto the bridge. "Number One, would you escort Serena to Holodeck Three?"
    "Of course, sir," responded the first officer. "If you'll come this way?"
    Picard watched them enter the turbolift, then returned to his desk to go through the various repair reports. Yes, we must forgive ourselves, he thought. But I will never forgive the Borg for their 
actions. One day I will make them pay for what they've done.

    As always, the door vanished behind them as they entered the holodeck. Riker looked around the scene that had been created, apparently an urban area of some sort. "I wonder what place this is 
supposed to be."
    "Juban," Serena answered. "It's where we live, on the outskirts of Tokyo."
    "Hmmm... that's interesting. I wonder why..." Riker spotted a familiar figure nearby, and walked up to him. "New program, Mr. Worf?"
    "Not quite, Commander. It's a variation of..." He broke off as another figure approached the three of them. Riker recognized him instantly, Lt. Reginald Barclay, a first rate diagnostic engineer and an even better holodeck programmer.
    "Th-the holomatrix seems to be stable this time, sir," he told Worf, then nodded to the first officer. "Commander." He looked uncertainly Serena.
    Riker quickly said, "Lt. Barclay, this is Serena."
    "Hi," she said, looking around the area. "I thought the computer said Darien was here."
    "Oh, he is," Barclay responded and gestured behind him. "He's somewhere over there." He looked at her closely. "You wouldn't happen to be Sailor Moon, would you?"
    She hesitated a moment before answering. There wasn't much use trying to keep it a secret on this ship now. "Yeah. Why?"
    "Oh, good." He began typing on the padd he was holding. "I'd like to-"
    A crash from a nearby building interrupted him. A nearby window shattered, and Tuxedo Mask came flying out. He hit a nearby wall, and lay there stunned. Another figure appeared in the shattered remains of the window and hovered there and shouted, "I'm going to get you, cape boy!"
    Serena gasped. Zoisite! But how...? It didn't matter, she was getting ready to attack Darien, and he was still trying to gather his wits. She had to act now! "You're gonna be sorry you tangled with us again, Zoisite!" she shouted. Barclay looked up at her in alarm.
    Riker tried to stop her. "Wait a minute, Serena, it's just..."
    Too late. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" This was the first time the three Starfleet officers had seen any of the Scouts transform and they stood transfixed by the sight. Before anyone could react, she leapt forward, landing in front of Tuxedo Mask, Moon Scepter at the ready. "Tangling with us before wasn't lesson enough for you Zoisite? In case you've forgotten, I'm the champion of love and justice Sailor Moon! I right wrongs and triumph over evil! And that most definitely means you!"
    The hovering blonde laughed evilly. "Well, if it isn't the moon brat. Is that your rattle?"
    Sailor Moon gritted her teeth. "I'll rattle you!"
    "Wait! Stop!" Barclay cried.
    Too late as it turned out. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" The white energy beam lanced out and struck Zoisite. The Negaverse General flickered for a second, then froze. "Huh?"
    "Program error," announced the computer.
    "Well, so much for the stability of the holomatrix," Barclay sighed.
    Sailor Moon didn't seem to hear him. "Program error? What does that mean?!?"
    Malachite appeared in the window. His expression tightened into one of rage when he saw Zoisite frozen in front of Sailor Moon. "You'll pay for that, Sailor Moon!"
    Sailor Moon gaped at him. "First Rubeus, then Zoisite, and now you! What is this, return of the dead guys week?"
    "Computer, freeze program," Worf said. Malachite froze in middle of hurling an energy blast at Sailor Moon.
    Luna came out of the building and looked at Worf. "What happened?"
    "Sailor Moon," Worf responded. "We hadn't put the parameters in her attack into the computer. It was unable to accurately process it into the program, and caused an error."
    "I was just about to do that, so fortunately the scanners were operating at maximum," Barclay put in. "They probably got enough information on her attack that we can run a computer analysis on it and reset the program to handle it. Computer: arch." The arch control panel appeared nearby and the engineer began working on the controls.
    "You mean this is one big computer game?" asked Sailor Moon, looking around. "Cool!"
    "This is not a game!" Worf responded sharply. Serena instinctively flinched from his tone of voice. "This is a training simulation." After in inquiring look from Riker, he continued in a calmer tone. "Luna asked me to devise a program to help the Scouts in their training. Since our security needs in this universe are minimal, I agreed. Commander LaForge recommended that we make use of Mr. Barclay's... expertise in this area."
    Sailor Moon had stopped listening to them, as she had gone over to Tuxedo Mask and was helping him to his feet. "Are you okay?" she asked.
    Before he replied, Darien glanced over at Riker, who caught the hint and nodded. After a quiet word to Worf and Barclay, the three officers left the holodeck. "I think I should be asking you that."
    Serena averted his gaze, and turned away. "I... I'm surprised you even want to talk with me."
    "Serena..."
    "I tried to kill you!" The tears began to flow once more.
    "Serena," he said again. Gently, he placed his hand beneath her chin and tuned her to face him. With his free hand, he removed the mask from his face and gazed into her eyes. "Rubeus tried to kill me. Not you. You stopped him in the end. You saved me... You saved all of us. THAT is what matters." They gazed at each other for a silent moment, then, as if by mutual agreement, they tightly embraced each other. "I love you, Serena. I always have, and always will. No matter what."
    Luna was watching this with a sense of satisfaction when she sensed someone behind her. She turned and saw the other Scouts standing silently, the smiles of happiness on their faces telling her that they were equally delighted by this turn of events.
    The cat returned her gaze forward and nodded to herself. It would be a long hard road ahead, but she was certain that Serena was well on the way to a complete recovery.

    Note: Picard's dream is based upon the Wolf 359 sequence shown in the beginning of "Emissary", the premiere episode of "Star Trek - Deep Space 9".

Back to Top

Sailor Trek: The Next Generation 
By Bill Harris
Part Epilogue
PG13

    "Captain's Log, Stardate 45242.5: Commander LaForge has repaired the ship with his customary efficiency. However, I have decided to forgo returning to our own universe for the time being. Firstly, on recommendation of my first officer, it is to take advantage of this unique opportunity to explore the immediate vicinity of Earth in this alternate universe. Secondly, and more importantly, it will afford Serena adequate time to make a sufficient recovery. We owe her that much at least."

    "First Officer's Personal Log, Stardate 45290.3: Deanna has informed the Captain that Serena has made enough progress over the last month that she can return home. Q will return them home sometime tomorrow and so the ship is now on a return course for Earth. I think I'll survive until then..."

    The main computer of a Galaxy-class starship was not supposed to be prone to mistakes, but an observer near Ten Forward might have presumed that it made one this time as the nearby turbolift doors opened and no one stepped out. Eventually though, Riker emerged from it hesitantly and cautiously glanced up and down the corridor. Breathing a sigh of relief, he hefted his trombone case and made his way to the Ten Forward entrance.
    He had only a few steps when, "Hello, Will."
    The first officer started slightly before he realized who it was. "Counselor."
    "My, aren't we jumpy," Deanna commented. "In fact, I don't think I've seen you this nervous since we first met on Betazed."
    "It's been a rather... strenuous month."
    "Has it?" Troi asked, putting a naive tone in her voice. "I admit I've been rather busy with Serena, but I haven't noticed anything else out of the ordinary."
    Riker shot her a pained look, which only made her smile broader. She knew perfectly well what Riker had been talking about and he knew it. "It's easy for you to joke about. You're not the target of their... affections."
    "I don't believe this," she said with a laugh.
    "What's so funny?"
    "You!" His expression made her laugh again. "I can't believe that you, Will Riker, who's had relationships with women all over the Federation..."
    "Deanna!" he protested. "They're half my age!"
    "...is frightened by the advances of two teenagers!" she continued. "You could handle the Borg, the Ferengi, Q... even my mother, but you can't handle Lita and Mina." She entered the lounge, still chuckling.
    After moment, Riker followed her in, "It's nice to know I can count on your support, Imzadi."

    To say the least, it had been an odd month even for the Sailor Scouts, Darien decided as he approached Serena's quarters. But it had not been an altogether unpleasant one. In fact, the Enterprise crew had gone out of their way to make it pleasant, from Riker teaching them to 
play Parisi's Squares to Chief O'Brien taking him kayaking on the holodeck yesterday. He was still sore from the experience, though O'Brien had fared worse with a separated shoulder. From the way Dr. Crusher was talking, it wasn't the first time this had happened either. She had made no bones about the fact that a man who had just become a father should be more careful.
    Of course, what had made it truly pleasant was that Serena was making good... no, excellent progress. After almost daily sessions with Counselor Troi, and frequent talks with Captain Picard, she had nearly fully recovered from this latest ordeal.
    He was about to touch the control for the door chime when suddenly opened. "Darien! Is something wrong?"
    He blinked, sure he was going to have to get her to hurry and get ready. "Nothing, Serena. I'm... just surprised you're ready to go."
    "Hey!" she protested. "It's not like I'm late all the time you know!"
    "Just most of the time," a voice from behind her said. Mina exited the room. "But not when someone is here to get her moving."
    "Thanks a lot, Mina."
    "No prob," the blonde replied, ignoring the icy stare Serena was giving her. "I'll you two alone for now. If I hurry I still might be able to catch Will alone in Ten Forward." With that she gave them a wave 
and hurried for the turbolift.
    "We're leaving today and she still hasn't given up on a romance with Riker?" Darien asked.
    "Nope. Neither's Lita," she answered, eliciting a groan. "Is there any reason they should?"
    He decided that any comment he could make would probably get him in trouble with her. "Shall we get going?" he asked offering her his arm. "After all, the guests of honor shouldn't be too late."

    Ten Forward was a little more crowded than usual, Picard reflected, but there was ample reason for that. After all, these eight and rather unique individuals were leaving the ship in a few hours, after having had been the ship for quite some time. It was only natural that many friendships had been formed between them and the crew.
    Still there was a slight sense of apprehension in the air, though maybe that was only his imagination. But that seemed to be the standard when Q was involved in anything. Fortunately he had limited his... visits to merely dropping in, usually at rather inconvenient time, and demanding to know when the Sailor Scouts were going to be ready to be sent home.
    It was a bit of a mystery why he simply hadn't done so on his own. 
    It wasn't like he needed their approval to do anything. Not that he usually bothered to ask anyway.
    Picard approached the bar and looked at Guinan, who anticipated his question. "He's nearby," she said, "but not exactly in the immediate vicinity... not yet anyway."
    "The day's still young," the captain observed wryly. "Ah, I see our guests of honor have arrived." Indeed, at that moment Darien and Serena had entered the lounge, followed shortly by Dr. Crusher. The captain noted that young couple was slightly redfaced for some reason, while Beverly was sporting a slight "I've-got-a-secret" smile. "Doctor."
    "Captain," she replied as she strode up to the bar. Behind her, Serena and Darien met up with three of the other Scouts. Lita was still absent for some reason.
    "Is it a secret, Beverly, or can you share it with the rest of us?"
    "What do you mean, Jean-Luc?"
    "You look like the cat that swallowed the proverbial canary," Picard replied.
    She hesitated before answering, "Let's just say that I walked in on our two lovebirds." Picard raised an eyebrow at this, prompting her to nudge him softly. "Don't get any ideas, Jean-Luc! They weren't doing anything more than kissing."
    The waiter, Ben, came up to the bar, but Guinan spoke first. "Don't tell me. One triple hot fudge sundae, right?"
    The younger man chuckled. "You're turning into a mind reader, Guinan."
    The bartender shook her head. "No, it's just the same thing Serena's been ordering every time she's in here."
    "Sometime's two or three a night," Ben replied.
    "Good Lord," Beverly said, astonished. "How does she do that and not gain weight?"
    "I'm not sure," Ben said, "But whatever her secret is, I bet Deanna would like to know."
    "So would I," the doctor agreed.

    Lita took a look at the time and shook her head. That side trip to sickbay had taken a little longer than she would've liked. "Great, I'm running late. I'm getting worse than Serena," she muttered while 
heading for the door. As always, the door opened automatically when she approached it and she moved rapidly through it. Or she would have, if Worf hadn't been standing there, and she ran right smack into him. Evidently the security chief had just arrived outside her door.
    Fortunately she wasn't going too fast, so all she did was knock the Klingon backwards a few steps. "I'm sorry! Are you OK, Worf?"
    "I am undamaged," He said while straightening out his sash. "I trust you have fully recovered as well?"
    "Huh? Oh, you mean my arm!" Unconsciously she rubbed her left forearm. It had been injured during a particularly rough episode in Worf's calisthenics program that morning. Her trip to sickbay was the 
main reason she was running late. "Yeah, Dr. Crusher fixed it up, no problem. But she did give me a hard time about the fact we were running the program at level five."
    "Good," he answered. "May we speak privately?"
    Lita frowned. She wanted to get to the party going on in Ten Forward, but if she learned one thing this past month is that Worf was not one for making idle requests. If he wanted to talk with her in private, it must be of some importance to him. Besides, she was curious about what was in that large case he was carrying. Well, there was only one way to find out. "Sure," she said and led the way back into her quarters.
    Worf followed her in and placed the case on the table but he didn't say anything at first. Instead he seemed to fidget as if he wasn't sure how to begin. She wasn't sure even after being around him for a month (he was an alien after all) but it seemed to her that Worf was nervous about something. What was he up to?
    "Well, Worf?" she prodded.
    Worf began, "As I understand it, Q will be transporting you and the others back to you own place and time."
    "Yeah. It's about time we got back. I mean, I like it here, but we can't stay forever." She glanced around the room, then glared at the replicator. "Still, that's not one thing I'll miss! I've barely been 
able to practice my cooking skills since we got here!" She gave the offending device another glare, then looked back to Worf. "Anyway, what's up? And what's in the case?"
    "A gift," he answered. He placed the case on the table and opened it, taking out a bat'leth. "From one warrior, to another."
    She stare at the weapon, unsure what to make of it. "Why?"
    "While we are both orphans, as I understand it you have no real family outside of the Sailor Scouts." At her nod, he continued, "I do have family, but most of them reside within the Empire... except for my 
son, Alexander, who lives with my human parents on Earth."
    "I'm not sure where this is going, Worf," Lita said, confusion showing on her face.
    "Allow me to finish. During the fight on the Borg ship, you saved my life on more than one occasion."
    "Well, you did the same for me... and the others too. There were a lot of drones to fight."
    "Yes," the Klingon rumbled, "Since that first battle on the bridge, I have come to respect the Sailor Scout's skills as warriors... but you in particular possess a warrior's spirit."
    "Thanks, Worf," she said adding a mental 'I think'.
    "It is a compliment," he told her, as if reading her mind. "Since the battle, I have felt that there was a bond between us... as warriors. And I would like you to accept this bat'leth as a symbol that, even though we are not blood related, we share a bond as strong as family." He handed her the Klingon weapon, "Lita, the House of Mogh would be honored to count you among us as a warrior... and as a sister."

    All eyes turned to greet the latecomers. Lita and Worf entered the lounge, each trying to appear relaxed despite being the center of attention. "It's about time you guys got here!" Mina said.
    "Sorry we're late," Lita tried to explain, placing a large meter long case on the floor, "It's just that we..."
    "I think we can guess what you two were doing," Raye put in, interrupting her.
    Serena looked up sharply at this. "You mean he looks like you old boyfriend?" Warming up his trombone, Riker caught this statement and started, causing a couple of very sour notes to emerge from his instrument. Smiling, he shrugged apologetically to the other band members.
    "I guess this means that Mina has a clear shot at Commander Riker," Amy calmly stated. Mina perked up at this thought and looked to the band, smiling at the first officer who now paled visibly.
    Meanwhile both Lita and Worf were offering very vocal denials, which appeared to be having little effect. "I didn't know you went for younger women, Worf," Beverly said, getting into the spirit.
    "That is not the case, Doctor," he informed her with a glare.
    Fortunately the two latecomers were spared further embarrassment by the timely intervention of Data. "I think it highly unlikely that they were involved in any sexual activities," the android said.
    "Uh, why do you say that?" Raye asked. Beverly could see that they were showing sudden signs of discomfort at the turn the conversation was taking. Or at least the overt way the android was willing to discuss it.
    Oblivious to this, Data continued, "I have made an extensive study of the sexual practices of a variety of races, including Klingons. Sex among Klingons tends to be very... physical in nature, often causing a variety of injuries to the participants." Seeing the girls turn redder, Beverly decided to move in before Data could expound any further. Knowing the android as she did, he could go on for hours. And he did go on, saying, "Indeed, it is considered a sign of good fortune to fracture a clavicle on the wedding night. And..."
    She took the android by the arm and forcefully steered him to the bar. "Come on, Data. I'll buy you a drink."
    Data frowned, puzzled. "But... I already have a drink, Doctor." He indicated a nearly full glass.
    "Then I'll buy you another."

    The band was still playing, which was a tribute to their stamina as they were well into their third hour... or was it the fourth? Troi shook her head. No doubt Data could inform how long the party had been going on down the nearest second, but mere humanoids tend to lose track of time at events such as this. It was just as well that the strongest thing served were synthahol based beverages.
    Sensing someone approach, she turned to face Raye. "How does he do it?" she asked, indicating Riker. "Every time there's a break, both Lita and Mina are occupied by someone talking to them."
    "Starfleet officers are trained to have good timing," Deanna said with a smile. "And I believe he recruited some accomplices, most notably Geordi and Worf, to help shield him at those times. Why, were you hoping to see some fireworks?"
    "I was just curious," she replied defensively, then added, "Why didn't he get you to help? After all, I thought you two were... involved at one point."
    "We were. But Will knows me better than to ask. I'd just tell him, 'You're a big boy, Will. You can handle yourself against two teenagers.'" Besides, she found his discomfiture at their advances 
amusing.
    She picked up a sense of worry from the raven haired scout. 
    Glancing over, she saw her watching Serena at the bar, where she and Darien were talking with Captain Picard. "You're still worried about her."
    Raye started. "Yeah. I mean, she seems normal now... for her, anyway." Deanna raised an eyebrow at the last, but forbode commenting. She knew that Raye only said that for appearances sake. And she knew that she knew. "But she's been through a lot."
    "True," Troi agreed. "She's made enough progress for her to continue without my supervision, but it will take a long time for her to completely put the experience completely behind her. For now, the best thing to do is let her take it at her own pace. Don't try to force the issue. If she wants to talk to you about it, she'll say so. Otherwise, just treat her as you normally would."
    Before Raye could reply, Artemis' voice came from beneath a nearby table. "I don't think you really want that to happen, Counselor."
    He almost succeeded in dodging Raye's kick.

    Mina frowned slightly and glanced across the room. She thought she had heard Artemis yelp, but all she saw in that general direction was Raye talking with Troi. Shrugging, she turned her attention back to the conversation with Geordi.
    The engineer was saying "...if she had kept that up, we might have found out if it's possible to drain a ship's power supply by overusing a replicator." He looked back at Mina. "Then again, I didn't think it 
was possible for someone to almost trigger a core breach just by hitting a couple of buttons."
    "Hey, I said I was sorry!"
    "Take it easy," he said with an apologetic laugh in his voice. "I was just kidding."
    "You had better be!" she fumed. Then her mood suddenly changed as she got a looked at the band. "Oh, Commander Riker's done playing. Excuse me."
    She began to move in his direction, but Data intercepted her first. 
    "Excuse me, but I am curious. Why are you and Lita so... aggressive in your pursuit of Commander Riker?"
    She gaped at him. "Are you kidding? He's a major hunk, that's why!"
    A puzzled expression formed on Data's face. "Major hunk?"
    Geordi chuckled. For all his work at becoming more human, Data still didn't have a firm grip on slang. "She mean's he's good looking, Data."
    "That's what I said."
    "Ah." Data nodded, apparently satisfied. "That does seem to be the opinion of a majority of women."
    Mina froze in her tracks. "Huh?"
    "I have observed that Commander Riker seems to enjoy a great deal of success in matters of a romantic nature."
    Now it was Mina's turn to look puzzled. "How could you know anything about that? I thought you don't have emotions."
    "True," Data acknowledged. "I am not capable of feeling emotions themselves. However, I have had some experience in these areas. My experiment in romance took place approximately three months ago. My previous sexual encounter was four years, three months, seven days, twelve hours, ten minutes and forty seven seconds ago."
    Mina reddened slightly and she spluttered "But... you're just a machine! How can you...?"
    When she didn't finish, Data asked, "How can I what?"
    "You know."
    "I think she means sex, Data," Geordi interpreted.
    "I see. You believe that I am incapable of performing sexually. However you are mistaken." Shocked, Mina stared, caught in the process of taking a sip. Oblivious to her discomforture, Data continued on, "I am fully functional, programmed in a multiple variety of pleasuring techniques."
    Geordi later reflected that it was simply bad luck she had been looking in his direction at the moment... and that her drink ended up being sprayed all over him.

    Amy looked up from the padd she was studying in the direction of the choking sounds. After satisfying herself that Mina was okay (and that Geordi and Data had the situation in hand) she returned her attention to the padd.
    Or rather, she tried to. A hand reached down and snatched it out of her grasp. Beverly Crusher examined the contents of the screen, ignoring Amy's cries of protest. "Just as I thought. Though I couldn't believe it when Lita pointed it out to me." Shaking her head, she sat down next to the blue haired girl. "Here we are, in the middle of a party, and you're studying?!?"
    "We've been gone for a month. It'll take me a while to catch up."
    "And I thought Wesley was bad," Beverly said with a sigh. "From what I've heard, Amy, you're usually far ahead of your class. Besides, you've been taking classes here on the Enterprise, so there won't be that much for you to catch up on. You're awfully young to be this driven." As soon as she said this, she was struck by a powerful sense of deja vu. How many times had she found herself in a similar position with Wesley?
    "I have to work hard. You know I'm planning on becoming a doctor one day."
    "Well, I can't say I disapprove of your choice of profession," Beverly admitted. "But you should still take time out to relax and enjoy yourself, especially at this stage of your life. You're only young once. Besides, I believe you'll find that not much time has passed when you return home."
    Amy looked puzzled. "How can you be sure?"
    "Previous experiences with Q. And the first one was one too many." Beverly glanced around the room, but the entity had yet to make an appearance. Before she could say anything further to Amy, a loud splash resounded from the direction of the bar, accompanied by a distinctly feline yell.
    "Artemis!"

    A few moments earlier, Geordi was approaching the bar, wiping at his uniform without much success. "Here, Commander. You look like you could use this."
    He looked up and gratefully accepted the proffered towel. "Thanks, Reg." He sat down next to the diagnostic engineer and began cleaning his shirt as best as he could. As he did so, he idly noted that Luna was lying on the bar next to Barclay, looking very contented as the engineer scratched her back. "I didn't know you were a cat person."
    "Oh, I-I've always liked cats, sir."
    "And he knows just where to scratch us, too," Luna put in between purrs.
    Geordi smiled. Leave it to Barclay to be able to get along well with cats, when not long ago he was barely able to talk with his crewmates. While he would never be called gregarious, he was much better than when he first came aboard. And he was a fine engineer. Speaking of which... "Hey Reg, I've been meaning to ask, how's the repair coming along on Holodeck Two?"
    "O-Oh, fine, sir. We've replaced almost half the blown isolinear chips." Barclay frowned and indicated Mina still having an animated discussion with Data. "Is it true she shorted out the control circuits by simply trying to alter the program parameters?"
    "That's what I've been told."
    "I don't understand. That... just can't happen," Barclay insisted.
    "You don't know Mina too well," another voice said. Luna opened one eye and saw that Artemis had hopped onto the bar.
    "I thought you were going to talk with Counselor Troi."
    He hesitated a moment, then cast a quick glance where Troi was still sitting with Raye before answering. "It was getting a little dangerous over there." The white cat winced slightly as he sat down 
next to Luna. "Ah, Commander Riker," he said, acknowledging the approaching first officer. "Did you decide it was safe to emerge from the band?"
    Riker checked around before answering. Data and Worf were keeping his would-be suitors busy. "For the moment. Safer than it's been at the poker table lately."
    "Poker?" Luna perked up at this, and she gave the Commander a disapproving look. "You haven't been playing poker with them, have you?"
    "Not them," Riker reassured her. He pointed to Artemis, who was now looking quite satisfied with himself. "Him. He's been cleaning up." He signaled Guinan for a drink.
    Luna sat up suddenly and stared at Artemis, shocked. "Artemis!"
    "Relax, Luna. It's only a game."
    The black cat fumed silently for a moment. "Perhaps it's just as well Q is sending us back today."
    Artemis grimaced. "You had to mention that twit, didn't you."
    "I'd be careful what you say about him. Remember what happened the last time you insulted him?"
    "Hah!" Artemis said smugly. "I checked with Data. Spot's not in heat anymore, and neither are any of the other female cats on this ship. And I doubt he can come up with anything more original either."
    Geordi and Riker both looked doubtful but before either could say anything, Guinan jumped as if she had been hit with a Klingon pain stick. She swung her head towards Artemis, "Look out!"
    "Huh?" Before the white feline could say anything more, a large globe of water formed over his head. It impossibly hovered over him for a second, and a disembodied voice could be heard saying "Oh, really? Well, chill out, cat."
    The water then fell down upon Artemis with a loud splash.
    There was a moment of stunned silence as those present gawked at the sight of the now soggy cat. He stood on the bar, shivering, his color slowly changing to a pale blue. "THAT'S C C-COLD!!"

    Picard eyed the commotion with a concerned expression. Not that there was much else he could do at the moment. Mina and Guinan were busy toweling the unfortunate Artemis off, while Beverly and Amy were checking his physical state with a tricorder and computer, respectively. 
    "It would appear that Q has made his presence felt."
    "Great," Serena muttered. "That creep certainly knows how to ruin a party."
    Picard nodded ruefully. "Agreed. Unfortunately Serena, there's not much we can do about him. After all, it's not as if we can lock an omnipotent being in the brig."
    "Yeah," she agreed. "It doesn't help that he's all powerful, too."
    Picard briefly considered, then rejected, the idea of telling her that was what he had said. In it's place he continued, "Still, there was this one time I was able to put him in his place."
    That peaked their curiosity. "Oh?" Darien said. "How so?"
    "It was about... oh, nearly two years ago now. Q had appeared on the bridge as is his wont..." He decided to gloss over the fact that Q had appeared on the bridge stark naked. "...claiming that his 
compatriots in the Q Continuum had stripped him of his powers. Naturally, we were all reluctant to believe him. Finally he yelled out 'What must I do to convince you people?' Worf gave a very... appropriate answer." He paused, deliberately stringing the story out.
    "What'd he say?" Serena asked.
    Picard deepened his voice in a reasonable imitation of his security chief, "'Die.'." It had the desired effect. Both Serena and Darien smiled, and she added a small laugh as well. "Well, to make a long 
story short, since he apparently had no powers at the time, I decided to repay him for the trouble he had caused us over the years. I had Worf throw him in the brig."
    "Oh, very droll, Jean-Luc," a disembodied voice said just before resolving itself into Q.
    "Speak of the devil."
    Q didn't look amused, which pleased Picard to no end. "Here I go saving you and your precious ship and how do you repay me? By besmirching my good name."
    "For me to do that Q, you must first have a good name," Picard retorted.
    "You cut me to the quick, mon capitaine. And you didn't even have the courtesy to invite me to the festivities." He gave the captain a pained look. "Jean-Luc, I'm hurt."
    "You'll get over it."
    "Yes, I suppose so." The entity scanned over the room, "Well, I guess I should dress for the occasion."
    Picard frowned as Q snapped his fingers. Q had shown up in his usual garb, a Starfleet uniform with the rank (undeserved, of course) of captain. As everyone else was in either casual attire or their uniforms, he wasn't quite sure what to make of Q's comment. But he got a very good idea once the usual flare around Q faded.
    Q had shifted his attire from it's usual mode to a tuxedo and was wearing a mask. Now that he reflected on it, it was identical to Darien's outfit in his transformed state, a fact that wasn't lost on 
the Sailor Scouts. They were staring at him in wide eyed astonishment, Serena most of all. Darien had been shocked for a moment, but was now glaring at Q.
    "Tuxedo Q, at your service," he declared taking off his hat and bowing deeply to Serena. "Shall we dance?"
    Darien stepped between them. "I don't think so."
    The two of them stared eye to eye for several seconds, the tension between them palpable. Finally Serena spoke up, "Give it up, Q. Besides, that outfit looks way better on Darien."
    "That's for sure," Lita agreed as she approached with Worf.
    "Yes, it is outside my usual motif," Q agreed, shifting back to a Starfleet uniform. "Yes, that's much better. That tuxedo was just too stiff for someone of my nature... definitely fits his attitude better." Before Darien could respond, he added, "Tell me, do you always go into battle in formal wear?" Darien looked as if he was going to say something, but Serena took his arm first and pulled him towards the bar, but not before giving Q an icy glare. "My, she seems none too pleased with me. Was it something I said?" he asked Picard.
    "I would think it has something to do with being assimilated, Q," the captain answered.
    "Oh really, Jean-Luc! I had nothing to do with it. All I did was bring them here."
    "Yeah, but you didn't exactly warn us about what was to happen either," Lita accused.
    "Do you expect me to lead you by the hand for the entirety of your existence?" Q retorted. "You humans keep crowing about learning by discovery, but when it comes down to it, you just want someone to hand you the answers on a platter."
    He was answered by a loud sneeze coming from the vicinity of the bar. Seeing Mina busy toweling Artemis off, Q sauntered over and remarked, "Ah, and I see someone dragged in a wet cat."
    "Very funny," came Artemis' muffled voice. He poked his head out from under the towel and scowled at the entity.
    Mina leveled an equally intense glower at the entity. "I hope your satisfied, Q. Artemis could catch his death of cold from this."
    "Oh, I'm sure that won't happen," Q blithely reassured her. "After all, you'll be there to nurse him back to health. Correct?"
    "Well, of course," she answered.
    Picard and Guinan shared a look, each sure there was something more to this exchange. Firstly because Q was not in the habit of saying anything nice about anyone. Secondly, the Sailor Scouts, and to a lesser extent Darien, were wide eyed in shock.
    Artemis' eyes had also grown wide, but his expression was more one of horror. "I'm doomed," he moaned in a soft voice. Mina snapped her gaze from Q to the drenched feline.
    "Artemis!"
    Q smiled, allowing the current emotions roiling in the room to linger for a moment. "Well, let it never be said I wasn't magnanimous," he proclaimed and snapped his fingers. "There you are, Artemis... all 
dried off and any physical ailments attended to."
    Artemis found himself feeling warm and dry, and he shrugged himself out from under the towel. "Ah, much better."
    "I... wouldn't thank him just yet, Artemis," Mina said.
    "Why not?"
    She pointed. "Um... your fur?"
    Artemis twisted himself as best he could and looked where Mina pointed, then gasped. His fur looked as if someone had dumped him into a dryer set on the fluff cycle. "Q!!!" For his part, Q was looking insufferably smug. More so than usual, that is.
    "Is he always this annoying?" Lita asked while the entity was enjoying himself.
    Worf glanced at Q with a look of revulsion. "Yes."
    Q put an expression of shock on his face. "How rude of you, Microbrain! It appears you're just as sour as your prune juice."
    Lita looked doubtfully at Worf. "Prune juice?" She transferred the look to the glass Worf was holding. She had thought that it was some sort of Klingon beverage.
    "A warriors' drink," Worf said defensively.
    "Well," Q exclaimed at the sight of Lita and Worf standing together, "It looks like you two have hit it off. The amazon and the microbrain. Tell me Worf, am I invited to the wedding?"
    Worf glared at Q, refusing to be baited by him. Lita, on the other hand, was more demonstrative. "Let me zap him again!" She reached for her transformation pen, but Worf put a restraining arm on her.
    "Oh, let go of her, Microbrain. Let her try and 'zap' me with that pet dragon of hers."
    "Much as I'd like to see that happen, I'm afraid it wouldn't do any good," Riker commented. "He'll just keep popping up, like the proverbial bad penny."
    Q humphed. "I'm afraid you just don't appreciate my value here, Riker. Without me to spice up your life once in a while, the biggest thrill in your pitiful existence would be trying to get Microbrain here 
to smile." He turned to the Klingon. "What do you say, Worf? One smile, for little old moi?" Worf's only response was to snarl at Q.
    Picard decided it was time to intervene and try to put some restraints on Q before someone really lost their temper. And if it turned out to be one of the Scouts, that could cause serious damage in the lounge. "Q..." he said warningly. "...that's enough."
    Q heaved a frustrated sigh. Picard was always trying to curtail his entertainment. "Oh, very well, mon capitaine. But I'm afraid you are becoming rather stodgy in your old age." Ignoring the look Picard was giving him, he continued, "The Q Express is here, everyone! Say your goodbyes while you're able!"
    There was a bit of commotion as the Scouts made their farewells to the Enterprise crew. Finally, Serena came up to Picard. "Thanks, Captain. For everything." Impulsively, she gave the captain a quick hug, much to his embarrassment.
    Darien settled for shaking his hand. "That goes for me too."
    Q appeared behind Picard and whispered conspiratorially in his ear, "Isn't she a bit young for you, mon capitaine?"
    Picard did his best to ignore the impish entity. "My best to you both. Good luck in whatever adventures lie ahead."
    "And what interesting adventures they are, too," Q pronounced.
    "What do you mean by that?!?" Lita challenged.
    "That, as they say, is for me to know and you to find out." Q gestured imperiously around the room. "All right, Sailor Scouts, time to go back home!" They were able to manage a last wave before Q snapped his fingers and they all vanished from Ten Forward. Continuing with his showmanship attitude, Q said, "Now, for my next trick..."
    "Save it, Q," Picard interrupted. "We'll get home our own way."

    "We have entered the Terran system, Captain," said Data. "Our approach vector should make it difficult for Earth to detect us until we reach the flux."
    Picard nodded as he resumed his seat. The party had broken up only a few moments after the departure of their guests, and the ship was now settling back into a more normal routine. Still, there was something missing now that the Scouts had departed, Picard reflected. It was a similar to the feeling he would get the few time he had returned to his ancestral home, the feeling of the empty house. Which was an odd feeling to have on a ship with over a thousand people on board. "Slow to impulse, Ensign Ro."
    "Are the warp engines ready, Geordi?" asked Riker.
    "Yes sir," the engineer reported. "I've got them set to emit a warp field at the proper frequency the moment we contact the flux. That ought to send us straight home."
    Q looked somewhat piqued. "Waste of time. I could send you home much faster."
    Riker made it a point to ignore Q for now. Maybe if he did it long enough, he'd go away. No, he couldn't get that lucky. He glanced around the bridge, then said to the captain, "You know, I'd gotten used to having them around. Somehow the ship seems emptier." Picard nodded in agreement.
    "You miss your girlfriends already?" Q quipped. "Well, if you're feeling lonely Riker, I could arrange for them to visit every now and then." Deanna tried, and didn't entirely succeed, to contain a chuckle at the look on the first officer's face. He transferred the glare from Q to her.
    "I've noticed the same thing," Picard said, trying not to notice Riker's consternation. "They did have a way of making life... interesting."
    Q got a baffled look on his face. "Aren't we being needlessly maudlin here?" he observed.

    The stillness of the temple was disturbed by a ripple of sound and six tall columns of light, accompanied by two smaller ones, that quickly resolved themselves into the Scouts, Darien and their feline companions. They looked around, verifying their location. That is, the humans looked around. Artemis immediately got to work on smoothing out his fluffed fur, while Luna helped. To their immense relief, they saw that they were in the temple courtyard. As promised, Q had sent them home.
    "That's a relief," Mina said. She looked around once more. "It doesn't look like much has changed. I wonder how long we've been gone?"
    Amy had already produced her computer and was using it to determine the local time. "It's the same day as it was when we left," she announced.
    "What?" Raye exclaimed and they crowded around Amy. Their collective jaws dropped when they saw the screen. "We've only been gone a couple of MINUTES?!?"
    "What the... we were on the Enterprise for over a month!" Lita asserted.
    "I should have guessed. We've already seen that Q can easily manipulate time and space," Amy said. "It's not that surprising that he could put us here right after we left."
    "Yeah, I guess that's true." Raye looked over to Serena. "But I bet even Q couldn't make Serena get anywhere on time."
    A keen observer could tell that she wasn't really serious by the gleam in her eyes, that she was only teasing the leader of the Sailor Scouts. Unfortunately, Serena wasn't feeling particularly observant at 
the moment, and she turned from Darien, bristling at this comment. "I can get anywhere I want on time, Raye! Quit bugging me!"
    "HAH! You were late for the meeting we were going to have last month... er, today! Like always!"
    "I was late because I had detention!"
    Raye felt her own temper flare, and she instinctively settled into old habits. "Probably because you were late for school again, Meatballhead!"
    "OOH... stop calling me MEATBALLHEAD, you, you... Pyro!"
    Luna sighed as the name calling war raged on. "Well, I see things are getting back to normal around here."
    "You got that right," said Artemis, still working on his fur.
    "Thbbbb!!" Both girls stuck out their tongues simultaneously, and the tongue war was on.

    "We're approaching the coordinates of the flux," Ro announced.
    "Still no indications that we have been detected," Data added.
    Picard nodded. It looked like they would get through this and cause only minimal disturbance to this Earth. "Reduce speed to one half impulse, Ensign. Steady as she goes."
    The Bajoran ensign nodded and made the necessary adjustments to the helm to guide the Enterprise forward into the flux. "Warp engines coming online," Geordi said. "We're moving through the flux. Power drain is occurring as predicted." As if emphasizing this point, the bridge lights flickered around them, as did the main viewscreen, during the transition between the two universes. But the ship soon emerged from the spatial anomaly and the systems steadied themselves.
    "All stop," ordered Riker, once they were clear.
    "Helm is answering all stop."
    Data did a quick scan of the area. "Sensors confirm that we are back in our own universe, sir."
    "The shipwide drain on all power systems was substantial, but all systems should be returning to normal shortly," reported Geordi. "The adjustments I made to the shields protected us from the worst of it."
    "Good," said Picard. He glanced over at Riker and gave a quick nod. It was time to implement the plan they had laid out.
    "Mr. Worf, stand by the modified torpedo."
    Q looked utterly astonished. "What?"
    "We're going to seal the quantum flux," explained Picard.
    "Interdimensional anomalies in space and time are very tricky things to be playing with, Jean-Luc. Especially if you don't fully understand their nature... which you don't. I wouldn't do this if I were you."
    Picard looked up at Q. "Well, I'm not you."
    "All the more reason you should listen to me," he insisted. "What possessed you to come up with this hare-brained scheme?"
    The captain endeavored to explain. "It's necessary, Q. We have to prevent the possibility of anyone from this universe, such as the Borg or the Romulans, from interfering in the affairs of that one."
    "Noble as always, mon capitaine," Q conceded. "But grossly misguided. Might I suggest you take some time to think this over? Say, a century of two so you can bone up on your interdimensional 
physics?"
    "Thank you for your advice," Picard answered dryly. "But no."
    Q threw his hands up in resignation. "Fine, all right, go ahead. Be a stubborn fool. But don't say I didn't warn you."
    "Fire." The torpedo shot out of the aft tube, and soon entered the flux. There was a brief flare when it detonated.
    Data watched the sensor readings. "The flux is sealed, sir."

    Pluto started. Something was forming in the timestream, something that should not be. She was going to have to plan quickly to prevent the damage to reality from becoming permanent. An idea came quickly to mind. Yes, perhaps they could be of some help.
    She shook her head, her long green tinged hair flowing in the breezes caused by the gateway. She was going to have to have a long talk with Q when this was resolved.

    Riker looked at Q, "I don't feel any different, Q." There was a mild gloating tone in his voice.
    For his part Q looked deadly serious. "The consequences from this action will take a while to catch up with you, Riker. And you won't be the only ones who feel them." He turned to Picard. "You'll regret you didn't listen to me, mon capitaine... mark my words." With that, he vanished in his usual manner, but not before muttering "She's not going to like this."
    "She?" Geordi asked. "Who's she?"
    Data shook his head. "I do not know." From the looks of it, no one else had any idea either.
    Picard uneasily watched the space where Q had stood a moment before. "Why do I have the feeling that he's right?" Perhaps he had dismissed the entity's warning too easily. He quickly shook off his misgivings. What was done was done. If Q was right, then they would face the consequences when they revealed themselves. "Ensign, set course for Starbase 215, Warp Six."
    "Course set."
    Picard brought his hand forward in that familiar chopping gesture. "Engage."

END.


Notes: As before, thanks to Gene Roddenberry and Naoko Takeuchi, for creating their respective genres.

    If anyone is wondering why I picked Rubeus, I wanted a villain presumed dead in the Sailor Moon universe. And as all I know is the NA dub, that limits the choices drastically. Jeddite's 
return has been done too many times in other fanfics, the other Negaverse Generals were pretty well killed outright and ditto for Beryl, Al and Ann just went off to a new home, and the Four Sisters were healed. That leaves Rubeus, and I believe the explanation I gave for his entry into the trek universe doesn't violate Sailor Moon continuity too much. However, I must admit to an error in regards to TNG continuity. I had thought I picked stardates in between two episodes, but unfortunately the ones I selected put this story right smack in the middle of the season 5 two parter, "Unification", which guest starred Leonard Nimoy as Spock. By the time I caught the error, part 1 (where Amy asks the computer for the current stardate) had already been out for some time. So I was pretty much stuck with it. For purposes of TNG continuity, just consider this story as taking place shortly after the events depicted in the episode "Disaster" (two episodes prior to "Unification"), stardates notwithstanding. Or maybe I should just blame it all on Q. Hmmmm....

Q: Don't even think it, my dear author. Unless you want to spend some time as a tribble... on the Klingon homeworld!

<Gulp!>

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