The Dying of the Light

Chapter 1: Echoes

Captain Joanne Patel's Personal Log, Stardate 64302.1

After the Dominion war, many assumed that things would go back to the way that they were, that the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans would go back to their infighting. For a while, it looked like that was exactly what would happen, but then Voyager came back after annihilating the Borg. I had an up close view of the event as a Lt. Cmdr. on the Prometheus. I don't think anyone could of scripted a better entrance. Voyager came back with, transphasic torpedoes, ablative hull armor, and most important of all, the design of an advanced propulsion drive that they had dubbed Quantum Slipstream.

If they had just classified this technology, Starfleet would have been the strongest power in this area of space for a long time to come. But Starfleet had greater ideas; they used this technology as leverage to open diplomatic relations with the Romulans and Klingons. Both the Kithmoer Accords and the Treaty of Algeron were renegotiated to make the three powers much stronger allies than they were before. The Chin'toka Accords, as they were to be known, stipulated that they would became both military and scientific allies, they would enter into a mutual defense pact and share all the technology and research that they come across. Hell, the Romulans even lifted the ban on Federation cloaking technology. Two years later, Starfleet discovered the secret behind making a stable slipstream and now every Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ship is equipped with a Quantum Slipstream drive.

Ugh, when did this log turn into a history lesson? I guess two years in the Delta Quadrant has made me a bit reflective.

I can't image what it was like for Janeway, all-alone out here, not knowing if she would ever get back. As difficult as it must have been, I always envied her. The chance to explore an uncharted region of space is every Starfleet Officers dream. I believe that Janeway and I have a lot in common, we both came through on the science track, we both switched to command, and now we both have been to the Delta Quadrant. Maybe when I get back home, I'll ask her to have a cup of coffee with me.

Anyways.....

We just got our new orders from Starfleet; the new Malon government has reconsidered our offer to help them convert their antimatter waste into something more useful. We have to keep an eye out for rouge waste transports trying to keep business alive. I am anxious to see Malon Prime, apparently it could give Earth a run for its money in terms of beauty.

Computer, End Log.

"Captain Patel to the bridge," came Ensign Archer's voice over the comm.

"Report"

"Captain," replied her first officer, Commander Drax, "we have a ship closing fast."

"Malon?" Questioned the Captain.

"Unknown, sir. I can't identify the ship; they are using technology that is fooling our sensors, " answered Lt. Roka, the Romulan science officer.

"Commander Kotan, try sending a hail on all subspace channels."

The tactical officers punched in the commands, "No response, Captain."

"I don't like this, Commander, time to intercept?"

"Two minutes forty seconds."

"Go to yellow alert."

"Aye Captain," replied her first officer.

"Captain, the ship is in visual range," claimed the Vulcan ops officer, Ensign Toval.

"On Screen."

The entire bridge crew stared in horror as the view screen flickered to show an image of a massive ship shaped like a cube.

"Red Alert! Mr. Kotan deploy armor and load transphasic torpedoes, Ensign Archer, evasive pattern gamma - one."

"The Borg? I thought they were destroyed by Voyager," stated a perplexed Drax.

"I guess not."

Archer's fingers flew over the console on pure instinct as he tried to move the ship away from the monstrosity in front of them. "They are matching my course," yelled a freighted Archer.

"Captain, they are hailing us."

"Lets see it."

A single Borg drone appeared on the viewer.

"Federation vessel USS Venture, registry number NCC dash nine five two eight one, we have analyzed your defenses as being unable to withstand us. Lower your shields and prepare to be assimilated."

"Captain, they've locked on a tractor beam!" Yelled Kotan.

"What! Is the armor deployed?"

"Yes Sir, they must have found a way to adapt."

"Lock torpedoes on the source of that beam."

"Torpedoes locked on."

"FIRE!!"

Two torpedoes whizzed out of the forward launcher of the Venture and hit the emitter square on. The beam flickered for a few seconds giving the Venture a chance to get away.

"Mr. Archer, get us out of here full impulse, Mr. Toval up link with the MIDAS array. What the hell is going on, one of those torpedoes is supposed to take out an entire cube."

Suddenly the ship buckled from a Borg disruptor blast.

"Shields at 30%, we have lost the quantum drive and the cloak has been destroyed."

Consoles started to explode and an ensign was flung across the bridge.

"Bridge to sickbay, we have casualties," called Drax as he went to attend to the ensign.

The Captain yelled into her combadge, "Engineering, report!"

"I need at least two days to get the quantum matrix back online," replied the frantic chief engineer.

"Divert all the power you can from the matrix to the impulse engines. Mr. Kotan, remodulate the transphasic frequency of those torpedoes and fire at will."

Two torpedoes fired out of the ships aft launcher and hit the cube dead on its main power generator.

"Direct hit. Torpedoes had minimal effect, Borg shields are holding at 99%."

Two green bolts ripped through the hull and continued through the bulkheads until they finally emerged on the opposite side of the ship. A sudden jolt ran through the bridge and one of the lose support beams toppled onto Commander Drax's prone figure.

"Get him to sickbay," ordered the Captain, "Kotan, report!"

"Shields at 8%, the armor is buckling, we have hull breaches on multiple decks."

"Captain, the cube is jamming the uplink."

"Compensate, Mr. Toval!"

"Captain, If we use the deflector to open a quantum fissure, we may be able to get a partial signal through it," suggested Lt. Roka.

"I'll take it. Toval!"

"Aye Captain, charging main deflector. Channel open," replied Toval in his calm Vulcan voice.

"This is Captain Patel of the USS Venture, we are under attack from a Borg Cube. They have adapted to our armor and our torpedoes are useless against them. The slipstream drive is offline and we are losing our shields. We are in the Malon sector, coordinates five zero one mark two eight."

"Bridge to astrometrics. Is there anywhere we can hide to make repairs?"

"There is a mutura class nebula five billion kilometers from our position, on a heading of three zero one, mark two" replied Lt. Persons.

"Get us there Mr. Archer, as quickly as you can."

"Toval, divert everything except shields to the impulse engines."

"Captain, the Cube has changed course to pursue," injected Kotan.

The cube was looming larger and larger on the view screen.

"Captain, Shields have failed, hull breaches on all decks!"

Four green disruptor blasts fired out of the cube.

"All hands, brace for impact!"