Line in the Sand (chapter)

"I'm Batman!"

- Batman


 * "Line in the Sand" is the second chapter of the first volume of, written in December 2013 and published on 2 January 2014 by.

After a terrible and extraordinary event which leaves both the and  positions vacant,  takes command of the USS Leviathan (NCC-93151), joining the USS Renown in the  to assist another vessel in need.

Act One
"Acting, stardate 83165.2. The Klingons have captured, and regrettably, I am forced to report him as M.I.A. has died of wounds inflicted by the Klingons, and I, being the next-highest ranking officer, have assumed command. Repairs are still underway after the Klingons' attack, and we are accompanying the USS Renown to the to assist the USS Khitomer."

Jason Fredricks is sitting in the captain's chair of the USS Leviathan (NCC-93151), pondering his failure to save Captain Masc Taggart. Charlie Morgan and a new, named Tala Jones, enter the , and Charlie introduces the two. Jason informs her that his only requirement is dedication to her duty. Charlie tells Jason that they have entered the Pollux system, and that the USS Khitomer is twenty kilometers ahead of their location. They receive a hail from the Khitomer; when Captain Jay Yim asks why Taggart is absent from the bridge, Jason tells him the bad news. Yim asks if the Leviathan can assist them, as their engines are inoperative and they are caught in a. Captain Vo'Lok of the USS Renown, who accompanied them to assist the Khitomer, tells Jason to run scans on the while the Renown helps the Khitomer. Lucas Wells runs multiple scans of the anomalies, but can find nothing coherent. Jason tells him to keep trying.

Jason enters the ready room and sees a picture of a girl on Captain Taggart's desk, presumably his daughter. Hannah Freeman informs him that the Renown is hailing them, and he returns to the bridge. Vo'Lok inquires as to their findings, but Jason tells him they have found nothing. Just then, the Renown's tactical officer reads a Borg vessel coming through one of the anomalies. Several more come through, and the two crews soon realize that this is a full-blown invasion. Most of the Borg warp to the, and Vo'Lok orders the Leviathan to pursue. A Borg vessel attacks the Renown, and Jason remains to help, but Vo'Lok again orders him to go.

Act Two
Hannah and Lucas both wonder why the Borg would attack them so suddenly, but all Jason can think about is how he failed to rescue his captain. Hannah reassures him that it wasn't his fault, and was out of his control. Ernie interrupts, informing them they have entered the Vega system. Rather than take on the whole Borg fleet, the crew settles for the three in their flight path to the planet.

They first take on two, which are no match for the Leviathan's weaponry. Then, they fight a, which causes them some minor damage. Lucas scans Vega IX, finding large numbers of Borg already on the planet. Jason decides to take Tala and Ernie on his, but Tala protests, citing a Starfleet regulation about captains entering a dangerous environment. Jason tells her that people are dying while they argue about who will be on the away team, and she concedes.

Upon materializing on the planet's surface, the trio notices a Borg landing ship that is bringing drones directly to the surface. They realize they must hurry if they are to save the planet. They reach a building where a very anxious and a calm, middle-aged woman are standing. The woman, who is the colony administrator, tells the ensign to lower his weapon. She informs the away team that her name is Willa Post, and the ensign is named Kolez. The team prepares to beam up the remaining colonists, but Morgan indicates that their transporters are being jammed. Ernie locates the jammer, which is only a few kilometers from their position. Kolez equips them with rifles and a  kit for Jason.

Act Three
Back on the ship, Lucas and Charlie attempt to discover the cause of the transporter disruptions. They both agree that the Borg have some kind of jammer. Vo'Lok hails them to inform them that they have successfully defeated the Borg in the Pollux system. He asks why Jason is not there, and Lucas reluctantly tells him that Jason took an away team down to the planet against their orders. Vo'Lok tells Lucas that there will be consequences, but puts the topic to the side for the time being. He also tells him that their fleet will arrive in the Vega system in less than thirty minutes.

The away team makes its way to the far end of the colony, finding a fortified Borg structure there. They determine that it is the jamming station, and commence to attack it. Tala and Ernie provide cover for Jason while he runs ahead to disable the station. Jason reaches a console and uses it to lower a housing another console. A large tactical drone awakens, turning its attention to them. Tala tries to take it down, but it is heavily shielded. Jason quickly remembers the grenade satchel given to him by Kolez and throws a grenade at the drone. The grenade explodes but doesn't seem to harm the drone. Ernie shoots it with his phaser just to be sure, and the drone does, in fact, show signs of weakness. The trio opens fire on the drone and destroys it. Jason then causes a feedback pulse through the Borg's network to destroy all of the jammers at once. The structure explodes, and Hannah informs them that transporters are active once more.

On the Leviathan, Charlie informs Lucas that most of the remaining colonists have been beamed aboard. Lucas asks where the away team is, but before Charlie can answer, Jason, Tala, and Ernie enter the bridge. Lucas just barely avoids telling Jason that he was worried about him. Jason replies that it's good to see he was missed. then hails them, and is curious as to why Jason is in command, asking what happened to Captain Taggart. Jason tells him what happened to them, and Quinn offers condolences. He then orders them to join up with the fleet to drive out the remaining Borg ships in the area. Charlie wonders how Quinn knows Jason by his first name, Jason replying that Quinn was his mentor at the Academy.

Act Four
The Leviathan meets up with the fleet. Jason tells Ernie to bring the Leviathan in line with the other vessels, and gives the order to fire on the nearest. After a few moments of constant pummeling from the Starfleet vessels, the cube is destroyed. The Borg mount a retreat, and Quinn once again hails, calling the Leviathan to return to Earth. Upon reaching the, they are hailed by Captain Yim. He congratulates them on a job well done, and in particular he commends Jason.

Jason transports to Earth Spacedock and heads to Admiral Quinn's office. Quinn tells him to sit down, and then offers Jason a proposal to make him permanent of the Leviathan. Jason is flattered but isn't sure he's up to the challenge. Quinn believes he is, and Jason concedes, "Oh, hell. Why not?"

Act Five
The senior officers of the Leviathan attend a memorial service for the fallen officers of the battle. Jason kneels at Taggart's headstone, apologizing for not being able to save him. Tala comforts him, reminding him how many lives he saved at Vega. Quinn and Vo'Lok attend, both of them concluding that Jason would have made his captain very proud.

The senior officers return to the Leviathan and prepare to depart. Jason enters the bridge and Tala announces his presence to everyone. He walks over to his chair and takes a seat, saying that they should get underway. Lucas asks him where they are heading, and Jason replies, "Let's see what's out there."

Log entries

 * Captain's log, USS Leviathan

Characters

 * Jason Fredricks &bull; Hannah Freeman &bull; Ernie Hauser &bull; Tala Jones &bull; Kolez &bull; Charlie Morgan &bull; Willa Post &bull; Jorel Quinn &bull; Vo'Lok &bull; Lucas Wells &bull; Jay Yim

Starships

 * USS Khitomer &bull; USS Leviathan (NCC-93151) &bull; USS Renown

Locations

 * Earth &bull; Earth Spacedock &bull; &bull;  &bull; Vega colony &bull;

Characters

 * Rhet Dioni &bull; Henry Fuller &bull; Mars Lionel &bull; Marvolo Piers &bull; Masc Taggart &bull; Crista Vlædos &bull; Gregory Yates

Locations

 * Alpha Quadrant &bull; Starfleet Academy

Other references

 * 2381 &bull; Andorian &bull; &bull; Borg &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull; Klingon &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull; Starfleet &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull;  &bull; United Federation of Planets &bull;

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Memorable quotes
"Weren't you at graduation last year?"

"Mhm... why do you want to know?"

"I just never really got to know many people at the Academy, but I recognized your name when you said it. It's a very lovely name if I might add."

"I don't think I caught your name, sir."

"Here on the Leviathan they call me Lucas Wells the Magnificent, or Lucas for short."

"Well, I know I've never met you before, Lucas. I would certainly remember you by your charming personality."
 * &mdash; Lucas Wells and Tala Jones

"Have you found anything yet, ensign?"

"No, not a damn thing."

"I do not understand what could be causing the&mdash;"

"Sir! I'm detecting several unidentified vessels exiting the anomalies. It looks like..."

"Looks like what, lieutenant?"

"Borg, sir."
 * &mdash; Vo'Lok, Jason Fredricks and the Renown's tactical officer

"Alright, let's get to work. We have to assume that the Borg have already sent forces down to Vega. We'll need to go down there and coordinate an evacuation."

"Hold on just a damn minute – that is – wouldn't that be violating our orders, sir?"
 * &mdash; Jason Fredricks and Charlie Morgan

"Alright, Tala, Ernie, you're with me."

"Sir, may I remind you of the Starfleet policy regarding away teams sent into dangerous environments? It is highly recommended that the captain remain&mdash;"

"We don't have time for this, Tala. The Borg are busy assimilating our people while we are arguing about who gets to go on the away team. The people of Vega need us. Come on."
 * &mdash; Jason Fredricks and Tala Jones

"These Borg are much different than the ones I've heard about."

"Yeah, why aren't they adapting to our weapons?"

"After the attack in 2381, Starfleet introduced new modulation algorithms that were resistant to Borg adaption and applied them to the next line of phasers. We also haven't had contact with the Borg for thirty years, so they're not used to the newer phaser models. That means we have the advantage for now, at least."
 * &mdash; Tala Jones, Ernie Hauser, and Jason Fredricks

"What could be blocking the signal?"

"It could be any number of things. Radiation, interstellar phenomena, temporal anomalies..."

"No, it's gotta be something the Borg are doing."

"They may have constructed a jamming station on the surface, or one of their ships could be scattering the bloody signal."
 * &mdash; Lucas Wells and Charlie Morgan

"Ensign, where is Mr. Fredricks?"

"He's... taken an away team down to Vega, sir. I'm in temporary command."

"And why is he down on the planet?"

"The Borg are in the process of invading the planet. He's trying to get the colonists evacuated."

"Perhaps I should not have entrusted this task to such a young and inexperienced crew. You understand that there will be consequences for disobeying my orders?"

"Captain, our duty to Starfleet is to help those in need, especially our own citizens, is it not? If we're gonna be court-martialed for refusing to abandon a helpless colony&mdash;"

"I believe you have made your point, ensign. We will discuss this issue later. We have informed Starfleet of the situation, and we are preparing to rendezvous with the fleet in the Vega system. They should arrive there in less than thirty minutes."
 * &mdash; Vo'Lok and Lucas Wells

"If I send a feedback pulse through the system, it should destabilize the whole network."

"That would certainly save us from having to deactivate each array manually."

"That should do it. I suggest we clear out though; this console's likely to explode."
 * &mdash; Jason Fredricks and Ernie Hauser

"Oh, there you are. I was starting to wor&mdash; I mean, I was about to get a strike team ready to go rescue you from the Collective, just as a precaution.""

"Good to see you missed me, Lucas."

"I just hope you didn't have too much fun without me. What did you guys do, buy a summer cottage?"


 * &mdash; Lucas Wells and Jason Fredricks

"Captain Taggart... oh... Jason. Where is Captain Taggart?"

"He was... killed by the Klingons, sir."

"He was a fine officer, and he'll be missed. Unfortunately we have no time to mourn right now. Our fleet is moving into an offensive position to push the remaining Borg ships out of the area. We need the Leviathan to join the fleet."
 * &mdash; Jorel Quinn and Jason Fredricks

"Starfleet has authorized me to promote you to lieutenant immediately, and if you are willing, they have agreed to give you command of the Leviathan."

"But... I thought... what about Captain Vo'Lok's report, sir?"

"What about it? He practically lauded your performance on the planet. Coming from a Vulcan, that's a high compliment."

"That's good to hear, but I've only been out of the Academy for eight months. Forgive me if I don't feel like I'm qualified for command, not to say that it's not a very tempting offer. I'm just not sure if I can make the long-term commitment."

"Jason, what you showed today is that you are more than capable of handling yourself out there. You obviously have a knack for command, and if you ask me, it would be foolish to turn this down. " ... "I wouldn't have recommended you for this command had I thought you weren't ready. So, what do you say?"

"Oh, hell. Why not?"
 * &mdash; Jorel Quinn and Jason Fredricks

Background

 * The chapter received an extensive revision in January.
 * It is an extensive rewrite of, the story's original second chapter.
 * Various characters that did not appear in "The Price of Liberty" were added to "Line in the Sand":
 * Charlie Morgan, Jay Yim, Kolez and Willa Post, among others, did not appear in the original version of the episode.
 * References to other chapters:
 * – The Klingons' attack on the USS Leviathan (NCC-93151) and their capture of.
 * – the Borg's attack on the Federation in 2381.