Adam Allgood pianodrums@aol.com I have noticed that other authors post disclaimers before their stories. Here's one. Sailor Moon, and all related characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha, Bandai, Dic, etc. Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, and all of it's related characters belong to Paramount Pictures. Any other characters were created by me. Star Trek: Sailor Moon Mutual Dilemma Star Trek: Sailor Moon The Loss Chapter 5 "Burning Mandala!" The blades of flame penetrated the advancing wall of Borg, but the gap rapidly closed. The sound of phaser fire filled the air as Star Fleet troops battled along side the Sailor Scouts. Worf, the "dark, big guy" rushed forward into the melee with his Bat'leth. Several Borg went down under his sword. "Supreme, Thunder!" Lightning, matching Borg electricity, thundered across the alley, leaving charred ashes in the place of cybernetic creatures. The wall of Borg crushed a platoon of gold Star Fleet troops. Helpless officers were thrown into the air. Everywhere, forcefields were erected to block certain phaser fire. When an officer lost his phaser frequency to the Borg, he had two choices. Retreat was difficult. Friendly fire and Borg appliances created a stiff barrier. Hand-to-hand combat was usually fatal. If you approached a Borg on one side, you got electrocuted. If you attacked on the other side, you got a mind controlling injection. "Shine, Aqua, Illusion!" A wall of ice was erected, stunting the forward advance of the Borg. Those unfortunate Borg to be in the front became part of that wall. "Great move, Mercury!" Sailor Venus leaped above the ice-wall, and aimed at the Borg below. "Venus Love me chain!" She showered the Borg with high energy beams, cutting their wires. Finally, about seven Borg remained. These Borg would be the strongest, because they have adapted to what killed their comrades. The alley was littered with dozens of Borg shells, and Star Fleet officers. Sailor Mars was injured in the front line by a Borg weapon. Behind the ice shield, the scouts began to hear the sound of drilling. The Borg were attempting to penetrate the ice! The scouts rushed back in an attempt to regroup, but the Borg rent the shield, and flooded the alley. Unlike the first Borg, who seemed slow and apathetic, these Borg were quick and agile. Sailor Moon raised her scepter to attack an advancing Borg, but the soldier suddenly lunged. The Borg suddenly stopped in mid flight, its body crashing to the ground. Sailor Moon, realizing that she had closed her eyes, slowly opened them, and was overjoyed. A bright, red rose was embedded in the soldier's back. The Borg twitched, and seemed to raise itself, but its arms collapsed under it, it fell and lay still. Sailor Moon looked up. Standing on the top of a building was a young man. Oddly enough, he was dressed in a black tuxedo. Odd, that is, for the inexperienced Star Fleet officers. "Tuxedo Mask!" cried Sailor Moon. "Oh thank you! Thank you Darien!" Tuxedo Mask leapt from the building-top, and dropped sixteen stories to a graceful landing; on top of a Borg. The soldier crumpled into a heap. The Star Fleet officers were amazed. What an amazing world this Earth is! Tuxedo Mask moved toward Sailor Moon, and the two hugged. "Watch out!" called Riker. A Borg soldier was directly behind them, closing fast. Tuxedo Mask raised a hand, and with a fling of the wrist, embedded a rose into the oncoming soldier. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask separated. The other five Borg stopped in their tracks. One of them slowly advanced forward. They all spoke simultaneously, but the words were the same. "We are the Borg." they announced, as if the group didn't know who they were. "Your continued resistance is futile. Your weapons are no longer able to damage us. If you surrender the male that holds the roses, no harm will come to you. You will all be assimilated by the Borg." Tuxedo Mask stepped forward. His voice was riddled with danger as he spoke between clenched teeth. "Listen, you walking refrigerators, my name is Tuxedo Mask, and if you think that I am going to surrender to you..." "Your name is irrelevant. You will be incorporated into our collective consciousness, and your current identity will be terminated." The Borg in the lead began to walk forward again. "Stop now, in the name of the moon..." said Sailor Moon with more danger than anyone ever heard from her. "Your religious beliefs are irrelevant. If you attempt to intervene, we will destroy you!" The soldier continued to close the distance between it and the couple. The other three scouts, and the remaining Star Fleet officers, including Riker and Data, rushed forward, intending to aid the couple. The four Borg in back moved with incredible speed. Appendages and energy weapons made short work of the battle. Within seconds, four Borg, and no senshi remained upright. "Sailor Scouts!" Sailor Moon darkened like a cumulonimbus cloud, and when she spoke, the temperature dropped by twenty degrees. She addressed the Borg. "In the name of the moon, I will punish you for what you did here today!" The Borg continued forward, seemingly unaware of Sailor Moon's threats. They all spoke again. "Your religious beliefs are irrelevant. Surrender." Sailor Moon smiled. It was the smile of death. "Religion eh? I'll bet they didn't teach you this in Sunday School!......Moon....Scepter....elimination!!" Huge bands of energy leapt from the pink wand. The advancing Borg, and one of the ones behind it, were reduced to dust within nanoseconds. "All right Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo mask grinned. "Boy! Remind me to never get on your bad side, Serena!" Sailor Moon smiled again. She hadn't been so angry since Queen Beryl invaded the universe. Tuxedo Mask whispered into her ear. "Let's get these last two, and go home for supper!" Tuxedo Mask launched a barrage of roses at the lead Borg. The soldier leapt into the air. The two demons spoke again. "We are finished with your resistance." They released a spray of energy right onto the couple! Captain Picard frowned. Since the Enterprise, and the surviving fleet were too weak to directly engage the Borg sphere, he had ordered away teams to investigate the planet, and ascertain the Borg agenda. He told his officers to engage the Borg, should they attempt to alter this universe. He had platoons ready for combat in the transporter room. Finally, team one, Commander Riker's team, urgently requested a platoon. Communication was subsequently lost with that team. Since then, rapid phaser fire has been reported from the area along with some very strange readings. The formation of ice crystals, and firestorms during a battle are not common! Interference from the Borg has prevented emergency beam-out. Picard considered sending a shuttle, but that would be detected by the planet's forces. He decided to hail the sphere, and did so, but there was no response. Merde! thought Picard. There was a blast, a flash of pain, and then nothing. Sailor Moon's body flailed for a second, and then crashed down on his own. The bulk of the blast had hit Serena. He cried out for his lover, but there was no response from her limp form. Tuxedo Mask gently moved Sailor Moon's body off of his. Suddenly, feeling a cool, metallic surface touch the nape of his neck, Tuxedo Mask quickly recalled the fact that the two remaining Borg soldiers were not incapacitated. He whirled around and punched the offending Borg right in the mouth. The soldier made an odd mechanical sound, and staggered away. Tuxedo Mask winced. That really hurt! He thought. The second soldier touched the injured one with his clawed appendage. Both of their headpieces had pieces of machinery jutting out of the top. At this moment, both pieces rotated at a rapid rate. The dazed Borg seemed to regain its composure, and the impassive stare returned. The two Borg were converging on him now, so his options were limited. His baton was out of reach. He had dropped it when Sailor Moon collapsed on him. He looked around for something that would make a weapon...the ice! Mercury's ice wall had not survived intact, but many shards lying about may prove helpful now. Tuxedo Mask snatched up a needle-sharp ice crystal, and plunged it into the nearest soldier. Reeling from the blow, the soldier staggered back, leaving a safe path to the baton. Tuxedo grabbed the baton he had drooped and raced to Serena's side. The other Borg was almost on top of them. Tuxedo Mask formed a rose in his hand, and shot it into the advancing Borg's torso. The soldier crumpled to the ground. Tuxedo mask then turned to the limp form of Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon, wake up! Please, don't die on me." Darien checked for a pulse on her carotid artery. Yes! The blood was flowing strongly through Sailor Moon's veins. All of the power in a Borg energy attack couldn't break his lover! He allowed himself to be distracted by his feelings of affection. She murmured something unintelligible, and opened her eyes. Tuxedo Mask brushed his fingers through her hair, and said "Hold on, dear Serena, there is some 'business' that I must attend to." The two Borg were back on their feet when Tuxedo Mask faced them. Apparently, these soldiers could heal themselves quickly with that strange connection. Tuxedo Mask realized that he would need to finish them off for good. The two Borg lunged forward. Tuxedo Mask thrust his baton outward and impaled one. It didn't even slow it down! He turned sharply and launched a rose at the other one, but the first one grabbed his arm as the other one slowed. Tuxedo Mask felt a strong pressure on his neck, and all of his muscles involuntarily relaxed. They're drugging me! He cried out Serena's name as the soldiers took him. They flanked him on both sides, and suddenly, Tuxedo Mask was overcome by a huge tingling sensation. The world faded around him in a haze of green light. At first, he thought that he was fainting. However, as the world was replaced by a different environment, a cold and ominous environment, he realized that he was being transported to the lair of the Borg. Sailor Moon woke up with a start. She felt pain all over from the massive energy overload. Slowly sitting up, she looked around. The alley was littered with the unmoving forms of scouts, Star Fleet troops, and Borg. She couldn't see Tuxedo Mask anywhere. Suddenly scared, she looked for the two Borg that he fought. They were all gone! Serena cried out. Her pain inside was greater than anything the weapons inflicted. The Borg had wounded her heart by stealing her love! Tuxedo Mask looked around in amazement. The corridor in front of him seemed to stretch on for miles, and it curved up slightly. The floor beneath him was composed of some kind of metallic mesh, allowing him to see below. It appeared that another level, identical to this one, was below. Along each of the walls, circuitry and tubes provided the only decoration. The air seemed a bit hot and muggy. There was also a slight haze. All around him, there was a throbbing, as if there was some huge power source. Turning around, Tuxedo Mask noticed something strange on the ceiling. At what appeared to be a junction of multiple tubes, a large pyramidal structure hung down. Inside of it, there was a faint green light, and an odd mechanical chirping noise emanated from it. On each side, as far as the eye could see, Borg stood in wait. Each one seemed to be enclosed in a small "cubical." The housing was covered with wires, some attached to the soldiers. Each cubical was directly next to the next one down, and they continued like this until they faded into the distance. If this deck is like the others above and below me, he thought, then this structure could easily house thousands of Borg! The two Borg that he had fought with, grabbed him, and dragged him away. The pressure on his neck eased, and his muscle strength returned. Instantly after this happened, he grabbed the leading soldier and pitched it forward. He struggled bravely, but to no avail. The Borg reaffirmed their superiority, and led him to an enormous pit that seemed to overlook the entire ship. Tuxedo Mask looked up and down. The pit was shaped like a sphere, and from his vantage point, he could see dozens of decks identical to this one, below and above. Thousands upon thousands of Borg could be seen. The two soldiers forced Tuxedo Mask to face the abyss. There, he heard the voice of the Borg. Or rather, the voices, because they all spoke at once. "You are the man that throws roses. We have been observing your activities, and we have determined that you are the leader of the resistance on the planet. We wish to improve ourselves. We will incorporate your talents into our collective. Your species is authority driven. Due to this, you will also serve as a voice to your species. It has been observed that your comrades respected you." "I will never reveal my secrets to you!" shouted Tuxedo Mask into the abyss. One of the soldiers tore off his mask, revealing the stunning, and angry, blue eyes of Darien. "What you will not reveal is irrelevant. We will add your biological and technological functions to our own." "Never! I would rather throw myself into your pit!" Darien suddenly tightened, as if he planned to do what he had just said. "Brave words." The new voice startled Darien. It was not the voice of the Borg. It was a soft, even possibly, an attractive voice. A female Borg approached him from behind. All of the Borg he had seen until now seem neuter. This one spoke without the others, which Darien had also never seen. He also noticed, that the massive Borgs voice was now quiet. It was as if this new voice of only one, replaced the mighty collective voice. "Who are you?" demanded Darien. "I am the Borg." The female creature approached Darien, and to his total, and unpleasant surprise, she caressed his cheek. Darien tried with all of his might to restrain himself. "You are their leader?" Darien was surprised that the Borg had a leader. It seemed to him, that they were the epitome of group participation. The female repeated herself. "I am the Borg." She smiled (Darien never saw one do that either) and continued. "Not their leader. I am a manifestation of the all-mighty collective." "Oh." Darien wondered why the collective needed a manifestation. The soldiers grabbed Darien and forced him onto a horizontal table-like surface. It was a cold, hard surface, and it looked like one of those cubicles turned over. Darien shuddered as he developed a sneaking suspicion for what they were about to do. Borg were surrounding him now. The female said "Just relax! It will be all right. You are no longer the Rose Thrower. You are Rosholon of Borg." She laughed. A Borg approached Darien with a needle. "What are you doing to me?" Darien shouted. "I am making you a part of me!" said the female. "Of us!" cried the collective. "Never!" Darien extended his arms to full length, and kicked out his feet, scattering Borg and appliances. He sat up and punched the female in the face. She staggered back, and strangely, at the same time, the lights flickered all over the ship. The female stood, and eyed Darien angrily. The soldiers pushed him back down, and tied his arms to the table. The needle was inserted painfully into his neck. "Now relax, Rosholon, said the female. Resistance is futile."