The Enemy of My Enemy
The Enemy of My Enemy
The cell door glowed gold as Celestia unlocked it. As the puppies ran out eager to meet new friends, Chrysalis stretched out her hooves and carefully raised herself up off the floor. It had been a long time since she had stood on her own hooves and was a little shaky at first. When she finally felt ready, the former Queen of the Changelings stepped out from her cold dark cell and followed Princess Celestia back up the long staircase leading out of the dungeon.
As they reached the top, Picard took a deep breath of fresh air, but it was nothing compared to the breath Chrysalis took in. For her, it was not just the freshness of the air, but the scent of freedom carried with it. A small tear dropped from her cheek.
Only Celestia seemed to notice, drawing small smile to her face. The princess absolutely loathed having to ever use that dungeon, but for Chrysalis, it was the only option, and from the looks of things, it seemed to have worked. She led the way back toward the throne room.
When the ponies spotted Chrysalis, they grew angry in a hurry.
“What’s she doing here!?” Future-Rainbow Dash yelled.
“Are you in danger, princess?” Present-Twilight asked, ready for a fight.
“No girls,” Celestia tried to explain, raising a hoof to stop. “She has volunteered to help us.”
“How can she help us?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously.
“I’m not sure, but I fear we will need all the help we can get.”
Picard seemed to be mulling the idea over in his mind. “I may have thought of a way you can help us.”
“What did you need me to do, human?” Chrysalis asked growing concerned. She understood Celestia’s ways, but nothing about this creature’s.
“Do you require actually seeing a person before you can take on their form?” he asked. “Or can you replicate it from just an image of them?”
“A photograph will suffice,” she answered, “but any details hidden by the photo will have to be guessed and may not be a hundred percent.”
“Fortunately, I have a three dimensional hologram you can use that can give you the finer details.”
“Dimensional…hologram?” Chrysalis asked, confused.
“If you will come aboard my ship, I can show you what a Borg drone looks like as though there was a real one present in the room.”
“Aboard your ship? In space? I don’t know. Why do you need me to look like a drone anyway?”
“If we can beam you aboard their ship, you can obtain access to the more sensitive areas and possibly sabotage their systems.”
“Wait a minute!” said Chrysalis, starting to back away. “I didn’t volunteer to go into space and ‘beam’ aboard an enemy ship!”
“If you want your freedom, you will do exactly as Captain Picard asks,” Celestia said sternly.
Chrysalis resigned herself to the idea, frowning. “Just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do it.”
“Very well,” Picard said nodding. “Mr. Data, if you and Commander Worf would remain here, perhaps you can provide the princess with tactical analyses for the evacuation plans and battle-readiness, in the event any Borg drones successfully transport to the surface.”
“Aye Captain,” said Worf.
“Yes sir,” Data acknowledged.
Discord stepped forward. “I should come aboard with Geordi to start work on replicating more effective weapons to give to the ponies,” he said.
“Absolutely not,” was Picard’s quick reply. “The Prime Directive specifically forbids providing weapons to lesser developed civilizations; especially ones with no formal diplomatic ties with the Federation. It is out of the question.”
Discord actually laughed. “Captain, Captain. Do you really think the Prime Directive applies to anyone anymore? The universe will end in a few more days unless the Borg are stopped, and if we do succeed, I can remove any weapons or technology the ponies didn’t already possess in a flash. So stop worrying so much!” He smiled crookedly.
“Like how you removed all the knowledge of monoceros particles from that Windigos ship?”
“Yes…well…heh,” he gulped, “I’ll just have to be more thorough this time, won’t I?”
Picard’s face was rigid as his teeth chewed on the information. He sighed loudly. “Very well. You and Commander LaForge can work together to begin replicating weapons for the Equestrians.”
Picard, Geordi, Discord, and Chrysalis grouped together, preparing to beam up to the ship. He clicked his communicator pin. “Picard to Enterprise four to–”
“Just a moment, Captain,” Celestia interrupted.
“Standy-by,” he said, closing the communication with the ship.
“You should take the ponies from the future with you. They may be of help.”
Picard mulled it over briefly. He was far more open to that idea, than arming them with advanced weaponry. “Very well.” He tapped his pin again, “Picard to Enterprise, nine to beam up.”
Future-Pinkie turned to Present-Pinkie. “Well it was fun meeting me!”
“Me too! We should do again sometime.”
“We totally should!”
“Just promise me, I won’t try to kill me with balloons and streamers again.”
“I promise.”
“Do you Pinkie Promise?”
“Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!”
“Pinkie, hurry up!” Future Twilight called.
Pinkie joined the group huddled in a cluster.
“Energize,” said Picard.
As the transporter beam enveloped them, Chrysalis started to panic.
“What’s going on?” she screamed. “What’s happening to us?”
Before anyone could answer, they had already begun to rematerialize on the transporter pad.
“Where am I? What is this place?”
Twilight could see how not being in control in such an alien environment was causing Chrysalis to panic. She was a long cry from the arch villain she once was. Twilight tried to comfort her.
“Relax. You’re safe. We’ve just teleported onto the captain’s ship.
“Just follow me Chryssi!” Pinkie shouted, trying to race out of the transporter room.
The transporter chief was a step ahead of her this time. He blocked the pink pony’s path before she could get lost on the ship.
“Don’t call me Chryssi!” Chrysalis said, agitated. Despite the agitation, Twilight could no longer see the fear on her face. It was progress. Though, she wasn’t exactly sure in which direction.
Captain Picard took the lead, “Chrysalis, Q, you may follow Commander LaForge and myself to the holosuites. Everyone will be provided quarters and limited access around the ship. The Chief here can escort the rest of you there now, or to ten-forward if you would like some food and beverage.”
“Can’t we come with you?” Twilight asked. “We didn’t come here to just sit around and eat you know.”
“I know, Miss. Sparkle, but allow me the time to get Chrysalis here up to speed on everything and how she can help us, while Q and Geordi work on finding a way to fight back against the Borg. We may need your help soon enough, but for now, there is nothing else for you to do.”
Twilight sighed. “I understand.”
Picard turned to his present security officers. “This person …or pony… is a rehabilitated criminal. When she is not with me, she is to be kept under guard, but she it not to be treated as a criminal. It is just a precaution.” He turned to Chrysalis. “Do you agree to those terms?”
Chrysalis didn’t seem to like it too much at all, but she nodded anyway.
“I … also would like you to visit the ship’s doctor and have a tracer injected into you.”
“Absolutely not!” Chrysalis yelled. “I may not know what a tracer is, but I will not have it injected anywhere!”
“I’m afraid this is non-negotiable. It is for both our safeties. When you go aboard the Borg ship, it will give us a means of finding you and getting you safely out of there when the job’s done, but it will also help us make sure you don’t decide to go back on your word.”
Chrysalis was grinding her teeth in anger. She looked around the room. All eyes were on her. Humans in red held boxes at her that she could only assume were weapons. She was in a foreign place with no clue how to escape or even where to go if she did. Once again she was defeated and left with no alternatives.
“Very well, do what you will.” Her voice was cracked. It sounded almost pitiful.
“Follow me,” said the captain.
All parties adjourned to there respective destinations. Discord and Geordi left straight for the holosuite to begin work on designs for whatever Discord had in mind.
The captain escorted Chrysalis to meet with the ship’s Chief Medical Officer. Chrysalis felt humiliated throughout the exam, but at least not a single part of the it was painful, and their doctor was very kind to her.
By the time they reached the holosuites, Chrysalis had settled from her initial shock and fear, and had started to explore the ship more with her eyes and ears as they walked down the corridors.
So many different creatures past them by: some were blue, some had pointed ears, some had antennae, and more. She also noticed, all of them looked relatively like the captain.
“Are all of these creatures human?” she asked, curiously.
“We have many different species from many different worlds aboard this ship,” he answered.
“But why do they all look so similar? Aren’t there any pony races?”
“There are all kinds of species in the Federation, which is a union of worlds from all across this region of space. They work together in peace. Many of them have evolved similar features that have helped many races reach the stars. There are several species though who look a great deal dissimilar from humans. You would not want an encounter with a Tholian I can tell you. But there are very few quadruped species that have made it to the stars. They are out there though. I don’t believe we have any on the ship at the moment though.”
“Quadruped?”
“Four-legged…for instance…ponies.”
“Oh.”
Chrysalis did not want to admit how fascinated she was by all this. When the doors opened to the holosuite, her curiosity was peaked. She entered the room, which was quite vast. Bright lights shined on along the walls and ceiling with no candles in sight.
“Where are we?”
“This is called a holosuite,” Picard explained. “From here I can show you exactly what a Borg drone looks like.
Picard spoke out into the echo of the room. “Computer, display the image of a Borg drone.”
In an instant, a Borg drone materialized in the center of the room.
“Ahhh!” Chrysalis jumped back in fright. “What is that thing!?”
“This is a Borg drone,” Picard explained calmly.
“But… But it’s right here! How do we kill it?” she asked trying to retreat away from it.
“This is not an actual drone. This is a holographic representation. A facsimile.”
Chrysalis stared at the creature before her. It was wearing a beyond-bizarre black uniform with hoses and metal devices every which way. One of its eyes was covered by a red blinking light. Its skin was a sticky grey with no fur. The more she looked the less real it seemed. It remained perfectly still and didn’t even breathe. She started to accept it wasn’t actually real.
“Do you think you can shape-shift into this form?”
Chrysalis looked the creature up and down; from head to toe. After she finished studying some of the more unusual details (she had trouble remembering it all), she flashed green flame around herself until she was the spitting image of the Borg drone.
“How is this?” she asked, still in her normal voice.
Picard examined her recreation. It was perfect.
“Well done,” he said, smiling. “Well done indeed.”
Chrysalis returned to her original form. She felt more at ease on four legs.
“So what would you have me do as a drone?”
“We’ll go through all that. For now, rest and feel free to explore. Security can escort you to your quarters or ten-forward, if you would prefer to get something to eat.”
Chrysalis’s stomach grumbled loudly. Dungeon cuisine wasn’t always the finest. “Erm, perhaps I’ll get have a small something in this ten-forward.”
Picard escorted her from the room and handed her off to her security escorts. With Chrysalis now under the care of the guards, the captain was able to return to the bridge. Commander Riker was at the helm, keeping The captain’s chair warm for him. He immediately changed seats as Picard stepped off the Turbolift.
“Welcome back, Captain,” he said.
“Thank you number one. What’s the status of our orbital defenses?”
“We’ve launched several long range monitoring buoys, so we should have ample notice when the Borg are inbound. Captain Hakins’ communiqué is now two hours overdue.”
“Open a subspace channel. See if we can make contact,” Picard ordered, taking his seat.
“U.S.S. Tecumseh, this is the Enterprise. Are you receiving us?”
After a long pause, the image of Captain Hakins was displayed on the screen.
“Hakins here. Sorry for the delay. We were still convincing a less-than-willing Tellarite freighter to join us.”
“Were you successful in your mission?” Picard asked.
“So far we’ve confirmed there were two Galaxy-class starships still docked at DS4 as well as the Defiant. They’ve all agreed to help form a defensive net around the planet. They should be here within the next few hours.”
“Excellent. Were those the only ships you were able to recruit?”
“No sir. We’ve made contact with two Klingon Birds of Prey as well as a Vulcan Science vessel, the Tellarite freighter as well as an Andorian one. And also a Ferengi warship has agreed, under the condition they claim rights of salvage aboard the remnants of the Borg cube.”
That last one caused Picard some pause. He neither liked nor trusted the Ferengi. Very well. When will they all arrive?”
“They are all at different ETA’s, but have agreed to arrive at the planet within two days.”
“Very good. Return to this system as soon as you’ve finished contacting any more ships still capable of reaching us in time. Picard out.”
The channel closed. Commander Riker turned to Picard and said, “Two Freighters and a Ferengi ship?... We may be in over our heads here, Captain.”
“That may well be Will, but if Q is able to assist us in our defensive and offensive equipment aboard all ships, we could have a chance.”
“It’s not like you to leave something to chance,” Will said with doubt in his eyes, “especially when that chance relies heavily on Q.”
“I admit, the thought does repulse me, which is exactly why I intend to utilize his assistance only as required and no more. I won’t have a dangerous scenario be complicated by that character.”
“Sir!” a young ensign shouted from his station. “I’m reading Tachyon emissions coming from three hundred meters to port!”
“Tachyon? On screen.” Picard Ordered with a sneaking suspicion.
Sure enough, as the screen displayed the view of empty space adjacent to the ship, it immediately became filled with the image of a Romulan warbird decloaking.
“Red Alert!” Commander Riker yelled. “Shields up.”
“We’re being hailed,” the same ensign said.
Picard nodded. Up on the display, the commander of the Romulan vessel smiled at the captain.
“It’s good to see you again captain. I thought we might be of assistance.”
Picard clenched his jaw in frustration.
“I’m not sure I would ever want assistance from you, Commander Tomalak.”
“Actually, it’s Admiral now,” said Tomalak. “All thanks to you, actually.”
“Thanks to me?”
“Well, thanks to your part in helping me root out that traitor Jarok a few years back.”
That struck a nerve in Picard. “Fine. Admiral. What are you doing here in Federation territory? You do realize that you are in direct violation of the Treaty of Algeron!”
“Relax, dear captain. We are simply here to help of course.”
“I’ll bet.”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” said Tomalak. “At least, I believe that is how that ancient Earth saying goes. And I also believe this incoming Borg threat seems to satisfy that scenario quite nicely. Wouldn't you agree?”
Stats
Page generated in 0.037 seconds
Total duration
945 users online
1,275,623 hits today, 2,156,967 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
3145570
Stalin Stashes no less
Ferengi?! I hate those guys! Slippery, small, cowardly, greedy bastards! They would sell their own mothers for latinum! Not to mention that all they care for is profit, no matter if their deals are legal or not. I think that their culture is even based on greed and love for latinum...
Didn't expect a Romulan vessel there, a warship at that (what else would an admiral have). So, if I'm correct then Picard's small fleet is:
- U.S.S. Enterprise
- U.S.S. Tecumseh
- U.S.S. Defiant
- Two Galaxy-Class Starships
- Vulcan Science Vessel
- Two Klingon Birds of Prey
- Ferengi Warship
- two freighters: Tellarite and Andorian
- Romulan vessel
VS
- Borg Cube
While it seems that Picard has an advantage, I know how terrifying opponent one Cube can be. If they are not careful (especially Klingons and Ferengi - the first can sometimes get over their heads and charge on their own, while Ferengi will scram from there if it gets too hot for them) then the whole Universe will suffer.
3145722
Nice summary. And I'm sure we'll see interspecies cooperation at its finest!
3145784
I still don't expect much from the Ferengi... I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to use one of the other vessels as a shield against Borg. And don't get me started on Klingons - once they taste the battle, nothing else matters, only victory or glorious death.
If Tomalak is involved in this story, then I KNOW this is going to be epic with a twist! >=3
3146405
Can't Tomalak be a helpful, non-deceitful Romulan once in a while?
The enemy of my enemy... is a convenient tool that I will use to get rid of my enemy, and then turn against when they have weakened themselves fighting my enemy. Thus, I eliminate the both of them and rule the world.
(cough cough Syria cough cough)
>>>“If we can beam you aboard their ship, you can obtain access to the more sensitive areas and possibly sabotage their systems.”>>>
Sending the Queen of a hive mind into another Hive Mind... with data on how to take over the computer systems... which she could use in tandem with her magic to...
Ooooo... that could backfire horribly.
3147800
I see everybody's picking out their favorite back-stabbing species to betray the cause. I wonder which one(s) actually will?
3147849 Well, she's already proven herself to be an opportunist, willing to enslave entire races for her kind, feeds on emotions (much easier when you have direct access to countless minds), and is basically acting under duress after a dismal imprisonment by the people she hates and thinks of as nothing but food.
Of course, now the Romulans are here...
The ponies and Picard are totally boned.
so epic back stab for the win it look like up next from at lest 4 players on the felled Picard know some of them and how they work all ready.
dam i love this
3150520
Thank you? I can't tell if your happy or sad?
3151608 kinder both, happy that this is rely good stuff hear and this one is real-ling me in but sad that me have too wate for the next one and i know we all have life. yep
3153050
Gotcha. Well at least I try to be consistent bringing a chapter every week!
)
(Though I will be taking a 1-week vacation in three weeks, but other than that...
And thanks for the watch!
Jean-Luc just doesn't seem to get the whole "the Borg broke the universe" thing...
In any case, the tension's rising nicely. Though I do wonder how the crew will react to Chryssi's eating habits.
Well, I don't see how that could possibly go wrong. Of course, they'll have to fight Chrysalis for them...
Also, I decided to check the Rules of Acquisition on a whim, and I stumbled upon a gem in Number 21: Never set friendship above profit. I can't imagine that one going over well with the ponies.
3157004
The enemy of my enemy is my enemy´s enemy, no more nor less. Until proven otherwise.
In another note,It would be cool if, after resolving the crisis, Piccard introduces the equestrian to the Federation. After all, it´s unlikely at this point Celestia can dream in keeping her world and subjects out of interespacial affairs, or that the borg will be the last alien menace they meet.
Of course, the Continuum may be not happy about the Federation gaining access to the monoceros, even after saving their asses.
So Tomalok wants to help, hopefully they can all destroy the Borg, or they're screwed.
I don't think Picard should be complaining about the Romulans right now. They probably noticed how tiny the universe had become, saw the Enterprise facing Borg, and realized that they had gotten caught in an "Enterprise mission". Helping the Enterprise win would therefore put things back to normal.
The fact that the Ponies had Warp Drive completely nulls the Prime Directive. They are like the baku.
6635956
A very good point that no one else noticed. Bravo!
If I had to make up an excuse on the spot, I guess I would say that only Princess Celestia/Luna have any real knowledge of warp capabilities, and, while the Pony species as a whole may have had warp drive, the "Equestrian" civilization does not, therefore the Prime Directive still holds... maybe. I think there was a voyager episode about the old west that might negate that theory, but they might be considered different circumstances sine they already new about space travel when their ancestors were kidnapped. 
If all else fails, I shall call "Poetic License" and "Suspension of Disbelief" as my trump cards. 
All parties adjourned to there respective destinations
opened to the holosuite, her curiosity was peaked
was at the helm, keeping The captain’s chair
Very well. When will they all arrive?”
Picard Ordered with a sneaking suspicion
1. Their.
2. Piqued.
3. Extra capitalisation.
4. Forgot your opening quotation mark.
5. Extra capitalisation.