___________________
Disclaimer:
I do not own Andromeda, Star Trek, or any part thereof. All rights to these properties are retained by their respective owners.
Note:
The story occurs shortly before the season finale of Andromeda and part way through the final season of Voyager.
For those who haven't read The Vortex, Andromeda and the Enterprise E worked together to stop an invasion by Species 8475 in that story, so the crew of the Andromeda is somewhat familiar with Federation technology. Additionally, Harper had been a fan of Star Trek for years, and he knows a great deal about the ST universe.
One final note: In order to avoid confusion, I've decided to change my pen name. It has come to my attention that at least two others have had the pen name Brian before I arrived, so I will add the letters 'HG' to the end of mine. Just for the sake of clarity, I am the one who has been writing 'The Vortex' series.
___________________
"You will be assimilated."
"Never. Your galaxy be purged," The creature struggled in vain to escape the assimilation table.
"Brave words. Your willpower is admirable," A disembodied head descended toward the table, suspended by cables, "We will add your distinctiveness to our own."
"My immune system will destroy your nanoprobes. Assimilation is futile."
The head of the Borg queen was attached to a body, and she walked over to the platform, "You are imperfect. We will adapt our nanoprobes to overcome your defenses. Then, you will be Borg."
"They'll find me. My people will track me down and destroy this complex. You can't stop them."
"Species 8475 may be resistant, but even they won't be able to reach you in time. Once you have been assimilated, nothing will stop us. Even the loss of an entire Unimatrix will mean nothing once we have obtained your bio-technology."
***
"Harper, have you found anything?" Rommie asked.
"I can't figure it out," Harper shook his head, "I've never seen a slipstream drive act like this."
"Maybe we've run into an uncharted slipstream phenomenon."
"On the main route to Meshki 6? How could it be uncharted?"
"It could be moving through the stream, or even through normal space. Have you noticed that there aren't any other ships in the area?"
"Of course I noticed, and it's creeping me out. It's like something is trying to keep us here."
"You're starting to sound like Rev."
"I've always said that your body was divine," Harper paused, "Rommie, do you believe in God?"
"Well..." The Android paused, "I haven't put a lot of thought into it. I've never seen any real evidence either way. What do you think?"
"I don't really believe in one," Harper answered, "But Rev always seems so sure, and when he talks about how much Wayism did for him... I wonder, ya know?"
"I understand," Rommie answered, "You wonder if he knows something you don't."
"Yeah," Harper responded, "I just..."
"Wait," Rommie put her hand up as she looked away for a moment, "We're detecting some sort of energy phenomenon in the area. We might just find out what's been happening with the slipstream."
Immediately, the two of them headed for the bridge. Dylan, Beka, Tyr, and Rev had been working on the bridge when they found the phenomenon. Trance was still asleep.
"Does that look familiar?" Dylan watched the screen as the anomaly grew.
"It looks like that energy vortex from the parrellel universe," Beka answered.
"There's only one way for a vortex like that to appear," Tyr started to activate his station.
"Species 8475," Dylan finished, "Battlestations. Beka, get ready to jump to slipstream. Let's stay back. We don't want to look like a threat."
"A ship is coming through the vortex," Andromeda stated, "It is much larger than Species 8475's bioship, and it's giving off some strange readings."
Harper, the resident expert on the parellel universe, watched silently as he waited for the vessel to come into view. Suddenly, he looked up with his eyes wide, "Slipstream, now!"
"What?" Dylan turned, "Who are they?"
"No time to explain," Harper was nearly panicked, "Just get us out of here."
"I can't," Beka tried helplessly to open a slipstream portal, "The drive's still down."
"They're breaking into my comm system," Andromeda's hologram stated.
"We are the Borg. Lower your defenses and surrender your ship. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
"They've cut communications," Andromeda stated.
"Hail them," Dylan ordered.
"They aren't responding," Rev continued to work the controls on his station.
"The ship is moving toward us," Tyr looked at the main view screen.
"We've gotta get out of here," Harper was adament, "You don't know these guys."
"Beka, keep us away from them," Dylan ordered.
"They're pretty fast for a giant crouton," Beka observed as Andromeda sped away from the energy vortex.
"Can we out run them?" Dylan asked.
"They're gaining on us," Rev answered, "They'll intercept in thirty seconds."
"Tyr, fire a full volley from the rear launchers."
"Missles away," Andromeda stated, "We're reading multiple hits... The cube is heavily damaged, but they're maintaining speed."
"Again," Dylan ordered.
"They aren't even trying to dodge," Tyr watched as the missles struck home.
"They don't have to," Harper responded.
"Multiple direct hits," Rommie looked confused, "Only minor damage."
"They're adapting," Harper explained, "They analyzed our missles, and they've found a defense against them."
"They're firing some kind of tractor beam," Rev said.
The ship was rocked by the blast, but the Andromeda's ablative hull armor exploded away from the ship, keeping the Borg from locking on.
"Hey! Slipstream's reactivating!" Beka exclaimed, "Transiting to slipstream."
"It seems that the divine has a flare for the dramatic," Rev looked at his console, "We couldn't have taken much more of that."
"The cube ship is following us," Tyr said.
"What!?" Harper ran over to Tyr's station, "The Borg don't have slipstream!"
"Beka, can you loose them?" Dylan asked.
"Maybe," Beka made a sharp turn, "They don't have a very good pilot. Still, we'll have to drop back to normal space before too long. If I can't shake them before then, we might not have time to make another jump."
***
"We're reading some kind of distortion up ahead," Harry Kim ran his fingers over the control panel, "It doesn't match anything in our database."
"Magnify and enhance," Commander Chakotay ordered.
"Looks almost like a glowing whirlpool," Paris observed.
"Full stop," Captain Janeway ordered, "This could be some sort of wormhole, and I'd like to take a closer look. It just might get us closer to the alpha quadrant... Prepare two type one probes. Launch one just over the edge of the anamoly, and send the other directly in."
"It will take a moment to recalibrate the probes," Seven's console beeped as she changed the probe's settings from her bridge station, "Adaptations complete."
"Launching probes..." Tuvok responded.
"We're reading a spike in the distortion's energy readings," Ensign Kim stated, "It's area just doubled."
"Both probes have fallen into the vortex," Tuvok added.
"Keep scanning from here," Janeway took a few steps toward the viewscreen.
"I'm detecting a Borg transwarp signature headed this way," Kim looked up at the captain.
"Set course for the alpha quadrant, maximum warp, but give the vortex a wide berth. Tuvok, have you identified the Borg ship?"
"Attempting..." Tuvok's console flashed with information, "It is a manned probe."
"Not very threatening," Captain Janeway considered for a moment, "Hold position. I want to see what they do when they encounter the phenomenon. Go to red alert, and switch to passive sensors. We don't want to look provocative."
"The probe is dropping out of transwarp," Kim stated, "They're heading directly for the vortex."
"They're ignoring us," Janeway watched as Borg scout vessel approached the swirling energy phenomenon.
"If there is a Borg combat vessel in the area, the probe would summon it rather than attempt a direct confrontation," Seven explained.
"Or maybe they just have more important things to do," Chakotay stood up, "We know we can disable the probe. We can beam the drones off and send over a boarding party to take control of the ship. Seven can access its computer to find out what they know about the vortex, and we might even be able to adapt the probe's transwarp drive to work on Voyager."
"Alright," Janeway nodded, "Mr. Paris, head for the probe at maximum impulse. Tuvok, set shields to full. Stop firing as soon as their shields go down. We'll beam the drones directly to the brig."
"Yes ma'am," Paris responded.
"The probe's still headed for the anamoly," Kim watched in consternation, "They've been pulled into the vortex."
"They didn't even try to break away," Paris looked up.
"The collective would think little of loosing a single probe studying an unidentified phenomenon."
"Without even scanning it first?" Chakotay asked.
"I think they already know exactly what that vortex is," Janeway turned to her first officer, "How dangerous would it be to follow them in?"
"These energy readings don't look like a threat," Chakotay responded, "But we can't read anything past the entry point. We can't even communicate with our probes. For all we know, the Borg ship could have been thrown into a black hole."
"We may have just discovered some sort of new Borg transit system, and at the very least we've come across an unprotected probe. I can't pass up this opportunity," Janeway paused, "Head us directly into the vortex."
Disclaimer:
I do not own Andromeda, Star Trek, or any part thereof. All rights to these properties are retained by their respective owners.
Note:
The story occurs shortly before the season finale of Andromeda and part way through the final season of Voyager.
For those who haven't read The Vortex, Andromeda and the Enterprise E worked together to stop an invasion by Species 8475 in that story, so the crew of the Andromeda is somewhat familiar with Federation technology. Additionally, Harper had been a fan of Star Trek for years, and he knows a great deal about the ST universe.
One final note: In order to avoid confusion, I've decided to change my pen name. It has come to my attention that at least two others have had the pen name Brian before I arrived, so I will add the letters 'HG' to the end of mine. Just for the sake of clarity, I am the one who has been writing 'The Vortex' series.
___________________
"You will be assimilated."
"Never. Your galaxy be purged," The creature struggled in vain to escape the assimilation table.
"Brave words. Your willpower is admirable," A disembodied head descended toward the table, suspended by cables, "We will add your distinctiveness to our own."
"My immune system will destroy your nanoprobes. Assimilation is futile."
The head of the Borg queen was attached to a body, and she walked over to the platform, "You are imperfect. We will adapt our nanoprobes to overcome your defenses. Then, you will be Borg."
"They'll find me. My people will track me down and destroy this complex. You can't stop them."
"Species 8475 may be resistant, but even they won't be able to reach you in time. Once you have been assimilated, nothing will stop us. Even the loss of an entire Unimatrix will mean nothing once we have obtained your bio-technology."
***
"Harper, have you found anything?" Rommie asked.
"I can't figure it out," Harper shook his head, "I've never seen a slipstream drive act like this."
"Maybe we've run into an uncharted slipstream phenomenon."
"On the main route to Meshki 6? How could it be uncharted?"
"It could be moving through the stream, or even through normal space. Have you noticed that there aren't any other ships in the area?"
"Of course I noticed, and it's creeping me out. It's like something is trying to keep us here."
"You're starting to sound like Rev."
"I've always said that your body was divine," Harper paused, "Rommie, do you believe in God?"
"Well..." The Android paused, "I haven't put a lot of thought into it. I've never seen any real evidence either way. What do you think?"
"I don't really believe in one," Harper answered, "But Rev always seems so sure, and when he talks about how much Wayism did for him... I wonder, ya know?"
"I understand," Rommie answered, "You wonder if he knows something you don't."
"Yeah," Harper responded, "I just..."
"Wait," Rommie put her hand up as she looked away for a moment, "We're detecting some sort of energy phenomenon in the area. We might just find out what's been happening with the slipstream."
Immediately, the two of them headed for the bridge. Dylan, Beka, Tyr, and Rev had been working on the bridge when they found the phenomenon. Trance was still asleep.
"Does that look familiar?" Dylan watched the screen as the anomaly grew.
"It looks like that energy vortex from the parrellel universe," Beka answered.
"There's only one way for a vortex like that to appear," Tyr started to activate his station.
"Species 8475," Dylan finished, "Battlestations. Beka, get ready to jump to slipstream. Let's stay back. We don't want to look like a threat."
"A ship is coming through the vortex," Andromeda stated, "It is much larger than Species 8475's bioship, and it's giving off some strange readings."
Harper, the resident expert on the parellel universe, watched silently as he waited for the vessel to come into view. Suddenly, he looked up with his eyes wide, "Slipstream, now!"
"What?" Dylan turned, "Who are they?"
"No time to explain," Harper was nearly panicked, "Just get us out of here."
"I can't," Beka tried helplessly to open a slipstream portal, "The drive's still down."
"They're breaking into my comm system," Andromeda's hologram stated.
"We are the Borg. Lower your defenses and surrender your ship. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
"They've cut communications," Andromeda stated.
"Hail them," Dylan ordered.
"They aren't responding," Rev continued to work the controls on his station.
"The ship is moving toward us," Tyr looked at the main view screen.
"We've gotta get out of here," Harper was adament, "You don't know these guys."
"Beka, keep us away from them," Dylan ordered.
"They're pretty fast for a giant crouton," Beka observed as Andromeda sped away from the energy vortex.
"Can we out run them?" Dylan asked.
"They're gaining on us," Rev answered, "They'll intercept in thirty seconds."
"Tyr, fire a full volley from the rear launchers."
"Missles away," Andromeda stated, "We're reading multiple hits... The cube is heavily damaged, but they're maintaining speed."
"Again," Dylan ordered.
"They aren't even trying to dodge," Tyr watched as the missles struck home.
"They don't have to," Harper responded.
"Multiple direct hits," Rommie looked confused, "Only minor damage."
"They're adapting," Harper explained, "They analyzed our missles, and they've found a defense against them."
"They're firing some kind of tractor beam," Rev said.
The ship was rocked by the blast, but the Andromeda's ablative hull armor exploded away from the ship, keeping the Borg from locking on.
"Hey! Slipstream's reactivating!" Beka exclaimed, "Transiting to slipstream."
"It seems that the divine has a flare for the dramatic," Rev looked at his console, "We couldn't have taken much more of that."
"The cube ship is following us," Tyr said.
"What!?" Harper ran over to Tyr's station, "The Borg don't have slipstream!"
"Beka, can you loose them?" Dylan asked.
"Maybe," Beka made a sharp turn, "They don't have a very good pilot. Still, we'll have to drop back to normal space before too long. If I can't shake them before then, we might not have time to make another jump."
***
"We're reading some kind of distortion up ahead," Harry Kim ran his fingers over the control panel, "It doesn't match anything in our database."
"Magnify and enhance," Commander Chakotay ordered.
"Looks almost like a glowing whirlpool," Paris observed.
"Full stop," Captain Janeway ordered, "This could be some sort of wormhole, and I'd like to take a closer look. It just might get us closer to the alpha quadrant... Prepare two type one probes. Launch one just over the edge of the anamoly, and send the other directly in."
"It will take a moment to recalibrate the probes," Seven's console beeped as she changed the probe's settings from her bridge station, "Adaptations complete."
"Launching probes..." Tuvok responded.
"We're reading a spike in the distortion's energy readings," Ensign Kim stated, "It's area just doubled."
"Both probes have fallen into the vortex," Tuvok added.
"Keep scanning from here," Janeway took a few steps toward the viewscreen.
"I'm detecting a Borg transwarp signature headed this way," Kim looked up at the captain.
"Set course for the alpha quadrant, maximum warp, but give the vortex a wide berth. Tuvok, have you identified the Borg ship?"
"Attempting..." Tuvok's console flashed with information, "It is a manned probe."
"Not very threatening," Captain Janeway considered for a moment, "Hold position. I want to see what they do when they encounter the phenomenon. Go to red alert, and switch to passive sensors. We don't want to look provocative."
"The probe is dropping out of transwarp," Kim stated, "They're heading directly for the vortex."
"They're ignoring us," Janeway watched as Borg scout vessel approached the swirling energy phenomenon.
"If there is a Borg combat vessel in the area, the probe would summon it rather than attempt a direct confrontation," Seven explained.
"Or maybe they just have more important things to do," Chakotay stood up, "We know we can disable the probe. We can beam the drones off and send over a boarding party to take control of the ship. Seven can access its computer to find out what they know about the vortex, and we might even be able to adapt the probe's transwarp drive to work on Voyager."
"Alright," Janeway nodded, "Mr. Paris, head for the probe at maximum impulse. Tuvok, set shields to full. Stop firing as soon as their shields go down. We'll beam the drones directly to the brig."
"Yes ma'am," Paris responded.
"The probe's still headed for the anamoly," Kim watched in consternation, "They've been pulled into the vortex."
"They didn't even try to break away," Paris looked up.
"The collective would think little of loosing a single probe studying an unidentified phenomenon."
"Without even scanning it first?" Chakotay asked.
"I think they already know exactly what that vortex is," Janeway turned to her first officer, "How dangerous would it be to follow them in?"
"These energy readings don't look like a threat," Chakotay responded, "But we can't read anything past the entry point. We can't even communicate with our probes. For all we know, the Borg ship could have been thrown into a black hole."
"We may have just discovered some sort of new Borg transit system, and at the very least we've come across an unprotected probe. I can't pass up this opportunity," Janeway paused, "Head us directly into the vortex."
