“I still have to wonder why it’s reconstituted itself only now,” Vaughn said.
“I suspect we’re dealing with a single rogue copy of the software matrix,” Ruriko said, “which has been contained in an isolated system until very recently. Something must have changed that, and now it’s growing again like kudzu. And since it’s essentially an artificial life-form, it has an instinct for survival. It’ll seize control of every computer it can reach if we let it.”
Vaughn scowled. “When we didn’t hear from the thing for thirty years after the first time we disabled it, I sort of assumed we’d seen the last of it.”
“Obviously not,” Sotak said.
Ruriko nodded. “An artificial intelligence capable of networking itself across the subspace bands is also capable of secreting copies of itself in unexpected places. Say, within the computer of a freighter on its way to the mining station down there.”
It could spread itself across the universe like dandelion seeds on the wind,Vaughn thought. If we’re careless. Or unlucky.
Vaughn noticed a look of surprise on the tactical officer’s face, which she promptly hid behind a wall of Vulcan calm. “I’m detecting a significant fluctuation in the local subspace fields. The disturbance is localized less than fifty thousand kilometers from the planet.”
Sotak’s brows rose in curiosity. “On the screen, Lieutenant.”
The blue-green world vanished from the viewer, replaced by an image of an irregularly shaped vessel which the tactical overlay revealed to be more than twice the length of the T’Plana-Hath.And it was heading toward the planet. A chill seized Vaughn’s soul the moment he saw the alien ship. Beside him, Ruriko stifled a gasp.
“Analysis?” Sotak said.
The tactical officer appeared to be doing her best not to appear frustrated. “The vessel just emerged from some sort of transwarp fissure. But it corresponds to no known configuration.”
“I’ve seen this type of ship before,” Vaughn said.
Ruriko nodded gravely. “Me, too. It’s Borg.”
Maybe we don’t have to be careless,Vaughn thought. But we’re already unlucky.
Both the T’Plana-Hathand the Valkyriewere no match for weaponry of the small Borg vessel. Within minutes of engagement the T’Plana-Hathwas crippled and the Valkyriehad fallen back several thousand kilometers.
Vaughn, Ruriko, and Sotak watched helplessly as the Borg vessel sent a shaft of blinding energy down into the Uridi’sine atmosphere.
“The Borg vessel is linking with the mining station. It appears to be conducting a transfer of data.”
Vaughn realized then that the entire mission was a failure. “Veruda’s brainchild must have somehow made contact with the Borg before we cut off its access to the subspace bands.”
“Why would it wish to draw the attention of the Borg?” Sotak said, clearly puzzled. “The Borg would only seek to assimilate it.”
“Or maybe,” Vaughn said, “the A.I. thinks it’s sophisticated enough to assimilate the Borg.”
“Combining all it knows about Cardassian armaments with the Borg’s most lethal technology,” Ruriko said. “God only knows what a merger like that could do to the Federation.”
“We may already be too late to prevent it,” Sotak observed. “The Borg should be able to upload the A.I. in seconds.”
Ruriko shook her head. “Ordinarily, yes. But the data feed is being attenuated by the mining station’s forcefield. It’s going to take a couple more minutes at least.”
Vaughn looked into Ruriko’s eyes. “Is the prototype ready?”
“Readyis a relative term. Remember, my command telemetry can be jammed the same way we’re jamming the A.I. So I won’t be able to control it remotely. I’ll need to deploy the weapon on-site.”
Vaughn swallowed hard. “Assemble your away team, Ruriko.”
“Already done. Unfortunately, the transporter’s out, so we’ll have to rely on the Valkyriefor our beam-in. And we can’t beam anywhere until we pierce the mining station’s defenses.”
The tactical officer was suddenly as close to beside herself as Vaughn had ever seen a Vulcan get. “The Borg vessel has ceased its data upload.”
So the A.I. has copied itself onto the Borg vessel,Vaughn thought. Very bad.
“And it’s powering up its weapons again!”
Sotak called for a red alert, but it quickly became clear that the T’Plana-Hathwas not the Borg ship’s target.
The mining station was. Before Vaughn’s horrified eyes, a tremendous explosion flared up near the planet’s equator. The A.I. down there was dead—along with hundreds of innocent people.
On the screen Vaughn could see that the Borg vessel was preparing to break orbit. With a copy of Veruda’s A.I. aboard. Now the damned thing can spread from here to the Delta Quadrant.
There was time for only one decision. Vaughn knew the members of Ruriko’s team intimately. They were good, but none of them had her combined expertise in A.I. and nanoscience. And only her mastery of both disciplines—as well as each team member’s assistance—could ensure the correct deployment of the prototype.
Ruriko spoke up, evidently thinking that he was taking too long to decide what course to take. “We both knew it might come to this, Elias. Let’s get on with it.”
Vaughn nodded, feeling blasted inside. Unable to trust his emotions, he allowed his training to take over, as though he’d just placed a shuttlecraft on autopilot.
“Commander Tenmei, execute the plan. Take it directly to the Borg.”
She didn’t hesitate. She knew what had to be done, just as he did, as well as the cost. He watched as she opened a com channel at one of the vacant stations. “Disassembler team, prepare for immediate transport onto the Borg ship. Valkyrie,this is Commander Tenmei. Please beam our away team aboard and prepare to pursue that Borg vessel.”
A Valkyriebridge officer acknowledged Ruriko’s request and asked when the team expected to need an evac.
She chuckled. “Tenmei out.”
Ruriko faced Vaughn. “Goodbye, Elias. It’s been a wonderful life at times.”
Rare times. Those times between missions when I could get home.
“Goodbye,” he whispered, his voice heavy with regret. The transporter took her.
Vaughn stood on the silent bridge, watching the images on the viewer. The Valkyrieslowly gained on the departing Borg vessel. After several tense moments the tactical officer confirmed that the away team had made it aboard.
Ruriko’s static-laden voice scored the air, relayed by the Valkyrie.The weapon had been deployed. Trillions of tiny nanites, molecule-sized machines guided by Ruriko’s short-range subspace pulses and keyed to find and unwrite the Veruda A.I.’s underlying code, were already coursing through the Borg ship’s information conduits. She confirmed that the A.I. already seemed to be dying, apparently already too distracted to force the Borg to propogate its subroutines over the subspace bands.
But the team had to stay long enough to be sure.
If only this ship could maneuver,Vaughn thought, digging his fingers into his palms until they bled. Maybe Sotak could buy enough time to evac the away team, once Ruriko’s satisfied that they’re done in there….
Explosions began to rack the Borg vessel even as it opened up a transwarp conduit and vanished from normal space. Valkyriestayed with it.
The other ship’s name hung over Vaughn like an accusation. Valkyrie,he thought. Chooser of the slain. How appropriate.
No one moved or spoke as Vaughn studied the empty starfield where the Borg vessel had been. Starfleet would understand that Ruriko and her team had exchanged their own lives for countless others. They would see it as Ruriko did. As the families of the other away team members surely would. Vaughn struggled to reassure himself that he had chosen the lesser of two evils.