The Mercedes speeds through warp.
It drops back to normal space and approaches the planet Vulcan. Lisa takes scans.
Lisa: "No signs of the vine material."
Sith: "Link up with the Vulcan orbital monitoring satellites. See if you can get them to sweep the other si--"
A large Remen warbird, the Nicevon, races out of the atmosphere past them. It heads out into deep space.
Sith: "What the--?"
The Remen Commander of the Nicevon approaches a group of Vulcan leaders who are shoved onto the Bridge.
Nicin: "Well it looks like it's our distant, distant cousins..."
Savven, struggles: "The Federation won't let you get away with this!!"
Nicin: "Relax. No one will even know you're gone... since we've replaced you with clones! Hahaha!"
The Mercedes arcs around and speeds after them. They blast torpedoes, slicing into the Nicevon's hull. Planet Vulcan is left far behind.
>Nicin: "Fools! Who the hell are you?"
Sith: "The guy who's going to knock you on your ass!"
>Nicin: "Now, now. How do you know that I'm not on a diplomatic mission?"
Sith, points: "I can see your Vulcan prisoners right there."
>Nicin, just realizes: "Argh!! Whatever! Like we care about a stupid Steamrunner-class vessel."
The Nicevon jumps to warp and the Mercedes jumps after them. The stars race past as the Mercedes launches torpedo after torpedo onto the back shields of the Nicevon.
The Nicevon takes on damage and drops to normal space. It enters an ice asteroid field, meeting up with another Remen warbird, the Porena. They both fire disrupter pulses onto the Mercedes as its entering.
The ship shakes, as Raine is working on a set-up device in Engineering.
#Sith: "Engineering. We need power!"
Raine is the only one available and answers the comm: "But--"
#Sith: "Hurry!"
She's forced to leave her experiment and work on the ship's systems.
Meanwhile, the Porena hails the Nicevon.
>Tialo: "We have to get rid of them before they tell the Federation what we have done!"
Nicin: "What do you take me for? I know this."
The Nicevon cloaks, blasting pulses out into space. Each pulse slams into the Mercedes as the Mercedes impulses away.
The Mercedes returns torpedo fire where the last position of the enemy was, but the torpedoes just fly through. The Mercedes arcs around, blasting torpedo after torpedo, trying to find the cloaked Nicevon.
Sith: "Where are they??"
The Mercedes gives up and speeds around, seeing the Porena. They tractor beam a nearby rock, pulling it along. The Mercedes drops the tractor beam on the rock and lets its momentum take it right into the Porena.
The rock smashes into the Porena, taking out their shields.
Tialo, falls: "Aahh!! Get them!!"
The Porena tends to its injuries. But the invisible Nicevon climbs over and fires more disrupters into the Mercedes. The Mercedes tries to maneuver around the Porena, but they still get hit with great accuracy.
The Captain braces as the Mercedes is impacted.
Sith: "Argh!"
Lisa: "Losing systems!"
Sith: "Sith to Engineering. We don't need warp power right now, so reroute!!"
In Engineering, Raine is busy working on a Borg device. She taps her commbadge.
Raine: "Uh-- alright--"
She gets to a console, rerouting power.
#Sith: "What the hell are you doing!?"
Raine: "Sorry Captain! But I was working on Borg technology."
The Mercedes blasts the last of its torpedoes out into space. One hits the Nicevon, but it's not enough.
The Porena gets working again and fires more pulses. The Mercedes shakes like crazy, while hovering past an asteroid.
#Raine: "I can get you perfect impulse and perfect tractor Beam..."
Sith: "Perfect!"
The Mercedes slams a tractor beam on the nearby asteroid and swings it around. The asteroid smashes into the Porena as it's cloaking, and the Porena is demolished to pieces.
Raine enters the Bridge of the Mercedes. She has placed some kind of Borg neural processing recalobrated interplexing beacon device on her temple: the exact device she had been working on.
Raine, falls against a console: "Augh! ...I can sense them... I can hear the Borg...!!"
Sith, runs over: "Raine! What did you--? Why would you do this to yourself??"
Raine, takes a deep breath: "...Ever since the Borg pumped me with nanoprobes, I've had this urge..."
The Mercedes is suddenly hit by an asteroid from the Nicevon. The Mercedes pulls the asteroid around, but can't find them.
Raine: "Captain!!"
She breathes heavily.
Raine: "I can sense them...!"
Sith: "I know. You told me."
Raine: "No, I can sense them! Their technology!"
She points at the view-screen. Sith immediately realizes this.
The Mercedes fires with Raine at tactical. The cloaked Nicevon is hit.
The Nicevon arcs around in anger now blasting high frequency disrupter pulses, badly damaging the Mercedes.
The Mercedes then locks two tractor beams onto two asteroids. It pulls them around, and slams them each right into the Nicevon.
The Nicevon goes toppling backwards, crashing into another asteroid. Pieces go flying. It just sits there, cradled against the rock.
Nicin: "Aahh!! How did they do that!?? They were just a stupid Steamrunner-class ship!!"
The Vulcan's are beamed aboard the Mercedes as it hovers over.
The Mercedes repairs systems and then leaves the Remen's in the asteroid field, returning to Vulcan to drop off the Vulcan leaders.
Savven: “Thank you... although you could have been a little easier on us.”
Sith, embarrassed: “Right.”
Later, Sith approaches Raine on the Bridge. He looks at her.
Raine: "It's the Borg. They attacked us on purpose."
Sith, fears the truth: "Why?"
Raine: "They want you for some reason."
Sith turns away and stares at the vines wrapped around his arm.
Ace: "They must have known..."
Sith, clenches his fist: "They won't get close enough to know more..."
The Mercedes leaves Vulcan and jumps to warp.
