At the Valdez farm, the family was busy preparing for the latest arrival when a call came through from the Empire, it was General Smith and Admiral Lot. They had been given permission to thank the Valdez twins, "Ladies, nice work. Your programme has been tested in actual combat conditions and it worked. Nice touch adding the self destruct in case of the programme being compromised" said Smith. "Always funny when things blow up in the enemy faces" said Trianna (yellow). "Yeah assimilate this then BOOM!!" added Trianna (prime) laughing. "Impressive work" said Naynta smiling. "You I don't want to see, if we ever meet I may not be control of my actions" said Trianna (prime). "Little one, be civil please" said Valdez. "Sorry dad, she brought back a bad memory" replied Trianna (prime).
After a 20 minute talk with the twins on the subject of different types of viruses and malware, Smith had an idea after the screen went blank.
Mars (MU red)
"Naynta, what did you do to provoke that reaction?" asked Smith. "I forced her to watch her mother's execution and those of her crew mates, let's just say she really hates me for it" answered Naynta. "That's in the past, next time we have to talk to the Valdez twins, let me do the talking" suggested Smith. "Might be a good plan" answered Naynta. "Time to check up on our Trianna" said Smith. Naynta sent Trianna (red) the good news of the field tests, Trianna (red) smiled over subspace as Smith passed her a list of viruses and malware programmes for her projects for dealing with the Borg. Afterwards, Smith and Naynta were found by INN who asked for an interview. "Victory against the Borg, I'm here on Mars with General Dexter Smith and Admiral Naynta Lot, they are fighting to protect our peoples from a enemy that wants to wipe us out" said the reporter. During the interview, both Smith and Naynta kept within their brief and only told INN what they were allowed to hear. INN called Battle Group Omega heroes.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Both Smith and Naynta had decided that all of Battle Group Omega would be shown the full scale of the Borg threat by showing them the visual logs of the Battle of Wolf 359. "The Federation lost 39 ships there out of a fleet of 40 and that Cube took hardly any damage, Federation researchers have suggested that a Borg Cube can still operate even if 78% of it is destroyed" said Naynta to packed out auditorium. Watching the briefing via subspace was Fleet Admiral Heath Thay taking note. Back in the auditorium, Smith showed the visual logs from the Enterprise E and the Warrior. "What you'll see now is the assimilation process, take note and listen very carefully. Some day this may save your life" said Smith.
Battle Group Omega took notice as Naynta described the process, some in the audience winced, others were angry. "Our first objective is map the transwarp apertures. They are how the Borg can enter anywhere in our space, those apertures lead to transwarp hubs all the way in Borg space. They control large areas of the Delta Quadrant as well as parts of the Beta Quadrant, there are six transwarp hubs in the entire galaxy which means their next attack could come from anywhere. All frontier colonies have been evacuated to planets in the core of the empire, we cannot give the Borg more drones" said Naynta.
"Is General Order 24 an option to deny them resources and drones?" asked Captain Davies. "It is, the Empress has ordered with General Order 24 that we keep firing until the planet is a glowing sphere. It's the only way to be sure" answered Naynta. "Thank you ma'am" answered Captain Davies who saluted and sat back down. "General, the Borg are pure logic so to beat the ultimate logic we have to be illogical" said Commander T'Vrell. "Exactly that, to beat the Borg we must fight united and be as illogical and unorthodox as possible. Do things the Borg would not expect, Borg adaptation is very quick, so good old fashioned gunpowder are our weapons. Each of you will find on the desk in front of you your sidearms, treat them with respect and look after them" said Smith. "A most logical way of looking at it General" answered T'Vrell before she sat down. Battle Group Omega's weapon designs were inventive, the TR-116 had effectively replaced the phasers rifles with all Omega personnel carrying a pistol version of the TR-116.
After Naynta's examination of Wolf 359, she picked apart the Federation's tactics and showed the fleet where the Federation had failed, Sector 001 and their Battle of Sector 001 were next put to Naynta's scrutiny and she and Smith showed the fleet where the Federation had made mistakes in their battle and where the empire had go so badly wrong. "Our mission is to defend the Empire from the Borg, once this call goes out, it means all troops and crews to their ships and be ready to launch in less than half an hour, intercepting Borg vessels counts on timing so we need to be out and in position as fast as possible so we'll be scheduling launch drills to improve departing times" said Naynta. "Yes ma'am!!!"cheered the crews. "Everyone to your normal posts,dismissed" said Naynta. "Very informative" said Thay. "We're working on new weapon designs, tactics and some creative methods to counter each move they make" answered Naynta. "They are a threat to everyone, failure is not an option here" said Thay. "We'll be there fighting them every step of the way" said Naynta. "I know you will Heath out" said Thay then the screen went blank.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Wait until the new season comes out. It may have some ideas.
Royal Palace Lower Level Terra mu yellow
Sito Thay had to admit that as far as cells went, her's was rather comfortable. Soft bed, quilted blanket and sheets, she thought. Trying to get me to relax before she starts in on me. She remembered what she had been subjected to the last time she had been a "guest" of the Empire. Not again, she promised herself. I'll die before I go through that again. The humiliation of... She forced herself to stop the replay in her her head. She heard footsteps approaching. Must be dinner, she thought. Like everything else the food was good. The hasperath was actually decent. Much to her disappointment it wasn't dinner. "Hello, my little Federation doll. How are you feeling today?" At that moment, she decided that she never wanted to look in a mirror again. That smug condescending smile on her own face... "I've been better." "Well you'll be happy to know that this is the last night you'll spend here." Those memories were starting to push their way to the top again. "What do you mean?" She fought to keep her voice steady. "You're coming with me." "No! Stay away from me!" "It's not a matter for debate." The other her touched the outside panel. The last memory she had was falling towards the floor. She didn't remember hitting it... She opened her eyes. She was strapped into the seat of a shuttle. The other her was piloting. "Finally awake? Don't strain yourself. Those restraints aren't coming off until we talk." "I will not let you do that to me again!" 'I'm not going to." "What?" "You have me confused with someone else." "What are you talking about?" The other her smiled and pulled off her red wig revealing her short blonde hair. "That gets hot after a while." "The other one. The other mirror me." "Yep. Captain Sito Thay from the so called red universe. Unlike the one that comes from this disgusting place. How soft are they that they willingly embrace that fedrat usurper?" "What do you want with me?" "You and I have something in common. We both hate the Empress and want her dead. Well I more want to hear her consort scream in anguish as I pull the Empress's nails out one at a time. But at the end of the day, the main thing is that the two of them suffer." "I'm not disagreeing with you. But again what do you want with me?" "I want you to help me make that a reality. Your previous associates didn't know know how to truly stay off the detection grid. My friends and I have... different ways of communication that they can't intercept. And right now they are too worried about the recent Borg attacks that they aren't even thinking about things like us. So, are you interested in helping us?" "As long as I get to be the one that kills the other us, I'm in."
ISS Los Lobos-A Unknown location Mu yellow
"What do you mean I took her? I've been nowhere near Terra in... Never mind. Have every security scanner in the palace and at all secure locations equipped with a differential phase analyzer so they can identify which universe a person comes from." Thay cut the communication. I'd forgotten about you, she thought to herself. I was so distracted with Lazy that I just sent you away somewhere. But apparently now I have to deal with you. She smiled. Normally it's a bad sign when you think about killing yourself. But I think I may actually enjoy it.
Smith was woken up by a scramble alert, a Borg Cube supported by three Borg Spheres had just crossed the Imperial border near Pilatus. Battle Group Omega scrambled all ships and intercepted the Borg group at Hadrian, they then attacked with matter/antimatter kamikaze drones to knock out the spheres as the singularity kamikaze ships darted through the chaos piloted by Klingon warriors. "Time to impacts on the cube?" asked Naynta from the I.S.S. Athena. "Ten seconds, they've jumped to warp seven for their runs" reported Smith from the Denorios. "Spheres destroyed, reading impact data now. We have a kill, Cube destroyed" reported Naynta back laughing as the crews cheered.
"Four more kills., let's clean this battlefield up" said Smith. Battle Group Omega proceeded to destroy every trace of the Borg before they returned to base. Back at Mars 12 hours later, Imperial and Klingon troops were seen drinking together as they saluted the warriors who went to the deaths with honor. "General B'Vat, may great songs be heard of their deeds" said Smith. "May fellow warriors drink together as allies" said B'Vat passing both Smith and Naynta some bloodwine. "To the empress" toasted B'Vat to which all three celebrated their victory. It was business as usual the next day as new weapon schematics were being shown to Naynta by the military tech scientists. "A thalaron torpedo?" asked Naynta studying the plans. "Admiral, the Borg rely on organic bodies as hosts for their cybernetics. Thalaron destroys organic matter, it would be effective against the crews of Borg ships" said Doctor Holmes. "Increase safety margins first and then begin your simulation tests, I want the results on my desk straight away after you've finished" said Naynta. "Yes ma'am" replied Holmes.
"Back to work" said Naynta as she smiled. Smith meanwhile was studying the footage from the last battle and taking down notes of the Borg change in strategy. "Expect to see more support ships with each attack" he noted down in his report to the empress. He also sent the empress the visual logs of the last battle. Naynta had already sent her report to the empress with her findings and suggestions, one of them was the Thalaron torpedo after explaining the theory.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"I should never have let knowledge of Thalaron get loose over here. It makes them go all 'oo a new shiny toy for killing'," Layress sighed
"Well as the Terrans say 'its out of the bottle." Thay countered. "It's effective so we should use it.'
"Maybe, but its still a form of energy. And they will adapt to it quickly."
"I though he said they only adapt to particle energy weapons."
"He was selective in his hearing. They adapt to all forms of energy attack."
"We'll be fighting them forever won't we?"
"We have to make them not want to come here. Make the cost so high that they'll be unwilling to pay it."
"How do we do that?"
"I don't know yet."
"Bad news, Borg adapt to all energy I'm afraid" said Naynta. "I stand corrected, what's the most effective way of crippling the hive for a short amount of time?" answered Smith. "Kill the nerve center, the Borg Queen" replied Naynta. "They'll adapt to thalaron so we keep it storage for now" said Smith. "How's development coming on those new rounds?" asked Naynta. "Along nicely, we've just tested the first batch" answered Smith passing on the results to Naynta. "Very impressive, very useful for destroying cybernetic components" said Naynta smiling at the results. "We've been looking at different methods on other weapons, take a look at this" replied Smith passing Naynta the PADD. "Gun drones, very clever" said Naynta reading the schematics. "Makes clearing Borg infections easier and safer" answered Smith.
"Indeed, we may have found something, one of listening probes got this before it self destructed" said Naynta passing Smith the PADD. "If this is on the other end of the nearest transwarp aperture to Terra, we have a problem" said Smith. "A Borg Unicomplex is bad news, that means they can keep sending ships at us and replace their losses at the same time" replied Naynta. "That's what concerns me, we knock out transwarp apertures as soon as they appear but the Borg just create new ones to replace them" answered Smith. "This got our attention, they're building something and it's big. We also found this from another probe" replied Naynta. "Armored Cubes look like trouble but the ship they are building is unknown" answered Smith looking puzzled. "I'll report this to the empress" said Naynta as she put a secure call in.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"Prophets above, tactical cubes,"Layress sighed. "Just what we don't need."
"The name alone sounds bad," Tay commented.
"They use them for more problematic races."
"like we've become."
"Yes, but I don't recognize what their building. But I don't want them to finish it,"
"They can't adapt to physical forces... how big a singularity core can the Romulans build?"
"implosion bomb?"
"its worth a shot."
"A giant Implosion device?" asked Smith in his morning subspace brief to the empress. "Something that will make the biggest artificial black hole ever created" replied Heath. "Building the device is one half of the battle, a delivery that won't get shot down the minute it enters Borg space is another thing entirely" said Naynta. "Maybe this should be of comfort, at 1900 hours Mars time, a fleet will join you at Mars. They are from a species called the Voth, they are providing scientists, ships and troops. They may come off a bit arrogant so learn to deal with their quirks" answered Heath. "What kind of ships?, we need something big to one, load the device and two get the device to the target" asked Naynta.
"The Voth have fought the Borg for centuries, their ships are heavily armored and well armed. They are providing a pair of Citadel class dreadnoughts for the attack with a wing of science ships and cruisers to support our fleet, their government has agreed to an alliance with us considering we have a common enemy" said Heath. "I'm usually not a fan of weapons of mass destruction but we discovered something that could limit the Borg's mobility, an Omega particle detonation in the heart of Borg space. It would make warp travel impossible for the Borg" replied Smith. "Ram a ship into that construction at transwarp and detonate the singularity device, an omega detonation triggers the core to implode destroying everything within 20,000 LY, the Borg will find it impossible to move in their own space quickly" added Naynta.
"It would cripple the Borg for a while, time that can be put to good use on our end in preparing for the next attack" said Smith. "I'll reserve the call if we have to use Omega particles, get that singularity device built and operational. That Borg ship must not be finished, empress out" replied Heath and the screen went blank. "Time for us to build a giant black hole bomb" said Naynta. "Let's see what the Romulans can build" replied Smith.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"We can not use Omega on the Borg," Layress said emphatically. "Ever." "I know such things offend..." "Do not say 'my Federation sensibilities' Thay. I am beyond that." "Then what's the issue?" "The Borg want Omega." "What?" "They consider it perfection." "How do you know that?" "One of Janeway's reports that was never made public. It was restricted to captain and above. If we demonstrate that we have and can control Omega like that, they will never stop coming after us." "That knowledge must never fall into their hands. For everyone who knows about it, it's now mandatory death before assimilation." "The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few." "What?" "Never mind."
"Impressive, can this collapse a unicomplex?" asked Smith to one of the Romulan lead scientists. "Depends of the size of core you want" answered Doctor Rinna Khev. "Half the size of a Citadel dreadnought" suggested Doctor Nelen Exil. "You mammals forget we Voth are 20 million years ahead of you, we can have giant singularity cores ready in two weeks on our ramming ships in both our quadrants. Our council of elders have come to the same train of thought" answered Exil. "Hey, don't count us mammals out yet, we've something special planned" replied Smith. "The council has decided that we must hit the Borg hard, our forces are to hit the Borg in their space. We intend to knock out as much of their infrastructure as possible and quickly" answered Exil.
"We send our attacks via their transwarp network while Voth and other Delta races engage the Borg in their own quadrant" suggested Naynta. "With the Dominion sending a couple of fleets to assist us, both due to arrive at the end of the week we may stand a chance" said Smith. "The rest of their forces will attack the Borg in the Gamma Quadrant" added Naynta.
Borg Space, two weeks later (MU red)
The allies put their plan into operation as the kamikaze units got ready to leave, hours later Borg sites across the Delta Quadrant were hit by Citadel dreadnoughts. The effect was immediate as Borg ships withdrew back into their space, four out of six transwarp hubs were destroyed and several unicomplexes either destroyed or severely damaged as allied ships continued their kamikaze attacks. This had caught the Borg Queen's attention and she deployed in her command ship to launch one last attack on the empire leading two Borg Tactical Cubes, the prototype Borg had been destroyed in the Allie's first attacks. The Queen emerged near Pilatus.
Battle Group Omega mobilized and leading an allied fleet engaged the Borg. The Tactical Cubes proved their effectiveness but were overwhelmed by waves of kamikaze strikes from the Jem Hadar and Imperial drone strikes. The Borg Queen was now singled out as more kamikaze ships slammed into her command ship. After an hour of battle and numerous strikes, the Borg Queen's command ship imploded as the cores went critical. With the death of the Borg Queen, that coupled with the amount of damage the Borg had sustained caused chaos within the collective. Drones could no longer function efficiently as Borg ships malfunctioned, some even self destructed. It would take the Borg decades to recover.
Back at Mars, the allies cheered at their first major decisive victory over the Borg. Both Smith and Naynta updated the Empress and sent her the data and logs of the Allied offensive on the Borg's home space as well as the destruction of the Borg Queen and her group.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The I.S.S. Denorios had left Mars a week after victory over the Borg to pick up some friends and reunite the crew. When she returned, Mereu walked through the airlock and ran over to Dexter Smith before she hugged him and gave a kiss. "Good to have you back, let's not be apart for that long again" said Dexter smiling. "I know why you did it, I'm not angry at you making sure I was safe" she replied laughing. At breakfast, it was a jovial mood as laughter and joking was heard among the troops in the mess hall. "My father's legacy is nothing but ashes in the wind, it took the best of us all working together united to weather this storm" said Trianna (red). "We're in a brave new world for the empire, gone are the days of conquest and now by working with each other rather than fighting each other, we defended ourselves against a remorseless enemy, Trianna you father's legacy has been erased" replied Smith.
"Victory, our son will grow up in a better empire" said Trianna (red) to Isoisa (red). "He will, we have to help the empress make this better world a reality" answered Isoisa (red). "A better world for all our children and their descendants" said Dexter smiling. "Agreed" chorused the crew. "Mind if we join you" asked Naynta. "Go ahead" answered Dexter. Naynta and Pelagia took their seats as the crew settled down to breakfast.
Earth (prime)
Trianna (yellow) was sat down watching INN when the war report came on. "Victory over the Borg, at 0600 Terran time this morning the empress has announced that following a string of Borg incursions, the Empire and her allies took the war to the Borg's home territory. Our forces smashed their infrastructure and stopped an attack in our space decisively ending the Borg counter-invasion by killing their queen. Battle Group Omega's command had this to say on the matter" said the news anchor, "It was a group effort, it's the tech boffins, soldiers and scientists who deserve the real credit. Under the old empire, something like would not have been possible now it's a different story. Under guidance from the Empress's wisdom, this empire can be made anew into a better world for our descendants, we are stronger united where as before we were weak because we were not united. Empires change, so must we if we are to keep our new found unity." said Smith. "Without tech assistance from boffins like the Valdez girls and mathematics geniuses like Mario Petrofski and Tommen Paris all the way to the soldiers, crewman and officers in the Allied ranks, this victory would not have been possible. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Federation for giving us that head start we needed" said Naynta.
Trianna (yellow) then got the Valdez family together and replayed the report. "Girls, you both helped save billions. You two should be proud" said Nathan Valdez. "All three of us" said Trianna (red) over the screen as she corrected Valdez. "My mistake, I'm proud of all three of you" said Valdez. "Thanks dad" chorused all three Triannas. "Your mothers would be proud of all three of you, take heart in that" said Valdez. "We will" chorused all three Triannas. "I'll leave you three to catch up" said Valdez before he left the room to meet Captain Dawson. "Is dad dating?" asked Trianna (red). "We may have played matchmaker, we did it so dad could move on from mom" answered Trianna (prime). "It's at the committed relationship level, so dad is doing well at least" added Trianna (yellow). "That's good to hear" answered Trianna (red). All three Triannas spent the next hour just catching and comparing their academy days from all three realities.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Battle Group Omega had joined up with their allies for the final assaults on Borg Space. The Mirror Alliance had not rested on their laurels and given the Borg time to recover, what they had in mind was the total destruction of the Borg, to avoid unnecessary losses, kamikaze drones with Implosion bombs laced with Trilithium destroyed every star in the Alliance's path by impacting them and then sending them supernova. The plan was to literally wipe all existence of the Borg from the galaxy, so far Borg space was isolated on all sides as stars went nova wiping out those star systems and their worlds. General Order 24 was in force, any Borg systems and facilities would be wiped out to the last drone while avoiding battle with the Borg fleet.
Using the Voth ships as transwarp hangers, Battle Group Omega hit system after system leaving nothing behind for the Borg to salvage as the Alliance pressed on with their attack. Within three weeks, the Borg had been pushed all the way back to their last system. Now the Alliance struck as a unmanned Voth city ship smashed into the last Borg unicomplex, the implosion was so powerful that the Alliance fleet had to withdraw to a safe distance. More kamikaze runs were sent in and the effect was immediate, the Borg were facing extinction and with their backs to the wall they charged the Alliance fleets with their remaining ships led by another Queen. The Borg were now swarmed as multiple kamikaze runs rammed into their ships, the battlefield became a debris field as ships on both sides were exploding and imploding but after 48 hours hard fighting, the last Borg ships were wiped out at the cost of 4000 Alliance ships.
After returning to Mars via Voth city ship, Battle Group Omega's commanders were jubilant as Alliance commanders celebrated. While Smith went to file his after action report to the Empress, he smiled. "General Smith, how many Borg are left?" asked Heath Thay. "None ma'am, they were too dangerous to be allowed to carry on. Alliance forces were very thorough, any Borg infestations on our sides have been mopped up and all Borg debris, drones and technology destroyed" answered Smith. "Efficient, this alliance has secured peace through cooperation against a common enemy. The Borg were a threat to all life, a threat now terminated permanently" asked Thay. "Had to be done but at a terrible cost in lives and ships" replied Smith. "General, take a break you've earned it because you are now overall commander of Battle Group Omega. Omega's operations have been expanded to deal with internal and external threats to the Empire and her allies" said Thay. "As you wish ma'am" answered Smith. "Keep the empire safe, that's an order. Heath out" replied Thay and the screen went blank.
Smith caught up with his crew later and they found out about Smith's promotion to overall commander of Omega. "Boss, nicely done" said Trianna (red). "Now we keep this Alliance going, we'll be working closely with our allies for the foreseeable future" answered Smith. "Should be interesting" said Trianna (red). "Aye, indeed" answered Smith. "Well I'm wanted by Mereu, it's the weekly scan" said Trianna (red). "Have fun" replied Smith before Trianna (red) left the room.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"Make it very clear to our forces that blowing up stars is not acceptable procedure. They're denying future generations of the resources of those system." "It was expedient in the situation." "That's short term not long term thinking. What's the point of winning the war if there's nothing left." "True." "Also, i know it was the Borg, but going forward any officer that commits genocide on an entire race will be summarily executed on the spot." "It..." "The Cardassians tried to do that to my people. I will not see it done to anyone else in my name." "As you wish."
"General, do not wipe any more races out. You know the penalty" said Heath over the screen. "The Voth and Jem Hadar can get a bit carried away, not all the Borg are dead however, some have survived the destruction of the hive" answered Smith. "How many Borg are left?" asked Heath. "We have thousands of drones still alive across the galaxy, they have formed a cooperative. They have sent us their thanks when they found out who liberated them, they called the Empire, Voth and Dominion friends and allies to the cooperative. We also found a drone on Ivor IV, his neural transceiver has been fried. At the moment he's in a very secure cell, The scientists over here would love to take the drone apart for study but I've told them we're going to free him by making him remember his past life before he was taken" answered Smith. "What race?" asked Heath. "Bajoran, his name was Denaras Bareil. Since his connection to the collective was severed, his Bajoran appearance is trying to reassert itself and he's speaking as I not We" answered Smith.
"That's his individuality coming back, tread carefully and be gentle" replied Heath. "We'll keep him under guard for now while we try and undo the damage done to him" answered Smith. "Update me on your progress, Empress out" replied Heath and the screen went blank.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
At containment, the guards were heard calling the drone “mindless” when General Smith walked in along with Trianna. “You two, report to Admiral Lot for discipline. You were overheard threatening that drone, that drone has feelings too” ordered Smith. Both guards left the room and were put straight into the booth by Nanyta. “I do apologize for their behaviour towards you, I'm General Dexter Smith and this is my first officer Col Trianna Bray” said Smith. “You their leader?” asked the drone. “Nope, I serve another leader” answered Smith. “He's terrified, he's been used to having the collective in his head but now they're silent” said Trianna. “Guards lower forcefield, I'm going in” ordered Smith.
“Sir, he's Borg. He may try and assimilate you” said one of the security officers. “Noted, open it anyway” ordered Smith. The force field lowered and Smith entered the cell. “Do you want to assimilate me?” asked Smith. “No” answered the drone. “Why not, all races must be offered perfection” asked Smith. “If they ask for it” countered the drone. “Interesting, put this through to the empress” said Trianna. “ma'am” answered the security officer. “Choice is irrelevant, all must be given perfection” said Smith. “Choice is relevant” countered the drone. “Then we have reached common ground, not all races want to be assimilated. We like our individuality” replied Smith. “What have they done to me?” asked the drone after seeing himself in the mirror.
“They took you and twisted you, you are under my protection here” said Smith. “Do you want to know who you were before they took you?” asked Trianna to the drone. “Who I was?, my designation is three of ten” answered the drone. “We know who you were, your name is Denaras Bareil. You were taken five years ago, originally you were from Hathon, Bajor” replied Smith trying to trip the drone's memories. “You are not alone, there are 15,000 other drones who had been liberated” said Trianna. “Our main goal here is to undo the damage they did to you, you can be Denaras Bareil again” added Smith. “They turned me into a monster and I helped assimilate whole races and cultures” said the drone. “You were not in control of your actions” answered Trianna. A red alert then chimed as a Borg sphere came through, it was intercepted but the Borg did not fire instead asking for help.
The sphere was told to take position just outside Sol as the Voth brought in an old citidel. The empress had decided to show the Borg mercy as they helped upgrade the Voth ship into a mobile home-world. From the ashes of the collective, the cooperative were now the only Borg in the galaxy. They all boarded the ship and left Imperial space aboard the Voth ship along with a compliment of EMHs to watch over their health and well being, rather than stay in the Milky Way, they left the galaxy altogether looking for a safe place away from the peoples of the Milky Way. Back on Mars, Denaras Bareil had chosen not to go with the cooperative but instead decided to stay in the Empire as a member of Starfleet after his surgery. He would rely on an alcove but Smith took him in as a member of his crew.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
At Omega command, Smith read through the intelligence reports from the frontier. "Things are quiet" he thought as he finished his third coffee. Trianna walked in and updated Smith on her work with Denaras Bareil, "how's the newest member to our extended family doing?" asked Smith. "He's only just come to terms, he needs a counselor and that's someone we don't have here so I'm doing the best I can for him" answered Trianna. "Keep at it, you're one of the few who has got through to him that he's not an evil person" said Smith. "He has a hard time with emotions, he's having flashbacks of when he was taken. To Bareil, his five year nightmare has caused a lot of damage" answered Trianna. "How many more billions would be facing that nightmare if we did not dismantle the Borg? We've done the galaxy a huge favor in the long run, new races can evolve without fear of being assimilated. Our alliance with the Dominion and Voth is now key to stability in this galaxy" replied Smith.
"I don't like how we had to do it but our losses would have been greater if we did not, at least I can sleep easier knowing my son will never have to face that nightmare" answered Trianna. "The empress has a point and I'm not going to argue with her about that, without the support of the empress, Battle Group Omega would not exist and we would be drones or even worse erased from history" replied Smith. "The empress when she was a captain tried to teach me and my sister but we were too proud to listen and very nearly made an enemy of her, looking back I should have listened and heeded her teachings" answered Trianna. "Your father becoming emperor did not help matter I take it?" asked Smith. "Step-Father actually, my biological father was murdered before I was born" answered Trianna. "No wonder you hate him that much" replied Smith. "At least my son will never never turn out to be like him, I'll ask the empress to be a teacher to him as he grows up. It'll do him some good" answered Trianna.
"The empress has wisdom, that counts for something. How's your little sister doing?" replied Smith. "Recently turned one, she's nearly walking and she's talking. Dad's getting grey hairs over it" answered Trianna laughing. "Oh dear" replied Smith laughing. "My counterparts have made an impression on you, you've faced the Imperial fleet and the Dominion yet my counterpart managed to humble you some more" said Trianna. "They're remarkable, I've never seen so much determination from them, especially your federation counterpart. She's formidable to say to the least" answered Smith. "You have respect for her" said Trianna smiling. "I do" replied Smith. "She can make a rottweiler whimper just by glaring at it" answered Trianna laughing. Smith just laughed. "I better update the empress on my progress with our new crew member" said Trianna. "Good luck" answered Smith. Trianna then left the room and went to make her call. Later that day, Jasmine Smith came in hiding one side of her face. "What happened?" asked Smith. "I had an accident" answered Jasmine as Smith got a closer look. "That's no accident, someone's hit you" replied Smith. "My boyfriend got drunk and lashed out on me" replied Jasmine. "How many times has he done this you?" asked Smith. "At least six times, he lives at this address in Mars City" replied Jasmine handing Smith the address. "I'll put out an arrest warrant for him on charges of assault and battery, people like that should be behind bars where they can harm no-one else" answered Smith. "Thanks bro" replied Jasmine.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"Former drones are interesting beings," The Empress said from the screen. "You'll find them both sociable and reclusive. And curious about the things that they've missed."
Trianna looked confused.
"You sound like you've dealt with freed drones before."
"One of my engineers is a former drone."
"Really?"
"She was an exchange officer. She found Romulan society to much like the collective so she asked to stay with me. How could I say no?"
"I never suspected."
"No one was supposed to. Now if you need a counselor, I left several on the Enterprise. They can spare you one. In the meantime, my advice, throw a little chaos at him. Spontaneity helps make them feel normal."
"I'll take your advice. Thank you."
Trianna walked up to Bareil's alcove just as he finished his regeneration cycle. "Morning" said Trianna. "Lt Col Bray" answered Bareil. "Call me Trianna" replied Trianna. "Why?" asked Bareil. "Because I'm more comfortable with that" answered Trianna. "Trianna, you are not afraid of me" replied Bareil. "I'm not, I know the Borg are ordered so it's time to add some chaos to the mix. Follow me, time for you to relearn some social skills. My crew mates can be a bit chaotic so bear with it" answered Trianna. Both Trianna and Bareil entered the mess hall and sat down with the rest of the crew. "Bareil, have a seat" said Smith pulling over another chair. Bareil sat down then Smith introduced him to the crew. "Trianna, is this like your collective?" asked Bareil. "You could say that but we're more like extended family instead, each of us with our own unique traits. For example, T'Pamne feels emotion, something rare among her people" answered Trianna smiling. "Emotional and proud" said T'Pamne laughing.
"The very definition of chaos, T'Pamne is the only Vulcan we know who has road rage issues" added Ibarid Pitaskli laughing. "Some drivers are stupid, some to the point I want to vaporize them" said T'Pamne smiling. "Then we have the definition of calm and clear thought with Lenaris here, he's Bajoran like you and our spiritual adviser" said Trianna. "Bareil, anytime you need to talk, my office door is open" said Lenaris. "Then we have true chaos, Isoisa is the craziest pilot we know" said Lwasana Pitaskli. "Not my fault, it's funny watching you all hold on for dear life" joked Isoisa. "That's our Isoisa" said Tommen Paris. "Thanks Tommen" replied Isoisa. "Mario here is our maths genius, he's the quiet type really and prefers his ordered world" said Trianna. "Peace, quiet and maths equations" replied Mario Petrofski. "Lwasana and Ibarid are engineers, they help keep things repaired and operational, Lwasana takes over as first officer in the field" said Trianna. "Four months married and enjoying it" said Ibarid. "Took a war to make that marriage possible" added Lwasana. "Then we have the Smiths, on duty Dexter is in charge but off duty we know who the alpha is" said Trianna laughing. "It's true" said Smith smiling. "I get territorial around Dexter" added Mereu.
Trianna then noticed Jasmine was quiet, "Jas, who hit you?" asked Trianna. "My ex, he's always violent when drunk" answered Jasmine. "He's currently being taught the error of his ways by the Imperial police, trust me I wanted to hurt him really badly but things like this are left to the civil authorities to deal with" added Smith. "Let my sister pay him a visit but tell her the reason why" said Trianna. "I may consider that, make sure he suffers" replied Smith. Jasmine nodded in agreement and Trianna gave Naynta the location of the cell. "Now that's over with, how long until your little Brigand arrives?" asked Smith. "Our son is due in about a month" chorused Trianna and Isoisa. "That is not possible" said Bareil. "His father was killed in a war, it was his final gift so we'll raise him well" said Trianna. "That we will" added Isoisa. All of a sudden, an officer went flying across a table after insulting a Gorn. "Ensign, word of advice do not insult a Gorn, they are a lot bigger than you" said Smith. "That lizard got in my way so I may have called pea brained" said the Terran ensign. "Mereu, check for any injury" said Smith. Mereu checked the ensign and reported a broken rib before sending him of to sickbay. "Big guy, calm down" said Smith. The Gorn nodded and took his seat. "In the collective, this never happened" said Bareil afterwards. "Chaos makes life fun" answered Trianna.
"Best part of being an individual" added Smith. "So true" finished T'Pamne.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Aboard the Denorios, Bareil was assisting Trianna and Isoisa in flight control retrofits. "They're not sensitive enough" complained Isoisa about Federation designed helm controls. "Why don't you transfer your flight controls to here then, I made sure to keep a backup for you" said Trianna. "Thanks, you're a life saver" answered Isoisa as she rebuilt her controls. "Interesting, that's given this ship an extra 60% efficiency increase in speed and and turn" said Bareil running the calculations. "And well within safety margins at the same time" replied Isoisa. "Always good, thank the empress for these new safety regulations. Oh and she also sent us this in regards to the new regulations" answered Trianna passing Isoisa the PADD. It read "Make sure that crazy pilot of yours is reminded of the new regulations, signed Empress Heath Layress I." "60% is safe enough" said Isoisa.
"60% is efficient" replied Bareil. "Bareil, very impressive" said Isoisa. "I was stating fact Lt. Cmdr" answered Bareil. "We call that a compliment in our society, knowing when to take a compliment is an important social skill. Isoisa complimented you on your help" said Trianna to Bareil. "Accepted Lt. Cmdr Bray" said Bareil to Isoisa. "Bareil, work on the personality a bit more. You're doing well" advised Isoisa. "I will work on that Lt. Cmdr Bray" answered Bareil before he left to go and regenerate. "Keeping him busy?" asked Isoisa. "I am, by giving a task, for example earlier when we were calculating piloting equations. Bareil is very intelligent and fascinating to observe how he's adapting to individuality, give him things to do and he's happy. I could sense it" answered Trianna. "Some guidance on the way would do him some good" replied Isoisa. "Agreed" answered Trianna. "Stick at it, you're getting through" replied Isoisa. "I've got to update the Empress, have fun with your flight controls" answered Trianna. "This will be the quickest ship in the fleet by time I'm finished" replied Isoisa. Both gave a courtly nod to keep things professional before Trianna went to her office to update Heath.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"Naynta! Lolo! Why am I still pregnant?" The two looked up at the sound of the Empress's voice as she entered sick bay. "Bajorans are only supposed to be pregnant for five months. Granted it's been a very busy past few months and I've been very distracted. But it's been eight months now and they're still in there." "I told you she would figure it out," Lolo sighed. "The truth is ma'am we don't know," Naynta confessed. "Your pregnancy defies all known medical science. We can't figure out how or why it happened. Or why they are developing slower than usual. But please rest assured that they are both perfectly healthy." "So wha..." She broke off in a fit of sneezing that lasted about a minute. "I am so tired of doing that." "Sorry ma'am." "I'm not mad at you," Layress sighed. "I'm just tired and ...OH..." Her eyes went wide as put her hands on her stomach. The other two pulled out their tricorders and scanned her. "I hope the Admiral has been doing her reading." Naynta commented looking at the readings. "Why?" Asked Layress "That was a contraction," Lolo explained. "Congratulations. You're going into labor." "WHAT?" "I thought you were impatient to get them out?" "I was... But now I..." "Calm down ma'am," Naynta said easing her in to a chair. "I can feel the panic coming off you. It's completely normal to feel like this." "I know. I... I'll be fine. Thank you. I need to get calm for this to happen." "You need anything else from us?" Ask Lolo. "Just help getting out of this chair."
Several decks above Thay was in a meeting with Callie and her Naynta. "So, another ten for the Iroans System?" Thay asked. "Why do-" She was interrupted by the call chime. "Naynta to Admiral Heath." "Go ahead." "It's time, report to sickbay." Thay was confused as her Naynta and Callie both squealed with excitement. "Time?" She asked. "The hell is she on about?" Callie had no words. "Time for what?" Thay asked again. "What did we have scheduled for her? I don't recall any sessions for her medical staff." Callie pointed at her sister's chest. "Hmmm, mine appear to be shrinking," Thay commented. "They're now only just bigger than yours!" "uhh..." Naynta sighed. "*sighs* Really?!" Asked Callie. "What?" Callie leaned over and whispers in her ear. "Your pregnant wife!" " What does- " Thay suddenly shrieked "What..." Thay grabbed Callie and shook her. "What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO?! Tell me!" "I swear to god - shake me like that again and-" "Threaten me later!" She continued shaking her. "What do I do?!" "Going to sickbay would be a good-" "Bye!" She took off out the door. Callie noticed the PADD with Bajoran text on her desk. "Wasn't she suppose to read that?" Naynta asked. "Yes." "Did she?" "Well, she made it to page 2 of 144. So, she read the opening paragraph at least. But from the lipstick stains on the PADD, I'd say She was obviously distracted at the time." "Ahh, yes ... she must have been," Naynta said wiping off the PADD.
At Omega Command, General Smith doing some research on the Tzenkethi given some border tensions on the frontier. “This the fourth planet to be wiped out in three days, the Kentari have been forced flee to our borders as refugees” said Smith studying the reports. “They're not the only ones, other races are also fleeing the Tzenkethi” replied Trianna. “I've spoken to Admiral Barclay about this, Imperial forces along the border are on high alert and Omega may be mobilized to assist” answered Smith. “If the Tzenkethi attack our borders, our strategy is defensive and we hold them at the border” advised Trianna. “Agreed, we cannot be the aggressors” replied Smith.
“What about refugees asking for shelter within the empire?” asked Trianna looking at the political situation. “We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it” answered Smith. “Agreed” replied Trianna working on her report. “Hows Bareil?” asked Smith. “Doing well, he's been assisting Wilkinson on the adaptive shields” answered Trianna. “How are the shields?” asked Smith. “90% increase in efficiency” answered Trianna. “I hear the crew have accepted him” said Smith. “They have, as far as they are concerned, he fits in” replied Trianna. “It'll make him feel normal, you're doing great with him” answered Smith. “I'll brief Admiral Heath about the border tensions and our work with Bareil” replied Trianna. She then left the room and made her call.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The Denorios crew were off duty relaxing at the firing ranges keeping their aims sharp. "We usually test weapons here but everyone is encouraged to come down here and practice when off duty, it's a great stress buster" said Trianna after putting a round on target. "Trianna, how long has it taken you to be able to hit the target with 100% accuracy?" asked Bareil. "Started firing rifles at 13 years of age" answered Trianna. "We've seen Trianna put a bullet through a wine glass at 700m with her first shot" said Dexter. "Efficient" replied Bareil. "Very" answered Trianna. "How small is a wine glass?" asked Bareil. "This size" answered Dexter putting the glass on a platform 700m away. "Bareil, try hitting it" suggested Trianna passing Bareil the rifle and showing him how it works. Bareil ran his calculations and fired the rifle hitting the wine glass dead centre, "Good shot" said Trianna. "Trianna may have competition" joked Dexter smiling.
"Trianna still holds the record for the highest score here, it's been unbeaten so far though others are trying" said Wilkinson. "I came close" said T'Pamne. "By 100 points" said Wilkinson. "True but that first place is in my sights" answered T'Pamne laughing. "I could always increase my score" joked Trianna smiling. "You wouldn't" joked T'Pamne. "I could but I won't" joked Trianna back. "What is this form of communication?" asked Bareil. "It's called banter, it's usual among friends" answered Isoisa before she took her turn on the range.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
General Smith decided to see how Naynta and Jasmine were doing. "Jas, you enjoying payback?" asked Smith. "I will be, this scum needs to be taught a lesson" answered Jasmine. "You put your hands on my sister, so you enjoy being a bully do you? said Dexter to the man in the booth. "Women are not the equal of men, they should be property" answered the man in the booth. "You piece of scum, first you're violent toward women and your attitude is disgusting" said Naynta. "**** off Betazoid" replied the man in the booth. "Xenophobic too, I'll enjoy this" said Naynta hitting the switch. Jasmine then increased power to the booth as she got her revenge. "Don't think about being a bully again, I hate bullies" said Dexter.
"May that trash alien filth empress suffer a painful death" said the man in the booth. "I recorded that Mr. Williams, what do you think the empress would do you once she finds out about your crimes and disloyalty?" asked Dexter. "You just made a mistake Williams" said Naynta increasing the booth to full. "Jas, Naynta, break him" replied Smith. "With pleasure" chorused Jasmine and Naynta. "Mr. Williams, I will be sending the empress the full details of your crimes and disloyalty. All your victims have come forward and they told me everything what you've done" said Smith. "The empress is soft, she won't last long. It would be a shame if anything happened to her family" threatened Williams. "Hurt him but don't kill him, looks like he's going to receive the empress's justice because I'm going to send the empress his record and what he has said" said Smith just before he went to his office to make the call. In the holding cells, screams were heard as Jasmine and Naynta did their worst to Williams.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Papela sighed contentedly sitting on the patio of her house. Former Empress has such a lovely ring to it, she thought. All the respect, with none of the responsibilities. Now I can focus on my really important work, getting my girls to settle down. Most are on the right track, one or two may need a little prodding. Love will find a way, even if it does have to come from another universe. Which has its own advantages. She picked up one of the desserts from the plate on the table and took a large bite. These brownies as she called them are simply divine, she sighed. How could such a benign universe come up with something so utterly decadent? If I could absorb them through my skin I'd bathe in them daily. I simply must have her chef send mine the recipe... No... Having a limited supply of them is best. I'd put on several hundred kilos if I had constant access to them. Best to savor these brief moments of bliss before... "Excuse me ma'am." "And as if on cue..." "Pardon me?" "Never mind. What is it?" "A call from your daughter Callie." "Callie?" She frowned. "She never calls by herself. She always there in the background when Thay calls." She had him place the communication device on the table and hit accept. Callie appeared on the screen. "Hello little one. What's wrong?" "Mom, Thay needs your help." "My help? How?" "Layress has gone in to labor and Thay is loosing it. She goes between screaming about how she's not ready and wanting the entire fleet to surrounded us." She couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I see," she said composing herself. "I assume you figured that I'd say yes and you're on the way here?" "I did think you'd want to be there when they were born. We'll be in orbit in an hour." "Good. I'll be ready. Oh, you'll need to use the cargo transporter to bring up my luggage." "Why?" "I've been shopping for my grandchildren. I have so much stuff for them. Do you have an empty cargo hold? I have more things on order."
ISS Los Lobos (In route to Betazed mu yellow)
Callie looked over at Naynta. "Guess who will be here soon?" "Mother? You know it'll be a few years before we can get rid of her." "Don't worry - she'll insist they raise the children on Betazed, once they're gone we'll have free reign of the ship - just think ... you won't need to go to the W-tubes behind sickbay to play with your counterpart." "..." "Don't worry, I won't say anything. Most of the crew have some form of obsession with their own counterparts, I won't tell mother what you've been doing." "You think the Empress will settle on Betazed?" "Not without verbally abusing mother, I think I'll skip that conversation."
Smith was surprised by the face that appeared on the screen. "Ma'am? What are you doing there?" Papela smiled. " I'm just filling in. Answering a few of her more pressing calls." "I see. But where is the Empress?" "She's indisposed." "Ma'am?" "She's in labor." "Oh... Well give her our regards." "I will. She'll get back to you in a week or so. Depends on how much sleep she gets afterwards."
"This is INN. Former Empress and now Betazed Regent Papela Lot issued a statement saying that Empress Layress has gone into labor. She will keep us posted on the details of the births of the heirs to the Empire."
In a military court, Citizen Williams was brought into the dock. He was charged with at least two dozen counts of assault and battery as well as sedition, six of which to a serving military officer. The judge showed no mercy to him and found him guilty, sentence was life at the penal dilithium mine at Taffun to toil. INN had broadcast the hearing live to both empires, afterwards they told the peoples of the empire that men like this are to be shown no mercy. General Smith was sat in the crowd supporting his sister as she had given her evidence as well as closely listening to other testimony from the other witnesses. After the hearing, both Smith siblings went back to Omega command and just reflected on what happened.
"Good riddance" said Jasmine smiling. "Indeed, got a message from Starfleet. Admiral Barclay is coming here to discuss the Tzenkethi, the Regent is also going to be joining us by subspace" said Smith. "We still on a defensive posture?" asked Jasmine. "We are, problem is the rivers of refugees coming to the empire for shelter and safety. We let them in the Tzenkethi will accuse us of aiding their enemies but if we deny them entry, they'll die in space" answered Smith. "Stuck between a rock and a hard place" replied Jasmine. "Yep" answered Smith. Meanwhile Trianna, Isoisa and Bareil were working on a new combat programme for training new recruits. "A programme that adapts to the recruit's decision making skills, very nice" said Isoisa. "Within safety regs as well so hopefully less injuries" replied Trianna. "Maybe your peoples need to take a Borg approach and be able to adapt to situations quickly" suggest Bareil. "Agreed" chorused Trianna and Isoisa.
"It's efficient" answered Bareil. "Bareil, is there a way to recreate that adaptive personal shield of yours?" asked Trianna. "Of course, I'll download the plans for you" answered Bareil. "Thanks Sparks" replied Isoisa. "Sparks?" asked Bareil. "It's a nickname, we give them to people we are close to" answered Trianna.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"Can I please lower my arms now?" Heath asked for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Not yet ma'am." Kahea, the half Bolian/half Trill ship tailor for the Los Lobos stepped back to look at her. "Yes. That Andorian silk was the best choice." "My shoulders are starting to hurt." "If you want to look the best for your wedding ma'am..." "I know. I know. It's just that this is twice we've been through this." "You wanted both an Earth and a Bajoran wedding dresses. One for each ceremony." "Couldn't you have used the same measurements from the first one?" "Absolutely not! Bajoran wedding dresses hang much differently on the body. This Earth dress is much more form fitting." "That's what I'm afraid of. Had I known I'd be doing this I'd have hit the gym a lot more." "With all due respect ma'am, I paid a lot to get this body in to this shape. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Besides we can cover up any area you want to hide with more lace." "Does it have to be so tight around my hips? I can barely walk." "Ah... well... That was a request from Captain Ford." "Was it?" "He asked that I highlight that backside of yours." "Can you loosen the bottom so I can kick him?" "And ruin the lines of what I've slaved over for hours? Never! I have however already factored that into the dress that you will want appropriate shoes to inflict as much damage as possible to him while dancing." "Thank you." "My pleasure ma'am. And now you can put your arms down." "Thank the Prophets, finally."
At Omega Command, Smith, Naynta waited for the Enigma to to arrive. “Tzentkethi, that's a name I've not heard in a while” said Naynta. “Why are they destroying planets then?” asked Smith. “They're eliminating a certain type of crystal found on those worlds” answered Naynta. “Explains a lot, Tzenkethi only do something for a reason” replied Smith. “You've met them?” asked Naynta. “I have, they're big mean and easily the match for 10 of our soldiers” answered Smith. “Their research into protomatter weapons is something we need to look out for” replied Naynta.
“Indeed, the Tzenkethi live a series of paths, some are peaceful where others are violent depending on their mood, we may be dealing with their government or rogue elements” answered Smith. “An interesting theory, however, the problem is we have refugees asking for shelter within the empire” replied Naynta. “That's why I've asked your mother for help on this matter, her political wisdom is important in preventing a war” answered Smith. “Mother knows the politics game very well” replied Naynta. “Diplomacy is the only option we have at the moment, Admiral Barclay has issued a strict fire discipline for our forces. Do not fire unless fired on first” answered Smith. “I'll make sure the order gets to all units on the border, after this conference I'm taking command of the border fleet” replied Naynta. “Good luck” answered Smith as word came in that the Enigma would be docking at Imperium Planetia.
Earth (Prime)
At the Valdez household, Nathan Valdez, Ablim and Trianna (yellow) were converting a guest room into a nursery under Trianna's (prime) supervision. “Sky blue, perfect for this room” said Trianna (prime) noting the color. “Trianna, less than a month to go” said Joanna Dawson. “I know, it's gone so fast, Dad will be a great role model for baby Ablim” answered Trianna (prime). “Word of advise, parenting requires a lot of patience, something you have I've noticed” replied Joanna. “You have children?” asked Trianna (prime).
“Two boys, both are at the academy in their first year” answered Joanna. “I nearly got excluded from the academy, I broke into the commandant's computer with a PADD because I was bored. I've never seen an Admiral twitch so much” replied Trianna. “That could explain why you were posted to your father for your last year” answered Joanna. “Straight into the Iconian War at the Battle of Iconia, Dad was a captain at the time” replied Trianna. “That was was hell, my late husband was killed aboard the Stardancer when her core lost containment” answered Joanna. “I was aboard Oudenarde, she was an old Galaxy Class and we got hit by an Iconian virus with a Vonph bearing down on us” replied Trianna (prime). “I read the battle reports, very inventive solution infecting them with a modified virus to overload their core” answered Joanna.
Trianna (yellow) came out for a break. “How's married life sis?” asked Trianna (prime). “Amazing, we redecorated the converted barn, it really homely now” answered Trianna (yellow). “It looks amazing, we've even made it wheelchair friendly” added Isoisa. “And child proof” finished Trianna (yellow). “Anna, you've taken to life here very well, I hear you want to become professional with the martial arts” said Joanna. “I'm working on that, already won my first four fights. Dad's been coaching me and is at ringside in my matches advising me” answered Trianna (yellow). “What's your style?” asked Joanna. “Kick-boxing” answered Trianna (yellow). Joanna got a call from the Cairo, duty called so she gave both twins a polite nod and gave Valdez a kiss before leaving for her duty shift.
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Comments
At the Valdez farm, the family was busy preparing for the latest arrival when a call came through from the Empire, it was General Smith and Admiral Lot. They had been given permission to thank the Valdez twins, "Ladies, nice work. Your programme has been tested in actual combat conditions and it worked. Nice touch adding the self destruct in case of the programme being compromised" said Smith. "Always funny when things blow up in the enemy faces" said Trianna (yellow). "Yeah assimilate this then BOOM!!" added Trianna (prime) laughing. "Impressive work" said Naynta smiling. "You I don't want to see, if we ever meet I may not be control of my actions" said Trianna (prime). "Little one, be civil please" said Valdez. "Sorry dad, she brought back a bad memory" replied Trianna (prime).
After a 20 minute talk with the twins on the subject of different types of viruses and malware, Smith had an idea after the screen went blank.
Mars (MU red)
"Naynta, what did you do to provoke that reaction?" asked Smith. "I forced her to watch her mother's execution and those of her crew mates, let's just say she really hates me for it" answered Naynta. "That's in the past, next time we have to talk to the Valdez twins, let me do the talking" suggested Smith. "Might be a good plan" answered Naynta. "Time to check up on our Trianna" said Smith. Naynta sent Trianna (red) the good news of the field tests, Trianna (red) smiled over subspace as Smith passed her a list of viruses and malware programmes for her projects for dealing with the Borg. Afterwards, Smith and Naynta were found by INN who asked for an interview. "Victory against the Borg, I'm here on Mars with General Dexter Smith and Admiral Naynta Lot, they are fighting to protect our peoples from a enemy that wants to wipe us out" said the reporter. During the interview, both Smith and Naynta kept within their brief and only told INN what they were allowed to hear. INN called Battle Group Omega heroes.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Both Smith and Naynta had decided that all of Battle Group Omega would be shown the full scale of the Borg threat by showing them the visual logs of the Battle of Wolf 359. "The Federation lost 39 ships there out of a fleet of 40 and that Cube took hardly any damage, Federation researchers have suggested that a Borg Cube can still operate even if 78% of it is destroyed" said Naynta to packed out auditorium. Watching the briefing via subspace was Fleet Admiral Heath Thay taking note. Back in the auditorium, Smith showed the visual logs from the Enterprise E and the Warrior. "What you'll see now is the assimilation process, take note and listen very carefully. Some day this may save your life" said Smith.
Battle Group Omega took notice as Naynta described the process, some in the audience winced, others were angry. "Our first objective is map the transwarp apertures. They are how the Borg can enter anywhere in our space, those apertures lead to transwarp hubs all the way in Borg space. They control large areas of the Delta Quadrant as well as parts of the Beta Quadrant, there are six transwarp hubs in the entire galaxy which means their next attack could come from anywhere. All frontier colonies have been evacuated to planets in the core of the empire, we cannot give the Borg more drones" said Naynta.
"Is General Order 24 an option to deny them resources and drones?" asked Captain Davies. "It is, the Empress has ordered with General Order 24 that we keep firing until the planet is a glowing sphere. It's the only way to be sure" answered Naynta. "Thank you ma'am" answered Captain Davies who saluted and sat back down. "General, the Borg are pure logic so to beat the ultimate logic we have to be illogical" said Commander T'Vrell. "Exactly that, to beat the Borg we must fight united and be as illogical and unorthodox as possible. Do things the Borg would not expect, Borg adaptation is very quick, so good old fashioned gunpowder are our weapons. Each of you will find on the desk in front of you your sidearms, treat them with respect and look after them" said Smith. "A most logical way of looking at it General" answered T'Vrell before she sat down. Battle Group Omega's weapon designs were inventive, the TR-116 had effectively replaced the phasers rifles with all Omega personnel carrying a pistol version of the TR-116.
After Naynta's examination of Wolf 359, she picked apart the Federation's tactics and showed the fleet where the Federation had failed, Sector 001 and their Battle of Sector 001 were next put to Naynta's scrutiny and she and Smith showed the fleet where the Federation had made mistakes in their battle and where the empire had go so badly wrong. "Our mission is to defend the Empire from the Borg, once this call goes out, it means all troops and crews to their ships and be ready to launch in less than half an hour, intercepting Borg vessels counts on timing so we need to be out and in position as fast as possible so we'll be scheduling launch drills to improve departing times" said Naynta. "Yes ma'am!!!"cheered the crews. "Everyone to your normal posts,dismissed" said Naynta. "Very informative" said Thay. "We're working on new weapon designs, tactics and some creative methods to counter each move they make" answered Naynta. "They are a threat to everyone, failure is not an option here" said Thay. "We'll be there fighting them every step of the way" said Naynta. "I know you will Heath out" said Thay then the screen went blank.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Still got room for the 4 parts to 'A Mirror Tale' but after that ... I don't know ... so ... Mirror Wars 4:
Discovery Era? 26th Century? Mirror Iconian War?
Royal Palace Lower Level
Terra mu yellow
Sito Thay had to admit that as far as cells went, her's was rather comfortable.
Soft bed, quilted blanket and sheets, she thought. Trying to get me to relax before she starts in on me.
She remembered what she had been subjected to the last time she had been a "guest" of the Empire.
Not again, she promised herself. I'll die before I go through that again. The humiliation of...
She forced herself to stop the replay in her her head.
She heard footsteps approaching.
Must be dinner, she thought.
Like everything else the food was good. The hasperath was actually decent.
Much to her disappointment it wasn't dinner.
"Hello, my little Federation doll. How are you feeling today?"
At that moment, she decided that she never wanted to look in a mirror again. That smug condescending smile on her own face...
"I've been better."
"Well you'll be happy to know that this is the last night you'll spend here."
Those memories were starting to push their way to the top again.
"What do you mean?" She fought to keep her voice steady.
"You're coming with me."
"No! Stay away from me!"
"It's not a matter for debate." The other her touched the outside panel.
The last memory she had was falling towards the floor. She didn't remember hitting it...
She opened her eyes. She was strapped into the seat of a shuttle. The other her was piloting.
"Finally awake? Don't strain yourself. Those restraints aren't coming off until we talk."
"I will not let you do that to me again!"
'I'm not going to."
"What?"
"You have me confused with someone else."
"What are you talking about?"
The other her smiled and pulled off her red wig revealing her short blonde hair.
"That gets hot after a while."
"The other one. The other mirror me."
"Yep. Captain Sito Thay from the so called red universe. Unlike the one that comes from this disgusting place. How soft are they that they willingly embrace that fedrat usurper?"
"What do you want with me?"
"You and I have something in common. We both hate the Empress and want her dead. Well I more want to hear her consort scream in anguish as I pull the Empress's nails out one at a time. But at the end of the day, the main thing is that the two of them suffer."
"I'm not disagreeing with you. But again what do you want with me?"
"I want you to help me make that a reality. Your previous associates didn't know know how to truly stay off the detection grid. My friends and I have... different ways of communication that they can't intercept. And right now they are too worried about the recent Borg attacks that they aren't even thinking about things like us. So, are you interested in helping us?"
"As long as I get to be the one that kills the other us, I'm in."
ISS Los Lobos-A
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"What do you mean I took her? I've been nowhere near Terra in... Never mind. Have every security scanner in the palace and at all secure locations equipped with a differential phase analyzer so they can identify which universe a person comes from."
Thay cut the communication.
I'd forgotten about you, she thought to herself. I was so distracted with Lazy that I just sent you away somewhere. But apparently now I have to deal with you.
She smiled.
Normally it's a bad sign when you think about killing yourself. But I think I may actually enjoy it.
Smith was woken up by a scramble alert, a Borg Cube supported by three Borg Spheres had just crossed the Imperial border near Pilatus. Battle Group Omega scrambled all ships and intercepted the Borg group at Hadrian, they then attacked with matter/antimatter kamikaze drones to knock out the spheres as the singularity kamikaze ships darted through the chaos piloted by Klingon warriors. "Time to impacts on the cube?" asked Naynta from the I.S.S. Athena. "Ten seconds, they've jumped to warp seven for their runs" reported Smith from the Denorios. "Spheres destroyed, reading impact data now. We have a kill, Cube destroyed" reported Naynta back laughing as the crews cheered.
"Four more kills., let's clean this battlefield up" said Smith. Battle Group Omega proceeded to destroy every trace of the Borg before they returned to base. Back at Mars 12 hours later, Imperial and Klingon troops were seen drinking together as they saluted the warriors who went to the deaths with honor. "General B'Vat, may great songs be heard of their deeds" said Smith. "May fellow warriors drink together as allies" said B'Vat passing both Smith and Naynta some bloodwine. "To the empress" toasted B'Vat to which all three celebrated their victory. It was business as usual the next day as new weapon schematics were being shown to Naynta by the military tech scientists. "A thalaron torpedo?" asked Naynta studying the plans. "Admiral, the Borg rely on organic bodies as hosts for their cybernetics. Thalaron destroys organic matter, it would be effective against the crews of Borg ships" said Doctor Holmes. "Increase safety margins first and then begin your simulation tests, I want the results on my desk straight away after you've finished" said Naynta. "Yes ma'am" replied Holmes.
"Back to work" said Naynta as she smiled. Smith meanwhile was studying the footage from the last battle and taking down notes of the Borg change in strategy. "Expect to see more support ships with each attack" he noted down in his report to the empress. He also sent the empress the visual logs of the last battle. Naynta had already sent her report to the empress with her findings and suggestions, one of them was the Thalaron torpedo after explaining the theory.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"I should never have let knowledge of Thalaron get loose over here. It makes them go all 'oo a new shiny toy for killing'," Layress sighed
"Well as the Terrans say 'its out of the bottle." Thay countered. "It's effective so we should use it.'
"Maybe, but its still a form of energy. And they will adapt to it quickly."
"I though he said they only adapt to particle energy weapons."
"He was selective in his hearing. They adapt to all forms of energy attack."
"We'll be fighting them forever won't we?"
"We have to make them not want to come here. Make the cost so high that they'll be unwilling to pay it."
"How do we do that?"
"I don't know yet."
"Bad news, Borg adapt to all energy I'm afraid" said Naynta. "I stand corrected, what's the most effective way of crippling the hive for a short amount of time?" answered Smith. "Kill the nerve center, the Borg Queen" replied Naynta. "They'll adapt to thalaron so we keep it storage for now" said Smith. "How's development coming on those new rounds?" asked Naynta. "Along nicely, we've just tested the first batch" answered Smith passing on the results to Naynta. "Very impressive, very useful for destroying cybernetic components" said Naynta smiling at the results. "We've been looking at different methods on other weapons, take a look at this" replied Smith passing Naynta the PADD. "Gun drones, very clever" said Naynta reading the schematics. "Makes clearing Borg infections easier and safer" answered Smith.
"Indeed, we may have found something, one of listening probes got this before it self destructed" said Naynta passing Smith the PADD. "If this is on the other end of the nearest transwarp aperture to Terra, we have a problem" said Smith. "A Borg Unicomplex is bad news, that means they can keep sending ships at us and replace their losses at the same time" replied Naynta. "That's what concerns me, we knock out transwarp apertures as soon as they appear but the Borg just create new ones to replace them" answered Smith. "This got our attention, they're building something and it's big. We also found this from another probe" replied Naynta. "Armored Cubes look like trouble but the ship they are building is unknown" answered Smith looking puzzled. "I'll report this to the empress" said Naynta as she put a secure call in.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"Prophets above, tactical cubes,"Layress sighed. "Just what we don't need."
"The name alone sounds bad," Tay commented.
"They use them for more problematic races."
"like we've become."
"Yes, but I don't recognize what their building. But I don't want them to finish it,"
"They can't adapt to physical forces... how big a singularity core can the Romulans build?"
"implosion bomb?"
"its worth a shot."
"A giant Implosion device?" asked Smith in his morning subspace brief to the empress. "Something that will make the biggest artificial black hole ever created" replied Heath. "Building the device is one half of the battle, a delivery that won't get shot down the minute it enters Borg space is another thing entirely" said Naynta. "Maybe this should be of comfort, at 1900 hours Mars time, a fleet will join you at Mars. They are from a species called the Voth, they are providing scientists, ships and troops. They may come off a bit arrogant so learn to deal with their quirks" answered Heath. "What kind of ships?, we need something big to one, load the device and two get the device to the target" asked Naynta.
"The Voth have fought the Borg for centuries, their ships are heavily armored and well armed. They are providing a pair of Citadel class dreadnoughts for the attack with a wing of science ships and cruisers to support our fleet, their government has agreed to an alliance with us considering we have a common enemy" said Heath. "I'm usually not a fan of weapons of mass destruction but we discovered something that could limit the Borg's mobility, an Omega particle detonation in the heart of Borg space. It would make warp travel impossible for the Borg" replied Smith. "Ram a ship into that construction at transwarp and detonate the singularity device, an omega detonation triggers the core to implode destroying everything within 20,000 LY, the Borg will find it impossible to move in their own space quickly" added Naynta.
"It would cripple the Borg for a while, time that can be put to good use on our end in preparing for the next attack" said Smith. "I'll reserve the call if we have to use Omega particles, get that singularity device built and operational. That Borg ship must not be finished, empress out" replied Heath and the screen went blank. "Time for us to build a giant black hole bomb" said Naynta. "Let's see what the Romulans can build" replied Smith.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"We can not use Omega on the Borg," Layress said emphatically. "Ever."
"I know such things offend..."
"Do not say 'my Federation sensibilities' Thay. I am beyond that."
"Then what's the issue?"
"The Borg want Omega."
"What?"
"They consider it perfection."
"How do you know that?"
"One of Janeway's reports that was never made public. It was restricted to captain and above. If we demonstrate that we have and can control Omega like that, they will never stop coming after us."
"That knowledge must never fall into their hands. For everyone who knows about it, it's now mandatory death before assimilation."
"The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few."
"What?"
"Never mind."
"Impressive, can this collapse a unicomplex?" asked Smith to one of the Romulan lead scientists. "Depends of the size of core you want" answered Doctor Rinna Khev. "Half the size of a Citadel dreadnought" suggested Doctor Nelen Exil. "You mammals forget we Voth are 20 million years ahead of you, we can have giant singularity cores ready in two weeks on our ramming ships in both our quadrants. Our council of elders have come to the same train of thought" answered Exil. "Hey, don't count us mammals out yet, we've something special planned" replied Smith. "The council has decided that we must hit the Borg hard, our forces are to hit the Borg in their space. We intend to knock out as much of their infrastructure as possible and quickly" answered Exil.
"We send our attacks via their transwarp network while Voth and other Delta races engage the Borg in their own quadrant" suggested Naynta. "With the Dominion sending a couple of fleets to assist us, both due to arrive at the end of the week we may stand a chance" said Smith. "The rest of their forces will attack the Borg in the Gamma Quadrant" added Naynta.
Borg Space, two weeks later (MU red)
The allies put their plan into operation as the kamikaze units got ready to leave, hours later Borg sites across the Delta Quadrant were hit by Citadel dreadnoughts. The effect was immediate as Borg ships withdrew back into their space, four out of six transwarp hubs were destroyed and several unicomplexes either destroyed or severely damaged as allied ships continued their kamikaze attacks. This had caught the Borg Queen's attention and she deployed in her command ship to launch one last attack on the empire leading two Borg Tactical Cubes, the prototype Borg had been destroyed in the Allie's first attacks. The Queen emerged near Pilatus.
Battle Group Omega mobilized and leading an allied fleet engaged the Borg. The Tactical Cubes proved their effectiveness but were overwhelmed by waves of kamikaze strikes from the Jem Hadar and Imperial drone strikes. The Borg Queen was now singled out as more kamikaze ships slammed into her command ship. After an hour of battle and numerous strikes, the Borg Queen's command ship imploded as the cores went critical. With the death of the Borg Queen, that coupled with the amount of damage the Borg had sustained caused chaos within the collective. Drones could no longer function efficiently as Borg ships malfunctioned, some even self destructed. It would take the Borg decades to recover.
Back at Mars, the allies cheered at their first major decisive victory over the Borg. Both Smith and Naynta updated the Empress and sent her the data and logs of the Allied offensive on the Borg's home space as well as the destruction of the Borg Queen and her group.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The I.S.S. Denorios had left Mars a week after victory over the Borg to pick up some friends and reunite the crew. When she returned, Mereu walked through the airlock and ran over to Dexter Smith before she hugged him and gave a kiss. "Good to have you back, let's not be apart for that long again" said Dexter smiling. "I know why you did it, I'm not angry at you making sure I was safe" she replied laughing. At breakfast, it was a jovial mood as laughter and joking was heard among the troops in the mess hall. "My father's legacy is nothing but ashes in the wind, it took the best of us all working together united to weather this storm" said Trianna (red). "We're in a brave new world for the empire, gone are the days of conquest and now by working with each other rather than fighting each other, we defended ourselves against a remorseless enemy, Trianna you father's legacy has been erased" replied Smith.
"Victory, our son will grow up in a better empire" said Trianna (red) to Isoisa (red). "He will, we have to help the empress make this better world a reality" answered Isoisa (red). "A better world for all our children and their descendants" said Dexter smiling. "Agreed" chorused the crew. "Mind if we join you" asked Naynta. "Go ahead" answered Dexter. Naynta and Pelagia took their seats as the crew settled down to breakfast.
Earth (prime)
Trianna (yellow) was sat down watching INN when the war report came on. "Victory over the Borg, at 0600 Terran time this morning the empress has announced that following a string of Borg incursions, the Empire and her allies took the war to the Borg's home territory. Our forces smashed their infrastructure and stopped an attack in our space decisively ending the Borg counter-invasion by killing their queen. Battle Group Omega's command had this to say on the matter" said the news anchor, "It was a group effort, it's the tech boffins, soldiers and scientists who deserve the real credit. Under the old empire, something like would not have been possible now it's a different story. Under guidance from the Empress's wisdom, this empire can be made anew into a better world for our descendants, we are stronger united where as before we were weak because we were not united. Empires change, so must we if we are to keep our new found unity." said Smith. "Without tech assistance from boffins like the Valdez girls and mathematics geniuses like Mario Petrofski and Tommen Paris all the way to the soldiers, crewman and officers in the Allied ranks, this victory would not have been possible. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Federation for giving us that head start we needed" said Naynta.
Trianna (yellow) then got the Valdez family together and replayed the report. "Girls, you both helped save billions. You two should be proud" said Nathan Valdez. "All three of us" said Trianna (red) over the screen as she corrected Valdez. "My mistake, I'm proud of all three of you" said Valdez. "Thanks dad" chorused all three Triannas. "Your mothers would be proud of all three of you, take heart in that" said Valdez. "We will" chorused all three Triannas. "I'll leave you three to catch up" said Valdez before he left the room to meet Captain Dawson. "Is dad dating?" asked Trianna (red). "We may have played matchmaker, we did it so dad could move on from mom" answered Trianna (prime). "It's at the committed relationship level, so dad is doing well at least" added Trianna (yellow). "That's good to hear" answered Trianna (red). All three Triannas spent the next hour just catching and comparing their academy days from all three realities.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Battle Group Omega had joined up with their allies for the final assaults on Borg Space. The Mirror Alliance had not rested on their laurels and given the Borg time to recover, what they had in mind was the total destruction of the Borg, to avoid unnecessary losses, kamikaze drones with Implosion bombs laced with Trilithium destroyed every star in the Alliance's path by impacting them and then sending them supernova. The plan was to literally wipe all existence of the Borg from the galaxy, so far Borg space was isolated on all sides as stars went nova wiping out those star systems and their worlds. General Order 24 was in force, any Borg systems and facilities would be wiped out to the last drone while avoiding battle with the Borg fleet.
Using the Voth ships as transwarp hangers, Battle Group Omega hit system after system leaving nothing behind for the Borg to salvage as the Alliance pressed on with their attack. Within three weeks, the Borg had been pushed all the way back to their last system. Now the Alliance struck as a unmanned Voth city ship smashed into the last Borg unicomplex, the implosion was so powerful that the Alliance fleet had to withdraw to a safe distance. More kamikaze runs were sent in and the effect was immediate, the Borg were facing extinction and with their backs to the wall they charged the Alliance fleets with their remaining ships led by another Queen. The Borg were now swarmed as multiple kamikaze runs rammed into their ships, the battlefield became a debris field as ships on both sides were exploding and imploding but after 48 hours hard fighting, the last Borg ships were wiped out at the cost of 4000 Alliance ships.
After returning to Mars via Voth city ship, Battle Group Omega's commanders were jubilant as Alliance commanders celebrated. While Smith went to file his after action report to the Empress, he smiled. "General Smith, how many Borg are left?" asked Heath Thay. "None ma'am, they were too dangerous to be allowed to carry on. Alliance forces were very thorough, any Borg infestations on our sides have been mopped up and all Borg debris, drones and technology destroyed" answered Smith. "Efficient, this alliance has secured peace through cooperation against a common enemy. The Borg were a threat to all life, a threat now terminated permanently" asked Thay. "Had to be done but at a terrible cost in lives and ships" replied Smith. "General, take a break you've earned it because you are now overall commander of Battle Group Omega. Omega's operations have been expanded to deal with internal and external threats to the Empire and her allies" said Thay. "As you wish ma'am" answered Smith. "Keep the empire safe, that's an order. Heath out" replied Thay and the screen went blank.
Smith caught up with his crew later and they found out about Smith's promotion to overall commander of Omega. "Boss, nicely done" said Trianna (red). "Now we keep this Alliance going, we'll be working closely with our allies for the foreseeable future" answered Smith. "Should be interesting" said Trianna (red). "Aye, indeed" answered Smith. "Well I'm wanted by Mereu, it's the weekly scan" said Trianna (red). "Have fun" replied Smith before Trianna (red) left the room.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"Make it very clear to our forces that blowing up stars is not acceptable procedure. They're denying future generations of the resources of those system."
"It was expedient in the situation."
"That's short term not long term thinking. What's the point of winning the war if there's nothing left."
"True."
"Also, i know it was the Borg, but going forward any officer that commits genocide on an entire race will be summarily executed on the spot."
"It..."
"The Cardassians tried to do that to my people. I will not see it done to anyone else in my name."
"As you wish."
"General, do not wipe any more races out. You know the penalty" said Heath over the screen. "The Voth and Jem Hadar can get a bit carried away, not all the Borg are dead however, some have survived the destruction of the hive" answered Smith. "How many Borg are left?" asked Heath. "We have thousands of drones still alive across the galaxy, they have formed a cooperative. They have sent us their thanks when they found out who liberated them, they called the Empire, Voth and Dominion friends and allies to the cooperative. We also found a drone on Ivor IV, his neural transceiver has been fried. At the moment he's in a very secure cell, The scientists over here would love to take the drone apart for study but I've told them we're going to free him by making him remember his past life before he was taken" answered Smith. "What race?" asked Heath. "Bajoran, his name was Denaras Bareil. Since his connection to the collective was severed, his Bajoran appearance is trying to reassert itself and he's speaking as I not We" answered Smith.
"That's his individuality coming back, tread carefully and be gentle" replied Heath. "We'll keep him under guard for now while we try and undo the damage done to him" answered Smith. "Update me on your progress, Empress out" replied Heath and the screen went blank.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
At containment, the guards were heard calling the drone “mindless” when General Smith walked in along with Trianna. “You two, report to Admiral Lot for discipline. You were overheard threatening that drone, that drone has feelings too” ordered Smith. Both guards left the room and were put straight into the booth by Nanyta. “I do apologize for their behaviour towards you, I'm General Dexter Smith and this is my first officer Col Trianna Bray” said Smith. “You their leader?” asked the drone. “Nope, I serve another leader” answered Smith. “He's terrified, he's been used to having the collective in his head but now they're silent” said Trianna. “Guards lower forcefield, I'm going in” ordered Smith.
“Sir, he's Borg. He may try and assimilate you” said one of the security officers. “Noted, open it anyway” ordered Smith. The force field lowered and Smith entered the cell. “Do you want to assimilate me?” asked Smith. “No” answered the drone. “Why not, all races must be offered perfection” asked Smith. “If they ask for it” countered the drone. “Interesting, put this through to the empress” said Trianna. “ma'am” answered the security officer. “Choice is irrelevant, all must be given perfection” said Smith. “Choice is relevant” countered the drone. “Then we have reached common ground, not all races want to be assimilated. We like our individuality” replied Smith. “What have they done to me?” asked the drone after seeing himself in the mirror.
“They took you and twisted you, you are under my protection here” said Smith. “Do you want to know who you were before they took you?” asked Trianna to the drone. “Who I was?, my designation is three of ten” answered the drone. “We know who you were, your name is Denaras Bareil. You were taken five years ago, originally you were from Hathon, Bajor” replied Smith trying to trip the drone's memories. “You are not alone, there are 15,000 other drones who had been liberated” said Trianna. “Our main goal here is to undo the damage they did to you, you can be Denaras Bareil again” added Smith. “They turned me into a monster and I helped assimilate whole races and cultures” said the drone. “You were not in control of your actions” answered Trianna. A red alert then chimed as a Borg sphere came through, it was intercepted but the Borg did not fire instead asking for help.
The sphere was told to take position just outside Sol as the Voth brought in an old citidel. The empress had decided to show the Borg mercy as they helped upgrade the Voth ship into a mobile home-world. From the ashes of the collective, the cooperative were now the only Borg in the galaxy. They all boarded the ship and left Imperial space aboard the Voth ship along with a compliment of EMHs to watch over their health and well being, rather than stay in the Milky Way, they left the galaxy altogether looking for a safe place away from the peoples of the Milky Way. Back on Mars, Denaras Bareil had chosen not to go with the cooperative but instead decided to stay in the Empire as a member of Starfleet after his surgery. He would rely on an alcove but Smith took him in as a member of his crew.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
At Omega command, Smith read through the intelligence reports from the frontier. "Things are quiet" he thought as he finished his third coffee. Trianna walked in and updated Smith on her work with Denaras Bareil, "how's the newest member to our extended family doing?" asked Smith. "He's only just come to terms, he needs a counselor and that's someone we don't have here so I'm doing the best I can for him" answered Trianna. "Keep at it, you're one of the few who has got through to him that he's not an evil person" said Smith. "He has a hard time with emotions, he's having flashbacks of when he was taken. To Bareil, his five year nightmare has caused a lot of damage" answered Trianna. "How many more billions would be facing that nightmare if we did not dismantle the Borg? We've done the galaxy a huge favor in the long run, new races can evolve without fear of being assimilated. Our alliance with the Dominion and Voth is now key to stability in this galaxy" replied Smith.
"I don't like how we had to do it but our losses would have been greater if we did not, at least I can sleep easier knowing my son will never have to face that nightmare" answered Trianna. "The empress has a point and I'm not going to argue with her about that, without the support of the empress, Battle Group Omega would not exist and we would be drones or even worse erased from history" replied Smith. "The empress when she was a captain tried to teach me and my sister but we were too proud to listen and very nearly made an enemy of her, looking back I should have listened and heeded her teachings" answered Trianna. "Your father becoming emperor did not help matter I take it?" asked Smith. "Step-Father actually, my biological father was murdered before I was born" answered Trianna. "No wonder you hate him that much" replied Smith. "At least my son will never never turn out to be like him, I'll ask the empress to be a teacher to him as he grows up. It'll do him some good" answered Trianna.
"The empress has wisdom, that counts for something. How's your little sister doing?" replied Smith. "Recently turned one, she's nearly walking and she's talking. Dad's getting grey hairs over it" answered Trianna laughing. "Oh dear" replied Smith laughing. "My counterparts have made an impression on you, you've faced the Imperial fleet and the Dominion yet my counterpart managed to humble you some more" said Trianna. "They're remarkable, I've never seen so much determination from them, especially your federation counterpart. She's formidable to say to the least" answered Smith. "You have respect for her" said Trianna smiling. "I do" replied Smith. "She can make a rottweiler whimper just by glaring at it" answered Trianna laughing. Smith just laughed. "I better update the empress on my progress with our new crew member" said Trianna. "Good luck" answered Smith. Trianna then left the room and went to make her call. Later that day, Jasmine Smith came in hiding one side of her face. "What happened?" asked Smith. "I had an accident" answered Jasmine as Smith got a closer look. "That's no accident, someone's hit you" replied Smith. "My boyfriend got drunk and lashed out on me" replied Jasmine. "How many times has he done this you?" asked Smith. "At least six times, he lives at this address in Mars City" replied Jasmine handing Smith the address. "I'll put out an arrest warrant for him on charges of assault and battery, people like that should be behind bars where they can harm no-one else" answered Smith. "Thanks bro" replied Jasmine.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"Former drones are interesting beings," The Empress said from the screen. "You'll find them both sociable and reclusive. And curious about the things that they've missed."
Trianna looked confused.
"You sound like you've dealt with freed drones before."
"One of my engineers is a former drone."
"Really?"
"She was an exchange officer. She found Romulan society to much like the collective so she asked to stay with me. How could I say no?"
"I never suspected."
"No one was supposed to. Now if you need a counselor, I left several on the Enterprise. They can spare you one. In the meantime, my advice, throw a little chaos at him. Spontaneity helps make them feel normal."
"I'll take your advice. Thank you."
Trianna walked up to Bareil's alcove just as he finished his regeneration cycle. "Morning" said Trianna. "Lt Col Bray" answered Bareil. "Call me Trianna" replied Trianna. "Why?" asked Bareil. "Because I'm more comfortable with that" answered Trianna. "Trianna, you are not afraid of me" replied Bareil. "I'm not, I know the Borg are ordered so it's time to add some chaos to the mix. Follow me, time for you to relearn some social skills. My crew mates can be a bit chaotic so bear with it" answered Trianna. Both Trianna and Bareil entered the mess hall and sat down with the rest of the crew. "Bareil, have a seat" said Smith pulling over another chair. Bareil sat down then Smith introduced him to the crew. "Trianna, is this like your collective?" asked Bareil. "You could say that but we're more like extended family instead, each of us with our own unique traits. For example, T'Pamne feels emotion, something rare among her people" answered Trianna smiling. "Emotional and proud" said T'Pamne laughing.
"The very definition of chaos, T'Pamne is the only Vulcan we know who has road rage issues" added Ibarid Pitaskli laughing. "Some drivers are stupid, some to the point I want to vaporize them" said T'Pamne smiling. "Then we have the definition of calm and clear thought with Lenaris here, he's Bajoran like you and our spiritual adviser" said Trianna. "Bareil, anytime you need to talk, my office door is open" said Lenaris. "Then we have true chaos, Isoisa is the craziest pilot we know" said Lwasana Pitaskli. "Not my fault, it's funny watching you all hold on for dear life" joked Isoisa. "That's our Isoisa" said Tommen Paris. "Thanks Tommen" replied Isoisa. "Mario here is our maths genius, he's the quiet type really and prefers his ordered world" said Trianna. "Peace, quiet and maths equations" replied Mario Petrofski. "Lwasana and Ibarid are engineers, they help keep things repaired and operational, Lwasana takes over as first officer in the field" said Trianna. "Four months married and enjoying it" said Ibarid. "Took a war to make that marriage possible" added Lwasana. "Then we have the Smiths, on duty Dexter is in charge but off duty we know who the alpha is" said Trianna laughing. "It's true" said Smith smiling. "I get territorial around Dexter" added Mereu.
Trianna then noticed Jasmine was quiet, "Jas, who hit you?" asked Trianna. "My ex, he's always violent when drunk" answered Jasmine. "He's currently being taught the error of his ways by the Imperial police, trust me I wanted to hurt him really badly but things like this are left to the civil authorities to deal with" added Smith. "Let my sister pay him a visit but tell her the reason why" said Trianna. "I may consider that, make sure he suffers" replied Smith. Jasmine nodded in agreement and Trianna gave Naynta the location of the cell. "Now that's over with, how long until your little Brigand arrives?" asked Smith. "Our son is due in about a month" chorused Trianna and Isoisa. "That is not possible" said Bareil. "His father was killed in a war, it was his final gift so we'll raise him well" said Trianna. "That we will" added Isoisa. All of a sudden, an officer went flying across a table after insulting a Gorn. "Ensign, word of advice do not insult a Gorn, they are a lot bigger than you" said Smith. "That lizard got in my way so I may have called pea brained" said the Terran ensign. "Mereu, check for any injury" said Smith. Mereu checked the ensign and reported a broken rib before sending him of to sickbay. "Big guy, calm down" said Smith. The Gorn nodded and took his seat. "In the collective, this never happened" said Bareil afterwards. "Chaos makes life fun" answered Trianna.
"Best part of being an individual" added Smith. "So true" finished T'Pamne.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Aboard the Denorios, Bareil was assisting Trianna and Isoisa in flight control retrofits. "They're not sensitive enough" complained Isoisa about Federation designed helm controls. "Why don't you transfer your flight controls to here then, I made sure to keep a backup for you" said Trianna. "Thanks, you're a life saver" answered Isoisa as she rebuilt her controls. "Interesting, that's given this ship an extra 60% efficiency increase in speed and and turn" said Bareil running the calculations. "And well within safety margins at the same time" replied Isoisa. "Always good, thank the empress for these new safety regulations. Oh and she also sent us this in regards to the new regulations" answered Trianna passing Isoisa the PADD. It read "Make sure that crazy pilot of yours is reminded of the new regulations, signed Empress Heath Layress I." "60% is safe enough" said Isoisa.
"60% is efficient" replied Bareil. "Bareil, very impressive" said Isoisa. "I was stating fact Lt. Cmdr" answered Bareil. "We call that a compliment in our society, knowing when to take a compliment is an important social skill. Isoisa complimented you on your help" said Trianna to Bareil. "Accepted Lt. Cmdr Bray" said Bareil to Isoisa. "Bareil, work on the personality a bit more. You're doing well" advised Isoisa. "I will work on that Lt. Cmdr Bray" answered Bareil before he left to go and regenerate. "Keeping him busy?" asked Isoisa. "I am, by giving a task, for example earlier when we were calculating piloting equations. Bareil is very intelligent and fascinating to observe how he's adapting to individuality, give him things to do and he's happy. I could sense it" answered Trianna. "Some guidance on the way would do him some good" replied Isoisa. "Agreed" answered Trianna. "Stick at it, you're getting through" replied Isoisa. "I've got to update the Empress, have fun with your flight controls" answered Trianna. "This will be the quickest ship in the fleet by time I'm finished" replied Isoisa. Both gave a courtly nod to keep things professional before Trianna went to her office to update Heath.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Unknown location
Mu yellow
"Naynta! Lolo! Why am I still pregnant?"
The two looked up at the sound of the Empress's voice as she entered sick bay.
"Bajorans are only supposed to be pregnant for five months. Granted it's been a very busy past few months and I've been very distracted. But it's been eight months now and they're still in there."
"I told you she would figure it out," Lolo sighed.
"The truth is ma'am we don't know," Naynta confessed. "Your pregnancy defies all known medical science. We can't figure out how or why it happened. Or why they are developing slower than usual. But please rest assured that they are both perfectly healthy."
"So wha..."
She broke off in a fit of sneezing that lasted about a minute.
"I am so tired of doing that."
"Sorry ma'am."
"I'm not mad at you," Layress sighed. "I'm just tired and ...OH..."
Her eyes went wide as put her hands on her stomach.
The other two pulled out their tricorders and scanned her.
"I hope the Admiral has been doing her reading." Naynta commented looking at the readings.
"Why?" Asked Layress
"That was a contraction," Lolo explained. "Congratulations. You're going into labor."
"WHAT?"
"I thought you were impatient to get them out?"
"I was... But now I..."
"Calm down ma'am," Naynta said easing her in to a chair. "I can feel the panic coming off you. It's completely normal to feel like this."
"I know. I... I'll be fine. Thank you. I need to get calm for this to happen."
"You need anything else from us?" Ask Lolo.
"Just help getting out of this chair."
Several decks above Thay was in a meeting with Callie and her Naynta.
"So, another ten for the Iroans System?" Thay asked. "Why do-"
She was interrupted by the call chime.
"Naynta to Admiral Heath."
"Go ahead."
"It's time, report to sickbay."
Thay was confused as her Naynta and Callie both squealed with excitement.
"Time?" She asked. "The hell is she on about?"
Callie had no words.
"Time for what?" Thay asked again. "What did we have scheduled for her? I don't recall any sessions for her medical staff."
Callie pointed at her sister's chest.
"Hmmm, mine appear to be shrinking," Thay commented. "They're now only just bigger than yours!"
"uhh..." Naynta sighed.
"*sighs* Really?!" Asked Callie.
"What?"
Callie leaned over and whispers in her ear.
"Your pregnant wife!"
" What does- " Thay suddenly shrieked
"What..."
Thay grabbed Callie and shook her.
"What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO?! Tell me!"
"I swear to god - shake me like that again and-"
"Threaten me later!" She continued shaking her. "What do I do?!"
"Going to sickbay would be a good-"
"Bye!"
She took off out the door.
Callie noticed the PADD with Bajoran text on her desk.
"Wasn't she suppose to read that?" Naynta asked.
"Yes."
"Did she?"
"Well, she made it to page 2 of 144. So, she read the opening paragraph at least. But from the lipstick stains on the PADD, I'd say She was obviously distracted at the time."
"Ahh, yes ... she must have been," Naynta said wiping off the PADD.
At Omega Command, General Smith doing some research on the Tzenkethi given some border tensions on the frontier. “This the fourth planet to be wiped out in three days, the Kentari have been forced flee to our borders as refugees” said Smith studying the reports. “They're not the only ones, other races are also fleeing the Tzenkethi” replied Trianna. “I've spoken to Admiral Barclay about this, Imperial forces along the border are on high alert and Omega may be mobilized to assist” answered Smith. “If the Tzenkethi attack our borders, our strategy is defensive and we hold them at the border” advised Trianna. “Agreed, we cannot be the aggressors” replied Smith.
“What about refugees asking for shelter within the empire?” asked Trianna looking at the political situation. “We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it” answered Smith. “Agreed” replied Trianna working on her report. “Hows Bareil?” asked Smith. “Doing well, he's been assisting Wilkinson on the adaptive shields” answered Trianna. “How are the shields?” asked Smith. “90% increase in efficiency” answered Trianna. “I hear the crew have accepted him” said Smith. “They have, as far as they are concerned, he fits in” replied Trianna. “It'll make him feel normal, you're doing great with him” answered Smith. “I'll brief Admiral Heath about the border tensions and our work with Bareil” replied Trianna. She then left the room and made her call.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
The Denorios crew were off duty relaxing at the firing ranges keeping their aims sharp. "We usually test weapons here but everyone is encouraged to come down here and practice when off duty, it's a great stress buster" said Trianna after putting a round on target. "Trianna, how long has it taken you to be able to hit the target with 100% accuracy?" asked Bareil. "Started firing rifles at 13 years of age" answered Trianna. "We've seen Trianna put a bullet through a wine glass at 700m with her first shot" said Dexter. "Efficient" replied Bareil. "Very" answered Trianna. "How small is a wine glass?" asked Bareil. "This size" answered Dexter putting the glass on a platform 700m away. "Bareil, try hitting it" suggested Trianna passing Bareil the rifle and showing him how it works. Bareil ran his calculations and fired the rifle hitting the wine glass dead centre, "Good shot" said Trianna. "Trianna may have competition" joked Dexter smiling.
"Trianna still holds the record for the highest score here, it's been unbeaten so far though others are trying" said Wilkinson. "I came close" said T'Pamne. "By 100 points" said Wilkinson. "True but that first place is in my sights" answered T'Pamne laughing. "I could always increase my score" joked Trianna smiling. "You wouldn't" joked T'Pamne. "I could but I won't" joked Trianna back. "What is this form of communication?" asked Bareil. "It's called banter, it's usual among friends" answered Isoisa before she took her turn on the range.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
General Smith decided to see how Naynta and Jasmine were doing. "Jas, you enjoying payback?" asked Smith. "I will be, this scum needs to be taught a lesson" answered Jasmine. "You put your hands on my sister, so you enjoy being a bully do you? said Dexter to the man in the booth. "Women are not the equal of men, they should be property" answered the man in the booth. "You piece of scum, first you're violent toward women and your attitude is disgusting" said Naynta. "**** off Betazoid" replied the man in the booth. "Xenophobic too, I'll enjoy this" said Naynta hitting the switch. Jasmine then increased power to the booth as she got her revenge. "Don't think about being a bully again, I hate bullies" said Dexter.
"May that trash alien filth empress suffer a painful death" said the man in the booth. "I recorded that Mr. Williams, what do you think the empress would do you once she finds out about your crimes and disloyalty?" asked Dexter. "You just made a mistake Williams" said Naynta increasing the booth to full. "Jas, Naynta, break him" replied Smith. "With pleasure" chorused Jasmine and Naynta. "Mr. Williams, I will be sending the empress the full details of your crimes and disloyalty. All your victims have come forward and they told me everything what you've done" said Smith. "The empress is soft, she won't last long. It would be a shame if anything happened to her family" threatened Williams. "Hurt him but don't kill him, looks like he's going to receive the empress's justice because I'm going to send the empress his record and what he has said" said Smith just before he went to his office to make the call. In the holding cells, screams were heard as Jasmine and Naynta did their worst to Williams.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
(Mu yellow)
Papela sighed contentedly sitting on the patio of her house.
Former Empress has such a lovely ring to it, she thought. All the respect, with none of the responsibilities. Now I can focus on my really important work, getting my girls to settle down. Most are on the right track, one or two may need a little prodding. Love will find a way, even if it does have to come from another universe. Which has its own advantages.
She picked up one of the desserts from the plate on the table and took a large bite.
These brownies as she called them are simply divine, she sighed. How could such a benign universe come up with something so utterly decadent? If I could absorb them through my skin I'd bathe in them daily. I simply must have her chef send mine the recipe... No... Having a limited supply of them is best. I'd put on several hundred kilos if I had constant access to them. Best to savor these brief moments of bliss before...
"Excuse me ma'am."
"And as if on cue..."
"Pardon me?"
"Never mind. What is it?"
"A call from your daughter Callie."
"Callie?" She frowned. "She never calls by herself. She always there in the background when Thay calls."
She had him place the communication device on the table and hit accept. Callie appeared on the screen.
"Hello little one. What's wrong?"
"Mom, Thay needs your help."
"My help? How?"
"Layress has gone in to labor and Thay is loosing it. She goes between screaming about how she's not ready and wanting the entire fleet to surrounded us."
She couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"I see," she said composing herself. "I assume you figured that I'd say yes and you're on the way here?"
"I did think you'd want to be there when they were born. We'll be in orbit in an hour."
"Good. I'll be ready. Oh, you'll need to use the cargo transporter to bring up my luggage."
"Why?"
"I've been shopping for my grandchildren. I have so much stuff for them. Do you have an empty cargo hold? I have more things on order."
ISS Los Lobos
(In route to Betazed mu yellow)
Callie looked over at Naynta.
"Guess who will be here soon?"
"Mother? You know it'll be a few years before we can get rid of her."
"Don't worry - she'll insist they raise the children on Betazed, once they're gone we'll have free reign of the ship - just think ... you won't need to go to the W-tubes behind sickbay to play with your counterpart."
"..."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything. Most of the crew have some form of obsession with their own counterparts, I won't tell mother what you've been doing."
"You think the Empress will settle on Betazed?"
"Not without verbally abusing mother, I think I'll skip that conversation."
Smith was surprised by the face that appeared on the screen.
"Ma'am? What are you doing there?"
Papela smiled.
" I'm just filling in. Answering a few of her more pressing calls."
"I see. But where is the Empress?"
"She's indisposed."
"Ma'am?"
"She's in labor."
"Oh... Well give her our regards."
"I will. She'll get back to you in a week or so. Depends on how much sleep she gets afterwards."
"This is INN. Former Empress and now Betazed Regent Papela Lot issued a statement saying that Empress Layress has gone into labor. She will keep us posted on the details of the births of the heirs to the Empire."
In a military court, Citizen Williams was brought into the dock. He was charged with at least two dozen counts of assault and battery as well as sedition, six of which to a serving military officer. The judge showed no mercy to him and found him guilty, sentence was life at the penal dilithium mine at Taffun to toil. INN had broadcast the hearing live to both empires, afterwards they told the peoples of the empire that men like this are to be shown no mercy. General Smith was sat in the crowd supporting his sister as she had given her evidence as well as closely listening to other testimony from the other witnesses. After the hearing, both Smith siblings went back to Omega command and just reflected on what happened.
"Good riddance" said Jasmine smiling. "Indeed, got a message from Starfleet. Admiral Barclay is coming here to discuss the Tzenkethi, the Regent is also going to be joining us by subspace" said Smith. "We still on a defensive posture?" asked Jasmine. "We are, problem is the rivers of refugees coming to the empire for shelter and safety. We let them in the Tzenkethi will accuse us of aiding their enemies but if we deny them entry, they'll die in space" answered Smith. "Stuck between a rock and a hard place" replied Jasmine. "Yep" answered Smith. Meanwhile Trianna, Isoisa and Bareil were working on a new combat programme for training new recruits. "A programme that adapts to the recruit's decision making skills, very nice" said Isoisa. "Within safety regs as well so hopefully less injuries" replied Trianna. "Maybe your peoples need to take a Borg approach and be able to adapt to situations quickly" suggest Bareil. "Agreed" chorused Trianna and Isoisa.
"It's efficient" answered Bareil. "Bareil, is there a way to recreate that adaptive personal shield of yours?" asked Trianna. "Of course, I'll download the plans for you" answered Bareil. "Thanks Sparks" replied Isoisa. "Sparks?" asked Bareil. "It's a nickname, we give them to people we are close to" answered Trianna.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
Andoria orbit (prime)
"Can I please lower my arms now?" Heath asked for the fifth time in as many minutes.
"Not yet ma'am."
Kahea, the half Bolian/half Trill ship tailor for the Los Lobos stepped back to look at her.
"Yes. That Andorian silk was the best choice."
"My shoulders are starting to hurt."
"If you want to look the best for your wedding ma'am..."
"I know. I know. It's just that this is twice we've been through this."
"You wanted both an Earth and a Bajoran wedding dresses. One for each ceremony."
"Couldn't you have used the same measurements from the first one?"
"Absolutely not! Bajoran wedding dresses hang much differently on the body. This Earth dress is much more form fitting."
"That's what I'm afraid of. Had I known I'd be doing this I'd have hit the gym a lot more."
"With all due respect ma'am, I paid a lot to get this body in to this shape. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Besides we can cover up any area you want to hide with more lace."
"Does it have to be so tight around my hips? I can barely walk."
"Ah... well... That was a request from Captain Ford."
"Was it?"
"He asked that I highlight that backside of yours."
"Can you loosen the bottom so I can kick him?"
"And ruin the lines of what I've slaved over for hours? Never! I have however already factored that into the dress that you will want appropriate shoes to inflict as much damage as possible to him while dancing."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure ma'am. And now you can put your arms down."
"Thank the Prophets, finally."
At Omega Command, Smith, Naynta waited for the Enigma to to arrive. “Tzentkethi, that's a name I've not heard in a while” said Naynta. “Why are they destroying planets then?” asked Smith. “They're eliminating a certain type of crystal found on those worlds” answered Naynta. “Explains a lot, Tzenkethi only do something for a reason” replied Smith. “You've met them?” asked Naynta. “I have, they're big mean and easily the match for 10 of our soldiers” answered Smith. “Their research into protomatter weapons is something we need to look out for” replied Naynta.
“Indeed, the Tzenkethi live a series of paths, some are peaceful where others are violent depending on their mood, we may be dealing with their government or rogue elements” answered Smith. “An interesting theory, however, the problem is we have refugees asking for shelter within the empire” replied Naynta. “That's why I've asked your mother for help on this matter, her political wisdom is important in preventing a war” answered Smith. “Mother knows the politics game very well” replied Naynta. “Diplomacy is the only option we have at the moment, Admiral Barclay has issued a strict fire discipline for our forces. Do not fire unless fired on first” answered Smith. “I'll make sure the order gets to all units on the border, after this conference I'm taking command of the border fleet” replied Naynta. “Good luck” answered Smith as word came in that the Enigma would be docking at Imperium Planetia.
Earth (Prime)
At the Valdez household, Nathan Valdez, Ablim and Trianna (yellow) were converting a guest room into a nursery under Trianna's (prime) supervision. “Sky blue, perfect for this room” said Trianna (prime) noting the color. “Trianna, less than a month to go” said Joanna Dawson. “I know, it's gone so fast, Dad will be a great role model for baby Ablim” answered Trianna (prime). “Word of advise, parenting requires a lot of patience, something you have I've noticed” replied Joanna. “You have children?” asked Trianna (prime).
“Two boys, both are at the academy in their first year” answered Joanna. “I nearly got excluded from the academy, I broke into the commandant's computer with a PADD because I was bored. I've never seen an Admiral twitch so much” replied Trianna. “That could explain why you were posted to your father for your last year” answered Joanna. “Straight into the Iconian War at the Battle of Iconia, Dad was a captain at the time” replied Trianna. “That was was hell, my late husband was killed aboard the Stardancer when her core lost containment” answered Joanna. “I was aboard Oudenarde, she was an old Galaxy Class and we got hit by an Iconian virus with a Vonph bearing down on us” replied Trianna (prime). “I read the battle reports, very inventive solution infecting them with a modified virus to overload their core” answered Joanna.
Trianna (yellow) came out for a break. “How's married life sis?” asked Trianna (prime). “Amazing, we redecorated the converted barn, it really homely now” answered Trianna (yellow). “It looks amazing, we've even made it wheelchair friendly” added Isoisa. “And child proof” finished Trianna (yellow). “Anna, you've taken to life here very well, I hear you want to become professional with the martial arts” said Joanna. “I'm working on that, already won my first four fights. Dad's been coaching me and is at ringside in my matches advising me” answered Trianna (yellow). “What's your style?” asked Joanna. “Kick-boxing” answered Trianna (yellow). Joanna got a call from the Cairo, duty called so she gave both twins a polite nod and gave Valdez a kiss before leaving for her duty shift.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius