Space between space

Q sat in his chair before the two galaxies. A normal person might wonder what he was looking at. Tzeentch knew better. Both were beings of phenomenal power and being able to focus on the smallest actions taking part over an entire universe was a simple task. The Chaos God was far more interested in making his own move.

"If you'll excuse my impatience but I would like to make my own move now." The God said, "Your little ship will continue on it's merry way. I however am not so easily entertained by the actions of one crew and one ship."

Q looked up from where his gaze had lingered for a time, "Fine make your move. I suppose this should have happened when I gave Darrius a kick in the pants for not being entertaining." He said irritated at the lack of interesting things his own move was doing.

"I would but I would ask you assistance in this one. The subjects I want to move are so very difficult for my own powers to work with." The God said with a smile.

As much as his bird like face could manage.

Planet Umbrix

The planet of Umbrix was once a shining jewel in the Delta quadrant. It's people prosperous, it's cities gleaming, it's ships powerful, and it's people reasonable and kind. Had they had more time the Umbrixan's would have attempted to form an alliance with other nearby space faring races. To build a community that could stand against the threats of the Delta quadrant. The Borg invasion had ensured they had no such time.

Their gleaming cities had been destroyed by orbital bombardment. Their powerful ships laid low in orbit by the plasma beams and adaptive armor of the cubes. All their allies had fled long ago for fear of becoming the Borg's next target. The people fled the burning cities in fear as drones moves about and assimilated them. Their bodies useful to the collective due to a small trait that made them grow a few inches taller on average than other bipedal life forms.

A man ran down one of the many streets of the largest city. He was on the outskirts and every now and then he looked back to the horrifying sight of the city of Firaldin burning behind him. His breath came out in gasps as he struggled to stay ahead of the drones moving out from the interior of the metropolis. They never stopped or rested at all and every time he felt like he got away more would end up being teleported to somewhere near him.

For hours he had been running as best he could but his legs were starting to give out on him. The city still burned behind him as he slowed then collapsed in a small ditch at the side of the road. He had made it past the city limits and the Borg had finally stopped following him or appearing out of thin air around him. As he gasped for breath he looked about at where he was.

Woods and mountains to one side of the road, a wide open field to the others. Going back to the city was out of the question and going further down the road was also suicide as they only lead to population centers. He knew his only chance was heading into the mountains. If he was lucky he might even survive this assault. He told himself that but deep inside the man knew he was just delaying the inevitable.

Pushing himself up off the dirt he felt his muscles scream as he pushed them to keep moving. Standing up he heard a sound behind him and turned to see several Borg had teleported into the field behind him. He couldn't believe it, that the Borg would teleport drones to where he was solely to get him. It boggled his mind that they had nothing better to do then hunt him. It was then that he realized he and other survivors like him were the only ones left.

The realization utterly sapped his will and desire to run. Collapsing to his knees he felt his vision blur as all hope drained from him. He was so distraught that he didn't even notice the flash of light behind the Borg and the small army teleported behind them.

The Borg did however. They turned and faced the creatures that appeared out of nowhere behind them. The drone's processed the being's strange skeletal appearance along with the large pyramid behind them. Their sensors and sight all registered nothing before them yet the strange statues remained. Hunched over and not moving one inch. The drones were not concerned with whether or not they could move, just that their technological data would be added to the collective.

The Umbrixan watched from where he was. His shock had worn off when he realized he wasn't assimilated yet. The metal skeletons before him remained unmoving as the drones got closer. One the lead drone had stepped within a stones throw from the metal skeletons life finally activated within them.

From the large pyramid at the center of the group the crystal adorning it's top flared to life like a bolt of lightning had struck it. From there a wave of activity surged outwards across the small army of skeletons and other various metal things. Eyes that had been darkened by inactivity flared to life with a menacing green as the army stood upright. Creatures in back began to float in the air and even the pyramid started to move, it's crystal glowing brighter with each passing moment.

The man watched from where he was and couldn't help but curse his own luck that he managed to find something else that was as terrifying as the Borg. With the Borg you could see your people and others in them, giving you some false hope that they might be rescued from the collective. These things he could only describe as 'soul less'. He could help but smile however at the fate of the lead Borg.

Approaching it held out it's nano injector towards the first metal skeleton. It's design was far more detailed and maintained then the others. As the nano injector drew closer it raised it's staff in the air, revealing blades attached to the bottom, and without pause or hesitation stabbed the drone through the chest. Lifting up the struggling Borg it charged it's staff with the same green lightning the Umbrixan saw in all their weapons and blasted off the drone clear over the road and sending it crashing into the woods behind him.

The other drones fared no better as the metal skeletons activated. The closest ones faced the sharpened blade at the tip of their glowing weapons. With inexorable slowness the creature raised it's gun into the air. Before the Borg could inject the nano probes into it the weapon was brought down cutting deep into should. The force of the impact caused the Borg's legs to buckle and fold as it was smashed to the ground.

As the Borg were getting cut down the metal skeletons lined up their weapons and opened fire. Green lightning arced out from the tips of their weapons and every Borg hit fell back to the ground. The Umbrixan saw that parts of the Borg's body were simply gone replaced by a red and black mist. He waited for the moment when the Borg would adapt to the strange energy weapons but as he watched more and more get cut down he saw no shots harmlessly being absorbed by their ability. When one of the metal skeletons turned it's head towards him he realized that he should never have stopped running.

Queen's vessel

The Borg queen waited silently in her ship. Her torso unattached and her head floating amidst the machines of the ship. She quietly listened to the sound of her drones assimilating the planet. Their assimilation going smoothly and requiring no direct guidance from an independent mind.

While unattached to her body she entered a pseudo sleep state and simply listened to the sound of billions of drones working around her at all times. To humans it would sound like billions upon billions of voices all talking to them. To the queen it sounded like the sound of a lullaby.

Her very existence was a contradiction to the Borg. An individual given the voice and drive of the collective. By the very tenants the Borg adhere to she should not exist, yet she did. As she felt her head begin to move and her slumber awakened the reason for her existence became clear once again.

The hive couldn't ever fully react to everything. It was impossible for their unified voice to do many things. She and others like her were created to fill those gaps. Islands and shoals within the maelstrom of the collective voice. When addressing powerful species she would speak with a single voice to unnerve and demoralize, when addressing individuals too strong to assimilate she would persuade or influence, and when dealing with forces that the could not overwhelm she would guide.

As her head was lowered she felt her spine connected with her body and feeling rush into the customized torso she had designed. She opened her eyes and saw the interior of her ship before her. Her head tilted slightly as she heard the sounds of the Borg as they died in a small part of the planet.

She had been vaguely aware of what was happening during her slumber but as she awoke the information was directly sent to her mind. Yet screens opened before her and she could reach out and touch them to give orders to the collective. It was a useless and inefficient means of order but reinforced the individuality of the queen. Her presence meant that the collective had encountered something they could not simply overwhelm.

She saw through the eyes of a drone the force before her. Their leader's own eyes meeting hers. As they made eye contact she could feel the force behind their merciless glow. It was a force of will on par with the collective as a whole. Pulling her vision away she ignored the implication of what she saw. They were few and the collective would win through sheer force of numbers.

With an instant mental command she had several of the cubes move to orbit over the capital city. From there teleporters were activated and began sending down tactical drones. Far more armored and weaponized than the other drones they were designed solely to fight rather than assimilate.

The Umbrixan watched from the treeline as more flashes of green spread across the field. The Borg had now arrived in force as hundreds of drones he never seen before approached the metal skeleton's lines. A ripple of lightning shot out from their position and struck down these drones like the ones before. Unlike the previous ones, these drones now fired back.

Arms that would normally hold tools and assimilations devices had now fitted weapons. The green blasts of energy shot forward and stuck into the metal skeletons lines. Several even fell over from combined fire as the warriors returned fire with their own lightning. The Umbrixan couldn't tell what was going on, just that it all looked very green.

It was then that the more ornate warrior stepped forwards. Blasts hit off his armor and never slowed him down as he raised his staff into the air. A beacon of light shot forth into the sky and the Umbrixan watched as the Borg tactical drones' weapons failed to fire. Some on the outskirts of the battle could still fire but the large force of the them near the lord were left with no weapons. Their opponents had no such hindrance.

Fire shot forth from their lines again and struck down the Borg before them. Now the pyramid added it's own weapons to the fight as turrets at the corners of it rained lightning down upon them. The glowing crystal atop flared to life and the Umbrixan was blinded by a bright light followed by his ears becoming defened by the sound of a thunder clap. As he rubbed his eyes he looked and saw a massive crater where a large mass of Borg had been.

More Borg began beaming down further away. It was clear to everyone that the metal skeletons had the advantage in close combat. The Borg were an ungainly race even at the best of times and their close combat consisted of injecting nano assimilators into their target. Dodging cuts and melee weapons was never considered because even with an army they would eventually fall to the onslaught of drones.

The metal warriors were different. Not only were they stronger in combat but they had a balanced force as opposed to the army of drones with guns. Thin spindly machines would weave in and out of their lines using clawed fingers to eviscerate the drones. Floating skeletons with their lower half replaced by a elongated thorax like machine would rain rapid fire shots within the drones lines. Even a giant metal creature that looked like a cross between a spider and a beetle floated amongst the battlefield.

The spider beetle was the most fascinating to the Umbrian. It had a gun and would take it's shots alongside it's metal brothers. Unlike them it would spend it's time moving amongst the damaged warriors and actually fixing them. If the warriors fell it would float over with a casual indifference to the shots hitting it and begin fixing the machine with hands.

It was becoming clear to the Umbrixan that these strange metal skeletons were winning. Even when one was brought down from sustained fire it was repaired by the spider beetle almost immediately. There were times the man saw the wounded warrior fix itself by attaching it's severed limbs and letting them repair themselves. All the while the large pyramid floated ominously in the center of the force raining down blasts of lightning from it's central crystal.

It was when he had that thought that fire began to rain down from the sky. While he couldn't see it the green plasma bolts came from the cubes in orbit. Each one detonated like a bomb amidst the army. Even as destruction was sown across their lines the warriors never stopped firing at the neverending wave of drones. What amazed the Umbrixan was watching as the pyramid withstood several shots from orbit before finally falling. His own people's ships barely stood up to two and this thing a fraction of the size could endure far more than three of his species' ships.

As the shots blew apart the metal warriors the man saw something miraculous happen. As their battle line faltered then failed they didn't run, the metal skeletons simply started to vanish. One after another they faded out of existence until all that was left was the pyramid and the ornate leader were left. The two were now surrounded on all sides by drones and the pyramid was broken and damaged after the rain of massive plasma blasts.

Turning around the leader of the metal warriors simply turned and walking into an opened threshold in the pyramid. Within the Umbrixan could see a swirling green vortex of energy with no clear destination. As the leader walked in he melted into the vortex and disappeared. When the leader was gone all that was left was the pyramid and that too faded out of existence leaving the army of drones standing in a wrecked field of parts and debris.

Orbit

The queen watched as the army faded from existence and left the field with only parts and wrecked pieces behind to indicate that they had even existed. The planet was almost entirely taken over by this point and the only source of resistance had been with the metal warriors. She recalled the moment she made eye contact with their leader and a feeling bubbled up from deep inside her human parts. It overrode the collective's thoughts and wormed it's way back into her consciousness. She recalled the eyes and the power that lurked behind it and she felt dread.

The collective had no such feeling and began to work with diligence only rivaled by insect hives. She felt her torso begin to detach and her head begin it's shut down procedures in preparation for slumber. As the cables attached to her shoulders and brought her up she could still feel the dread from those eyes as they seemed to have bored into her mind. As she felt the voices of the collective fill her thoughts once more a single repeating word echoed over and over within the chorus.

"Necron"