lleusChapter One: First Shots
Reviewers: Thank you for the kind and helpful reviews. They really help me get this story going.
ApocSM: Well thank you very much.
Liljimmyurine: Thanks. I know, Marines fear nothing!
Silvanas: The Marines will cleanse the Borg, the Starfleet crew you'll just have to read and find out.
BGTom: Thanks. I'm glad you think I've improved. Good calls as always.
Lennox: Thanks. That'll depend on how many ships they encounter.
Grayangle: I'm glad you like it. Space Wolves sound like a good idea. I hope you approve of my choice.
Angelus288: Thanks. I restarted it because Dark Future turned out to have some deep flaws.
Oblivionknight7: Thanks.
"Captain! Captain, are you all right?" A voice asked Captain Halloway as he regained consciousness.
"Ow, not so loud," he replied, getting back to his feet. His head felt like it had been hit by a sledgehammer, and his back was killing him but he gritted his teeth and bore it. "What's our situation?"
"Systems are coming back online. Warp engines are offline, hull breaches of five decks. Force fields holding. Shields down to twenty percent and long range sensors are down." His first officer reported. T'vol, a Vulcan, was one of the few of his race who seemed to get along with humans more than half the time. He was holding his right arm. It was obviously broken but he showed almost no pain on his face.
"What about the other ships that were pulled in with us?"
"The Ramirez and the Stormrider are both reporting normal operations. The Intrepid reports that their impulse drive and shields are heavily damaged and the Titan signals that their weapons array is offline and life support is damaged. They say they can deal with it," T'vol reported. By this time medic had arrived on the bridge and was setting his broken arm.
"All right but what about the Borg Cube?" Halloway asked.
"It seems to have sustained a massive amount of damage when its main weapon overloaded. However its power readings are beginning to increase. I believe it will have tactical capabilities within three minutes. I recommend we destroy it while we have the chance."
"I agree completely. Have all ships open fire with whatever they can," Halloway ordered. He watched as the small Federation fleet began pounding the Borg again. Still, it would take time to reach a critical damage point, and by that time it would be firing back again.
Meanwhile, the Space Wolf strike cruisers Fang and Wolf's Eye had just come out of the Warp in response to a request from their Rune Priest. He had said he sensed something dark and evil suddenly enter his mind and it was near them in real space.
"My Lord, we are dropping into normal space," one of the ship's thralls reported to the captain of the Fang. The blast shields retracted, allowing the bridge crew a view of the surrounding space. They immediately saw a massive cube shaped vessel and several smaller vessels exchanging weapons fire.
"Sensors, report!" Captain Raklin demanded.
"None of the vessels are in our records. Bio scans indicate seventy percent human crew on the smaller vessels. The cube vessel's crew is proving difficult for our sensors to identify. Their bio readings are similar to those of Necrons but also register as humanoid."
"Can you hail any of them?"
"Hail the smaller vessels only," Rune Priest Domin ordered. "The crew of the cube shaped vessel are not human; they are part of a collective similar to that of the Tyranids. I can hear them in my mind. They are lost and confused. If seems they have lost their connection to the main collective."
"Do as Rune Priest Domin commands!" Raklin ordered. He watched as the smaller ships kept up their assault against the cube. They could barely hurt if, yet they still tried. They looked to be fierce warriors. Worthy of assistance.
"Captain, two unidentified vessels just appeared," his first officer, a man named Christopher Franklin reported. "My god they're huge, at least one and a half kilometers long each. They're hailing us."
"Open a channel," Captain Halloway said as the Valiant was rocked by another volley from the tactical cube. A few more like that and their shields would be gone.
"On screen," T'vol reported as a face appeared on the viewer. The man was massive, easily three meters tall and with a face that would strike fear into anyone. He was wearing a suit of armor that only added to his size and his face was covered with scars. He also had wolf like fangs protruding from his jaw. When he spoke his voice was like a fierce storm.
"Human vessels, I am Captain Roklin on the Space Wolf strike cruiser Fang. We have observed your attacks against the cube vessel. You lack the capabilities to destroy it. We will assist you."
Halloway opened his mouth to ask who this man was but then realized they needed all the help they could get.
"Captain Roklin, I'm Captain Marcus Halloway of the Federation starship Valiant. We welcome your assistance. The vessel we're facing is a Borg Tactical cube, one of their most powerful. I sure hope you have some powerful weapons. This ship destroyed over two hundred of ours in the last few hours."
"We will stop this vessel. Provide what assistance you feel you can. Fang out," Roklin said then the view cut out.
"Captain, the Space Work vessels are moving up," his tactical officer, Lieutenant Kenneth reported. The crew watched as the two massive vessels opened fire with bombardment cannons and punched gaping holes in the cube. Then they began pulling up alongside. "I think they're going to board it."
"That's crazy. Their guns could have finished the cube. Why would they board it, unless..."
"Unless they intend to capture it,' T'vol said.
"That's impossible. That cube must have at least fifty thousand drones left even after that pounding. They don't stand a chance."
"Captain Roklin, we are in range for grappling," a thrall reported.
"Very well, attach us to the vessel and deploy our marines." The two strike cruisers were both carrying their full load of marines, a total of two great companies between them. They had been heading to a system under attack by Orks. Now they would test their skills against a completely unknown enemy. As the boarding clamps made contact the Blood Claw squads revved their chainsword and cocked their bold pistols.
The wall exploded, showering nearby drones with deadly shrapnel. Without the voices of the Collective the ship had reverted to its base protocols. Return to the Collective and assimilate any enemy. The drones moved slowly, but with purpose. When the wall exploded and the first Blood Claws came through nearby drones moved towards them, extending their arms. Buzzing chainswords chewed through flesh bone and machine, leaving dozens of twitching arms on the decking. Bolt pistols spat shells into Borg bodies, blowing them to pieces or in half. Blood soaked the metal and seeped through the mesh. In less than fifteen seconds the boarding points had been secured and long Fang squads and the rest of the Space Wolves moved in.
Brother Falkin fired his bolter into a group of drones coming down a side passage. The enemy moved as if underwater. His volley tore though seven drones if as many seconds, leaving the passage choked with yet more bodies. The enemy did have one advantage. They seemed to possess extremely accurate teleporters. He watched as a dozen of the enemy appeared around three Blood Claws who immediately opened fire. Six of the drones were cut down before they could move. Two of the drones extended their arms and small tubules popped out. They attempted to pierce the marines' necks but their armor stopped them with a ping sound. Then, chainswords thrumming, the rest of the drones were cut apart in seconds, their blood coating the bodies of the Blood Claws as they moved on.
"By Russ, is this all they can muster?" Brother Reth asked as he skewered a drone on the tip of his power sword. "An infant can fight better than these things," he said as he punched a drone in the face, crushing its skull. Brother Saldis had grabbed a drone, snapped its neck, and thrown it into a group of drones with enough force to send them all over the railing and into the pit that seemed to comprise most of the vessel.
"These enemies are more pathetic than a crippled cultist," Rune Priest Domin said as he swung his power axe through three drones in a single swing. "They fight as if underwater. They seem to possess no weapons at all," he said. Then, as if he had triggered in, groups of drones began firing green balls of energy at the marines. Three struck the Ruse Priest, blackening his armor in places but doing nothing else. "At least no weapons worth anything, he said, smiling. He fired his storm bolter, blowing apart another group of drones. They were weak but there seemed to be on end to them. His storm bolter was running low. He opened a channel to the other Wolves of board the cube.
"This enemy seems to have numbers on their side. Conserve your ammunition and use close combat weapons. These enemies can do nothing to harm us. They are not worthy of out ammunition," he said, switching his power axe to a two handed grip and cutting another two droned in half at the chest.
On boar the Valiant, the crew watched in amazement as the number of drones decreased rapidly and the Space Wolves didn't lose one.
"They must have some really good weapon," Kenneth said. "They've eliminated over three thousand drones in less than an hour. At this rate the cube will be theirs in less than five hours."
"Then what I wonder," Captain Halloway said.
"We may be able to open a dialogue with them," T'vol stated.
"I sure hope so. If they decide to get hostile there's little we could do. From what we saw their weapons are in a different league from ours, and if they can do this kind of damage to the Borg just imagine what they could do to us." Halloway said.
For the next few hours the Space Wolves continued to slaughter the Borg. Their assimilation tubules could not penetrate the marines ceramic armor, and their plasma caters could do no more than scorch them. Three marines were injured when a plasma conduit ruptured and threw them through several walls but that was all. After three and a half hours all the drones were dead. They had sent an astropathic message to their homeworld requesting assistance in analyzing the vessel and discovering anything that could be useful. In the meantime they would initiate first contact with these Federation humans. They were most likely from beyond the Imperium where they had developed their own empire. Rune Priest Domin would head the contact. The Wolf's Eye would continue on their original mission while the Fang guarded the cube until additional ships arrived.
A Thunderhawk entered the Valiant's shuttle bay. The Rune Priest and his retinue stepped down, and began what would turn into a new age for the Imperium.
How was that? Sorry if there wasn't enough action, but from what I know the Borg could never stand a chance against Space Marines, much less Space Wolves. Anyway, in the next chapter the Space Wolves and Federation fleet will open talks and, well, you'll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter. See ya then, and don't forget to review!
ENTILZA