Dawn of Forever, Part XXXI-XLIX

[Star Empire]

Another great chapter, sorry didn't say anything after the last, was in a hurry when I read it and meant to come back, but I guess didn't make it. Wonder where they're at now?
Chuck, you've had so many good characters in here, and then don't give them character shields (or least weaks ones). I was actually scared for a moment, despite everything they had just been through and what had been written about, that Seven was going to die.

[2000AD]

And i can't believe wave after wave of fellow Futurama fans haven't recognised Zapp Brannigan's inspirational plan for beating the killbots yet.

Nice chapter.

[Sonnenburg]

That toothpick one has got to be from MST3K. And the last one, if I'm not mistaken, comes from the Illuminatus books, according to my googling.

I'm very impressed that you got the toothpick one. However, the last was simply Ringworld (I considered just "tanj" but figured if anyone didn't know it then it made even less sense).

[Sonnenburg]

Another great chapter, sorry didn't say anything after the last, was in a hurry when I read it and meant to come back, but I guess didn't make it. Wonder where they're at now?
Chuck, you've had so many good characters in here, and then don't give them character shields (or least weaks ones). I was actually scared for a moment, despite everything they had just been through and what had been written about, that Seven was going to die.

Thank you. You've hit the nail on the head; I never want anyone to assume that somebody's safe because of who they are.

[Sonnenburg]

And i can't believe wave after wave of fellow Futurama fans haven't recognised Zapp Brannigan's inspirational plan for beating the killbots yet.

Nice chapter.

Thank you. Picking out a good Futurama one was harder than I thought it'd be.

[Crazedwraith]

There's a Batman one in there?

I do like the Firefly one though. Considering that soon after Mal utters it, he loses everything, seems to fit well with Unity's themes.

[Star Empire]

How long has it been since the beginning of WWE (story-wise)? I was thinking about it, and realized its been awhile. I'm guessing WWE took less then a year. SoN took several years. Chapter 1 itself progressed through a couple, and the Empire resurgance and Borg activity took place over a decent amount of time too (although I think Thrawn said less than a year to retake most of their former space (assuming that is after the Borg invasion)). AAO takes awhile, and then there's that big gap between it and PL. Seven mentioned being druged or captured for most the last decade, so that's about another 10 years. I figure this has got be close to 40 years.

[Sonnenburg]

There's a Batman one in there?

The first one.

I do like the Firefly one though. Considering that soon after Mal utters it, he loses everything, seems to fit well with Unity's themes.

Yeah, to be in my story is to be my bitch (hence why so much of it focuses on Seven).

[Sonnenburg]

How long has it been since the beginning of WWE (story-wise)? I was thinking about it, and realized its been awhile. I'm guessing WWE took less then a year. SoN took several years. Chapter 1 itself progressed through a couple, and the Empire resurgance and Borg activity took place over a decent amount of time too (although I think Thrawn said less than a year to retake most of their former space (assuming that is after the Borg invasion)). AAO takes awhile, and then there's that big gap between it and PL. Seven mentioned being druged or captured for most the last decade, so that's about another 10 years. I figure this has got be close to 40 years.

I've always placed the start of WWE immediately after the events of Equinox Part II, which places it at approximately Stardate 53020. In AAO 25 Seven dates it as being 57913.9, so that places that at a little under five years; add in roughly four months for the rest of that story. Annika is roughly two months pregnant at that time, so Sebastian's birth is a little under six years since the start. Sebastian's roughly 28, so all of this occurs over a 33-35 year time period.

[Sonnenburg]

Also known as the chapter that ate New York...

Part XLVIII


Annika groaned and opened her eyes. She was looking at a clear blue sky... with an arch across it. "There's something you don't see every day," she mumbled.

Mara moaned and sat up. "What is that thing?"

"Well," Seven mused, "it's probably what we're on right now: a ringworld." She turned to Mara, but there was an expression of fear on it. "What's wrong?"

"The Force," Mara said fearfully. "I can't feel the Force."

"You okay?"

"Yes," Mara closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. "Yes, it's just... just a little disorienting, but I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Mara said. "It's just going to take some time to get used to, but I lived without it for a long time." Mara looked at Annika's face, and her eyes widened. "Seven," she said in surprise, "your implants."

Annika reached up and touched above her eye and felt only flesh; then she looked at the hand and saw it was devoid of components. She took a panicked breath and made a fist, but nothing happened. No assimilation tubules emerged, no implants formed, nothing. She was human, fully human.

Annika wept bitterly.

"Seven?" Mara said.

"She took a part of me away," she said in grief. It was like she'd woken up and discovered someone had stolen a kidney. She stood up and shouted at the sky. "God damn you, Janeway!!! GOD DAMN YOU!!!"

"Seven," Mara said. "Calm down. So you're not a Borg any more. I'd thought you'd be thrilled."

Annika whirled around and looked in her eyes with rage. "Being a Borg is what I am!" she insisted. "She's violated my soul, Mara!" She grabbed onto Mara and cried hard on her shoulder. You finally did it, she thought bitterly. It took you more than a quarter century, captain, but you did it. You turned me into a human... and I hope to God I'll get the chance to kill you for it!

"You okay?" Mara asked eventually. Annika withdrew and nodded, wiping at the tears. "How'd she do this?"

"We're... immersed in the multiverse, you might say," Annika said. "We're on the shuttle in the anomaly, but we're also here." Mara stared blankly. "The anomaly cuts through the multiverse, that's where our shuttle -and us- is right now. But by putting us off course, we've in essence been dumped into the adjacent universes as well, universes where I was never assimilated and you never became a Jedi. But we're also still on the shuttle."

Mara stared. "Magic, got it."

"What it means," Annika said, "is that when the shuttle moves through the anomaly, we're going to be pulled along with it, out of the universe we're currently in and into the next." A wave of nausea passed through them; it was similar to what Annika had experienced when she and Captain of Nine had been switched, except compressed. She opened her eyes, they weren’t on the ringworld any more, they were in some... some very unpleasant place.

“I can feel the Force again,” Mara said. Annika quickly checked her hand; the familiar metal was there, much to her relief, although the sight of this place took a bit of the enjoyment out of it.

“New universe,” Annika said. “It looks like our form is dependent upon the reality we’re in.”

Mara looked down. “Pity I don’t have my lightsaber, though,” she said. “Still, an unarmed Jedi is better than nothing. The question is, where the hell are we?”

There was a very dark and bass laugh that answered.

Annika swallowed and grew a plasma discharger. “Well, that was comforting.”

“Look,” Mara said, pointing at the approaching figure. “Is that a Borg?”

Annika strained her eyes. There was the inhuman skin, the black outfit- Her breath froze as the figure’s face came out of the shadows. “No Borg I’d ever want to meet,” she whispered.

The being was bald, and his entire head and face was covered with pins. He stopped, one corner of his mouth lifted just a tad, just enough to offer an expression of minor amusement. “Mara,” he said in a deep, unnatural voice, then looked at Annika. “Annika. We have such sights to show you.”

Annika and Mara glanced over at each other. “He’s not half as scary-looking as his Force aura is,” Mara said under her breath to her.

“Who are you?” Annika asked.

“An explorer, Annika,” the Cenobite said, “just like you used to be. Before you became the wife of a dark man and bore a child who lost everything.”

Annika’s breath quickened. “How do you know that?”

“Because I can see your pain,” he answered in that chilling voice of his. He turned to Mara. “And you... looking back on what you did, the many crimes you committed when you took a name you now scorn. You caused such suffering... but you remain an amateur.”

“What- what kind of explorer are you?” Annika asked nervously.

“Not of space or time. Those, child, are trivial. We are explorers of the boundaries of experience... pleasure and pain, agony and ecstasy, and you will both learn the two are one in the same.”

“Thanks all the same,” Mara said, clearly as frightened as Annika felt. “We’ll pass.”

“Your fear is expected,” the Cenobite said. “Yet you cover it with transparent efforts at confidence. You will learn to abandon this insubstantial cloak and speak only of what fills your mind and heart and flesh.” The word seemed to make the room even chillier. “Time... to play.”

Mara leapt aside as a chain shot out of the darkness at her. She jumped again and again, staying one step ahead of them. Annika pointed her plasma discharger at the Cenobite and fired repeatedly, but the green blasts did nothing when they connected. A chain shot out, and now Annika knew there was a sharpened fishhook on the end, because it dug into her hand and yanked it up and out. She let out a small scream at the pain as it pulled, digging in deeper, and she was unable to escape it. She suddenly felt herself bound from behind. “Mara!” she cried. “Help me!” But it seemed to take everything Mara had to stay ahead of the chains herself; and there seemed an endless number of them.

The Cenobite stepped in front of Annika, face to hideous face. “No more time for words, child, there is only flesh, and pain, and screams.” Annika trembled, more terrified than she’d ever been in her entire life. “And oh how you will scream.”

Nausea struck, and suddenly Annika wasn’t there any more. She had to resist the urge to weep with relief. She quickly looked about to get her bearings; she was in a flight suit in the rear of a two-man fighter craft of some kind in deep space. “Mara?”

“Roger that,” Mara said from the front seat. “I’ve got a handle on this thing, don’t worry; handles just fine. I can’t sense the Force any more though.”

“Anything to be out of that nightmare,” Annika commented. Her hand still hurt from where she’d been wounded, so intense was the pain-

Nervously, Annika pulled the glove off her right hand, and looked. The wound was still there, and her breath trembled at the thought. “Mara,” she said, “something else important to know: we are being physically moved through these dimensions. If you get injured or killed, it’s for real.”

“Understood,” Mara said. “Then let’s try not to wind up back in that creep’s dimension, okay?”

“No argument here,” Annika said.

“Eagle 2 this is TCS Victory,” came the voice over the comm. “You are cleared for landing.”

“Roger Victory,” Mara said, bringing the ship in. The Victory seemed to be a long carrier vessel, with openings at both ends for fighters to take off and land; it seemed a simple enough procedure, and Mara handled it without requiring any assistance from Annika, giving her time to think about what was going on.

The fighter pulled to a halt, and Mara and Annika pulled off their helmets. They climbed out of the ship; mechanics were already running over to check it out. "Good job," came a very familiar voice. "A little more flying like that and the Kilrathi won't stand a chance."

They turned, and as one their eyes bugged out. "Luke?" they said.

Christopher Blair looked at them oddly. "'Scuse me?"

"I-" Mara verbally stumbled, but Annika rallied.

"Sorry, you know how it is when you work with someone a lot, you develop your own telegraph speech."

Blair nodded. "Understood. Keep up the good work." He turned and looked at a checklist someone handed him while Mara and Annika stared.

"It's uncanny," Mara said.

"Except he's a little more... seasoned," Annika said.

"Rugged," Mara agreed.

"His bearing."

"His eyes."

"I hope we spend a lot of time in this universe," Annika mused.

"Me too," Mara added.

"Uh-uh," Annika said with a small smile, eyes never leaving him. "You're married... I'm afraid that I'm the one stuck with this chiseled specimen."

"He looks a lot like him," Mara said. He turned around and bent over to inspect the landing gear; the two women slowly tilted their heads to the right.

"Just like him," they said together.

"Would it really count as cheating?" Mara mused.

"Don't even think about it," Annika said. "You get Luke in every universe; this guy's definitely targeted for assimilation."

"That's true," Mara said, turning to Annika and looking her over. "Here, take the flight jacket off; you look about as sexy as a hydrospanner." She quickly started whipping Annika into shape, but suddenly Annika stopped.

"Wait, what are we doing? We've got to figure out a way-"

"Yeah, shifting realities and all that. You have any ideas?"

"Well-"

"Didn't think so," Mara said. "Face it, it's in the other Seven's hands now, which means we're just along for the ride, and that means..." She cocked her head and grinned. "...you're going over there so I can live vicariously through you."

Annika nodded, then panicked. "What do I do?"

"Flirt."

"How do I do that?"

"Well how did you get Luke's attention in your universe?"

"I beat the shit out of a Wookiee."

Mara gave a half-shrug. "Okay, think we'll have to improvise." Just then a huge, hairy, feline-like humanoid walked by. "That's not what I meant," she said, grabbing Annika's arm before she could move. "You never flirted?"

"Look, by that time Luke and I were already in love," Annika said. "Then it was a no brainer. I don't know what to think."

"You don't have to think, you have boobs," Mara said, grabbing Annika and pointing her in Blair's direction. "Once more unto the breach," she said with a shove.

Blair looked up as Annika stumbled to a halt in front of him. "Lieutenant," he said. "Something on your mind?"

Annika grinned nervously and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yes, commander," she said. Fortunately her eidetic memory was natural talent, so the details she'd overheard were picked up. "I just wanted to thank you for noticing me out there."

Something was working apparently, because he leaned against the ship and seemed to take notice. "Well it was hard to miss," he said in slightly more syrupy tones. Behind her, Mara gestured in triumph.

"I do try," she said. There was an uncomfortable silence. "So, um..." Say something! "I-" Anything! "I have boobs." Mara grabbed her head in both hands.

"'Scuse me?" Blair said.

Annika turned crimson. "I- I- I-"

Suddenly the nausea hit, and she and Mara were sitting in chairs in a Federation control room. Mara glared at her, and when she spoke, her voice was a low rumble of disgusted disbelief. "'I have boobs.'" Annika cringed a little in embarrassment. "And I was actually afraid you'd seduce Luke?"

"That line would work on Luke," Annika said defensively.

Mara shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I can't argue with that." She adjusted the Starfleet uniform and looked at the readout. "At least we're somewhat closer to home this time. Let's-" She cut herself off.

"What?" Annika asked.

"No," Mara whispered. "Not here."

"Mara," Annika said sternly.

"Lieutenant," came a gruff voice, "what's the status of our Borg prisoner?"

Mara turned back to the controls and tapped some commands. "Not well, admiral."

"Put her on screen," Admiral Montgomery said. Mara hesitated, then complied.

Annika's eyes bugged out. It was her. Exhausted, emaciated, suffering, and left in a Starfleet holding cell. Her breath froze in her throat as she looked into her own eyes, and saw the long days of abuse reflected there.

"She seems to be holding up," the admiral remarked, then turned and strode off. Mara quickly removed the image.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Mara said sincerely.

Words could not describe what Annika was feeling. "You knew?" she finally asked.

"I- I passed through this reality before," Mara said.

Annika looked down at her shaking hands. "What happened?"

Mara couldn't look at her. "This universe, there was no wormhole."

"That's it?" Annika said in shock. "That's all?"

"That was the difference," Mara said. "It took Voyager seven years to get home instead of five, after using some Borg whatchamajig to make it the last leg." She swallowed. "But there's a Borg virus that's been released, turning people into drones. You were taken into custody because..."

"Because I am Borg," Annika said, fighting not to weep. "It's not as if I'm capable of feeling pain like real people do." She'd never forget those eyes. Annika had been a loyal, decorated Starfleet officer for years, had been entrusted to command... and this her was locked away with less regard than an animal would get. And it all turned on the presence or absence of Q's wormhole. One toss of the coin, and that could have been her. "Will she die?" Annika asked, her voice shaking.

"No," Mara assured her.

"'I saw realities where you were locked up by the Federation like the freak of nature you are,'" Annika whispered, quoting the barbs of Darth Whind from their encounter on Vulcan. It was one thing to know it in the abstract, but another to witness it. "Why am I even bothering to fight?"

"Seven," Mara said, "let me tell you something. This is the reality the Oracle wanted to create. Here she gets to be Admiral Janeway; she doesn't care that this would be your fate. You're fighting because if this woman has her way then she'll cause countless people to suffer like this, because she has no regard for anyone but herself."

Annika closed her eyes and nodded. “You’re right... live with how things are, not how they might have been.” She called the image of herself up again on the monitor and tried to see if there was something she could do to help, but then the nausea hit... the other her was on her own.

They were in a house, a primitive one. Annika looked around and did an assessment. “Twentieth century, Earth. The intersection isn’t temporally consistent.”

“Makes sense, I suppose,” Mara said. “Hello!” she called. There was no answer. “Anyone here?!”

“Looks like it’s just us,” Annika said. She started looking things over. Fortunately she’d spent enough time in Tom Paris’ various holo-fantasies to be familiar with the nuances of this time period. She turned on the television; it declared that an emergency was in progress and to wait for further instructions. “Well, this is probably not a good sign.”

“What do you suppose...” But she stopped at the sound of footsteps on the wooden porch outside. She crept to the door and peered out; she put a hand over her mouth as she let out a noise of horror. “Seven,” she squeaked, “I definitely don’t think it’s a good sign.”

Annika stepped over and looked out, and gaped. The man on the porch had a hole clear through his chest you could lob a tennis ball through, yet still he was walking up the stairs. Slowly, sickly, but still he came. And beyond him, a horde more of people who looked similarly injured or just... just dead. “Lock the door,” she said. “Anything looking like that isn’t coming to offer us back massages.”

Mara tended to that while Annika looked about the closets. She found a hunting rifle and a box of ammunition; it’d do as a deterrent, assuming these things could even be deterred. She found a small radio also and slipped it into her pocket. “I found this,” she said to Mara as she came out into the main room. “A slugthrower; I figured I’d use it, I’ve had some experience with them.”

Mara nodded, then jumped at the loud thump that came from the door. “I’m not sure it’s going to do any good, Seven. I mean, that guy looks dead already... how do you kill something that’s dead?”

Annika loaded the rifle. “I don’t know. There seem to be rules in place to some of these realities that we don’t understand. A living body is so complex, it’s a wonder a creature would be capable of maintaining proper balance.” The banging got louder. “You may want to make yourself a heavy club,” she suggested. “They look pretty slow; at least just knocking them around could slow them down substantially if they manage to get through the door.”

There was a crashing sound, and Annika froze. Damn it! she thought as she kicked herself mentally. Twentieth century, no transparent aluminum! They can come through the windows! The huge windows in the main room burst inwards as the things tumbled inside. Mara grabbed a rocking chair and spun, sending three of them flying backwards under the impact, but she stumbled and fell. “This way!” Annika said, pointing to the stairs. It was a choke point; they could maybe buy some time.

Mara started for her, but one of the prone things grabbed her ankle and she fell over. She kicked back with the other leg, planting her foot firmly in its face, but it didn’t relent. It pulled forward and sunk its teeth into her calf, and Mara let out an agonized scream. Annika rushed over and helped her up, the creature still chewing the piece it had bit off Mara, apparently satisfied with that. Annika led the way to the stairs, pushing Mara to head up while she clubbed the things with the butt of the rifle. Mara limped up to the top and Annika quickly followed, but as she looked back she knew there were too many even to use this as a choke point. Mara must have realized it too; she had limped into a nearby room and Annika quickly followed, closing the door and locking it. Immediately she began pushing some furniture to help reinforce it while Mara took the sheets and made a quick field dressing for her leg. “Well,” she said through her teeth, “this has been fun.”

There was the sound of thumping on the other side of the door, but it seemed to be holding for the moment. Annika stumbled back and sat by Mara. “How you doing?” she asked.

“I’ve had worse,” Mara said. “Of course, ‘worse’ was being stabbed through the heart by my father-in-law.”

“Just hang on,” Annika said. “We’ve got to leave this dimension some time.” She pulled out the radio and switched it on, turning the dial to try and pick up a signal.

“-message number 7 of the Emergency Broadcast System. It appears that the bodies of the recently dead are returning to life and attacking the living.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Mara muttered, yanking the bandage tight.

“These creatures are to be considered extremely dangerous, especially when encountered in large numbers. They can be disposed of in only one known fashion: removing the head or destroying the brain.”

“At least it’s something,” Annika said. “We just sit tight, pick ‘em off one by one maybe, hope we get out of here and our troubles are over.”

“The condition is spread through the saliva of the attackers. This unknown force appears to infect the bitten victims, causing severe illnesses. There is no current treatment for such a condition.” Annika and Mara stared at one another. “Victims will eventually die and become one of the aggressors. It is vital that the injured be isolated from survivors to ensure they do not attack others once they succumb to infection.”

Mara’s breath trembled. “Well, hey, this is centuries ago, right? All we need is to just find a modern doctor and I’m sure it’s just one blast of a hypospray.”

Annika nodded, then turned away so Mara couldn’t see her expression. “I’m sure it’ll be just that easy,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. The door split and fell inwards, revealing a horde of the zombies. Annika got up, aimed carefully, and fired, shooting them in the heads one by one. She didn’t have her ocular implant to help, but at this range she was able to make due without it. She pumped the next shell into place and repeated it, again and again, until the gun clicked empty.

“Uh-oh,” Mara said, getting up. “That sounded bad.”

“Just give me a second,” Annika said, pulling out more shells and fitting them into the gun, but the mob was pushing the furniture out of the way now. Mara hopped over to a wooden chair, busted a leg off and used it to finish off one of the ones in front. “Got it,” Annika said, putting the gun to her shoulder and firing again, but it wasn’t going to be enough. There had to be dozens out there, and there weren’t enough shells-

Nausea hit, and thankfully they were elsewhere. Quickly Annika rushed over to Mara and dropped to her knees to check the wound. As she reached she saw metal on her hand. “Mara, we have our abilities back. Can you use the Force to try to deal with the infection?”

“I hope so,” Mara said. “How’s it look?”

Annika stared. It was an ugly wound, lined with black pustules. “Not good,” she admitted.

Mara shivered. “I don’t know if it’s the wound or not, but I really feel the Dark side here. It’s so dead.” Annika looked around and had to agree. They were in an alley, and the street beyond didn’t look all that promising.

“Late nineteenth, early twentieth century, from the look of things,” Annika commented. She crept to the corner, peered around it, and just as quickly ducked back. “Oh great,” she said under her breath.

“What is it?”

Annika shook her head. “An invasion.” And she glanced around the corner again, and watched the Tripods move through the city, annihilating anyone that crossed their path.
--------------------------------------------------------------

[Sonnenburg]

Part 48 (cont'd)



Annika ducked into the make-shift shelter she’d constructed for her and Mara, a sack under her arm. “I brought some food,” she said. “Not a whole lot to choose from, I’m afraid, but better than nothing.”

Mara laid where she was, shivering, her skin pale and shining with sweat. It had been two days since they arrived in the midst of this alien invasion, and the conditions weren’t helping. Mara was strong, and she had the Force helping her, but even then the lack of even the most primitive antibiotics by these people meant that that was all she had going for her. “I’m not hungry,” Mara finally got out.

“I know, Mara,” Annika said with sympathy, “but you have to keep your strength up if you’re going to fight this.”

“Why?” Mara asked. “What’s the point? All I’m doing is delaying the inevitable...” She covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking. She’d been through a lot of suffering the past couple days, and it had taken its toll.

“You’re gonna make it,” Annika said. “I promise, I’ll find a way to help you, but you’ve got to let me help you, okay? You’ve got to fight to stay alive.”

“I don’t want to fight any more,” Mara said quietly. “I’m just so sick... it hurts, Seven.” She started crying again. “You have no idea how much this hurts. I can feel myself de-decaying, feel through the Force the darkness spreading through me.”

Annika embraced her and rocked her gently. “I need you, Mara,” she begged quietly. “Please don’t make me do this alone.”

There was the sound of a Tripod nearby; under any other circumstances that’d be worrying, but Annika had been hoping for this opportunity. “Mara,” she said quickly, “the invaders are far more advanced than the locals; they should have medical kits or something on board their vehicles. I’m going to get one.”

“How?” Mara asked as Annika got up and headed for the entrance.

Annika turned and looked back; the ocular implant had been reconstructed. “I am Borg,” she said firmly, and left.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Annika ran up towards the Tripod; fortunately it was harvesting rather than annihilating, so the heat ray wasn’t being employed. As she approached a tentacle whipped down, scooped her up, and dropped her into a basket with a bunch of frightened people. The sight of her seemed to make things worse. “I’m a friend,” she said in what she hoped was a comforting voice. “I’m here to help you escape.” A plasma discharger formed on the back of the wrist on her left hand, spikes on the end of the fingers on her right. “I’ll be keeping them busy; you try to get away,” and she jumped, digging her spikes into the metallic underside of the Tripod’s main body. She pulled herself into position, enjoying the feel of her full strength again; after all this time of not having her Borg enhancements, it almost felt like she was superhuman. She turned and fired her plasma bolts, severing the connections of the basket; it dropped to the ground below. Some of the people would be injured or killed by the fall, but the invaders were killing them all anyway; at least this way they had a fighting chance.

Annika plunged her assimilation tubules into the skin of the Tripod, and the hatch opened. She quickly grabbed on and pulled herself inside. The invaders were shocked to say the least; they obviously didn’t anticipate a human boarding their craft. Annika hated to do it, but under the circumstances she couldn’t risk them overpowering her; it would mean almost certain death for Mara and herself. Besides, it was quite clear that these creatures had no regards for any life besides their own, so Annika felt little compassion for them. She eliminated them with a few shots of plasma, then began scouring the interior for the medical kit.

There wasn’t one.

Annika punched the wall in frustration. Not even antibiotics. What kind of idiot civilization invades an alien world without bringing along antibiotics? It was the first things on the checklist! For all their technology, these morons were all going to die of disease before they even had the chance to prop their feet up and enjoy the conquered Earth.

Annika climbed back out the bottom of the craft and slithered her way down to the ground. The people had already scattered; smart move, the loss of a Tripod would eventually draw others to investigate. She sprinted back towards their shelter and slipped inside. Thankfully Mara had taken her advice and eaten something. “Empty-handed, I see,” Mara commented, finishing off some juice.

“Our luck to be stuck on a planet being invaded by idiots,” Annika said, reabsorbing her implants and grabbing something to eat herself.

“Thanks for trying,” Mara said weakly. “Listen, about before... I’m not going to just give up, okay? I’m just...”

“I know, Mara,” Annika said. “I know how strong you are.” Before anything further could be said, the nausea hit. It was much worse this time, however, possibly because of how long they’d been stuck in this dimension. Whatever the reason, when Annika took in their surroundings, her head swam a little in the wake. It was particularly unpleasant because they were on the roof of a relatively tall building. Mara was stumbling, both from the effect of the shift and the infection spreading through her body. Annika glanced at her hand and cursed; no Borg implants, meaning Mara had no Force abilities to combat its spread. “Mara, let’s-“ She was horrified as Mara stumbled near the edge. “Mara, be careful!”

Mara screamed as she slipped and fell over the edge of the building. Annika ran over to the edge and looked down and-

And a streak of red and blue slipped by and caught her.
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Mara looked up into the mask of her rescuer. “MJ, what are you doing here?” Spider-man asked.

Mara’s head was still groggy. “What?”

“MJ?”

“Go back... to the roof,” she finally got out. This was all confusing her too much. Without her Force ability to help her the infection was moving virtually unchecked through her body, clouding her mind. It was getting hard to think any more.

Spider-man hesitated, then went back and dropped onto the roof. He carried Mara over to an area away from preying eyes and pulled his mask off. “MJ, what’s going on?”

Mara tried to focus, but it was so hard. Why was he referring to her by her initials? “Who... who are you?”

Peter stared at her. “MJ, it’s me, it’s Peter... your husband.”

“Husband...” She tried to think.

“Yes,” he insisted.

Her head lolled. “My husband...” She tried to remember, but it was so hard. Her husband was... was special. Try to remember... “My husband can... can sense danger before it happens...”

“Right.”

“He’s fast, agile... can leap...”

“That’s right, MJ, it’s me.”

“After your uncle was murdered...”

“We’re going to have to get you to a doctor, MJ.” His spider-sense went off, and he got his mask on just in time as Annika came around the corner.
--------------------------------------------------------------

“What the hell’s going on?” Annika asked. “Mara, who is this?”

“It’s... my husband,” Mara said. Spider-man visibly stiffened at the words.

Annika looked between the two of them. “Mara, I really doubt that’s Luke under that costume.”

“Uniform,” Spider-man said.

“Yeah, just keep telling yourself that,” Annika said. “Mara, listen, you’re not thinking clearly.”

“Excuse me,” Spider-man said, “but I’ll take it from-“ He stopped as his cell phone rang. He looked at it, then at the two of them, then back at the phone. “’Scuse me,” he said, stepping around the edge of the building. Annika could still pick up the words despite the whispering. “Is this really you, MJ? No, no, just the usual. Probably clones or something, you know I’m a clone magnet. No, I haven’t seen a Skrull in a long time... well true, I could just be due then. No, I’ll take care of it, you have a good rehearsal.” He stepped back around the corner. “Well, let’s start this again. First of all, who are you, and why do you look like Mary Jane?”

Annika sighed. “Of all the universes, we have to stumble into one where your doppelganger married a circus performer.”

“Lady,” Spider-man said, “I’ve been to other dimensions, so before you say another word you better know that any bluff you pull is going to be called by experts.”

“You have experts on this?” Annika said, her pulse quickening. She was about to speak, but Mara stumbled a little, and she had to grab her to keep her up. “Listen to me,” she said quickly, “we’re being pulled through various universes, and she was seriously injured. Please, if you know someone who can help us, we need to contact them.”

Spider-man seemed to mull it over. “The worst part is that yours isn’t the craziest story I’ve heard this week,” he said, then tossed Mara over his shoulder and walked towards the edge of the roof. “I’ll take you to someone who can help you... or debunk you.”

“We may not have a lot of time,” Annika said.

“Then there’s only one way to travel,” he said, and before Annika could resist he threw her over his other shoulder and leapt off the roof. She screamed in horror, then felt the jerk and saw he was shooting cables out to connect with the buildings and using them to swing through the city at a rather impressive speed.

“You okay, Mara?” she asked.

Mara nodded. “The air’s clearing my head.” They looked around as the buildings and streets raced by around them. “Sensational.”

“Amazing,” Annika agreed.

“Please, please, I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-man.”
--------------------------------------------------------------

Reed Richards finished looking at the computer readout. “This confirms it. There’s an anomaly all right, and I can barely make out that there’s a ship of some kind, right on the edge between it and our reality.”

Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm stood nearby with Spider-man. Grimm crossed his massive, rocky arms. “An anomaly that dumps beautiful women into ours... can you make a few more, Stretcho?”

“I hope the walking quarry isn’t what you meant by ‘expert,’” Annika said to Spider-man.

“Reed,” Spider-man said, “is there a way we can fly up there and put them back on their ship.”

“They’re already on the ship,” Reed said.

“Come again,” Grimm said.

“We’re up there,” Annika said, “but we’re also here.”

Johnny stared at her, then at Reed. “Huh?”

“They’re immersed in the multiverse,” Reed explained. “They’re on the shuttle physically, but they’re also here, physically.”

Spider-man, Ben, and Johnny stared at him. “Magic,” they said together, “got it.”

“What you need is some way to get your ship away from the boundary,” Reed said. “Then you will cease to exist anywhere but in the shuttle. As close as you are, reality is trying to force you-“

“-to exist properly in the reality rather than in the distortion,” Annika finished. “I know that.”

Reed nodded, impressed. “That would require a means of entering the distortion, which would be tricky. We’d need a small, light-weight craft, and anything like that’s going to require a pilot with a sturdy build.”

“That would be me,” Grimm said.

“He said light-weight, Thing,” Spider-man said.

“Hey, there’s no reason to call him that,” Annika said.

“’Thing’s’ my name,” Grimm said.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

Annika nodded diplomatically. “Works for me.”

“Thanks,” Grimm said bitterly.

“Hey, I used to answer only if I was called the number seven, who am I to judge?”

“Getting back to the anomaly,” Reed said, “I’m not sure we have anything on hand that can do the job.”

“Would we need a ship?” Spider-man asked. “If we could get someone like the Sentry or something, could they just fly in and push it?”

“Too dangerous,” Reed said. “Maybe we can modify something on hand, but otherwise we’ll have to build a craft from scratch to do it, which would take time. What’s worse is that once you leave here it will be impossible for me to track down where your ship is, so we’ll need to hurry.”

“Understood,” Annika said. “What about Mara?”

Reed looked grim. “I’m not a medical doctor, but the scans suggested that whatever’s wrong with her, it’s not any kind of normal pathogen.”

Annika was afraid of that. “It’s something unnatural, isn’t it. Preternatural.”

“That would seem likely, given how she acquired it.”

“We could call in Dr. Strange,” Spider-man suggested.

Annika glanced over at him. “There’s a name that fills me with confidence.”

“What happened to ‘who am I to judge?’” he asked.

“There’s just only so much of this that I can take,” Annika said. “But-“ She felt the nausea pass over her. Damn! They actually were making progress that time! She looked down at her hand. Metal, good.

Mara collapsed where she stood, and Annika picked her up. “Mara,” she said, trying to keep her conscious. “Listen to me.” She spoke up, there was a lot of racket, even though this street seemed to be deserted. “Mara!” She slapped the side of Mara’s face a few times.

“What is it?” Mara groaned.

“We have our abilities here,” Annika explained.

“That’s good, right?”

“Given that there’s no sign of that creepy guy, yes, I think so. Whatever happens, odds are we can handle it.” Behind her the wall exploded as a giant robot flew through it backwards and landed on the street. “Do I even want to turn around?” she asked wearily.

“It’s just a giant robot,” Mara said.

Annika looked over her shoulder. “What robot?”

Mara blinked. “Huh, was there just a second ago... right where that car is now.”

“Yeah, it’s just a car.” It drove towards the hole. “With no driver.” She paused. “I don’t think they can do that in this century.” She stumbled back as it turned into a robot and leapt back through the hole again. “Okay, think we’ve seen enough,” she said, leading Mara away.

“Where are we going?” Mara asked with exhaustion.

“Away from he-“ she ended with a shriek as more of the walls collapsed around them, the giant robots struggling with each other. Some were wrestling, some were firing beam weapons at each other. Just to be safe, she added a couple of implants, then started half-carrying Mara through the horde, darting this way and that to avoid being stomped on. Her sensors were set to full scan absorbing everything as she tried to stay out of their way. Maybe they didn’t care about the two humans-

“All right, hostages!”

Yeah, of course they cared, Annika thought miserably.

Rumble stomped up to them; he was little bigger than Annika was. “Prime won’t dare keep fighting while humans are in danger.”

“Leave us out of this,” Annika warned. “We don’t want to fight.” Mara’s moan didn’t offer as much threat as she might have hoped.

“Come on, flesh bag,” Rumble said, grabbing her arm. Annika let go of Mara and formed metal plates on the back of her other hand. She swung with all she had, connecting with Rumble’s face and causing him to stumble back and fall over. “Big mistake, human,” he said, pulling out a gun. He fired, but the weapon stopped against Annika’s adaptive shielding. He stared at her in obvious surprise. “Hey, how’d you do that?” he asked, firing again.

Annika stormed towards him. “I’m more than meets the eye,” she growled.

Annika lunged at him, but he quickly battered her aside. He was clearly stronger than she was, but he was less agile, and obviously stupid. She jumped back up and ran towards him, ducking under his grip and planting a blow in his chest, but he backhanded her hard, and she hit the ground, bleeding from the blow. “Not bad for a meat sack,” Rumble said. “Hey!” He was shocked as his gun flew out of his hand and into Mara’s.

“That meat sack’s my friend,” she rumbled, and blasted him in the chest, again and again. Rumble stumbled under the onslaught and fell over. Annika quickly ran over to Mara’s side. Mara collapsed as she reached her, the gun tumbling from her grip even as Annika caught her.

“Hold on,” Annika said desperately. “Hold on Mara...” And then unconsciousness overcame Mara.
--------------------------------------------------------------

[Sonnenburg]

Part 48 (cont'd)

Mara’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked up into Annika’s face. “Seven?”

Annika smiled at her. “You’re doing better, I take it?”

Mara looked around; she was lying comfortably in a large bed, and there was no hint of the weakness of her disease. There was a tall Vulcan man standing nearby. “Did he cure me?” she asked.

“Yes, he did,” Annika said. “It was pretty close, though. Don’t scare me like that again,” she said with a smile.

Mara looked to the Vulcan. “Live long, and prosper,” she said.

“Thank you,” Elrond said, “I already have.” He nodded to the two and seemed to almost glide out of the room as he left.

“How long have I been out?” Mara asked.

“A day,” Annika said. “Elrond’s medicine seems to have done the trick though. I guess they deal in dark diseases all the time.”

Mara sat up and embraced her. “Thank you... I was certain I was going to become one of those things.”

“The big rocky guy?”

“No, those ghoulish monsters.” She dropped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling; Annika joined her and stared as well. “Any ideas on what we can do to stop this? I mean, this is nice and all, but I’m sure the next place is going to be back with the Borg guy, or worse.”

“Well, there’s not a whole lot of spacecraft in Middle Earth,” Annika said.

“How many are there?”

“Um, I’m thinking zero.”

“Okay, well, that rules this universe out. Anything useful we can do here?”

“Not really.”

“Seven,” Mara said, “our injuries and stuff keep moving with our bodies, but yet we’re not bringing things along; why is that?”

“Our bodies are on the boundary, see?” Annika said. “That’s where we actually are. What’s here is reality’s attempt to... integrate us, if you will. What we experience here exists only here, but what happens to us down here also happens to us back on the shuttle... and since that’s moving, it stays with us.”

“Okay, you keep saying we’re on the shuttle, so why can’t I just alter course or something? Why can’t I see how to fix this?”

“I’m guessing whatever integrates us places our minds here, though I’m not sure why that is, and why us and not our clothing or equipment.”

Mara snapped her fingers. “The Force. That’s it, that’s why we’re doing this. In the Force we are more than our corporeal form, that’s why-“

“That’s why it’s only our bodies,” Annika finished with excitement. “And also why reality would attempt to integrate us; the Force tries to harmonize things in its natural state, right?” She stopped and frowned. “But why can’t you feel the Force sometimes?”

“Maybe it’s like you said, in some realities you and I are just ‘normal.’”

“Maybe... or maybe it has something to do with how we interact with the boundary. Maybe something can be done to allow us to possess our abilities; it helped out a great deal against that foul-mouthed robot, and it would have been even better against the monsters that bit you.”

“I don’t suppose you have any ideas,” Mara asked.

“No.”

Mara considered this. “If I swallow something, can I bring it with us?”

Annika considered. “I don’t see why not. I don’t see what good it’ll do us.”

“Just be nice to have the option open. There’s nothing worth swallowing here, right?”

“Well, I suppose a ring,” Annika said. “Very big on rings here... very advanced technology.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, from the sound of it this guy managed to take some of the different technologies and integrate it. One ring ruled them all, one ring found them, one ring brought them all, but now I guess they just have a single ring that does all three.”

“Well it sounds more useful. Wearing a handful of rings has got to be uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, well I guess there’s a lot of hubbub about the prototype or something, some problem with beta testing. Probably be a good idea if we stayed out of it.”

“Think we could get a look?” Mara asked. “Maybe it could come in handy.”

“Look, first, let’s not go swallowing things unless we have to,” Annika said. “And second, they’re all kind of jumpy. I guess this guy must have tough lawyers, ‘cause they’re all talking about who should go and bring it back to where he lives.” Before Mara could comment the nausea hit.

Annika swiveled her eyes about, because she could do little else. She was fastened to a wall with banded restraints, incapable of even the slightest movement. "Seven?" Mara said. "Seven, I can't move."

"Me neither," Annika said.

"I'm tied up."

"I know, Mara."

Mara was quiet. "I don't like it."

"That's kind of the idea, Mara."

"I'm just not used to this kind of thing," Mara said nervously.

Annika sighed. "Happens to me all the time."

Mara seemed to think it over. "Are they going to torture us?"

"Let's hope not."

"But... you don't know."

"Mara, I got here just like you did."

More silence. "If they... if they did... what would they do?"

"Usually they send in the children first and let them poke us with sticks for a while. After that they crinkle up tinfoil by our ears for a bit. Then they employ the itching powder. After that, they make us watch slides from their vacation."

Mara was quiet. "How big are the sticks?" she asked.

Annika sighed. "There's a reason you're not The Emperor's Brain."

"Look, I'm just having a little trouble coping with this, okay?" Mara said irritably.

"Well- Yeah, okay, I'm sorry. It's just, if that is what they have in mind, the best thing to do is to not dwell on it, okay? If it comes, it comes, and we have no control over it. Use whatever time you have to enjoy the peace and quiet." The door burst open. "Aw kriff."

Ugly bloated aliens came into the room and stood before Annika and Mara, looking them over. "You've been caught stowing away on a Vogon Construction Ship," one of them said finally. "The penalty for this is being tossed out of the airlock into space."

"Will sticks be involved?"

"Silence!" one of the Vogons said, and the others nodded in approval at his wit.

"However," the first Vogon went on, "I will consider sparing your pathetic lives. I will give you a reading of my latest poetry. If you tell me how much you like it... then you will live."

Annika let out a sigh of relief. "See," she whispered to Mara. "Nothing to worry about."
--------------------------------------------------------------

The Vogon guards dragged Annika and Mara down the hall in the direction of the airlock. "Oh for the sweet release of death," Mara said quietly.

"Nothing removing my skull and sandblasting my brain won't solve," Annika agreed.

"I would have preferred the sticks," Mara said.

"Resistance is useless!" the guard said to Mara.

Annika blinked, then looked up at him. "Resistance is futile."

"Resistance is useless!"

"Resistance is futile!"

"Resistance is useless!"

"Resistance is futile!"

"Uh," Mara said pitiably, "Seven, it hurts where I think."

"All I have of the Borg are my words, and I won't let them be misused." The discussion ended, however, with Annika and Mara being tossed into the airlock, the door sealing shut behind them.

"Now what?” Mara asked.

Annika looked about for inspiration, but nothing came. “Let’s hope we jump universes before we asphyxiate.”

“Good plan,” Mara said. “Do we have a plan B?”

“I really doubt this qualifies as a plan A,” Annika remarked. Before any more could be said, the airlock opened and they were sucked out into space. Nausea struck, and fortunately it wasn’t due to floating in the vacuum of space. “See,” Annika said, “nothing to worry about.”

A sound like the breath of a giant came from behind her. Annika saw Mara go pale, and she whirled around; she was face to face with the alien... at least, what counted as a face. It was eyeless, elongated, it had long fangs dripping saliva like a waterfall. More emerged from the shadows around her, their bodies almost insect-like in their construction. Annika was frozen in place, she was so terrified.

And then they sprung.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Annika came to; a lot had happened during their unconsciousness. They were elsewhere, bound to a wall by some kind of organic shell; Mara hung nearby. “Any idea what’s happening?” she asked.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Mara said.

“You’re going to die,” said a voice.

Well, that’s comforting, Annika thought. “Hello?”

“We’re all going to die,” and she saw the man now on the wall nearby.

“What are they going to do to us?” Annika asked. “They’re not going to eat us, right?”

The man laughed bitterly. “No... we’re not food. We’re incubators for the xenomorphs.”

“That’s those things that grabbed us?” Mara asked.

The man nodded bitterly. “Internecivus raptus. Very, very dangerous. Those they don’t kill outright are brought here to host the next generation. They...” He coughed. “They...” He screamed, and Annika and Mara soon joined in as they saw his chest rip open and a small creature emerge, shrieking into the chamber. The two continued shrieking for a time even after it left; after all they’d been through, this was just getting to be too much for even them.

And then there was the sound, so quiet, yet it was impossible to miss... perhaps because it was a portent for something worse. A large pod opened its top, and a long-legged pale thing emerged. Annika and Mara stared, then tried to pull themselves free. It was hopeless; they might as well have been in duracrete. The thing leapt and Mara screamed as it latched onto her head. Annika watched helpless as it grabbed on, wrapping its tail-like whip around her throat. After a few seconds Mara went motionless.

“Mara?” Annika said quietly. “Mara?” She repeated the name, her voice descending into tears as she did so, her grief and terror overwhelming her. There was another of the sounds, like a small wet pop. Annika turned, and she froze in absolute terror. And the thing leapt.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Annika sat in the center of a black void; she looked about it with fear. “Hello?” she called. “Anyone there?”

“Yes,” came the answer.

Annika swallowed. “Who are you?” A shape began to approach her, and she stiffened; but then the familiar features became clear.

“An old friend,” Picard said with a smile.

“Jean-luc?” Annika said with disbelief.

“Ah good, you finally stopped calling me ‘captain,’” he said with a smile. “There’s hope for you yet.”

“Jean-luc,” she said, ignoring the remark, “what are you doing here? This isn’t your reality.”

“Mara was right,” Picard said. “It’s the Force that integrates you into reality, just as it integrates realities with each other.” He smiled at her. “It’s unbound by time and space; is it so shocking to believe it’s unbound by dimensions?”

“I... suppose not,” Annika said. “What’s happening?”

Picard sat cross-legged before her. “Well, right now the xenomorphs are implanting one of their embryos in you and Mara. That’s going to be a bit of a problem.”

“I would say so,” Annika said with slight despair.

“Just keep your head about you,” Picard assured her. “This place... this is not your destiny, not to die as a host to some alien thing. You must return to our realm, Annika. There you will meet your true destiny, your true challenge.”

“And what’s that?”

“To end the struggle between the light and the dark,” Picard said. “And whoever wins that struggle will decide the fate of the galaxies.” He looked grim. “As the Force has both a light and a dark side, so to does Unity. If the light wins, then it will dawn an unending era of peace for all our peoples. If the dark wins... then it will be nothing but suffering and evil without hope for the future.” He folded his hands and gestured at her with them. “That’s why you must return, Annika... why you must fight one last battle for the cause of Unity. Only you can do this.”

“Me?” Annika said. “Why me?”

Picard hesitated, but then spoke. "Whenever something horrible is unleashed, there are usually two individuals responsible: the creator, and the executor. One who realizes it, and one who carries it to fruition." Picard seemed to peer into Seven's soul. "You found the wormhole... and Janeway gave the order to enter. You opened the door, she strode through."

Annika looked at him, uncertain of what to say. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you two have been at the center of this trial since the beginning, and it will continue until the two of you resolve it. Together, you started this; together you must finish it." He offered her a smile. "But don't despair, Annika. You made the right choices. You looked at what came through that wormhole, and you welcomed it with joy. You gave love, happiness, and so you were placed on the side of good; you became the light. You were given the honor of delivering to us the one who would bring lasting peace.

"But Janeway didn't follow your path. She looked at what came, and felt malice, envy. She gave it hate, destruction, stole its power to use against it, so that she was firmly entrenched on the side of evil; she became the dark. And she was chosen to bring about the challenge to Unity... because anything that is to endure must survive challenges.

"This war, Annika, covers two generations. It is a war between the spawn of good and evil. You prepared the way for Sebastian, she prepared the way for the Vong. Only he can hope to defeat them..." He looked gravely at her. "And only you can hope to defeat her."

Annika gaped at him. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea how powerful she is?"

"Yes," Picard said grimly. "It will not be easy. You may not survive."

"'May not survive?' Ben Skywalker couldn't beat her! Jean-luc, in my prime I was barely a match for a Sith apprentice. I'm old, I'm tired, I'm weakened by disease..."

Picard looked down. "You cannot escape your destiny, Annika. Two battles must be won, the one by you, and the one by your son. If either is a defeat, the galaxies will be plunged into unending darkness."

"No pressure," Annika muttered. She caught his look. "Jean-luc, I don't have a chance! She's a Sith Master, probably more powerful than the Emperor, and even Luke couldn't beat him! She's more experienced, cautious, healthier, and stronger."

"But you're smarter. Your mind remains your greatest asset. Use it, Annika! There has to be a way for you to win!"

"I have no idea where to even begin!" she lamented. "How am I supposed to succeed at things Jedi and Sith can't do?"

“I don’t know, Annika,” Picard said. “I only know what I am meant to share with you, but I do know that you can do this, that however great the gulf may seem, that you can overcome it.” And he took her hand in his. “Just remember that you are not that little girl any more,” and his warm expression offered her some comfort. “Just because this must be done by you, doesn’t mean that you have to do this alone.”
--------------------------------------------------------------

Annika opened her eyes; Mara was still along the wall nearby. “How are you doing?” Mara asked.

“I just had my face raped, but other than that, peachy. You?”

“I threw up, so I’m feeling better now.”

Annika looked away a second, wondering what there was to say. “Mara,” she said finally, “even if this thing kills me, I want you to know that I don’t regret what the Oracle did in sending me. You... you have been a very dear friend and I’m- I’m glad I got to know you like this, that I could leave the memories of Darth Whind behind me.” Her lip trembled. “What you allowed Luke to do for me before we left was... it was the nicest gift I’ve ever received, and you have no idea how much it meant to me.” Her voice shook. “And I’m so going to miss you if I get back home.”

Mara offered her a weary smile and started to speak, but then she turned pale again. Annika felt it too... the nausea was much worse this time, and she almost vomited herself. “What’s...” Mara was visibly struggling for control, and Annika felt the same.

“Probably something with the shuttle,” Annika said. “The path isn’t straight, it might be getting jostled about, mired or something.”

“What would that mean?” Mara asked.

“That the passes become more difficult,” Annika said, trying to think. It was just like it had been the first time, overwhelming her senses. “If the shuttle stops altogether, than we’ll remain in whatever reality we land-“

“-in,” she finished as they sat in a forest clearing. The sickness had passed and Mara helped her to her feet.

“No Force,” Mara said with disappointment.

“Hold it,” came a voice from behind them. Mara and Annika just looked at each other and sighed. “Where did you two come from?” the voice demanded.

“It’s a little hard to explain,” Annika said.

“Turn around,” the voice commanded, and they complied. The figure was a blond woman, beautiful and clearly strong based upon her stance. She had a gun of some kind. “You appeared out of nowhere,” the woman said. “How is that possible?”

“Magic,” Annika said.

“Got it?” Mara added.

The woman stepped closer. “What brings you to Caprica, magicians?”

“We’re just passing through,” Annika said.

Number Six offered a disbelieving smirk. “So you say. I think there’s a bit more to your stor-“

Mara leapt. She didn’t have any Force abilities at all, no danger sense, no heightened reflexes, nothing. All she had was the knowledge that she was probably still carrying that horrible little monster inside of her, and if she was going down it wouldn’t be in some cell waiting for her chest to explode. As Number Six moved so did Annika; she didn’t have any Borg enhancements either, but she wasn’t going to just stand by while her best friend was gunned down. A shot rang out, but Mara instinctively managed to twist out of the way while Annika hit the Cylon. The pair went down in a heap as the gun flew from her grip and into the tall grass.

“Mara!” Annika called. “Quick, before she-“ She was tossed aside like she weighed nothing as Six moved and got back to her feet. Mara ran at her, and Six swung around, catching Mara on the side of her head with her foot, knocking her down. Annika ran at her; Six tried the same thing with her, but Annika’s Tsunkatse training paid off as she blocked the strike and followed up with a blow to the Cylon’s face. Unfortunately she didn’t have anywhere near her former strength, and Six was obviously much sturdier than she looked. She grabbed Annika by the throat and squeezed, and there was nothing the now human Annika could do to resist.

Mara ran at her, but Six backhanded her away. Annika raised her foot and kicked a nerve cluster on Six’s knee, and the Cylon dropped. Mara leapt up and swung a haymaker, knocking Six back and away. The hand left Annika’s throat and she gasped for air for a moment before pressing the attack. Six got up and the two women charged her, tackling her to the ground together. Mara and Annika both swung wildly, never relenting in their fight because they knew that the moment they did they’d lose the advantage.

“Stop what you’re doing,” a voice commanded. There was the sound of weapons being readied, and Annika and Mara looked up and saw them. Centurion-model Cylons surrounded them, along with two more copies of the downed Number Six and a few others. “Hands up, back away.” Mara and Annika complied; if it took both of them together to take down one, they didn’t have a prayer this time. “Simon?”

One of the men stepped forward and looked at the fallen Six. “Badly damaged, but she might recover.”

The Number Six who was speaking nodded towards Mara and Annika. “They’re obviously healthy,” she said. “Take them to the Farm; they look like they could produce some strong offspring.”

Mara and Annika glanced at one another. “Everyone wants to impregnate us,” Mara said under her breath.

“They want us alive, anyway,” Annika said. “That gives us time.”

“Time for what? If the shuttle’s mired like you said, then we’re stuck here.”

“We’ll just have to hope that somebody can help us,” Annika said as they were led towards a transport. “And not just for our sake. If Jean-luc’s right, there’s more at stake than even we thought.”

[Crazedwraith]

Oh how I laugh and laugh at this chapter. Especially the Spider-Man section.

And important info from Good ol' Picard as well. Only two left...

Oh and which Zombie universe was that supposed to be? I was thinking "Shaun of the Dead" but thats probably wrong.

[CERC]

ummmm yeah...... good, but very odd.....


CERC

[Chris OFarrell]

Well thats the first time I've been busted in a computer lab for constently breaking out into absurd laughter and getting about 30 people to stare at me like I'm insane....I knew I shouldn't have checked the forums....

And please tell me we're going to cross over to the SG1verse!

[Dalton]

Umn...I have to admit that funny as that bit was, I found it kind of awkward and out of place, especially with the Spiderman stuff. I've always thought that if you do alternate universes, stick to that particular universe, but that's just me.

Picard's scene at the end was great, though.

[Stuart Mackey]

Simply Hilarious...


You could always do a 'Blazing Saddles' number and have them appear in your own home..as you write

[Prozac the Robert]

I'm afraid I'm of the same opinion of Dalton on this. It seemed a bit frivolous. The quotes last chapter were good but this is too much, especially this close to the end of the story.

I would have thought the same effect could have been reached by traveling through alternate ST and SW timelines.

I'm sorry to be like this, I don't really like to criticise when the story is so amazing, but this chapter is a touch off for me.

(That said, I found the lord of the rings section incredibly funny. Telling Elrond to live long and prosper, and the trouble with prototyping and beta testing the ring both made me laugh.)

[LordShaithis]

My appraisals have always been as honest as they were positive, and for the sake of that honesty, Chuck, I have to say: Serious misstep this chapter.

Elrond? Spider-Man? What the hell? After the Hellraiser bit I just started skimming, waiting for things to make sense again.

[Sonnenburg]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your opinions on this chapter. I appreciate your candor, even if you didn't like this part.

The rationalization for this chapter was that DOF has become rather dark, and while that was the intent, it had seemed like the idea of interjecting a) classic characters like Mara and Seven into action, and b) some non-universe defining adventure (meaning that what they were going through wouldn't be titanic battles to shape the galaxy, but simply for their own survival) would provide a much-needed break before things approach the final climax of the story. I suppose the argument could be made that the same could have been accomplished with more standard universes, but since we had already glimpsed that before in AAO, it had seemed like a bit of repetition. But the intent was to provide a bit of fun (even when things seemed to get a bit dark themselves, which was there to illustrate that this was still a dangerous situation nevertheless).

Rest assured, however, that this was the last shift; I contained all that to one chapter in case it was viewed as a distraction.

[Ghost Rider]

I enjoyed the change of pace. It also gave you a chance to use Picard again, and I did love his reaction to it.

Honestly it looks as if almost will left alive...well maybe Han.

[Daltonator]

It's not necessarily a bad thing to have something be very dark. It's always darkest just before dawn.

[Star Empire]

My thought after I read the chapter was that, we just had a long chapter that mainly existed for fun. That makes me scared to think about just how many of the remaining characters you intend on killing off in the last 2 chapters.
It was certainly different, but still very enjoinable, especially the Spiderman and Lord of the Rings stuff.

Edit: Oh, and I also loved the "I have boobs." part.

[Sonnenburg]

It's not necessarily a bad thing to have something be very dark. It's always darkest just before dawn.

No, I'm not apologizing for it being dark. I just thought that among the many common elements of the series: romance, redemption, personal tragedies and triumphs, is a certain amount of fun. There's been a certain gallows humor in the story for a while, but it seemed like a little injection of two girls kicking the shit out of a robot that turns into a cassette tape was needed before we take the final two steps.

[LordShaithis]

I understand what you were trying to do, but let me put it this way: Would Revenge of the Sith have been better if they had inserted a comedy pie-throwing fight right before the final act?