Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 23:36:02 -0600 In: alt.startrek.creative From: Seema seemag1@yahoo.com Title: Crossing the Line Author: Seema E-mail: seemag1@yahoo.com Series: MIS Part: NEW 1/3 Rating: PG Codes: Riley Frazier Archive: ASC and BLTS yes, everyone else please ask. Summary: The battle of Wolf 359 Author's note: This can be read as a prequel to my story "Among Bluebonnets" but it's meant as a stand-alone piece. While writing can be a very individual experience, it takes a lot of support and help from others to see a story through from start to finish. Many thanks to Jemima, Liz, and Rocky for their betas, insights and more importantly, for convincing me that indeed, there was a story to tell here. Also, all of the Mad Chatters should be able to recognize an incarnation of themselves in this one (g). **** On her last day as an individual, Riley Frazier woke to klaxons. Disorientated, her heart pounding in her throat, she stumbled out of bed and located her communicator on the dresser, only to realize the sirens had gone silent. "Frazier to the Bridge. What's going on?" "No need to get excited, Riley. It's just a false alarm." The first officer, Commander Goode, sounded sheepish over the comm link. "Engineering was a little jumpy and tripped the alarm by accident." Frazier let out a sigh of relief as she staggered into the bathroom. There was no point in going back to sleep now, even though she still had two hours left before she was required to return to duty. She splashed water on her face and then leaned forward, bracing herself against the sink as she stared at her reflection. Dark circles edged her bloodshot eyes. In the flurry of activity of the past three days prior to rendezvousing with the fleet at Wolf 359, the crew of the USS Roosevelt had been pulling double-shifts in preparation for a showdown with the Borg. The accidental tripping of the warning system in Engineering didn't surprise Frazier; everyone was on edge, knowing an armed confrontation was imminent. As Frazier got ready, her gaze fell on a framed picture on the wall. At the last family reunion three summers ago, the Frazier clan had posed among the bluebonnets rippling on the grounds of their Texas Hill Country ranch. In the center of the gathering sat Frazier's grandfather, Alvin Frazier, a proud dyed-in-the-wool Texan who often participated in re-enactments of famous Texas revolutionary battles and had an incurable addiction for mesquite barbeque. Alvin Frazier lived and breathed Texas and had passed on that same pride in the Lone Star State to his favorite granddaughter. After changing into a fresh uniform, Frazier made her way to the mess hall. It was just after 0600 hours and given the early hour, Frazier didn't expect to see many officers from alpha shift present; however, she was wrong because the ship's tactical officer, Lieutenant Gerry, and the chief helm officer, Lieutenant Logan, were seated by the window, picking at the remains of breakfast. Frazier replicated a cup of coffee for herself as well as a bagel with cream cheese before joining them. "Good morning," Frazier said. "Looks like this morning's engineering snafu woke you too," Gerry commented. In his late twenties, Chris Gerry had earned the respect of colleagues, not to mention the attention of the Roosevelt's captain who had put in a good word for him at Starfleet Command. Frazier knew it would not be long before Gerry was tapped for command track. "Yes," Frazier said, savoring the aroma of her French roast coffee; she was convinced there was no other way to wake up properly. "No doubt, there will be some very unhappy and cranky people aboard and frankly, it's the last thing we needed. How could something like this happen?" "Security codes for the sensor array were corrupted during last night's database upload," Logan answered, shaking her head in disbelief. Eibhlis Logan had come to Starfleet via Belfast and at times, her Irish brogue inflected an otherwise perfect Standard accent. "During the long range scanner sweep, the sensors identified any ships approaching our position as Borg." "Sounds like someone was a little overzealous," Frazier said. "But that kind of sloppiness cannot be tolerated at a time like this." "You could hear Captain Bonham yelling at Commander Lorey three decks away," Gerry said, referring to the Roosevelt's chief engineer. "The ensign responsible has been relieved of duty temporarily until the data revision has been completed." "A wise course of action," Frazier said. "Sounds like the two of you have the inside scoop." "Couldn't sleep, Commander, not when the Borg are expected any day now," Gerry said. "So I thought I'd make myself useful and run a weapons check on the Bridge and so I got to hear the whole thing as it unfolded." Frazier nodded. She could understand wanting to keep busy. It had been three days since Admiral Hanson had ordered all nearby ships to Wolf 359 to rendezvous at that point to mount a defense against the Borg. The Roosevelt, which had been on a science mission less than a day away, had been among the first to arrive; since then, they had simply been holding position. The timeline for the Borg's project arrival kept changing on a minute-by-minute basis. The various estimates ranged anywhere from hours to days. Logan pointed toward the viewport. "Scuttlebutt says we should be at full-strength within the hour." "How many have arrived now?" Frazier asked, taking a look out the window at all of the assembled starships. "Twenty-nine, according to my last tactical survey," Gerry said. He pushed his plate, with the half-eaten remains of a croissant on it, away. "Forty are expected in total." "That is a lot of fire power against one enemy ship," Logan said, her hands shaking as she buttered her muffin. Frazier knew Logan -- like so many others on the Roosevelt, enlisted and officer both -- had never expected to see combat. While Starfleet was the defensive arm of the Federation, its mission had increasingly become one dedicated to exploration and discovery. "It does seem like a waste of Starfleet's resources, doesn't it?" Gerry asked. He eyed Frazier, who curled her hand around her coffee mug. "Well, Commander? What do you think?" "Admiral Hanson wants to deliver a definitive blow once and for all. We're only 7.5 lightyears from Earth, and I'm sure the Admiral doesn't want to take any chance the Borg might slip through," Frazier said. As she glanced out the window, she saw two more ships – a Challenger-class and an Excelsior-class ship – arrive. "There is speculation that there Borg were responsible for the destruction of the Federation colonies along the Neutral Zone back in '64." Her knuckles whitened as she gripped her mug even more tightly. "There were no survivors." "As you said, it's all speculation that the Borg were responsible for that. Regardless of who attacked the colonies, if they had been properly defended, then they wouldn't have been destroyed," Logan argued. Frazier was about to respond when the mess hall doors slid open, revealing Commander Goode. "At ease," Goode said, waving a hand at the three officers who had started to rise from their seats at her approach. "I was on my way to Engineering and thought I'd come take a look at the view myself." Goode nodded at the empty chair next to Frazier. "Is this taken?" "It's all yours, Commander," Frazier said. Goode nodded in response and folded her lank and lean body into the chair. Her posture was casual, almost relaxed -- a sharp contrast to that of the other three officers seated at the table. But then Frazier remembered that Goode, after the Captain, was the longest-serving member of the senior staff. Twenty years and counting, and if Frazier recalled correctly, this wasn't the first armed encounter Goode had experienced; there had been at least one or two skirmishes with the Cardassians on Goode's previous posting on the Phoenix. "We're just discussing the size of the fleet, ma'am," Logan said, breaking into Riley's thoughts. She nodded in Gerry's direction. "Chris and I thought perhaps, it's a little excessive considering advance reports say there is only one Borg vessel." "We don't know much about the Borg, but we are sure they are a formidable enemy," Goode answered, knitting her fingers together. "We have pieced together a patchwork of information, but of course, it goes without saying, until we are, so to speak, face-to-face with them, we won't know exactly what they are capable of." "Some believe the Borg were responsible for the destruction of the Neutral Zone colonies two years ago," Frazier said quietly. Across the table, Logan grimaced. "That is still debatable," Goode said sharply, "but you are correct in your speculation, Riley. The current evidence matches what little we do know of the Borg. The recent disappearance of a colony on Joret IV is what gave Admiral Hanson reason to believe the Borg had opened a new offensive here at Wolf 359. In light of that incident, Admiral Hanson and his aide, Lieutenant Commander Shelby reviewed reports of previous attacks on colonies in which the perpetrators were unknown. While it cannot definitely be proved, the Admiral has good reason to believe the destruction of the colonies in the Neutral Zone was the work of the Borg and there are several other incidents which are being reviewed under suspicion that the Enterprise's encounter with the Borg last year wasn't the first." Frazier finished off her coffee. "Wasn't Commander Shelby assigned to develop strategic plans against a potential Borg offensive?" Frazier had never met Commander Shelby, but she knew Goode and Bonham had beamed over to the Admiral's ship on the previous day. Frazier had full confidence in Hanson; the Admiral's record, especially at Setlik III against the Cardassians, was well-known. However, Elizabeth Shelby was an unknown factor and Frazier had stopped short of investigating the Commander herself; she wanted to know more about the woman whom she suspected was the chief architect of the current offensive against the Borg. Goode turned to look once more out the windows, her expression growing more pensive as yet another starship, a Galaxy-class, joined the armada. "Until we got orders three days ago to rendezvous here, yes, Shelby was in charge. Hanson, however, took over when he received new intelligence the Borg were on their way. Shelby's work has been incorporated into the anticipated defense and she's still considered the leading intelligence officer on the Borg. At this moment, however, she has been reassigned to the Enterprise." Goode's lips turned slightly upward as she pushed back her chair, the legs scratching roughly against the gray carpet. "I heard a rumor Captain Picard of the Enterprise has been captured by the Borg," Logan said. Frazier turned to Logan in surprise. Where could Logan have possibly gotten that idea from? Goode made a hand gesture, dismissing the comment. "Well, consider it exactly that, Lieutenant, a rumor." "But if it were true," Logan said, "then the Borg would have a tactical advantage over us, wouldn't they? And we would need all of those ships, correct?" "No Starfleet captain would share secrets with the enemy. They would rather die. Death, after all, is preferable to colluding with the enemy, even involuntarily," Goode said flatly. She rose. "I need to check on something in Engineering." After the Commander's departure, Logan looked pensively out the window. Gerry, however, faced Frazier. "Did Commander Goode tell us the truth about Captain Picard?" Gerry asked bluntly. "You heard her," Frazier said sharply. "One of them, forty of us..." Logan muttered. "We should overpower the Borg fair easy." With a wry smile, she continued, "It doesn't quite seem right somehow, all of us arrayed against just one of them." "As Commander Goode said, I would not underestimate the Borg," Frazier said, unable to resist injecting a note of caution. While she too shared Starfleet's belief that their success was inevitable, she also knew it was too dangerous to assume victory from the outset. "History is full of precedents—-" The comment caught Gerry's attention. "Not another one of the great Texan legends!" Frazier ignored him and continued on. "During the battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston and his men overpowered General Santa Anna with a surprise attack. In just eighteen minutes, Houston overpowered the Mexicans, thus winning independence for the Texans. Houston only had 900 men at his disposal, compared to the nearly 1,500 Santa Anna commanded." "Are you comparing the Borg to Sam Houston, Commander?" Gerry sounded amused. "With all due respect, Commander, I'm not sure what good another history lesson is going to do us." Frazier flushed at his comment. Her pride in her family's tradition of military service, not to mention her interest in Texas history, was well-known among the senior staff. As a child, Riley had hung on her grandfather's every word while he regaled her with stories of larger-than-life heroes – some of them her own ancestors. "History is more than just fascinating stories. Occasionally, we can learn from what has happened before," Frazier said coolly. "It's one of the primary reasons why we study history." "Well, I live in the twenty-fourth century, thank you very much. I really don't see the relevance of family fables, especially given we're facing an enemy whom we know next to nothing about other than they leave a path of destruction behind," Gerry said disdainfully. "No offense, Commander." "None taken," Frazier said mildly. She picked up her empty cup and plate. "Battles have been won and lost unexpectedly on longer odds in the past. It's good to be confident, but not wise to be overly so." "Admiral Hanson's scenarios predict relatively low casualties for the Federation," Gerry said. "Are you surprised? Those are the kinds of numbers Starfleet Command likes to hear. High casualties never play well in the media," Frazier said. "I'll see you on the Bridge." After three years as the Roosevelt's chief science officer, Frazier knew every inch of the ship intimately and thus selected a longer and less-efficient route than usual to reach the Bridge. She needed time to gather her thoughts together and she didn't feel like returning to her quarters to ponder the conversation she'd had with Logan and Gerry. Frazier made her way through the corridors, nodding absent-mindedly at the passing crewmembers. The turbolift lurched to a stop. -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. 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