Fanfic: New goodness. Hooray. More as soon as its convenient please.
Sig (Warning: extreme amounts of opinion ahead!): First one is balanced, with good lighting that draws attention back to the text and logo.
The second just looks crowded. It's off-balance too, since you don't have a ship behind Luke & Mara, and the lightsaber looks like a third border, further throwing the sig pic off balance. Furthermore, the right hand characters look like they came out of a comic book (Not that that's a bad thing, if the other characters look similar), and the lighting is inconsistent at best.
Star Trek/Star Wars: The Best of Both Worlds
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Kartr_Kana
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Nice, working a little Lord of the Rings into your Wars/Trek fic.she poured her cruelty, her malice, and her will to dominate.
The first sig is to plain the second to crowded, but I like the second one better
"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldier will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!"
LT. GEN. LEWIS "CHESTY" PULLER, USMC
How's that old tune go again? Oh yeah.
Why so silent, good Monsieurs?/
Did you think that I had left you for good?/
Have you missed me, good Monsieurs?/
I have written you an opera./
Here, I bring the finished score./
Don Juan Triumphant!/
...
Or, as it has been said before, you wanted it? You've got it!
Why so silent, good Monsieurs?/
Did you think that I had left you for good?/
Have you missed me, good Monsieurs?/
I have written you an opera./
Here, I bring the finished score./
Don Juan Triumphant!/
...
Or, as it has been said before, you wanted it? You've got it!
Disclaimer: Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry and owned by Paramount Pictures. Star Wars created by George Lucas and owned by Lucasfilm. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.
Star Trek/Star Wars: The Best of Both Worlds
Author’s Notes: Thanks for your patience as always, guys. I’ll also point out in advance that the layout of this chapter is somewhat unusual in comparison to its predecessors. I realized that there was too much material present in this stage of the Borg attack on Coruscant to simply allow for cross cutting between the multiple storylines or end Act II as initially promised (it’s for that same reason that my original, Ultimate Spider-Man # 100 cliffhanger plan for all the subplots isn’t likely going to work as I’d originally planned). So, I hope it doesn’t bother you as you sit back and, as always, enjoy the continuing fight to save the Milky Way Galaxy and that Galaxy Far, Far Away…
Musical Notes: For your musical enjoyment, I recommend the following tracks:
* “Industrial Heist” from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
* “Minas Morgul” from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
* “Rock House Jail” from The Rock
***
Act II, Part XX
“Use humility to make the enemy haughty. Tire them by flight. Cause division among them. When they are unprepared, attack and make your move when they do not expect it."
- Sun Tzu -
***
Location: Coruscant
That Galaxy Far, Far Away
One of the boldest moves undertaken by the Dominion during their war with the Federation had been the capture of the world of Betazed. While not one of the founding Federation worlds, Betazed was nonetheless a key influence in that government’s affairs and a strategic target. Control of the planet would grant any victor a staging ground for strikes against the core worlds of the UFP, from Vulcan and Andor to Alpha Centuri and from there, Earth itself. The shock of the planet’s fall had only been overshadowed by the unexpected entry of the Romulan Star Empire into the fray days later and the Breen’s raid on San Francisco the following year.
The Enterprise-E had been in the midst of dealing with Gorn Warlord Slessshh’s coup of his homeworld’s political caste when news of the invasion had reached them. Deanna had felt horror and disbelief at the fall of her homeworld, a horror only enhanced via her empathic senses months later when she had partaken in the liberation of the conquered world. It was a sense on a scale that she had prayed she would never be subjected to again.
Now, less than four years later, Deanna’s empathic system was being overloaded on a scale she had never envisioned. Coruscant’s planetary population was a population that had survived one Separatist, two Republic, and one Imperial invasion within the last fifty standard years. And yet, the old wheel turned and same spoke had come up once more.
The fear was palpable, though the confusion was greater. After all, while they had only become familiar with their alien ways within the last eighteen months, these people had been expecting such an attack to come from the Yuuzhan Vong, not their supposed new allies from the Milky Way Galaxy.
Deanna sighed. Whether the Borg knew it or not, they were harvesting the seeds of distrust planted by Section 31. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Picard had confessed to the Federation team the greater significance of the Zweller footage. Troi had always known that there had been more going on during the Geminus Gulf incident six years earlier, but Picard had always refused to speak of it
Vaughn in turn had confessed himself to be a staunch member of the Kirk Cabal. The group, he had related, had been founded by Captain James T. Kirk himself in 2269 after the legendary captain had uncovered the existence of Section 31 following the Lantaru Sector incident. The cabal had remained a loose-knit alliance in the century since, seeking out and foiling Section 31’s operations and goals wherever and whenever they could. Vaughn had approached Picard after the Geminus Gulf incident six years previous and the Captain had maintained loose ties with them.
“I don’t like this.”
Deanna glanced over at the Vaughn. The centenarian Starfleet operative was staring at the Gray Spirit’s sensor board, shaking his head at the Nubian tactical readout. The entire Federation delegation, sans the Captain, had relocated to Quital’s ship, the Gray Spirit. While they were safer within the suites of 500 Republica, they needed access to the planetary communications networks and up-to-date sensory input.
“What is it Elias?”
“This entire conflict goes completely against Borg mentality and tactics. They have the element of surprise, the superior firepower, and the numbers to boot. Yet, they’re only harassing the minefield and not directly engaging the Republic Navy en masse. They’ve only lobbed off a handful of torpedoes at the planetary shields too.”
Drawing upon the ECH programming that he had adapted into his program and his own experiences with the Collective, the Doctor mulled over Vaughn’s analysis.
“In addition, despite the arrival of Federation reinforcements, they haven’t seriously threatened Enterprise or any of our ships.”
“So, what are they waiting for,” inquired Queen Quital, who had been keeping her eyes focused on the sky beyond the transparisteel canopy and the occasional ripples in the planetary shield. Deanna realized that she must have been experiencing unwelcome comparisons and flashbacks at the prospect of being present at another planetary invasion.
Vaughn glanced back at Troi.
“Deanna, can you sense anything?
“It’s difficult to cut through the emotions of Coruscant’s population and fleet, but the best feeling I can get beyond the usual state of the Collective is a hint of…anticipation.”
Nobody liked the sound of that. From the back of the cockpit, Scotty spoke his mind.
“Could it be that they’re still assimilating Republic technology?”
“That is indeed possible,” interjected Data, “However, if the Collective has been operating out of the shadows, if Unimatrix Zero was working for them, then they have had over a month to analyze and access Republic technology from both sides of the Nubian wormhole. Commander Vaughn’s misgivings would therefore appear to be well-founded.”
“So, back to the earlier question: what the hell are they doing?” Vaughn asked again.
“I’d be more worried about what your Captain’s doing,” came the voice of Leia from the rear cabin entrance. A commlink was in her hand and an even wearier expression on her face. With Quital’s gracious permission, she had been utilizing the private communications array to help direct the possible evacuation of refugees and other civilians. Deanna knew that the weary expression went beyond that simple coordination.
The Princess had not taken kindly to the revelation of Section 31 and the possibly irreparable damage it had done to the chance of an alliance.
“What are you talking about?”
“That comm was from NRMOC. Your Captain just made a bad situation even worse. Apparently he assaulted Kuati Senator Viqi Shesh.”
“Ambassador, I know he’s been under incalculable stress as of late, but Jean-Luc Picard does not snap or assault without provocation. Did Shesh provoke him or did something else happen?”
Leia could sense that Deanna was telling the truth, was certain about her faith in her Captain. And yet…
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “NRMOC’s more furious with the breach of security from your transporters.
A quizzical frown spread across Commander Vaughn’s face.
“What?”
“They’re claiming he vanished via one of your transporter beams after assaulting the Senator. They want a good explanation before having to issue any warrants or taking your team into custody.”
Vaughn’s frown deepened and he tapped his combadge.
“Commander Elias Vaughn to Enterprise.”
“This is Admiral Janeway,” came a static-ridden reply. “We’re a little busy at the moment, Commander. Can this wait?”
“I’m afraid not. Admiral, did you beam Captain Picard up from the surface?”
More static graced the commlink channel, followed by what appeared to be the sound of the discharging of a torpedoes tubes.
“Sorry; Borg Sphere popped up on our stern. No, neither we or any other Starfleet ship have utilized transporters since the battle began.”
Vaughn’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing and producing possible explanations. The Dominion hadn’t even come through the Nubian Wormhole, so their advanced transporters could be eliminated. There were none of the other Alpha or Beta Quadrant transporter-capable races in the vicinity either – though given how that unknown Thalaron ship had penetrated the Sector 001 perimeter, it was a possibility. And the Republic didn’t even have transporter technology which, excluding the Thalaron ship possibility, could only mean…
Shit.
“Admiral, I think we have to consider the possibility that the Borg have captured Captain Picard.”
***
“Welcome home, Locutus.”
Picard was awash in whirlwind of emotions. Vying for supremacy at that moment were fear and confusion. One moment he had been on the verge of throwing Kuati Senator Viqi Shesh through the NRMOC tactical room viewer and a moment later, he found himself back in the heart of the darkness that haunted his nightmares, facing the bemused countenance of the woman…no, this thing upon whose hands lay the blood of billions.
But he had read Admiral Janeway’s report about what her alternate future counterpart had attempted at the Unicomplex. Too all appearances, the Borg Collective appeared to have been crippled. Had she failed? Had Axum either been lying or unaware that the Collective had resurfaced, using him as his instrument?
“The Collective always survives, Locutus,” she said, as if reading his mind – or was she? He could still hear the Collective’s thoughts; it was only probable that the link worked both ways.
“We are eternal. However, we presently required a little nudge from our brethren in the future.”
“The future?”
“Oh yes. Like your Federation’s relationship with the Collective, an exercise in predestination was required. From there, it was relatively simple exercise. Manipulate Axum and Unimatrix Zero without his knowledge. Eliminate key players from the board, from the Dominion to Temporal Cold War’s main factions.
The Queen knew that Picard could not know of either the Temporal Cold War or the two-hundred year old transmission the collective had received in the early 2360’s from the Alpha Quadrant. It was that transmission that had led to scouting of the Romulan Neutral Zone and the encounter with the Enterprise-D at J-25 a year later, thus beginning the Borg’s goal of assimilating that region and the mission to 2063 that had set the transmission into motion.
She didn’t particularly care about his possible confusion for the once and future Locutus would certainly understand what she was about to say next.
“Do you understand that? We’ve already won. We are the Neo-Borg. I am the Neo-Borg. And the mistakes that led to the Old Collective’s fall will not repeat themselves. Resistance is and always has been futile.”
***
When first contact had been made with the United Federation of Planets, Dif Scaur had marveled at certain aspects of this brave new world, most especially the transporter technology – though the mysterious thalaron generator of that phantom ship was, given its effectiveness against the Yuuzahn Vong, a close second. The benefits it could provide to intelligence gathering and operations was momentous.
Now a month later, Scaur was cursing at the security breach and the double edged sword that such marvelous technology wielded as he strode into the NRMOC chamber. Scaur wasn’t full certain whether or not to believe Picard’s testimony and impassioned plea before the Senate. He at least believed that the Captain had had no part in this apparent conspiracy. And it wouldn’t have surprised him that a government such as the Federation would maintain a covert-ops group unknown even to its highest rulers; the Alpha Blue and Alpha Red divisions he maintained were proof of that in the New Republic.
But regardless, some manner of conspiracy was afoot and Scuar was furious at it and how it had been brought out into the open. While NRI had recorded this Zweller’s infiltration, Scaur hadn’t been planning on disclosing what was now being called the Thirty-One footage to his superiors just yet. And with the chaos of the Senate proceedings and the Borg attack, he was most curious to have a little chat with the Kuati Senator and discover just how in the hell she had managed to get her dainty little hands on it.
And speaking of which…
Scaur found the Senator glaring at a military adjutant as he passed. He chose to ignore her and instead focus for a moment on Supreme Commander Sien Sovv. The Sullustan was furiously conferring with subordinates and Orbital Defense. They were, from what Scaur could infer, still debating on whether to risk activating the minefield and directing it towards the Collective’s vessels. He turned his attention back to Shesh and her argument with the adjutant.
“…is claiming that no Starfleet vessel has beamed him or utilized transporter technology,” the officer was saying.
“A blatant lie,” Shesh retorted. “It is clear beyond any doubt now that the Federation is a threat to us. Their captains will attempt to dissuade and pacify us while their Section 31 attacks us from within and their Borg allies from without.”
She turned to face Sovv.
“Supreme Commander, perhaps it would be prudent to order that all active mines in the planetary minefield be activated. The loss of any Republic ships is minor compared to the advantage that could be gained by eliminating both the main Borg and Federation fleets simultaneously.
Sovv looked ready to throw his cup of stimcaf at her and Scaur himself was tempted to hold her in place so as to ensure the porcelain projectile found its mark. But as NRI Director, it was his dusty to resist such impulses and watched impassively.
“Shesh, for the last time, you do not dictate policy of our planetary defense
“As a member of NRMOC, I do and I am not telling you, I am ordering you to—”
The Senator was cut off by the sudden and distinct whine of a transporter beam behind her. Or rather, the distinct whines of many transporter beams. Shesh slowly turned around, coming face to face with multiple pillars of sickly yellow-green light. Through the transparisteel walls, Scaur could see dozens more beaming in throughout the adjacent chambers and corridors of the Senate building and its adjacent NRDF offices.
The pillars dematerialized into the shape of Borg drones, clearly of the tactical variety based upon their extensive armor and the multiple weapons emitters pointed at the NRMOC staff and military officers.
“Resistance is futile.”
***
“Anything?”
“No,” replied Quital from the main sensor readout station on the Gray Spirit’s bridge. At Vaughn’s request, she had come up from the main communications array. “If your Starfleet sensors couldn’t detect his combadge or biometric signature, what chance do you think a Nubian sensor suite will have?”
“It was worth a shot,” shrugged Troi. “Perhaps if—”
“Sithspawn!”
The uncharacteristic curse had come from Leia, her ear to her personal comm and pure, utter shock spreading across her distinguished features.
“What now?”
“Borg have just beamed into NRMOC and adjacent NRSDF facilities.”
“Makes sense,” Vaughn quickly replied. “If they could nab Picard, then they could easily beam through the planetary shields. Are they in danger of being overrun?”
“Yes.”
That was all Lt. Munro needed to hear as he tapped his combadge and began to tap the controls to his Hazard Suit’s personal transporter buffer, having changed into it suit the moment the Borg had begun their attack on the planet. While Picard had forbade weapons being present at any talks, like Vaughn and the cricket phaser, that hadn’t stopped Munro from keeping several aces in the hole.
“Vaughn to Enterprise.”
“We received the distress call,” came the voice of Tuvok. “On Admiral Janeway’s orders, Ensigns Chang, Gonzales, and Korban are suiting up to beam down to NRMOC alongside Lieutenant Munro.”
Munro frowned at that. Why them? Where were Telsia, Chell, Stockman, or Jurot, the other half of the reformed Hazard Team?
“Tuvok, where the hell’s the other half of my team?”
“They are on another mission, Lieutenant. It could not be helped. We’ll be initiating site-to-site transport in thirty seconds.”
Scotty frowned.
“Donna tell me ye can you get through the planetary shields?” the old engineer asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” came the voice of Admiral Janeway, joining Tuvok’s in the transmission. ”They have been lowered over the Senate District, though not by our request or Republic command.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” murmured Vaughn, meeting Scotty’s worried gaze.
“Nor do we. The Fusion Cube is positioning itself for a run over that sector. Enterprise and other ships are moving to intercept it so we’ll have one shot at beaming.”
“Make that multiple beamings,” Vaughn replied, going into order mode. “I’ll be returning to the Enterprise; there’s not much else we can do down here.”
“Same here,” said Scotty, rising from his chair. “Counselor?”
“I can continue to coordinate the evacuation of 500 Republica and other local civilian centers,” said Deanna.
“We’ll be fine. Deal with this cybernetic monstrosities,” agreed Quital.
“Alright, Mr. Data, Doctor, you’re with Munro,” he stated and Munro didn’t argue. In addition to his artificial advantages, Data was also the best chance at hacking through any Borg programming as Chell, the Hazard Team’s usual hacker, was God knows where back in the Milky Way.
As Munro chucked his assault rifle, he found Ambassador Solo staring at him and then back at Quital, an uncertain, almost distant look upon her features.
“Ambassador,” he said, “I know you wish to assist with the evacuation, but if we’re beaming into hell, we could really use a Force-sensitive and Kyle Katarn’s not here.”
Leia starred first at Munro and then at the other members of the Starfleet team in addition to Quital. She was attempting to remain calm, but her inner core seethed with emotion. Thoughts of her anger at the revelation of Section 31, of the horror and suffering inflicted on her and her family by the Yuuzhan Vong, of the very same manner of corruption and bureaucracy that brought down the Old Republic returning to wreck havoc on the next generation.
Fear and anger are the paths to the Dark Side, came the remembered voice of Luke from their private instructions. Trust in the guidance of the Force.
So, she did just that. She opened herself to the Force, allowing its energy and familiar presence to guide her, to attempt to understand what its will was.
And there it was.
The Force was telling her to trust Starfleet once again, that once again, there was still more to come and that they were just as integral to the coming tides of war as the Jedi.
She sighed. She wondered at times how Luke was able to feel faith in the guidance of an energy field whose will was infuriating at times. Leia withdrew from the contact with the Force, opened her eyes and reached for her lightsaber hilt to bring it up to a fighting position. Small smiles spread across the assemblage of officers, aliens, and monarchs.
“Enterprise, initiate site-to-site transport,” ordered Vaughn.
“High ho, high ho, it’s off to work we go,” the EMH murmured as they dissolved into the blue shimmering light of the transporter beam.
***
While the analysis of Intelligence had kept Scaur behind a desk since joining – and eventually, running – NRI, that hadn’t meant that he had fallen behind in his weapons training. The Director regularly engaged in personal combat simulations and sparring matches with both organic opponents and mechanical substitutes.
But that hadn’t prepared him for the ferocity of something like the Borg.
Scaur was in the process of emptying his hold-out blaster and was cornered. The Senate guards and other MP’s had been taken out. Scaur heard Shesh screamed in genuine terror on the other side of the chamber. He watched along her as Sovv was thrown up against the transparisteel and the drone’s tubules penetrated the fat folds of the Sullustan’s neck. The Supreme Commander’s skin pallor seemed to turn even grayer than usual and his breathing intensified.
Scaur was stunned at the swiftness with which the Borg’s assimilation had taken over Sovv and the pain and suffering that had etched itself across his face. He didn’t fear death, but if this was what his fate was to be, he’d rather –
“I-Mods, now!”
Scaur frowned at the new voices coming from outside the entry portal. From his angle, he could not see who was issuing the command
“Fire!”
Multiple purple blasts of energy instantly traveled through the open entry portal, felling half the drones, including the one that had cornered the Intelligence Director.
Simultaneously, an orange phaser blast slammed into Sovv and the Sullustan’s form crumpled to the floor.
Cautiously, Scaur moved out into the open and found three humanoid males and one woman in armored variations of the Starfleet uniform striding into the chamber. They were flanked by Ambassador Leia Organa Solo, her lightsaber drawn. Shesh stared first at them, then towards Sovv, then back, a most unkind look blazing in her eyes.
“Did you just kill our Supreme Commander?!”
“Stunned him,” replied Munro tersely. “Doc, see to him. See if you can stall any further steps of the assimilation process, do it.”
“I won’t promise anything,” the EMH muttered as he moved towards the fallen Admiral and loaded a sedative into his hypospray just in case the phaser stun was not enough. Data immediately moved to the operations consoles and began accessing Republic tech.
“He’s accessing restricted material!” Shesh nearly screeched as Munro and the other Hazard Team members meanwhile reloaded their weapons and took stock of the situation.
.
“Mr. Data is attempting to prevent the Borg programming from penetrating your systems any more than it already has. Now, Senator and Mister…?”
“Scaur. NRI Director Dif Scaur.”
“…Mr. Scaur, you’d better get behind us.” As the Senator and Intelligence Director obeyed his command – the former more surprisingly, Munro couldn’t help but note – he turned to face the remaining Borg, who were simply starring at him. They were clearly studying and preparing for this new interference.
“Resistance is Futile.”
“Uh-huh.” Munro decided to try a different tact. “Alright, listen up your cybernetic assholes. You’ve got five seconds to beam back up to whatever Cube or Sphere or geometric shape you came from before—”
Munro was shocked speechless as the Borg drone closest to him suddenly exploded with activity and charged at him. Munro barely had time to leap out of the way, nearly colliding with the bowl-like holo-projector standing at the center of the NRMOC chamber. The Hazard Team had faced Tactical Drones on two separate occasions while the Voyager had been stranded in the Delta Quadrant. How in the hell could a drone move that fast?
More uncharacteristic behavior on the part of the Borg. Just wonderful.
“I-Mods!”
“They’ve adapted to the I-Mods!” yelled Chang, ducking as his shot failed to penetrate the Borg’s personal shield.
“Then go to assault rifles or the Quantum Burst or hand to hand if you have—”
Munro was cut off as the feisty drone’s arm came toward him again, its assimilation tubules extended and primed –
-- and watched in awe as Leia’s blade sliced through the Borg armor, sending the arm to the floor. Before the drone had time to recover, Leia concentrated and with a push of her hand, sent it flying across the room and into the transpartisteel viewing port, shattering it and nearly covering the Doctor and the assimilated Sovv in wreckage.
“I’m a Doctor, not a trash compactor,” the EMH yelled. Leia smirked slightly at that and then even more as Munro looked at the fallen drone, then at Leia, then back at the drone, and finally, back to Leia.
“You know, we really need to replicate a few of those for the Hazard Team,” he said, point at her lightsaber.
“I second the motion,” growled Korban. The Klingon Hazard Team operative was clearly impressed by the ancient weapon of the Jedi.
Before Leia could respond, multiple echoes of “Resistance is futile,” filled the chamber. Everyone turned around and faced the entry portal to the NRMOC chamber and the threat that approached them. At least a hundred more drones, some clothed in the garb of MP’s and Senate security officials, were racing down from the adjacent corridors and further back with more on the way.
“Guys, I think we’re in trouble.
***
Flanked by a dozen Y and X-Wings and Peregrine-class fighters, the Enterprise-E soared over the dorsal hull of a Majestic-class Heavy Cruiser of the New Republic Navy. Shortly beyond it, a smaller Blockade Runner-style Corellian Corvette was engaging a Cube and had found itself caught in one of the titanic vessel’s tractor beams.
“Lock onto the tractor emitter and blow it to hell,” ordered Janeway. Tuvok nodded and with a tap of the tactical board, two photon torpedoes and several lances of phaser fire streaked out from the forward weapons array and launcher. They were accompanied by a barrage of laser fire, ion blasts, and proton torpedoes from the fighters. The emitter’s shielding wavered for a moment, then exploded, taking the local shield generator with it. The beam instantly vanished and the Corvette surged forward as quickly as its engines allowed it.
From behind the Enterprise-E, the Majestic-class cruiser rose up and contributed its own barrage to the now vulnerable section of the cube. The explosive fire gutted a section of the hull roughly the size of a Galaxy-class saucer section. Flotsam and drones flew through space, eliciting a small cheer on the fighter comm frequency.
“The Cube is pulling away.”
“Continue on course. ETA to Fusion Cube?”
“Two minutes.” He paused, then added, Admiral, there is a possibility that Captain Picard may have been beamed onto the Fusion Cube.”
“If we’ve got a chance to beam him out we will, if not…”
Janeway hated friendly fire, hated having to kill a fellow officer in the line of duty, especially one as renowned and liked as Jena-Luc Picard. But if there was only a choice of destroying the Fusion Cube with Picard on it, then Janeway had to conclude, much as it galled her, that the Captain of the Starship Enterprise was expendable.
“Admiral,” came the voice of Tuvok, cutting into her thoughts, “the planetary shields over the Senate district are coming back online. They will be fully operational again in less than one minute.”
The words were barely out of the Vulcan’s mouth when the comm crackled to life.
“…mmit, come in Enterprise!”
Janeway frowned at the familiar voice.”
“Lieutenenat Munro?”
“…ck, we can’t hold NRMOC or the Senate, I repeat, we cannot hold the NRMOC. They’ve adapted and the drones are like nothing we’ve seen before."
Commander Data’s voice now entered the transmission,
“…they have injected nanoprobes into the systems and are taking them over. I am attempting to lock out the Republic systems, but have thus far been unsuccessful. At the rate we are being overrun, I cannot regain control of their systems.”
“Janeway to Transporter Room 3, beam the Hazard Team and as many non-Borg out of NRMOC chambers as you can! As soon as our shields are restored, ready a spread of transphasic torpedoes at the Cube, Mr. Tuvo”
Tense seconds passed by as the Enterprise fired all forward phaser arrays at any weapons emplacement to cover any enemy weapons exchange while the flagship remained in her vulnerable state . Tuvok’s console beeped once more.
“Shields have been restored. Transporter activity is now impossible within that sector.”
“Transporter Room?” Janeway asked, her voice laced with anticipation and fear.
“Bridge, we have them and several high-ranking Republic officials.”
“Send them up here. Mr. Tuvok, at your pleasure.”
“Firing torpedoes.”
***
“Resistance is and always has been futile,” said the Queen, circling Picard, a look of satisfaction and triumph materializing on her face at the sight of Picard’s stressed appearance.
No, no, no!
He balled his firsts. He would not give into his fears, He would not allow this avatar of darkness and pure evil to dictate defeat to him. Picard drew upon every fiber of strength and confident as he mustered his best commanding tone.
“You’re wrong. We’ve drawn the line in the sand, we’ve stood our ground, and we’re still here. Look there,” he said, pointing to the rotating Situation Cube and the converging Starfleet and Republic vessels.” He continued, “We will—”
“Locutus, do the Collective a favor and cease with the rhetoric,” she replied in a dismissive, almost bored tone. “This is not a matter of a single cube every six years. The entire weight of the Collective has been brought to bear upon—
Before the Queen could continue, the chamber rocked, sending the Queen and Picard off blanace.
"Report."
“Weapons impact at junctions 5-A9, W-R0, 0-07, 0-52, 1-98, S-G1, and 3-1S. Source: Seven transphasic torpedoes fired from vessel at spatial coordinates 939-411. Vessel identified as U.S.S. Enterprise, Registry NCC-1701-E, Sovereign-class. Vessel flanked by U.S.S. Mora—”
“Enough,” she snapped, cutting off the tirade of the Collective’s voice. She stared at the situation cube for another moment before turning back to face Picard. There almost seemed to be a sadistic smirk etched into her deathly pale face.
“I believe it is time to greet another old acquaintance.”
***
Admiral Janeway grimaced as the damage caused by the barrage of futuristic weaponry all but vanished as the Borg Fusion Cube’s surface regenerated.
She should have expected this. After all, the Sphere that had chased Voyager through the Conduit two years earlier had all but penetrated the armor, showing that her counterpart’s shuttle and its technology had been assimilated and countered. Janeway had hoped that would not be an issue, that this new Collective would not possess the countermeasure, but she was obviously wrong.
Still, we can given them hell.
“Mr. Katanga, bring us around to starboard. Mr. Tuvok, prepare another barrage and coordinate it with the—”
Janeway was cut off. Mr. Katanga and the bridge crew seemed to waver and blink in and out of existence for a moment. They and the bridge dematerialize and winked out of existence to be replaced by the all too familiar, nightmarish features of the Borg Queen’s personal command chamber. To one side stood Captain Picard and circling around him was –
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes. Restrain her.”
There was a sense of jubilation and delight being present within the Queen’s voice as she issued the order and as Janeway suddenly found her arms cuffed and held in place by two Borg tactical drones. The dynamic duo forcibly escorted her to the Queen’s central alcove and thrust her into position. A green force field crackled to life, isolating the Admiral from the Queen and her other prisoner.
“It’s better to be safe in dealing with a Janweway, no matter what time or quadrant they’re from,” she noted aloud but really to no one in particular. “But we have something more…special planned for you than simple assimilation.”
“And me?”
“You’re here to bear witness, Locutus. Do you see it now? We now have control over the NRMOC facility and the Senate and from there, their ties to the rest of the planet. I also have the vaunted Admiral Kathryn Janeway in my possession. Do you realize what that means?”
“That your superiors in the future weren’t careful about making sure you weren’t a few docking ports short of a space dock?”
“That the time is upon us, that it is time to begin the endgame of this stage of the expansion: the assimilation of Coruscant.”
***
“...shields are holding and the last torpedo’s away,” reported the Ralroost’s tactical officer. “We’re down to the starboard turbolasers and the gunnery crews report they’re on the verge of melting.”
Krey’Fey struggled to hold onto his command chair as his beloved Bothan Assault Cruiser took another hit, it’s SIF groaning in protest at the latest volley from the Borg armada.
“Keep having them fire as long as they can. Engine status?”
“Still at peak efficiency.”
Then that’ll have to do, thought Krey’Fey, his mind already plotting out what he should do if Ralroost was still intact within the next few minutes. They were going to get as many shots off as they could. And then, if no other choice remained, he was going to order the crew to head for the escape pods, assume sole command of the cruiser, and plunge it directly into the nearest Cube.
Satisfied at what would be his final move in the game, Krey’Fey reached for the cracked remains of his command chair’s personal data pad. It would take a moment to plot out the most efficient –
Zwoop!
Krey’Fey blinked in surprised as the monitor and all other bridge displays flickered on and off.
“All systems are shutting down, Admiral.”
“Go to auxiliary systems,” Krey’Fey commanded. The crewman scanned his board and then shook his head.
“They’re not responding.”
“Sir! The Fleet!” came the cry of another officer. Krey’Fey glanced up through the transparisteel bridge viewports and felt a chill run through his body. Republic vessels of all shapes and sizes from fighters to frigates to cruisers to battleships were drifting lazily in space, their engines cold, their running lights down, and their weapons systems silenced.
What in the seven hells is going on?
***
Vaughn’s eyes narrowed in disbelief as Tuvok’s report of the impossible. With Admiral Janeway abducted by the Borg, the chain of command for the Enterprise-E and the fleet had fallen to the highest ranking officer – in this case, Vaughn.
“All Republic stations, mines, and ships have gone offline?
“All engines have shut down, weapons systems have been disengaged.”
“Does that include fighters?”
“I don’t think it matters,” came an aristocratic and unwanted voice from the rear of the bridge.
It was Senator Viqi Shesh, followed by Ambassador Solo, Data, Munro, and tall, sinewy pale man whom Vaughn was not familiar with. Shesh paid none of the Starfleet crew
“Our Supreme Commander has been assimilated and left behind by your away team, your allies have taken the Senate District. Combined with this Section 31 conspiracy business and I will—”
“Lassie, would you please spare this old Scotsman that rubbish and shut your bloody keghole?” Scotty all but screamed.
“For the sake of the current battle state, I must respectfully repeat Captain Scott’s…request, Senator Shesh. And believe me, we’re not part of any Thirty-One conspiracy. Take it from someone who knows how those nut jobs work,” he said and left it that as he turned to face Munro.
“Sovv was assimilated?”
Muro nodded. “The Doc tried to stabilize him and halt the spread of the nanoprobes. He said he needed full access to a sickbay facility. Unfortunately, we were overrun and the Transporter crew wasn’t able to beam him up before the Senate shields were restored. With Sovv assimilated and the Senate and NRSDF systems in their hands, then they could easily have gotten a hold of the override and lockout codes.”
“Unfortunately, that means we’re the only ships left unaffected,” Vaughn said, stroking his beard in thought. “Mr. Tuvok, how many Borg ships remain?”
“On the order of at least slightly under 7,000.”
“And our fleet assets?
“140 Starfleet vessels have either been destroyed or disabled.”
“Dammit. Alright, order all ships to regroup at coordinates—”
Without warning, the lights dimmed, and all LCARS and systems displays winked out and began flickering on and off again. Warning clicks and beeps of all kinds began issuing from every console on the bridge.
“Report,” Vaugnn yelled.
“Main control is being rerouted,” replied Tuvok. Data have moved to the adjacent operations console and equally hard at work inputting queries and commands. “Key systems are going offline.”
“We’re not even connected to the NRMOC situation room or the planetary defense systems; how are they hacking into our system?”
“I am assessing that now, Commander. They are connecting to the Starfleet computers via…”
Tuvok frowned and tapped his console again, verifying the original results.
“The connection is being made through the Transwarp Coil,” he reported at last.
Vaughn and the other bridge officers starred at Tuvok for a long moment, understanding slowly dawning on their faces.
At Unimatrix Zero’s offer, Starfleet had had transwarp coils installed on a number of ships expected to be deployed to counter Yuuzhan Vong incursions into the Naboo and nearby star systems. After all, even with the latest advances in warp drive capabilities, it would take Starfleet decades just to make their way through the Republic. With transwarp, of course, such travel time. would be drastically cut donw.
Even if the Alliance had fallen through, they would still have given Research and Development a field day – or rather months or even years – in reverse-engineering the high-warp speed technology that Starfleet had sough since the days of the Excelsior project. But regardless, Unimatrix Zero had installed the coils in hundreds of Starfleet ships.
All of this flashed through Vaughn’s finely-honed mind in a matter of a moments before his hand tapped the communications console, sending out a hail to the entire fleet.
“This is Commander Elias Vaughn of the Enterprise to all transwarp –capable ships. Disengage your transwarp coils! I repeat, disengage your coils or destroy them before the Borg seize control of your vessels’ systems.”
Before the channel had even closed, he slapped his combadge.
“Commander Vaughn to Engineering!”
“We’re trying to disengage it,” came the angry voice of LaForge. “The damm thing’s got a mind of its own. It’s initiated system lock-outs and security measures.”
Vaughn swore, memories of the transcripts of recordings of the M-5 Computer debacle and its initiation of security systems flashing in his mind.
“Commander LaForge, I don’t care if you have to destroy Main Engineering, destroy the damm thing at any cost.”
“I’ll get down there and give the lad a hand,” Scotty half-yelled from the turbolift, unaffected by the system disruptions and already on his way down. Vaughn turned back to face Tuvok.
“What about the Tactical and Life Support systems?”
“They have disabled tactical functions, though they have not yet made contact with life support. Mr. Data and I are attempting to…”
Tuvok was cut off by the urgent series of beeps from the tactical board.
“Commander, all of the Borg ships are converging on the Republic Capital.”
Vaughn turned, his gaze fixed on the image displayed on the forward viewscreen.
“My god.”
Commander Elias Vaughn, Princess Leia Organa Solo, Senator Viqi Shesh, Director Dif Scaur, and the Enterprise-E’s bridge crew watched helplessly are countless Borg vessels, from the smallest Interceptor to the Fusion Cube simultaneously discharged tens of thousands of torpedoes into Coruscant’s atmosphere.
***
To be continued…
***
Annotations
* Warlord Slessshh and his coup of the Gorn political caste was shown in KJA’s TNG graphic novel The Gorn Crisis.
* Deanna’s role in the liberation of her homeworld is detailed in Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney’s TNG novel The Battle of Betazed.
* The Kirk Cabal first appeared at the end of the S.D. Perry’s TOS novel Section 31: Cloak. Vaughn’s status as a member of the group was revealed in David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang’s DS9 novel Section 31: Abyss.
* You didn’t think I forgot about the Hazard Team, did you? Actually, I almost wrote myself into a corner there. I had thought I’d put the entire team onto the Titan and was relieved to discover that only half of them were en route to the Neutral Zone.
* In Elite Force II, Jorge Gonzales was a crewman onboard the Dallas which was attacked by (then) unknown aliens. After being saved by the Enterprise, he requested a transfer and served with the Hazard Team before being KIA. While EFII is set post-Nemesis, I chose to a.) Keep Jorge alive and more importantly, b.) Have him serving on the Enterprise rather than the Dallas.
Star Trek/Star Wars: The Best of Both Worlds
Author’s Notes: Thanks for your patience as always, guys. I’ll also point out in advance that the layout of this chapter is somewhat unusual in comparison to its predecessors. I realized that there was too much material present in this stage of the Borg attack on Coruscant to simply allow for cross cutting between the multiple storylines or end Act II as initially promised (it’s for that same reason that my original, Ultimate Spider-Man # 100 cliffhanger plan for all the subplots isn’t likely going to work as I’d originally planned). So, I hope it doesn’t bother you as you sit back and, as always, enjoy the continuing fight to save the Milky Way Galaxy and that Galaxy Far, Far Away…
Musical Notes: For your musical enjoyment, I recommend the following tracks:
* “Industrial Heist” from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
* “Minas Morgul” from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
* “Rock House Jail” from The Rock
***
Act II, Part XX
“Use humility to make the enemy haughty. Tire them by flight. Cause division among them. When they are unprepared, attack and make your move when they do not expect it."
- Sun Tzu -
***
Location: Coruscant
That Galaxy Far, Far Away
One of the boldest moves undertaken by the Dominion during their war with the Federation had been the capture of the world of Betazed. While not one of the founding Federation worlds, Betazed was nonetheless a key influence in that government’s affairs and a strategic target. Control of the planet would grant any victor a staging ground for strikes against the core worlds of the UFP, from Vulcan and Andor to Alpha Centuri and from there, Earth itself. The shock of the planet’s fall had only been overshadowed by the unexpected entry of the Romulan Star Empire into the fray days later and the Breen’s raid on San Francisco the following year.
The Enterprise-E had been in the midst of dealing with Gorn Warlord Slessshh’s coup of his homeworld’s political caste when news of the invasion had reached them. Deanna had felt horror and disbelief at the fall of her homeworld, a horror only enhanced via her empathic senses months later when she had partaken in the liberation of the conquered world. It was a sense on a scale that she had prayed she would never be subjected to again.
Now, less than four years later, Deanna’s empathic system was being overloaded on a scale she had never envisioned. Coruscant’s planetary population was a population that had survived one Separatist, two Republic, and one Imperial invasion within the last fifty standard years. And yet, the old wheel turned and same spoke had come up once more.
The fear was palpable, though the confusion was greater. After all, while they had only become familiar with their alien ways within the last eighteen months, these people had been expecting such an attack to come from the Yuuzhan Vong, not their supposed new allies from the Milky Way Galaxy.
Deanna sighed. Whether the Borg knew it or not, they were harvesting the seeds of distrust planted by Section 31. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Picard had confessed to the Federation team the greater significance of the Zweller footage. Troi had always known that there had been more going on during the Geminus Gulf incident six years earlier, but Picard had always refused to speak of it
Vaughn in turn had confessed himself to be a staunch member of the Kirk Cabal. The group, he had related, had been founded by Captain James T. Kirk himself in 2269 after the legendary captain had uncovered the existence of Section 31 following the Lantaru Sector incident. The cabal had remained a loose-knit alliance in the century since, seeking out and foiling Section 31’s operations and goals wherever and whenever they could. Vaughn had approached Picard after the Geminus Gulf incident six years previous and the Captain had maintained loose ties with them.
“I don’t like this.”
Deanna glanced over at the Vaughn. The centenarian Starfleet operative was staring at the Gray Spirit’s sensor board, shaking his head at the Nubian tactical readout. The entire Federation delegation, sans the Captain, had relocated to Quital’s ship, the Gray Spirit. While they were safer within the suites of 500 Republica, they needed access to the planetary communications networks and up-to-date sensory input.
“What is it Elias?”
“This entire conflict goes completely against Borg mentality and tactics. They have the element of surprise, the superior firepower, and the numbers to boot. Yet, they’re only harassing the minefield and not directly engaging the Republic Navy en masse. They’ve only lobbed off a handful of torpedoes at the planetary shields too.”
Drawing upon the ECH programming that he had adapted into his program and his own experiences with the Collective, the Doctor mulled over Vaughn’s analysis.
“In addition, despite the arrival of Federation reinforcements, they haven’t seriously threatened Enterprise or any of our ships.”
“So, what are they waiting for,” inquired Queen Quital, who had been keeping her eyes focused on the sky beyond the transparisteel canopy and the occasional ripples in the planetary shield. Deanna realized that she must have been experiencing unwelcome comparisons and flashbacks at the prospect of being present at another planetary invasion.
Vaughn glanced back at Troi.
“Deanna, can you sense anything?
“It’s difficult to cut through the emotions of Coruscant’s population and fleet, but the best feeling I can get beyond the usual state of the Collective is a hint of…anticipation.”
Nobody liked the sound of that. From the back of the cockpit, Scotty spoke his mind.
“Could it be that they’re still assimilating Republic technology?”
“That is indeed possible,” interjected Data, “However, if the Collective has been operating out of the shadows, if Unimatrix Zero was working for them, then they have had over a month to analyze and access Republic technology from both sides of the Nubian wormhole. Commander Vaughn’s misgivings would therefore appear to be well-founded.”
“So, back to the earlier question: what the hell are they doing?” Vaughn asked again.
“I’d be more worried about what your Captain’s doing,” came the voice of Leia from the rear cabin entrance. A commlink was in her hand and an even wearier expression on her face. With Quital’s gracious permission, she had been utilizing the private communications array to help direct the possible evacuation of refugees and other civilians. Deanna knew that the weary expression went beyond that simple coordination.
The Princess had not taken kindly to the revelation of Section 31 and the possibly irreparable damage it had done to the chance of an alliance.
“What are you talking about?”
“That comm was from NRMOC. Your Captain just made a bad situation even worse. Apparently he assaulted Kuati Senator Viqi Shesh.”
“Ambassador, I know he’s been under incalculable stress as of late, but Jean-Luc Picard does not snap or assault without provocation. Did Shesh provoke him or did something else happen?”
Leia could sense that Deanna was telling the truth, was certain about her faith in her Captain. And yet…
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “NRMOC’s more furious with the breach of security from your transporters.
A quizzical frown spread across Commander Vaughn’s face.
“What?”
“They’re claiming he vanished via one of your transporter beams after assaulting the Senator. They want a good explanation before having to issue any warrants or taking your team into custody.”
Vaughn’s frown deepened and he tapped his combadge.
“Commander Elias Vaughn to Enterprise.”
“This is Admiral Janeway,” came a static-ridden reply. “We’re a little busy at the moment, Commander. Can this wait?”
“I’m afraid not. Admiral, did you beam Captain Picard up from the surface?”
More static graced the commlink channel, followed by what appeared to be the sound of the discharging of a torpedoes tubes.
“Sorry; Borg Sphere popped up on our stern. No, neither we or any other Starfleet ship have utilized transporters since the battle began.”
Vaughn’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing and producing possible explanations. The Dominion hadn’t even come through the Nubian Wormhole, so their advanced transporters could be eliminated. There were none of the other Alpha or Beta Quadrant transporter-capable races in the vicinity either – though given how that unknown Thalaron ship had penetrated the Sector 001 perimeter, it was a possibility. And the Republic didn’t even have transporter technology which, excluding the Thalaron ship possibility, could only mean…
Shit.
“Admiral, I think we have to consider the possibility that the Borg have captured Captain Picard.”
***
“Welcome home, Locutus.”
Picard was awash in whirlwind of emotions. Vying for supremacy at that moment were fear and confusion. One moment he had been on the verge of throwing Kuati Senator Viqi Shesh through the NRMOC tactical room viewer and a moment later, he found himself back in the heart of the darkness that haunted his nightmares, facing the bemused countenance of the woman…no, this thing upon whose hands lay the blood of billions.
But he had read Admiral Janeway’s report about what her alternate future counterpart had attempted at the Unicomplex. Too all appearances, the Borg Collective appeared to have been crippled. Had she failed? Had Axum either been lying or unaware that the Collective had resurfaced, using him as his instrument?
“The Collective always survives, Locutus,” she said, as if reading his mind – or was she? He could still hear the Collective’s thoughts; it was only probable that the link worked both ways.
“We are eternal. However, we presently required a little nudge from our brethren in the future.”
“The future?”
“Oh yes. Like your Federation’s relationship with the Collective, an exercise in predestination was required. From there, it was relatively simple exercise. Manipulate Axum and Unimatrix Zero without his knowledge. Eliminate key players from the board, from the Dominion to Temporal Cold War’s main factions.
The Queen knew that Picard could not know of either the Temporal Cold War or the two-hundred year old transmission the collective had received in the early 2360’s from the Alpha Quadrant. It was that transmission that had led to scouting of the Romulan Neutral Zone and the encounter with the Enterprise-D at J-25 a year later, thus beginning the Borg’s goal of assimilating that region and the mission to 2063 that had set the transmission into motion.
She didn’t particularly care about his possible confusion for the once and future Locutus would certainly understand what she was about to say next.
“Do you understand that? We’ve already won. We are the Neo-Borg. I am the Neo-Borg. And the mistakes that led to the Old Collective’s fall will not repeat themselves. Resistance is and always has been futile.”
***
When first contact had been made with the United Federation of Planets, Dif Scaur had marveled at certain aspects of this brave new world, most especially the transporter technology – though the mysterious thalaron generator of that phantom ship was, given its effectiveness against the Yuuzahn Vong, a close second. The benefits it could provide to intelligence gathering and operations was momentous.
Now a month later, Scaur was cursing at the security breach and the double edged sword that such marvelous technology wielded as he strode into the NRMOC chamber. Scaur wasn’t full certain whether or not to believe Picard’s testimony and impassioned plea before the Senate. He at least believed that the Captain had had no part in this apparent conspiracy. And it wouldn’t have surprised him that a government such as the Federation would maintain a covert-ops group unknown even to its highest rulers; the Alpha Blue and Alpha Red divisions he maintained were proof of that in the New Republic.
But regardless, some manner of conspiracy was afoot and Scuar was furious at it and how it had been brought out into the open. While NRI had recorded this Zweller’s infiltration, Scaur hadn’t been planning on disclosing what was now being called the Thirty-One footage to his superiors just yet. And with the chaos of the Senate proceedings and the Borg attack, he was most curious to have a little chat with the Kuati Senator and discover just how in the hell she had managed to get her dainty little hands on it.
And speaking of which…
Scaur found the Senator glaring at a military adjutant as he passed. He chose to ignore her and instead focus for a moment on Supreme Commander Sien Sovv. The Sullustan was furiously conferring with subordinates and Orbital Defense. They were, from what Scaur could infer, still debating on whether to risk activating the minefield and directing it towards the Collective’s vessels. He turned his attention back to Shesh and her argument with the adjutant.
“…is claiming that no Starfleet vessel has beamed him or utilized transporter technology,” the officer was saying.
“A blatant lie,” Shesh retorted. “It is clear beyond any doubt now that the Federation is a threat to us. Their captains will attempt to dissuade and pacify us while their Section 31 attacks us from within and their Borg allies from without.”
She turned to face Sovv.
“Supreme Commander, perhaps it would be prudent to order that all active mines in the planetary minefield be activated. The loss of any Republic ships is minor compared to the advantage that could be gained by eliminating both the main Borg and Federation fleets simultaneously.
Sovv looked ready to throw his cup of stimcaf at her and Scaur himself was tempted to hold her in place so as to ensure the porcelain projectile found its mark. But as NRI Director, it was his dusty to resist such impulses and watched impassively.
“Shesh, for the last time, you do not dictate policy of our planetary defense
“As a member of NRMOC, I do and I am not telling you, I am ordering you to—”
The Senator was cut off by the sudden and distinct whine of a transporter beam behind her. Or rather, the distinct whines of many transporter beams. Shesh slowly turned around, coming face to face with multiple pillars of sickly yellow-green light. Through the transparisteel walls, Scaur could see dozens more beaming in throughout the adjacent chambers and corridors of the Senate building and its adjacent NRDF offices.
The pillars dematerialized into the shape of Borg drones, clearly of the tactical variety based upon their extensive armor and the multiple weapons emitters pointed at the NRMOC staff and military officers.
“Resistance is futile.”
***
“Anything?”
“No,” replied Quital from the main sensor readout station on the Gray Spirit’s bridge. At Vaughn’s request, she had come up from the main communications array. “If your Starfleet sensors couldn’t detect his combadge or biometric signature, what chance do you think a Nubian sensor suite will have?”
“It was worth a shot,” shrugged Troi. “Perhaps if—”
“Sithspawn!”
The uncharacteristic curse had come from Leia, her ear to her personal comm and pure, utter shock spreading across her distinguished features.
“What now?”
“Borg have just beamed into NRMOC and adjacent NRSDF facilities.”
“Makes sense,” Vaughn quickly replied. “If they could nab Picard, then they could easily beam through the planetary shields. Are they in danger of being overrun?”
“Yes.”
That was all Lt. Munro needed to hear as he tapped his combadge and began to tap the controls to his Hazard Suit’s personal transporter buffer, having changed into it suit the moment the Borg had begun their attack on the planet. While Picard had forbade weapons being present at any talks, like Vaughn and the cricket phaser, that hadn’t stopped Munro from keeping several aces in the hole.
“Vaughn to Enterprise.”
“We received the distress call,” came the voice of Tuvok. “On Admiral Janeway’s orders, Ensigns Chang, Gonzales, and Korban are suiting up to beam down to NRMOC alongside Lieutenant Munro.”
Munro frowned at that. Why them? Where were Telsia, Chell, Stockman, or Jurot, the other half of the reformed Hazard Team?
“Tuvok, where the hell’s the other half of my team?”
“They are on another mission, Lieutenant. It could not be helped. We’ll be initiating site-to-site transport in thirty seconds.”
Scotty frowned.
“Donna tell me ye can you get through the planetary shields?” the old engineer asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” came the voice of Admiral Janeway, joining Tuvok’s in the transmission. ”They have been lowered over the Senate District, though not by our request or Republic command.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” murmured Vaughn, meeting Scotty’s worried gaze.
“Nor do we. The Fusion Cube is positioning itself for a run over that sector. Enterprise and other ships are moving to intercept it so we’ll have one shot at beaming.”
“Make that multiple beamings,” Vaughn replied, going into order mode. “I’ll be returning to the Enterprise; there’s not much else we can do down here.”
“Same here,” said Scotty, rising from his chair. “Counselor?”
“I can continue to coordinate the evacuation of 500 Republica and other local civilian centers,” said Deanna.
“We’ll be fine. Deal with this cybernetic monstrosities,” agreed Quital.
“Alright, Mr. Data, Doctor, you’re with Munro,” he stated and Munro didn’t argue. In addition to his artificial advantages, Data was also the best chance at hacking through any Borg programming as Chell, the Hazard Team’s usual hacker, was God knows where back in the Milky Way.
As Munro chucked his assault rifle, he found Ambassador Solo staring at him and then back at Quital, an uncertain, almost distant look upon her features.
“Ambassador,” he said, “I know you wish to assist with the evacuation, but if we’re beaming into hell, we could really use a Force-sensitive and Kyle Katarn’s not here.”
Leia starred first at Munro and then at the other members of the Starfleet team in addition to Quital. She was attempting to remain calm, but her inner core seethed with emotion. Thoughts of her anger at the revelation of Section 31, of the horror and suffering inflicted on her and her family by the Yuuzhan Vong, of the very same manner of corruption and bureaucracy that brought down the Old Republic returning to wreck havoc on the next generation.
Fear and anger are the paths to the Dark Side, came the remembered voice of Luke from their private instructions. Trust in the guidance of the Force.
So, she did just that. She opened herself to the Force, allowing its energy and familiar presence to guide her, to attempt to understand what its will was.
And there it was.
The Force was telling her to trust Starfleet once again, that once again, there was still more to come and that they were just as integral to the coming tides of war as the Jedi.
She sighed. She wondered at times how Luke was able to feel faith in the guidance of an energy field whose will was infuriating at times. Leia withdrew from the contact with the Force, opened her eyes and reached for her lightsaber hilt to bring it up to a fighting position. Small smiles spread across the assemblage of officers, aliens, and monarchs.
“Enterprise, initiate site-to-site transport,” ordered Vaughn.
“High ho, high ho, it’s off to work we go,” the EMH murmured as they dissolved into the blue shimmering light of the transporter beam.
***
While the analysis of Intelligence had kept Scaur behind a desk since joining – and eventually, running – NRI, that hadn’t meant that he had fallen behind in his weapons training. The Director regularly engaged in personal combat simulations and sparring matches with both organic opponents and mechanical substitutes.
But that hadn’t prepared him for the ferocity of something like the Borg.
Scaur was in the process of emptying his hold-out blaster and was cornered. The Senate guards and other MP’s had been taken out. Scaur heard Shesh screamed in genuine terror on the other side of the chamber. He watched along her as Sovv was thrown up against the transparisteel and the drone’s tubules penetrated the fat folds of the Sullustan’s neck. The Supreme Commander’s skin pallor seemed to turn even grayer than usual and his breathing intensified.
Scaur was stunned at the swiftness with which the Borg’s assimilation had taken over Sovv and the pain and suffering that had etched itself across his face. He didn’t fear death, but if this was what his fate was to be, he’d rather –
“I-Mods, now!”
Scaur frowned at the new voices coming from outside the entry portal. From his angle, he could not see who was issuing the command
“Fire!”
Multiple purple blasts of energy instantly traveled through the open entry portal, felling half the drones, including the one that had cornered the Intelligence Director.
Simultaneously, an orange phaser blast slammed into Sovv and the Sullustan’s form crumpled to the floor.
Cautiously, Scaur moved out into the open and found three humanoid males and one woman in armored variations of the Starfleet uniform striding into the chamber. They were flanked by Ambassador Leia Organa Solo, her lightsaber drawn. Shesh stared first at them, then towards Sovv, then back, a most unkind look blazing in her eyes.
“Did you just kill our Supreme Commander?!”
“Stunned him,” replied Munro tersely. “Doc, see to him. See if you can stall any further steps of the assimilation process, do it.”
“I won’t promise anything,” the EMH muttered as he moved towards the fallen Admiral and loaded a sedative into his hypospray just in case the phaser stun was not enough. Data immediately moved to the operations consoles and began accessing Republic tech.
“He’s accessing restricted material!” Shesh nearly screeched as Munro and the other Hazard Team members meanwhile reloaded their weapons and took stock of the situation.
.
“Mr. Data is attempting to prevent the Borg programming from penetrating your systems any more than it already has. Now, Senator and Mister…?”
“Scaur. NRI Director Dif Scaur.”
“…Mr. Scaur, you’d better get behind us.” As the Senator and Intelligence Director obeyed his command – the former more surprisingly, Munro couldn’t help but note – he turned to face the remaining Borg, who were simply starring at him. They were clearly studying and preparing for this new interference.
“Resistance is Futile.”
“Uh-huh.” Munro decided to try a different tact. “Alright, listen up your cybernetic assholes. You’ve got five seconds to beam back up to whatever Cube or Sphere or geometric shape you came from before—”
Munro was shocked speechless as the Borg drone closest to him suddenly exploded with activity and charged at him. Munro barely had time to leap out of the way, nearly colliding with the bowl-like holo-projector standing at the center of the NRMOC chamber. The Hazard Team had faced Tactical Drones on two separate occasions while the Voyager had been stranded in the Delta Quadrant. How in the hell could a drone move that fast?
More uncharacteristic behavior on the part of the Borg. Just wonderful.
“I-Mods!”
“They’ve adapted to the I-Mods!” yelled Chang, ducking as his shot failed to penetrate the Borg’s personal shield.
“Then go to assault rifles or the Quantum Burst or hand to hand if you have—”
Munro was cut off as the feisty drone’s arm came toward him again, its assimilation tubules extended and primed –
-- and watched in awe as Leia’s blade sliced through the Borg armor, sending the arm to the floor. Before the drone had time to recover, Leia concentrated and with a push of her hand, sent it flying across the room and into the transpartisteel viewing port, shattering it and nearly covering the Doctor and the assimilated Sovv in wreckage.
“I’m a Doctor, not a trash compactor,” the EMH yelled. Leia smirked slightly at that and then even more as Munro looked at the fallen drone, then at Leia, then back at the drone, and finally, back to Leia.
“You know, we really need to replicate a few of those for the Hazard Team,” he said, point at her lightsaber.
“I second the motion,” growled Korban. The Klingon Hazard Team operative was clearly impressed by the ancient weapon of the Jedi.
Before Leia could respond, multiple echoes of “Resistance is futile,” filled the chamber. Everyone turned around and faced the entry portal to the NRMOC chamber and the threat that approached them. At least a hundred more drones, some clothed in the garb of MP’s and Senate security officials, were racing down from the adjacent corridors and further back with more on the way.
“Guys, I think we’re in trouble.
***
Flanked by a dozen Y and X-Wings and Peregrine-class fighters, the Enterprise-E soared over the dorsal hull of a Majestic-class Heavy Cruiser of the New Republic Navy. Shortly beyond it, a smaller Blockade Runner-style Corellian Corvette was engaging a Cube and had found itself caught in one of the titanic vessel’s tractor beams.
“Lock onto the tractor emitter and blow it to hell,” ordered Janeway. Tuvok nodded and with a tap of the tactical board, two photon torpedoes and several lances of phaser fire streaked out from the forward weapons array and launcher. They were accompanied by a barrage of laser fire, ion blasts, and proton torpedoes from the fighters. The emitter’s shielding wavered for a moment, then exploded, taking the local shield generator with it. The beam instantly vanished and the Corvette surged forward as quickly as its engines allowed it.
From behind the Enterprise-E, the Majestic-class cruiser rose up and contributed its own barrage to the now vulnerable section of the cube. The explosive fire gutted a section of the hull roughly the size of a Galaxy-class saucer section. Flotsam and drones flew through space, eliciting a small cheer on the fighter comm frequency.
“The Cube is pulling away.”
“Continue on course. ETA to Fusion Cube?”
“Two minutes.” He paused, then added, Admiral, there is a possibility that Captain Picard may have been beamed onto the Fusion Cube.”
“If we’ve got a chance to beam him out we will, if not…”
Janeway hated friendly fire, hated having to kill a fellow officer in the line of duty, especially one as renowned and liked as Jena-Luc Picard. But if there was only a choice of destroying the Fusion Cube with Picard on it, then Janeway had to conclude, much as it galled her, that the Captain of the Starship Enterprise was expendable.
“Admiral,” came the voice of Tuvok, cutting into her thoughts, “the planetary shields over the Senate district are coming back online. They will be fully operational again in less than one minute.”
The words were barely out of the Vulcan’s mouth when the comm crackled to life.
“…mmit, come in Enterprise!”
Janeway frowned at the familiar voice.”
“Lieutenenat Munro?”
“…ck, we can’t hold NRMOC or the Senate, I repeat, we cannot hold the NRMOC. They’ve adapted and the drones are like nothing we’ve seen before."
Commander Data’s voice now entered the transmission,
“…they have injected nanoprobes into the systems and are taking them over. I am attempting to lock out the Republic systems, but have thus far been unsuccessful. At the rate we are being overrun, I cannot regain control of their systems.”
“Janeway to Transporter Room 3, beam the Hazard Team and as many non-Borg out of NRMOC chambers as you can! As soon as our shields are restored, ready a spread of transphasic torpedoes at the Cube, Mr. Tuvo”
Tense seconds passed by as the Enterprise fired all forward phaser arrays at any weapons emplacement to cover any enemy weapons exchange while the flagship remained in her vulnerable state . Tuvok’s console beeped once more.
“Shields have been restored. Transporter activity is now impossible within that sector.”
“Transporter Room?” Janeway asked, her voice laced with anticipation and fear.
“Bridge, we have them and several high-ranking Republic officials.”
“Send them up here. Mr. Tuvok, at your pleasure.”
“Firing torpedoes.”
***
“Resistance is and always has been futile,” said the Queen, circling Picard, a look of satisfaction and triumph materializing on her face at the sight of Picard’s stressed appearance.
No, no, no!
He balled his firsts. He would not give into his fears, He would not allow this avatar of darkness and pure evil to dictate defeat to him. Picard drew upon every fiber of strength and confident as he mustered his best commanding tone.
“You’re wrong. We’ve drawn the line in the sand, we’ve stood our ground, and we’re still here. Look there,” he said, pointing to the rotating Situation Cube and the converging Starfleet and Republic vessels.” He continued, “We will—”
“Locutus, do the Collective a favor and cease with the rhetoric,” she replied in a dismissive, almost bored tone. “This is not a matter of a single cube every six years. The entire weight of the Collective has been brought to bear upon—
Before the Queen could continue, the chamber rocked, sending the Queen and Picard off blanace.
"Report."
“Weapons impact at junctions 5-A9, W-R0, 0-07, 0-52, 1-98, S-G1, and 3-1S. Source: Seven transphasic torpedoes fired from vessel at spatial coordinates 939-411. Vessel identified as U.S.S. Enterprise, Registry NCC-1701-E, Sovereign-class. Vessel flanked by U.S.S. Mora—”
“Enough,” she snapped, cutting off the tirade of the Collective’s voice. She stared at the situation cube for another moment before turning back to face Picard. There almost seemed to be a sadistic smirk etched into her deathly pale face.
“I believe it is time to greet another old acquaintance.”
***
Admiral Janeway grimaced as the damage caused by the barrage of futuristic weaponry all but vanished as the Borg Fusion Cube’s surface regenerated.
She should have expected this. After all, the Sphere that had chased Voyager through the Conduit two years earlier had all but penetrated the armor, showing that her counterpart’s shuttle and its technology had been assimilated and countered. Janeway had hoped that would not be an issue, that this new Collective would not possess the countermeasure, but she was obviously wrong.
Still, we can given them hell.
“Mr. Katanga, bring us around to starboard. Mr. Tuvok, prepare another barrage and coordinate it with the—”
Janeway was cut off. Mr. Katanga and the bridge crew seemed to waver and blink in and out of existence for a moment. They and the bridge dematerialize and winked out of existence to be replaced by the all too familiar, nightmarish features of the Borg Queen’s personal command chamber. To one side stood Captain Picard and circling around him was –
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes. Restrain her.”
There was a sense of jubilation and delight being present within the Queen’s voice as she issued the order and as Janeway suddenly found her arms cuffed and held in place by two Borg tactical drones. The dynamic duo forcibly escorted her to the Queen’s central alcove and thrust her into position. A green force field crackled to life, isolating the Admiral from the Queen and her other prisoner.
“It’s better to be safe in dealing with a Janweway, no matter what time or quadrant they’re from,” she noted aloud but really to no one in particular. “But we have something more…special planned for you than simple assimilation.”
“And me?”
“You’re here to bear witness, Locutus. Do you see it now? We now have control over the NRMOC facility and the Senate and from there, their ties to the rest of the planet. I also have the vaunted Admiral Kathryn Janeway in my possession. Do you realize what that means?”
“That your superiors in the future weren’t careful about making sure you weren’t a few docking ports short of a space dock?”
“That the time is upon us, that it is time to begin the endgame of this stage of the expansion: the assimilation of Coruscant.”
***
“...shields are holding and the last torpedo’s away,” reported the Ralroost’s tactical officer. “We’re down to the starboard turbolasers and the gunnery crews report they’re on the verge of melting.”
Krey’Fey struggled to hold onto his command chair as his beloved Bothan Assault Cruiser took another hit, it’s SIF groaning in protest at the latest volley from the Borg armada.
“Keep having them fire as long as they can. Engine status?”
“Still at peak efficiency.”
Then that’ll have to do, thought Krey’Fey, his mind already plotting out what he should do if Ralroost was still intact within the next few minutes. They were going to get as many shots off as they could. And then, if no other choice remained, he was going to order the crew to head for the escape pods, assume sole command of the cruiser, and plunge it directly into the nearest Cube.
Satisfied at what would be his final move in the game, Krey’Fey reached for the cracked remains of his command chair’s personal data pad. It would take a moment to plot out the most efficient –
Zwoop!
Krey’Fey blinked in surprised as the monitor and all other bridge displays flickered on and off.
“All systems are shutting down, Admiral.”
“Go to auxiliary systems,” Krey’Fey commanded. The crewman scanned his board and then shook his head.
“They’re not responding.”
“Sir! The Fleet!” came the cry of another officer. Krey’Fey glanced up through the transparisteel bridge viewports and felt a chill run through his body. Republic vessels of all shapes and sizes from fighters to frigates to cruisers to battleships were drifting lazily in space, their engines cold, their running lights down, and their weapons systems silenced.
What in the seven hells is going on?
***
Vaughn’s eyes narrowed in disbelief as Tuvok’s report of the impossible. With Admiral Janeway abducted by the Borg, the chain of command for the Enterprise-E and the fleet had fallen to the highest ranking officer – in this case, Vaughn.
“All Republic stations, mines, and ships have gone offline?
“All engines have shut down, weapons systems have been disengaged.”
“Does that include fighters?”
“I don’t think it matters,” came an aristocratic and unwanted voice from the rear of the bridge.
It was Senator Viqi Shesh, followed by Ambassador Solo, Data, Munro, and tall, sinewy pale man whom Vaughn was not familiar with. Shesh paid none of the Starfleet crew
“Our Supreme Commander has been assimilated and left behind by your away team, your allies have taken the Senate District. Combined with this Section 31 conspiracy business and I will—”
“Lassie, would you please spare this old Scotsman that rubbish and shut your bloody keghole?” Scotty all but screamed.
“For the sake of the current battle state, I must respectfully repeat Captain Scott’s…request, Senator Shesh. And believe me, we’re not part of any Thirty-One conspiracy. Take it from someone who knows how those nut jobs work,” he said and left it that as he turned to face Munro.
“Sovv was assimilated?”
Muro nodded. “The Doc tried to stabilize him and halt the spread of the nanoprobes. He said he needed full access to a sickbay facility. Unfortunately, we were overrun and the Transporter crew wasn’t able to beam him up before the Senate shields were restored. With Sovv assimilated and the Senate and NRSDF systems in their hands, then they could easily have gotten a hold of the override and lockout codes.”
“Unfortunately, that means we’re the only ships left unaffected,” Vaughn said, stroking his beard in thought. “Mr. Tuvok, how many Borg ships remain?”
“On the order of at least slightly under 7,000.”
“And our fleet assets?
“140 Starfleet vessels have either been destroyed or disabled.”
“Dammit. Alright, order all ships to regroup at coordinates—”
Without warning, the lights dimmed, and all LCARS and systems displays winked out and began flickering on and off again. Warning clicks and beeps of all kinds began issuing from every console on the bridge.
“Report,” Vaugnn yelled.
“Main control is being rerouted,” replied Tuvok. Data have moved to the adjacent operations console and equally hard at work inputting queries and commands. “Key systems are going offline.”
“We’re not even connected to the NRMOC situation room or the planetary defense systems; how are they hacking into our system?”
“I am assessing that now, Commander. They are connecting to the Starfleet computers via…”
Tuvok frowned and tapped his console again, verifying the original results.
“The connection is being made through the Transwarp Coil,” he reported at last.
Vaughn and the other bridge officers starred at Tuvok for a long moment, understanding slowly dawning on their faces.
At Unimatrix Zero’s offer, Starfleet had had transwarp coils installed on a number of ships expected to be deployed to counter Yuuzhan Vong incursions into the Naboo and nearby star systems. After all, even with the latest advances in warp drive capabilities, it would take Starfleet decades just to make their way through the Republic. With transwarp, of course, such travel time. would be drastically cut donw.
Even if the Alliance had fallen through, they would still have given Research and Development a field day – or rather months or even years – in reverse-engineering the high-warp speed technology that Starfleet had sough since the days of the Excelsior project. But regardless, Unimatrix Zero had installed the coils in hundreds of Starfleet ships.
All of this flashed through Vaughn’s finely-honed mind in a matter of a moments before his hand tapped the communications console, sending out a hail to the entire fleet.
“This is Commander Elias Vaughn of the Enterprise to all transwarp –capable ships. Disengage your transwarp coils! I repeat, disengage your coils or destroy them before the Borg seize control of your vessels’ systems.”
Before the channel had even closed, he slapped his combadge.
“Commander Vaughn to Engineering!”
“We’re trying to disengage it,” came the angry voice of LaForge. “The damm thing’s got a mind of its own. It’s initiated system lock-outs and security measures.”
Vaughn swore, memories of the transcripts of recordings of the M-5 Computer debacle and its initiation of security systems flashing in his mind.
“Commander LaForge, I don’t care if you have to destroy Main Engineering, destroy the damm thing at any cost.”
“I’ll get down there and give the lad a hand,” Scotty half-yelled from the turbolift, unaffected by the system disruptions and already on his way down. Vaughn turned back to face Tuvok.
“What about the Tactical and Life Support systems?”
“They have disabled tactical functions, though they have not yet made contact with life support. Mr. Data and I are attempting to…”
Tuvok was cut off by the urgent series of beeps from the tactical board.
“Commander, all of the Borg ships are converging on the Republic Capital.”
Vaughn turned, his gaze fixed on the image displayed on the forward viewscreen.
“My god.”
Commander Elias Vaughn, Princess Leia Organa Solo, Senator Viqi Shesh, Director Dif Scaur, and the Enterprise-E’s bridge crew watched helplessly are countless Borg vessels, from the smallest Interceptor to the Fusion Cube simultaneously discharged tens of thousands of torpedoes into Coruscant’s atmosphere.
***
To be continued…
***
Annotations
* Warlord Slessshh and his coup of the Gorn political caste was shown in KJA’s TNG graphic novel The Gorn Crisis.
* Deanna’s role in the liberation of her homeworld is detailed in Charlotte Douglas and Susan Kearney’s TNG novel The Battle of Betazed.
* The Kirk Cabal first appeared at the end of the S.D. Perry’s TOS novel Section 31: Cloak. Vaughn’s status as a member of the group was revealed in David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang’s DS9 novel Section 31: Abyss.
* You didn’t think I forgot about the Hazard Team, did you? Actually, I almost wrote myself into a corner there. I had thought I’d put the entire team onto the Titan and was relieved to discover that only half of them were en route to the Neutral Zone.
* In Elite Force II, Jorge Gonzales was a crewman onboard the Dallas which was attacked by (then) unknown aliens. After being saved by the Enterprise, he requested a transfer and served with the Hazard Team before being KIA. While EFII is set post-Nemesis, I chose to a.) Keep Jorge alive and more importantly, b.) Have him serving on the Enterprise rather than the Dallas.