A New Beginning (Part 2)

Part 1 is linked below. Thanks to https://read.cash/@Tareque for reminding me to put this link here!

https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/a-new-beginning-part-i-3630718a

==Memory Alpha sickbay==

Alyssa woke up by the sound of alarm claxons sounding.

=^= Attention, All personnel are to report to their emergency duty stations. Visitors and all civilian personnel, are to head to the emergency shelters on Level 40. I repeat, All personnel are to report to their emergency duty stations. Visitors and civilian personnel are to head to the emergency shelters on Level 40 =^=

In a state of confusion Stark jumped on her feet, sprinting towards her clothing locker as she gave the computer voice commands.

"Computer, please state the nature of the emergency"

"Unauthorized facility wide transporter activity, borg lifeforms detected." Replied the computer.

Those last words sent a chill down her spine.

"Computer.... open a channel to the command center".

The familiar voice of the Commanding Officer replied almost instantly.

"Ah, good to hear you're still alive Commander, I dont have much time, everything is hectic up here and communications are being scrambled. I am reassigning your emergency duty station however. Report in to the Security Checkpoint on your level and take a security detail down to level 15. Internal sensors and communications blacked out completely on that level and I want to know what happened to the personnel down there."

"Understood sir, Computer close channel." Alyssa finished getting dressed. As she ran out of the room towards the checkpoint she grabbed her personal phaser....…

The Security Checkpoint was bustling with activity previously unseen on Memory Alpha.Ten minutes ago the alarm claxons had started to sound, and altough her emergency duty station was in Triage Center sigma 2, the Commanding Officer had decided to reassign Alyssa Stark to a security detail tasked to head towards level 15 and evacuate personnel reported to be stranded there.

"Excuse me ma'am, but as a science officer, I dont believe this is your duty station" Said one of the security officers as she entered the Checkpoint.

"I've been reassigned due to my extensive experience in close combat situations, and I have a research project to secure on level 15" She replied as she handed the ensign her PADD."Beg your pardon Commander, I have four crewmen ready and armed to accompany you"Alyssa armed herself with a phaser rifle and gave a nod to the crewmen.

"Alright, your rifles should have all been set to modulate through different frequencies, but seeing the size of the borg invasion force, we're unlikely to get more than fifteen shots with the current settings." She said as they continued through the corridor, Illuminated only by emergency lightning.The security detail reached a turbolift acces point, and Crewmen Wilkinson and Jennings approached the door

"I suppose no one took an Emergency hand actuator with them?" Wilkinson said with a grin. Jennings gave him a cold stare"Just help me pry the door open Wilkinson".The doors slowly moved apart, revealing the jeffries tube behind it. Wilkinson took a look down the dimly lit shaft, his rifle at the ready.

"Looks clear to me ma'am! We could climb down all the way to level 15 from here."Stark motioned towards the rest of the security detail to sling their rifles over their shoulders and proceed down the ladder.

"Be on alert, We dont have internal sensors online, and the communications system appears to be down."Slightly worried at what they could find down there Alyssa entered the jeffries tube and began her descent....

===Science Lab Epislon Three, Level 15, Memory Alpha===

"Simon, reduce the intake by another 0.2 atmospheres... yes, perfect. The air mix is stabilizing..."

Nadia stepped back from her spectral scope and allowed a small smile to form on her face. After a few weeks of research and experiments, she and her assistant, Ensign Simon Kang, had made some positive progress.Simon walked over and nodded as he looked into the chamber full of misty colored gases. "I can't believe it... it worked."Nadia shook her head.

"Mr. Kang... you should know by now, especially if you plan to make this your career, that nothing is impossible. It is all a matter of comprehension, logic, and... a bit of luck."

=^= Attention, All personnel are to report to their emergency duty stations. Visitors and all civilian personnel, are to head to the emergency shelters on Level 40. I repeat, All personnel are to report to their emergency duty stations. Visitors and civilian personnel are to head to the emergency shelters on Level 40 =^=

Nadia and Simon exchanged looks. "What is that all about? And where was our emergency duty station?" asked Nadia.Simon grabbed his padd off a nearby table and started to punch up the information.

"We are to report to Triage Center Sigma 2 on Level 24. We're assigned to Medical."

"I don't even know where Triage Center Sigma 2 is... who thinks of these names?" commented Nadia. "Computer, please update my padd with directions to... Triage Center Sigma 2.""Dr. Nemerov's padd has been updated," confirmed the computer.

Simon pulled two kits from the emergency storage locker before walking over to his senior and handing her one. "We better get going."Nadia went to the console and hit several keys to secure the experiment and shutting down the consoles. She put the kit over her shoulder and studied her padd for a moment.

"This better not be a drill," stated Nadia as she followed Ensign Kang out of the lab.The corridor was empty and the emergency lightning was on.

Nadia looked at Simon and he shrugged. "Maybe... it's not a drill?" remarked Simon.Nadia had to agree. This didn't feel right. She consulted her padd and began heading to the turbolift. Upon reaching it, she tapped the button but furled her brow when she got no response. "You have to be kidding me? Why would you turn off the turbolift?

They expect us to climb down fifteen levels in a tube? Hmm... maybe I can run a by-pass..."Nadia shifted her kit so it was resting on her back hip and pulled out her little utility tool. She wedged it in the access panel and with some effort, popped it off.

She studied the wiring. "If I remember my electronics... this is the power lead... and this one is the by-pass..."Nadia felt a tap on her shoulder. "Hold on, Simon... I'll have this in a second."

"Um... Lieutenant... you better hurry, we... have company...""What are you talking about..." replied Nadia as she saw the turbolift doors open, exposing the Jefferies tube within. "...well the doors to the lift are open, just no lift."

Nadia saw it out of the corner of her eye. A trio of red eye beams, the exact thing that Ensign Kang was pointing at. Nadia never saw a borg up close and personal, and she wanted to keep it that way. She grabbed Simon by the collar and pulled him into the jefferies tube. She pulled on the wires that she connected and jumped inside before the doors closed.

"Move it Simon! We're NOT the welcoming committee and you didn't bake any brownies!" urged Nadia as she rapidly tried to descend the ladder while trying to not step on her assistant below her.As she climbed down, she heard the pounding on the lift doors from above. She knew that they couldn't out run the borg, so she had to out think them.

She frantically looked around and spotted a ventilation shaft, just large enough for a person to crawl through."Simon, there... the vent shaft... can you pry it open?""Hold on... its... there! Got it!" grinned Simon in triumph."

Well, don't celebrate too long... get going inside... hurry!" stated Nadia.Nadia slid into the vent duct just as red beams of light began searching the jefferies tube from above. She waited for a few moments, putting her finger to her lips to signal the ensign to remain quiet. Satisfied the borg were not pursuing, she motioned in the only direction they could go, down the duct to where ever it lead them.

"Think Starfleet will send some security to rescue us?" whispered Ensign Kang.

"Simon... we can't depend on that, we have to depend on ourselves. We'll be fine as long as we keep our wits. Just keep going and stay alert for any signs of borg..." quietly replied Nadia.

Nadia wondered herself how and when she and her assistant will be rescued. She never dealt with the borg, but she had been lucky thus far... and prayed that her luck would hold out. She paused for a moment and pulled out the small gold cross she wore under her uniform. She closed her eyes and kissed it, saying a silent prayer, before continuing her crawl through the vent.

==Marine LZ==

The marines secured the Landing Zone for the Runabout and Kwa-Nic' set a wide perimeter. "Make sure that we have those sensor beacons set, so Security can find us", he said jokingly, "we wouldn't want them to get lost".Now that he had boots on the ground Kwa-Nic' felt more comfortable and in control of the situation.

=^= Kwa-Nic to runabout=^=

=^=This is Runabout 1, what is the situation on the ground=^=

=^=We have secured an LZ for you ... all is quiet, at the moment. We await your arrival so we can get on with our mission.=^=

The runabout lands perfectly in a tight landing zone obviously set up by a noob, Flanagan thinks "who the hell set this zone for landing", Then he knew right away, Kwa-Nic. That imbecile, ((facepalm)) he is gonna get us all killed.As Security disembarks the runabout, Kwa-Nic can't help but try to get another dig in.

"What took you so long", Kwa-Nic' asked, "our Diplomat has even beaten you down here. Were you busy getting "all prettied up" for the Borg ... AH...hahahahah!" Turning to his marines,"Epsilon, take those beacons down ... no use in advertising our presence any more than we already have ... Alpha, you will be forward ... Epsilon you will be rear guard ... I want Gatling Tet's on the wings ... prepare to move out marines"

Turning to Ensign Vilal and indicating his weaponry, "I have never seen a diplomat carry anything like those"."I'm more partial to the elegance of a Romulan style disruptor, 40 years of protecting Ambassador Spock, I grew fond of them."Vrih walked over to the landing zone and closer to the marines."I stand corrected", Kwa-Nic' replied, "I have never seen a diplomat carry anything like those ... before today! ... Shall we get moving?".

"LT. Flanagan, would you do us the honor of joining us? We need someone to help us find the 'Eggheads' ... Do you think you could help us there, LT?".Flanagan orders his team to Kwa-Nic' "what is the situation LT?"

"It appears that the majority of the Borg are in the station proper, LT", Kwa-Nic' replied. "We need to get in there and rescue as many people as possible while eliminating the Borg threat ... It isn't going to be easy ... I have never seen a Borg in real life ... just in the sims ... I could use your experience here", Kwa-Nic' stated matter-of-factly, while extending the proverbial "olive branch of peace".

"we need to break through the Borg's jamming and try to contact any combat personnel (Marine and/or Security) to let them know we are here and get a SitRep from them. Then we could coordinate our offensive, The Borg would have two fronts instead of one ... It might give the MA people somewhat of a break in the intensity of their battles. Do you have someone on your team that can get with my Comm-Spec to get through the jamming?" Kwa-Nic' asked.

"Yes LT my security team 8, Alvarez and Vlaire, are comm specs also, I will send them with your team," appreciating the professionalism of the marine, but still steaming from earlier.

"Also my other 2 teams can be placed wherever you need them, I also have 2 teams on the August on standby ready to beam down." Pausing Flanagn says " that sounds like a great plan LT."

"Thank you, LT.", Kwa-Nic' replies before turning his attention to PFC Larger, "Larger, Get with Alverez and Vlaire ... we need to find out what is happening in the Station ... We need Combat SitRep's, ASAP ...if you can't get through on "Military Channels" use the "Civilian Channels" ... I don't care if you have to use smoke signals ... Just break through and get me that information!"Turning back to Flanagan, "LT, If you could have you other two teams take up position on the perimeter one port side and starboard side, we can commence our operation".Turning to Vilal,"Ensign, If you stay near the middle of the formation, it would make our jobs a little easier, for now."

"Will do, team 9 port side and team 10 go to starboard" Flanagans yells at his security team."Alright, lets move out", Kwa-Nic' states, feeling even better with the situation, because of LT Flanagan's presence, not in spite of it.

==On the way to deck 21==

On his way back to the sensor shielded hanger where he had left his son Zoteke's mind was racing. He didn't like what he was coming up with though. In his mind he couldn't stop thinking about the time his wife and parents had died. About his frantic run through the station. How he had loathed the officers abandoning the station when no order to do so had been given.

Sure, in hindsight he knew the station had been a lost cause, but that doesn't count. And wasn't he about to do the same, just because he wanted to get his son to safety? Didn't the other Starfleet personnel deserve to have a chance for safety? By the time he got to the hanger and his son he knew he couldn't just go and leave everyone.

He had to fulfill his duty, even though it meant his son would have to face the dangers with him. "frack frack frack! Damn my damned conscience!" he cursed himself and walked over to the nearest computer console after securing the door to the hanger.He decided that, for the moment, his son was in the safest place. That hadn't changed.

The hanger was shielded from sensors and no one knew it was there. Keeping Ahrund in the cockpit of that fighter for just a few more moments would keep his hands free and allow him to focus.He knew the Marine core always fitted their comm-badges with a special Marine frequency no one else used or listened for. It was in a lower frequency than most comm signals and maybe the Borg hadn't jammed frequencies that low. And if they did, it shouldn't be as hard to punch through it as the normal ones.

He decided he was going to give the marines a call. Before he did though he wanted to have something more to tell them than "Help me and my son, we're stuck"He punched up his key combo's to open up another command line shell and fed the sensors which were still trying to send data to the now overloaded console he'd used before to the one he was using now.

He did another thorough scan of the station and found the Marines that had beamed in. They were already moving. Then his eye caught some other, non-Borg, signals as well. Not far from his location. Just two levels up. Two Starfleet officers in what appeared to be an serviceduct. Having enough for the moment to be useful to the marines he set his communicator to the right frequency and made sure the Marine core encryption protocols were in place before opening a channel.

=^=Thi ...er Sar ... an to ... d aboar ... ents ago.=^=

"HOLD UP, EVERYBODY!",Kwa-Nic' shouted.

"Good job! LOCK that signal down and clean it up, now.

"Aye, sir ... but ... it wasn't us, Sir", replied Larger.For a moment there was no reply save for static and Zoteke to gave it another try

=^= ... wan to the Marines that have beamed aboard the station moments ago.=^=.

For a moment there was no reply save for static and Zoteke was about to give it another try when an angry clipped voice replied.

=^=This is LT Kwa-Nic' of the USS August ... this is a military channel ... how did you gain access to this frequency?=^=

=^=With all due respect sir, i think that isn't really important right now. I have intel that will save you a lot of time and i need extraction for myself and one civilian child. =^=

=^=Who is this, what is your location, and how can you save me time?=^=

=^=This is Master Sergeant Zoteke Madwan ... I am currently on Level 21. The time i can save you is by telling you not to bother sweeping the levels below 18 for starfleet or civilians. There aren't any. I can't tell about the higher levels as the Borg have an effective dampening field there.=^=

=^=How do you know this, Master Sergeant?=^=

=^=I've got a working console hooked into the internal sensor grid, that's how. Again, i don't think that's important right now sir. What may be important is that i can see two un-assimilated life signs on level 19. They're in a service duct moving pretty slowly. There are no other non-Borg life signs below level 18. They've all been beamed out to the cube sir.=^=

=^= Stand-by, Marine.=^=

Turning to LT Flanagan, "What do you think? Do you think we could beam one of your Security teams from August to rescue the child and the other team to rescue the people on Deck 19 ... he just needs to provide coordinates for beam down?"

"Yes Kwa, I believe as long as the August has the appropriate coordinates they can beam the teams to the location"

=/\=Flanagan to August I want you to beam Security team 5 to the childs coordinates, then have them beam out with the child=/\=

After a short pause...=/\=Yes Sir team 5 is set and ready to beam down=/\=

=/\=Then I want team 6 to beam to deck 19, and secure the other personnel=/\=

=/\=August to Flanagan all is set on our end=/\=

=/\=Standby August=/\=

"Kwa can we trust his intel, if you think it is good then we can send the teams, just waiting for your mark" Flanagan says getting excited. as he is always ready for battle and a good fight.

"Yes, LT, we can trust his intel", replied Kwa-Nic', with some agitation returning to his voice, "He IS a Marine.

=^=Kwa-Nic' to Madwan, We need coordinates to beam in to rescue the child ... I'll request that August's security provide you with some gear.=^=

=^=Once the child is in the clear, we need the coordinates of the people on Deck 19 ... You need to be absolutely precise with those, since you don't have line of sight=^=

=^=I'll have Security beam to your coordinates, then you can gear up and we'll beam to your location to continue the rescue mission, of those people on Deck 19=^=

==^== Sir yes sir! We will be ready! I am squawking the Marines emergency transponder signal which should go through the shielding around this hanger so you can pinpoint our location. I will attempt to track you with internal sensors and to give you early warning of any bogeys on your way. Be advised though i have come across a drone that did not appear on my sensors so there might be more.==^==

=^=Kwa-Nic' to August, Can you get a lock on the M.E.T. transmitting on Deck 21?=^=

=^=August to Kwa-Nic', we have a lock on the signal, Sir.=^=

=^=Compare the location with the computer library's spec's for MA. Let me know how those coordinates match up with our records=^=

=^=Aye, Stand-by, Sir=^=

"I suggest we get moving", Kwa-Nic' said,"just in case there are problems with the coordinates ... We aren't accomplishing any thing here".Turning to the PFC, "Larger, I want you to try and get through to anyone else on the station ... keep me informed."

"Aye,aye, Sir", came the reply."Lets get moving LT, we need to try and clear this station and evac the injured,time is getting to be critical," flanagan worried about the 2 year old in the station needing to be rescued, he has 4 children of his own and is wondering if the Borg are attacking earth as well.

=/\=Flanagan to Madwan, can you hold out a little while longer, my team is ready to beam to your location, we just need a little more time=/\==

=^== I think we can hold out here for a while longer. I set up a transport jamming signal on these levels preventing all further beam-outs but i think it was to late to do much good. As soon as i am sure the kid can be beamed out i can turn the transport blocker back off.==^==

"Kwa-Nic I would like to beam back to the August and then beam back to the station with the team and rescure the child" Flanagan decides to make that decision for the child.

"Just make sure that those coordinates are good, before you beam into a bulkhead ... Can I keep your teams that are down here ... AND ... Could you make sure that Madwan has something decent to fight with as well ... we could use the bodies and he knows the layout of MA better than us?"

"yes the other 2 teams are yours, I will beam with team 9 to the child and the other team will beam to deck 21, for the others" Flanagan says.

=^=Kwa-Nic' to August ... please inform Lt Flanagan of the results of my request ... you can tell him in person after he returns ... in about 10 seconds.=^=

=^=Aye, Sir!=^=

"See you in hell KWA" Flanagan yells as he beams out towards the August. The fight with the Borg will start soon and Flanagan feels he is ready, the adreniline is flowing so fast through his body that the hair in the back of his neck is standing,

==^==Acknowledged. Madwan out==^==

Zoteke closed the comm-signal and hurried over to the fighter his son was in. He opened the cockpit to find his son very busy munching away on the emergency rations which he must have found in the back of the seat he was in. "Daddy!" he exclaimed dropping everything on the cockpit floor. "Ahrund not bad. No yummy!" the kid said as Zoteke opened the restraints and lifted the kid out of the cockpit.

He knew Zoteke wouldn't allow Ahrund to eat anything unless he had permission from his father, so he knew he had done something bad when he ate the rations and did a lousy job of looking innocent. Zoteke didn't really care or have time for that at the moment though. "It's okay honey. Just be quiet and hold on to daddy's back, real tight okay" he told the kid and when the kid had a firm grip he climbed back down the ladder.

On the floor he moved back over to the console and he put the kid on his two feet. He looked the kid in his eyes and told him "it is very important you stay right here, and do not move. Daddy needs to work and talk to other people now. Okay?"T

he look on Ahrund's face told him the kid understood this wasn't the time to disobey his daddy and he turned his attention back to the console. He could see the Marines heading their way, just as promised Another sensor sweep told him they had a clear path to the 2 officers on level 21 and hoped he hadn't made a mistake by hanging around on the station. He'd learn one way or the other in about 15 minutes as Drones began to light up on his sensors, on level 18, and they were heading down as well.((to be continued))