A Chilling Report

Posted on Mon Aug 8th, 2011 @ 4:45am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Michael Evans M.D. & Lieutenant Thelin ch'Rassa M.D.

Mission: Episode 2.2 - "Resistance"
Location: Ready Room, USS Pandora
Timeline: MD-04, 23:03hrs

ON: [[Ready Room, USS Pandora, Mission Day 04, 2303]]

"It is my opinion that the Borg are as close to pure evil as any race we've ever encountered." -- Captain Amasov

Silence permeated the room as Iluvar stood near the viewport, watching the eerie spectre of a Borg debris field drifted slowly through space. He knew full well the nature of their mission had every member of his crew on edge. No doubt the crew of the Orlando was feeling the same way as well. A dealing with the Borg was not to be trifled with. The presence of a debris field and an active transponder signal meant there had been a Borg presence at one time...and there could very well be again.

Thelin stood quietly in the room of one of Starfleet's most highly regarded Commanding Officers. Even though this wasn't his direct superior there was a nervousness and edge about the room that made it feel that way. Maybe it was the pips on his collar or maybe it was because of the news he was about to deliver with the ship's Chief Medical Officer; either way it was about as comfortable as trying to climb a mountain on Andoria without polar gear.

"Captain, thank you for taking the time to see me and Doctor Evans. The information regarding our autopsy of the Borg drone which was once a Saurian, is to say the least, disturbing," the Andorian stated, waiting afterwards for an acknowledgement to begin.

Michael nodded solemnly in agreement. "I'm just glad Dr. ch'Rassa was aboard," he said, addressing Captain Iluvar. "Dr. Haelen might have caught something that I missed, but I felt a lot better having ch'Rassa's hands-on experience with borg nanoprobes. I think Tony felt a little left out at first," Michael smiled knowingly at Iluvar, "but he's reviewed the data and concurs with Dr. ch'Rassa. And I think I'll let him conduct the briefing," he nodded at Thelin.

Slowly, Iluvar turned away from the viewport so that he was facing the two physicians standing before his desk. "Proceed," he said with a nod to Doctor ch'Rassa.

Thelin nodded and walked over to the display panel in the Ready Room where he activated a display off his findings next to the Borg. "Thank you Dr. Evans and Captain Iluvar. As you know Dr. Evans asked me to assist him in an autopsy of a Borg Drone due to my experience. Upon our examination of the corpse we were able to determine this once living Saurian turned Borg represented a new model of Drone we have not seen before. It had parts belonging to both Assimilation and Medical Drones. Since we know the Borg do not make mistakes we can only summarize we are seeing new advancements in their technology. Our guess is that it was some sort of frontline medic capable of combat and care," Thelin said with a grimace. Pausing he waited for the Captain to take in the report.

The images rotating slowly on the visual display were not completely unfamiliar to Iluvar. He recognized a few of the various indicators of Borg technology as a result of numerous briefings during his career, but the doctor's explanation certainly provided a much deeper insight into the situation...one that may have been a cause for concern. "We know the Borg to be extremely adaptive," Iluvar mused, "Could this drone have been in a process of redesignation?"

"Unfortunately, from the amount of aging the technology has seen the answer would be no. In fact the Borg's nanoprobes seem to be a unique kind that can be injected into fellow drones as a form of treatment, thus leading the credence even further to this being some sort of combat medic," Thelin responded, his right hand wandering into the pocket of his lab coat as it stood there balled into a fist of stress.

"If you are correct," Iluvar began slowly, "then we could be looking at a previously unencountered Borg designation."

Thelin began to open his mouth to respond but could easily see the worry on the Captain's face. Turning towards his collegue he gave a nod hoping some more input from the man might help.

"Here's the rub," Dr. Evans said, stepping forward. "These 'medics' don't just repair injured drones... they reanimate dead ones!"

There was another awkward moment of silence as Doctor Evans' words truly sank in. One might have easily dismissed the passionate statement as the over-reactions of a young Starfleet officer, but Iluvar knew his chief medical officer took things very seriously, especially when it came to matters of health and safety.

"There's no sign that the borg is still 'living' while it's animated. It's just the mechanisms animating its body," Evans explained. "But that does pose a problem for our security teams. The reanimation persists for about three hours before the body is no longer usable. The body or its mechanisms must sustain extensive damage before the borg is effectively neutralized, or the borg must be vaporized." He looked between Dr. ch'Rassa and Iluvar. "Which means higher phaser settings, which means faster depletion of the power cells as well as greater risk to the combat teams," he finished.

Iluvar shifted his stance slightly, contemplating what had just been said. There was a grim look on his face that seemed to reflect the very weight of their current situation. The idea that Borg drones would continue to advance even after being incapacitated was disconcerting at best. Was it possible their current methods of dealing with the Borg would be rendered obsolete?

"...like a cornered animal," Iluvar muttered to himself.

"It is no secret we have successfully resisted the Borg in the past," Iluvar said, expounding upon his earlier statement, "We have managed to fend off three attempted invasions and dealt a crippling blow to the infrastructure of the Collective. It is possible the Borg are attempting to adapt, perhaps resorting to means that would have otherwise been dismissed."

"I would suggest their adaptation is not a sign of last resorts but of preparation, Sir. Preparation for war. The only comfort I can give is that while these drones can be resuscitated so to speak they can not adapt. Call it half a win if you want but this still bodes well for no one in the end," came the response from Thelin as he looked around the room.

Michael nodded. "The corpse that was reanimated in sickbay could not pass through the force field. Its actions seemed reflexive rather than cognitive," he said. "It could not think or problem-solve. But I believe it could still perform its primary functions or perform simple repairs, and I am certain that it could perform effectively, if somewhat clumsily, in combat."

"So," Mike sighed, "it seems that while they are harder to take out, we at least have an upper hand in Grey Matter." He tapped the side of his head significantly, indicating that smarts, cleverness, and an alert mindset would be the best weapons against such foes.

Nodding slowly to show that he understood what the two physicians were saying, he reached up with one hand to tap his commbadge. "Iluvar to Mister Thompson," he said slowly, "Report to my ready room..."

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

Captain Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Michael Evans
Chief Medical Officer & Second Officer
USS Pandora

and

Lieutenant Thelin ch'Rassa M.D.
Future Chief Medical Officer
USS Pandora