Hope and Light: Trinity
Prologue: Where it all began
April 7, 1980
Realm 1995
In the broad expanse of universe, it is said that space is quiet. This is both a truth and a lie.
It is a truth because noise cannot travel in space, as there is no atmosphere to propagate anything. Thus, no one would hear a scream, of the breaking of glass, or even the sound someone laughing.
It is a lie because quiet also means peaceful, and that simply isn't true in thi instance. Space teems with phenomenon both known and unknown to science. There is no truly accurate size for the universe, only estimations given by scientists on countless worlds. No one really knew how large it truly was… save for one civilization. And even then, it was constantly changing as the universe grew or shrank, depending on its mood that day.
It was at the present edge of the universe that this particular tale begins. It is here that three lives, all shackled to the chains of destiny will be born… and where a hero will die.
In a galaxy so distant from the Milky Way that light that had been sent out three billion years ago hadn't even reached Earth yet, a lone starship flew. The U.S.S. Kelvin, registry number NCC 46910, under the command of Captain Francisco Ramuh, assigned to defend Realm 1995's most distant borders.
The vessel was magnificent. Its design was exactly identical to that of a Federation Galaxy-class starship, all the way down to its deflector dish and somewhat flattened warp nacelles. In fact, it had been built in Realm 9002, acting as a cover for Guardian activities there. In that universe's 2367, she was reassigned to Realm 1995, due to the threat of a possible Negaverse incursion. If such an incursion occurred, she would be the first line of defense against them. For unlike its Federation sister ships, it carried far more powerful weapons and more advanced technology, as well as superior shields and maneuverability.
Unfortunately, on what was to be the last day of the ship's life, the Negaverse would not be her end. That honor would belong to a race far more relentless… and just as evil.
"U.S.S. Kelvin, you have a direct communication with Guardian City Capicorn."
"Capricorn, did you receive our latest report?"
"Affirmative. Do you have any new readings?"
"Yes we do. The singularity seems to be fluctuating. It's almost like a lightning storm of some kind, trapped within the event horizon. If I were to take a guess, something is trying to get out."
"What you sent us doesn't make any sense, Kelvin."
"Yes Ma'am, I understand that. That's why we sent it."
-
The Kelvin's captain, a stern, slightly balding man, was immensely proud of his ship and crew, proud of the accomplishments they had made during their time together, and of the prestige he himself now held. As an honorary member of the Guardian House Solidor, he had been given command of this ship, and was only a year away from admiralty due to his success.
But today, as he stepped onto the bridge of his ship, none of the pride and, yes, the arrogance, was present on his face. In their place was something that he was quite unused to; fear. Unfortunately, that fear was completely justified, if the report he had received from Dimensional Cartography was true.
His First Officer stood up from the command chair, waiting for him to reach the lower part of the Bridge. A tall, young man, he was due to take command of his own ship within the next few years, if he was lucky. "Energy discharge has been confirmed," he reported. "DC estimates a breach in the event horizon in approximately one minute."
Ramuh nodded, knowing that DC was trying to keep an open mind. After all, there was still so much about Existence they didn't know. It could be anything; a natural phenomenon, or a species that they hadn't met.
Sadly, he knew better than that. It could only be one species. "Enhance the view screen," he ordered, sitting down. "Ready all defensive systems, and order pilots to their fighters."
He, like everyone else in Starfleet, understood the underlying rules and physics concerning the black hole. In short, there were no real rules. All normal physics concerning space broke down, just like everything else that got into range. The sheer gravity of the singularity tore everything apart at the subatomic level. Nothing could escape, not even light itself. Only a vessel equipped with faster than light capabilities stood a chance of escaping, but only before going past the event horizon. Of course, Guardian ships in perfect working order could survive very well going through a black hole, simply because their hulls were stronger than its gravity.
Any warp capable civilization could use the black hole to travel through time, but only three civilizations that they knew of had the technology to tunnel through alternate realities via a black hole, thus defeating that one truth. And the Guardians and the Negaverse rarely did that anymore, except when they were entering a realm outside of their respective borders. Which left only one. And they had no idea how they were able to do that.
The helmsman suddenly pointed at the screen. "Captain, do you see that?" s/he asked, a combination of awe and barely controlled terror coloring her tone as the first ship emerged.
"I do." He leaned forward, the fear spiking. "By Alania."
The vessel emerging from the event horizon could only be described as nothing more than a massive hypersonic drill, about the size of a planet. It was clearly a generational ship, capable of jumpstarting a civilization just like that. Under normal circumstances, that was to be applauded.
Unfortunately, the ships that followed in its wake made the ideal less than comforting.
They were five massive cubes, each one about the size of a small moon. There was no way to determine the location of a bridge, engines, or even a blasted window on any of them. There was no grace, no beauty to their design. Instead, there was a sense of overpowering purpose, determination, and stoic ruthlessness to it, as if it were a living being in its own right. Which meant only one thing.
The Borg had arrived in Realm 1995 at long last.
For a long moment, a moment that seemed to last a lifetime, the Borg fleet and the Kelvin stared each other down, a single David meeting a fleet of Goliath's. It was a toss up of who would fire the first shot.
Unfortunately, the Goliath's decided not to wait.
Tactical looked up. "I'm getting a reading… they've locked weapons on us!"
"Red Alert! Shields up, and arm weapons! Order fighters to launch immediately!"
"They're firing!"
"Evasive pattern Delta Five! Defensive batteries, fire!"
The Galaxy Class starship, significantly more powerful than its Federation little sister, was also armed with a series of close range blasters, operated by expertly trained gunners. In case of close range combat with another ship, they were trained to locate the weakest links in the hull and take advantage.
Or in the case of a full scale barrage of torpedoes, to take them out with laser edge precision. Which is precisely what they were trying to do.
The gunners were efficient. Their discharges struck each torpedo they targeted, detonating them in a spectacular, if all too brief display. Unfortunately, five of the missiles managed to get through the barrage to strike the Kelvin's shielded hull. So great were their power, that they were able to do considerable damage, in spite of the protection.
A strike above one of the shuttle bay's shattered the ceiling within. Debris rained down, effectively blocking the massive door. One squadron of fighters was now effectively trapped within the ship.
The other two squadrons managed to get out without too much trouble, and flew forward to engage the enemy ships. Their maneuverability, speed, and the incredible teamwork between man and computer, allowed them to avoid both weapon and tractor beam alike as they opened fire.
The mother ship, while quite a graceful swan herself, was still significantly larger and now had the distinct disadvantage of being damaged. On top of that, they were outnumbered by a fleet of ships that were capable of taking everything they could throw at them, and return it. Not a good thing.
On the bridge, Ramuh heard the voices begin to blend in with the sirens, becoming a cacophony of noise. "Damage report!" he barked.
"Starboard nacelle has been hit!" Ops replied. "The hull is buckling on Deck Ten, a breach on Fifteen. Shields are down to forty eight percent. Shuttle Bay Three hanger door is blocked! Beta Squadron's trapped in there!"
"They're firing again!"
"Order our squadrons into a defensive pattern around the ship!" Ramush ordered.
The fighters immediately turned around, breaking off from their futile efforts in damaging the cubes. They swarmed around the Kelvin, their own phasers adding to the defensive fire already being used.
It wasn't enough, as one torpedo managed to survive long enough to hit. The stressed out section of Deck Ten became a full blown hull breach. A gout of crystallized air burst out into space… followed by three members of the crew, all flaying for a few seconds before becoming unnaturally still.
"Divert auxiliary power to forward shields. Prepare all shuttles for evacuation!" Ramuh kept the flow of orders going, making sure his crew stayed busy. His heart went out to those three officers, knowing that their spirits were going to a far better place. Unfortunately, their deaths were going to be slow, cold, and very painful. And there was nothing they could do without dropping the shields first.
Tactical suddenly looked up, his gaze bleak. "Sir, they are hailing."
His eyes widened slightly, before he nodded. "Put them through." He knew immediately why they were contacting them. He also knew that there was no reason to defy them. They held the upper hand. Tactical complied.
Almost immediately, the sound of billions upon billions of voices spoke, a sound that could shivers down the backs of even the Sith themselves. It was a sound that no sentient species wanted to hear within their lifetimes.
"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Your captain will beam aboard our vessel. If he does not comply, we will destroy your ship."
And just like that, the connection was terminated.
For a long moment, silence reigned on the bridge, as the Borg's communication sank in. Not that it needed to. The Borg would love to assimilate a Guardian vessel and its crew, having access to all of the knowledge they possessed. If they were successful on that, then they would be truly unstoppable.
Ramuh also remained silent for a moment, before turning to his First Officer. He had the feeling that these would be the final orders he would ever give in what would most likely be the final moments of his life. "If you don't hear from me in fifteen minutes, evacuate the crew."
The First Officer looked at him. "We could send for…"
"There is no help for us out here, Commander. At least none that would prove effective against them," he interrupted. "Use the Autopilot, and initiate General Order Ten. Get off the ship."
"Aye, Captain."
"You're captain now, Mister Lehane." Standing up, Ramuh started walking towards the turbolift. "Use your judgment and instincts on this matter, John. If you can save the ship, do so. If not…" he let that last statement hang.
"Understood, Sir."
Nodding, the captain stepped into the lift.
Commander John Lehane watched as the lift closed behind his commanding officer, unable to believe that the events of the last few minutes had actually happened. The Borg entering this universe at long last, their subsequent attack, and now the captain beaming over in an obviously futile attempt to prevent further bloodshed. The Borg simply didn't care who they ran over in their attempt to assimilate all available technology.
On the other hand, they now knew how they were able to breach each Realm's borders. The massive drill most likely used some sort of supersonic vibration to penetrate the Quantum Singularity. It also told them a little of their attack strategy. They wouldn't, or couldn't, enter into a heavily populated galaxy for any reason. Which meant that for them to enter the Milky Way, they would have to have developed a method of FTL propulsion that matched the Guardian's own. And it most likely was equipped within that drill, allowing them to travel the vast interstellar distance with impunity. Most ingenious… and most disturbing.
His thoughts irrevocably turned to his wife, who was entering the last few days of her pregnancy. He didn't want to think about the kind of universe he would be raising his children in with the Borg threatening them. He just couldn't.
Forcibly pushing these disturbing thoughts from his mind, Lehane focused once more on doing his duty. It was all he could do in these circumstances. "Put the captain's life signs on the screen," he ordered. "I want shields restored as much as possible, and get that last squadron out, even if you have to blow the hanger doors. I want as much cover fire as possible when we evacuate."
No one dared question his commands. No one even bothered to reply. They simply needed to follow orders.
Tactical looked up from his display. "Commander, the captain has beamed aboard the Borg Drill," he reported. "His heart rate is increasing."
Nodding, the first officer sat down in the Captain's Chair, trying to remain calm. If the Borg tried to assimilate the Captain, a special neural toxin would automatically be injected via his comm badge. Ramuh's synaptic functions would be terminated within the space of one second.
It was after the fact that got him worried.
Trying not to think about that extreme, though necessary measure, Lehane tapped the intercom button. "Engineering, how are we doing?" he asked.
"Auxiliary power has been restored. Shields are back up to fifty two percent, and we were able to get targeting scanners back online. Auto-regenerative functions are now busy repairing the stress fractures on all decks."
"Thank you. Shunt all power from the severely damaged areas to shields. Lehane out." Shutting the link down, Lehane went back to thinking about his captain, and his wife and unborn children.
Ramuh had no idea how long he had been walking, surrounded by a cadre of drones, but he did know that this walk would most likely be his last one alive.
He had no doubt in his mind that the Borg would attempt to assimilate him. The knowledge and experience that a Guardian Captain possessed would prove too irresistible for them to ignore. Fortunately for the Guardians, he had had that kill switch installed the day he was made captain for just this very reason. The Borg would not be successful this time, just like every other time they had tried. And there had been many.
Whether or not Commander Lehane would be able to implement General Order Ten was a different matter. Once he died, the Borg were going to focus everything they had to try and capture the Kelvin. All he could hope for was that his XO was up to the task.
The entourage finally came to a halt within an impossibly wide room, rimmed with regeneration alcoves, half of them occupied by drones. And there, being assembled by her machines, was the Borg Queen herself. In any major engagement, she was there to supervise it, to ensure that it went smoothly.
He didn't find his chances of surviving improving any.
The only part of the Queen's body that was biological was her head and shoulders. That was usually kept suspended, out of sight from the rest of the drones. Her physical presence was usually not required, as all were connected to her by a subspace signal.
Those very biological pieces slid down into the completed biosuit that she needed for mobility. Hooks snapped into place, anchoring to become a whole person. She rolled her shoulders, seemingly enjoying the sensation of movement. Of course he knew better. Everyone knew better.
Slowly, the Queen stepped forward, dissecting him with her gaze. Her movements could have been mistaken for seductive, were it not for the calculating measure in them. "I honestly had no idea that the Guardians patrolled dead galaxies," she murmured, taking in his red command tunic. "It is quite the revelation. So Captain, where shall we begin our… negotiations?"
"We can begin by you answering these questions," Ramuh snapped. "What gives you the right to enter other realms, and destroy entire cultures? What gives you the right to attack a Guardian vessel, and thus incurring Alania's wrath?"
"We merely wish to elevate all sentient life… to bring them to a state of harmony, of perfection. All will be equal and true in the Collective."
"You destroy free will and expression. You remove imagination from the equation."
"Such things bring about chaos, discord… destruction. We shall bring harmony and peace to all life in Existence. It is inevitable."
"By ending freedom," Ramuh retorted hotly, fearlessly. "You will find that civilizations will not comply with you. And neither will I."
The Queen nodded. "That is simply because you haven't experienced the bliss of the Collective," she replied, her arm coming up. "Resistance is futile, Captain. The Borg are all." With that, she plunged her assimilation tubules into his neck.
At that precise moment, the toxin was released into his bloodstream.
He was dead before he hit the ground, oblivious to the Queen's sudden expression of rage.
"Synaptic functions have been terminated!" Tactical shouted. "Borg vessels are retargeting!"
"All weapons, fire!" Lehane ordered. "Target that Drill! Defensive batteries and fighters, cover our asses!"
The might vessel cut loose with everything they had, aiming for the massive drill. The fighters and defensive cannons cut loose as well, stopping as many torpedoes as they could.
Those they missed hit the ship from all angles, adding more damage to what they had already inflicted. Fires were raging below decks as damage controls teams combated them with fire suppressants. The anti fire protocols were inactive, as all available power was being pumped into shields and weapons.
The aft consoles on the bridge suddenly exploded, throwing several of the crew over the Tactical station. The Tactical officer barely managed to duck in time, before looking at his display. "Weapons ineffective! Their shields are holding!"
Lehane stood up, knowing what he had to do. It was the one thing a captain didn't want to do, but would if without any other option. "I'm initiating General Order Ten! We're evacuating!" He helped two of the injured crew up, before sitting down in the Command Chair. "All decks, this is the Captain! Abandon ship. General Order Ten will be initiated within three minutes! Report to your designated shuttle craft, lifeboat or escape pod immediately!" Signing off, he began his own preparations. Ramuh's death would not be in vain.
First off, he downloaded everything they had gotten over the last half hour, transferring it to every shuttle and lifeboat. If even one of them managed to survive, then the Guardians would be warned of the coming threat.
He was about to take care of the second thing when a voice came over the intercom. "John, what's happening?"
He breathed in relief. His wife was still alive. "Oh, Mary! You're alive. Listen, I have Medical Shuttle Thirty Seven standing by! I need you to get to there! Can you do it?"
"Yes… John, it's starting!"
"I'll be there as soon as I can! Remember, Shuttle Thirty Seven!" Signing off, he turned his attention back to the task at hand. "Computer, this Commander John Lehane! General Order Ten has been initiated! Override command functions for both autodestruct sequences, destabilize the matter/antimatter couplings, and disengage the safeties on our remaining torpedoes! Set a collision course with the Borg Drill, prep for warp pulse and engage the Automatic Pilot!"
The response he received was not completely to his liking.
SAFETIES HAVE BEEN DISENGAGED. AUTODESTRUCT SEQUENCES HAVE BEEN INITIATED. AUTOMATIC PILOT DISABLED. MANUAL OVERRIDE ONLY.
Which left only one avenue open to him… and that meant that he would have to break a promise.
Elisa Laura Davies-Lehane felt the heavy vibrations go through the deck as the first shots hit the Kelvin. That meant only one thing; the ship was under attack by an overwhelming force close to their technological level. And there was no way she could help.
Being in the middle of labor would do that to someone.
Elisa was the Chief Medical Officer aboard the Kelvin, and had the distinction of reaching that position through her own merits, as well as her gift.
She possessed the ability to talk to the dead.
Every once in a while, she would come across a corpse that had died before his or her time, and that corpse would suddenly speak to her. And then, the day would rewind, giving her the chance to try and change that one's fate. Sometimes she succeeded, sometimes she didn't. But she always knew one thing for certain; that she was given the chance to save someone, and change the course of Existence itself.
But never before had she been put in a situation where she would be powerless to change anything, against a foe more relentless than even Death itself.
After several such impacts, coupled by a temporary reduction in lighting, the shaking stopped for about half an hour… only to begin again. Several medical consoles exploded as power surges in the defensive shields fed back through the circuitry. Hell itself sounded like it was trying to get in.
Suddenly, two medical technicians were helping her off of her medical bed into a hover chair. She berated herself for not having any control over this situation. 'Perfect timing, girls!' she thought. It was obvious that they were abandoning ship. They had to. Otherwise, the Borg were going to have close to a thousand people to assimilate, as well as an advanced Galaxy class starship.
"All hands, this is the Captain! Abandon ship! General Order Ten will be initiated in three minutes! Report to your designated shuttlecraft, lifeboat, or escape pod immediately!"
Elisa looked up, eyes widening in worry. "That's John's voice!" That meant the Captain was dead.
"We'll deliver in the shuttle! Let's go!" The Holographic Doctor shouted, putting her Mobile Emitter on before exiting Sickbay. "Just keep breathing, and you'll do fine!"
All around them, the crew was moving calmly, if quickly. The children onboard were being taken to one of the lifeboats, fear not slowing any of them down. She saw fellow crewmen free their trapped comrades from underneath debris, and was grateful.
Knowing that the order was being followed, she hit her commbadge. "John, what's happening?"
"Oh, Elisa! You're alive!" Even over the communication, the love and relief in his voice was evident. "Listen, I have Medical Shuttle Thirty Seven standing by! I need you to get to there! Can you do it?"
"Yes… John, it's starting!" The moment she said that, another contraction ripped through her.
"I'll be there as soon as I can! Remember, Shuttle Thirty Seven!"
She understood what he hadn't added before signing off. Considering the fact that he was in command of the ship, that meant he had to activate General Order Ten; initiating the autodestruct sequences of both the primary and secondary hulls, disengaging the stabilization couplings for the warp core's matter/antimatter flow, as well as the force fields for their remaining ordinance. A split second warp pulse from the engines, coupled with a collision course with their enemy, would ensure the destruction of the Kelvin and hopefully its enemy.
The four of them raced through Deck Sixteen, Elisa crying out in pain as the gap between contractions began closing alarmingly. "Oi, that was a big one! I thought birthing for us was painless!" she shouted.
"Normally, yes!" one of the technicians replied, scanning her with a medical tricorder. "But we weren't able to give you the painkillers required! You're going to have to do this the old fashioned way!"
"Natural child birth! Now you tell me!" She gasped as another contraction occurred. "They're getting faster!"
"Don't worry! You'll be all right!"
"And the babies?"
"Them too, if we have anything to say about it!" the Doctor replied as they entered Shuttle Bay Three. The debris had been cleared enough to allow them to evacuate. People were streaming into every shuttle they could, as the sound of escape pods launching thundered through the room. The shuttles also began launching, as did the last squadron of fighters.
They boarded the medical shuttle just before the atmospheric shield finally failed, a pilot coming in right after them. They quickly set her up on the bed there while he entered the cockpit, prepping it for takeoff. Through the haze of pain, she saw him talking to somebody. It was probably the computer letting him know that they were cleared for launch. She gave him no mind… at first.
That changed when the pilot proceeded to do just that. "No… wait!" she gasped weakly. "John's still on the bridge!" She hit her comm badge again. "John, the shuttle's launching! Where are you?"
"Elisa… I'm sorry… but I won't be going with you."
"What? Why?"
"The Auto pilot was destroyed in that last salvo. I have to stay, if the rest of you are going to survive. …I'm sorry."
Elisa looked around wildly, but knew, just knew, that he was telling the truth. If he didn't give them cover, then none of them were going to get out alive. But the selfish part of her was still dominant, the part of her that didn't want to lose her husband, the father of her children. She didn't want to be alone. "John… I can't do this without you…"
The Doctor squatted down between her legs, breaking up her conversation. "Elisa, I need you to push, now!"
And Elisa screamed as she did so, the shuttle launching into open space, following the long procession away from the doomed ship.
The Kelvin's fighters broke off from their defense of the mother ship, swarming around the fleeing flotilla of escaping vessels. The vessel's weapons lashed out, stopping every torpedo that came their way. Then they switched back to the cubes, forcing the Borg to focus on her.
Lehane worked the helm frantically, putting in the last commands he would ever give in his life; the fatal collision course. If successful, then this universe stood a chance at surviving. The crew stood a chance.
A part of him wished that he was with his wife right now, but this as the only way they would survive. His children would hopefully never know about the Borg.
SELECT TARGET.
That was a no brainer. He ordered the ship in the direction of the drill, locking the coordinates in. He destroyed the controls so they couldn't access them remotely, ordering all power to be transferred to the shields and impulse drive. The cubes wouldn't be able to lock a tractor beam on him until it was too late.
Then, with nothing else left to do, he made his way to the command chair, sitting in it as he listened to his wife screaming out in pain. The link between the ship and the shuttle was still active, and he could hear her swearing up a storm. If he was there, some of that verbal abuse would most likely have been directed at him.
He was sorry that he was going to miss it.
The mighty impulse engines of the Kelvin flared on, forcing the ship forward to meet her final destiny. The warp pulse was preparing to activate the second they were close enough. Soon, it would all be over.
The sounds of labor were soon replaced with another welcoming sound; the sound of a child crying for the first time. Five minutes later, another cry joined it.
Five minutes after that, a third one emerged as well.
Elisa Davies-Lehane had given birth to triplets.
"Oh, John… they're girls. All of them…"
Lehane couldn't believe it, but he was also happier. "Girls?" He started to smile. At least he got hear this little bit of good news before he died. "Tell me about them."
"… They're beautiful. I think they have your eyes. John… I wish you could see them. I wish you were here."
So did he, now more than ever. "What are we going to call them?" he asked, seizing the chance for this one fatherly duty. The most important one.
"Well… we could name the youngest Tru, for my great ancestor," Elisa said after a moment. "I think she'll be a doctor like me some day."
"It's perfect for her. We should call the middle child Caroline. You know, after my Dimensional Physics teacher back in Zion."
"I'm sure she'll love to know that she was named after a crazy old lady, even if she was a genius. Now… let's name the oldest one after your mother."
Lehane almost let out a gasp of indignation, though tears were still leaking from his eyes. So many moments that he would never have with his children. So many things he would never have the chance to do with them. But that name was one indignity that he would never inflict upon any of them. "So we can have another LL in the family? That's the worst thing we could do to her." He thought for a moment. "Let's name her after my grandmother. Let's call her Faith."
The link was silent for a moment, as she thought about it. "Faith… Okay… Faith it is."
WARP PULSE IN TEN SECONDS.
"Elisa, can you still hear me?"
"I can hear you, John!"
Lehane braced himself as the drill filled the viewscreen. In his last moment of life, he asked God and all his angels to protect his little girls as best he could, to guide them to their destinies. "I love you, Elisa. Do you hear me? I love-"
The ship went to warp.
And Commander John Lehane felt, and heard, nothing more.
Elisa watched, tears flowing down her cheeks, as the Kelvin's powerful warp nacelles suddenly flashed, driving the ship forward into a faster than light jump, slamming it into the bow of Borg Drill at Warp One. At the exact moment of impact, the ship detonated with a force of over fifty thousand giga-joules of destructive power. It was the result of the warp core, two autodestruct sequences of equal power, and every single torpedo they had all going at the same time.
The Drill's shields, capable of withstanding the crushing gravitational pull of a Black Hole, also allowed it to weather through the destruction of a starship rather well. However, the shockwave, coupled with the close proximity to the ship, was more than enough to force even the massive device backwards, driving it closer to the singularity's event horizon. And, surprisingly enough, it couldn't extract itself, thus forcing the cubes to break off their pursuit of the shuttles and rush to save it.
Which, she quickly realized, had been her husband's plan all along.
The explosion most likely caused serious damage to all of their propulsion systems, despite its size and shield strength. As a result, the Borg fleet was now trapped within the borders of this galaxy, unable to leave it. Even if they were able to get their transwarp coils online, it would take them eons to get to the Milky Way. And by then, all of the species living in it would be far too advanced for them to take on in battle. Commander John Lehane had just achieved a great victory here today. Perhaps one of the greatest ever seen. And later, she would most likely feel great pride for her now dead husband.
But now, in this moment, all Elisa felt was grief at his passing… and joy that his legacy would live on within Meredith, and the three children she had just brought into this world. She held Tru close to her, while each of the medical technicians rocked Faith and Caroline, tears rolling down their faces.
Tears that would fall every night… for the rest of her life.
For an entire generation, all was silent.
Elisa Davies returned to Earth, and decided to leave Starfleet, hoping to raise her children in peace. Unfortunately, the Timelord himself had seen the future, and knew their destinies went along different lines. So, it was with tears in her eyes that she put Faith and Caroline up for adoption, then disappeared into the United States along with her youngest daughter. Several months later, she remarried. She would have a young boy with this man. Tru would never know the truth of her parentage. None of the girls would.
When Tru was thirteen years old, Elisa was murdered by a complete stranger. That stranger would have a lasting effect on the young lady, especially as she entered college, and acquired a job as a medical examiner. There, she would learn that she possessed the same power as her mother. And, like her mother, she would decide to use it to save people, changing the course of human history forever.
Caroline would be adopted by the Farrells, raised in nurturing environment with not a care in the world, and never knowing that she had been adopted. However, like all children who grow up, she wanted to make her mark in the world, and became a human right's activist. She went to Fremont College, earning her Masters Degree in psychology and engineering. While there, she heard stories of animal experimentation. Several years later, she would try and prove it… only to learn of something even more controversial. That, and a tragic event that immediately followed, would soon put her life in the hands of an underground organization… and change her future forever.
And as for Faith… her life would prove to be the most difficult, the most tragic, of all.
Faith was also adopted, by a family that ironically had the name of Lehane as well. Unfortunately, this proved to be the worst thing to happen, as her adopted father was a cruel and vindictive man, who took a sort of sadistic pleasure taking his frustrations out on the young girl, until his arrest. Her mother, who hadn't been the most nurturing of souls to begin with, soon fell into a downward spiral of alcoholism and drug abuse, taking her anger and hatred out on the young girl.
To make matters even worse for Faith, the woman began to date a slew of men, most of which were not the most reputable of society. And when they were done with her, they went for Faith. It was a hellish existence that no kid should ever go through, and she soon ran away the moment her mother died.
But when she reached her fourteenth year, a ray of hope emerged through the darkness. A kind young woman picked her up from school one day, and decided to take her away from it all. Faith didn't immediately trust her, but the woman was patient, and soon earned that trust.
Then she was told about Earth's greatest kept secret; that the Vampires, the demons, and other supernatural forces of darkness existed, and that it would soon be her job to fight them. The kind woman, who she eventually knew as her Watcher, promised to fight by her side through thick and thin, to care for her as no one else had.
And so she had. Faith soon trusted her with her life, seeing her as the only family she would ever need.
Of course, the Guardians and the Gods themselves recalled what happened to Faith on the day her Watcher was killed, and all of the wrong decisions she made in the aftermath of that tragedy. They also recalled how, through the urgings of possibly the only person who could truly understand her pain, she turned away from the darkness, and became a legend. And of course, the meeting, and volatile relationship between their two Chosen Ones would soon turn into one of the most defining friendships that either would ever have.
After that, everything changed. The Vampire Slayer, once only one, then two, had finally become a true power in the world, emerging into thousands. A new era was born out of necessity.
By the Balance's own laws, the three sisters would forever remain unaware of each other for the rest of their lives, protected by autonomy and family. Unfortunately, the Balance is no longer stable. Events from across the Protectorate have shaken destiny to its very core, forcing the Timelord to break his own rules.
And further more, the Borg hadn't been destroyed. They had only been delayed.
Their coming, in this uncertain time… was only inevitable.
Well, here it is. The Prologue for a brand new adventure. Hopefully, you'll all like it. It is basically a parody to the opening scene for the latest Star Trek movie, with only one different scene.
As you're no doubt figuring out, this is a Tru Calling/ Dollhouse/ BtVS crossover. I got the general idea of Faith being related to one or the other from various fanfictions on Fanfiction. Net, and I couldn't help but notice that there hadn't been one where all three were there. This is not a total rewriting of their mythologies. I will be working within the framework of what has already been set up.
Finally, I am a fan of Dollhouse, and am sorry to see that it has been cancelled. Then again, it was up against television juggernauts like WWE's Friday Night Smackdown. I am a fan of Buffy, and wished that Faith had been more of a regular. And I have also seen several episodes of Tru Calling, and was impressed by the storytelling. In short, Dollhouse and Tru Calling were simply not given the time to grow beyond their first few seasons. Even Star Trek: TNG had several growing seasons before it hit its stride. Hopefully, both series will live on in Fanfiction. Due to their being canceled, there's a lot of their story not yet told.