He turned to Eight who was keying in orders at her console, hoping that this was merely a computer error from the new shield system being brought online. Eight was the only member of the bridge whose voice could be more unnerving than his. "It seems sir, the alert was initiated in engineering section 7....that would be Jack's location sir." Hunter thumbed the communications button as soon as her name was said. This was not a young cadet's mistake. "Admiral to Engineering...What is going on down there Jack?" It had yet to come to a full blown red alert when things went wrong down there. Granted, her lab was experimental, but the occasional explosion wouldn't warrant this. He was a little concerned, hoping for the first time since her boarding, that Jack was wrong.

Scrambling from console to console, Jack shut her eyes and tried to remember there was a job to do, for both of them. Eight's console flashed. Before the screen could pull up an image of the lab, the computer voice calmly explaining that all passwords had been changed and would remain until the new destination had been reached. Coordinates flashed across a map of the current galaxy they occupied with a small countdown clock running towards zero in the far right corner. Like the blink of an eye, the main screen for the bridge changed showing Jack bouncing around her lab. Her voice was strained, but she tried to make each word clear. "I'm sorry, but you are just going to have to stay put. There is a Borg ship heading for us. By the specks it is the largest, most powerful seen yet. I'm doing my job and getting us out of here. The new shields should hold till I can make the last adjustments. I'll be the only one exposed." Freezing for a moment over the panel in front of her, Jack's hands trembled. She shouldn't make him worry, but she wasn't going to lie to him either. Choking down the knot in her throat, her voice came out with the slightest of cracks. "If it comes to that." Jack knew the probability in her survival of this event and the odds were not in her favor.

"I wondered if we were going to get auto frequency shield rotation", Mabelle spoke up again. "The configuration seems to match reports of a Borg Hive sir. These reports are unconfirmed encounters by federation allied ships. No data exists other than those few reports. Shall I initiate a scan sir?" H.K. considered this for a moment. He opened the channel once more. "How is it coming down there Jack?"

A scan of engineering told her she was alone. The surrounding floors cleared too. The glow of the warp drive staring back at her like an angry god more than willing to take it's vengeance. Taking a deep breath, Jack punched up the bridge. "Sir, do you have enough data? We have to get out of here. I have taken measures to protect the ship, but I have no idea how long they can hold, Plus I don't think the phrase in practice should count right about now. The warp drive is ready and I am the only one in engineering. Someone has to stay at the console to control it. You will only have one second to brace. When we come out of warp one of two things could happen. Either there is minor damage and a lot of people heading to sick bay from not bracing or the warp drive...well let's just say you will need a dust pan and a jar for me. I have done the best I can for you on this matter. All data and designs are locked under your current passwords, which will obey you as soon as we are at the new location. Give or take we should be on the edge of Klingon space. Good luck to you, Hunter." Looking up at the screen one last time, Jack wanted to know this was all worth and in his eyes she found that answer. Locking the screen to voice only her whole body shook the words out of her. "On your command."

"Transporter room 3 get a lock on Jack down in main engineering. On my mark you will transport her directly to sickbay" He watched the monitor, then for a moment looked to Sherwood to tell him when to do it. "Dr. Lang, be prepared to receive injured. Sherwood, what are we waiting for?" He turned to the science station once more and waited for his explanation. "Sir she appears to be locking down a warp core critical alert...if we beam her out now the ship could be lost." Dammit Jack work Faster. The thoughts went unspoken, he kept his tone level and made himself appear calm for his crew. They were a direct mirror of him, if he panicked...so would they.

Numbers flashing by bathed her in a sickly yellow, all telling her one thing,.....she had to wait. If the warp core could be forced to stay like this then they stood better odds at not being found. The force being used made it feel as if her ribs were in a vice. Punching in the last commands the ship came to a halt. Bodies un-braced sent flying again. Jack was flung back from the console as it called out. "Warp core reaching..." The glow bright, violent was beyond her control. Jack's job was done.

H.K. took the sudden stop as his key. "Now! Initiate transport!" A look to Sherwood got him a nod. Would the transporter chief have held on to his console and been able to beam her out' H.K. watched the monitor, anticipation as the telltale signs of transportations beginning to take hold of Jack...the next moments could only be defined as excruciating for him as he stared at a chart with flashing zeros. He was powerless to do more than watch and wait. "Dr. Lang to the bridge, I've got her sir." H.K. allowed his eyes to close briefly and let go of the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He stood and barked a few more orders..."Helm get our exact position...Maintenance..I want damage control teams doing a full inspection and diagnostics to all systems. Lacha, you have the con."

Somewhere in the dark she was running through the numbers. Had she missed something or rounded the wrong way' Was everyone okay' Fitfully she moved as Lang worked on her. Jack's hands balled up into fists and fingers twitched as if eager to get back to work. Once the gash was sealed and her ribs braced, all that was left was rest which never happened when it came to Jack. There was no such thing as a break. Bruising was claiming her pale skin, but she kept fighting to wake despite the doc's meds. It was like living on a sinking marshmallow in hot chocolate. Warmth consumed her senses, lulling her body to ease, to sleep. Yet, she kept fighting, clinging to the muffled voices floating around her. It was the most pleasant and bitter of sensations as her body reached out for reality only to have pain flood her nerves.

Lang passed a medical tricorder over Jack, paying particular attention to her cranial area. There was no sign of a fracture to the skull, but it was possible that Jack had suffered a concussion...She would need to run more tests, Jack would have to be observed for twenty four hours, Lang believed she knew a person who might be willing to take up the vigil. Hunter gave up his seat as more walking wounded came in. Lang went to work on them leaving him to his own devices. Being male means several things, the first would be that he had little patience. Being in charge made the fault worse because in most situations he didn't have to have patience, what he wanted usually came first. So when he found himself standing next to her bed, unable to get satisfaction he affected a pout that would be denied until worms ate his corpse.

Face wrapped up in a fight, glowing green eyes flickered open. "I have to get up. I have to fix....aak." Jack tried to shift up hoping it would take the warm haze away and found a brace in her way and more pain than when she had stayed down. "Son of a.....gear box." Growling and shutting her eyes again. Well at least she wasn't dead and the ship was here so to speak. With this much pain racing through her body, she highly doubted this was some sort of heaven. Death surely didn't hurt this much.

There was an uptilt to the corner of his mouth, again uncharacteristic of him. "The ship is clear, I have crews looking for damage but right now all seems well." He cleared his throat and grudgingly moved his hand. It immediately went to that frustrated tug at his uniform. "We are far from where we encountered the Borg ship. I am hoping that we got even a little data on it since very few have seen a Borg Hive. If not then it will just be considered another sighting, but one that will carry a little more weight since it comes from a fleet officer." He then clasped those hands behind his back finally finding something to do with them. "I am fine, thanks to you...better now that you have woken up."

"You are just happy you don't have to order someone to try and make sense of my designs." Jack took advantage of him stepping back and letting go. Swinging her feet down she hopped and limbed onto the floor. Jack held tight to the front of the blanket soon realizing that there was nothing underneath. Her first steps jostled every bone and made her feet drag on the cold floor. Each movement taking the air from her lungs and making the world spin. "What are we waiting for. There is data for me to go over and I am sure engineering is in shambles." Her voice came out breathy and forced. Hunter had a clear view of her bare back and all the bruising up and down her spine. A clear imprint of the console legs she had been slammed into was black with purple edging. Jack forced air into her lungs deeper even with the ribs aching against the brace. Coiling the blanket around her like a towel she tried to stand at the end of the bed. She faltered for a few moments before regaining her sense of balance and direction.

Hunter considered her standing there wrapped in a blanket, another look to Lang and then he moved forward to steady Jack. "One condition or I will go now and rat you out as you say. After we analyze the data and I clean up engineering, you will take time off and not worry about the work. If you come by my quarters, I would love to show you some of the games I use to keep my mind sharp." Would she take him asking her to his quarters the wrong way' He hadn't considered it while he said it, but now" Hunter K'lar prepared to get an earful.

"On one condition. If I win the games I get to look over the data. Mind you," Jack moved closer keeping her tone low to blend in with the mummers of the medical bay, "Mind you, I will stay put where I am content. Do we have a deal?" She knew all too well what Hunter had at stake on this. Games or not people would talk. It was one thing for her to appear at his quarters for official fleet business, but this......The worst that could happen to her is they assign her to another ship until her return to the coven as house leader, but for Hunter it would cost him everything. Jack might have feigned ignorance when it came to people, but she knew what they could do if given room to talk. Well he would need to speak with the engineer who helped the warp core hold out and get them out of danger. Plus it is her that would be able to get the most out of the data after spending time with the Borg console. The cherry on top is that he would need to question her and run through all this and what steps they take to get the ship back in order for his reports so spending time with her wouldn't be too far fetched.