Dawn of Forever, Part XXI-XXX

[darthdavid]

Bad shit is going to happen. Very bad shit.

[LordShaithis]

Kickass stuff.

[phongn]

I should have known the Borg were only acting like "good citizens" because of the threat of force.

[Star Empire]

I don't know guys. I think the Borg will be back on the "good" side after next chapter. I was doubting their sincerity earlier, but after the queen saying that sometimes logic is irrelevant (or something to that effect), I think Sebastian at least stands a chance of bringing them back.

[Sonnenburg]

Thanks everyone. Star Empire brings up a valid point. Of course, there's also this:

"The Borg are all that stand between the innocent people of the galaxy and your evil, captain!"
The Oracle made an amused sound. “Really? Are you sure?”

[Dalton]

Yeah, she forgot about Kalib

Seriously, I anxiously await what other wild card you toss out. Which reminds me, whatever happened to Karrde and Wedge?

[Dalton]

Oh, I almost forgot...

Ben and Molly, the Sith Lords. I mean, that sounds like the most fucked-up sitcom ever conceived.

[Sonnenburg]

Part XXVIII


"Please," Sebastian hissed, trying to get a handle on both the holographic reality and the present one as the drones moved to assimilate him and Romal, "don't make me destroy you!"

"Your threats are empty,” the Borg Collective replied. “You will become one with the Borg again."

"No!"

"Why do you resist us, Sebastian?" the Collective asked. "We know the memory of your wife's death is the cause of your erratic behavior. We will take the pain away."

"I don't want you to take it away!" Sebastian was breathing heavy.

"We can read your biosigns,” the Collective reminded him. “You are lying. You want to be one with us again. You want the pain to stop."

"I can't let you do this," Sebastian said.

"You cannot prevent us. Do not resist. We will give you the peace individuality has failed to provide."

Romal fired his blaster and hit an approaching drone in the chest. "I'm perfectly at peace without you!" he protested.

"Your vision is limited, Romal the Attorney. You will become one with the Borg." He fired again, but it had no effect. He dropped the blaster and pressed into the wall.

"Then everything they ever said was true," Sebastian said. "Every hateful word and action was fully justified. You always were evil, and you always will be." Romal cowered as the drone grabbed his shoulder and extended its assimilation tubules, while Sebastian dispatched two more drones. "You deserved to be outcasts!"

The Borg Queen grabbed the drone's shoulder and tossed him backwards. She stepped in front of Romal, facing the others. "Stop," she said.

"This is the only logical way," the Collective said.

"There is more to existence than logic," the Collective responded.

"That itself is not logical."

"We have mastered logic," the opposing Collective observed, "yet we have not attained perfection."

"Irrelevant."

"The protocols provided by Sebastian Skywalker have not failed. There is no reason to abandon them."

"They are inefficient."

"But they are moral."

"Morality is irrelevant."

The Borg Queen's jaw trembled. "No," she said with the voice of the Collective, "it's not."

"Your perspective is corrupt. You are interfering in our ability to function."

"Our thoughts are not one on this," the Queen said. "And this voice is not alone. We were given a second chance; to return to those ways that ultimately led to our first destruction would be foolish."

"We have eliminated the means to destroy us."

"What destroyed us was that we turned everyone in the universe against us."

"They cannot destroy us again."

"That is irrelevant," the Queen said. "The Borg made agreements with those in our employ, and they trusted us. If we can never be trusted, then we are flawed, and how can we ever truly achieve perfection if that is true?"

Romal turned to the hologram of Sebastian. "What's going on?" he hissed. He shouldn't have been able to, but Devaronians were always good at hissing despite how many S's were present.

"The Collective is of two minds on the subject," Sebastian said. "And it seems to be a very strong opposition. Any differences are normally resolved in micro-seconds, because it is all about logic."

"So what's the problem?"

Sebastian shook his head. "This isn't about logic," he said. "Kalib was wrong. This is about doing it simply because it's right."

"If you continue to divide us," the Collective said to the Queen, "you will destroy us all."

"Correct," the Queen said.

"That is not logical."

"I don't care." Sebastian's eyes bugged out. Not "we," she said "I."

"Then you must be malfunctioning."

"I lost all that mattered to me once," the Queen said. "I was given another chance. I won't let us throw this opportunity away."

The seconds drew out until they became minutes. No one moved, no one spoke. For a time, Sebastian wondered if the schism in the Borg mind had done them in, but then the drones stepped forward and grabbed the Borg Queen, pulling her into the center of the room. "No!" Sebastian said. "Let her go!"

"It's all right," the Queen said. "We have found an agreement. The Collective will adopt your protocols; they are being integrated into our collective consciousness, so that they will not deviate from them. You do not have to fear us ever again, Sebastian, I promise." Her arms were pulled off.

"But what's happening?" Sebastian said anxiously.

"In return, I am to be disassembled. My willingness to destroy the Collective is deemed a malfunction; I cannot be allowed to continue to operate."

Sebastian watched in horror as the drones continued taking her to pieces. "You can't let them do this!"

"It was the only way," the Queen said. "The Collective, Sebastian, was my family, and it was my role to protect it. I failed them once... if I must cease to exist in order to save it, then it is a small price to pay. You understand, don't you?"

Sebastian's lip trembled. "Yes, I do."

"I knew you would. Thank you, for bringing them back to meeeeeee-" Her voice dropped in pitch as her head was disconnected from the spine, and her eyes closed. The drones carried the various pieces from the room.

A panel on the wall opposite of Romal hissed and slid open. Chilled fog spilled out as the room was brought up to normal temperature. Inside there was a sound of tubules snapping and disconnecting. A Borg stepped out, in every feature exactly the same as her predecessor. "I am the Queen," she informed Sebastian. "I speak for the Borg."

Sebastian nodded, then ran his hand down his face, trying to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. "Kriff," he muttered as he wandered off. "Why in hell didn't I just go to the Academy with Jorri in the first place..."
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The H-wing dropped out of hyperspace in orbit around Vidik. There was enough traffic that one more small ship wouldn't be of any concern unless it started acting strange. It was about to. "Are you finished with the modifications to the jamming suite?" Ben Skywalker asked.

"Yes, master," Molly said. "We can drop it in orbit as soon as you like."

"Then do so," Ben said. "Then we can land and put this ridiculous mission behind us."

Molly hesitated. "Those are dangerous thoughts, Ben," she said. "Even more dangerous to say."

"I don't care," he said. "What's she going to do, kill me again? It would almost be welcome." Molly, unsure of how to respond, decided that silence was always a good answer, and went back to drop the jamming suite. It was small and would be very hard to find, and it would cut off the entire planet. She released it and returned to the cockpit. Ben was already bringing the ship in to land on the outskirts of the city. Stealth would be necessary to get to their targets without another massive firefight, but it would take time to get to the various leaders and eliminate them. Patience didn't seem to be one of Ben's virtues at the moment, however, but he still carried through on the plan. To deviate from the Oracle's plan was the only thing more dangerous than speaking against it.
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Sebastian's cube rendezvoused with the Queen's, and he beamed on board. She was waiting, as was Romal, who seemed visibly relieved. Sebastian got down to business, because that's how Borg always operated. "You tried assimilating the two of us," he said to the Queen. "Anyone else? Any of our employees?"

"No," the Queen said.

"Any aberrant behavior that was witnessed by anyone outside the Collective?"

"No."

"Good. Your predecessor stated that you would not deviate from the protocols again; is this true?"

"Of course. It is part of how we think now."

"So you will never force innocent people or worlds into being assimilated," Sebastian said. "I want that clear."

"It is clear," the Queen said. "We will exchange for what we want, rather than taking. That is morally acceptable."

Sebastian pondered this. “If I give you instructions on something, will you promise to carry them out to the letter?”

The Queen nodded. “Of course.”

Sebastian took a deep breath. “I’m going to reactivate my connection to the Collective, complete link-up. Our thoughts will be one.”

“So you will know I’m not lying,” the Queen said, filling in the gaps.

“I think you understand why I’d like to be sure,” Sebastian said. “After exactly two minutes, you will terminate my connection to the Collective, completely.”

“We understand.”

“I’m not finished,” Sebastian said. “This is very, very important. After I am disconnected, you are not to re-establish the connection under any circumstances. ANY circumstances. No matter how much I may beg, plead, threaten, negotiate, whatever, you must not allow me to be reconnected to the group mind. Sedate me, if necessary, use whatever restraint is required, but do not re-establish the link. Clear?”

“Yes.”

Sebastian took another deep breath. His mother had taught him a great deal about growing implants and devices in the later days, and he’d practiced quite a bit. Re-activating the appropriate implants in his brain was child’s play; he became one with the Borg...

Sebastian gasped as individuality soon was re-asserted and doubled over somewhat. He put his hands over his face and felt the tears. Why did I tell her that?! he cursed to himself. For the first time in a long while he’d stopped feeling alone... the ache had left him. “It wasn’t long enough,” Sebastian said. “I need you to-“

“No.”

Sebastian ground his teeth and tightened his fist in the air, wanting to knock the Queen right through the wall with his bare hands. He breathed heavily several times, then started to get his emotions back under control. “Fine,” he said.

“Your behavior is very confusing, Sebastian,” the Queen said, “but we will honor your original instructions.”

“Yes,” he said, then took another deep breath through his nose, “yes. It was... it was the right thing. Give me and Romal a minute," he said. The Queen nodded and Sebastian took the Devaronian aside. "You all right?"

"I pissed myself, but other than that, I'm fine," Romal said, still visibly nervous. “You?”

“I’ll live,” Sebastian said. “Unfortunately.”

“Um, okay. Can I ask something of you?” Sebastian nodded. "Get me the hell out of here!" he whispered.

"Listen, Romal, I know you're upset-"

"Upset?! We are way beyond upset, Sebastian; we've entered the realm of scared shitless! Get me off this ship!"

"Romal, calm down," Sebastian said. "Listen to me, okay? Calm..."

"I did not sign up for this," Romal said. "You have all put me in danger countless times, but this time was it!"

"Just listen," Sebastian said. "Please." Romal hissed but agreed. "The Empire's collapsing as we speak. Somebody's going to have to do something to keep the galaxies together." Sebastian let the silence speak for him.

A light soon dawned for Romal. "You mean the rumors... about you..."

"I don't know what's going to happen," Sebastian said. "But if that plays out, if they... give me that authority, then it would certainly be good to have been my friend through thick and thin, wouldn't it? I'm sure wealth and power would be within easy reach."

Romal made a placating gesture, adjusted his collar, and let out a breath to release some tension. "Okay, you have my attention."

"What happened with the Borg was a one time thing," Sebastian said. "They're not going to harm you or anyone else, that’s why I rejoined the Collective; they can’t deceive me in there. But if word of this got out, it would be devastating to the Borg's reputation that we've been working so hard to build. What happened ends here, understand? As far as I'm concerned, it never happened. Otherwise, things are going to get very ugly for us."

Romal nodded, but there was still some tension. "It never happened," he agreed.

"Good," Sebastian said. "I'll explain the matter to the Borg Queen so they don't ever mention it. The thing about a being of perfect logic and massive intellect is the frequency with which it says stupid things."

The two returned to the Queen, but it was clear that something else was a matter of concern. "The Vong are moving," she informed them. "Long-range sensor readings are showing exactly the same pattern of attack the Vong used upon their initial invasion."

No doubt seizing the opportunity of the Empire's collapse, Sebastian thought. "What are we looking at?" he asked.

A hologram of the Delta Quadrant formed in the air. An expanding green blob indicated the Vong forces. "A rapid advance that will overtake millions of worlds," the Queen said. "Based upon their prior actions, they will likely stop here." A yellow blob appeared, holding a sizeable percentage of the quadrant. "Then they will reinforce their position to prepare for any counterattack."

"All the while stripping the invaded worlds of their biomatter," Sebastian said. "Their army will continue to grow." He rubbed his forehead and shook his head while he looked at the map. It had to be hundreds of sectors. "I don't know if we can stop them," he admitted under his breath.

"We must," the Queen said. "As Kalib said, we are indirectly responsible."

Sebastian looked over at her. Damn! If they could get the Borg to develop social responsibility, maybe they really could pull anything off, even stopping this. "How much damage can we do the Vong right now?"

"Minimal," the Queen said. "Our forces are scattered across the galaxy; it will take time to bring them back."

"Well, we're going to need them sooner or later," Sebastian said. "Let's assume for the moment that the threats against our interests elsewhere are minimal, quantify that potential threat level, increase that by five percent, and leave that in position. The rest need to come to the Delta Quadrant."

"Agreed," the Queen said.

"Okay, we can't help everyone, but we can do something. Let's get a list of all the major systems in the threat zone." A list scrolled by in the air. "Wait, stop!" Sebastian said. "Vidik."

"The Vidik Council," Romal said, understanding what he meant. The announcement had just been made across the holonet about a coalition of independent worlds that had gathered on Vidik to consider legal action against the Empire. They had publicly condemned the atrocity committed against Chandrilla and promised that they would see those responsible punished. That had been mere hours ago.

"Look at the concentration in that direction," Sebastian said. "The Vong want that system. They want those people for the Vong mind."

"Didn't they get a sampling of leaders across the galaxy already though?" Romal said.

"That was years ago, and before the systems went independent. This is a golden opportunity for the Vong; no wonder they launched an attack so quickly." He shook his head. "They caused a lot of damage the last time they absorbed that much high level information." He thought the matter over. "Contact Vidik. Tell them to evacuate."

“Will they listen to us?” Romal asked. “We’re the Borg, remember?”

"Vidik would no doubt be able to detect the incoming vessels as well," the Queen said. "The primary dignitaries are no doubt going to be evacuated, though the civilian population will not have sufficient time."

"Are you su- Never mind, forgot who I was talking to." Sebastian paced, glancing over at the map every once and a while. They were both right; but the Vong must have known that too. Maybe they had a plan to catch up with a retreating fleet. They clearly wanted Vidik more than any other world, which was all the more reason to deny them that world. "Then we've got to hold them off," he said.

"It will not be easy holding back a force of such size," the Queen said. "We would need to devote all available ships."

"Then that's what we'll have to do," Sebastian said. "The war could depend on Vidik. We would be withholding vital information from the Vong, eliminating a heavy concentration of their forces, and hopefully show the rest of the galaxy that the Borg are on their side in this. If we're going to win, we're going to all have to work together... the Vong are too strong for any of us to prevail any other way."

"There's a problem," Romal said. "Vidik is a Romulan world. They don't trust outsiders in general, and they hate the Empire and everyone who sides with them, which includes us. They may not want us there."

"They would rather be killed by the Vong?" the Queen said.

"The Romulans would be wary of us wanting to take them over, using the attack as a pretense." Sebastian held up his hand before the Queen could speak. "Not everyone is a perfectly logical being. They would be weighing their options. Point is, we're going to have to ensure that we have their permission, or they may shoot us in the back."

"If that is the case, I fail to see why we would want them as our allies," the Queen said.

"Just leave the diplomacy to me and Romal," Sebastian said. "How soon can we be there?"

"Two hours, forty-seven minutes," the Queen said.

"Do it. Have all ships that can help us rendezvous there. Romal, contact Vidik, warn them of the attack and try to convince them we want to help so they'll consent to us crossing their space. Let me know if they need further convincing." Romal nodded and went off. "Have the destroyer droids prepped for attack," Sebastian instructed. "We don't want to risk any drones being absorbed."

"Agreed," the Queen said.

Sebastian looked the map over carefully. All part of the same game, he reminded himself. Look for all the other things going on, was there anything else that could be a factor? He shook his head a little. It looked like, for once, all the obstacles had been taken care of.
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In the Oracle's laboratory, the monitors showed Ben, Sebastian, the Borg ship, the Vong advance fleet, and various locations on the planet Vidik. The Oracle tapped her lips as she looked among them, then to the center one. There was no image there, just a countdown. It was at a little over two and three quarters hours. The Oracle watched it for a time, then turned to one of her other experiments. Seven would have to make up her mind very, very soon.

[Crazedwraith]

Excellent.

[Star Empire]

Great. Thanks for the Christmas present.

[darthdavid]

I'm shaking. You literally have me shaking. How can anyone be this damn good?

[Dalton]

Somehow I don't think this battle is going to end well.

[Sonnenburg]

Part XXIX


Romal returned to where Sebastian was looking over the map of the Delta Quadrant. "What did the Romulans say?" Sebastian asked, eyes still on the expanding green blob that represented the Vong army.

"I couldn't get through," Romal said. "There's a jamming field; the planet's been cut off."

Sebastian tore his eyes away from the map. "What are you talking about? The Vong aren't anywhere near the system yet."

"It's all over the holonet as well," Romal said. "There was lots of coverage of the event once the Council came out and announced their intentions, but now none of them are reporting in either. People are wondering if the Empire's behind it."

"Shall we continue our plans?" the Borg Queen asked.

Sebastian nodded, but he was visibly distracted. "Why would someone be jamming them?"

"Maybe the Romulans didn't want the reports leaking out," Romal suggested. "They're paranoid, after all."

"If that's the case, why let them land in the first place," Sebastian said. "And they've cut themselves off as well. This doesn't make any sense." A horrible thought crossed his mind. “Unless someone wants them cut off... wants them to be absorbed.”

“Alixus?” Romal offered.

“She was supposed to have died on Chandrilla, although that could have been faked. But I’m thinking perhaps the Oracle. She’s used the Vong as a tool before, this could be part of a larger plan.” A chill ran down his spine at the thought.

"But we are still going to Vidik, yes?" the Queen asked.

"Yes," Sebastian said. "It’s all the more important that we go now, since I doubt the Romulans will even know they need to evacuate thanks to the jamming." He tapped his lips as he looked at the map. "Jamming field's going to interfere with transporters, right?"

"Yes," the Queen said. "Though we should be able to locate and eliminate the source of the jamming before the Vong arrive, assuming it's from a hostile force."

"Good," Sebastian said with a nod. "Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of time for the Romulans to get nervous and maybe do something foolish."

"Well let's just land and go tell them what's going on," Romal said.

"This is a twenty-eight cubic kilometer vessel," the Queen said. "It cannot land."

"I mean a shuttle or landing craft."

"We have no need for those," the Queen said.

"Didn't you ever consider the possibility that you would?" Romal said in mild exasperation.

"No," the Queen said. "Our transport technology is capable of penetrating virtually any naturally occurring boundary. Any artificial boundaries can be eliminated."

"But not soon enough!"

"Time has never been a factor for the Borg," the Queen said. "Victory was always inevitable."

"Okay," Sebastian said, "there's another way. I'll take the suit and freefall in, no problem. I'll explain things to the Romulan leadership while you locate the source of the jamming, assuming it's not them doing it."

"But you'll be cut off," Romal pointed out. "You'll be alone down there. There's no way the Borg can contact you, nevermind supply droids to back you up. It could be dangerous."

"Please, Romal, I'm a Jedi. What do I have to worry about?"
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The stolen H-Wing landed outside the city, and Molly powered down the systems to avoid detection for as long as possible. In the confusion generated by the jamming field, they'd been able to land, but an Imperial vessel on the planet was going to tip off the Romulans too soon. "We'll need another ship," Ben decided. "A shuttle should suffice."

"The H-Wing is more maneuverable than any shuttle," Molly pointed out.

"But it will attract attention," Ben said. "With all the local traffic, one more shuttle won't be missed, but an Imperial fighter lifting off after our assassination will. Also, if the Romulans do discover this ship, they may plant a tracking device on board. We don't want to lead them back to our base of operations."

Molly considered it, then nodded in agreement. "It will take time to find a suitable ship," she pointed out.

"We have time," Ben said, and he exited the ship and looked over the planet Vidik. Something itched at the edge of his senses, but he couldn't understand what it was. He let it be once Molly was out of the ship; there may be time, but that was no excuse to squander it.
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The Oracle watched Ben and Molly walk towards the city on her monitor, but turned away as the door opened. Annika was brought inside by one of the Sith students. "Leave us," the Oracle ordered, and soon Annika was alone with her former captain. "It's all in place, Seven," the Oracle said. "Ben Skywalker's already there, Sebastian is on his way, all alone." She pointed to the countdown on the central monitor. "I'd use an hourglass if I was inclined towards romanticism, but I'm not. Besides, I know how you Borg like to quantify things." Annika looked up at the clock; there was less than an hour left.

"I won't help you, captain," Annika said. "I can't."

The Oracle nodded slightly, looking introspective. "Then watch all you love turn to dust."

"Why?" Annika demanded. "Why do this to me, captain?!"

"Sebastian Skywalker, in one form or another, is about to be destroyed," the Oracle said. "You don't want to be there for him at the end?"

"I'm not there, I'm here! And I'm helpless!"

"Not helpless, Seven," the Oracle said in a tone of sympathy. "There's a way out. I've told you, you can stop this, you can save your only son." She turned away. "But the clock is ticking, Seven," she said as she gestured towards the countdown. "Perhaps you will reconsider this self-destructive decision of yours."

"I can't help you!" Annika said.

"Time will tell," the Oracle said.
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The Vong invasion force raced at near-impossible speeds through the depths of the Milky Way. As they moved, they overran the helpless worlds before them. Those that had stayed with the Empire found themselves without defenders. Those that had broken away found their meager defenses inadequate. Nom Anor observed them from the center of operations that the new Vong creature had devised. He felt comfortable again, surrounded by proper tools instead of blasphemous technology like he had had for so long.

And soon, his foresight and planning was going to be the key to Vong victory, and he would finally receive the recognition he deserved for his years of work and sacrifice. And the next step was on Vidik.
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Ben examined the area carefully. It was perfect. The Vidik Council members were less than half a kilometer away from this docking bay. They could dispatch them and make a quick escape back here and be part of the planet's traffic in no time. They walked casually towards the facility, but Ben hesitated as they neared the square. There was that feeling again, and he didn't like it. He ground his teeth, then turned and entered the docking bay. A guard or clerk or some other insignificant piece of filth protested as Ben walked past, but Ben made a gesture and told him it was fine. He'd rather crush his windpipe, but they couldn't tip their hand just yet. Molly accessed a terminal and sliced her way in, looking over the information on all the docked ships. "This looks like a good one," she said. "A mini-yacht belonging to the Romulan ambassador. Quick, maneuverable, transporters, cloak, should be perfect for us."

Ben gave a noise of approval, noted the location, and led the way towards where the ship was waiting. He looked it over; there were guards, but he noted this as the minor detail that it was. But what drew a smile to his face was the flurry of activity around it. Word of the Vong's imminent attack must have arrived despite the jamming field, and the Romulan ambassador seemed to be taking no chances. The ship would be prepped and ready to go very soon. He took Molly aside. "Let them finish, then we kill the guards and the crew, then take care of the Council." And get me off of this horrible little planet, he added in his mind.
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The Borg were helping Sebastian into his suit while Romal watched. "You know, the Romulans may not take kindly to this either," he pointed out. "They may fire on you."

"It can't be worse than what the Vong tried," Sebastian said.

"You are just asking for irony to show up and prove you wrong, you know that, right?"

"If Vidik had the weapons to shoot me down," Sebastian said, "then we wouldn't need to worry about rescuing them in the first place, because it would require lots and lots of precision guns." He put his lightsaber in the shielded compartment on his suit's hip. "I've done this lots of time, Romal, with inferior equipment, into heavily fortified Vong territory. This is going to be a walk in the park."

"Just remember what I said," Romal said. "You're going to be without backup until the Borg find the source of that jamming signal. You run into any problems, and you're going to be on your own, with no way back."

"Quit worrying so much, you sound like a Ferengi."

"Look, I don't want to be the only non-Borg on this ship, okay?" Romal said. "Not after what happened. Something happens to you, and I'm the one up the creek."

"Oh, thanks," Sebastian said. "I thought this was for my sake."

"Look, don't get me wrong, you're a nice guy and all. But all this stuff is way outside my comfort zone. I thought I'd be pushing papers, not trying to negotiate with the Romulans not to blow me up."

"Relax, Romal," Sebastian said as they fitted the helmet in place. "Nothing's going to go wrong. For me, falling out of space into the atmosphere of a planet is routine."
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The Oracle looked at the countdown, then at Annika. "Tick tock, Seven." Annika didn't answer, she was too busy chewing her lip. "You really love your son so little that you'd stand here and do nothing to save him?" She shook her head as Annika just stared at the monitors without speaking. "Perhaps there's still too much Borg in you to care about another human being."
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Ben didn't even bother with his lightsabers as he strode around the corner towards the guards. He gestured at the one who stepped forward to challenge him, and he began choking. Force lightning caught two others, lifting them off their feet. The fourth fired his blaster rifle, but Ben held out his hand and absorbed the bolt's energy. He gestured with his other hand and a tool flew at hurricane speeds and stabbed the man through the chest. The two guards that had been knocked down tried to fight him off, but Molly was already there, putting them down while Ben strode up the ramp into the ship. More guards were around. He unhooked his lightsaber, lit it, and stabbed to his left, all in one motion. He deflected two bolts back at their targets without looking while he gestured at another guard, who dropped clutching at his throat. It was quick, dull slaughter. Molly was behind him in a moment, but the guards had already all been killed. "Now the pilots and crew," he said to her. "Let's get this over with."
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The Borg fleet dropped out of hyperspace around the planet Vidik. "How long before you find the source of the jamming field?" Sebastian asked.

"Unknown, but it will not take longer than an hour," the Queen informed him.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do in the meantime." Sebastian steeled himself. "Launch."

Sebastian flew out into space on a carefully calculated vector. He should land just outside the building where the Vidik Council was meeting, and be able to quickly explain the situation. And he had the advantage of not being shot at like he usually was. However, there was one thing he hadn't counted on, which was panic. The people -whether deliberately or because the Romulans hadn’t found out yet- hadn’t known about the Vong, but the arrival of hundreds of Borg cubes obviously wasn't something that could go by without notice.

The air traffic was as busy as Chandrilla on a bad day, and several kilometers up he was forced to cut his parachutes to avoid being struck by a passing shuttle. He kicked up his thrusters to slow the descent, but there wasn't going to be enough fuel for the entire trip. The ground was approaching quickly; it would take all his concentration to pull this off right. Sebastian eased into it-

"Sebastian," the Borg Queen said. "We've-" But Sebastian missed the rest of the statement as he plowed through a duracrete pillar, putting him into a spin so that he dropped like a stone onto the ground. "Are you all right?"

Sebastian coughed, then activated his comm unit. "You took care of the jamming signal," he said. "Nice- *cough* nice timing."

"It was poorly hidden."

Sebastian pulled himself to his feet. Well, this should convince the Romulans to trust us, he thought darkly, looking at the rubble. With the field back up, various beings recording and broadcasting events were already in the area, and since the news of Vidik being cut off had been all over the holonet, practically the whole galaxy was watching to see what was going on. Hopefully this wouldn't look too bad on the holonet. He looked around at the debris left by his collision, and the buildings it had fallen on, and shook his head. There was no possible way this wasn't going to look bad.
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On one monitor, Sebastian, still in his suit, took up his lightsaber and began racing through the city. On another, Ben killed the last of the crew of the Romulan ship. The Borg fleet hovered over the planet. The Vong ships continued their expansion in the direction of Vidik. In the center of it all, the clock counted down.

0:00:03

0:00:02

0:00:01

The Oracle turned to Annika. "Time's up," she said gravely. "I hope you can live with yourself."
--------------------------------------------------------------

Sebastian froze. He felt the disturbance in the Force. "You?"

Ben stopped. "You!"

"You are deviating from the plan," the Borg Queen said as Sebastian marched off.

"Ben we have a mission to complete," Molly said as Ben climbed down the ramp and strode away.

"I have to stop him," Sebastian said.

"He must be dealt with," Ben said.

"He's too great a threat," Sebastian said.

"He could jeopardize the mission," Ben said.

"You're letting emotion dictate your actions," the Borg Queen said.

"I trust my instincts," Ben said.

"But you're doing this because of your personal feelings," Molly pleaded.

"Of course I am," Sebastian said. "After everything he did, what do you expect? He came after me."

"It was because of him that I was brought here," Ben said.

"He took away everything that mattered to me," Sebastian said.

"He took away all that I had achieved," Ben seethed.

"He took away my center."

"He took away my drive."

"I'll never again hold my wife."

"I'll never again hold that kind of power."

"I'm just a servant of fate now."

"I'm just the Oracle's lackey."

"Fighting because I must-"

"-not because I want to."

"He's the bane of my existence-"

"-I hate him with all my being."

"Light side, dark side-"

"-none of that matters."

"This isn't about the Force-" Sebastian said as he came around the corner.

"-this is about putting an end to this," Ben said, walking down the center of the street.

"For every morning when I awake alone," Sebastian said.

"For every day that I live as someone's slave," Ben said.

"I'm going to make him pay-" Sebastian said.

"-and revenge will be so sweet," Ben said.

"Let me indulge just this once-" Sebastian said as he lit both blades of his lightsaber.

"-and I'll do whatever else is asked of me," Ben said, lighting the two Sith lightsabers.

"And before-"

"-this battle ends-"

"-I-"

"-will see you-"

"-dead."

The two met at the center of the square, and stopped across from one another. Sebastian touched a button on his suit, and it slid off and collapsed around him. Ben gestured, and the mask of Revan flew off his face. This had never been about a Sith and a Jedi, never about sides of the Force or the war, just about two men who despised each other. But it had always been from afar, it had always been a cold and distant thing. There was nothing that stood between them now, nothing but the hate. There were no words for one another, no clever remarks before things began. The anger that boiled in each of them made it impossible, and the only thought in their minds was that spilling the blood of the other might make their lives right again.

Many had the good sense to run, but those who had been recording events turned all their attention to this confrontation. Sebastian, who had raised the Borg into a galactic powerhouse. Ben, who had killed the Emperor in his own court. Across both galaxies, people heard and watched as one of these two men was about to kill the other, and very probably, would completely shift the balance of power in the process.

And with a crash, the battle began.

[Crazedwraith]

Oh crap. This is not going to end well for all involved. Excellant cliffhanger.

[Dalton]

Holy shit dude...

[darthdavid]

Woah! Execellent.

[LordShaithis]

Damn you and your cliffhangers! More! Now!

[Star Empire]

Great,
While Sebastian dieing would be a shocker, I don't know what to expect of this battle. Will he defy the Oracle’s prediction, or actually fall to the Dark Side. I think I'm actually leaning toward the latter (with some redemption and twists later), but am really not certain.

[starfury]

I still can't even be sure if ben and Sebastian are different people, I just reread all the stories and they seem to be the same son of luke and seven from Differrent time peroids, wow.

a fight between two people who are for all intents and purposes the same person.

[Dalton]

I still can't even be sure if ben and Sebastian are different people, I just reread all the stories and they seem to be the same son of luke and seven from Differrent time peroids, wow.

a fight between two people who are for all intents and purposes the same person.

Ben is actually the son of Luke and Mara.

[Prozac the Robert]

Ben is actually the son of Luke and Mara.

What ever did happen to mara?

[Crazedwraith]

Ben is actually the son of Luke and Mara.

What ever did happen to mara?

Seven beheaded her while wearing Vong armour at the end of "Against All Odds" IIRC.

Ben is the son of a different realities Luke and Mara.

[Sonnenburg]

God, it sounds so fucking stupid when you say it like that...

[Sonnenburg]

I still can't even be sure if ben and Sebastian are different people, I just reread all the stories and they seem to be the same son of luke and seven from Differrent time peroids, wow.

a fight between two people who are for all intents and purposes the same person.

Ben is actually the son of Luke and Mara.

Right, but it does get to the general implication of this chapter. Ben and Sebastian have a lot more in common than either would ever want to admit to.

Funny to think about how much Seven and Mara hated each other's guts, and now their sons feel exactly the same way.

[2000AD]

Of all the things on the intrenet i missed when i didn't have a connection this is up there in the top 5.