FraserMage-Thanks for realizing that. :)

Hotaru Tomoe is from Sailor Moon.

Here we go!

Chapter Three: Positioning for Battle
Captain's log, supplemental. The Titan is back in Federation space and has been made flagship of Admiral William Ross and Leonard James Akaar's task forces. We'll have close to twelve hundred starships in position within twelve hours, not to mention the Klingons, Romulans and Gorn. Still, I am not confident in our ability to fight off the Borg after they conquered the Romulans.

Riker closed his log and massaged his temple. Ross and Akaar, two of the best admirals in Starfleet today were in the observation lounge, coordinating the fleet. He rose to his feet and left his ready room, entering the bridge.

Commander Vale stood up and half-shouted, "Captain on the bridge!"

Riker suppressed a smile at that and sat down in his command chair. "Anything to report?"

Vale handed him a PADD. "Admiral Ross reports that the Klingons have massed an armada at their border with the former Romulan Empire. The Gorn and Cardassians will also be sending ships."

Riker's right eyebrow arched at that. "The Cardassians? Last I heard, they only had about thirty battle ready ships."

Vale shrugged. "If we fall, there'll be nothing stopping the Borg."

Riker nodded at that. "All or nothing, Christine. All or nothing."

Bastion
The warning came quickly from outposts along the border with the Unknown Regions-until they fell silent. In the bridge of the ISS Chimaera, Gilad Pellaeon examined the tactical situation with unblinking brown eyes. "Ready the Soul Reaper and the Sixth Fleet. I want Yaga Minor defended at all costs."

Captain Vana Dorja ran up to him. "Sir, message from Yaga Minor. The Borg forces there are bogged down, but we are taking casualties." She hesitated. "The Judicator has been destroyed."

An old curse escaped Pellaeon's lips. "I assume Brandei went down fighting?" he asked.

Vana nodded, her normally sharp and angular feature softened by the sad news.

He patted Vana on the shoulder. "Get some sleep, Captain. You've been running at full speed for nearly thirty-six hours."

She began to protest, but a single glance from the Old Man silenced her. "Yes, sir," she said, tossing him a salute before leaving the bridge.

Yaga Minor

"Hold them off! For Bastion and the Empire, hold them off! Let none pass the line!" Captain Lasq Brenney shouted as the deck plating under his feet heaved. His star destroyer, the ISS Victory, was caught in the middle of a pair of Borg cubes.

All around the planet, Borg cubes and Imperial ships dueled. TIE defenders swarmed around the cubes, using their superior maneuverability to dart in and out. Still, most of the dry-docks were floating scrap. Lasq had read a preliminary report on the Borg when Corellia fell, but he had no idea that they could be so… powerful. He had chalked up Corellia's fall to New Republic incompetence, but now he knew how superior they could be.

The eight main turbolaser batteries, four on each side of the burnt and holed command tower, fired off a broadside at the scarred cubes. The blood-red batteries bore holes into the superstructure and weapons emplacements were blown off with each hit. The Borg responded with their shield-draining tractor beams, locking onto the Victory with the greenish energy beams and sucking power from the only things protecting the Victory from destruction.

Lasq's gray eyes stung from smoke in the air and his ears hurt from the constant explosions, but he shut out the discomfort. The tactical officer shouted, "Sir, shields are near collapse."

Lasq nodded. "Fire off ion cannons, full spread."

Several turrets along the Victory's flank swiveled and elevated before firing off azure lightning at the cubes. Lasq stumbled over to a console and called up sensor readings. His mouth dropped in shock at the power readings from the Borg cubes. "By the Emperor, power levels are dropping!" He looked up. "All batteries, fire at will!"

Dozens of turbolaser bolts leapt from the Victory and struck the two cubes. The gray hulls withstood the onslaught, but only for so long. The ion bolts shorted out power systems across the cube while the turbolaser bolts ripped into the hull. After ten minutes of pounding, the two cubes were reduced to slag. The Victory was in very bad shape, though. Both shield towers at the top of the command tower were blown off and there were close to thirty perforations in the hull. The dagger-like bow was sheared off.

Lasq glanced at the damage reports and grimaced. "Tell all hands to abandon ship."

The subordinate nodded and placed her hand to the earpiece in her lobe. "All hands, abandon ship! I repeat, all hands abandon ship!"

Klaxons sounded as personnel made their way to the escape pods. Panels along the hull blew off, allowing the pods to detach and speed off from the doomed warship.

Lasq was the last on board. He sat at the com station powered up the transmitters. "This is Captain Lasq Brenney of the ISS Victory. Borg cubes are vulnerable to ion cannon bolts. I repeat; Borg cubes are vulnerable to ion can-" Lasq tumbled out of his chair as a cube locked onto his ship and fired several cutting beams. The first one cut off the command tower, letting the rectangular box float off. The rest carved into the battered hull, slicing the ship into jagged bits.

The cube targeted a lone Carrack-class cruiser with photon torpedoes, battering down the shields with but a few hits. The 350-meter long ship fired off maneuvering thrusters, trying to dodge the tractor beams while letting loose with ion cannon bolts. Several struck the cube's hull, shorting out systems and weapons. Unfortunately, the cruiser's luck ran out. A cutting beam sliced through the main bridge in the bow, leaving the ship unable to steer. Before anyone could regain control, drones began transporting aboard the ship. The crew had absolutely no experience whatsoever with transporter technology and was quickly assimilated.

Fifteen minutes later, the Carrack cruiser slowly turned on its axis and formed up with the cube. Green circuitry began sprouting on the yellowish hull.

Coruscant
Admiral Ackbar reviewed reports from long-range scouts near the Empire. His eyes swiveled and noted the advancing positions of the cubes on the holographic map floating in front of him. Wedge, Garm Bel Iblis, A'baht and Traest Kre'fey stood by him.

"They're bogged down at Yaga Minor, but several cubes are near Bastion," Iblis remarked.

A'baht's whiskers twitched. "How come they're holding Yaga Minor? What do they know that we don't?"

An aide ran up to Ackbar, saluted and gave him a datapad. The Mon Cal's eyes, already bulbous, seemed to bug out even more. The other four senior officers noted Ackbar's mood shift. "Problem?" Kre'fey asked.

Ackbar's left eye swiveled over to regard him. "Approximately two hundred fifty ships have left the Corellian System and are heading straight for Coruscant. They'll be here within six hours."

A'baht growled. "And how many of those ships are former members of the Fifth Fleet?"

Wedge placed a hand on his shoulder. "Those people onboard are dead, Etahn. We'll just be killing the thing that took them over."

The Dornean's mottled skin flushed. "I'll be getting the Endurance ready." And with that, he stalked off.

Ackbar read further down. "Hmm, it also says that a transmission from the star destroyer ISS Victory was intercepted. It was something about ion cannons and the Borg."

Kre'fey stroked his chin in thought. "Wait, the Borg are cybernetic beings, right?"

Wedge nodded. "Yeah…" He abruptly slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, Wes is gonna have a field day with this one."

Kre'fey smirked, then looked over at Ackbar. "What of the Enterprise and those three Defiant-class ships?"

The Mon Cal admiral hesitated. "I'll talk with Picard and Janeway. They know the Borg better than anybody."

Wedge and Kre'fey nodded. "Time to get to the Ralroost," Kre'fey said, referring to his personal flagship. "May the Force be with you," the Bothan said before hurrying off.

Corellia
The Defiant exited warp and sped through the Corellian System. Lieutenant Tenmei steered the ship around a maze of Borg ships and space stations. "I think they've been busy," she remarked.

Shar looked up and over from his science station. "They have been. Corellia's atmosphere has worsened. Selonia, Drall, Talus and Tralus aren't much better either."

Sisko let out a growl, then slapped his combadge. "Sisko to transporter room. How's it going down there?"

Lusa finished snapping an armband around Taran'atar's right forearm. "The nanoprobe antivenin is ready, sir." She looked over everyone. Taran'atar, Commander Data, Hox and his squad of MACOs, Jag, Jacen, Tenel Ka, Jaina, Zekk, Lowie, Kyle and Luke all stood in the room. She had to admit, it was slightly crowded. "All right. If you get hit by assimilation tubules, press the green button on-Jaina!"

The young woman looked up from examining the armband. "Sorry!" she said.

Lusa glared at her with her chestnut eyes. "As I was saying, hit the green button within a minute of being hit by them. And be careful, okay? There's only enough for two infections."

Everyone nodded and donned gas masks. Lusa also hefted a TR-116 rifle and her lightsaber.

Before anyone could go to the transporter platform, Taran'atar hefted his axe and spoke. "As of this moment, we are all dead."

One of the MACOs shouted., "Get on with it!"

The Jem'Hadar rolled his eyes and sighed. "We go into victory to reclaim our lives." He raised his weapon high and shouted. "Victory is life!"

Jacen shook his head. "Is he always that serious?"

Richardson leaned in and, with barely contained laughter, responded. "This is one of his better days. You should've seen him when Admiral Sisko taught him baseball."

Five minutes later

The last of the team materialized on Corellia's surface. Jaina let out a gasp at the brown haze and dead foliage all around. "Dad took me to that park," she said, pointing to a grove of leafless trees.

Zekk placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll get it back, Jaina. They can't stop us."

Jaina tried to smile at that, but the malaise of death in the air clung to her. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear it.

Hox held up a tricorder and scanned the area. "There's a concentration of drones moving to our position." He looked over at Luke. "Ah, what do you intend to do, anyway?"

Luke smiled behind his gas mask. "I intend to stop them, Hox." His blue eyes scanned the area. The group was in a clearing. Ahead lay a few groves of trees while large rocks and a small building were behind.

"I think we should make a tactical withdrawal," Kyle observed.

Hox nodded. "That building 50 meters aft hasn't been affected by Borg technology. I say it's our best bet." He motioned to his squad of nine and Taran'atar. "Taran'atar, Richardson, Jackson and Weilo, you and I will take point. Jedi cluster in the middle and the rest take the back."

Tenel Ka spoke up. "Actually, that would not be wise to have us in the middle. We can use our lightsabers to deflect disruptor bolts and telekinetically push the Borg back."

Hox's tricorder began beeping. The Suliban checked it and swore. "We've got about thirty drones headed our way." His eyes glanced up at Luke. "Well?"

"It's a good plan," the Jedi master said. Suddenly, Luke ignited his lightsaber and raised it, deflecting a silvery disruptor bolt that was aimed at his head.

Richardson swore. "They're here!" He then knelt, aimed his rifle and fired off a round. The small slug struck a drone in the chest and blew a hole clean through. The familiar snap-hiss of activating lightsabers was heard as Kyle, Tenel Ka, Jacen, Jaina, Lowie and Lusa readied their weapons.

Several Borg stepped forward.

Jaina noted that both of their arms had been replaced by prosthetics. "I've got a-"

Lusa interrupted her. "Don't say it, Jaina."

The drones raised their arms and bright-red plasma blades emanated from their arms. Zekk's mouth dropped open in shock. "Are they allowed to do that?"

Richardson shrugged before firing off another round. One of the drones raised his lightsaber, but was too slow, getting a transuranic slug in the chest. He fired again, sending several slugs into another group of drones and cutting them down. "Now that's adaptation," Richardson quipped.

A pack of drones surrounded Luke. The Jedi Master's cape fluttered as he turned and regarded them. "You don't wish to fight me," he said, waving his hand at them.

The drones paused for a moment-but only a moment. Two drones moved in from the front and thrust their plasma blades at Luke. He dodged two of them, parried another with his green blade and telekinetically shoved the final blade away.

A drone swung its blades at Luke, but with a deft flick of his wrist, he destroyed one of the emitters and blocked the other blade. He let the Force flow through him and pushed the drone back, disengaging and ducking a swing from a drone behind. He kicked the drone behind him, sending it tumbling back while skewering the one in front.

Jag stood next to Hox, his breathing labored and his green eyes wide. "You won't take me back. You won't take me back! I don't want the voices anymore!" he shouted, screwing his hands over his helmet.

Hox turned and saw a drone approach the young man. "Get down!" he shouted. Jag dove out of the way as the Suliban sergeant skewered the drone with a blast from his TR-116 rifle. His slit eyes looked around as he took everything in.

The MACOs had taken position near a group of rocks and were using them for cover. Taran'atar was using his battle axe to liberate Borg limbs from their sockets. Unfortunately, he already had several disruptor burns in his torso. The Jedi were scattered in groups or were alone, but they seemed to be holding their own. He tapped his combadge and spoke. "Everyone, fall back to the cabin!" He shot another drone before grabbing Jag by the arm and leading him to his squad.

Coruscant
Anakin ran down the corridors of the Enterprise to transporter room three. A few minutes ago Mom contacted him and told him to beam over to the Falcon. "I want you on the Falcon," she said.

And so Anakin ran down the corridor. The cubes would be at Coruscant within the hour. Their approach actually bypassed the other planets in the system, coming from the 'south'.

So intent he was on getting to his destination, the young man didn't even notice the young woman in front of him.

"Oh!" she cried.

Anakin tried putting the brakes on, but he failed miserably, skidding on the deck plating.

The woman started falling to the ground, but she never made it. Her violet eyes widened in surprise when she didn't feel her head hit the deck plating. "Ah, why don't I have a concussion?"

Anakin smiled faintly at that. "It's because your head never hit the deck." He slowly raised her back to a standing position through the Force. "Sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

The young woman waved him off. "It's okay. I was off in another galaxy." She smiled and extended her hand. "My name's Hotaru Tomoe."

Anakin wiped his hand on his pant leg before grabbing her dainty hand. "I'm Anakin Solo." He noted the blue shirt underneath her jacket and the two solid pips on her collar. "Are you in science?"

Hotaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm friends with Lusa." Her dainty face scrunched with an expression of concern. "I hope she's all right."

Anakin half-closed his blue eyes and reached out with the Force, tracking the life of his friend. "She is alive, but in distress." He sighed. "I wish there was something I could do for her."

Hotaru patted on the shoulder. "We do what we can, Anakin." She gasped. "Oh, I've got to get to my station!" She dashed off, shouting, "goodbye!" at him.

Anakin waved before turning back and hurrying to the transporter room. A few moments later, he materialized on the Falcon. Chewie stood at the transporter console of the freighter. "Where do I go?" he asked the Wookiee, looking up at him.

Chewie bared his fangs and roared. [You shall man the dorsal ventral turret, Anakin. Go and bring death to the drones.]

Anakin frowned at that. "I don't want to kill them, but I will if I must."

The cubes approached Coruscant even as the New Republic forces and the Enterprise's task force readied itself. The Enterprise itself was out in front, flanked on starboard and port sides by one Defiant-class cruiser each. The third Defiant-class flew on 200 meters in front and to port. The Falcon and a Delta Flyer-class shuttle were nearby.

On the Delta Flyer, Admiral Janeway and Annika Hansen took up their positions. Janeway glanced up and out the main viewport. "Didn't we just leave this party?" she quipped.

The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Eugene Paris, looked down at a photo of his wife B'Elanna and their daughter Miral. "I just wish they'd stop inviting us," he responded. He glanced over at the Falcon and let a 'hmm' escape his lips. "I wonder how she'd do in a race…"

On the Enterprise, Tirsek looked up from her console. "Captain, the Borg are hailing us."

Picard, who was standing and talking with La Forge, tugged down on his uniform before turning to the screen. "Put it through," he growled.

A voice came through the speakers of all ships in the area. It sounded like trillions of people speaking at once, all with no emotion or soul left. "Citizens of the New Republic, we are the Borg."

Wedge adjusted his right glove with his left. "Keep talking while we reload." The general had opted to lead Rogue Squadron into battle. Eleven X-wings flew in formation with him.

"Any quips, Wes?" Corran asked.

Wes' voice came over the com, sounding quite sober. "None for this occasion, Nine. Let's just get the job done and go home."

"Life as you know it has ended."

A'baht's eyes looked over the tactical overview on the Endurance's main viewscreen. His mouth went dry as the tactical computer identified several ships formerly under his command. "The Kenobi… the Invincible… the Bria…" His eyes narrowed. "Arm all batteries and stand by to fire. Our comrades shall be avenged."

"Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own."

Han gripped the Falcon's controls and flipped a few switches. "They do like the sound of their own voice." He looked over and saw Leia. He skin was a bit paler than usual and her mouth was moving. "Sweetheart, you okay?"

She suddenly sat up straight and swallowed. "All these minds cry out, Han."

Behind her, Chewie growled. [They shall be avenged, honor sister.]

Han shrugged and contacted the two people manning the gun turrets. "Anakin, Mara, you two all set?"

Mara touched her hand to the radio set at her ears as she sat in the dorsal gun turret. "Nice work on the guns, Han. Did you supercharge them?"

Han smiled at that. "It was nothing, Mara." A growl from Chewie got his attention. "What? Scotty was a big help with the retrofit!"

Anakin's voice then came through. "All set here, Dad."

Han smiled. "Okay, son."

"Resistance is futile."

Picard flashed back to System J-25, Wolf 359, the Neutral Zone and Typhon Sector. "That will be the day." He glanced to port and Tirsek. "Lieutenant Commander, get firing solutions for all cubes. When they're in range, fire at will."

The Andorian's antennae shot up and she flashed a feral grin "Aye, captain."

"You will be assimilated."

Mara targeted the lead cube and scowled. "Never," she said before squeezing off a round. The laser bolts dissipated long before they reached the lead cubes, but it still felt good.

Ackbar's voice came through the speakers. "This is Admiral Ackbar. Starfleet task force, break off and head in. Task Force One and Two, break off and head for starboard. Three and Four, break for port."

The ships of the New Republic Navy broke formation and began maneuvering while the Borg cubes advanced. The slate-gray ships showed no outward sign of preparation, but looks were deceiving.

The Headquarters Frigate led the charge even as starfighters darted about. As soon as the lead ships reached firing range, Ackbar settled back and spoke.

"All ships, fire at will!"

The edge of the Neutral Zone, twenty minutes earlier.
Martok, son of Urthog, studied the movements of his fleet, Starfleet and the honorless Borg. A three-dimensional image of local space hovered above his desk, showing the locations of the fleets. Starfleet had lined itself up along the border of the late, 'lamented' Romulan Empire. The only thing Martok lamented was that he was not the one to plant the flag of the Klingon Empire onto the roof of the senate building in the capital.

The Klingon Defense Force had spread itself along their border with some overlapping with Starfleet where their borders met. Fifty Ferengi D'Kora-class cruisers were clustered near the far end of Federation territory under the command of Eliminator Leck. This particular Ferengi had no love for latinum or other material goods, making him the second Ferengi that Martok actually could tolerate.

The Cardassian ships under the command of Gul Macet were pitiable, but Martok had to respect them for sending something. And the Romulans… Martok felt a totally alien feeling about Tomalak and the remnants of the Romulan Imperial Navy-respect. Could Romulans achieve Sto-Vo-Kor?

A chime sounded and the captain's voice came through. "Chancellor, we are being hailed by the Titan. It's a conference call."

Martok nodded. "I'll be in the bridge in a moment." The warrior rose from his chair and walked over to the door separating his office from the bridge. Martok sat in the throne-like command chair of the IKS Sword of Kahless and spoke. "On screen."

The main viewer showed an image of Admiral Ross, Consular Tomalak, Eliminator Leck, Gul Macet, Rear Admiral Sslaag of the Gorn Hegemony, Bishop Krei of the Holy Order of the Kinshaya and Commander Theskell of the Tholian Territorial Annex. Martok took a moment to marvel at the fact that most of the major powers were working together, but only a moment.

"Well, the Borg are making their move," Ross said. "Cubes are lining up along the border. We've already had reports from neutral planets inside the Zone about strange ships in the sky. Then they go silent."

Leck bared his fangs. "There's no profit in the Borg's actions. Even I can see that." He shifted a bit in his seat. "So, what's the plan?"

Tomalak shrugged. "We kill them, Leck. Or at least we take as many of them with us as we can."

Martok let out a bark of laughter at that. "Tomalak, I could get to like you!"

The stern Romulan cracked a smile, albeit a small one.

Krej's wings unfurled, showing off the tattoos inscribed. "Aya, these demons shall fall before us. We have righteousness on our side!"

A com officer spoke up. "Chancellor, Borg cubes are on approach and are… doing their speech."

Sslaag bared her fangs. [Must we listen to this drivel? While they talk, we could be shooting them!]

Ross nodded. "I agree, Sslaag." he looked off screen and spoke. "Have the Cephiro and Belldandy take flanking positions along the Titan and have Task Forces Seven through Ten ready around Outpost Two. That's the closest one to Romulus and Remus." He turned back to the screen, his green eyes losing focus for a moment. "May the Force be with you all."

Martok smiled. He stood up, and the old warrior thumped his chest in the traditional Klingon salute. "Qapla', Ross."

The admiral touched his fist to his chest before signing off.

The tactical officer looked over. "Orders, sir?"

Martok snarled at him. "You miserable petaQ. Your orders are to shoot the Borg and bring honor and glory to the Klingon Empire!" Martok turned back to the main viewscreen and settled back in his chair. The time for talk was over. The time for battle had come. And for a Klingon, that time was all that mattered.

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