Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, (pardon my
spelling!) and brought to us in our tongue by DIC.  Star Trek was created by
Gene Roddenberry, and produced by Paramount Pictures.  Have mercy on us
fanfic writers, I beg of you.
Now that that's over with (including the groveling thank G-d)  this is
Chapter 20 of Mutual Dilemma.  Hope you enjoy it!  If you have
comments/criticism, please write me using that blue Adam link thingie or
send it to Pianodrums@aol.com
If you have flames/death threats, please send them to TOSmail1@aol.com, and
a nice, friendly rep will help you out.  (j/k)=)

Chapter 20

        Sailor Moon dropped quickly to her knees as a surge of green energy
crackled overhead.  Crawling as quickly as she could, she darted behind the
nearest shelter, a Borg regeneration pod.  The sounds of battle were
amplified by the metallic corridors of the Borg ship.  From every direction,
there was a steady "clang, clang" of footsteps getting closer.  The Borg
never sped up or slowed down while they had the advantage.  The deafening
drum of their approach was beginning to become quite aggravating.
        Sailor Moon breathed heavily and tried to regain her energy before
rejoining the fight.  The Borg were advancing from every direction, and even
though they were easily felled by the scouts' powers so far, there was too
many of them to keep up an attack long enough to repel all of the Borg.  The
sailors were forced to retreat, and take cover anywhere possible.  The
regeneration pod was blocking Sailor Moon's view of the battle, but she
could easily tell what was going on.  She heard the muffled voice of Sailor
Mars scream something, and the following roar of flames signaled the end of
several Borg.  Before ducking under cover, she saw Venus and Jupiter
sprinting down a corridor just made Borg-free by their energy assault.  But
where was Sailor...
        She felt a cold hand clamp down on her shoulder.  Yelping, she
whirled defensively, to see Sailor Mercury crouched behind her.  "Mercury!"
she hissed.  "Don't scare me like that!  How did you get behind here?"
        "I crawled from behind the pod... you were concentrating on the
battle."  Sailor Mercury looked drained.  The fight was beginning to take
its toll on all of them.  If only they could hold out for eight more
minutes, then the international reinforcements would arrive.
        "They're everywhere!"  Sailor Moon whispered fearfully.  "And none
of the others are close enough to help us!"
        "We need a plan, Sailor Moon.  Stay calm, I'm thinking!"  Mercury
pulled out her computer and punched up some data on the screen.  "There's
only 10 Borg in the corridor to our right," she said, peering at the screen.
        "Only ten."  Sailor Moon's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
        "Well, there's twenty-eight to our left."
        "Let's go right!"  Sailor Moon smiled uncomfortably, and a sweat
drop appeared on her forehead.
        "The Borg are approaching two at a time, so according to my
calculations, we'll need three rapid attacks to take them all out before the
ones to our left reach us."  Mercury continued her calculations.
        "Three attacks?"
        "Yes, when I count to three, I will use my bubbles to block their
view.  Then I need you to use your scepter to take out the first four Borg,
I'll then use my ice attack, and then you must use your scepter to take out
the rest."  Mercury brought her legs up and together, and crouched on the
balls of her feet, ready to jump.  "We'll only have twelve seconds before
the others arrive."
        "Got it!"  Sailor Moon's voice was not the epitome of confidence.
        "One......two......three!  Let's move!"  Sailor Mercury lunged out
of hiding to face the oncoming Borg.  The front two raised their appendages
to fire energy.  "Shabon spray!!"  Mercury's bubbles instantly enveloped the
corridor with a dense fog.
        "Moon Princess Halation!!"  Sailor Moon's energy shot out from
behind Mercury and blasted the first two Borg.  The next two also crumpled
under the barrage.
        "Shine Aqua Illusion!!"  Three were stopped in their tracks by a
storm of ice.
        "Moon Princess Halation!!"  The yellow beam shattered the icy
barricade, and downed the last three Borg.  The corridor was littered with
their limp forms.
        "Run, Sailor Moon!"  The two scouts dashed ahead, dodging the
insensate Borg.  Behind them, the incessant clang of footsteps drew ever
closer.  Their pounding feet making chaos, the two tried to make themselves
as small targets as possible.  A green surge of energy ricocheted off a
panel directly in front of them, inspiring the two to run faster.  "Sailor
Venus and Jupiter are just ahead!"  Mercury shouted between breaths, still
looking at her computer.  "They are just around the corner!"
        "Then we can rest!"  panted Sailor Moon, her legs aching from the
strain.  They rounded the corner and came to a screeching halt, horrified.
Sailors Venus and Jupiter stood in front of them.  Their faces wore the
blank expressions of Borg drones.  Neuroprocessors and other implants
protruded from their faces...the beginnings of assimilation.  Behind them
was the limp form of Sailor Mars.  Her clothing was burned.  Mercury gasped
and took two steps back, right into the arms of an approaching drone that
reflexively injected nanoprobes into her neck.  The blue sailor collapsed on
the deck.  She shimmered unusually, as if disappearing for a moment, and
then was still.
        Alone and outnumbered, Sailor Moon cried out.  Borgified versions of
her friends blocked the way in front of her, and a whole platoon of drones
were quickly filing in behind her.  The Borg that had attacked Mercury was
reaching for it's next target.  Wincing, Sailor Moon prepared herself for
the feeling of cold needles stabbing into her neck.  Suddenly, a large red
rose streaked down the corridor, between Venus and Jupiter, and clipped the
reaching Borg's shoulder circuitry.  The drone spun out of control, then
fell to the ground.  Tuxedo Mask jumped down, (where he was perched, no one
would ever know) his feet hitting the ground with a tremendous clang.
        "Jump, Sailor Moon!"  Instinctively, she leaped into the air, not
knowing what good leaping would do.  Tuxedo Mask flipped over the shoulders
of Venus and Jupiter, and caught her in his arms.  In a display of
acrobatics that would have left those Starfleet officers wide eyed, Tuxedo
Mask hurled himself over the cluster of Borg, with Sailor Moon in tow.  He
reached out with a single hand and grabbed onto a distribution node
protruding from the ceiling.  Two seconds later, the node exploded in a
surge of power, sending the two spiraling to the metal deck.  Borg moved in
on all sides.
        "Computer, freeze program."  The Borg drones stopped in their
tracks, in mid-step.  There was an eerie stillness now, as if time had
stopped.  Down a ways, the images of the Borgified scouts, unconscious
Mercury, and dead Mars disappeared.  The true scouts joined Sailor Moon and
Tuxedo Mask in the corridor, by walking through the wall.  Luna and Artemis
followed.
        "You're dead," the white cat said.  "All of you."
        "Yes,"  Luna chimed in.  "You were unable to take section five of
the Borg cube, and when our allies arrived, they encountered Borg opposition
to the max."
        "You need to do better,"  said Artemis, looking each scout and
Tuxedo Mask in the eyes.  "Work as a team, scouts.  If you noticed during
this simulation, you all split up."
        "If you stay together, you can be strong on all sides.  Going in
different directions let the Borg come up behind you."  Luna moved next to
Artemis.
        "But good work Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury.  You almost made it,
and you worked together."
        "And thanks also to Tuxedo Mask,"  Sailor Moon chimed in.  She was
still unsure why Darien went to train with the Sailor Scouts.  He never
practiced with them before; in fact, Sailor Moon had never seen him train
until then.  Usually, he wouldn't even appear in the battle until she was in
danger...
        "I can't believe that you lasted longer than me!"  exclaimed Mars,
jealously staring at Sailor Moon."
        "How... how did you all just appear here with me, and how was
Mercury replaced with a holo-thingie without getting up?"  Sailor Moon was
mildly upset, and wide eyed, looking down the corridor where the holograms
of her comrades used to be.
        "This holodeck must have an incredible ability to play tricks on the
eyes," Mercury said.  "I see one thing, while Sailor Moon saw another."
        "All I know is that one of those hideous monsters touched my neck,
and suddenly I was in this blank room,"  Jupiter said.  The others nodded.
        "Commander Data, Artemis and I spent the past few days developing
this program, scouts," Luna said.  "Through size, positioning of the walls,
and site to site transportation, we were able to take you out of the
simulation when you "died," and replace you with an assimilated holographic
counterpart."
        "That's amazing!"  Venus exclaimed.
        "It was very realistic."  Tuxedo Mask, who had been standing at a
distance spoke up.  "When I came in here...."  he looked down and paused.
"I won't let it happen to you, Serena.  I won't ever let them take you, as
long as I live."  Sailor Moon blushed, and Mars harumphed.  That's why he
was training with the scouts.
        "Oh Darien...."
        "Back to work!"  Luna snapped.  "Looking at your performance just
now, it's clear you all need a lot of practice.  The other scouts walked
back to the corridor that now had Borg in it frozen mid-step, but Serena
remained still, transfixed by warm, determined eyes behind the mask of her
protector.

***

Meeting at the United States Capitol:
        "Can anyone determine for sure that this radio transmission was not
a hoax?"  Around the world, hasty meetings were taking place at every
country's government to figure out exactly who or what sent the unusual
radio/TV transmissions one hour ago.
        "Our scientists have analyzed the transmission, and it seems that it
originated from a large object in Earth's orbit.  If it is a hoax, then it
is the most elaborate one ever done in the history of the world."
        "Why didn't they detect the object before?"
        "They did, sir.  It's their conclusion that the object in orbit is
what caused the unusual explosions in space, and in the atmosphere
immediately prior to Tokyo's takeover."
        "What caused those explosions, specifically?"
        "I don't know, sir...looks to me like a space battle that didn't go
so well."

***

        Commander Riker was sitting in the command seat on the bridge.  In
six minutes, his duty shift would be over, and he would get to relax;
something he hadn't done well in days.  Repairs on the "Poseidon" had sped
up exponentially after the vessel regained atmospheric pressure and life
support, allowing Riker to come back to the quiet, spacious environment of
the "Enterprise."
        On the viewscreen, he could see eastern Europe, Africa, and the
Middle East slowly turning as Earth made it's lazy pirouette in front of the
Sun.  The "Defiant" and "Poseidon" were to the port and starboard bow,
looking far more majestic than Riker would have believed after logging many
hours in the buckets of bolts.
        Suddenly, an electronic buzzer interrupted his thoughts.
        "Commander,"  said Data, who was at OPS,  "We are receiving a hail
from Earth...originating on the North American Continent from the country:
United States of America."  Riker snapped to full attention, and a rush of
adrenaline coursed through his veins.
        "Put them through!"  He punched his communicator.  "Captain Picard
to the Bridge!"