Chapter 22: Darkness of the Past

The Borg Sphere exited the wormhole and found itself in an unknown star system. It took several minutes for the Sphere to triangulate its position, which was only possible through its link with the Collective. Not a single star was visible, only a swirling blackness that seemed far away and yet close enough to touch. The Sphere was in a region of space that was supposedly filled with a massive radioactive nebula. There were dozens of vessels scattered throughout the system, most intact but registering as nearly 200,000 years old. A report was sent to Queen Alissa, who arrived a few hours later in her Diamond.

"Amazing," Alissa said, gazing out at the abandoned system. "Nearly 200,000 thousand years old. These ships must have been built by one of the first races to evolve in our galaxy. Begin a full scan. I want to know what else is here." As the Flagship Diamond's sensors slowly mapped the system, Alissa drew one of the vessels into the Diamond's docking bay. It was a fairly large vessel, 1,249 meters long. It was constructed of dark blue and silver metals and refracted the Borg sensor scans. It had a long, thin main body, with two large wings extending from the rear compartment. All in all it greatly resembled an Andorian warship.

"What's going on Big Sister?" Sinal asked as she entered the command deck.

"Thanks to an accident in a battle with the Kreedak we've been able to access a system that has apparently been isolated for 200,000 years. We're bringing aboard a vessel for analysis. Would you care to join me?" Sinal nodded and followed Alissa as they beamed to the main docking bay.

…

The hatch of the alien ship took over thirty minutes to open. It was protected by a multi-geometric combination lock with a fractal code. Inside the corridors of the alien ship were dark, with only low intensity blue glow panels casting everything in shadow. The air was unsurprisingly stale and old. There was evidence of a firefight along many of the corridors, with scorch marks and collapsed bulkheads. Sinal picked up a weapon she found. It was the size of a hand phaser, though with more of a pistol design. She ran her scanner beam over it. "Big Sister!" She called.

"What is it Sinal?" Alisa asked. Sinal handed her the pistol. "Hmm, some sort of energy weapon, though its technology is unlike anything I've seen before." Alissa called in more drones to search the ship. If the rest of its systems were as advanced as the hand weapon, this could prove very valuable to the Borg.

Five hours yielded many interesting results for the Borg search teams. The vessel was much more advanced than even Alissa's latest designs. Its hull was composed of materials that defied quick analysis, its weapons were far more powerful than Borg disruptors, and the rest of its systems would have to be brought on-line to analyze them. One thing that interested Alissa was several life signs coming from the system's third planet. They had only detected them thanks to the alien vessel's sensors. The planet itself was covered with ice, and vast cloud banks obscured most of the surface. The life signs were coming from ten kilometers below the surface. Alissa, along with a small drone squad, beamed down.

The group materialized in an ice encrusted corridor. The lighting systems were off-line so the drones used their wrist mounted illuminators. Alissa stayed in the center of the group. It was 3 degrees below zero in the corridor, and Alissa shivered. She ignored it and the group marched for nearly ten minutes before coming to a door which was frozen open. Inside were a row of stasis pods, three of which had been smashed by a falling support beam. Inside were the frozen remains of three humanoids. Alissa had their bodies beamed to the Sphere for analysis. The other seven bodies were still intact amazingly. Several consoles were on-line at the far edge of the room. A drone stuck his tubules into one but was thrown back by a massive energy surge. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"Interesting," Alissa remarked. Then a blue half sphere in the ceiling five meters overhead sparked and a projection of an alien woman shimmered into life. She was well over two meters tall, with pale blue skin and white hair that reached her waist.

"Intruder, you have come here seeking our technology. Your intrusion has activated this program. You have ten seconds to state your purpose or be destroyed." Alissa stepped forward.

"I am Alissa of the Borg Collective. We have come here seeking weapons and technology to use in our war with an alien race, the Kreedak. We detected-"

"Your time has expired. Analyzing response." A faint humming came from below the floor. One of the stasis pods rose slightly and gas began seeping from within. "You will remain where you are until the revevication process is completed. Any deviation will result in your destruction"

…

The drones and Alissa stayed motionless for over two hours. Finally the lid of the stasis capsule rose and the woman from the hologram stepped out on unsteady legs. She wore a simple white gown with gold thread lining the edges. Slowly she opened her eyes, deep red orbs filled with arrogance and pride.

"So, you know of the Kreedak do you?" The woman asked.

"Yes. My empire, the Borg Collective, is currently attempting to exterminate the Kreedak," Alissa replied. The woman looked intrigued.

"Then perhaps I won't kill you right away. Tell me, how did you come to this place?"

"One of my vessels triggered the formation of a wormhole when its weapons struck a Kreedak Subspace tunnel opening. That wormhole led us here." The woman snickered.

"So, those insectoid slugs are still around are they? I would have thought they would be gone by now."

"Well they're not, and they're out to conquer the Galaxy. The Borg are fighting them, but the outcome is still uncertain. Tell me, who are you and what is this place?"

"You should endeavor to act with more respect Ms. Alissa. I can have all of you destroyed in an instant, just as I have done to countless millions before."

"I wouldn't if I were you. Tell me, what happened to your race? Did the Kreedak destroy you?"

"No. They were only a small part of our downfall. Our empire spanned the galaxy. We subdued countless worlds, and crushed any who resisted us. Then we finally met a race with power equal to our own. They called themselves the Iconians."

"The Iconians?" Alissa repeated. The Iconians were one of the oldest raced known to have existed. Their empire had fallen around 200,000 years ago. Their gateways had been discovered on two worlds and had shown their extreme technological advancements.

"Yes. Their empire spanned a third of the galaxy. We fought them, killing as many of them as we could. Our warships were superior to their own, but their gateway technology enabled them to strike anywhere at any time, and their computer viruses were devastating, but we never faltered. Towards the end of the war we developed a version of their gateway technology for our warships, which also made them immune to the Iconian gateways, but then the plague struck. Developed by the Iconians as a last resort, it killed over two thirds of our population. We bombarded the Iconian homeworld to dust and ended the war, but then those vile Kreedak came. They had been watching us, waiting to strike. In our weakened condition, we were defeated." There was venom in the woman's voice now. "Our last ships mounted a defense of our homeworld, but against millions of Kreedak ships, we were overwhelmed. And so the last of us slept, waiting for our chance to strike back."

"Well I'd say that time has come," Alissa replied. "The Kreedak are coming at us hard, and if the Borg fall, the Kreedak WILL dominate this galaxy. I can't bring back your empire, but I can give you the revenge you wish for. Come with me, and when we bring the war to Kreedak space, I'll allow you to burn their worlds to your heart's content." The woman smiled.

"You're very cold for someone so young."

"I learned the hard way that if you want peace and order there can be only one race to achieve it. I lost a good and treasured friend because I tried to help others, and for their act that race was exterminated."

"Then we have much in common Ms. Alissa. My race learned that lesson early in our history. If I do decide to help you, what will I get in return?"

"After this galaxy is taken, I plan on conquering others. You can have your pick of any galaxy I discover to conquer and rule as you see fit. On this you have my word as Queen of the Borg."

"Words are worth little. However, given the obvious state of my world's defenses, which would have destroyed you if they had been functioning, I suppose I will allow you to work with my people."

"You have my gratitude," Alissa replied, already thinking of what the Collective could do with the technology of this system. "Now then, I plan on beginning the Collective's newest series of strikes against the Kreedak in just over two months. We have that much time to refit the Borg fleet and prepare. You… I'm sorry; I don't believe you ever said your name."

"My name is Ishara, Prin'tel of the Dray'nal Empire. Now, we have much to do. I will revive the others and begin analyzing your technology. You will be given what advancements we can graft to your primitive vessels. Then, once we have advanced you to the stage where we can construct new vessels, nothing will be able to stop us." Both women grinned at that.

So, how was that? So the Borg have found a powerful new ally. Will the tide of war now turn against the Kreedak? Will Ishara betray Alissa? And what will the Kreedak do when they see their ancient enemy again? Keep reading and find out. See ya all in the next chapter, and don't forget to review!

ENTILZA