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Re: Heliree's Odyssey

July 11 2014

A New Adventure

Part XI: Royals of the Damned

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*I don’t remember our dream…*
*I don’t know who we are...*
*Yet I know what we’ve become…*
*And I want them to know; they can’t resist me…*
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–Eta Eridani Sector Block, Aldebaren Sector, Near Deep Space K-7.-

“Captain, Deep Space K-7 has received our transmission and has granted us permission to enter Fleet Starbase space. We are to rendezvous with an escort at the given coordinates.” Hal spoke as he received confirmation from the helm console.

“Set course to the given destination and get us there with haste. We have no need of an escort; it’s a waste of time.” Talons griped at the mention of having to go through the motions.

“Well sir, we are near the neutral zone with the Klingon Empire. It must be a precaution. I have heard that there were attacks on cargo ships which were deployed to fleet starbases.” Chrissy called out. As she finished the Captain turned his head and looked towards the science station where she was located.

“Ensign… who let you on the bridge?” He asked, seeming stern.

“I.. urr… Um… *gulp*.”

“I am kidding Ensign.” Talons replied with a slight smirk as he returned to his original position, facing the viewscreen.

“Ah.. Yessir.”

“It’s ‘Captain’, Ensign.”

“I’m sorry sir?”

“Captain is how I prefer to be addressed. Unless it’s crunch time, then you may use ‘sir’.”

“Understood sir!”

“..It’s not crunch time yet, Ms. Demark. I’m sure you’ll know when.”

“Yes Captain.”

“Very good.” Talons stood from the command chair and walked to the viewscreen, placing a hand on Hal’s shoulder. He turned and faced the rest of his bridge crew. “Alright people. Here is where we stand. We were ordered to be sent into the battle zone with the Borg, and operate in conjunction with Task Force Omega. On route to the Conduit, we were taken by surprise by a Borg Sphere. In the attack, two of our crewmembers were taken from us-”

“And none of our equipment was assimilated sir, err, Captain.”

“Thank you Ms. Demark.” Talons raised an eyebrow at her and returned to speaking. “A good point nevertheless. We are now within the Eta Eridani Sector Block, passing Deep Space K-7 and going to dock at our Fleet Starbase for repairs and information. First thing however, is to keep track of the Borg Sphere. Once docked, there will be no shore leave. I do not expect us to stay long, just long enough to repair and depart, having informed the fleet of the Borg presence.”

“Captain we’ve reached the coordinates for rendezvous. We are being hailed sir, audio transmission.”

“Patch it through.”

“U.S.S. Pallas Helena, This is Captain Twenty Four of the U.S.S. Gran Pulse. We are here to Escort you to Stonewall Fleet Starbase. Be alert, Klingon raids have become a problem for us.”

“This is Captain Talons, we thank you for the escort and warning. Let us go in haste.” Talons patted Hal’s shoulder and told him to cut the link. “Set a course.”

The Gran Pulse came about and lined up with the Pallas Helena. Both engaged their warp drives and the vessels took off in a hurry, a rescue mission to be undertaken yet.

–Borg Sphere, Federation Space, Somewhere between Risa and Transwarp Conduit.-

The noise around was disturbing and worrisome. The sound of the technology was strange, but everything was dark and hazy. Narciso’s eyes slowly opened, starring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The pain in his neck was suddenly evident, and he cringed upon feeling it, tears rushing out of his eyes. He sat up with some difficulty, looking around him desperately, trying to make sense of where he was. The alien technology could only point towards one local: A Borg ship. He came down from the surgical bed he was on and gave himself a look over. His skin was bruised in many places, but he didn’t feel any fractures. He then began to look around the room. There were four corridors linked to the room, but no one could be seen within them, as they winded after a certain point. Narciso began a slight panic, and picked a corridor at random to run down. His goal; find Reaver. The young counselor ran, enduring the immense pain he felt, the corridors all surprisingly empty. He came to a large door, petal shaped. As he got closer, the door opened and he stumbled inside the chamber. He stopped and gave a jump to the side, after coming face to face with a Borg Drone. The drone acknowledged his presence, but did nothing else to him and continued on its way. With the drone gone, he continued walking further into the chamber. It seemed to be a control room, what seemed to be the Borg equivalent of a Bridge. He came up to one of the consoles and began to investigate it, thinking he could send out some form of distress signal.

Having become enthralled in trying to work the console, the hand that fell on his shoulder took him by surprise. He jumped and turned almost dying of fright. He was met by an assimilation drone, whose mechanical arm suddenly pierced his abdomen without warning. His hands grasped the arm tightly; the feeling of his blood slowly spilling on them was surreal. His vision grew dark and he fell backward, staining the console with his blood.

The surface was cold and slightly clammy. It was hard and metallic, and not at all comforting. Reaver’s eyes shot open and he instantly jumped off the surgical bed and onto his feet, taking a defensive stance and trying his best to ignore the intense and sharp pain that went up his leg. His eyes darted to every corner around him and he found drones working nearby but completely ignoring him. He heard a faint scream and instantly took off towards it, running and dodging past the drones.

His leg bothered him but he didn’t care. He was in enemy territory and he needed to find an escape. He needed to find Narciso and escape. He came to a door, petal shaped, and ran through it. The sight made him sick to his stomach… “What have they done to you… Imzadi…” A pain in his neck made him cringe and fall to his knees. He could feel the nanites swarming through his blood vessels. A pair of legs wearing thigh high boots was the last thing Reaver could see before he blacked out completely.

–Eta Eridani Sector Block, Aldebaren Sector, Fleet Starbase System: Stonewall.-

“Captain Talons, Welcome to Stonewall Fleet Headquarters.”

“Admiral Nicholas Swinford, Captain Twenty Four. Thank you both for providing your aid in this troubling matter. We need to act swiftly.”

“Of course Captain. Follow us this way.” Admiral Swinford spoke with a stern yet calming voice. Both Captains followed after him. “As you can see, we are already proceeding with repairs to your ship, Captain. And no need to worry about time, us Stonewall crew are fast and efficient. Also, we’ve begun to clean out that remainder of Borg presence on your vessel. It’s remarkable that they only affected the life support systems and nothing else.”

“Yes, that was peculiar. They were not acting to what we now consider to be normal Borg standards. I already have my crew reviewing the ships logs for further information.”

“Good Captain, if you would, I would have you share your logs with us for further analysis.”

“Of course, Admiral.” Captain Talons continued to follow Admiral Swinford and Captain Twenty Four into a conference room, where two other men stood in waiting by a window overlooking the docked vessels.

“Admiral, Captains. I’ve been briefed on the situation thus far.”

“Ah, Captain Rasilek, Good that you are up to speed.”

“As am I Captain, My crew is at your disposal.”

“Captain Mandrake, I am glad to hear that.”

“At your request Admiral. You know we are always happy to help.”

“The Admiral does so because you two are efficient.”

“Yes… Thank you Twenty Four, that is high praise coming from you.” Jacien spoke with a slight smirk.

“You are welcome.”

“Captains, have a seat.” Admiral Swinford took his as he spoke, and pulled up a datapad and began to scroll through it. “Talons, I’ve asked that all the information you have gathered regarding that ‘chaotic anomaly’ be sent to Jacien and the U.S.S. Caelian. Their experience may yet yield results you may have missed. Now, the four of you are to work in conjuncture as a small task force. Your goal will be to hunt down that Borg sphere. If possible, gather all the data they have. But the primary mission is to search and destroy.”

“Admiral, you mean search and rescue, do you not?”

“No Captain Talons. Destroy. This Borg sphere managed to infiltrate federation space. If this one passed through, who is to say that others have not? For all we know, they have opened another conduit within are space and another Vega incident is on the horizon! Now do not misunderstand. If you can rescue them, do so immediately. I do not wish a Borg fate on anyone. But the mission is as stands: Destroy.”

“Understood, Admiral.”

“Now… I do not need to explain the dangers and the possibilities involved with this troubling situation. Jacien, your ship is tasked with information gathering and debunking any more anomalies you may run into. Twenty four and Steven, your ships are to be the main firepower. The Gran Pulse has been equipped to deal with the Borg Threat, seeing as you were to be sent to Task Force Omega Twenty Four. And your ship Steven is equipped with advanced weaponry. You Talons, however your goal is to lead. I expect this to be dealt with efficiently Captains. You leave as soon as your ships are ready. Dismissed.”

All four Captains stood and left the conference room. Talons however seemed agitated. As he walked out into the wide corridor he was crashed into by a running woman who turned out to be Marietta.

“CAPTAIN! Captain! CAAAAPTAIN!!” Marietta screamed as she flailed about.

“Good lord woman, pull yourself together!”

As Marietta continued her scene, a worn out Cherrosk came running up behind her, out of breath. He seemed like he was going to speak but he soon bent over, bracing himself by placing his hands on his knees and then raising one of them, giving the signal for a moment by lifting his pointer finger.

“Any day now Cherrosk.”

“Yessir. *huff**puff* forgive me sir, I tried to restrain her but she was *cough**wheeze* she was going to break through the bulkhead. *pant**pant* Why do we let her have an assault minigun!?”

“Marietta-!”

“CAPTAIN PLEEEEASE!!! We have to go rescue them!!”

“We are going to woman now go suit up!”

Marietta instantly became composed and made a saluting pose, a scary look in her eyes. “AYE SIR LET’S MURDER THE BASTARDS! COME ON CHERROSK!” Marietta grasped the poor man by his collar and began to drag him back to the ship.

“My, my, Talons. With crewmembers like that I am amazed the Borg would ever mess with you.” Spoke Jacien.

“I rather like that attitude in my officers.” Steven said as he laughed.

“Their energy would be better used preparing their ship.” Twenty Four spoke only to receive stares from the other three captains. “I shall beam to my ship, once ready I shall contact the Pallas Helena. I expect no delays.”

“Nor do I”

“Me neither.”

With that, all three captains beamed out simultaneously leaving Talons alone. He decided to walk back to his docked ship, taking the time to clear his mind. Something about this did not feel right. There WAS something on the horizon, but it was something far more… dark.

–U.S.S. Pallas Helena, Main Bridge.-

“Captain, the repairs have been confirmed as all finished. All repair crews have cleared the docking area. Even the work bees are back within our hanger. We are clear to leave dock Captain.”

“Good Hal. Set a course to leave the Starbase, set thruster to quarter power.”

“Aye Captain, we are clearing the Starbase bay doors now… Ship’s clear sir. We can engage warp drive at your command.”

“Captain, I have transmissions coming in from the Caelian, the Gran Pulse, and the Deep Sky. All are confirming ready for launch.” Cherrosk called out.

“Good, is our tracking still ongoing?”

“The signal is strong Captain. It’s coming from an region of space between Risa and the Transwarp Conduit. Setting a course.”

“Send the course coordinates to the other ships. Engage at warp eight upon confirmation.”

“Aye sir. All ships confirming and ready to jump.”

“Engage!”

The warp bubble began to form around the massive federation ships, the blue hue of the nacelle’s warp particle emissions began to shine brighter and brighter and faster than a flash the troupe left faster than the speed of light, in diamond formation. The Pallas Helena took point, with the Caelian to her port and the Gran Pulse to her starboard. The Deep Sky brought up the aft completing the diamond.

“Captain, the U.S.S. Caelian is hailing us, patching her through to the main viewscreen.” Cherrosk spoke as he worked his console. The image of Captain Mandrake came on, his Vesta’s Bridge visible behind him.

“Captain Talons, My crew and I have made a breakthrough already in dismantling that anomaly that trapped your ship.”

“Jacien, tell me what you’ve learned.”

“It is quite fascinating Rider. The anomaly is agitated Dark Matter.”

“Is such a thing possible?”

“Apparently yes it is. You see, the dark matter is spewed out and then bombarded with Triolic and Thalaron energy. Not in that order though. The Thalaron acts as a conducting agent and the Triolic energy particles act as the catalyst. It’s extremely volatile and to be frank, I am amazed your vessel took as little damage as it did. Also, we found Tachyon particle traces, which explains the power drains.”

“Did you find anyway to counter the anomaly?”

“Well your way got the job done, but I don’t recommend using it again. I’ll let you know when we come up with something solid. Hold a minute Rider… My operations officer informs me of something of large scale on our long range sensors. Not something that would be picked up by standard scans. It’s coming from the end coordinates you’ve given to us.”

“We’re getting close. Anything on sensors?”

“Negative Captain… wait, we are getting a signal Captain! It’s Borg.”

“Red Alert, All ships, Red Alert.”

The troupe hastily dropped out of warp and came face to face with a horrifying sight. Directly before them was a small Borg Hive. A grouping of ships and the like en masse.

“How did the Federation not pick this up!?”

“Captain, our long range scans never registered this conclave. And our close proximity scans are barely registering the Borg signals. They must have found some kind of way to hide from our sensors.” Cherrosk replied.

“Captain! We are being hailed sir! It’s coming from an unknown source.”

“Unknown source… patch it through.”

“Aye sir, bringing it up on the main viewscreen.”

“Holy Mother of God…”

The face that appeared was beautiful yet shocking. The horror of the Borg and their danger has grown and grown.