Star Crossed Fanfic

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

I HATE the Shadow Fleet. I want the arogant bastards to both feel the power of the darkside and feel Thrawn's genuis (no bias here )



The Carrack class Light Cruiser is a 350 meter long ship used by the Empire. It has an armament of 10 heavy turbolasers and 20 ion cannons (some varients replace ion cannons with lasers to make it an effective anti-starfighter cruiser). It has an unusual compartment system that allows crews to survive even when the ship is blown to hell. However the power generator is not armoured, and if the generator takes a direct hit with the shields down, the ship can be crippled. A major disadvantage is that it has no hanger; it can only carry 5 tie fighters on exterior racks. It has a very fast speed.

[Captain Cyran]

I HATE the Shadow Fleet. I want the arogant bastards to both feel the power of the darkside and feel Thrawn's genuis (no bias here )

Now GAT, just because they are arrogant fools with a backbone that the feds normally don't have doesn't mean they have to be destroyed by Thrawn...What am I saying, yes it does. Let the Shadow Fleet meet the DS2.

[Stravo]

I HATE the Shadow Fleet. I want the arogant bastards to both feel the power of the darkside and feel Thrawn's genuis (no bias here )
.

GAT, I predict some Thrawn OWNAGE coming up for our Shadowfleet....can you hear that...they're playing Taps.

[Darth Yoshi]

I HATE the Shadow Fleet. I want the arogant bastards to both feel the power of the darkside and feel Thrawn's genuis (no bias here )

Now GAT, just because they are arrogant fools with a backbone that the feds normally don't have doesn't mean they have to be destroyed by Thrawn...What am I saying, yes it does. Let the Shadow Fleet meet the DS2.

DS2 seems so merciful.

[Pcm979]

Exellent chapter.
Points of interest/Notes:
1. Jerrijod was a Moff. All of the Imps in RotJ were ranked Captain, even Piett.
2. Is Shinzon still alive?
3. Is someone running around with the ST10 superweapon?
4. Has anybody noticed the similarities between Kahn and Joruus C'Baoth? (Excluding force powers of course.)

[Luke Starkiller]

I just realized something, if there is a distress call comming from the planet that Kahn is on, then right now Thrawn is in the past, relative to the main story arc; except that Vader felt Nemesis in the area, which means that they are in the main timeline right now. Unless Gary Mithchell brought Kahn forward in time himself there is a continuity problem.

[NecronLord]

He did IIRC. Not that it maters Kahn and his crew are immune to aging and desiese, and clearly have found some way of getting food and water.

[Vympel]

He did IIRC. Not that it maters Kahn and his crew are immune to aging and desiese, and clearly have found some way of getting food and water.

Immune to aging? I don't think so- look at him in Space Seed then look at him in WOK.

[Cpt_Frank]

He did IIRC. Not that it maters Kahn and his crew are immune to aging and desiese, and clearly have found some way of getting food and water.

Immune to aging? I don't think so- look at him in Space Seed then look at him in WOK.

Hmm btw did anyone else notice that in space seed Khan&company all seemed to be roughly the same age, yet in WOK he seems to be much older.

[Vympel]

Hmm btw did anyone else notice that in space seed Khan&company all seemed to be roughly the same age, yet in WOK he seems to be much older.

Indeed- they even changed the actor for his protege ... sounds like ...Joachim or whatever the heck his name is (sue me I haven't watched the credits in ages)

[Stravo]

In answer to the apparent paradox question re: Kahn, if you look back at the Chpater where he is introduced it does state that the story is now back in the 23rd Century, so in essence, Gary has brought Kahn into the future. (24th Century)

[Crown]

Nice updates Stravo.

[Darth Wong]

THE THREAD LIVES!!!!

[Stravo]

ALL HAIL LORD WONG....MANY thanks!!!!

BTW Does it take this crisis to get you to come around for a visit?

[Stravo]

Ok Folks, thanks to lord Wong we are back in business.....



Chapter 36: Sound and the Fury


The bridge crew of the Emperor’s Will moved about like silent clockwork, each attending to their station and armored stormtroopers stood several meters apart all along the command deck. Two stood at the top and bottom of each stairwell in the crew pits. They would take no chances with boarders.

Admiral Kittaine watched the actions of his crew with pride as the tension that was first evident on their faces slowly evaporated as they went about their duties. He would have liked to believe that the simple actions of their duty stations was enough to do this but he knew that part of the reason the stress level on the bridge had slowly died down was the presence of a young man dressed in black tunic and cape standing right at the view port, hands clasped behind his back staring intently into the blue tunnel of hyperspace.

Darth Nemesis was the inspiration to his men. He had led them to victory again and again. This time it would be no different.

But Kittaine could not stop worrying. Every battle against the Borg had been a tense one, with surprises from both sides. The Borg were relentless and cared nothing for their casualties, they would keep on coming. And as he understood it from intelligence reports the Borg ruled their quadrant in vast numbers, numbers that he did not think his fleet could over come.

But Lord Nemesis had a plan and Kittaine had heard a phrase that had begun circulating among the enlisted men.

In Lord Nemesis we trust.

He could not agree more at this point in time. He vividly recalled how much he had distrusted this young man, a Sith lord from Coruscant that had once been the rebellion’s greatest hero, rising under the tutelage of Darth Vader, he did not impress Kittaine at first. Always locked in his chambers meditating, always brooding.

But ever since they had come here, ever since they had been stranded in this forsaken galaxy, the young Sith lord had flourished like he had never seen before. He had grown in both stature and power. He ruled the New Empire with an Iron Fist in a velvet glove. The people honestly adored him and he noted with some interest that he had called off the Tal’Shiar’s campaigns of terror against the political opposition.

In the end there was no opposition, the people loved him as he built schools and hospitals and rebuilt the power grid system with far more reliable technology. It was a wonder to behold as Romulus slowly grew, in the span of only a moth, into a world that might even make some Outer Rim worlds hang their heads in shame.

He had accomplished all this in nearly two months and now, he promised them one more victory. The Borg would be defeated this day and the terrible threat that hung over them like a cloud would be dispersed and Lord nemesis would be like the sun, banishing the darkness and introducing a new dawn.

This was a wonderful time to be alive.

“Admiral.”

Kittaine blinked then quickly made his way over to Lord Nemesis.

“My Lord?”

“I want all commands to be aware that the Emperor’s Will will be coming under heavy fire but that they must carry out their own missions. I do not want heroics in this battle. If we all do our jobs and fulfill our duties then there will be no need to sacrifice ourselves in useless gestures. We are the mightiest warship in the Empire and certainly the mightiest warship in this galaxy. We can fend for ourselves. It is the Emperor’s Will’s destiny to extinguish the abomination of the Borg and ours alone. I want this to be made clear to all commands, understood?”

“Of course my lord.”

Nemesis turned his head slightly to regard Admiral Kittaine.

“Admiral, I will be asking much of our fleet and our crews today.” he stated simply.

“My Lord, this fleet is ready to serve your will to the bitter end. We will make you and the Empire proud this day.” Kittaine replied seriously.

“To the bitter end? Have you such faith in me Admiral?” Nemesis asked with a shadow of a smile on his face.

Kittaine smiled softly in return.

“I believe that under your command we cannot know defeat my lord.” he replied.

“Good, then let the hard decisions begin.”

“Three minutes to target.” the navigator called out.

“Have the Relentless simulate hyperspace trouble, I want them emerging on the far side of the engagement field.” Nemesis ordered.

“On the far side, alone?”

“That’s correct Admiral. There she will make her stand.”

“Sir, the Relentless is badly damaged. I suggest one of the other stardestroyers, perhaps the Bombard?”

“No Admiral, there cannot be an ounce of doubt that the ship is not a decoy. Once the Borg see one of our heavily damaged ships emerge by herself on the opposite end of the field of battle they will do as they have always done, launch a series of attacks on her in order to bring down her shields and assimilate her. The Borg will make that the top priority in this battle because otherwise they know they will fail.”

“Yes sir.”

“In fact patch me through to Captain Belladonna now.”

“Of course.”

Nemesis strode over to the holocom. Captain Belladonna appeared on the small disk on the receiver.

“Lord Nemesis.”

“Captain Belladonna, you need to make a sacrifice for the Empire.”

“My lord?”

“You need to jump on the opposite end of the field of engagement. The Relentless will be isolated from the rest of the fleet without support. You need to hold out against the Borg until we can relieve your position.”

Belladonna’s eyes narrowed sharply on Nemesis’.

“Is my Lord aware of my ship’s condition?” she asked.

“One minute.” The navigator announced.

“I am well aware of every ship’s status, captain.” Nemesis replied sternly.

“How long will until I receive relief?” She asked quickly. Belladonna had one eye covered in a black silk eye patch the rest of her face looked pale and the skin on the left portion of her face was lightly scarred, tight and bone white. It did not matter, she was still a beautiful woman.

“I cannot promise you any relief until the battle is over, Captain.”

Belladonna nodded slowly and peered past Nemesis at Kittaine. She looked back at Nemesis.

“The Relentless will do its duty, my Lord. We will hold.” She replied and snapped a sharp salute.

“I have no doubt of it, Captain.”

“15 seconds.”

“All weapons standby.”

Nemesis turned around and stood before the communications pit.

“I want my image on all frequencies right now.”

“Of course my lord.”

The fleet suddenly emerged from hyperspace. The blue tunnel of hyperspace replaced I a flash by the inky blackness of space and the great orb of the Unimatrix filling the top quarter portion of the view port. An enormous Borg fleet was gathered around the Unimatrix, enough to blot out most of the stars and they all immediately turned and gathered to face the Imperial fleet with an eerier simultaneous precision. Thousands of ships, yet one mind. The thought disturbed Kittaine on a purely primal level that he could not explain.

The Relentless flashed out of hyperspace on the opposite end of the field of battle and immediately began firing her weapons as she desperately tried to put distance between herself and the leading edge of the Borg defensive fleet.

“She plays her part well, now it is time to play ours.” Nemesis nodded to the communications officer. He activated a control and suddenly Nemesis’ image was transmitted to all the Borg ships and the planet below.

“We are the Galactic Empire, lower your shields and prepare to be destroyed, your biological and technological distinctiveness is about to end. Resistance is futile.” He stated and ended with a cold grin. The transmission switched off.

Kittaine saw some of the men in the crew pits exchange grins and some even pumped their fists in the air.

“Admiral, you may begin the attack, deploy the fleet in the formation I requested and bring us up to flank speed. Begin charging the superlaser.”

“Yes my lord.”

The Imperial fleet began to surge forward and the stardestroyers regally formed up into a wedge in front of the Emperor’s Will and angry emerald beams began lancing into the Borg formations. As cubes began erupting in clouds of plasma and debris the battle was joined and the results would be simple.

Whether the Borg lived or died.





ALL FLEET ELEMENTS ENGAGE IMPERIAL TARGETS
REROUTE PROCESSING POWER TO QUADRANT 37. TACTICAL ANALYSIS REPORTS UPLINKING. DETECT POWER FLUCTUATIONS IN GRID 101.
CASUALTY REPORTS DOWNLOADING
WARNING IMPERIAL PENETRATION IN MATRIX 10. COMMENCING PLANETARY BATTERY FIRE.

They listened intently to the reports that were announced clearly and in a cold dead monotone that did not betray any emotion. Archer watched with a growing sense of concern as the Imperial ships advanced into the Borg fleet. He had yet to see these Imperials in action live, and now that he was he quickly realized just why they had been rampaging through the galaxy at will.

Their ships were firing a steady stream of emerald death that seemed to destroy Borg cubes with a single shot, their fighters and Bombers were streaking between the large fleet formations and harrying the flanks. Even the lone starship that had limped into a bad position, isolated from the rest of the fleet was decimating the fleet elements that were swinging into action trying to encircle her.

“This fight does not look good for our side.” Archer noted with dismay.

“I’ve seen the Borg in losing battles before, but nothing like this. They make Species 8472’s war seem tame by comparison.” Janeway added grimly.

“Archer to Defiant.” Archer suddenly tapped his combadge.

“Defiant here. Sir, whatever just happened its like hell has opened its gates up here. You won’t believe the energy getting flung around up here.”

“Never mind that, prepare for emergency transport and set course for the nearest safe zone. What’s the status of the cloak?”

“Functioning sir. I don’t know how long we’ll last up here with all this stuff flying around. If we’re bugging out I suggest we do it soon, sir.”

“Acknowledged, hold on for my order.”

Archer turned to Janeway.

“Captain, we are in an untenable position. We must withdraw.”

“You are in the heart of the Borg defense network, there is no where in the galaxy safer.” The Queen quietly assured Archer.

“You’ll forgive me, your highness if I tell you that this is precisely the unsafest place in the galaxy. They are intent on coming here and wiping it out.” he exclaimed jabbing his finger at the image of the Imperial fleet as it pushed past the first line of Borg ships. The outermost wedge of ships suddenly peeled away and engaged the shoulders of the Borg defensive fleet, widening the breach in the line and keeping the defenders from collapsing in on the Imperial fleet as it bulled its way towards the Unimatrix.

“They’re going to use that wedge to peel away each layer of defense.” Archer noted.

“They’re tactics will be useless.”

Archer frowned and glanced at Seven.

“We have no time. We have to leave.”

“Perhaps Captain Archer is right.” Seven replied and returned his gaze.

“Nonsense.”

“I’m inclined to agree with the Captain, let’s get out of here.” Janeway added watching as the next line of Borg ships was vaporized and the Imperial fleet blitzed through, another wedge of ships breaking off to pull the defensive lines apart.

“There won’t be much else between us and the enemy.” Janeway added.

“They have yet to face the teeth of our defens-” the queen’s smile froze and she seemed to be confused for a moment.

“There is an alien voice in the Collective.” she whispered.





“Have the Bombard come in closer, we need them to draw more fire.” Kittaine ordered. Branna nodded and relayed the order.

“Sir, our bombers have achieved position Kilo. They have delivered packages.” the squadron commander reported with pride.

“Excellent, divert the fourth wing in that zone and prepare to exploit the breach.”

“Watch the left flank, Admiral, the Borg are reinforcing for a counterstroke.” Nemesis interjected in a faraway voice.

“You heard him Branna, order the left wing to be on the lookout for a counterattack.” Kittaine ordered and paused as he looked out over the battle. The fleet was deep through the Borg lines, they had concentrated their firepower into several exclusive zones and vaporized anything that stood in their way, but now the fleet was dangerously deep in the Borg lines and there was no escape route. The first line of Borg ships had closed off the initial breach as soon as the fleet was through.

Nemesis’ ingenious wedge strategy was working brilliantly, as soon as a breach was opened in the lines with their firepower, a line of the wedge formation broke off and engaged the Borg fleet around the breach, allowing the rest of the fleet to pass through unhindered, the line would then follow the fleet through.

However, they were now within the heart of the Borg defensive fleet with no clear line of egress and Kittaine did not like it all. Every instinct as a naval officer was screaming that they were in serious danger. The Borg were swarming now and the tactical officer was calling out new incoming cubes every minute. He had lost track of how many they had destroyed but there were still too many.

And as he watched the sea of sickly green cubes around them, he wondered what the Relentless was doing and was she in dire straits? He hoped that the fleet’s deep penetration into Borg lines had taken some of the pressure off Belladonna and her wounded ship.




“Damn these Borg and the circuits that spawned them.” Belladonna spat as another cube exploded in front of her view port, showering the Relentless with its worthless debris.

“We have twenty more cubes inbound and sixteen have taken up long range torpedo fire off the starboard side.” her XO warned as the ship was rocked by yet more fire.

“Our fleet is blasting through them likes so much Bantha fodder and we’re stuck here in a veritable siege situation. Not only that but the Borg seem more intent on taking us than stopping the fleet penetration.”

“Perhaps that was Lord Nemesis’ plan.”

“Oh I’m sure it was Lord nemesis’ plan, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”

“Shields buckling in sector 3.”

“Alert all stormtroopers to be on the lookout for boarders and that they are to engage them where ever they are found.” she announced. She turned to her XO and spoke more quietly. “Have we locked out all computer access?”

“Yes, captain, if any of those drone bastards tries to access our terminals from anywhere else than the bridge and engineering they will run into a neutronium wall.”

“Excellent.”

The Relentless shuddered hard to port and some alarms went off.

“Status?” s he snapped holding on to a guard rail to keep herself from pitching over.

“We’ve been struck by a mass driver of some sort.”

“Mass driver?”

“The Borg, some of their fleet elements are deploying a mass driver and bombarding ourselves and the fleet.” her tactical officer replied.

Belladonna strode over to the view port.

“Where?”

Her XO suddenly pointed quickly as an object flashed by them and missed the forecastle by several meters. Four Borg cubes were lined up in a square. In the center of the empty space between the cubes was a bright pulsating ball of light. A small debris field was set up behind the line of mass driving cubes. Each asteroid disappeared in a glittering green column of light and reappeared within the pulsating orb. The asteroid suddenly flared up with a flash and shot out, trailing wispy white plasma as it arced over to the advancing Imperial fleet, impacting on the forward shields of one of the stardestroyers.

“They’ve been watching our battles with the Federation. They trying to exploit a weakness that Kirk used on Vulcan.” she breathed.

“Perhaps they are not as stupid and mindless as we were led to believe.” her XO commented in disbelief.

“So much the better. I prefer a fight from someone that can actually think.” she watched the bombardment again for a moment and noted her position relative to the mass driver equipped cubes. She noted several glowing bolts striking the Adjudicator as it took up lead position on the next attack wing.

She nodded to herself and turned to her XO.

“Flank speed for the Mass drivers, prepare to engage with all forward batteries. I want our TIE Bombers away and have them concentrate on clearing our path.”

“We’re going DEEPER into the fleet? Captain, our shield grid is fluctuating and we’re not at 100%.” her XO warned.

“You heard my orders. Lord Nemesis needs a distraction, well, he’s about to get a doozy. Now get the ship moving every moment we waste is another that one of those contrived mass drivers actually takes out one of our ships. It is time for the Relentless to make her stand and march against the enemy, and if this be our last march then so be it. At least they will say we died with our heads held high and our boots on.”

The men in the crew pits nodded, some even agreeing vocally with her as the Relentless slowly turned and began a march towards the mass drivers.



“Sir, it’s now or never.” Archer’s XO reminded him on the combadge.

They had stood and watched the battle a little longer, wanting to believe that the Borg would beat the Empire back, but each Starfleet officer could feel it in their gut. This battle was a lost cause. The Borg simply did not know it yet.

“They’re past the fourth line of defense, only two more and they will be directly over the Unimatrix.” Seven noted gravely.

“Ah, but the enemy is out of tricks now, isn’t he? the last of his wedge formation has been used in pulling back this defensive line. The flagship is alone and will he risk the full fury of the Borg?”

“I don’t think that there is any doubt o that.” Janeway replied as the Emperor’s Will continued on and suddenly the volume of fire from the mammoth starship increased until there was a torrent of green turbolaser fire that slashed along the Borg lines like a scythe.

ALL UNITS TO BREACH IN MATRIX 5. ALL MASS DRIVERS CONCENTRATE FIRE ON TARGET DESIGNATED I-1. PLANETARY SHIELD GRID AT MAXIMUM INTENSITY. ALL NONESSENTIAL DRONES TO DESIGNATED SHELTERS.

“They are coming, and the voice grows more insistent, searching.” the Queen murmured.

“Who is the voice?” Janeway asked.

“Captain, please, we’re now under direct fire from approaching Imperial warship we cannot ho-“ the transmission was cut off.

“Defiant. Archer to Defiant.” Archer glanced up at Seven, an expression of horror on his face and slowly dawning comprehension. He tapped the combadge again.

“Archer to Defiant respond now!”

“He is searching, the dark one is searching for it, his will is bent to it. but we are many he is but one.” the Queen replied softly, a cold sneer pulling up the corners of her mouth.

Janeway examined the Queen for a moment and turned to Archer.

“Captain Archer, I get the distinct impression that not everything is what it seems and that the Empire has found a way to breech not only their defensive lines but the Collective itself.”

“Captain Janeway, I think I just lost my entire crew and my ship to a stray shot in this battle. The Defiant was the heaviest armed warship in the Federation. She was a casualty of a insignificant shot in this clash of titans. If you ask me, we are way out of our league and this whole cause has been for naught.”

Janeway smiled softly and placed a reassuring hand on Captain Archer’s shoulder.

“Don’t say that Captain. If there’s anything that I learned in my time in the Delta Quadrant it’s that hope is a fragile thing but if we hold on to hope, even in our darkest hour it will light the way.”

Archer stared down at the older woman and could not help but smile.

“Your notions of hope in the darkness will avail us nothing if we cannot find an escape from this place. the Unimatrix is no longer safe, in fact it is the Empire’s prime target and they are not stopping.” Seven interjected hotly. Archer looked over at her and she at him.

“There’s always a way out, always a way to win. All we have to do is find it.” Archer paused and winked at Seven. “Stop being so pessimistic, its not attractive you know.”

Seven could not stop the flush that came to her face as Archer turned to the Queen.

“Are you coming with us?”

She looked as if she were tying to listen to something far away.

“There is no where to run, safety protocols against planetary bombardment have been initiated. All access to other levels has been rescinded. We are sealed away here until the battle is over.”

“Well don’t look now, but this battle is about to be over.” Archer snapped as the image of the Emperor’s Will grew on screen.

The queen’s eyes widened.

“He knows. He can see us, he can hear us. We must hide it, the Collective must rally.”

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE 1OF1, WE ARE THE BORG.

“He knows!!” she shrieked.

THAT CAN NO LONGER BE DENIED. INSTITUTING CORE EMERGENCY DUMP INTO SUBSPACE NODES.

“What does that mean, Seven?” Janeway asked.

Seven stared up at the green energy field that represented the core collective.

“It means that the Collective is trying to flee, dumping what they can of their hive mind into subspace energy nodes designed to hold them.”

“They’re core dumping the Collective?” Archer gasped.

“They have no other alternative. He knows.”

“He knows what?” Janeway pressed.





The Emperor’s Will plowed through a rapidly expanding debris and plasma field as her heavy turbolaser batteries poured death into the Borg lines. Hundreds of batteries were firing continuously as the Command ship continued on, heedless of the fire being brought to bear. Enormous flashes of light, like lightning in space erupted with each impact of the mass drivers as they fired their payloads into the warship.

Kittaine ignored the sound of alarms in the crew pits as he urged his ship forward. the Borg lines were disintegrating but here, in the heart of their fleet, their numbers seemed endless and they poured into the breaches like water. There was no wedge of ships to force the breach open, it was just the Emperor’s Will and a thousand Borg cubes, all intent on killing them by many means necessary.

“Power up the superlaser Admiral, we are reaching our target.” Nemesis ordered but his voice was thick with effort and sweat beaded his brow. He was staring at the planet as if by will alone he could destroy it, eyes fixed like guns on a target. he did not move, he did not acknowledge anything around him.

“Power up the superlaser, reveal the Iris!”

“Revealing Iris, Aye.”

The armored nose of the Emperor’s Will slowly retracted revealing the small reflectors and the main lense. The small reflectors immediately constricted three times in pre firing sequencing as the main energizer began to pulse.

“Prepare to fire on my coordinates.”

“The fleet, Lord Nemesis, it is blocking our path.”

“Now is the time to reveal our last trick, Admiral. Activate the mines.” Nemesis replied, voice tight with concentration.

“Aye sir.” Kittaine turned to his squadron commander. “Activate the mines.”

Outside the TIE Bombers quickly retreated as they sent signals to the seismic charges they fired into the fray. many had been caught in the blast wake of the battle but many more still floated serenely among the Borg lines, deactivated so as not to trip any warnings. With the signal the mines activated and instantly detonated.

The blasts were titanic as they ripped outwards in harsh white walls of energy that tore through the Borg fleet reducing it to so much confetti. The cubes were torn asunder ands their debris carried on the shockwave only to slam into more cubes causing a catastrophic chain reaction. The end results were clear.

A gaping hole had been blown in the Borg lines, a hole that revealed the Unimatrix below. The Emperor’s Will now filled that hole and the superlaser was charging.



“Off my ship Borg scum!” Belladonna shouted and fired several rounds from her personal blaster into the chest of a drone crawling up the stairwell onto the command deck. A stormtrooper screamed as he was dragged under by a several drones who began clubbing him with their heavy cybernetic limbs while another blasted a hole in a junior officer’s chest with a hand mounted plasma caster.

A thermal detonator went off somewhere below decks activating fire alarms on the surrounding decks.

“Concentrate all fire on those cubes, once we destroy the cubes the power to the mass drivers is lost!” Belladonna shouted in her XO’s ear then rudely shoved him downward and pointed he blaster at a Borg that had just beamed aboard next to them. The blaster bolt caught it in the throat and the Borg went down without even twitching.

“Captain, we’ve lost control of decks 17 and 18, the drones are simply overwhelming my men through sheer numbers.” a stormtrooper commander reported as he stood by belladonna toting a dangerous looking assault rifle which he suddenly raised and took three snap shots. Three Borg that were descending a stairwell to surprise two harried stormtroopers were caught full by the blast and literally exploded into chunky bloody metallic pieces that showered over the crew pits.

Belladonna nodded and glanced down at the tactical station. The chief gunnery officer was clubbing a dying drone with his helmet while calling out targets to his gunner’s mates that did not flinch as they ran the main batteries from the bridge. She smiled grimly and wiped the sweat from her brow.

She could be no prouder of her men.

“Vent the decks with nerve gas, then roll some charges in there to clear them out, we need to hold onto 18. it’s the only deck that provides good access to the hangar control and back up engineering.”

“Yes, captain.” the commander nodded and promptly called in the order.

“And Captain, I want every man that you can spare to get to main engineering. This scum can make it all worth their while if they seize control of main engineering. The bridge is expendable, main engineering is not.”

“Understood.”

“Captain, we have a breakthrough!” his XO crowed as the Relentless’ guns chewed through the line of Borg cubes feeding the mass drivers. Several of the mass drivers simply faded out of existence as the power fed to them through the cubes vanished. Her tactical officer tried to explain to her that the mass drivers themselves were merely constructs made out of subspace matter, allowing the objects to achieve relativistic speeds in milliseconds, but they were not natural and although immune to weapons fire they were completely dependent of the Borg cubes for power to exist and function. She knew that she would never understand this subspace phenomenon that was the backbone of this galaxy’s technology but as a military leader she knew what she had to do.

Destroy those accursed cubes.

“Continue on, we have no choice now, we’re committed. I want all crews to man their posts and take up weapons, we will all go down fighting and that is an order. The Relentless will break out on her own, is that clear?”

“Yes Captain.” Her XO replied with a sharp salute.

“We’re going in and through men! For the Empire, For Lord Nemesis!” she shouted.

The men in the crew pits shouted in return and the stormtroopers seemed to rally as more reinforcements arrived and they soon began containing the Borg boarding parties, identifying incoming transporters and gunning them down as they materialized. Belladonna looked out her view port as the Relentless soared past the ruin of the mass driver armed fleet and deeper in the Borg defensive fleet, aching to return to the fleet that she had called home and the only thing between her and that goal were thousands of cubes and billions of drones.





“The mass drivers…they’ve stopped.” Branna noted with surprise as the tremendous impacts against the Emperor’s Will suddenly ceased.

“Sir, the Relentless, she’s moving into the heart of the Borg fleet in an attempt to link up with the rest of the fleet.” the tactical officer reported. “She’s the one that took out their big guns.”

“A commander that brave and dedicated must be saved.” Nemesis suddenly exclaimed and strode over to the communications center.

“I want to talk to Captain Tarsi now.”

“Of course My lord.”

Tarsi’s form shimmered into view, the frenetic wounds of battle could be heard in the background as gunnery chiefs called out targets and runners made their way around the crew pits.

“My Lord?”

“Tarsi, the Relentless has more than done her duty. The Triumvirate is to detach from the rest of the fleet and go to her rescue. Break through the Borg lines and link up with the Relentless immediately.”

“Of course my lord.” Tarsi replied and bowed slightly but there was no mistaking the grin on his face as the hologram vanished.

Almost immediately behind them, the three star destroyers suddenly broke formation and unleashed a horrible wave of turbolaser fire and bulled their way through the Borg lines. They soon vanished into the battle as more cubes arrived to replace the fallen ones.

“Do their numbers ever end?” Kittaine hissed.

“It all ends. Now.” Nemesis replied and he seemed to grow in stature as strange shadows played across his face. Kittaine felt a cold chill sweep through the bridge.

Nemesis felt them, their voices, they were trying to hide themselves from him but there was no hiding from the dark side. There was no obfuscating the goals of the Sith. he would find them, he could feel their voices all swirling around the center. Trillions of voices but ONE source, Millions of connections, ONE source, Thousands of worlds, ONE source. He would find it, they could not hide and in a burst of rage he saw it, clear as if he were standing in the room, the enormous green energy field, the symphony of a trillion voices all distilled to this one place.

He smiled victoriously.

“Fire on coordinates 1122 mark 56.” Nemesis boomed.

“Commence Primary ignition.”






“He has found us! The very heart of the matrix, the heart of the Borg, The Voice of the Collective.”

“Oh shit, he found US!” Archer exclaimed.

“This can’t be good.” Janeway replied softly.

ENERGY SPIKE FROM TARGET DESIGNATED I-1. ALL DRONES TO THE BUNKERS. REROUTE EMERGENCY POWER TO DEFENSIVE GRID. PLANETARY ASSAULT WEAPON FIRING IN THIRTY SECONDS. MARK.

“The dump is not complete, the subspace nodes are being interfered with by the power surges outside, we are lost!” the Queen screamed then stopped in mid stride.

“Wait. There is a way. there is always a way.”

The others gathered around the queen,

“What the hell are you talking about? The superlaser is about to-“

“Initiate emergency protocol 00bastion1.” The queen shouted into the darkness around them as deep explosions tore through the complex. The Emperor’s Will was not waiting for the superlaser. They were unleashing their main batteries on the planet. The Borg planetary shield went down with the first volley of fire and now the heavy turbolaser fire was gouging craters in the hard metallic surface of the Unimatrix.

Debris began falling down like hard rain around them as structural supports and beams gave way under the onslaught.

A small doorway hissed open out of thin air, bright white pulsing light emanated from the other side.

“What is that?” Janeway asked.

“There is no time! Follow me in!” she shouted and grabbed hold of Seven and pulled her along as she leapt into the door way. Archer and Janeway followed. Another explosion rippled overhead with enough force to lay waste to an entire coastline, the debris screeched down like a thing alive. Archer sidestepped a massive boulder that would have brained him and continued towards the light when he heard the “OooF!”

Archer skid to halt and turned around.

“Come now or we leave you behind!” The Queen’s voice echoed from behind the door but the light was too bright to see into. Archer saw Janeway pinned beneath a beam that had landed on her leg. It was crushed and blood was already seeping past her uniform onto the floor.

“Captain Janeway!”

“Go!” She shouted. “There isn’t any time!”

“I’m not leaving you behind!” he shouted without hesitation as another boulder crashed down to his left, spilling out a cloud of thick white dust.

“Captain, listen to me! You have to go, one of us has to report to the Federation, tell them all that they saw here today. I’ve seen enough of life, now its time for you!” She fixed him with a steady gaze. “Do your duty Captain.”

“This door closes now!” the Queen commanded and the light began to fade.

“No!” Seven screamed.

“Damn you!” Archer screamed, at first he thought it was at Janeway but he realized as he vaulted for the closing door that it was at the universe in general, it was at God, it was at reality. He hated it all at this very moment when he had to choose letting a life die to save his own. All in the name of duty.

He sailed through the bright white door and landed with a thump on his shoulder. He whipped his head around and saw her staring back at him with a soft smile and blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

PLANETARY ASSAULT WEAPONS FIRI-

The room suddenly flared bright white and the area seemed to smolder for a moment then it exploded like a small sun as the ceiling was utterly vaporized and the superlaser punched through.

Archer blinked.

Janeway had been there a moment ago, but he could have sworn there was a flash, a split second before the superlaser impact and she was gone. Then the room became a thing of living fire and molten rock. It happened all around them. It was as if they were ghosts witnessing the end of Pompeii.

There was as scream, unlike any that Archer had ever heard before. A cacophony of voices in terror and pain, as if billions were all being burned alive at once and you could hear each and every single one. Seven screamed as well and collapsed in his arms as the scream passed over them like a storm.

“Where are we?” Archer asked hoarsely as the room suddenly brightened again and the explosion blinded them all for a moment before all was still. There was only darkness.

Then a single female voice, laden with sorrow and anger.

“The Collective has been silenced. The Borg are dead.”

[Stravo]

Ender's comments:

“We are the Galactic Empire, lower your shields and prepare to be destroyed, your biological and technological distinctiveness is about to end. Resistance is futile.”

Heh. I'm just waiting to see Tsari's reaction to whatever nastiness befalls the relentless and Belldonna.

[Stravo]

The kitsune speaks:

Brilliant as always, Stravo.

[Soontir C'boath]

More please

Cyaround,
Jason

[Captain Cyran]

Wow...very nice once again Stravo. The borg are dead. Long live the New Empire.

[Ghost Rider]

That's was awesome how you destroyed the Borg...truly some great work there.

[Vympel]

Ahhhh that was satisfying

[Darth Yoshi]

WHOO!!! Dead Borg! Great work Stravo. Both the Borg and Janeway, amazing.

[Admiral_K]

I hate to burst your bubble yoshi, but I don't think Janeway is dead. I read something about a flash just before the roof caved in, and I'm betting good ole Q prolly saved her. I could be wrong though. Besides, Janeway got off WAY too easy by just getting super lasered.

[Crown]

Bye bye borg!

[Rightous Fist Of Heaven]

Goddamn that was an excellent end for the Borg , what is there to stop the Empire any more.