- CHAPTER 28 -
- Alliance Station 338, The Hallway Outside Zathran's Quarters -
Zathran strode down the hall towards his waiting ship, yet he couldn't get rid of the niggling doubts whispering in the back of his brain. Would the Terran be truly safe here on the station? It wasn't that he had any particular liking for her as an individual or even for her species in general, it was just that Lyran's complex code of honor demanded that he make every effort to protect a high ranking captured enemy from harm while under his protection. Part of him would have liked nothing better than to cut her throat open from ear to ear in a single strike, but it was a small part that he held in tight control. Dorothy Chambers was basically the equivalent to a Lyran crown princess and since she had been taken captive alive, and it was an officer from his ships boarding party that took her, it became his duty to ensure her safety. If she had even been a member of the hated Mirak Patriarch's family, he would have been duty bound to protect her well being until the Emperor decided what her fate was to be.
Yet Zathran could think of nothing more he could do to protect her. The door was sealed to open only to his families or a member of the Royal Family's scent, and a squad of his most trusted and competent marines also guarded it. Unless she managed to jimmy open the door from the inside, she would be safe. Zathran just hoped that it would be enough, for it would be a terrible stain on both his personal and his family's honor if even this Terran Starfleet scum came to harm while under his protection.
- ISS Athena, On Station Near The Borg Portal, former Borg system of A875 34B9 -
Fleet Admiral T'var looked out at the massive swirling maelstrom of the Borg Portal. There was something almost hauntingly beautiful in its sickly green depths. The holo generators that surrounded the Athena's Flag Bridge presented the sight in very fine detail, and the Athena's computer gave a running tally along side the portal of its power output, defensive systems status, offensive systems status, and hull and shield strength. Right now most of those were at normal operating parameters or nonexistent due to the damage the structure had sustained. The massive ring like shape of it had vast gouges and even whole sections missing from its structure. It was quite literally a miracle that the monstrosity was even able to hold together, let alone remain in operation. It was a true testament to Borg construction, which had made their ships so hard to destroy during the Borg/Imperial war. And nor was it alone in being the Borg's last remaining foothold in the system, for a large portion of 2nd Fleet's crews were "fast grown" in a former Borg maturation chamber.
T'var was a Vulcan, and could control her feelings just as good as any other of her race. But something ancient and feral cried out at seeing the vacant expressions on the mildly modified, at least externally, personnel that Starfleet Command had forced upon the entire Fleet as replacements for lost crewmen. Although they could do their assigned jobs almost as well as a normal being, they were virtually oblivious to anything going on outside their duties. She had tried to initiate conversations with them, but she had used holodeck characters that were more interactive and mentally there than the new 'Imp Drones' as the normal crew had christened them. And they moved and acted a heck of a lot more like Borg drones than normal individuals ever would. It was all set up to creep out normal crew and officers, but the real kicker was that the Imp drones were both to simple minded and limited mentally to even begin to comprehend both their own limitations and the effect their mere presence had on their normal crewmates.
She looked out through the slightly transparent holo display that enfolded her command chair like an endless, unbroken 360 degree window to the vastness of space beyond. She could make out enough of the reality beyond the holo display to identify the stations that ringed the Athena's Flag Bridge. Over 40 % of them were staffed by an Imp drone instead of a normal individual. Yet there was nothing she could do, for despite her best efforts, there was nothing about their on the job performance that she could actually call them on. In fact, they did their duties better and more precisely than their normally trained crewmates. While the Vulcan in her found that pleasing, it didn't outweigh their off duty activities, or lack there of, as well as their affect on the non Imp drone portion of 2nd Fleet's crew.
"Admiral, there are vessels transiting the Borg portal." It was spooky. A normal human crewman would have shown at least a little bit of emotion at the unexpected arrival of ships through the portal. But the Imp drone merely passed on the information in a near monotone voice, showing no sign of anxiety or concern at all. But T'var pushed all worries about the Empires new great experiments aside as she swung her chair around to stare directly at the Borg complex. The high definition holo projection showed a quartet of Imperial vessels transiting the portal. Their ident codes were verified and fresh info on them flashed up along side the computer generated targeting brackets of allied blue. Beside them, stats and titles appeared, and various sections of the new Imperial ships were highlighted in pale crimson of severe damage. The computer labeled them as the Akira class ISS Battle Born, the Intrepid class ISS Rage and two Sabers, the ISS Repulse and Indigo. Despite maintaining the classic Vulcan appearance of unconcern, her green blood turned to ice in her veins. She hoped that these were only the cripples from Chriton's first engagement with the new enemy, known by the Borg as Species 8472. But she had seen the highly classified records on just how powerful they could be, and a sinking sensation formed in the pit of her stomach as her traitorous brain shouted that these might very well be all that was left of Chriton's fleet. Then she had another, more terrifying thought. What if Species 8472 was following the four survivors and was even now preparing to transit the portal? 2nd Fleet's reinforcements were on their way, but they were still at least an hour and a half out at high slipstream drive. If her suspicions proved true she would need those ships very shortly.
The 25 Ark Royal class Fleet Carriers, 6 Wraith class Dreadnoughts, 40 Achilles PD/Heavy Cruisers, 30 Prometheus class Fast Attack Cruisers, 10 Sovereign class Battleships, 15 Galaxy class Battlecruisers, 30 Nebula class Light Battlecruisers of various subclasses, 10 Aegean class Fleet Support Destroyers, 15 Steamrunner class Cruisers, 10 Intrepid class Cruisers, 35 Defiant class Destroyers, 10 Nova class Destroyers, and 200 of the new Soulwolf class Heavy Destroyers would have made her a heck of a lot more confident that she could win an engagement with the kind of firepower Species 8472's living warships were able to throw around. She especially missed the capital ships, carriers and the Soulwolf's that had been on detached duty when the call had come down to proceed here post haste. There hadn't been time to call them back to rejoin 2nd Fleet, so they had instead slip jumped here on their own to rejoin with their parent fleet before the battle was joined with the new enemy. But that entire plan had been sent into chaos with Chriton's unbelievable decision to advance on the enemy before proper reinforcement was on hand. They were now coming in hell bent for leather, but they wouldn't make it in time to provide any support for 2nd Fleet in the coming engagement.
- Alliance Station 338, The Hallway Outside Zathran's Quarters -
Zathran strode down the hall towards his waiting ship, yet he couldn't get rid of the niggling doubts whispering in the back of his brain. Would the Terran be truly safe here on the station? It wasn't that he had any particular liking for her as an individual or even for her species in general, it was just that Lyran's complex code of honor demanded that he make every effort to protect a high ranking captured enemy from harm while under his protection. Part of him would have liked nothing better than to cut her throat open from ear to ear in a single strike, but it was a small part that he held in tight control. Dorothy Chambers was basically the equivalent to a Lyran crown princess and since she had been taken captive alive, and it was an officer from his ships boarding party that took her, it became his duty to ensure her safety. If she had even been a member of the hated Mirak Patriarch's family, he would have been duty bound to protect her well being until the Emperor decided what her fate was to be.
Yet Zathran could think of nothing more he could do to protect her. The door was sealed to open only to his families or a member of the Royal Family's scent, and a squad of his most trusted and competent marines also guarded it. Unless she managed to jimmy open the door from the inside, she would be safe. Zathran just hoped that it would be enough, for it would be a terrible stain on both his personal and his family's honor if even this Terran Starfleet scum came to harm while under his protection.
- ISS Athena, On Station Near The Borg Portal, former Borg system of A875 34B9 -
Fleet Admiral T'var looked out at the massive swirling maelstrom of the Borg Portal. There was something almost hauntingly beautiful in its sickly green depths. The holo generators that surrounded the Athena's Flag Bridge presented the sight in very fine detail, and the Athena's computer gave a running tally along side the portal of its power output, defensive systems status, offensive systems status, and hull and shield strength. Right now most of those were at normal operating parameters or nonexistent due to the damage the structure had sustained. The massive ring like shape of it had vast gouges and even whole sections missing from its structure. It was quite literally a miracle that the monstrosity was even able to hold together, let alone remain in operation. It was a true testament to Borg construction, which had made their ships so hard to destroy during the Borg/Imperial war. And nor was it alone in being the Borg's last remaining foothold in the system, for a large portion of 2nd Fleet's crews were "fast grown" in a former Borg maturation chamber.
T'var was a Vulcan, and could control her feelings just as good as any other of her race. But something ancient and feral cried out at seeing the vacant expressions on the mildly modified, at least externally, personnel that Starfleet Command had forced upon the entire Fleet as replacements for lost crewmen. Although they could do their assigned jobs almost as well as a normal being, they were virtually oblivious to anything going on outside their duties. She had tried to initiate conversations with them, but she had used holodeck characters that were more interactive and mentally there than the new 'Imp Drones' as the normal crew had christened them. And they moved and acted a heck of a lot more like Borg drones than normal individuals ever would. It was all set up to creep out normal crew and officers, but the real kicker was that the Imp drones were both to simple minded and limited mentally to even begin to comprehend both their own limitations and the effect their mere presence had on their normal crewmates.
She looked out through the slightly transparent holo display that enfolded her command chair like an endless, unbroken 360 degree window to the vastness of space beyond. She could make out enough of the reality beyond the holo display to identify the stations that ringed the Athena's Flag Bridge. Over 40 % of them were staffed by an Imp drone instead of a normal individual. Yet there was nothing she could do, for despite her best efforts, there was nothing about their on the job performance that she could actually call them on. In fact, they did their duties better and more precisely than their normally trained crewmates. While the Vulcan in her found that pleasing, it didn't outweigh their off duty activities, or lack there of, as well as their affect on the non Imp drone portion of 2nd Fleet's crew.
"Admiral, there are vessels transiting the Borg portal." It was spooky. A normal human crewman would have shown at least a little bit of emotion at the unexpected arrival of ships through the portal. But the Imp drone merely passed on the information in a near monotone voice, showing no sign of anxiety or concern at all. But T'var pushed all worries about the Empires new great experiments aside as she swung her chair around to stare directly at the Borg complex. The high definition holo projection showed a quartet of Imperial vessels transiting the portal. Their ident codes were verified and fresh info on them flashed up along side the computer generated targeting brackets of allied blue. Beside them, stats and titles appeared, and various sections of the new Imperial ships were highlighted in pale crimson of severe damage. The computer labeled them as the Akira class ISS Battle Born, the Intrepid class ISS Rage and two Sabers, the ISS Repulse and Indigo. Despite maintaining the classic Vulcan appearance of unconcern, her green blood turned to ice in her veins. She hoped that these were only the cripples from Chriton's first engagement with the new enemy, known by the Borg as Species 8472. But she had seen the highly classified records on just how powerful they could be, and a sinking sensation formed in the pit of her stomach as her traitorous brain shouted that these might very well be all that was left of Chriton's fleet. Then she had another, more terrifying thought. What if Species 8472 was following the four survivors and was even now preparing to transit the portal? 2nd Fleet's reinforcements were on their way, but they were still at least an hour and a half out at high slipstream drive. If her suspicions proved true she would need those ships very shortly.
The 25 Ark Royal class Fleet Carriers, 6 Wraith class Dreadnoughts, 40 Achilles PD/Heavy Cruisers, 30 Prometheus class Fast Attack Cruisers, 10 Sovereign class Battleships, 15 Galaxy class Battlecruisers, 30 Nebula class Light Battlecruisers of various subclasses, 10 Aegean class Fleet Support Destroyers, 15 Steamrunner class Cruisers, 10 Intrepid class Cruisers, 35 Defiant class Destroyers, 10 Nova class Destroyers, and 200 of the new Soulwolf class Heavy Destroyers would have made her a heck of a lot more confident that she could win an engagement with the kind of firepower Species 8472's living warships were able to throw around. She especially missed the capital ships, carriers and the Soulwolf's that had been on detached duty when the call had come down to proceed here post haste. There hadn't been time to call them back to rejoin 2nd Fleet, so they had instead slip jumped here on their own to rejoin with their parent fleet before the battle was joined with the new enemy. But that entire plan had been sent into chaos with Chriton's unbelievable decision to advance on the enemy before proper reinforcement was on hand. They were now coming in hell bent for leather, but they wouldn't make it in time to provide any support for 2nd Fleet in the coming engagement.