Anakin, Laudica, and Alema sat in Volgo Terraine's office. On his desk was a holgram of General Delric Taar. The meeting had been called as soon as the news of the location of the latest war coordinator was discovered, since delay gave the Vong time to figure out what the Empire knew. Unfortunately, the discussion was not going well.
"I have a sizeable fleet already being assembled to handle the matter of the yammosk," Taar said. "I appreciate your offer for assistance, but it won't be necessary. We'll reduce the planet to a glowing cinder."
"Such an attack has never succeeded against the yammosk's planet," Terraine patiently pointed out. "In every instance, the fleet was destroyed by the Yun-Yammka. If you travel there in force, you will likely provoke that response."
"I realize that," Taar said. "But I won't take any chances on losing the target, even if it costs us ships."
"General," Anakin said, "no one is saying your fleet can't handle this. But we Jedi have killed yammosks in the past-"
"But not, specifically, you," Taar pointed out.
"Yes," Anakin admitted. "However, the principle behind it is still the same: trained experts who can resist the yammosk and handle it face to face that can be dropped behind enemy lines if necessary."
"But it won't be necessary," Taar said. "We'll have more than enough force to handle them."
"Yes, but, what if something goes wrong? Wouldn't you rather have your options open?"
Taar was quiet for a moment. "Cards on the table?" he asked.
"Go ahead," Anakin said.
"This is a military operation," he said flatly. "I don't want people outside the chain of command running around my ships doing what they think is best instead of what I say is best. Tell me, Jedi Solo, are your people going to keep their mouths shut and do as they're told?"
"We are an autonomous group, general," Anakin said. "You can't expect us to act like soldiers."
"Then you see my concern," Taar said. "I'm not interested in a power struggle in the middle of this fight because you feel some distraction in the Force."
"Disturbance," Anakin corrected.
"As far as I'm concerned it's a distraction," Taar said. "My job is the here and now of winning the battle. Listening to cryptic mumbo jumbo and worrying about people undermining my command-"
"General," Anakin interrupted, "if that's your concern, then I give you my personal assurance that the Jedi will not interfere in your operations. We'll be there strictly to deal with an invasion of the base itself, and otherwise we'll stay out of things. We're not interested in doing your job for you."
Taar mulled it over for a moment. “Fine,” he said. “But if you’re not here by the time the fleet’s assembled, we leave without you, understand?”
“Perfectly.” The hologram nodded and faded into nothing. Anakin turned to Terraine. “We’ll need a ship.”
“I’ll see to the arrangements,” Terraine said. “I hope you all know what you are doing; the yammosk is always bad business.”
“I know, but the last thing we need is Taar provoking the return of the Yun-Yammka,” Anakin said. “Hopefully we can do something about it if things go wrong.” He switched to his other concern. “Where’s the Falcon?”
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Terraine said. “But it is safe; the communication came from one of the rebel strongholds.”
“Why there?” Anakin asked.
“No doubt to have some breathing room for when he freed his frozen companion. No sense in risking a hull breach.”
“Hull breach from someone frozen in carbonite?”
“Yes, well, you can never be too careful where this individual is involved.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ben dragged Seven, blindfolded, through the Sith base, until they finally drew to a halt. Seven, of course, could have walked right back to the ship without taking off the blindfold, but there was no sense in making a Sith any more paranoid. "Release her," she heard Janeway's voice say, "and wait outside." There was something odd about her voice, but whatever it was was quickly forgotten when Ben spoke. It was short and simple, but it managed to flip Seven's entire world upside-down.
"Yes, my master." And as the blindfold was removed, Seven caught Ben's eye, and she could see he'd said it deliberately. His expression said it all: "If you think I'm evil, just wait..." Seven's restraints were also removed and Ben left without another word. Seven looked up at Janeway for the first time in years... but her face was marked by more than that mere passage of time.
"I'm sorry to do this," Janeway said.
"'Master,'" Seven said, ignoring the remark. "I've known Sith, captain, and they do not use that word to refer to one outside their number."
"It's not important."
"How could that not be important?" Seven said, flabbergasted. "You, a Sith? How..." She stopped, unable to even put the thoughts into words.
"Far more time has transpired for me than for you," Janeway said. "The details will be for another time, if I have your trust."
"Trust?! You're an agent of evil!"
"I didn't bring you here to listen to your ignorant opinions," Janeway said sharply.
"You sent him to kill Luke and Sebastian," Seven said, her voice filled with accusation. "He answers to you!"
"Ben Skywalker has a severe hatred for Jedi," Janeway said. "I didn't need to coax him into anything."
"But you did send him," Seven said, fury rumbling under her words.
"I helped him," Janeway said. "As you helped Picard lead the Empire to our doorstep."
"Don't change the subject!" Seven shouted. "Your culpability in the death of my husband and the attempt on my son's life are all that matters!"
"And to me, the Empire is all that matters," Janeway said. "The constant weight of their oppression, the taint of their corruption, is far more important than your hurt feelings." Seven was too enraged to reply, so Janeway continued. "You should be grateful that things turned out as they did on Wormhole Station. I had foreseen your son's demise there, but curiously he managed to escape that fate. That's why your here."
"You expect me to help you kill Sebastian?!"
"No, I mean 'that's why you still exist.' Your death would have happened as well; his survival has ensured your survival, though I've no ill will towards you, Seven. You could help me, you know."
"After what you've done?" Seven said, aghast. "Are you insane?"
"Some think so," Janeway said. "But you have no reason to love the Empire. With your help, we can more easily vanquish our enemies and rebuild the galaxies."
"The only enemy I would vanquish stands outside that door," Seven said through her teeth. "He's taken away everything that matters to me."
"Then I'll give you his life," Janeway said.
Seven faltered. "What?"
"When this is over, you may dispose of him in whatever manner will most satisfy you. He's merely a servant, Seven, and of late a poor one."
Seven gaped. "You can't be serious. What has happened to you, that you'd betray your followers?"
"If you don't wish to kill him, that's fine," Janeway said. "I feel nothing either way; he's a tool, and if disposing of it will make you happy I will do so."
Seven shook her head slowly, as if to shake some hallucination from her mind. "You're not Captain Janeway; you're just what she's been turned into; I've seen this before."
"There is no more Starfleet," Janeway said.
“How many times, captain-” Seven asked.
“That rank is no longer applicable!” Janeway said sharply. "My Federation is gone!"
Seven held her ground. “How many times did you try to turn me down your path? A path of familial importance, of peaceful coexistence, of following the best humanity had to offer. Is this where that path leads, Kathryn? The dark side?”
“What do you know of it?” Janeway asked with words like razors. “You’ve no idea; you’re as ignorant of what I am as you were when you first stepped out of that alcove.”
“I’ve seen the dark side first hand,” Seven said. “I know more about it than I ever wanted.”
“A Borg afraid of knowledge,” Janeway said with a smirk. “I love a good bit of irony.”
“The price is too high, Kathryn! You know this!”
“It’s given me more power and knowledge than you can ever imagine, Seven.”
“I know,” Seven said. “Faust. I’ve had this conversation before.”
“Ah, you mean with your late husband,” Janeway said with an infuriating grin. “It’s a pity he realized too late; he could have made this entire thing unnecessary.”
Seven cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“At Wormhole Station,” Janeway said, “the first one, when the Borg attacked. He could have ended the Borg threat in one fell swoop, and the Empire would never have been allowed to recover. But he was too stupid to realize it.”
Seven’s spoke through her teeth. “Luke was a better teacher for me than you ever were, bitch.”
Janeway downcast her eyes for a moment, then Seven was tossed through the air like she’d just been hit by a battering ram. “This is all the fault of Skywalker,” she said in an even tone. “That you’ll deny it is only a sign of how small you’ve become. Look at what he did over the Borg home world, and that was just operating on instincts. His love for you, of course.” She tapped her lips as Seven feebly tried to pull herself loose from the mental grip. "You do, of course, realize that that was my doing, don't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Seven said with frustration in her tone.
"I was able to make subtle manipulations of the past; a push here, a pull there. Unfortunately I found the only one I could influence was myself because, naturally, we thought alike." Janeway sat down and folded her hands, looking over the tops at Seven's struggling form. "Did you never wonder why fate led you to him? You've already learned that that isn't the way the multiverse works."
There was a nervous tightening of Seven's gut, but it quickly gave way to anger. "That's a pointless question! It assumes that there's a will in place to control our lives, and as far as I'm willing to take some things on faith, I won't go that far! Luke and I loved each other because we were human beings following our choices, not because the universe demanded it!"
"Of course," Janeway said. "But as I said, a push here, a pull there." She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs, as if this was nothing more than a quiet discussion over tea. "Who was it who re-assigned you to the Enterprise?" she asked casually.
"This is pointless," Seven said.
"I did," Janeway said, ignoring the answer. "And who opposed the destruction of the Death Star while you were on board? Again, it was me. And when it was decided that the Jedi Skywalker would go on board, who tried to convince him to find you? And after your escape, who tried to point out the attraction he had for you?"
"You were always the kind of person to meddle in the affairs of other people," Seven shot back.
"And I did it here. And I came so, so close to succeeding. I knew his passion for you could be used as a tool against the Empire. At Wormhole Station, all those years ago, it all came together. Your terror of the Borg, his love for you, it was the inevitable result of all my work."
A chill passed through Seven at the memory. "Luke destroyed those Borg ships to save me."
"Two!" Janeway said. "He stopped at two; it wasn't good enough!" The air seemed to take on the same red tint as her rage. "And it was because you were too stubbornly Borg to act like a human being! If it wouldn't have taken you so long to wake up and show true feelings for once, then Luke would have wiped out the fleet right then and there instead of waiting until the Borg had paved the way for Imperial conquest!"
"And joined the Empire!" Seven shot back. "That's what he did when he turned, remember?!"
"He would have joined up with Darth Whind and killed Thrawn," Janeway said. "And the Empire would have remained an insignificant backwater power, and the Borg returned to their predictable ways." Janeway seemed to finally calm down. "But, as I said, I just can't seem to truly change the past; it accomplishes nothing."
Seven was thoughtful for a moment. "Then stop trying, Kathryn," she said as kindly as she could. "Sometimes you have to accept the way things are, otherwise you become a greater evil than that which you're fighting."
"That's not possible," Janeway said. "You've seen what the Empire does."
"And is the way of the dark side any less destructive?" Seven asked. “Luke came back,” she pointed out. “You can too, Kathryn.”
“Come back to what?” Janeway demanded. “An enslaved world in an insignificant part of the back end of space? The looks from people who know that the Empire that rules over them was led here by me? You can’t undo the past,” she smiled, “but I can make the future.” Seven slid down the wall until she was released just above the floor. “A glorious future, my Borg friend, with the Empire on the ash heap of history, where it belongs.”
“With this rabble?” Seven asked.
“Seven, I have had more than a century to plan this,” Janeway said. “I started with nothing more than a toolbox and wishful thinking, and now, my work is nearly complete.”
“A few Sith, some connections to Garak, that’s going to make a difference?” Seven asked in exasperation.
“You misunderstand,” Janeway said, heading into the next room and gesturing her to follow. “Do you think that that fool Nom Anor could possibly accomplish so much without help?” She chuckled to herself. “Believe me, Seven, everything that has transpired has done so according to my design.” She activated the screens, and there were views of ships from all over the galaxy: Imperial, Vong, rebel. “It was I who allowed the alliance to learn the location of the Vong planet. Your friends are walking into a trap.”
"Really?" Seven said incredulously. "And you don't think the Empire would suspect a trap?"
"No," Janeway said. "I've already foreseen it. Oh, I will admit that my servant's failure has adjusted the details slightly, but the life or death of ordinary people has no effect on the forces of time." She waved her hand and the interior of the Falcon was shown with Han at the controls. "Solo's intimate experience with carbon-freezing led to a predictable response. I had expected his son in his stead, of course, but his survival actually furthered my plan. Not only will he provide the Empire with the location of the yammosk to bait the trap, but inside that lump of carbonite is a Vong tracking device, as impossible to detect as their communication technology. He will lead their assault force to the Alliance, and one by one they will fall." Han vanished and the yammosk appeared; it was being loaded onto a coralship. "With my warning the war coordinator will be quite safe for the Empire's arrival, and their fleet ready to slaughter the task force that arrives. The Vong shall cripple both their enemies in a single day."
Seven looked between the other screens: the mounting Imperial assault, the collection of rebel ships, and the countless numbers of Vong vessels. “No,” she said in disbelief, her voice barely a whisper. “How could you?”
“You sided against us,” Janeway said with an accusatory finger up. “How dare you?!” She stepped around the corner and tapped some more buttons, causing the image to change. “Come, Borg, see for yourself. From here you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance,” and she gave one last smile of self-satisfaction, “and the end of your insignificant Empire.”
Been reading this for a long time, and you rock Chuck.
Seriously this is damn fun ride, and I love the whole Janeway using Emperor lines. It takes a lot of good writing to make me think of that character anything beyond...twit.
MM /CF/WG/BOTM/JL/Original Warsie/ACPATHNTDWATGODW FOREVER!!
Sometimes we can choose the path we follow. Sometimes our choices are made for us. And sometimes we have no choice at all
Crayz9000 wrote:I sense a Star By Star-like operation coming on.
I don't think I read that book, so please enlighten me.
The Jedi (Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, and a whole bunch of expendable Jedi.. well, not really, but you know how that was) launched an assault on a worldship for some reason that escapes me, supported by some of Lando's YVH anti-Vong droids. The assault eventually failed, Anakin got killed, Jacen got captured, Jaina and the ones that were left escaped.
Twas to Kill the Queen of the Voxyn (rabid jedi hunting creature based on vornskyrs) All the voxyn were cloned from this queen and this killing her would stop to voxyn.
And them mission didn't fail Jacen took out the queen.
Ben only gave Seven a few minor contusions as he dragged her through the Sith enclave and tossed her into the cell. "The Oracle wants you to have time to think about her offer," he said, but he said much more than that. He was clearly upset and frustrated at having to play this role of chief lackey, of carrying out the details of Janeway's plans rather than for his own. "Feel free to try and escape." That said even more, and also made it clear that it wasn't a challenge, it was a hope. The door sealed him off, leaving Seven trapped for the moment.
It wasn't a bad cell, exactly, and Seven had been in quite a few during her life. There was adequate lighting from an overhead source, and not too far off was a camera to keep an eye on her. It could have easily been hidden, but clearly Janeway's message was that she was being watched, and trying to escape would be fruitless. Of course, Seven could send a message too. She coiled up and jumped, ready to reach out and snatch the camera and yank if from the ceiling. There was a searing pain as her fist hit a forcefield, and she dropped back down and cradled the hand for a moment. She glared up at the camera again. Point one for you, captain, she thought. The field had clearly covered the entire ceiling, stopping her from not only reaching the camera, but destroying the lights as well. That probably wouldn't make any difference; the camera no doubt could pick up more than the visible spectrum, and Janeway likely had other sensors in here even if it didn't. But, she thought with a smile as she shook her hand in the air to help with the pain, two can play this game, captain. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment; inside her mind an implant lit up, gathering data from the forcefield and aligning to generate a counter-mechanism. A glow spread across Seven's body for a moment, then she looked up at the camera again. She leapt again, the hand passing easily through the forcefield-
Seven dropped to the floor, body clenched around the hand that felt like it had been dropped in molten glass. A second forcefield, she thought with grudging respect. Different properties altogether... it would take hours to devise a way to pierce both simultaneously, and there was always the chance for a third one. As the pain faded she looked up at the camera. "Okay, captain, you've made your point." She took a seat on the bench and began to think. There were no doubt ways to escape, but Janeway's clear message had been that she knew how Seven would think, and had planned a countermeasure. That meant she'd have to get creative. However, with all those Sith out there, her odds didn't look good.
Okay, Seven, she said to herself, this cuts both ways. She knows how you think, but you know how she thinks. She's obsessed now, you've seen her get like this how many times? Destroying the Empire is her only motivation, everything else doesn't matter, can be ignored or cast aside. She had it all in place... if the Vong could hit the core of the Imperial command with enough to annihilate them, the Empire would likely collapse before them. Janeway seemed confident that there was nothing to stop the ambush, and she seemed right.
So, why was Seven here?
It was the part that she just couldn't wrap her mind around. If Janeway was counting on this plan going off without a hitch, why find Seven and tell her about it? Was that part of the plan? No, no it wasn't part of the plan. Seven was supposed to be dead... but because she was alive she was an unknown factor that could interfere. Slim, but Janeway appeared to be covering all her bases. Okay, so why she was found is clear, but then, why alive? If the plan had been formulated with her dead, then wouldn't killing her simply set things right? It was the logical thing to do...
If it had been Harry or Naomi or probably even the Doctor, they would have no doubt put it down to sentiment. It would have seemed perfectly reasonable, given the long history, the close ties, to simply lock them away rather than to kill them outright, and it did make perfect sense... it just happened to be completely and fundamentally wrong. Janeway was a Sith now. Compassion? Friendship? Those were signs of weakness. Seven remembered Luke standing over her on Vulcan, prepared to cut her down where she lay despite the bond they'd shared. If the dark side could choke love out of his heart, mere friendship didn't stand a chance. No, there was nothing sentimental about this. Being alive furthered Janeway's goals in some fashion, Seven just had to figure out how, but nothing was coming to her. She eventually laid back on the cot wearily, then finally surrendered the point. Whatever the reason, Seven didn't have enough information to deduce it.
All right, she finally thought, then stick to what you know. The Empire was walking into a certain trap that would leave the field wide open for Vong takeover, and while Seven felt little allegiance for the Empire, she felt nothing but hatred for the Vong. If she could warn them... if. Sure, if she could find a way to escape from this cell, then find a way to deliver a message to the leadership of the Imperial military about a no-doubt secret operation and convince him without evidence that the Vong were preparing an ambush, things would all work out fine. Maybe she could raise the dead when she found some spare time. Seven stopped and took a deep breath. Okay, she thought, break the problem down into manageable chunks. Who could you talk to? With all the deaths there didn't seem to be anyone she knew in any position of power. Maybe Volgo Terraine, but even that was a long shot, and time was a critical factor here. Even if she could hijack a ship and somehow send a transmission, there was no guarantee it could go through the red tape fast enough.
And, as it always came back to, there was the issue of escape. Seven could walk up to the door and use her tubules to override the security, and it was likely the first precaution Janeway had taken. It was a bit of a sticky problem; what plan could Seven come up with that Janeway wouldn't have already thought she would come up with? So, she finally decided, then it was time to stop thinking with cold logic, because that's what Janeway would expect. Stop thinking like Seven and start thinking like Annika again.
Then a chill went through her body. No, not like Annika. Think exactly the opposite... think thoughts that Annika would never in a century consider. And there it was, not the answer, but rather, like the deciphering of a code that allowed her to lay out all the facts and reach all the conclusions... the ugly, horrible conclusions, but not looking at them wouldn't make them go away. It offered a path now, a path she would never have considered taking, and that was what meant it could work. But if it didn't... Annika shivered again. No, there's got to be another way! She jumped to her feet and began pacing, trying frantically to think, but the idea hovered over her thoughts like a comet of ill omen, refusing to be ignored. For her, ignoring a solution was like a recovering alcoholic mixing drinks... she was only going to be able to ignore this for so long.
"Fine!" she said out loud, as if to answer the universe's question of what she'd do next. She returned to the cot and lay down, closed her eyes, and concentrated. The implants formed at her command, one after the other, until only one remained. She hesitated, like she was about to jump from a starship without a tow-line, with no certainty that there would be any way back. She couldn't do it.
"Remember what those Vong bastards did to your son," she said aloud, and the anger burned the fear way. With a thought, the last implant formed, and Annika Hansen Skywalker ceased to exist.
--------------------------------------------------------------
General Taar stood on the bridge of the Defiance, then took a moment to examine the fleet that surrounded the flagship. He hadn’t seen a sight like this in a long time. Silver hull after silver hull hung like daggers pointed at enemy territory, ready to strike. No Vong force was going to be able to halt their advance on Mi-noss, and, if things went very well, they could make significant advances. It was a long and probably costly battle ahead, but it could be the beginning of the end of the Vong War.
“General,” the communications officer said, “all the reports are in. The other fleets are ready to rendezvous at Dantooine.”
General Taar nodded. He gave one last look over the expectant crew, then wet his lips. This isn’t a paper battle this time, general, he thought. This is the real deal. “Alert all commands,” he said. “We move to Dantooine.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
The voices were even, and there was harmony, although it was a cold, mathematical harmony. 7 of 9, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, spoke with their voice, devoted her -if any Borg could be considered a “him” or “her” in the overwhelming “we” that was the sum of their thoughts- mind to the issues that presented themselves. The human had developed many new talents over the course of her absence from the collective, which could be put to use by the Borg. Their thoughts were one.
Before the connection was established she had a dim hope she might retain her independence here, but her emotionless thoughts dismissed it as the folly of the individual. You became one with the Borg, you did not intermingle. But... their thoughts were one.
Annika felt the world tumble away from her until she was left alone in an endless white expanse. Slowly she could see the movements of drones... countless drones. She could hear them whispering now, but they weren't overpowering her mind any longer. Another came into view, and took on an all too familiar form. "Hello again, Annika."
Annika rose shakily too her feet, fearful she might plummet again into the endless deep of the Borg collective consciousness. She tried to speak, but fear was getting the better of her.
"We understand why you have come back to us," the Queen said.
"I don't want to be here!" Annika sobbed. She didn't have the emotional resources to withstand this any more.
"Our thoughts were one, for a moment," the Queen assured her. "We know your arrival was an act of desperation; we will not attempt to steal your individuality." Annika was still trembling. "Perhaps you'd like to discuss it with them?" Annika froze as a Vong emerged out of nowhere, then in a rage she leapt at it, but the Queen interceded. "Good, hold on to that thought," she said.
Annika panted and the Vong faded again. "I hadn't expected such hospitality," she said, the rage having helped her find the strength for the moment. "Thank you," she grudgingly added.
The Queen nodded. "Your thoughts were... confusing. Too much information. We understand that something terrible has made you return to us, but we couldn't understand what... not without dissecting your memories."
Annika explained about Janeway and the Vong and the upcoming ambush that would likely be the death knell for the Empire. The Queen listened, stone-faced. "And we have to stop them," Annika finished.
"'We?'" the Queen asked. "Why this 'we?'"
"Because we have one thing in common," Annika said. "We're the consequence of Sebastian's survival."
"You mean the fact the Sith did not kill him on Wormhole Station?"
"Exactly. If he had been killed, then he wouldn't have been able to restore the collective or cure me of the disease. I'd be dead and you all would be stuck on Sanctuary wondering what to do next."
"Yes, the connection is clear, but we fail to see the relevance."
"Janeway's plan was formulated based on an assumption that neither of us existed. With Sebastian's survival, we have the potential to upset that balance. It's why she sought me out. For a while I couldn't see why she wouldn't simply kill me; obviously she would like me to work with her-"
"But more than that," the Queen said, "she could see how you could potentially be turned against us. You destroyed us once, perhaps you could do it again."
"Exactly. You are the real threat here. With the Borg assisting them, the Empire could withstand the Vong ambush, possibly even turn the tide."
"The Empire is now under the control of General Delric Taar," the Queen pointed out. "He would rather die than accept help from us."
"I think he loves the Empire more than he hates you," Annika said.
"Even if that were true," the Queen said, "we've changed. We don't do that sort of thing any more."
"You have fleets of ships that are still feared throughout the galaxy!" Annika said.
"Sebastian showed us a new means of achieving perfection," the Queen said. "It is unconventional, but has so far worked. If we return to being a military power, we risk losing that, not to mention being the target of hate and destruction. We will not become outcasts again."
"But look at the consequences!" Annika said. "Do you think the Vong will ignore you? You are the embodiment of everything they hate! After the Empire falls, you'll be next, I can guarantee that."
"We have a business license," the Queen said. "Romal the Attorney has told us that this thing protects us."
"It doesn't work without an Empire to enforce it," Annika said.
The Queen cocked her head. "This 'economics' is proving a most difficult concept to assimilate."
"You can consult with... do you really have a lawyer?"
"Yes, Sebastian selected him before the reforming. Romal, a skilled Devaronian."
Devaronian... Annika shook her head. "Wherever Sebastian might be in there, tell him even his mother is groaning at this joke." But the Queen didn't seem to be listening for the moment. Eventually she spoke up.
"The attorney agrees that if the Empire falls, the license will not protect us. We will be forced to defend ourselves against the Vong."
"Then why not do so now?" Annika asked. "Stop them now before the Empire falls completely." She paused a moment. "Ask your lawyer about a thing called 'public relations.'"
The Queen had that far off look again, then seemed to return. “We would lose many ships and drones, which would not be balanced about by an increase in customers due to altruism. However, we recognize that the loss of the Empire would lead to our own destruction. Still, if we participate in this and demonstrate military potency, we may instill further fear in us.”
“Not if you’re fighting on the right side,” Annika said. “That’s part of public relations. Something done in the name of a righteous cause becomes righteous in and of itself... within reason.”
“If that were the case...” Annika shivered at the Queen’s question.
“Yes, I suppose you could do that,” she said. “I’m not sure it could work, but no one would fault you for trying.”
“Then we can see no flaw in your plan, save failure. We will leave at once; fortunately Sebastian had also considered the necessity of defending ourselves in such a campaign.” The Queen nodded to herself. “Yes. But for now, it is too dangerous to keep you here in this state. I would be very careful not to provide any clues to Janeway.”
“Absolutely,” Annika said. Her mouth opened to speak, but it was hard to get the words out. “Can I see my son?”
“No. We fear that the sight of him would drive you to despair, which could lead to rash, unpredictable, and dangerous behavior.”
“It can’t be any worse than what I see in my nightmares,” Annika said.
The Queen seemed to consider this. “Very well.” She faded away, and another Borg took her place. Annika’s gut tightened into a rock at the sight and she started crying despite herself.
“You were warned of this,” Sebastian pointed out.
Her throat was too tight to speak easily. “Please, Sebastian... leave them and come back to us.”
“We are one,” Sebastian said. “And were this one prepared to consider your offer, your plan prevents its execution. The knowledge and experience of the Jedi, Sebastian, will be invaluable in the coming conflict. He alone has battled the Vong, to remove him would be to severely limit the possibility of success.” He paused. “Do not allow your feelings to interfere with what you know must be done.”
“But,” Annika said, her face lined with tears, “you’re my son!”
“It was long-told that the one called Sebastian Skywalker would be instrumental in saving the galaxy. That time has now arrived, when he has, against all intentions, formed an army capable of protecting it, with a lifetime’s experience in waging war against these enemies. You always believed it... do not let your emotions destroy your faith.”
“But – But this isn’t-“
“This is what is, what must be. You have yourself stated that we alone are the unforeseen obstacle, we alone that can interfere, that the fate of the galaxies may have been decided by one Klingon who put himself in the path of certain death out of loyalty to his friend. Would you expect your son to allow that death to be in vain?” Annika was crying too much to answer, but she felt Sebastian reach out and embrace her. It was cold and artificial, but it was all that she had, and she cherished it.
Sebastian released her, and she looked up and forced a smile to her lips, and nodded her understanding. “You must go now... mother. And so must we.” The voices, which Annika had tuned out, were becoming sharper and more intense. “The Borg are going to war.”
Ghost Rider wrote:Been reading this for a long time, and you rock Chuck.
Seriously this is damn fun ride, and I love the whole Janeway using Emperor lines. It takes a lot of good writing to make me think of that character anything beyond...twit.
Thanks! It seemed only logical that if any one person in the galaxy could fuck up a plan for inter-galactic peace and universal harmony, it would be Janeway.
So do the new Borg have a new batt;le cry or will they revert to their old standard.
Ph34r teh eyebrow!!11!Writers GuildSluggitePawn of ChaosWYGIWYGAINGW so now i have to put ACPATHNTDWATGODW in my sigEBC-Honorary Geordie Hammerman! Hammer!
