Chapter Seven: Expansion
Alissa stared out at the yellow and black streaks of the Transwarp conduit as her attack force closed in on its target. Three other strike forces were on their way to major Krenim worlds. She was taking no chances. The Krenim would fall in one motion.
"We're nearly there," Alissa said. "Once the Krenim homeworld is ours, along their major shipyards and population centers, their empire will be crippled."
"Are you certain you wish to lead the assault on the Krenim homeworld?" Asked the Queen.
"Yes. My ship's armor can withstand sustained fire from their weapons, and I will be at the rear of the battle, so the danger is minimal. Besides, simply doing research all the time is boring. Ah, we're here," Alissa said as the force dropped out of transwarp fifty thousand kilometers from the Krenim homeworld. There was no opening message, no warning. The Borg came in firing. Three hundred ships were there to meet them, along with an impressive number of orbital weapon platforms. Thousands of Chronoton torpedoes scythed through the Borg fleet, destroying three hundred probes and thirty-four spheres.
"They are concentrating on our smaller vessels first," the Queen observed as the Borg return volley blew apart dozens of Krenim warships. As the Borg closed on the planet, the orbital batteries opened up as well. The platforms each mounted a dozen torpedo launchers and impressive shielding.
"There. Now that they're all involved, I have a little surprise for them," Alissa said, smiling as two hundred Borg Harbringers decloaked and tired massive volleys of tri-cobalt warheads, destroying over a hundred ships and five weapon platforms in the first three volleys. The battle had now well and truly turned.
On board the Krenim flagship, Defense Admiral Obrist ordered his ships to warp out to the newest Borg arrivals. They were armed with long range weapons which were more than three times as powerful as a Chronoton torpedo. Unless they were neutralized the defense grid would be taken apart.
"Sir, the second fleet has just entered range of the system and are requesting orders," Obrist's first officer reported.
"Order them to concentrate their efforts on the Borg artillery ships. Cancel my previous order to advance. All Home Guard ships are to focus their fire one the Borg Cubes. Status on the evacuation?" When the incoming Borg fleet had first been detected, the Krenim Council had known they could not stop it, so they had ordered an evacuation of the homeworld. They would gather their forces for a counterstrike and then reclaim their world.
"Half the transports have launched. They will be clear to engage warp drive in two minutes." Obrist relaxed a bit. Most of his family was on one of the transports, including his brother.
"Once the second wave launches have the fleet to form up around them. Have we received any word yet from the fifth fleet?" The last he had heard the fifth fleet was engaged with a large Borg fleet near the Aren Sen shipyards.
"No sir. Their last transmission reported that they had been surrounded and were attempting to withdraw." Suddenly the ship was rocked by torpedo impacts and seven drones beamed aboard. The bridge officers drew their weapons and cut them down. Their hand weapons used miniaturized versions of their torpedoes, which meant the Borg shields were useless. The drones dropped and vanished.
"Shields restored," an officer reported a moment later. "Sir, the second evacuation wave has left the surface. The fleet is moving to join with them."
Obrist took one last look at his homeworld. "Prepare to-" suddenly there was an enormous explosion from the front ranks of the evacuation fleet. "Sensors, what just happened!"
"Some kind of extremely high-yield weapon sir. Half the fleet is destroyed or disabled."
"Order the functional vessels to beam the survivors off those disabled and continue on course."
Alissa watched as the second Krenim evacuation fleet ran straight into her mine. She was enjoying this. The Krenim had put up an impressive fight, and space was littered with the wreckage of hundreds of Borg vessels. Alissa's flagship itself was burning in several locations from the attack of the second Krenim fleet. She had been prepared for their arrival though, and her fifty Tactical cubes, which had been cloaked, had destroyed the fleet quickly. Still, fifteen of her guard vessels were gone, and more were regenerating from heavy damage.
"Allow them to escape. I want to see where they will go." She paused for a moment as she accessed data on the other battles going on in Krenim space. Of the three targets, one had managed to survive, though their defense fleet had sustained over eighty percent casualties. The other two targets had been assimilated. "Move the fleet in closer. Destroy the orbital batteries and begin assimilation of the remaining population." Of the three hundred million inhabitants, barely a third had been evacuated. The Borg were victorious.
"What will our next move be?" Asked the Queen.
"Once the Doctor and K'trel finish their research, I plan to begin an invasion of Fluidic Space. As long as Species 8427 has somewhere to hide they will remain a threat. After we have integrated 8472's bio-technology, we will begin operations against the Voth. Also, since I'm always looking for new ways to amuse myself, I recently identified a sector of space on the far side of the Quadrant where two races are engaged in a large war. Since neither of them will have heard of us, I plan on aiding one side. For the first time even the Borg may actually have an ally. For as long as it amuses me that it," Alissa said as she watched the first nano probe bombs enter the atmosphere. All life on the planet would be drones within days. "For now though, I believe I'll get some sleep. This battle was a bit tiring."
She closed her eyes and beamed back to her room. It was in the center of the ship and composed of ten rooms, each decorated differently. Alissa wanted to begin collecting artifacts from the races the Borg assimilated. It would become her newest hobby. As she relaxed on her massive bed, with a regeneration field glowing a soft green from underneath, she dreamed of the day she would return to Earth. She would save it for last so when she finally did assimilate it, the fools who had rejected her would realize what a mistake they had made. As she closed her eyes, she also dreamed of finding someone who could be her friend. Perhaps she would finally be truly happy.
How was that? In the next chapter, the Borg will enter a war actually on one side. Who will they choose? What will the Krenim survivors do now? And will Alissa find a true friend? Find out in the next chapter. See ya then, and don't forget to review!
ENTILZA