Resistance is Futile - Pt 45

As Virginia surveyed the Borg ship in the distance, the only word that came to mind was an old earth slang comment she had heard in a movie once. No two ways about it...the Borg ship was gianormous.

It hung in the distance, surrounded by scores of other ships of the same kind. One cube in a rubix cube. Stacked like pieces on a three dimensional chess board.

She hated tri-d chess...it made no sense to her. Spock always claimed that it was because her mind had trouble thinking on only a three dimensional level. The conversation had taken place long after they had become intimate, long after they had mindmelded. She had caught the 'only' in his comment and had asked about it. Spock had raised that eyebrow of his. "Virginia," he said in that 'it's only logical' tone of his, "Your mind, like mine, is a hybrid between that of two races. And the human mind does not meld well with the Gandraleayian mind. They are considered the most unbalanced creatures, and often times dangerous. However, yours is one of the better balanced minds. This means that your mind works at a level far above the norm for humans. You not only see things as they are...but as they could be. And sometimes, you see things as they should be, even though they are not. This your mind does without conscious thought or effort. You also have a tendancy to see far beyond one moment in time, again without your needing to focus on it at all. So for you to focus on something so trivial and simple as tri-dimensional chess...it slows you down."

Deanna thought it odd that at a time when her vision was filled with an endless sea of Borg cubes, she could find herself distracted by the emotions of the person next to her. And with such clarity. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the Admiral was without her powers. "What are you remembering?" she boldly asked.

"A conversation between Spock and I about the reason why I haved such a hard time with tri-dimensional chess," Virginia answered. Shields were up and at a mid level frequency that was even now shifting to keep the Borg confused. "That's what the Borg ships reminded me of...a tri-d chess board. I hate that game. Spock claimed that it was too simple for me. I also think he said I have a hyper active mind."

The other woman caught the humor in the statement and couldn't stop from lightly laughing. "I'm sure he didn't mean it that way. Although I must admit that you are a highly driven woman."

"Ian always called me focused," Virgina said softly. "Marcus referred to me as high strung. You know...the more I look at these cube ships...the more I see the system to it. I mean, we are talking about the Borg...they don't just stack their cubes without reason. Even we have a certain way we place our ships when traveling in a fleet. What we do...is put the ship carrying the highest ranking official in the middle...better protection that way."

Deanna viewed the ships again. "Do you think they do the same?"

"I don't know. If our intelligence information is correct...each ship carries its own Queen...With a Matrix Queen over several ships. Nothing has ever been said about an "alpha' queen...one over them all."

The counselor dared to ask, "What does 'logic' tell you?"

"Logic? Logic tells me to turn this damn ship around and abort the entire thing." In her minds eye, Virginia saw Spock's eyebrow raise and she winced at his imaginary scrutiny. "Ok, that's not logic...that's fear talking. Logically, since the Borg have been compared to bees...you know, the entire hive mentality...it would make sense for there to be an Alpha Queen."

The two considered the starfield before them.

"If I were a Borg Queen..." mused Virginia. "Where would I put myself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do I hide myself behind the underlings...or do I put myself out front, where it is least likely to be suspected. Even though it's the most dangerous, but hey...we're the superior race, right?"

Deanna caught on to her thinking. "Right. And we're in our own borders, so what danger is there really?"

"Shouldn't be any...we've assimilated everything worth assimilating and destroyed the rest." Virginia paused and decided to guess. "We're going to that ship...there." The admiral pointed to a dot on her display screen. It was a ship about midlevel and only a few rows in.

Deanna swallowed hard. "Then let's go."

Virginia nodded, though her hand hesitated over the controls. "Deanna?"

"Yes Admiral?"

"I'm scared."

Deanna reach out and patted the other's shoulder. "So am I."

Comforted by their shared fear, Virginia nudged the ship into motion.