Mid-Rim
Chommell Sector
Republic Star Destroyer Resolute
Bridge
"With the Gungans putting pressure on the queen to remove Naboo from the war Senator Amidala was asked to speak with them." The holographic image of Mace Windu stated.
"Did she have any escort?" Anakin aside.
"The Senate insisted but she refused." Anakin's former Jedi Master and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi stated.
'Of course she did.' Anakin thought with frustration.
"As far as we can tell her ship was not destroyed and there has been no distress signal but we are looking into it now." Mace Windu stated.
"We can be there in no time." Anakin stated.
"No, Skywalker. We need your fleet to hold off a possible Separatist attempt to capture Sullust." Mace said. "We need you to defend them. We'll send Master Shaak Ti to look into it. Her healing skills will be useful if the Senator is injured."
Anakin wanted to argue but he couldn't with Ob-Wan and Ahsoka watching so he simply nodded. "Yes Master."
Obi-Wan shared a look with Anakin and nodded before the transmission ended.
"Don't worry, Master. I'm sure Padme's fine." Ahsoka said once they were alone.
"I know but-"
"Sir, we're detecting something up ahead. We can't tell what it is." A sensor officer reported, interrupting the discussion.
"Separatists?" Anakin asked, turning around.
"No…It's not like anything I've ever seen." The office replied, his eyebrows furrowing as he attempted to adjust his scanners. "It's…"
He didn't have to finish his sentence as the space in front of the fleet exploded in a blast of light, resembling a tear.
"Master…" Ahsoka trailed off, stunned by what she was seeing. "What is…"
"I don't know." Anakin answered Ahsoka's unfinished question. "It looks like hyperspace but I've never seen anything like this before."
Out of it came a giant ship, a black cube with strange green lights that slowly moved out of the hole as it closed up. The ship had no engines, bridge, or anything that was regularly seen any of starship in the galaxy.
"I've never seen a ship like that before." Ahsoka said, feeling nervous for some reason.
"Neither have I." Anakin turned and walked back towards a table that was projecting a holographic image of the ship. "Open a channel. Let's see if whoever onboard feels like talking."
No one noticed it but Anakin suddenly felt a great disturbance upon seeing that ship, a sense of emptiness that he had never felt before.
"Opening a channel now sir."
Inside the cube, systems had powered down due to the fact that the ship had been shunted through space and time, causing minor damage and power loss.
Seventy percent power loss
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Adjusting remaining energy generators
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Activating emergence power systems
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Minor damage, regenerative sequence initiated.
The crew moved as one, restoring systems and repairing minor damages while working to discover their current location.
Star formations do not match database
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No response to subspace transmission from the Collective
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No trace of transwarp network detected
If it wasn't connected with the transwarp network anymore that meant it was no longer in its home galaxy. However instead of panicking the crew reacted with cold indifference as they continued to scan the surrounding space.
"Attention unknown ship, this is General Anakin Skywalker of the Republic flagship Resolute. Identify yourselves."
The Collective stopped, hearing a voice on the subspace channel and detected four ships of unknown origin slowly approaching. The universal translator instantly picked up the language known as 'English' being used by the speaker designated Anakin Skywalker. An instant scan confirmed they did not match any known vessels but a more detailed scan was warranted.
Vessels do not match any design in Collective database.
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Initiating Polaron Scan
The cube released a green light on the ship called the Resolute, scanning it down to the last bolt.
"What's it doing?" Ahsoka asked in alarm as the bridge was bathed in a green light. "Are they attacking us?"
"It's some kind of high energy beam but it's not harming us…I think it's scanning us." The scanning clone officer reported.
"Shields up. I don't like the way they are acting." Anakin said, scowling in apprehension.
He reached out with the Force, sensing that the ship he was staring at was in some strange way…alive and yet at the same time it wasn't. He couldn't sense the Light Side or the Dark Side or even any kind of emotion on the strange ship. It felt alive but he couldn't feel the Force flowing from that ship, as if they were somehow shielded from the Force which was something no one had considered to be possible.
All he sensed was a strange emptiness but it had a purpose, a cold unfeeling purpose while at the same time was almost a literal void in the Force.
Ship Class Unknown
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Specification Not In Collective Database
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Length: 1, 137 Meters
Width: 548 Meters
Height: 268 Meters
Engine Units: Primitive Ion Engines Using Unknown Fuel Source
Power System: Unknown But Matches Fusion Reactor Technology Using Tachyonic Matter in a Similar Pattern to Federation Warp Cores
Armament: Multiple High Energy Plasma Laser Hybrid Weaponry Varying In Size And Multiple Torpedo Launchers With Baryon Based Warhead, Proton Detonator, Six Tractor Beam Projectors And Two Types of Primitive Shielding Systems Detected
Life Signs: Over Seven Thousand Humanoid Life Signs Detected
Additional Information: Detecting Multiple Smaller Armed Aerial And Ground Vehicle Unknown Class Ships
Final Analysis: Information Needed On New Galaxy
Prepare Boarding Party
Assimilate Crew And Access Databanks
All Species In This New Galaxy Will Become One With The Borg
"They've stopped scanning us." The sensor clone reported.
"Guess they learned whatever they wanted to know." Ahsoka commented but she still felt on edge like her Master.
"General, the ship is replying. Audio only." The clone at the communication station reported.
What happened next was unexpected as the speakers on the bridge and on the entire ship broadcasted no one voice but what sounded like thousands of voices speaking in unison. "We are the Borg. You will lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."
Anakin frowned as he shared a concern look with Ahsoka and Yularen before opening a channel. "If you open fire on us you will be threatening war with the Galactic Republic and that is something you do not want."
"War is irrelevant. Resistance is futile." The Borg replied, not at all threatened by Anakin trying to force them to back down. "You will comply."
"No, we won't. Commander, ready our forward cannons and target that ship." Anakin said, closing the channel. "Send a message back to Coruscant and inform the Jedi Council we have engaged a new enemy." Anakin didn't realize what was about to happen but the galaxy was about to be changed forever. "Open fire."
The gunners quickly carried out Anakin's orders and the four Republic capital ships opened fire, their turbolasers spitting blue energy bolts at the Borg Cube and blasting away portions of the giant ship that remained stationary, refusing to fight back despite its threat.
Enemy Vessels Firing High Energy Plasma Weapons With Powerful Kinetic Impact
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Adapting Shields And Modifying Internal Dampening Fields To Adjust For Kinetic Force
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Regeneration Commencing
The four Venator Class Star Destroyers continued to attack but slowly the attacks became less effective against the Borg Cube and soon enough they simply exploded harmlessly against the surface of the Cube.
"How damaged is that ship?" Anakin asked, watching through the bridge windows with Ahsoka and Yularen.
"We've inflicted enough fire power to destroy a Separatist Dreadnaught but the bloody thing is still standing. At first we were damaging it but it no longer seems like we're inflicting any damage." The Sensor Clone reported.
"How can that be possible? No ship could stand up to a barrage like this." Yularen stated.
"Prepare a squadron of bombers and tell them to fire their ion cannons." Anakin said, staring at the Cube as it simply hung before the Republic ships, ignoring their attacks.
Minutes after Anakin gave the order the front of the Republic ships opened, allowing yellow painted fighters with Y-shaped hulls launched from the hanger and moved in attack formation towards the Borg ship, firing cerulean bolts which impact the Cube and sending electrical discharges along the hull. The Y-wing class bombers had come out of production early in the Clone Wars and had proven themselves well, being used by both Clones and Jedi. They were well armored and shielded while fast and maneuverable and armed with ion cannons to disable enemy ships and proton torpedoes to damage or destroy enemy installations. The Y-Wings flew in attack formation around the Cube, firing their torpedoes and ion cannons that left scorched marks and electrical discharged across the hull as the fighters continued their attack.
Warning
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New Weapon Signature Detected
Scanning
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Ionized Particle Weapon Disrupting Power Distribution Systems
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Adapting Shields
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Diverting Power To Compensate
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Lock Weapons On Smaller Vessels
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Prepare Boarding Parties
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Locate Computer Core
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Preparing to Extract Sample of Republic Ship
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Assimilate Any Lifeforms Onboard
The Borg Cube targeted the fighters as they made their strafing run and lashed out with plasma beams that moved along the surface of the Cube, hitting and destroying the incoming fighters with amazing and terrifying pin-point accuracy. The fighters split apart to try and save themselves, retreating back to their ships as the Cube continued to fire on them.
"Sir, our fighters are being decimated." The sensor clone reported.
"Did their ion cannons have any effect?" Anakin narrowed his eyes at the Cube that had destroyed so many of his fighters in only a few seconds.
"They did. We read power fluctuations for a second." The officer reported.
"That must be why they started attacking the fighters. They ignored us attacking them up until now." Yularen mused.
"But what do we do now?" Ahsoka asked, now concerned with the battle and how bad it was seemingly going.
"We know they had an effect which means we'll have to be careful now." Anakin's mind was on overdrive as he started thinking of a plan.
"GENERAL!" The clone technician shouted. "Something's happening!"
The Borg Cube activated its tractor beam on a nearby Venator Star Destroyer and lashed out with a powerful beam that sliced into the hull of the ship, cutting out a circular piece of the hull and pulled it into the Cube.
"It cut out a piece of the Republic Dream!" Ahsoka cried out in shock.
"We can't let this go on. Commander, prepare-"
"Sirs! Intruder Alert!" A clone technician shouted. "We're getting reports of intruders that are…literally appearing out of nowhere. I'm getting the same report in the hangar, engineering, and the weapon controls."
Anakin and Ahsoka were suddenly overwhelmed the same feeling of emptiness that they had sensed from the Cube. They were brought out of their thoughts as a green light appeared in the center of the bridge, revealing a strange humanoid that looked heavily cybernetic. Its skin was blotched pale, half its face covered by cybernetic implants, a machine like arm and multiple wires and strange devices covering its body from head to toe.
"WHAT THE-" Someone said Anakin and Ahsoka pulled and activated their lightsabers while the clone guards pulled out their blasters.
The intruder ignored the blasters pointed at it and looked around the bridge, moving to a nearby console on the wall.
"Halt! Stay where you are!" A clone trooper shouted, aiming his rifle at the intruder but he was ignored.
As the intruder moved to access the console the clone trooper fired, sending a blue bolt of energy and plasma that hit the intruder in the back. It's back sparked as it fell over, small gearing sounds were heard as the cyborg seemingly died.
"Is it dead?" Ahsoka asked as the clone trooper slowly approached the body and looked it over, checking its pulse.
"It's dead, sir." The clone trooper answered.
"At least we now know we can hurt them but how did it appear like that?" Yularen asked. "Did it…teleport itself onboard?"
Anakin was silent but he thought over what Yularen had said. The intruder had appeared out of nowhere in a flash of green light meaning it was possible that it had teleported onto the Resolute and that would explain the other intruder sightings. No such technology had ever been invented even though a few scientists had invested interests in creating matter transporters.
"What do we do, General?" Rex asked.
"We locate the other intruders onboard and stop them. Get the other ships on the comm and keep them on the line. We have to stop them before they take over the entire fleet." Anakin quickly said. "Rex, get everyone moving. We're stopping them here and now."
"Yes sir." Rex nodded.
The clone troopers responded with quick reflexes that had been trained into them as they fired on the invading Borg drones in the ship, taking out a few in the first few minutes of the fighting before the Borg adapted to their blasters and their shields began shrugging off blaster bolts. A clone pulled out Z-9 cannon and pulled the trigger, letting loose a fire storm of blue plasma bolts that hit the Borg drones marching across the hangar deck that knocked more than a few of them down. The kinetic force of the cannon was enough to momentarily stop the Borg advancements as the shields did not take into account of heavy kinetic resistance. However the Borg continued to appear out of the green transporter energy as they attempted to overwhelm the clone troopers.
As for Anakin and Ahsoka they moved with their own group of responding clone troopers through the Resolute, their lightsabers slashing through any Borg drones that they came upon. As they moved through the ship, the Borg drones analyzed Anakin and Ahsoka's lightsabers, attempting to adapt their shields to the unique weapons.
Analyzing Unknown Weapons
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Pure plasma Contained In Magnetic Field
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Power System Unknown
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Further Scan Required
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Adjusting Shields To Compensate For Plasma Heat And Kinetic Force
"Rex, bring out the droid poppers." Anakin shouted as he slashed another drone down.
"Right!" Rex nodded.
Droid poppers, short for Electro-Magnetic Pulse Generator was an anti-droid weapon used by the Republic against battle droids, releasing a blast of electrical energy that damaged or disabled electronic systems. In this case it was effective against incoming Borg drones that were instantly disabled instantly by the EMP pulse.
New Weapon Detected
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Electro-Magnetic Pulse Capable of Disabling Drone Units
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Adapting Shields
The Borg continued on, their collective already adapting their shields to block the effect of the droid poppers as Ahsoka slashed at another drone, only for her lightsaber to be blocked by the drone's shields.
"Huh?!" Ahsoka gasped as her lightsaber bounced off the drone.
She stepped back as the Force screamed at her to move and jumped back as the drone tried to grab her. She was not the only one as Anakin slashed another and spotted five Borg drones approaching him. He raised his lightsaber and slashed at the nearest drone but the drone's shields blocked his lightsaber. The drone tried to grab him but Anakin raised his hand and blasted the drones back with the Force.
"They keep coming, General." Rex continued to shoot at the drones, even though his twin pistols were not having much effect anymore.
Anakin thrust out his hands, releasing a Force blast that knocked the remaining drones back into the walls. The drones instantly disintegrated in a flash of green light.
Warning
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Unknown Form of Attack Used By Humanoid Species
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Scanning for all Possible Energy Connected With Psionic Abilities
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Further Study Required
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Data Link With Database Established
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Downloading Navigational Data
Downloading Available Species Data
Downloading Communication Logs
Downloading FTL Drive Specifications
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Scanning For Suitable System to Construct Unimatrix Zero-One
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Warning
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Detecting Multiple Ships Approaching
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Method of FTL Similar to Quantum Slipstream Drive Used By Species 116
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Detecting Weapon Emplacements Similar to Republic Vessels
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Prepare For Hostilities
"I think we got them all General." Rex said once the drones were all gone.
"For now. These things are like their ship." Anakin said. "You can hurt them for a moment but they'll just…adapt to everything that is used against them."
"Adapt?" Ahsoka asked, walking up to her master.
"I sensed it through the Force. Whatever these Borg are they are not from this galaxy. I can't feel the Force in them. I couldn't even sense single individual thought. These Borg are perhaps millions of beings held together by a single will, some kind of collective consciousness." Anakin tried to explain what he had felt.
"A hive mind?" Ahsoka asked.
"Yes, unlike anything I've ever sensed before." Anakin nodded. "Back to the bridge. I need to contact the Jedi Council."
He remembered sensing something powerful controlling all of the minds that were part of the Collective as he tried to delve in, only to be rebuffed. He saw enough to know what they wanted.
Assimilation of all biological life and advanced technologies.
Absolute Order.
Evolution.
Resistance is futile.
They would adapt to almost any form of weapons except one thing: the Force.
The Force could repel them but that wouldn't be enough for the Borg ship that continued to attack the fleet. They needed a strategy to stop the Borg before they destroyed the fleet. If only there was a way to stop the Collective…
"General! We're detecting a Separatist fleet coming out of hyperspace. They're on an intercept course." A clone officer reported.
"I see them." Anakin narrowed his eyes as he saw the enemy ships.
It was a classic invasion force, consisting of four Munificent class frigates, two Recusant class ships, three Lucrehulk class battleships, and a Providence class dreadnaught that was leading the fleet.
"General, multiple enemy ships coming in at multiple vectors. They're closing in on us and the Borg ship." The tactical officer reported.
"Pull us back. We can't fight both." Anakin said quickly.
Separatist Fleet
Confederate Providence Class Destroyer - Invisible Hand
Bridge
"General, the Republic Fleet is just ahead." The Command Battle Droid reported.
"Launch fighters and direct all power to the forward deflectors." The Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies and killer of many Jedi General Grievous narrowed his eyes at the sight of the Borg ship. "Identify that ship."
"Unknown, General." The droid reported before the Borg cube swept across the Separatist fleet with another polaron scanning beam. "General, we're being scanned and hailed."
From the speakers came the voice, or rather voices of endless individuals speaking as one. "We are the Borg. Life as you know it as ended. You will escort us to your point of origin. From this point on you will service us. Resistance is futile."
"Target the cube and blow it out of the sky!" Grievous growled.
Vulture Droids and Hyena Bombers launched at the Borg Cube while the Separatist ships opened fire on the massive ship. The Borg Cube seemed distracted by the sudden appearance of the new enemy but responded by scanning the fleet and then came to a decision on what to do. Tractor beams lashed out, grabbing the Vulture Droids and the Hyena Bombers, pulling them into the Cube's docking hangar that opened themselves up to receive their new guests.
"Why are they capturing those droids?" Ahsoka wondered.
"I'm not sure." Anakin frowned as his mind went to work, looking for ways to stop the Borg.
Then it hit him.
"Everyone prepare to abandon ship. I'll be down in engineering. Tell the rest of the fleet to pull back and wait for my signal."
Fighter Class Ships Scanned
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Non-Organic Craft Piloted by Primitive AI
Positronic Network Not Detected
Limited Intelligence
Non-Learning Capabilities
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Adjusting Weapons
"Why aren't our weapons working?" Grievous demanded, glaring at the giant cub that was taking a full attack from the fleet but refused to explode.
"Our weapons are at full power, General." The Command droid reported. "I don't know why they're not working."
"Of course not." Grievous shook his head. "Full scan. I want to know what that ship is."
By this point the Borg had enough of being attacked on all sides and decided it had all it needed from the Republic and Separatist ships. It lashed out with a plasma beam that slammed into one of the Munificent class frigates, slamming through the hull and hit the main reactor which set off an instant chain reaction.
"All forward cannons fire! Divert all power to the cannons!" Grievous roared at how one of his ships was destroyed instantly and the Borg made look as easy as swatting a fly.
The Separatist ships intensified their fire power, slowly breaking through the Borg ship's hull as the adaptive shields were not designed to withstand all those attacks under a prolonged amount of time. The cube fired a gravimetric torpedo that hit the bridge of a Recusant crippling it instantly.
"Spread the fleet out. Attack from all angles." Grievous said, quickly looking for any weaknesses in the unknown enemy's ship.
"General, the Borg ship is attacking the Separatist fleet. The Separatists are being pushed back but they are holding their ground."
"Well, remind me to thank whoever's commanding the fleet, even if it's Grievous or Dooku." Anakin said as his trusty astromech droid, R2-D2 inputted the final commands. "Are we ready R2?"
R2 beeped in reply.
"Good. Let's go." Anakin said, rushing towards the hangar deck with R2 right behind him.
It was time to show the Borg that the Republic wouldn't take defeat lying down.
Republic Ship Approaching
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Warning: Vessel On Collision Course
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Engine Core Building Up Power To Critical Levels
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Diverting Power to Transporters
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Prepare to Launch Emergency Escape Vehicle
The Resolute slowly moved towards the Borg Cube as the Separatists continued their attack. Just as Anakin's fighter launched the ship's hyper drive engaged and propelled the ship right into the Borg Cube, causing a massive explosion that engulfed the two ships.
"Any sign of my Master's ship?" Ahsoka asked once she and Yularen were on the bridge of the Protector.
"He launched just as the as the Resolute rammed the Borg ship." The clone at the scanning station answered.
"Look." Rex pointed at the flash from the explosion faded.
The Borg Cube had been completely destroyed by the impact of the ship. The Borg had anticipated Anakin's plan to ram their ship but they had not had enough time to properly adjust their shields as the added power from the hyper drive as it activated blasted through the hull with the increased kinetic force had completely devastated the cube.
"He did it." One of the clones said with a triumphant smile.
"Yes but we still have work to do. First let's pick up General Skywalker. There is still a Separatist fleet in the vicinity." Yularen spoke up, remaining focused.
"Yes sir."
"The ship has been destroyed, General." The pilot droid reported.
"Yes. These Jedi obviously have some common sense." Grievous commented, looking at the Republic fleet as it pulled back with the remaining fighters in a defensive formation.
"Shall we attack?"
"No. We must inform Count Dooku of these…Borg." Grievous answered, looking at the remains of the Borg Cube.
A ship powerful enough to fend off both a Republic and Separatist fleet was something Count Dooku would need to know immediately.
"Set course for Serenno. I will deliver my report myself." Grievous sat back in his chair.
"Roger, roger."
"We're pulling General Skywalker's pod in sir."
"Good." Yularen nodded, keeping an eye on the Separatist fleet that remained stationary. "Keep our forward shield at full power and all weapons trained on the Separatists."
"Yes sir."
"Admiral, the Separatist Fleet is pulling back."
The clone was right as everyone on the bridge could see the CIS fleet pulling back to re-enter hyperspace.
"Wonder why they are running." A clone mused.
"There is no time to wonder. We must retreat." Yularen said, not in the mood for guessing.
"Yes sir."
Both fleets moved away from the debris field that was once the giant cube, too tired to face each other in combat. As the ships moved back and prepared to enter hyperspace no one noticed the sphere that moved quietly through the debris, using it as cover to avoid detection. The Borg continued their work, now safe behind the assumption that they had been destroyed.
Objective Successful
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Powering down All Non-Essential Systems to Avoid Detection
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Transporting Drones to all Command Ships in Range
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Begin Assimilation
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Access Navigational Database
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Locate Suitable System for Construction of Unimatrix
Republic Star Destroyer Defender
Engine Room
A clone technician opened the door to the engine room to run a diagnostic on the main reactor and check it for damage from the battle. "Engineering, report."
There was no answer.
He looked around, seeing only a dark room with no signs of life.
"Report!" The technician looked around. "Hello."
Something answered as multiple red lights flashed in the dark as the multiple humanoids came out of the dark.
The clone technician made one final scream before a drone grabbed him and raised its other hand to his neck, releasing two tubes that injected something into his skin.
Confederacy Providence Class Destroyer- Invisible Hand
Engine Room
"General Grievous wants us back at Serenno now." An engineer droid said as they worked on repairing the coolant systems for the engines of the Invisible Hand.
"We can't move any faster." Another droid complained.
"Tell that to the General."
"No thanks."
It was well known what happened to droids who questioned General Grievous.
"Now let's hurry up and-GAH"
The droid was cut off as a hand grabbed its shoulder and pulled it back. The droids looked up, spotting cybernetic humanoids appearing out of nowhere.
"What the-" A droid was cut off as a Borg drone grabbed it and injected nano-probes into its body.
The rest of the droids didn't have a chance as they were either destroyed or assimilated. The Borg and their new drones moved, assimilating anyone in their way and extracting all valuable information from the databanks and the minds of the new drones.
Transportation Successful
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Beginning Assimilation Process
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Downloading Data Files
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Selecting Planets For Suitable Assimilation:
Serenno
Naboo
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High Priority Planets:
Coruscant
Raxis
Kamino
Kashyyyk
Geonosis
Cato Nemodia
Mygeeto
Alderaan
Fondor
Foerost
Anaxes
Kuat
Muunilist
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Targeted for Assimilation Once Collective Gains Adequate Number of Drones
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Detecting Primitive Bio-Device Implanted In Clone Drones
Bio-Device Programming Limits Aggression And Ability To Defy Commands
Programming Contains One Hundred Fifty Protocols
Analyzing Data
Programming Suggests Clones Modified For Unknown Reasons
Probable Programmer: Data Suggests Clones Comply To Orders Of Supreme Chancellor Of Galactic Republic Designated Sheev Palpatine
Final Analysis: More Data Needed For Conclusion
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All Will Become One With The Borg
Former Romulan Neutral Zone Boarder
Unknown Ship
The first thing Captain Malcolm noticed as he was beamed onto the bridge of the mysterious ship with Lieutenant Rako, Surla and the Friedrich's Chief Engineer a Saurian named Kolez was that it was different from most known ships. Rako had his tricorder out and scanned the hallway which was dark with lights flickering and sparks flying out of exposed and damaged panels.
"No life signs in this area Captain." Rako said as he adjusted his tricorder. "But there is some heavy interference, possibly from the wormhole the ship came from."
"That limits our search ability." Surla stated grimly, holding a phaser rifle that was brought for safety precautions.
The crew was all armed with phaser rifles or simple hand phasers with personal shield generators attached to their belts for better protection against any kind of possible assault.
"We'll have to split up then. Rako, you help Kolez find the engineering and assess if we can help the crew repair this ship. Surla, you're with me. We'll find the bridge."
"The scans located the engineering to be close to the center of the ship. The bridge was located on the forward tower." Kolez said before moving down the hall with Rako.
Malcolm and Surla moved down the halls, noting the differences on this ship from any many known starship designs. It had turbolifts but they only moved up or down unlike the turbolifts used on Federation ships. The walls were gray and the doors were circular while being heavily armored for various possible reasons.
"Captain, if we continue down this corridor we'll come upon the bridge." Surla said, looking at the readings on her tricorder.
"Any life readings?" Malcolm asked as they moved in the direction of the bridge.
"Negative."
Malcolm frowned. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."
Unknown Ship
Near Engineering
As Malcolm and Surla moved towards the bridge followed the same tactic of using their tricorders to find the engineering section of the ship.
"I don't recognize what kind of engine they have but it is similar to a fusion reactor that occupies more than half the interior." Rako said, following the tricorder's directions.
"I've never heard of a fusion reactor powering a ship this size. What kind of fuel does it use?" Kolez asked curiously.
"Unknown but I know it's tachyonic in matter." Rako answered.
"A fusion engine using tachyonic matter? That's something I've never heard of before." Kolez admitted, now interested.
"You're right. Almost all known ships use anti-matter, plasma, quantum singularities, fusion or even nuclear reactors but I've never heard of tachyonic matter used as a power source." Rako stopped as they came upon a set of circular doors that opened up to reveal a large room with giant pillars lined up that, reaching from the ground and up into the ceiling with a console in the center at the top floor of the chamber. "I believe this is the engine room."
Kolez took out his tricorder and examined the chamber. "It is and it's pumping the fuel into the engines still. The tachyonic matter is being annihilated in a manner similar to a matter-antimatter reaction."
"Wow. So instead of anti-matter they somehow extracted tachyon matter and confined in these reactors, and then annihilated it which released large amounts of energy from what the tricorder reads. Of course they'd have to store a lot of this since I'm not detecting any backup or alternate power sources, not even a micro-fusion reactor." Rako said in fascination as he looked around and saw a stair set leading up to the ramp that would lead to what he assumed was the core console. "One way to truly find out."
Kolez nodded as he followed Rako up the stairs and towards the console. "There was no evidence that they used warp drive so they must have an alternate method of traveling faster than light."
Unknown Ship
Bridge Tower
As they started to familiarize themselves with the systems in the engine room Malcolm and Surla arrived at the bridge, the circular doors opening automatically and allowing them to walk in and look around. The bridge was sparse compared to the bridge of most starships the two had encountered with only a few terminals on multiple levels risking up to what looked like the command station in a pyramid like fashion. The bridge was empty except for what looked like robots at each station, all of them damaged. They were thin and skinny with a light brown colored exo-skeleton, skeletal like hands, only two fingers and thumb and their heads resembled an elongated skull with black eyes painted on them.
"They're robots." Malcolm said as he walked up to what he assumed was the command chair and noticed the same kind of robot with yellow markings sitting in it, its 'head' bent at an angle that suggested it had was damaged. "The crew must be made of machines."
"That is odd." Surla commented as she ran a tricorder over a 'dead' crewmember. "The pack contains a battery with electromagnets keeping their limbs attached to the torso and a transmitter in their heads. It possibly allows them to receive signals, like a Borg drone communicating with the Collective."
"I hope it's not too much like the Collective." Malcolm muttered as he looked around the bridge. "This explains why there were no life forms."
"Why make an entire crew of artificial life forms? Could their creators have some kind of physical deficiency?" Surla wondered as she walked over to a nearby console. "I will try to access the command console."
The computers were different from the ones on a Starfleet vessel, having a combination of old fashioned keyboards in a language Surla did not understand with advanced touch pad screens. She touched the screen, frowning as she tried to understand the language before hooking her tricorder up to the screen and ran a universal translator program.
"I'm receiving data now, Captain. The universal translator is working to decode the language this crew used…" Surla frowned as the program moved faster than anticipated. "That was quick. The universal translator deciphered the language faster than I thought."
"What does it say?" Malcolm asked as he walked over.
"Well, according to this data this ship was the C.S.S. Winds of Mygeeto, a Munificent Class Star-Frigate crewed solely by….Battle droids?" Surla said, sounding puzzled at the end. "That could be what they call androids used to fight."
"Any idea what they were doing?" Malcolm asked, looking at the console.
"Several logs states that the Winds of Mygeeto was assigned to a…Confederate fleet assigned to protect the Republic planet Naboo…Captain, the coordinates for this planet are in the Beta Quadrant, almost in the exact position of New Romulus." Surla said upon seeing the coordinates of the planet.
"Sounds like there's a war going on. Can you tell me what this…Confederate fleet is?" Malcolm asked.
"The ship belongs to...The Confederacy of Independent Systems and…It's territories are split with multiple systems across the galaxy in the Delta, Gamma and the Beta Quadrants, in areas of space previously claimed by the Borg, the Romulans, the Dominion, and even the Federation." Surla said, surprised and curious by what she was seeing. "Captain, I don't believe this ship is from our home galaxy."
"A ship from another galaxy?" Malcolm looked at Surla. "This is unexpected but it explains the radical difference from regular ship designs."
"There is more, Captain. The Galactic Republic, it's a galactic power spanning a thousand star systems that is currently in conflict with the Confederacy."
"A galactic government? That's something not even the Dominion can claim to be." Malcolm stated.
It was well known that the galaxy's largest known powers were the Federation in the Alpha Quadrant, the Klingons and the Romulans in the Beta Quadrant, the Borg in the Delta Quadrant, and the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant.
"Yes sir. There's not much else in the databanks. No history files, no scanning data to how they arrived or how they could get back if they survived. I do not believe they designed these ships to have any form of data other than tactical data on this war." Surla suggested.
"Even the Klingons had logs dating back throughout their history. And were these 'droids' the only crewmembers?" Malcolm looked across the bridge. "This ship is too big for a crew this small to operate unless they had it fully automated."
"I'm going through the logs now sir. The ship was assigned to hunt down the Senator of Naboo but something happened. The logs don't state much of what happened but the ship tried to capture the Senator's ship that was apparently trying to escape but something happened. The crew recorded a strange energy signature before they were pulled into some sort anomaly." Surla finished with slightly widened eyes.
"It's possible." Malcolm conceded. "Of course we have no proof of what happened since we have no idea what really happened or is happening at wherever this ship came from."
"Actually Captain, there's something else." An image of the ship appeared on the screen Surla's tricorder was an image of the ship with a section of it flashing red. "I think I've located the rest of the crew. They're deactivated and stored in this section."
"Deactivated?" Malcolm raised one eyebrow. "So a small crew operates the ship while the rest is put into storage, a standby mode. Can we reactivate them?"
"I believe so but is this a wise course of action?" Surla questioned.
"We don't really have much of a choice. If we do nothing this ship will simply float through uncharted space and they'll never get back to their home galaxy. It'd be cruel to leave them helpless like this but since they were involved in a war a little caution is warranted. How much of them can we reactivate?" Kurt looked at the screen, showing an image of the same 'droid' as the ones on the bridge.
"This system is set to activate all of them. I don't think it was to control how much are reactivated." Surla said, looking through the data scans. "This ship has a transmitter that activates all droids in transmitting range. Possibly a way to activate or deactivate them as quickly as possible without complicating measures."
"So it's either keep them deactivated or reactivate them all." Malcolm closed his as he sighed before opening them again. "I'll meet up with Rako and Kolez and we'll meet up where the droids are being stored. I'll contact you when we're together and you reactivate them."
"Aye sir." Surla nodded as Malcolm turned and left the bridge.
Winds of Mygeeto
Hangar Deck
The location where the droids were being stored turned out to be a hangar was which odd since it would have been more logical for the droids to be stored in a place where they had less chance of being sucked out into space if there was an accident. The hangars were protected from the vacuum of space by force fields like on Starfleet vessels but they were much larger than most hangars the Friedrich crew had seen before. Most of the droids were crouched down and curled up while other models were simply hanging from the racks and others were stored in a ball like formation that were all stored in racks were connected to what looked like ships or land based vehicles, possibly for deployment but they couldn't make an accurate guess with the limited information that they had.
"Surla, we're here now. Ready when you are." Malcolm said to his comm badge.
"Acknowledged."
A second later the racks began moving and lowering the droids onto the ground and the droids uncurled themselves, standing up as their heads moved up, their necks moving straight up so the heads could properly face forward and reached over their shoulders, pulling their weapons out and standing straight with their weapons ready, like a military unit.
"Oh my…" Rako whispered, feeling slightly intimidated by the rows of what apparently were war machines.
Apparently one of the droids heard him as one turned its 'head' towards the Starfleet group.
"Hey look! Intruders!" It shouted in a high pitched comically sounding voice.
The droids all looked at the three Starfleet officers who seemed speechless by the attention directed at them.
"What should we do?" One of the other droids asked, sharing a look with a few of its fellow machines.
The droids shared looks with each other, seemingly confused until one spoke up. "Blast them!"
The Starfleet officers looked alarm as the other droids nodded, replying. "Roger, roger."
"Now hold on a sec. We mean you no harm. I'm Captain Kurt Malcolm representing the United Federation of Planets-" Malcolm started but ducked as the droids started shooting at him and his crew.
The hangar lit up as red bolts of light shot at the Starfleet officers who quickly ducked by a pile of crates that luckily protected them.
"Guess they weren't programmed for diplomacy sir." Kolez commented dryly.
"I guess not." Malcolm pulled out his phaser rifle. "There's too many to take out and our shields can only take so many hits before they go down."
Rako held out his tricorder to scan the incoming bolts. "They appear to be a form of plasma based lasers, Captain. Our shields would hold out but under an attack like this we would not last long."
"I have an idea sir." Kolez said as he pulled out his hand phaser and made a quick adjustment. "They don't seem to be moving. They're standing still meaning they weren't programmed for complex tactics. They probably move straight towards the enemy like Borg drones. A proper recalibrated phaser could help out a lot."
Malcolm nodded and began adjusting his rifle. "Good idea, Kolez. You and I will take the ones on the left and Rako will hit the ones on the right."
The other crewmembers nodded, adjusting their phasers and when they were ready the peeked out with their weapons and fired, releasing four beams from each weapon that collided with their targets, vaporizing the droids they hit instantly. In a few short seconds they took out a dozen battle droids but there a lot more to replace them and they continued shooting, ignoring the destruction of their fellow models. Malcolm aimed his rifle and fired a series of phaser pulses that knocked down any battle droid the pulse hit, causing smoke and sparks to erupt from their torsos.
"We can't stay here for long. Our phasers will run out of power before we take out even a quarter of them." Kolez stated.
"We can't beam out under fire like this!" Malcolm replied as a red bolt flew over his head.
Winds of Mygeeto
Bridge
Surla turned her head as the droids on the bridge reactivated, looking slightly disorientated but that changed when they saw her.
"Intruder!" One of the droids shouted, pointing at her. "Get her!"
Surla ducked as a droid pulled out its blaster and shot at her. Knowing she was outnumbered she rushed towards the doors and ran off the bridge while the droids struggled to hit her.
"Where did she come from?" A pilot droid asked.
"It doesn't matter. We have a mission." The command droid answered as it sat back in the command chair. "We have intruders onboard. Stop them."
"Commander, we are detecting a ship just in front of us." The pilot droid spoke up. "It's not Republic. What do we do?"
The droid's simplistic programming came up with a quick answer based on the orders given to it by its makers. "Destroy it."
USS Friedrich
Bridge
Lieutenant Commander Zohm frowned as he watched the strange ship slowly start to power up. "Status on the Captain."
"They are still alive…Commander, the ship is coming about." The Vulcan ensign stated as the mysterious ship started moving. "Sir, I believe its shields are coming online and its powering weapons."
"Red Alert!" Zohm quickly said. "Contact the captain and try to beam them out!"
"I can't reach them…Sir, we're being targeted!"
The Friedrich's shields came online just as the alien ship fired a stream of bright bolts from the main cannons that slammed into the forward shields.
The bridge slightly shook from the impacts.
"Shields are holding at ninety percent, sir." The ensign reported. "Shall I return fire?"
"No. We cannot fire with the captain onboard." Zohm answered. "Take evasive action. Find keep close but out of their firing range."
The Friedrich rolled to the side, dodging the forward turbo-lasers and moved the side as its shields brushed aside the smaller anti-fighter cannons.
"Target those weapons. One quarter power." Zohm gripped the armrest of the captain's chair.
"Targets locked."
"Fire."
The Federation ship's phaser arrays fired a series of orange beams that easily passed through the deflector shields of the now enemy ship which were designed to handle multiple attacks in the form of blaster bolts and projectiles but not against a prolonged particle beam, destroying the turrets easily with quick precision.
"Enemy weapons destroyed sir. The ship has suffered minimal damage."
Zohm nodded. "Keep trying to contact the captain."
Things got worse as the hangar was filled with the sound of metallic rolling causing the Starfleeters to look up and saw three machines rolling towards them, their bodies compressed to resemble a wheel of sorts. They stopped in front of the crates and unfolded themselves, their beetle like metallic bodies standing with three crab like legs supporting them from a bulb like section connected to the torso and instead of hands they dangerous looking twin like cannons that were aimed straight at the Starfleeters.
"Oh cra-" Rako started and quickly ducked as the three machines opened fire, sending a barrage of red laser bolts that battered against the crates.
Kolez pointed his hand phaser at the middle machine and fired but before it was hit a bubble of blue energy surrounded it and the phaser dissipated against the newly form shield.
"They have shields!" Malcolm grunted as twin bolts flew past his, missing his hair by a few inches. "Like the Borg!"
Rako quickly held out his tricorder, scanning the shields surrounding the new droids that continued to fire. "The shields are different from the ones used by the Borg. The shields seemed to be a ray based particle shield. They're generating high intense electromagnetic fields and a large amount of radiation. A properly recalibrated phaser could-"
"Just do it!" Kolez shouted impatiently as he fired another phaser beam that was absorbed by the force field surrounding the droid on the right.
Rako nodded as he adjusted his hand phaser to disrupt the shields used by the machines, thankful that they were less complicated by the shields used by the Borg. "I'm sending the data to your weapons."
Malcolm pointed his rifle at the droid on the right and fired releasing a bright orange phaser beam that collided with the shield that struggled to repel the attack but the phaser beam passed through the shield and blasted the droid in the 'face', blinding it and causing it to stagger back before it collapsed. The other two droids continued to fire but now the Starfleeters could pierce their shields and they opened fire, tearing through the shields and destroying them easily.
"Good job Lieutenant." Malcolm nodded with a smile at Rako who smiled at the praise. "Three down a dozen more to go."
"Surla to Captain Malcolm!" Surla's voice said from the comm badge.
Malcolm tapped the badge. "Surla, I think our hosts are a little cranky. Can you shut them back off?"
"Negative sir. The droids on the bridge came back online and chased me out."
"Great, bad news all around." Malcolm sighed.
"Maybe not, Captain. I can perhaps deactivate them with my tri-corder. I can modify it to emit a signal matching that of the signal that activated the droids."
"Do it!" Malcolm shouted.
"Aye sir."
The droids continued to fire at their target until they shut down a second later, the command signal from the bridge ordering them to shut down.
Malcolm peeked his head out and saw that all the droids were deactivated. "They're deactivated now."
Rako sighed in relief as he stood out from behind the crate he and Kolez were using as cover. "That was close. I actually thought we were goners."
Malcolm walked over to the lines of deactivated droids that simply stood their heads hanging forward like they had been hung. "We've got a few more issues gentlemen."