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Part Five
The Borg cube that descended upon the Sally Ride from the mirror universe didn't attack immediately -- instead it began reaching out on communication frequencies, attempting to regain contact with the hive of its universe. This gave the Starfleet and mirror MACO forces precious seconds to concoct a defensive strategy.
The Galaxy-class Independence was the clear choice to take the brunt of the assault. The tactical officer aboard the Intrepid-class Krakow was known to have quite a stockpile of exotic weapons, so Captain Orenn ordered that ship to load up transphasic torpedoes. Tactical scans of the cube suggested that its adaptations were very different from those encountered in this universe, meaning that while it was a fearsome offensive machine, many historical Starfleet strategies would catch it flat-footed.
Even so, it was crucial for the Starfleet ships and their mirror rivals to work in concert. Despite suspicions on both sides, an impromptu battlefield alliance was formed.
Flying in formation, the mixed force used the Independence as a defensive break, then swept past it to pummel a single shield arc. The Krakow, still loading transphasic weapons, was limited to beam fire, but the Ride made up for it with a devastating wave of quantum torpedoes and a nest of mines to hinder the cube's maneuvering. The mirror MACO ships let loose with their own exotic weapon system, using disposable one-shot beam focusing arrays to overcome adaptive shielding.
The onslaught battered down the shield arc and caused the kind of hull damage only a Borg cube could possibly have shrugged off -- but that's exactly what it did. The counteroffensive was monumental, leaving plasma fires raging all over the Independence and Cerberus. Even the nimble Sally Ride took enough fire to completely overwhelm her deflectors and cause breaching on some decks. Just as it became clear that the task force would not survive another attack run, Krakow finally reported ready for a transphasic bombardment.
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And what a bombardment it was. Just as unprepared as the cubes that faced USS Voyager decades ago, this one took the torpedoes directly in its deeply cratered side and broke entirely in half. The structural damage was finally great enough that what was left of the ship wouldn't pose a threat.
But surviving the mirror Borg was only half of the task facing the Sally Ride. There remained the matter of putting a stop to mirror MACO's incursions into this universe.
The mirror forces, lacking Starfleet's edge in counter-Borg technology and tactics, had come out of the fight much worse for wear. While combat would still be devastating for both sides, the Federation would be the clear victor, putting them in much better negotiating territory.
The Admiral Orenn who hailed after the battle still resented the attempted sabotage before the Borg arrived, but he couldn't help but be chastened by the Federation forces' performance in the battle. He took Orenn's explanation that the saboteur was a subordinate acting alone at face value, though he took a moment to criticize the Sally Ride crew's "lack of discipline."
After a great deal of haggling, a deal was sketched out. MACO would release all imprisoned Aetraxi to the Federation and cease all incursions into this universe. They also handed over this universe's version of Night, whom they had tardily brought to expose his mirror duplicate's treachery. In exchange, Starfleet would provide the technological means to drive back the Borg encroaching on the mirror universe, including ship-to-ship countermeasures and best practices for Borg drone liberation.
A particular sticking point was Captain Orenn's insistence that the mirror vessel Cerberus remain in this universe; the Admiral was just as adamant that it be returned to defend its home dimension. In the end, the matter was settled by simple intimidation -- MACO simply couldn't survive a battle in their current state. The Sally Ride captain did agree to provide Starfleet assistance with repairs to the Basilisk.
However, this brought on another debate, this time among the Starfleet personnel aboard the Ride. Counselor Narciso brought up the significant ethical dilemma of interfering so profoundly in the future of the mirror universe, even to avert a Borg invasion. Though MACO was hardly a pre-warp civilization, Starfleet would be handing them technology they didn't have in an effort to influence their development. Would such an action violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the Prime Directive?
After considering the argument, Orenn decided to go ahead with the deal in spite of the counselor's objections. He did suggest that Narciso raise these concerns farther up the chain of command.
Once the Sally Ride had received the transports from MACO and command of the Cerberus, the entire group made their way back to the Briar Patch for repairs, and after a shift break, the bridge crew made their way to the lounge for some R&R.
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