New Timeline TNG
- Thread starter Garm Bel Iblis
- Start date
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
A little more than an hour later, the senior staff had convened in the conference lounge aft of the bridge. Picard reflected grimly it was the first time his new command crew had met in one place since coming aboard. And now dozens were dead, including their chief medical officer.
On the viewscreen on the far wall a sensor reading of the Enterprise’s battle with the Borg was playing out with a series of telemetry readings indicating power levels and internal sensor diagnostics. “There,” Geordi La Forge said. “This is when Commander Data started randomizing the phaser frequencies.” The graph of energy output on the Borg ship shifted several centimeters to the left. “There’s a two percent drop in power across the entire Borg ship. It’s just when the phasers hit the high narrow band.”
“Apparently the Borg shields and power systems are susceptible to those energy frequencies,” Data remarked.
“Right,” Geordi said. “If we can generate a concentrated burst of energy with that same frequency distribution… we could crack that ship open.”
“How do we do that?” the captain asked.
“The main deflector dish,” Data said.
“It’s the only component on the ship designed to channel that much energy at controlled frequencies,” Geordi offered.
“Unfortunately, such a blast would destroy the Enterprise,” Data said calmly.
“What if we could get farther away?” Riker said. “Increase the range of the deflector pulse.”
“We could install higher-capacity power transfers to the main ODN lines and re-route from the starboard impulse reactor. What do you think Data?”
“It could work. But it will take at least six hours to make the necessary modifications.”
“Let’s get to it then,” the captain said. “Use what ever means or crewman you need, Mister La Forge. Dismissed.”
Picard remained behind as his officers filed out. He walked to the viewport and peered out at the swirling mass of the nebula that hid his ship from certain destruction.
There was a flash of light reflected in the transparent aluminum. Picard spun around to find Q leisurely relaxed in one of the chairs.
“The Borg is the ultimate user, with the result that they are unlike any threat your Federation has ever faced. They have no interest in political conquest -- or wealth or power as you know it. They simply want your ship -- its technology. They have identified it as something they can consume and use.”
“Q,” Picard said coldly. “More than a hundred of my people have died. You brought us here, you must have the ability to send us back.”
Q dropped his feet to the deck and stood. “It’s not safe out here, Captain. Just like a told you. There’s a race of beings outside this little nebula looking to enslave your crew, absorb it’s technology and march over your entire civilization. This is the greatest threat your puny race will ever encounter. Use that knowledge, Jean-Luc.” He snapped his fingers and was gone.
<><><>
Captain's log, supplemental. The Enterprise remains concealed in the dust cloud. The Borg ship remains at the perimeter waiting for us. We continue to prepare our defenses for the inevitable confrontation. But, I must admit, on this night I contemplate the distinct possibility that no defense may be adequate against this enemy.
“Deflector modifications are complete,” said Lieutenant Commander Data, emerging from the aft turbolift
“What about shields?” Picard asked.
“Generators have been repaired,” Worf reported. “We’ll be modulating the nutation and the same frequencies as the deflector pulse.”
“How far away from the nebula will we have to be in order to deploy the weapon?” Riker asked. He stood near his chair next to Picard and Troi.
“At least one hundred thousand kilometers,” Data said, taking his seat at ops. “Any closer and we risk igniting the dust cloud.”
“All right,” Picard said, taking his seat along with Troi and Riker. “Take us out here, Number One.”
“Helm,” Riker said quickly. “Course one eight five mark five, half impulse until we’ve cleared the nebula, then punch it up to warp nine.”
“Arm phasers,” Picard said, “load all torpedo bays, engage.”
<><><>
It only took moments for the ship to clear the nebula and head into open space.
“Borg ship is in pursuit,” Worf said. The ship rumbled violently. “They’ve locked on to us again, shields are being drained.”
“Fire at will,” Picard said. “Data, distance from the nebula?”
“We have reached minimum safe distance,” the android. “Powering the deflector dish.”
“Launching torpedoes,” Worf said, “phaser spread continuing.”
“Tractor beam broken!” Crusher said.
“Go to warp five,” Riker said, “get us some distance. Time to deflector pulse?”
“One minute twenty five seconds,” Data said.
“The Borg are in pursuit,” Worf said.
Picard watched the data readouts on his armrest monitor. “Helm, full stop, full about.” He waited as his ship slowed to a stop and spun around to face the monstrosity bearing down on them.
“Deflector ready,” Data reported.
Picard took a step forward placing both hands on the back of Data’s chair. “Fi…”
The Borg ship opened fire.
“Direct hits to decks one through five!” Worf called over the klaxons and emergency alarms. “Shields have failed!”
As soon as he finished speaking transporter beams appeared on the Bridge. Drones appeared, walking like zombies towards various crewmember. Worf drew his phaser and fired the retuned phaser pulses and the invading soldiers. Two of them were vaporized in the blast, the other three marched on deflecting the beams with forcefields.
The lead solider made its way for Picard. Worf hurled himself over the tactical station to defend his captain and caught Borg armature across his head, knocking him unconscious. Troi screamed as one of the Borg grabbed her and injected her with a trio of tubules. Picard cried out as a drone did the same to him. The two officers dropped to the deck in agony, their skin rippling with Borg technology replicating and breaking through their skin.
Finally in an act of defiance it was Data who leapt out of his chair and attacked the three Borg, breaking their necks and tearing their support tubes from their throats. Picard and Troi shook on the deck, more Borg implants erupting.
“Data!” Riker bellowed. “The deflector! Fire!”
Data lunged back into his seat and his hands sped across the control surface. “Deflector output at maximum tolerance. Firing…”
On the viewscreen on the far wall a sensor reading of the Enterprise’s battle with the Borg was playing out with a series of telemetry readings indicating power levels and internal sensor diagnostics. “There,” Geordi La Forge said. “This is when Commander Data started randomizing the phaser frequencies.” The graph of energy output on the Borg ship shifted several centimeters to the left. “There’s a two percent drop in power across the entire Borg ship. It’s just when the phasers hit the high narrow band.”
“Apparently the Borg shields and power systems are susceptible to those energy frequencies,” Data remarked.
“Right,” Geordi said. “If we can generate a concentrated burst of energy with that same frequency distribution… we could crack that ship open.”
“How do we do that?” the captain asked.
“The main deflector dish,” Data said.
“It’s the only component on the ship designed to channel that much energy at controlled frequencies,” Geordi offered.
“Unfortunately, such a blast would destroy the Enterprise,” Data said calmly.
“What if we could get farther away?” Riker said. “Increase the range of the deflector pulse.”
“We could install higher-capacity power transfers to the main ODN lines and re-route from the starboard impulse reactor. What do you think Data?”
“It could work. But it will take at least six hours to make the necessary modifications.”
“Let’s get to it then,” the captain said. “Use what ever means or crewman you need, Mister La Forge. Dismissed.”
Picard remained behind as his officers filed out. He walked to the viewport and peered out at the swirling mass of the nebula that hid his ship from certain destruction.
There was a flash of light reflected in the transparent aluminum. Picard spun around to find Q leisurely relaxed in one of the chairs.
“The Borg is the ultimate user, with the result that they are unlike any threat your Federation has ever faced. They have no interest in political conquest -- or wealth or power as you know it. They simply want your ship -- its technology. They have identified it as something they can consume and use.”
“Q,” Picard said coldly. “More than a hundred of my people have died. You brought us here, you must have the ability to send us back.”
Q dropped his feet to the deck and stood. “It’s not safe out here, Captain. Just like a told you. There’s a race of beings outside this little nebula looking to enslave your crew, absorb it’s technology and march over your entire civilization. This is the greatest threat your puny race will ever encounter. Use that knowledge, Jean-Luc.” He snapped his fingers and was gone.
<><><>
Captain's log, supplemental. The Enterprise remains concealed in the dust cloud. The Borg ship remains at the perimeter waiting for us. We continue to prepare our defenses for the inevitable confrontation. But, I must admit, on this night I contemplate the distinct possibility that no defense may be adequate against this enemy.
“Deflector modifications are complete,” said Lieutenant Commander Data, emerging from the aft turbolift
“What about shields?” Picard asked.
“Generators have been repaired,” Worf reported. “We’ll be modulating the nutation and the same frequencies as the deflector pulse.”
“How far away from the nebula will we have to be in order to deploy the weapon?” Riker asked. He stood near his chair next to Picard and Troi.
“At least one hundred thousand kilometers,” Data said, taking his seat at ops. “Any closer and we risk igniting the dust cloud.”
“All right,” Picard said, taking his seat along with Troi and Riker. “Take us out here, Number One.”
“Helm,” Riker said quickly. “Course one eight five mark five, half impulse until we’ve cleared the nebula, then punch it up to warp nine.”
“Arm phasers,” Picard said, “load all torpedo bays, engage.”
<><><>
It only took moments for the ship to clear the nebula and head into open space.
“Borg ship is in pursuit,” Worf said. The ship rumbled violently. “They’ve locked on to us again, shields are being drained.”
“Fire at will,” Picard said. “Data, distance from the nebula?”
“We have reached minimum safe distance,” the android. “Powering the deflector dish.”
“Launching torpedoes,” Worf said, “phaser spread continuing.”
“Tractor beam broken!” Crusher said.
“Go to warp five,” Riker said, “get us some distance. Time to deflector pulse?”
“One minute twenty five seconds,” Data said.
“The Borg are in pursuit,” Worf said.
Picard watched the data readouts on his armrest monitor. “Helm, full stop, full about.” He waited as his ship slowed to a stop and spun around to face the monstrosity bearing down on them.
“Deflector ready,” Data reported.
Picard took a step forward placing both hands on the back of Data’s chair. “Fi…”
The Borg ship opened fire.
“Direct hits to decks one through five!” Worf called over the klaxons and emergency alarms. “Shields have failed!”
As soon as he finished speaking transporter beams appeared on the Bridge. Drones appeared, walking like zombies towards various crewmember. Worf drew his phaser and fired the retuned phaser pulses and the invading soldiers. Two of them were vaporized in the blast, the other three marched on deflecting the beams with forcefields.
The lead solider made its way for Picard. Worf hurled himself over the tactical station to defend his captain and caught Borg armature across his head, knocking him unconscious. Troi screamed as one of the Borg grabbed her and injected her with a trio of tubules. Picard cried out as a drone did the same to him. The two officers dropped to the deck in agony, their skin rippling with Borg technology replicating and breaking through their skin.
Finally in an act of defiance it was Data who leapt out of his chair and attacked the three Borg, breaking their necks and tearing their support tubes from their throats. Picard and Troi shook on the deck, more Borg implants erupting.
“Data!” Riker bellowed. “The deflector! Fire!”
Data lunged back into his seat and his hands sped across the control surface. “Deflector output at maximum tolerance. Firing…”
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
The main deflector dish on the Enterprise was an oval shaped construction designed to sweep space debris away to allow a vessel to safely traverse the stars. Under special circumstances it could be retooled as a lens to focus different forms of energy.
It was not designed to channel raw power from a ship’s warp core and direct the power outward. But with a creative redesign of power transfer systems and a solidified enhancement of the structural supports, Geordi La Forge and Data and reconfigured the dish to fire a concentrated burst of pure destructive energy.
The white beams coalesced together and erupted away from the ship meeting the outer layers of the hull of the Borg ship. The massive cube began to implode in on itself, before its central power core erupted in a fireball that expanded in every direction. Debris from the eruption pelted the unshielded Enterprise tearing large breaches across its saucer section and crippling primary systems. In one last eruption, the Borg ship vaporized.
<><><>
The bridge was devastated, fire suppression clouds fell from the upper bulkheads, console erupted in flames. The port side of the bridge had collapsed in on itself, burying three crewman in the debris.
Riker was on his hands and knees coughing madly due to the smoke. Worf was slowly coming to and was headed for his station. On the deck Picard and Troi lie motionless, the Borg implants sparking.
Data quickly snatched a med kit from an emergency station in the starboard bulkhead and ran a tricorder over the two fallen comrades. The device emitted a sing tone indicating… “They are dead, Commander,” he said to Riker.
It was not designed to channel raw power from a ship’s warp core and direct the power outward. But with a creative redesign of power transfer systems and a solidified enhancement of the structural supports, Geordi La Forge and Data and reconfigured the dish to fire a concentrated burst of pure destructive energy.
The white beams coalesced together and erupted away from the ship meeting the outer layers of the hull of the Borg ship. The massive cube began to implode in on itself, before its central power core erupted in a fireball that expanded in every direction. Debris from the eruption pelted the unshielded Enterprise tearing large breaches across its saucer section and crippling primary systems. In one last eruption, the Borg ship vaporized.
<><><>
The bridge was devastated, fire suppression clouds fell from the upper bulkheads, console erupted in flames. The port side of the bridge had collapsed in on itself, burying three crewman in the debris.
Riker was on his hands and knees coughing madly due to the smoke. Worf was slowly coming to and was headed for his station. On the deck Picard and Troi lie motionless, the Borg implants sparking.
Data quickly snatched a med kit from an emergency station in the starboard bulkhead and ran a tricorder over the two fallen comrades. The device emitted a sing tone indicating… “They are dead, Commander,” he said to Riker.
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
Will Riker switched off his padd, sat back in the plush conference room chair and waited for the assault to begin. Thanks to the quick temper and direct personage of Admiral Nora Satie, he didn’t have to wait long.
“Commander Riker, you’re telling us that this...this.. Q, flung the Enterprise to the edge of the quadrant in the path of this cube ship, which killed over one hundred of your fellow crewmen, then just sent you back?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Riker said evenly. “My entire crew will vouch for that. Q said it was to let us know what is out there and that the Borg will be coming for us. The information gathered during our encounter may lead a defense when they reach our borders.”
From across the conference table, Admiral Toddman, chief of Starfleet Security leaded forward. “My people have gone over the sensor logs since Enterprise returned home. IF this Borg ship is indicative of what the possesses as a race, and if what Q said about them being able to adapt to the deflector pulse weapon, we’re in serious trouble. That entire monstrosity was decentralized, all units working independently to keep the vessel running. Projections show that a Borg ship like the one you faced could continue to function even if seventy-eight percent of it were inoperable.”
“And with the exception of the deflector weapon,” Admiral Whatley said, “our best weapons barely made a dent.”
“Commander Riker,” Satie said, “am I correct in the fact that you turned down the command of the USS Drake in order to take the XO billet on the Enterprise?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Riker said. “I found that a post aboard the flagship was a better career opportunity for me than the command of a light cruiser.”
“So you do think you are ready to command a starship?” Satie asked.
“Absolutely,” Riker said, feeling a strange feeling in the back on his mind.
Satie tapped in several commands into the padd. “Then as of this Stardate I hereby promote you to the rank of Captain. The Enterprise is your ship now. Once repairs are complete we will have new orders written up. Most likely it will be to search out these Borg and find a way to stop them before they reach the Federation.”
“Commander Riker, you’re telling us that this...this.. Q, flung the Enterprise to the edge of the quadrant in the path of this cube ship, which killed over one hundred of your fellow crewmen, then just sent you back?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Riker said evenly. “My entire crew will vouch for that. Q said it was to let us know what is out there and that the Borg will be coming for us. The information gathered during our encounter may lead a defense when they reach our borders.”
From across the conference table, Admiral Toddman, chief of Starfleet Security leaded forward. “My people have gone over the sensor logs since Enterprise returned home. IF this Borg ship is indicative of what the possesses as a race, and if what Q said about them being able to adapt to the deflector pulse weapon, we’re in serious trouble. That entire monstrosity was decentralized, all units working independently to keep the vessel running. Projections show that a Borg ship like the one you faced could continue to function even if seventy-eight percent of it were inoperable.”
“And with the exception of the deflector weapon,” Admiral Whatley said, “our best weapons barely made a dent.”
“Commander Riker,” Satie said, “am I correct in the fact that you turned down the command of the USS Drake in order to take the XO billet on the Enterprise?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Riker said. “I found that a post aboard the flagship was a better career opportunity for me than the command of a light cruiser.”
“So you do think you are ready to command a starship?” Satie asked.
“Absolutely,” Riker said, feeling a strange feeling in the back on his mind.
Satie tapped in several commands into the padd. “Then as of this Stardate I hereby promote you to the rank of Captain. The Enterprise is your ship now. Once repairs are complete we will have new orders written up. Most likely it will be to search out these Borg and find a way to stop them before they reach the Federation.”
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
Captain’s personal log Stardate 2364.11:I ever wanted to become a captain under these circumstances. When I turned down the Drake to be first officer of the Enterprise, I seriously thought I’d learn a great deal from Jean-Luc Picard. He’d commanded a deep space explorer for the better part of two decades. He’d have a great deal to teach me. Then on our first mission out, the captain is killed and I’m thrust into command to make something good come from all of this death. It’s a fine crew; I’ve got to make these losses count for something.
Captain Will Riker sat at the helm of the Shuttle Cochrane as the sleek craft ascended from San Francisco and made her way towards McKinley Station. At his side, Lieutenant Commander Data was prattling on about ships’ status and his endeavors to research anything Starfleet might have on the Borg.
“I have reached in impasse in my search,” Data said. “I was correlating Federation contact with cybernetic life-forms and was stopped by a security block during an encounter in the mid twenty-second century.”
Riker keyed in their orbital slot and activated the impulse engines. “Two hundred years ago?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, a Starfleet team found a crashed ship in the Arctic Circle. The vessel had been burned in the ice for nearly one hundred years. All of the information I could find said the team disappeared along with the corpses in their transport ship and was subsequently destroyed by the NX-01.”
“Archer’s Enterprise,” Riker said.
“Precisely,” Data said. “One member of the team transmitted images of the bodies to a colleague at Cambridge University. I was able to obtain one of the images from that professor’s personal journals.” He handed a Riker a padd that held a fuzzy image of a pasty white humanoid lying on a bio bed. A Borg drone.
“Starfleet’s known about them for two hundred years,” Riker realized.
“At least of their existence, all of the information has been classified,” Data said.
“Tell the Enterprise we’re not coming back yet,” Riker said. “Come about, Data, take us back to San Francisco. We need some god damned answers.”
<><><>
Geordi La Forge sat in the command chair on the bridge of the Enterprise eagerly awating the captain’s return, which would allow Geordi to return to main engineering to get his hands around the repair and refit teams. The McKinley boys were good, but the schedule was starting to lag behind and La Forge was going to have to crack some skulls to keep their current launch date.
The orders had come in less than forty-five minutes ago. The ship was being sent to a distant corner of the Beta quadrant where a long-range science vessel had disappeared more than a decade ago. Information pieced together by Commander Data indicated that two Federation scientists, acting on information obtained from various sources had set off in search of a race of cybernetic life forms. They’d not been heard from sense. Their last known location had been transmitted to Deep Space Four in the Omega Sector. Enterprise would head to the remote part of the galaxy and attempt to determine the fate of the lost USS Raven.
“Lieutenant,” said Worf. “Captain Riker has signaled. He and Commander Data have been delayed. They’ve returned to Starfleet Headquarters and will advise us further.”
La Forge stood. He could sit around on the bridge any longer. “Thanks, Worf, you have the bridge, I have to get back to my engine room.”
<><><>
Riker and Data hadn’t even waited for the shuttle’s engines to cool before disembarking and heading back into Headquarters. They strode past security officers, and made their way for the office in question. Slapping the call signal, the doors slid into the wall, and Riker marched in, Data in his wake.
Behind her desk Admiral Satie looked up sharply. “Captain Riker, I’d have thought you’d returned to your ship by now. Your departure has been moved up forty hours. You have a lot of work to do.”
“Admiral,” Riker snapped, snatching the padd from data and throwing it on to the desk. “I was under the impression Starfleet had no knowledge of the Borg.”
Satie took the padd, studied the image for a long moment, then slowly looked up.
“Captain,” she said with a sigh, “we known about them for quite some time. When the Borg that Archer encountered were destroyed, they communicated the location of Earth to the rest of their species. Our best estimates indicate their home was deep in the Delta quadrant. The Raven was dispatched to investigate rumors of El-Aurian refugees who had lost their world to a race described as very similar to the Borg.”
“So we’ve been sititing on this for two centuries?” Riker asked.
“No quite,” Satie said. “Starfleet Intelligence along with some more covert organizations have been building a hopeful defense against the Borg for some time. We have weapons, defense grids and sensors that are ready to deploy should the Borg come. These defense have been added to your vessel I might add.”
“I don’t understand why I wasn’t told about this,” Riker said. “You were sending the Enterprise into harm’s way without all pertinent information.”
“We wanted an unbiased opinion,” Satie said. “If we sent you out with the thought that you would find the Borg, you most likely would have come up with that.”
“I’m not sure I like that implication,” Riker said. He nodded to Data. “Data’s my new XO and he’s been incredibly thorough in his research. We’ve got good people on that ship that would have given you an honest appraisal of the situation.”
“I know,” Satie said, “I was the lone hold out of the admiralties decision. Very well. I’ll release all classified information on the Borg to you and your senior staff.” She stood, pushing her chair back. “You may be the key to the survival of the Federation. I don’t envy you your task, Captain, but I wish you good luck. For all our sakes.”
Captain Will Riker sat at the helm of the Shuttle Cochrane as the sleek craft ascended from San Francisco and made her way towards McKinley Station. At his side, Lieutenant Commander Data was prattling on about ships’ status and his endeavors to research anything Starfleet might have on the Borg.
“I have reached in impasse in my search,” Data said. “I was correlating Federation contact with cybernetic life-forms and was stopped by a security block during an encounter in the mid twenty-second century.”
Riker keyed in their orbital slot and activated the impulse engines. “Two hundred years ago?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, a Starfleet team found a crashed ship in the Arctic Circle. The vessel had been burned in the ice for nearly one hundred years. All of the information I could find said the team disappeared along with the corpses in their transport ship and was subsequently destroyed by the NX-01.”
“Archer’s Enterprise,” Riker said.
“Precisely,” Data said. “One member of the team transmitted images of the bodies to a colleague at Cambridge University. I was able to obtain one of the images from that professor’s personal journals.” He handed a Riker a padd that held a fuzzy image of a pasty white humanoid lying on a bio bed. A Borg drone.
“Starfleet’s known about them for two hundred years,” Riker realized.
“At least of their existence, all of the information has been classified,” Data said.
“Tell the Enterprise we’re not coming back yet,” Riker said. “Come about, Data, take us back to San Francisco. We need some god damned answers.”
<><><>
Geordi La Forge sat in the command chair on the bridge of the Enterprise eagerly awating the captain’s return, which would allow Geordi to return to main engineering to get his hands around the repair and refit teams. The McKinley boys were good, but the schedule was starting to lag behind and La Forge was going to have to crack some skulls to keep their current launch date.
The orders had come in less than forty-five minutes ago. The ship was being sent to a distant corner of the Beta quadrant where a long-range science vessel had disappeared more than a decade ago. Information pieced together by Commander Data indicated that two Federation scientists, acting on information obtained from various sources had set off in search of a race of cybernetic life forms. They’d not been heard from sense. Their last known location had been transmitted to Deep Space Four in the Omega Sector. Enterprise would head to the remote part of the galaxy and attempt to determine the fate of the lost USS Raven.
“Lieutenant,” said Worf. “Captain Riker has signaled. He and Commander Data have been delayed. They’ve returned to Starfleet Headquarters and will advise us further.”
La Forge stood. He could sit around on the bridge any longer. “Thanks, Worf, you have the bridge, I have to get back to my engine room.”
<><><>
Riker and Data hadn’t even waited for the shuttle’s engines to cool before disembarking and heading back into Headquarters. They strode past security officers, and made their way for the office in question. Slapping the call signal, the doors slid into the wall, and Riker marched in, Data in his wake.
Behind her desk Admiral Satie looked up sharply. “Captain Riker, I’d have thought you’d returned to your ship by now. Your departure has been moved up forty hours. You have a lot of work to do.”
“Admiral,” Riker snapped, snatching the padd from data and throwing it on to the desk. “I was under the impression Starfleet had no knowledge of the Borg.”
Satie took the padd, studied the image for a long moment, then slowly looked up.
“Captain,” she said with a sigh, “we known about them for quite some time. When the Borg that Archer encountered were destroyed, they communicated the location of Earth to the rest of their species. Our best estimates indicate their home was deep in the Delta quadrant. The Raven was dispatched to investigate rumors of El-Aurian refugees who had lost their world to a race described as very similar to the Borg.”
“So we’ve been sititing on this for two centuries?” Riker asked.
“No quite,” Satie said. “Starfleet Intelligence along with some more covert organizations have been building a hopeful defense against the Borg for some time. We have weapons, defense grids and sensors that are ready to deploy should the Borg come. These defense have been added to your vessel I might add.”
“I don’t understand why I wasn’t told about this,” Riker said. “You were sending the Enterprise into harm’s way without all pertinent information.”
“We wanted an unbiased opinion,” Satie said. “If we sent you out with the thought that you would find the Borg, you most likely would have come up with that.”
“I’m not sure I like that implication,” Riker said. He nodded to Data. “Data’s my new XO and he’s been incredibly thorough in his research. We’ve got good people on that ship that would have given you an honest appraisal of the situation.”
“I know,” Satie said, “I was the lone hold out of the admiralties decision. Very well. I’ll release all classified information on the Borg to you and your senior staff.” She stood, pushing her chair back. “You may be the key to the survival of the Federation. I don’t envy you your task, Captain, but I wish you good luck. For all our sakes.”
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
<><><>
System status reports showed the ship was ready for departure and after ten weeks in dock, Will Riker was anxious to get underway. He stood in his read room, watching through the port as the last of the supply shuttles pulled away and the McKinley EVA crews disembark aboard their workbees. Enterprise was his ship now, and he’d been given a mission greater than he’d ever thought possible. The very survival of the Federation hinged on what they found.
Starfleet Tactical hadn’t been kidding when they promised an upgrade to the Enterprise’s defensive systems. He’d skimmed past the tech updates on his monitor and was shocked to see a separate fusion reactor had been installed to only operate the new weapons array. A massive ionic phaser pulse cannon had been installed along the dorsal section of the saucer where the captain’s yacht had used to be. A full complement of new warheads called quantum torpedoes had been shipped in from the teams at Utopia Planitia and Starfleet Engineering had really done a number of their own by installing a third warp nacelle along the engineering hull. Raw data only showed power systems on the ship forty-percent higher than before. New redundant shield generators had been installed, and the outer hull had been fitted with ablative armor.
In two months Enterprise had been retrofitted into a warship.
And Riker hated it.
Starfleet was a defensive organization, not a military one. Beefing up your ships with overwhelming weapons was diametrically opposed to peacefully seeking out new life. But with the events at J25, peace may be a long way off. The rest of the fleet was undergoing the same upgrades and retrofitting as the Enterprise and a sizeable battle fleet would be operational in a month’s time.
Enough, Riker thought, heading to the Bridge.
Data vacated the command chair and took his seat at the captain’s right. “Ship is ready for departure, all decks report ready.”
Decks full of specialists, Starfleet crewman and security personnel, Riker thought. The first to disembark had been the families after their return. He eased himself into the command chair and tapped in several commands, checking readiness and last minute updates. “Mister Crusher, thrusters, take us out. Once we’ve cleared spacedock, make your course for Deep Space Four and our rendezvous with the Stargazer, warp eight.”
PART II: Into the Unknown
“You don’t have to go, you know.”
Doctor Beverly Crusher put three more data padds into her every-bulging duffel bag and synched it shut. “Jack, we’ve been through this. You know this is what I want. We talked about it.”
Captain Jack Crusher crossed the small space of the cramped quarters he shared with his wife and sat on the edge of the bed. “Beverly, I just want you to be safe.”
Beverly put the bag on the deck and sat down next to her husband, taking his hand in hers. “I’m a Doctor, Jack, I need to be helping others. Besides, it’s going to take you months to get home.”
Jack winced at the remark. Their ship, the USS Stargazer had only recently returned to Federation space and docked her at DS4. They’d arrived to news that had broken the Crushers’ hearts and filled them with terror. Jean-Luc Picard, their closest friend had been killed on his first mission aboard the Enterprise. And Wesley had been at the helm.
Shortly after, Starfleet had recalled all of it’s long-range explorers. They’d be undergoing an extensive refit that would bring the forty-year Stargazer would be brought up to Starfleet specs and prepared to combat this new threat Picard had uncovered out beyond the border of the quadrant.
It was then that Beverly had received the personal request of the Enterprise’s new captain offering her post as CMO. Beverly had jumped at the chance. To serve aboard the flagship and to be with Wes was almost too good to be true.
“When are you scheduled to depart?” Beverly asked.
“Not for another twelve hours. Enterprise won’t be here for three weeks though. You’re going to go crazy without me, you know.”
Beverly smiled and kissed him. “Then we’d better make use of the time we have left.”
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
System status reports showed the ship was ready for departure and after ten weeks in dock, Will Riker was anxious to get underway. He stood in his read room, watching through the port as the last of the supply shuttles pulled away and the McKinley EVA crews disembark aboard their workbees. Enterprise was his ship now, and he’d been given a mission greater than he’d ever thought possible. The very survival of the Federation hinged on what they found.
Starfleet Tactical hadn’t been kidding when they promised an upgrade to the Enterprise’s defensive systems. He’d skimmed past the tech updates on his monitor and was shocked to see a separate fusion reactor had been installed to only operate the new weapons array. A massive ionic phaser pulse cannon had been installed along the dorsal section of the saucer where the captain’s yacht had used to be. A full complement of new warheads called quantum torpedoes had been shipped in from the teams at Utopia Planitia and Starfleet Engineering had really done a number of their own by installing a third warp nacelle along the engineering hull. Raw data only showed power systems on the ship forty-percent higher than before. New redundant shield generators had been installed, and the outer hull had been fitted with ablative armor.
In two months Enterprise had been retrofitted into a warship.
And Riker hated it.
Starfleet was a defensive organization, not a military one. Beefing up your ships with overwhelming weapons was diametrically opposed to peacefully seeking out new life. But with the events at J25, peace may be a long way off. The rest of the fleet was undergoing the same upgrades and retrofitting as the Enterprise and a sizeable battle fleet would be operational in a month’s time.
Enough, Riker thought, heading to the Bridge.
Data vacated the command chair and took his seat at the captain’s right. “Ship is ready for departure, all decks report ready.”
Decks full of specialists, Starfleet crewman and security personnel, Riker thought. The first to disembark had been the families after their return. He eased himself into the command chair and tapped in several commands, checking readiness and last minute updates. “Mister Crusher, thrusters, take us out. Once we’ve cleared spacedock, make your course for Deep Space Four and our rendezvous with the Stargazer, warp eight.”
PART II: Into the Unknown
“You don’t have to go, you know.”
Doctor Beverly Crusher put three more data padds into her every-bulging duffel bag and synched it shut. “Jack, we’ve been through this. You know this is what I want. We talked about it.”
Captain Jack Crusher crossed the small space of the cramped quarters he shared with his wife and sat on the edge of the bed. “Beverly, I just want you to be safe.”
Beverly put the bag on the deck and sat down next to her husband, taking his hand in hers. “I’m a Doctor, Jack, I need to be helping others. Besides, it’s going to take you months to get home.”
Jack winced at the remark. Their ship, the USS Stargazer had only recently returned to Federation space and docked her at DS4. They’d arrived to news that had broken the Crushers’ hearts and filled them with terror. Jean-Luc Picard, their closest friend had been killed on his first mission aboard the Enterprise. And Wesley had been at the helm.
Shortly after, Starfleet had recalled all of it’s long-range explorers. They’d be undergoing an extensive refit that would bring the forty-year Stargazer would be brought up to Starfleet specs and prepared to combat this new threat Picard had uncovered out beyond the border of the quadrant.
It was then that Beverly had received the personal request of the Enterprise’s new captain offering her post as CMO. Beverly had jumped at the chance. To serve aboard the flagship and to be with Wes was almost too good to be true.
“When are you scheduled to depart?” Beverly asked.
“Not for another twelve hours. Enterprise won’t be here for three weeks though. You’re going to go crazy without me, you know.”
Beverly smiled and kissed him. “Then we’d better make use of the time we have left.”
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
So the All Good Things alternate future Enterprise has returned, interesting.
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
Chapter:
Ship’s Log, SS Raven, Stardate 2352.14. We’ve been tracking the Borg cube for seventeen hours. It dropped out of warp near a Class-J gas giant and took on a re-supply of antimatter from an asteroid field. After that it jumped to warp just in time for us to tag along and keep our refractive shielding online.
Yesterday afternoon we officially left Federation space, but we logged all our data and will be shipping it out to DS4 along with this log entry.. Erin ‘s not too happy about us staying out this long and with each passing day I regret bringing Anika along. We’ll continue our observations and report back to the Federation Science Council as soon as we’re in range again…”
<><><>
The log entry ended and a cold silence fell upon the conference lounge. At the head of the table, Lieutenant Commander Kathryn Janeway tapped the panel, shutting down the display. The ship’s new operations officer and chief science officer was fresh off her posting from the Orias Expedition aboard the Al-Batani and had come highly recommended by Admiral Paris at Headquarters.
“That was the last message of the SS Raven, received approximately ten years ago just prior to their disappearance. According to the de-classified logs they’d been trailing a Borg ship after they’d deviated from their assigned course. Making a march across the Romulan frontier and through several Klingon protectorates, Starfleet lost track of them. The Argus Array that’d been tracking their course showed them simply vanish in Sector 88797 on Stardate 2352.19.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Riker said, turning back to his senior staff. Worf, Data, Crusher, La Forge and Janeway all took their seats. “You all know what happened at J-25; it’s started a chain of events that Starfleet’s been preparing for since before the formation of the Federation itself. After we leave DS4, we’re going to Sector 88797. We’ll find out what happened to the Raven, or at least determine there’s nothing hostile out there. The outcome of our mission there will determine our next move. Starfleet’s ordered us on a general course to find the Borg. Best estimates from the NX-01 logs show that to be deep inside the Delta quadrant. Far beyond conventional warp drive.”
“Even with a third nacelle, we’re still forced to follow the laws of Cochrane-physics,” La Forge said with a smirk.
Riker smiled. “I know it’s been a tough transition. We’ve not served together very long, but each of you has proven yourself in this extreme times. Given the refit and the removal of civilians and families, the post of ship’s counselor has been cancelled across the fleet until further notice. However, we’re picking up our new medical officer at the rendezvous, which I’m sure you looking forward to, Wes.”
The young pilot smiled faintly. “Yes, sir. It’s been a while.”
“What is our Eta?” Riker asked.
“Eight days, give or take,” Crusher said.
“Good. Let’s make the most of it. Once we leave DS4, we’re no doubt in for an interesting time. Get your people ready. Dismissed.”
<><><>
Miles Edward O’Brien smiled in greeting as the captain entred transporter room three along with Cadet Crusher and Commander Data. They’d dropped out of warp around DS4 just a few minutes ago and were expecting their new chief medical officer. O’Brien homed in on the station’s primary transporter array with the targeting sensors and awaiting the confirmation signal. He’d spent a few weeks on the station years ago when the Rutledge had been out this way. It was during that trip that he’d decided to remain on starship duty. You’d never catch him sitting still on a space station with nothing to do. He needed to be out here making a difference. His reverie was interrupted by a com call from the station. “DS4’s signaling, Captain. Ready for transport.”
“Energize,” Riker said, turning towards the pad. A single column of the blue annular confinement beam took shape and an attractive red-headed female in Starfleet blue took form.
“Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Doctor,” Riker said, extending his hand. “Cpatain William T. Riker.”
“Doctor Beverly Crusher reporting for duty, sir,” she replied, shaking his hand. She then turned her attention on the young cadet and grabbed in him a tight embrace. A single tear emerged from the corner of her eye as she held on to her son.
Riker beamed. “Mister Crusher will escort you down to Sickbay, Doctor. All of your equipment and belongings will be sent to your quarters.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Crusher said, her voice raw.
“Welcome aboard, again,” Riker said, “if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the bridge.” He left without another word, leaving the Crushers together.
They left the transporter room and headed towards sickbay.
“How’s Dad?” Wes asked.
“He’s fine,” Beverly said, “he sends his love. Starfleet ordered him back to Earth the refit, he really wanted to wait for the Enterprise to arrive.”
“I know. I miss him. No idea when we’ll be back, either.”
Beverly put a hand on his shoulder. “So. Sophomore at the Academy, field studies aboard the flagship. And you’re not even sixteen yet. Your father and I are very proud of you, Wesley.”
“Thanks,” Wes said sheepishly. “It’s been a mess though. I was on the bridge when Captain Picard was killed.”
Beverly remained silent for a long time as the continued down the corridor. “I know. I read the after action report. It must have been terrifying. I’m surprised you wanted to stay onboard.”
“It was a pretty hard decision. Captain Riker offered to let me stay on and continue my courses via subspace. If the Borg come for us, I’d rather be on the Enterprise than stuck on the surface of Earth.”
“Well, we can only hope we can figure out a way to prevent them from coming,” Crusher said.
“That’s the idea,” Wes said. “I just don’t think anyone has an idea how to do that.”
<><><>
Ship’s Log, SS Raven, Stardate 2352.14. We’ve been tracking the Borg cube for seventeen hours. It dropped out of warp near a Class-J gas giant and took on a re-supply of antimatter from an asteroid field. After that it jumped to warp just in time for us to tag along and keep our refractive shielding online.
Yesterday afternoon we officially left Federation space, but we logged all our data and will be shipping it out to DS4 along with this log entry.. Erin ‘s not too happy about us staying out this long and with each passing day I regret bringing Anika along. We’ll continue our observations and report back to the Federation Science Council as soon as we’re in range again…”
<><><>
The log entry ended and a cold silence fell upon the conference lounge. At the head of the table, Lieutenant Commander Kathryn Janeway tapped the panel, shutting down the display. The ship’s new operations officer and chief science officer was fresh off her posting from the Orias Expedition aboard the Al-Batani and had come highly recommended by Admiral Paris at Headquarters.
“That was the last message of the SS Raven, received approximately ten years ago just prior to their disappearance. According to the de-classified logs they’d been trailing a Borg ship after they’d deviated from their assigned course. Making a march across the Romulan frontier and through several Klingon protectorates, Starfleet lost track of them. The Argus Array that’d been tracking their course showed them simply vanish in Sector 88797 on Stardate 2352.19.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Riker said, turning back to his senior staff. Worf, Data, Crusher, La Forge and Janeway all took their seats. “You all know what happened at J-25; it’s started a chain of events that Starfleet’s been preparing for since before the formation of the Federation itself. After we leave DS4, we’re going to Sector 88797. We’ll find out what happened to the Raven, or at least determine there’s nothing hostile out there. The outcome of our mission there will determine our next move. Starfleet’s ordered us on a general course to find the Borg. Best estimates from the NX-01 logs show that to be deep inside the Delta quadrant. Far beyond conventional warp drive.”
“Even with a third nacelle, we’re still forced to follow the laws of Cochrane-physics,” La Forge said with a smirk.
Riker smiled. “I know it’s been a tough transition. We’ve not served together very long, but each of you has proven yourself in this extreme times. Given the refit and the removal of civilians and families, the post of ship’s counselor has been cancelled across the fleet until further notice. However, we’re picking up our new medical officer at the rendezvous, which I’m sure you looking forward to, Wes.”
The young pilot smiled faintly. “Yes, sir. It’s been a while.”
“What is our Eta?” Riker asked.
“Eight days, give or take,” Crusher said.
“Good. Let’s make the most of it. Once we leave DS4, we’re no doubt in for an interesting time. Get your people ready. Dismissed.”
<><><>
Miles Edward O’Brien smiled in greeting as the captain entred transporter room three along with Cadet Crusher and Commander Data. They’d dropped out of warp around DS4 just a few minutes ago and were expecting their new chief medical officer. O’Brien homed in on the station’s primary transporter array with the targeting sensors and awaiting the confirmation signal. He’d spent a few weeks on the station years ago when the Rutledge had been out this way. It was during that trip that he’d decided to remain on starship duty. You’d never catch him sitting still on a space station with nothing to do. He needed to be out here making a difference. His reverie was interrupted by a com call from the station. “DS4’s signaling, Captain. Ready for transport.”
“Energize,” Riker said, turning towards the pad. A single column of the blue annular confinement beam took shape and an attractive red-headed female in Starfleet blue took form.
“Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Doctor,” Riker said, extending his hand. “Cpatain William T. Riker.”
“Doctor Beverly Crusher reporting for duty, sir,” she replied, shaking his hand. She then turned her attention on the young cadet and grabbed in him a tight embrace. A single tear emerged from the corner of her eye as she held on to her son.
Riker beamed. “Mister Crusher will escort you down to Sickbay, Doctor. All of your equipment and belongings will be sent to your quarters.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Crusher said, her voice raw.
“Welcome aboard, again,” Riker said, “if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the bridge.” He left without another word, leaving the Crushers together.
They left the transporter room and headed towards sickbay.
“How’s Dad?” Wes asked.
“He’s fine,” Beverly said, “he sends his love. Starfleet ordered him back to Earth the refit, he really wanted to wait for the Enterprise to arrive.”
“I know. I miss him. No idea when we’ll be back, either.”
Beverly put a hand on his shoulder. “So. Sophomore at the Academy, field studies aboard the flagship. And you’re not even sixteen yet. Your father and I are very proud of you, Wesley.”
“Thanks,” Wes said sheepishly. “It’s been a mess though. I was on the bridge when Captain Picard was killed.”
Beverly remained silent for a long time as the continued down the corridor. “I know. I read the after action report. It must have been terrifying. I’m surprised you wanted to stay onboard.”
“It was a pretty hard decision. Captain Riker offered to let me stay on and continue my courses via subspace. If the Borg come for us, I’d rather be on the Enterprise than stuck on the surface of Earth.”
“Well, we can only hope we can figure out a way to prevent them from coming,” Crusher said.
“That’s the idea,” Wes said. “I just don’t think anyone has an idea how to do that.”
<><><>
Actually, the real world's Navies gave us that.
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
<><><>
Enterprise made good time to Sector 88797 after departing Federation space. With their new warp drive, they maintained the high-side of warp nine for long periods and raced towards their destination.
What they found their confused the science department and puzzled even the ship’s sensor arrays.
“Triquantum waves,” Janeway said from ops. “They’re a residual of transwarp drive.”
“Transwarp?” Riker asked. “I thought that was considered an impossibility.”
“Starfleet toyed with the idea several decades ago,” Janeway conceded, “as a part of the original Excelsior Program, but it died after several accidents. It’s still not impossible, just unobtainable given current Federation science.”
“So the Borg may have it?” Riker said.
“It’s entirely possible. When the NX-01 gave chase to the Earth freighter that had been taken over the by the Borg, they improved it’s warp drive immensely. Taking a ship rated for 1.7 and getting it upwards of warp five.”
“How recent is the trail, Commander?” asked Data, who was standing next to Worf at the tactical station.
“Impossible to tell,” said Janeway. “Could be a few months, could be a few days. Triquantum waves don’t dissipate the way normal warp trails do.”
“Where does the trail lead to?” the captain asked.
“Right here,” Janeway replied. “The trail ends about forty kilometers directly ahead. Just comes to a dead stop.”
“I have a theory,” Data said, moving away from tactical and descending the ramp. “The Borg could be using transwarp conduits. Research in transwarp drive postulated that corridors could be constructed in transwarp space, maintained by spatial manifolds which could be triggered by certain energy frequencies.”
Riker considered this and scratched his beard. “Kathryn,” he said, “launch a probe, right into the heart of the dead zone.”
It only took a few seconds for Janeway to program the Class-IV probe and get it launched out of the forward tube. The bridge crew watched intently as the device raced away from the ship. A few seconds later, space seemed to open up in a burst of emerald energy and the probe vanished.
“Data, I think you’re right,” Riker said. “Mister Crusher, take us into that conduit, one quarter impulse.” He turned around and met eyes with Worf. “Red Alert, Mister Worf.”
He and Data took their seats and the android XO called out. “Shields to maximum, arm phasers and load all torpedo bays.”
“Course laid in,” Wesley said.
“Shields up,” Worf said, “weapons ready.”
Riker leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. “Engage.”
The trip through the conduit was a wild ride to say the least. The ship was pitched back and forth, it’s defensive systems being hampered. The forward scanners picked up large circular manifolds that maintained the integrity of the corrdir.
“Status,” Riker snapped over the rumbling and the alarms.
“Velocity passed warp nine point nine several seconds ago,” Crusher said. “I’m picking up an exit aperture at oh four seven mark one three. We’ll be there in about twenty-two seconds. Astrometric charts show it as deep inside the DELTA quadrant!”
“Worf,” Riker shouted. “Activate the cloaking device!”
Enterprise made good time to Sector 88797 after departing Federation space. With their new warp drive, they maintained the high-side of warp nine for long periods and raced towards their destination.
What they found their confused the science department and puzzled even the ship’s sensor arrays.
“Triquantum waves,” Janeway said from ops. “They’re a residual of transwarp drive.”
“Transwarp?” Riker asked. “I thought that was considered an impossibility.”
“Starfleet toyed with the idea several decades ago,” Janeway conceded, “as a part of the original Excelsior Program, but it died after several accidents. It’s still not impossible, just unobtainable given current Federation science.”
“So the Borg may have it?” Riker said.
“It’s entirely possible. When the NX-01 gave chase to the Earth freighter that had been taken over the by the Borg, they improved it’s warp drive immensely. Taking a ship rated for 1.7 and getting it upwards of warp five.”
“How recent is the trail, Commander?” asked Data, who was standing next to Worf at the tactical station.
“Impossible to tell,” said Janeway. “Could be a few months, could be a few days. Triquantum waves don’t dissipate the way normal warp trails do.”
“Where does the trail lead to?” the captain asked.
“Right here,” Janeway replied. “The trail ends about forty kilometers directly ahead. Just comes to a dead stop.”
“I have a theory,” Data said, moving away from tactical and descending the ramp. “The Borg could be using transwarp conduits. Research in transwarp drive postulated that corridors could be constructed in transwarp space, maintained by spatial manifolds which could be triggered by certain energy frequencies.”
Riker considered this and scratched his beard. “Kathryn,” he said, “launch a probe, right into the heart of the dead zone.”
It only took a few seconds for Janeway to program the Class-IV probe and get it launched out of the forward tube. The bridge crew watched intently as the device raced away from the ship. A few seconds later, space seemed to open up in a burst of emerald energy and the probe vanished.
“Data, I think you’re right,” Riker said. “Mister Crusher, take us into that conduit, one quarter impulse.” He turned around and met eyes with Worf. “Red Alert, Mister Worf.”
He and Data took their seats and the android XO called out. “Shields to maximum, arm phasers and load all torpedo bays.”
“Course laid in,” Wesley said.
“Shields up,” Worf said, “weapons ready.”
Riker leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. “Engage.”
The trip through the conduit was a wild ride to say the least. The ship was pitched back and forth, it’s defensive systems being hampered. The forward scanners picked up large circular manifolds that maintained the integrity of the corrdir.
“Status,” Riker snapped over the rumbling and the alarms.
“Velocity passed warp nine point nine several seconds ago,” Crusher said. “I’m picking up an exit aperture at oh four seven mark one three. We’ll be there in about twenty-two seconds. Astrometric charts show it as deep inside the DELTA quadrant!”
“Worf,” Riker shouted. “Activate the cloaking device!”
Wow thanks. Either way it still pisses me off.
It's really not a big deal, chill out.
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
Chapter:
There is no sound in space. So when the explosive triquantum energies of the transwarp conduit erupted, no one heard it. Just as no one saw the cloaked Federation vessel emerge from the corridor into the vast unknown depths of the Delta quadrant, seventy thousand light-years from home.
“Astrometric readings have been verified,” Janeway said. “Seventy one thousand two hundred fifty-five light-years from our last position.”
“IS the transwarp aperture stable?” Data asked.
“It seems to be,” Janeway said.
“Let’s hope it remains so while we conduct our research. It’s been there at least ten years at this point, it should stick around for a few days. Let’s get to work,” he said with a raw determination. “Commander Janeway, coordinate with tactical and set up a search grid. We’ve got the Borg signatures in the database and we know what we’re looking for. Also keep an eye and an ear out for any Federation signatures. It’s a long shot, but something from the Raven may have survived.”
<><><>
What started out as a three day expedition into this unknown corner of the galaxy, quickly increased to ten days, then twenty, then nearly a month of research. Enterprise had traveled nearly two hundred light-years from their entry point and followed a trail of energy readings, faint echoes in the subspace spectrum. Each trail led to a world that had been decimated in the same fashion as the planet they’d found at J25. The Borg had been busy, and for a long time. Energy decay readings and soil analysis of the planet’s crusts indicated that the destruction had happened from twenty years to three centuries ago.
On the first day of their second month in the Delta quadrant they came to the border of something that Riker had feared they’d find since they set out from Earth all those weeks ago.
The Enterprise arrived at the heart of Borg territory. There were no planets, only thousands upon thousands of interconnected structures, all with the same hull plating and design elements they’d found in the Borg cube. But here there were hundreds of vessels. Diamonds, tetahedrons, cubes, spheres, all of them swarmed the complex.
On the bridge a dark hush had fallen upon everyone present. Kathryn Janeway swallowed hard and tried to get the sensors to cooperate with what they were showing. “Scanners are picking up trillions of life-forms,” she said in a whisper.
That meant there were nearly has many Borg in this one sector as there were in the entire Federation. If it came to war, the vast galactic differences would make little difference with those transwarp conduits.
“Get everything you can,” Riker said. “I want all shifts scanning contintulsy. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Find a way to either cripple or destroy that thing. Then start working on a way to take down those transwarp conduits. Those sptial manifolds holing them together have to have a weakness. Find it.”
<><<>><>
Seventeen hours later, Riker sat alone in his ready room, trying to concentrate of crew reports, engineering repair and service requests, and was failing at all of it. Sitting out here, cloaked, gathering tactical data on the Borg complex was making him nervous as hell, and he just wanted to get the data and head home. When his door chime sounded the first time, he got to his feet welcome his visitor.
Data entered, carrying a padd that he placed on the captain’s desk. “Our analysis of the Borg complex is complete,” he said calmly.
“Let’s have it, Data,” Riker said softly.
Data activated the padd which blinked with a three-dimensional hologram that rotated above the table. “The complex contains approximately five thousand individual structures spanning 650 kilometers. Vessel count is approximately three thousand five hundred seperate vessels and best estimates indicate a population of six point four trillion.” He pointed a series of conduits. “Each section is individually powered and shielded, containing weapons ports and power nodes. Starfleet Tactical was correct in their reasoning that even if nearly eighty percent of the facility were destroyed, the rest of the structures could still operate independently. Current Starfleet technology does not contain the means to destroy such a facility.”
“Not out right anyways,” Riker said, activating his computer terminal. “That star out there’s the biggest weapon we could have. We could set off a trilithium weapon in the core and wipe the place out in the shockwave.”
Data’s eyebrows rose in a simulation of surprise. “Captain, based on the Raven data as well as our own research, this site represents the focal point of the entire Borg race. Wiping it out would be tantamount to genocide.”
“I know,” Riker said. “And I posed the same concern to Command before we left. There reasoning being that the Borg operate on a single consciousness they don’t represent a civilization, just a single being, no different than a criminal.” He picked up a padd from his desk and handed it to his XO. “These are the orders written by Admiral Satie herself ordering us to use what ever means necessary to wipe out the Borg’s offensive ability.”
Data took the padd and instantly read the information stored. “If the Borg discover us, or the fact that it was Starfleet that destroyed this facility, they will counterattack.”
“That’s the number one fear on my mind and the orders stand,” Riker said with finality. “I don’t much like it, but we can deliver a crippling blow to the Borg’s ability to wage war, we may save the entire quadrant.”
“I must officially protest this course of action in my log,” Data said.
“That’s your right of course,” Riker said. “I’ll it right along side of mine. Prepare the weapon and lay in a course for the system’s sun.”
There is no sound in space. So when the explosive triquantum energies of the transwarp conduit erupted, no one heard it. Just as no one saw the cloaked Federation vessel emerge from the corridor into the vast unknown depths of the Delta quadrant, seventy thousand light-years from home.
“Astrometric readings have been verified,” Janeway said. “Seventy one thousand two hundred fifty-five light-years from our last position.”
“IS the transwarp aperture stable?” Data asked.
“It seems to be,” Janeway said.
“Let’s hope it remains so while we conduct our research. It’s been there at least ten years at this point, it should stick around for a few days. Let’s get to work,” he said with a raw determination. “Commander Janeway, coordinate with tactical and set up a search grid. We’ve got the Borg signatures in the database and we know what we’re looking for. Also keep an eye and an ear out for any Federation signatures. It’s a long shot, but something from the Raven may have survived.”
<><><>
What started out as a three day expedition into this unknown corner of the galaxy, quickly increased to ten days, then twenty, then nearly a month of research. Enterprise had traveled nearly two hundred light-years from their entry point and followed a trail of energy readings, faint echoes in the subspace spectrum. Each trail led to a world that had been decimated in the same fashion as the planet they’d found at J25. The Borg had been busy, and for a long time. Energy decay readings and soil analysis of the planet’s crusts indicated that the destruction had happened from twenty years to three centuries ago.
On the first day of their second month in the Delta quadrant they came to the border of something that Riker had feared they’d find since they set out from Earth all those weeks ago.
The Enterprise arrived at the heart of Borg territory. There were no planets, only thousands upon thousands of interconnected structures, all with the same hull plating and design elements they’d found in the Borg cube. But here there were hundreds of vessels. Diamonds, tetahedrons, cubes, spheres, all of them swarmed the complex.
On the bridge a dark hush had fallen upon everyone present. Kathryn Janeway swallowed hard and tried to get the sensors to cooperate with what they were showing. “Scanners are picking up trillions of life-forms,” she said in a whisper.
That meant there were nearly has many Borg in this one sector as there were in the entire Federation. If it came to war, the vast galactic differences would make little difference with those transwarp conduits.
“Get everything you can,” Riker said. “I want all shifts scanning contintulsy. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Find a way to either cripple or destroy that thing. Then start working on a way to take down those transwarp conduits. Those sptial manifolds holing them together have to have a weakness. Find it.”
<><<>><>
Seventeen hours later, Riker sat alone in his ready room, trying to concentrate of crew reports, engineering repair and service requests, and was failing at all of it. Sitting out here, cloaked, gathering tactical data on the Borg complex was making him nervous as hell, and he just wanted to get the data and head home. When his door chime sounded the first time, he got to his feet welcome his visitor.
Data entered, carrying a padd that he placed on the captain’s desk. “Our analysis of the Borg complex is complete,” he said calmly.
“Let’s have it, Data,” Riker said softly.
Data activated the padd which blinked with a three-dimensional hologram that rotated above the table. “The complex contains approximately five thousand individual structures spanning 650 kilometers. Vessel count is approximately three thousand five hundred seperate vessels and best estimates indicate a population of six point four trillion.” He pointed a series of conduits. “Each section is individually powered and shielded, containing weapons ports and power nodes. Starfleet Tactical was correct in their reasoning that even if nearly eighty percent of the facility were destroyed, the rest of the structures could still operate independently. Current Starfleet technology does not contain the means to destroy such a facility.”
“Not out right anyways,” Riker said, activating his computer terminal. “That star out there’s the biggest weapon we could have. We could set off a trilithium weapon in the core and wipe the place out in the shockwave.”
Data’s eyebrows rose in a simulation of surprise. “Captain, based on the Raven data as well as our own research, this site represents the focal point of the entire Borg race. Wiping it out would be tantamount to genocide.”
“I know,” Riker said. “And I posed the same concern to Command before we left. There reasoning being that the Borg operate on a single consciousness they don’t represent a civilization, just a single being, no different than a criminal.” He picked up a padd from his desk and handed it to his XO. “These are the orders written by Admiral Satie herself ordering us to use what ever means necessary to wipe out the Borg’s offensive ability.”
Data took the padd and instantly read the information stored. “If the Borg discover us, or the fact that it was Starfleet that destroyed this facility, they will counterattack.”
“That’s the number one fear on my mind and the orders stand,” Riker said with finality. “I don’t much like it, but we can deliver a crippling blow to the Borg’s ability to wage war, we may save the entire quadrant.”
“I must officially protest this course of action in my log,” Data said.
“That’s your right of course,” Riker said. “I’ll it right along side of mine. Prepare the weapon and lay in a course for the system’s sun.”
Last edited:
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
<><><>
Geordi La Forge extracted the second set of sensor relays from the photon torpedo casing and set it on the antigrav cart next to him. “I don’t know,” he told his companion. “This entire thing really has me bothered.”
Lieutenant Worf attached a series of relay components and set the system into a quick diagnostic mode. “You saw what the Borg were capable of. They killed hundreds in an instant, including the captain.” He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but the failure he had felt on that dark day still haunted him and he had declared to the dead gods of Sto-Vo-Kor that he would avenge the captain’s death.
“I know, but taking out this entire facility, it just seems like genocide.”
“If the Borg come to Federation space they will tear the surface of our worlds apart and consume them to continue their conquest,” Worf said defiantly. “We must stop them before such an attack comes.”
“There’s a lot of ‘if’s’ there Worf,” Geordi said. “We’ve no idea if they’re going to invade. There’s seventy thousand light-years between here and home.”
“Yes,” Worf said, “and the transwarp network that we used to get here will take them directly into our territory. Starfleet has sent us to deliver a crippling blow that will stop the Borg from invading.”
“That’s assuming that that base out there is their only centralized location in the galaxy,” La Forge. “I have really bad feeling about this.”
“Perhaps,” Worf said, sealing the torpedo casing and running the final checks on the trilitihium warhead. “But these are our orders and we must obey them. For the sake of our families and comrades back home.” He tapped his combadge. “Worf to Bridge. The trilitium weapon is ready. It will be loaded in the forward tube in moments.”
<><><>
On the bridge, Riker acknowledged the com call and told Worf to set up the weapon and get back to his post as soon as possible. Then he’d ordered Crusher to take them into firing range around the system’s star. The massive solar eruptions and fire raged on the G-Type star, almost identical to that of Sol. The Enterprise would have to enter the stars photosphere to guarantee the torpedo could enter the corona without being deflected by the massive gravitational forces. And that meant the shields would have to be up. And in order for the shields to be up, they’d have to drop their cloak.
It was going to have be calculated to the millisecond. It was a forgone conclusion that the Borg would detect the Enterprise when it de-cloaked even through the stars radiation. The trick would be deploying the weapon, and executing an escape at maximum warp before the Borg attacked. Estimates indicated that the level twelve shockwave that was produced by the destroyed star would take twenty nine seconds to reach the Borg complex and vaporize it. That was the only window that the Borg ships would have to pursues the Enterprise out of the system.
The aft turbolift doors hissed open, depositing Worf and La Forge, who took their respective stations.
“We’re in position,” Crusher said, “holding station.”
Riker rose from the command chair and pulled down on his tunic, adjusting the fabric to smooth it on his frame. “This is it,” he said calmly. “We’ve run the simulations, you all know what we are here to do. Everybody ready?”
His officers acknowledged they were ready and standing by. Riker returned to his seat and nodded to Data.
“Execute,” the android said.
<><><>
The entire operation had been rehearsed for five hours straight. And finally when it was time to execute, it went like clockwork. The modified photon torpedo erupted from the de-cloaked Enterprise and detonated within the corona of the star. The solar implosion tore the vast ball of hydrogen and radiation apart, expanding every direction in space. As soon as the torpedo had emerged from the launch tube, the Enterprise had gone to warp nine and re-cloaked.
Riker sat on the edge of his chair and gripped the glowing armrests. They were a hundred billion kilometers away before he allowed himself to take a breath.
“Complete destruction,” Worf said, a bit to proudly for Riker’s taste. “The Borg complex has been destroyed. A few vessels tried to escape the blast but were incinerated.”
Riker remained motionless, shocked that the plan had gone so well. The fact they’d eliminated all of the Borg ships was nothing sort of miraculous.
“Captain,” said Janeway from ops. “I’m picking up a Federation distress call.”
Riker bolted to his feet. “Triangulate and get a course. What’s the source?”
“Call signs and codes indicate it’s the USS Raven. It’s in a populated region about forty light-years away.”
“Populated by Borg?” he asked.
“No, sensors can’t ID tem obviously, but they’re definite not Borg.”
“Wes, set in a course, best possible speed. Mister Worf, send an array of Class 5 probes back to the Borg station. I want the debris analyzed. See if there’s any indication they got off a distress call of their own. Also look for any weapons or technology that can be salvaged.”
<><><>
At warp nine, it took them five days to reach the source of the distress call. They fell into orbit around a Class-M world that was heavily covered in vegetation and rare minerals that blocked most sensor scans.
“The kelbonite and rubindium below the surface are playing hell with sensors,” Janeway said. “But I’ve pinpointed the source of the transmission to within five kilometers.”
“Mister Data,” Riker said. “Prepare an away team.”
“You’ll have to go by shuttle,” Janeway added. “Transporters are iffy with that metallic mess.”
Data nodded. “Commander Janeway, Mister Worf, Commander La Forge, please come with me.” He tapped his combadge. “Doctor Crusher, please prepare a field kid for an away mission and report to shuttle bay two.”
<><><>
Through the dense cloud cover of the jungle world slow dissipated as the Starfleet shuttlecraft Beck descended into the atmosphere and skimmed the surface within a few clicks of the distress signal.
At the helm, Data operated the controls with a fraction of his concentration as his positronic brain calculated all avenues available to them and attempted to ascertain what they would find. The USS Raven had apparently been lost in a Borg transwarp conduit and ended up here in the heart of Borg space. The odds of their survival were minimal and it was most likely the distress call was automated and that the Enterprise had detected it when they’d departed the sensor inhibitions of the Borg home station. They were most likely to find a crashed vessel, and a few pieces of hull fragments scattered about the area.
So it was almost sheer surprise that struck Data as the shuttle came into range of an Aerie-Class science vessel situated in a clearing, mostly undamaged and none the worse for wear.
Next to him, Geordi La Forge whistled. “Would you look at that. What are the odds they’ve been out here all this time?”
“I would not care to calculate them,” Data said. From behind him at the auxiliary console, Doctor Beverly Crusher operated the bio-scanners. “There’s one life form down there. Male. Human.”
“Set us down,” La Forge said, getting up. “This should be interesting.”
<><><>
As soon as the shuttle had settled down on the surface and the aft hatch open, the away team was met by a human male, probably I his early sixties, hair wildly long, beard disheveled. He limped with the aid of a cane as he approached them.
“I am Commander Data of the Federation Starship Enterprise.”
“I’m well aware who you are,” the old man wheezed. “And I’m well aware of what you’ve done. Do you have any idea the disaster you’ve caused?” He began coughing violently, doubling over.
Beverly was immediately at his side, sweeping over him with her medical tricorder. “Easy, you’ve got severe infection in your lungs. I need to get you to sickbay.”
“The hell with you,” he wheezed between coughs. “You’ve doom us all.” Another fit of coughing and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Data turned to Worf. “Lieutenant, go with Doctor Crusher and return to the Enterprise. This man must be stabilized. Commander La Forge and I will remain on the surface and begin a complete search of the Raven and it’s computers.”
Worf didn’t like the idea of playing pilot and nurse, but he acquiesced to Data’s order and after the old man was secured in the passenger compartment, the Beck fired her antigrav thrusters and headed back into space.
Data and Geordi spent the next several hours reviewing the logs and data in the computers o the Raven. The man was indeed it’s former commander, Doctor Magnus Hanson. He’d shipped out with his wife Erin and their four year old daughter Annika 2354. After departing the Omega Sector they’d shadowed a Borg cube at close range for many weeks until it entered the same transwarp conduit the Enterprise had used. They’d escaped the Borg ships at a terrible price. Erin and Annika had been kidnapped by the Borg. Most likely assimilated into the Collective and used to destroy other cultures.
For the past ten years, Hanson had been studying the Borg facility. A simple individual did not pose a threat to the Borg and they had let him be for all of these years. He’d gathered gigaquads of data from the intricate relationship between individual drones and the hive mind to detailed scans and schematics for Borg ships. He’d even come up with a process to undo the assimilation process and disconnect drones from the hive.
What they found last was heart wrenching. Prior to their capture, Hanson had injected his wife and daughter with a combination of radio nuclides. Even after they’d been assimilated, he’d been able to track his wife and daughter across thousands of cubic light-years. But they’d never traveled far. His wife and daughter were members of Borg Unimatrix One. The very same facility that had been destroyed one week ago.
La Forge sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. This man had accumulated the data to defeat the Borg at every level and in return the crew of the Enterprise had murdered his wife and daughter.
Geordi La Forge extracted the second set of sensor relays from the photon torpedo casing and set it on the antigrav cart next to him. “I don’t know,” he told his companion. “This entire thing really has me bothered.”
Lieutenant Worf attached a series of relay components and set the system into a quick diagnostic mode. “You saw what the Borg were capable of. They killed hundreds in an instant, including the captain.” He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but the failure he had felt on that dark day still haunted him and he had declared to the dead gods of Sto-Vo-Kor that he would avenge the captain’s death.
“I know, but taking out this entire facility, it just seems like genocide.”
“If the Borg come to Federation space they will tear the surface of our worlds apart and consume them to continue their conquest,” Worf said defiantly. “We must stop them before such an attack comes.”
“There’s a lot of ‘if’s’ there Worf,” Geordi said. “We’ve no idea if they’re going to invade. There’s seventy thousand light-years between here and home.”
“Yes,” Worf said, “and the transwarp network that we used to get here will take them directly into our territory. Starfleet has sent us to deliver a crippling blow that will stop the Borg from invading.”
“That’s assuming that that base out there is their only centralized location in the galaxy,” La Forge. “I have really bad feeling about this.”
“Perhaps,” Worf said, sealing the torpedo casing and running the final checks on the trilitihium warhead. “But these are our orders and we must obey them. For the sake of our families and comrades back home.” He tapped his combadge. “Worf to Bridge. The trilitium weapon is ready. It will be loaded in the forward tube in moments.”
<><><>
On the bridge, Riker acknowledged the com call and told Worf to set up the weapon and get back to his post as soon as possible. Then he’d ordered Crusher to take them into firing range around the system’s star. The massive solar eruptions and fire raged on the G-Type star, almost identical to that of Sol. The Enterprise would have to enter the stars photosphere to guarantee the torpedo could enter the corona without being deflected by the massive gravitational forces. And that meant the shields would have to be up. And in order for the shields to be up, they’d have to drop their cloak.
It was going to have be calculated to the millisecond. It was a forgone conclusion that the Borg would detect the Enterprise when it de-cloaked even through the stars radiation. The trick would be deploying the weapon, and executing an escape at maximum warp before the Borg attacked. Estimates indicated that the level twelve shockwave that was produced by the destroyed star would take twenty nine seconds to reach the Borg complex and vaporize it. That was the only window that the Borg ships would have to pursues the Enterprise out of the system.
The aft turbolift doors hissed open, depositing Worf and La Forge, who took their respective stations.
“We’re in position,” Crusher said, “holding station.”
Riker rose from the command chair and pulled down on his tunic, adjusting the fabric to smooth it on his frame. “This is it,” he said calmly. “We’ve run the simulations, you all know what we are here to do. Everybody ready?”
His officers acknowledged they were ready and standing by. Riker returned to his seat and nodded to Data.
“Execute,” the android said.
<><><>
The entire operation had been rehearsed for five hours straight. And finally when it was time to execute, it went like clockwork. The modified photon torpedo erupted from the de-cloaked Enterprise and detonated within the corona of the star. The solar implosion tore the vast ball of hydrogen and radiation apart, expanding every direction in space. As soon as the torpedo had emerged from the launch tube, the Enterprise had gone to warp nine and re-cloaked.
Riker sat on the edge of his chair and gripped the glowing armrests. They were a hundred billion kilometers away before he allowed himself to take a breath.
“Complete destruction,” Worf said, a bit to proudly for Riker’s taste. “The Borg complex has been destroyed. A few vessels tried to escape the blast but were incinerated.”
Riker remained motionless, shocked that the plan had gone so well. The fact they’d eliminated all of the Borg ships was nothing sort of miraculous.
“Captain,” said Janeway from ops. “I’m picking up a Federation distress call.”
Riker bolted to his feet. “Triangulate and get a course. What’s the source?”
“Call signs and codes indicate it’s the USS Raven. It’s in a populated region about forty light-years away.”
“Populated by Borg?” he asked.
“No, sensors can’t ID tem obviously, but they’re definite not Borg.”
“Wes, set in a course, best possible speed. Mister Worf, send an array of Class 5 probes back to the Borg station. I want the debris analyzed. See if there’s any indication they got off a distress call of their own. Also look for any weapons or technology that can be salvaged.”
<><><>
At warp nine, it took them five days to reach the source of the distress call. They fell into orbit around a Class-M world that was heavily covered in vegetation and rare minerals that blocked most sensor scans.
“The kelbonite and rubindium below the surface are playing hell with sensors,” Janeway said. “But I’ve pinpointed the source of the transmission to within five kilometers.”
“Mister Data,” Riker said. “Prepare an away team.”
“You’ll have to go by shuttle,” Janeway added. “Transporters are iffy with that metallic mess.”
Data nodded. “Commander Janeway, Mister Worf, Commander La Forge, please come with me.” He tapped his combadge. “Doctor Crusher, please prepare a field kid for an away mission and report to shuttle bay two.”
<><><>
Through the dense cloud cover of the jungle world slow dissipated as the Starfleet shuttlecraft Beck descended into the atmosphere and skimmed the surface within a few clicks of the distress signal.
At the helm, Data operated the controls with a fraction of his concentration as his positronic brain calculated all avenues available to them and attempted to ascertain what they would find. The USS Raven had apparently been lost in a Borg transwarp conduit and ended up here in the heart of Borg space. The odds of their survival were minimal and it was most likely the distress call was automated and that the Enterprise had detected it when they’d departed the sensor inhibitions of the Borg home station. They were most likely to find a crashed vessel, and a few pieces of hull fragments scattered about the area.
So it was almost sheer surprise that struck Data as the shuttle came into range of an Aerie-Class science vessel situated in a clearing, mostly undamaged and none the worse for wear.
Next to him, Geordi La Forge whistled. “Would you look at that. What are the odds they’ve been out here all this time?”
“I would not care to calculate them,” Data said. From behind him at the auxiliary console, Doctor Beverly Crusher operated the bio-scanners. “There’s one life form down there. Male. Human.”
“Set us down,” La Forge said, getting up. “This should be interesting.”
<><><>
As soon as the shuttle had settled down on the surface and the aft hatch open, the away team was met by a human male, probably I his early sixties, hair wildly long, beard disheveled. He limped with the aid of a cane as he approached them.
“I am Commander Data of the Federation Starship Enterprise.”
“I’m well aware who you are,” the old man wheezed. “And I’m well aware of what you’ve done. Do you have any idea the disaster you’ve caused?” He began coughing violently, doubling over.
Beverly was immediately at his side, sweeping over him with her medical tricorder. “Easy, you’ve got severe infection in your lungs. I need to get you to sickbay.”
“The hell with you,” he wheezed between coughs. “You’ve doom us all.” Another fit of coughing and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Data turned to Worf. “Lieutenant, go with Doctor Crusher and return to the Enterprise. This man must be stabilized. Commander La Forge and I will remain on the surface and begin a complete search of the Raven and it’s computers.”
Worf didn’t like the idea of playing pilot and nurse, but he acquiesced to Data’s order and after the old man was secured in the passenger compartment, the Beck fired her antigrav thrusters and headed back into space.
Data and Geordi spent the next several hours reviewing the logs and data in the computers o the Raven. The man was indeed it’s former commander, Doctor Magnus Hanson. He’d shipped out with his wife Erin and their four year old daughter Annika 2354. After departing the Omega Sector they’d shadowed a Borg cube at close range for many weeks until it entered the same transwarp conduit the Enterprise had used. They’d escaped the Borg ships at a terrible price. Erin and Annika had been kidnapped by the Borg. Most likely assimilated into the Collective and used to destroy other cultures.
For the past ten years, Hanson had been studying the Borg facility. A simple individual did not pose a threat to the Borg and they had let him be for all of these years. He’d gathered gigaquads of data from the intricate relationship between individual drones and the hive mind to detailed scans and schematics for Borg ships. He’d even come up with a process to undo the assimilation process and disconnect drones from the hive.
What they found last was heart wrenching. Prior to their capture, Hanson had injected his wife and daughter with a combination of radio nuclides. Even after they’d been assimilated, he’d been able to track his wife and daughter across thousands of cubic light-years. But they’d never traveled far. His wife and daughter were members of Borg Unimatrix One. The very same facility that had been destroyed one week ago.
La Forge sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. This man had accumulated the data to defeat the Borg at every level and in return the crew of the Enterprise had murdered his wife and daughter.
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
Six hours later the senior staff once again assembled in the conference lounge.
“Doctor Hanson has suffered a great deal of infection,” Dr. Crusher was saying. “He’s lived on his own for the past decade rudimentary supplies to keep him healthy. But he should make a full recovery.”
Riker, at the head of the table, leaned forward and laced his fingers on the table top. “Has the Raven been secured?”
“Aye, sir” Data said, “we have brought it aboard Shuttle Bay One. The tactical data analysis is ongoing. I suggest we get it back to Starfleet Command as soon as possible.”
Riker looked up at the ceiling bulkhead and the hidden communications array hidden within. “Riker to Bridge, set a course for the transwarp conduit, maximum warp. Maintain cloak and radio silence.”
Lieutenant Hayes, the gamma shift bridge officer acknowledged the order and the impulse generators kicked in as the ship headed out of the system.
“We’ve accomplished what we were sent out here for,” Riker said. “Hopefully, with the amount of damage we caused and the data we’ve obtained from the Raven, Starfleet will be ready for a Borg attack should it come. You’ve all done exemplary beyond anything I could have hoped for. I know the attack on the Borg station was anathema to everything we stand for as a United Federation, but we may have saved that very Federation from certain destruction. The data we’ve sifted through from Doctor Hanson has proved to have incredible adaptations in both offensive and defensive weaponry should the Borg show up. Dismissed.”
As the officers headed out, the familiar twang of the warp engines fired up and the ship was propelled to maximum warp towards the gateway that would get them home. Riker stood and stared out at the stars streaking away as his ship made her way out of this sector of the galaxy.
“I told Jean-Luc Picard that humans hadn’t changed. That you were still barbarous killers, capable of justifying genocide for your own shortsighted goals.”
Riker spun around and sure enough Q was standing on the other side of the table, arms folded across his chest. “Welcome back,” Riker said softly. “Didn’t think we were lucky enough to have seen the last of you.”
Q actually laughed. “Riker, you have no idea what you’ve done. You think you’ve achieved some sort of victory out here? That Borg station you destroyed was one among THOUSANDS. All you’ve done is stomped on an ant hill. The colony will be riled now. You’ve shown yourself a threat. They’ll come for you and they’ll take away everything you have.” He snorted. “I thought for nanosecond that you humans would see past your weapons and hostile nature and actually think about the effects of the Borg as a race, not as a threat. To try and free the slaves that have been obtained over eons. But all you saw was another enemy to fight. And a fight is what you’ll get.” He snapped his fingers and was gone.
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
“Doctor Hanson has suffered a great deal of infection,” Dr. Crusher was saying. “He’s lived on his own for the past decade rudimentary supplies to keep him healthy. But he should make a full recovery.”
Riker, at the head of the table, leaned forward and laced his fingers on the table top. “Has the Raven been secured?”
“Aye, sir” Data said, “we have brought it aboard Shuttle Bay One. The tactical data analysis is ongoing. I suggest we get it back to Starfleet Command as soon as possible.”
Riker looked up at the ceiling bulkhead and the hidden communications array hidden within. “Riker to Bridge, set a course for the transwarp conduit, maximum warp. Maintain cloak and radio silence.”
Lieutenant Hayes, the gamma shift bridge officer acknowledged the order and the impulse generators kicked in as the ship headed out of the system.
“We’ve accomplished what we were sent out here for,” Riker said. “Hopefully, with the amount of damage we caused and the data we’ve obtained from the Raven, Starfleet will be ready for a Borg attack should it come. You’ve all done exemplary beyond anything I could have hoped for. I know the attack on the Borg station was anathema to everything we stand for as a United Federation, but we may have saved that very Federation from certain destruction. The data we’ve sifted through from Doctor Hanson has proved to have incredible adaptations in both offensive and defensive weaponry should the Borg show up. Dismissed.”
As the officers headed out, the familiar twang of the warp engines fired up and the ship was propelled to maximum warp towards the gateway that would get them home. Riker stood and stared out at the stars streaking away as his ship made her way out of this sector of the galaxy.
“I told Jean-Luc Picard that humans hadn’t changed. That you were still barbarous killers, capable of justifying genocide for your own shortsighted goals.”
Riker spun around and sure enough Q was standing on the other side of the table, arms folded across his chest. “Welcome back,” Riker said softly. “Didn’t think we were lucky enough to have seen the last of you.”
Q actually laughed. “Riker, you have no idea what you’ve done. You think you’ve achieved some sort of victory out here? That Borg station you destroyed was one among THOUSANDS. All you’ve done is stomped on an ant hill. The colony will be riled now. You’ve shown yourself a threat. They’ll come for you and they’ll take away everything you have.” He snorted. “I thought for nanosecond that you humans would see past your weapons and hostile nature and actually think about the effects of the Borg as a race, not as a threat. To try and free the slaves that have been obtained over eons. But all you saw was another enemy to fight. And a fight is what you’ll get.” He snapped his fingers and was gone.
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
Garm Bel Iblis
Commodore
Captain Jack Crusher of the USS Stargazer looked at the starmaps and contemplated the long trip home. Stargazer was a solid, trustworthy ship, but she was old. Even with her four nacelle design that allowed them to ‘warp coast’ she was still only rated for a sustainable cruising speed of warp six. She could manage nine in a pinch but Commander Simeon would object, loudly, with his gnashing tongue and razor sharp teeth.
They’d been through a lot together over the past thrity years and Crusher would see to that the refit went smoothly and that they were all put back intot he field. He’d be damned if let them mothball her while Starfleet needed every available ship at the moment. The latest report from Command said the Enterprise had apparently vanished in a strange vortex out beyond the Federation’s border. Jack hoped beyond hope that they were safe and would soon return.
His thoughts were interrupted by an urgent start from LIeuteant Kellin at tactical. “What is it Brice?” he asked the security chief.
“Strange readings to port, about half a light-year,” Kellin said. “Snesors can’t make head or tail of them. They look like warp particles, but there’s a strange variance…” he stopped talking. “It’s a ship, possibly several. Running id search.”
He trailed off and didn’t speak for several seconds. “Lieutenant,” Crusher snapped, getting to his feet. “Report. What kind of ship?”
“Borg,” Kellin said. “At least a dozen cubes, coming out of Sector 54541. They’ll reach us in eight minutes.”
“Battle stations,” Jack said sternly.
The Borg armada never slowed, they pulverized the old Starfleet ship and continued on their mission. Their new directive was paramount. Species 5618, Human, had posed an imminent threat to the survival of the Collective. New directives were sent to all Borg ships. Assimilate the worlds comprising the United Federation of Planets and it’s allies.
Five Years Later:
“Holding station,” said Lieutenant Sariel Raeger, chief conn officer of the USS Enterprise. A rumble in the console was all the warning she got and she dove out of here chair just as the console overloaded and exploded into a thousand shards.
Will Riker put his hands in his face and felt the sting of fatigue and helplessness. Five years of this, maybe it would all be over soon. Five years of defeat and slaughter. And it was all his fault. They’d brought the attention of the Federation to the Borg and they’d returned the favor. They’d come to the Alpha Quadrant en masse looking for revenge. And they got it too. They’d wiped out the core worlds ina matter of weeks. Earth, Vulcan, Andoria. Then they’d hit the Romulans and the Klingons, the Tarleians and the Gorn. No one had been spared. Every bit of tactical brilliance recovered from Doctor Hanson and the Raven had been adapted to and now it was proving completely useless. The only defense the tattered remants of Starfleet had left was sending suicide runs into the Brog ships, or beaming aboard with explosives and setting them off within.
The Enterprise itself had suffere immense causualties. Data, Wesley, Beverly, La Forge, they were all dead. Worf had survived battle after battle and served as tactical and first officer. Raeger and Riker were the only other officers rated for Bridge duty. Everyone else, thirty in all maintained enginerring. A brief glance at the engineering panel showed the warp containment unit was down to twelve percent. They were virtually on the edge of collapse and total annhiliation. Just a few mintes ago they’d sought refuge in a steall dust cloud after being detected by a Borg cube. They would try to hold out here for as long as they could until warp power was restored.
Riker ran his hands through his tangled mass of unshaven beared and his wild hair. Personal grooming was a luxury these days, since veryone was needed at their posts. They’d resorted to stim shots and protein rations to stay as alert as possible and avoid the Borg.
And it was all for nothing. Everything was gone. Riker tore at the loose strands of hair and almost screamed aloud at the gods above. Or the Q that had warned them all those years ago.
Finally he got out of his chair and helped Raeger to her feet. “Switch the helm to the aft stations, and take over.”
“Aye,” she said quietly and moved towards the science station.
“Captain,” Worf said. “Forward scanners are picking up a quantum fissure forming, it’s gravitatonial pull is drawing us in!”
On the forward screen a blue swirling mass of quatum mist lashed out and pulled the Enterprise into…
“What at the hell!” Riker bellowed.
On the forward screen, through the damaged static the sensors were showing tens of thousands of Enterprise’s were appearing every second.
“Captain,” Raeger said. “If these quantum readings our right, we’ve shifted into a parallel universe.”
“We’re receiving a general hail from one of the ships,” Worf said.
Riker nodded wildly.
"This is Captain Riker of the Enterprise... that is, the Enterprise which is indigenous to this universe. We have all encountered a quantum anomaly. We think we have a way to return all of us to our proper realities. We need to find the ship which exhibits a particular quantum signature. Our Mister Data will transmit the signature to you now."
Several minutes passed. “Sir, a shuttle has launched from one Enterprise and is on course for the one that sent out the transmission.”
Riker pounded a calloused fist on the damage conn. “Damnit, Worf, get the weapon online! We’re not going back! We’re finally free and we’re staying here!”
“Gladly,” Worf said, moving towards the engineering console. “I can reactivate the forward photon torpedo tube, but it may hamper life-support.”
“Do it,” Riker hissed. “We don’t have much time.”
It took nearly twenty minutes to get the weapons activated. Worf moved back to tactical, his wild mane of hair tumbling about his tattered uniform. “They have re-launched the shuttle, it is moving towards the quantum fissure.”
“FIRE!” Riker bellowed. A spread of photon torpedoes emerged from the forward tube and homed in on the shuttle. Two hit, the other three went wild. “Hail that Enterprise! We’ll warn them off!” Riker turned back to the screen. It blinked. There stood Will Riker, a munch more fit, healther, BATHED Will Riker. On either side of him stood Deanna Troi and Worf. Behind him at tactical stood Wesley Crusher.
He didn’t wait for the man on the view screen to say anyting. “We won't go back! You don't know what it's like in our universe. The Federation is gone -- the Borg are everywhere! We're one of the last ships left! Please, you've got to help us!”
The other Riker looked in shock as the aft console erupted and Worf attempted to gain control of the weapons.
“I’m sorry. There’s no choice. If this works, everything will return to-“
“NO! WE WON’T GO BACK.”
He cut the com and Worf continued fire.
“Sir the other Enterprise has opened fire!” Worf said. The ship rumbled violently. “They’ve hit our warp containment unit! System overload! IT’s going…!”
The Enterprise exploded.
THE END
THANKS J.J.
They’d been through a lot together over the past thrity years and Crusher would see to that the refit went smoothly and that they were all put back intot he field. He’d be damned if let them mothball her while Starfleet needed every available ship at the moment. The latest report from Command said the Enterprise had apparently vanished in a strange vortex out beyond the Federation’s border. Jack hoped beyond hope that they were safe and would soon return.
His thoughts were interrupted by an urgent start from LIeuteant Kellin at tactical. “What is it Brice?” he asked the security chief.
“Strange readings to port, about half a light-year,” Kellin said. “Snesors can’t make head or tail of them. They look like warp particles, but there’s a strange variance…” he stopped talking. “It’s a ship, possibly several. Running id search.”
He trailed off and didn’t speak for several seconds. “Lieutenant,” Crusher snapped, getting to his feet. “Report. What kind of ship?”
“Borg,” Kellin said. “At least a dozen cubes, coming out of Sector 54541. They’ll reach us in eight minutes.”
“Battle stations,” Jack said sternly.
The Borg armada never slowed, they pulverized the old Starfleet ship and continued on their mission. Their new directive was paramount. Species 5618, Human, had posed an imminent threat to the survival of the Collective. New directives were sent to all Borg ships. Assimilate the worlds comprising the United Federation of Planets and it’s allies.
Five Years Later:
“Holding station,” said Lieutenant Sariel Raeger, chief conn officer of the USS Enterprise. A rumble in the console was all the warning she got and she dove out of here chair just as the console overloaded and exploded into a thousand shards.
Will Riker put his hands in his face and felt the sting of fatigue and helplessness. Five years of this, maybe it would all be over soon. Five years of defeat and slaughter. And it was all his fault. They’d brought the attention of the Federation to the Borg and they’d returned the favor. They’d come to the Alpha Quadrant en masse looking for revenge. And they got it too. They’d wiped out the core worlds ina matter of weeks. Earth, Vulcan, Andoria. Then they’d hit the Romulans and the Klingons, the Tarleians and the Gorn. No one had been spared. Every bit of tactical brilliance recovered from Doctor Hanson and the Raven had been adapted to and now it was proving completely useless. The only defense the tattered remants of Starfleet had left was sending suicide runs into the Brog ships, or beaming aboard with explosives and setting them off within.
The Enterprise itself had suffere immense causualties. Data, Wesley, Beverly, La Forge, they were all dead. Worf had survived battle after battle and served as tactical and first officer. Raeger and Riker were the only other officers rated for Bridge duty. Everyone else, thirty in all maintained enginerring. A brief glance at the engineering panel showed the warp containment unit was down to twelve percent. They were virtually on the edge of collapse and total annhiliation. Just a few mintes ago they’d sought refuge in a steall dust cloud after being detected by a Borg cube. They would try to hold out here for as long as they could until warp power was restored.
Riker ran his hands through his tangled mass of unshaven beared and his wild hair. Personal grooming was a luxury these days, since veryone was needed at their posts. They’d resorted to stim shots and protein rations to stay as alert as possible and avoid the Borg.
And it was all for nothing. Everything was gone. Riker tore at the loose strands of hair and almost screamed aloud at the gods above. Or the Q that had warned them all those years ago.
Finally he got out of his chair and helped Raeger to her feet. “Switch the helm to the aft stations, and take over.”
“Aye,” she said quietly and moved towards the science station.
“Captain,” Worf said. “Forward scanners are picking up a quantum fissure forming, it’s gravitatonial pull is drawing us in!”
On the forward screen a blue swirling mass of quatum mist lashed out and pulled the Enterprise into…
“What at the hell!” Riker bellowed.
On the forward screen, through the damaged static the sensors were showing tens of thousands of Enterprise’s were appearing every second.
“Captain,” Raeger said. “If these quantum readings our right, we’ve shifted into a parallel universe.”
“We’re receiving a general hail from one of the ships,” Worf said.
Riker nodded wildly.
"This is Captain Riker of the Enterprise... that is, the Enterprise which is indigenous to this universe. We have all encountered a quantum anomaly. We think we have a way to return all of us to our proper realities. We need to find the ship which exhibits a particular quantum signature. Our Mister Data will transmit the signature to you now."
Several minutes passed. “Sir, a shuttle has launched from one Enterprise and is on course for the one that sent out the transmission.”
Riker pounded a calloused fist on the damage conn. “Damnit, Worf, get the weapon online! We’re not going back! We’re finally free and we’re staying here!”
“Gladly,” Worf said, moving towards the engineering console. “I can reactivate the forward photon torpedo tube, but it may hamper life-support.”
“Do it,” Riker hissed. “We don’t have much time.”
It took nearly twenty minutes to get the weapons activated. Worf moved back to tactical, his wild mane of hair tumbling about his tattered uniform. “They have re-launched the shuttle, it is moving towards the quantum fissure.”
“FIRE!” Riker bellowed. A spread of photon torpedoes emerged from the forward tube and homed in on the shuttle. Two hit, the other three went wild. “Hail that Enterprise! We’ll warn them off!” Riker turned back to the screen. It blinked. There stood Will Riker, a munch more fit, healther, BATHED Will Riker. On either side of him stood Deanna Troi and Worf. Behind him at tactical stood Wesley Crusher.
He didn’t wait for the man on the view screen to say anyting. “We won't go back! You don't know what it's like in our universe. The Federation is gone -- the Borg are everywhere! We're one of the last ships left! Please, you've got to help us!”
The other Riker looked in shock as the aft console erupted and Worf attempted to gain control of the weapons.
“I’m sorry. There’s no choice. If this works, everything will return to-“
“NO! WE WON’T GO BACK.”
He cut the com and Worf continued fire.
“Sir the other Enterprise has opened fire!” Worf said. The ship rumbled violently. “They’ve hit our warp containment unit! System overload! IT’s going…!”
The Enterprise exploded.
THE END
THANKS J.J.
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