Penumbra
The hunt begins.
I first locate the prey near a trinary pulsar cluster located in the area of the Fourth Day of Zar's Great Hunt. I expected to find them here. Their kind values knowledge of their environment above all else.
They do not know I am coming.
When I hunted the extradimensional beast, I encountered the vessel's captain. She is cunning, and refuses to act against her kind's codes of honour even in the face of extreme danger. But she is not my prey.
I configure my engine output as Varon the Relentless did when he stalked the Void Kraken. The prey is oblivious to my approach. The have sent probes into the stellar cluster and are engrossed in the data.
My plan requires precise timing. It would be much less difficult with a competent beta. But Vurond was killed during my last hunt. And while I could have had my choice of skilled young warriors, the time was not right for me to take on a new beta.
For this hunt, I did not need one.
I approach the prey. I wait for the moment when my transporters are in range. Then I transport the antimatter mines.
A moment later I see the explosions engulf the lower side of the ship's saucer section. They are alert now. They power their weapons, struggle to regain their shielding.
I choose a weapon from my arsenal. First I take Feza-tal, and set its transport destination point to my ship. Then I take Ivintai, one of my newest disruptor rifles whose yield is strong enough to cut through a bulkhead of the ship, and whose attached blade allows for the quick taking of trophies.
The transport is made. I am now aboard Voyager. I stand in a dimly lit corridor. Dull red lights flash along the bulkheads, and the ship is wracked by tremors as their EPS manifolds continue to rupture.
There is movement and I react. I fire Ivintai. With one shot, I make the kill as the creature comes around the corner of a corridor perpendicular to the one I am in. It was one of their crew. Its uniform is black and yellow, and its skin is blue. I have not seen this species before. If it was on this ship, it may be the only one of its kind in this quadrant.
A fine trophy.
I step quickly to the body. It has been obliterated from the waist down, and the bulkheads are stained blue with its blood. With Ivintai's bayonet I cut through the neck with one stroke. I take the head and affix it to the front of my armour.
A door slides open and I move back around the corner. Another one of the crew is approaching.
He: Hirogen intruder! Put down your weapon.
I recognize his voice. He is their chief of security. I have encountered him before. He has overcome his emotions and seeks to live according to pure logic. He is not to be underestimated.
He: This is your last warning.
I know he is waiting around the corner, weighing his options. He will be aware that if he can contain my movements, reinforcements will arrive. But he has seen his crewmate, and knows that if he had been more vigilant, this one might not be dead. He must be struggling with the urge to try to take me down himself.
But I am not here to make kills. I configure Feza-tal and fire a probe which emits a spherical forcefield. It attaches to the bulkhead at the end of the corridor, blocking the intersection and containing the creature for a time.
Feza-tal detects Borg biosigns. The prey is close by, as I suspected. I fire Ivintai and a bulkhead gives way. I step through the wreckage.
I face the prey.
She stands before a large star chart. She is unarmed, but there is no fear in her eyes.
The prey: Explain your presence.
I: I come because of the hunt.
I point the barrel of Feza-tal and fire. The transporter beacon attaches to her silver garment and she dematerializes. I activate the transporter device on my gauntlet.
As my surroundings begin to dissolve, I see the door to the laboratory open. The captain is there, holding a rifle, her chief of security beside her. I look into her eyes for only a short moment, but it is enough for me to know: as long as I have this prey, she will not rest. She will hunt me relentlessly.
As I anticipated.
We are back on my ship. My prey is moving toward my armoury. I train Ivintai on her, and she stops.
The prey: Send me back to Voyager. Now.
Keeping Ivintai pointed at her, I enter a course and activate my warp engines, leaving the damaged vessel adrift.
The prey: Captain Janeway will come for me. Voyager is tactically superior to your vessel.
I: Their engines are disabled. It will be many hours before they are back online.
The prey steps toward me, her eyes narrowed, unafraid of my weapon.
The prey: I recognize you. I assisted you in capturing a member of Species 8472.
I: A great kill.
The prey sees the severed head of its crewmate on my armour. She shows no emotion.
The prey: You plan to kill me.
I: No.
The prey: Then why have you taken me?
I: For the hunt. You will join me. I have need of your abilities.
The prey raises an eyebrow.
The prey: If I refuse?
I: Then I will kill you.
The prey: The Hirogen hunt sentient beings for sport. I will not comply.
I: In time you will reconsider.
I take a pair of shackles from the wall and approach her. She draws back.
I: You die now. Or you die later. Make your choice.
She relents, and I bind her hands and chain them to a grated wall. Then I return to the navigation console.
Seven of Nine: Where are you taking me?
I: A region of space called the Penumbra. A barren waste on the edge of Borg territory, full of desperate species. There we will gather what we need for the final stage of the hunt.
Seven of Nine: And your prey?
I examine her expression.
I: You know my prey. There is only one reason why I would have taken you. I hunt the most dangerous and coveted prey in this quadrant.
Seven of Nine considers this.
Seven of Nine: You are hunting a Borg Queen.
I: The ultimate prize.
Seven of Nine: And you require my expertise with Borg technology.
I: More than that. For prey such as this, I must understand its behaviour. Its mind.
Seven of Nine: Your efforts will fail. We will both be assimilated.
I: We shall see.