Chapter 3: Disclosure
A/N: Still don't own Chuck or STV. I'm just playing in their sandbox but I'll put them back when I'm done. All OFC's are mine.
24 September 2008
LAX Airport
"Are you ok Chuck?" Sarah asks Chuck as they are walking away from dropping of their bags at the check in counter.
"Is it that obvious, or is it just that obvious to the woman that I love is that in tune to me."
"Ok Chuck, that's a nice try to avoid the subject. What's wrong?"
"I'm just a little nervous to be heading to Langley. We have come so far and I don't want to blow it."
Sarah touched his arm for a second, and then turned him to look at her. "Chuck, you can do anything. I know you will do great."
Chuck took a deep breath and smiled and said, "Thanks babe."
Casey pushes past them with a grunt.
Langley Virginia
"I didn't think that filling out paperwork, and picking out agents would take this long."
"As a moron, I mean asset, you missed most of the paperwork Bartowski."
"Yeah well I need a favor." When both Sarah and Casey looked at him Chuck said "I want to get Ellie and Awesome a souvenir or two." There is no way I'll tell them what I really want to do.
Sarah thought for a second and said "No problem Chuck, I have a friend who can escort you around while we finish up in here. Even though Bill is retired from the field, he should be good enough escort Chuck. Besides I trust him. She picks up the nearest phone and places her call,
"Bill, I need a favor, and I hope you can help."
"Sarah, it's been a long time since I have heard from you. What can I do for you?"
"My boyfriend wants to do some souvenir shopping for his family. Do you think you can escort him around town?"
"That shouldn't be a problem. Tell him I'll be in the lobby in a few minutes to pick him up."
"Thanks Bill I owe you one for this."
It wasn't long before the Chuck and Bill were meeting up in the lobby and heading out to the stores. Once they were away from headquarters Chuck began to tell Bill his plans,
"I am going to be asking Sarah to marry me soon, and I need a ring," Chuck began, "the problem is, I need it before I head home. I figure that since we use wedding sets as part of our covers, the CIA must have someone make them. Do you know or can you find out who makes the jewelry we use?"
"To easy Chuck" answered Bill. "I know someone in what we nicknamed 'the props department' that can help out. Let me check with him real quick." Several minutes and a couple calls later Bill has the information Chuck needs.
"You got lucky Chuck; we use a place that's about twenty minutes from here. I called my boss to ask for an early lunch to take you shopping, he said not to worry. It seems it's been cleared by the higher ups to assist you any way we can. Best part is I don't have to clock out, so we can get lunch as well."
It was a short drive to the nondescript looking jewelry called Jen's House of Jewelry. They went inside where they were greeted by a middle aged woman. "Welcome to my store gentlemen how can I help you?"
"Hi, my name is Chuck and he's Bill. I'm look for an engagement ring. Problem is I need it today. These are the stones I want to use, can you help?" Chuck hands Jen a piece of paper with the required stones on it.
"She must be a very special woman." Barely audibly she mumbled "I wish mine would realize that." She took a breath and continued a little louder,
"You're in luck, we handle rush jobs in here all the time. I have a large selection of the stones you asked about, and some very nice rings to mount them on. Why don't you have a seat, and I'll get them together and we'll see what we can come up with." Jen motions them to sit down, and heads to the back to get what she needs.
It takes about an hour but Chuck finally puts together what he feels is the perfect ring for Sarah. Jen tells him it will take her a couple of hours or so to mount and clean the stones, and they should go and have lunch. Bill and Chuck decide that it will be best to pay for the ring now, go eat, then pick up the ring and get back to work. Several hours later Chucks first mission as a real spy is complete.
Sarah and Casey spent their first day getting recommendations from the department heads on who they believed were their best people. The next couple of days were spent pouring over files of the perspective personal they might be using on their team. Some would remain in their current posts, while some would have to transfer to a new location. While they were doing that Chuck received an intersect download. At the end of the three days they headed back to Burbank.
1 Oct 2008
General Beckman called for a briefing to go over a new mission. It would be a fairly easy one. They simply had to get into an office building and plant a few bugs. They left the castle and headed their separate ways, Casey headed back to the Buy More to start his shift and Sarah and Chuck headed for Casa Bartowski. "Hey Sarah, lets head to the beach and just relax a bit. We have some down time before the mission, and I want to spend it with you alone."
"Sounds great Chuck, Let's get some food, and have a picnic."
"You are reading my mind."
Sarah and Chuck sat on the beach relaxing after their meal. Sarah was sitting between Chuck's legs with her back nestled against his chest. His arms were wrapped securely around her pulling her close as possible, her hands gently caressing his arms.
Sarah couldn't remember feeling this relaxed or happy. She could feel the rise and fall of Chuck's chest against her back begin to increase, and his arms began to warm to her touch.
"Chuck, Is everything ok, you're not having trouble with the new download are you? Maybe we should call the Doc?"
"Sarah, that's not what the problem is."
"Then what's wrong baby?"
"I'm fine, really Sarah. I hate to ask but can I stand up for a moment so I can get out my phone. I need to call Ellie and let her know we will be there for dinner." Sarah slid off Chucks lap and onto the blanket letting out a contented sigh and nodded lazily.
After completing the call Chuck turned to face Sarah and sat in front of her. He took Sarah's hand slowly, and he teasingly brought it to his mouth and kissed each finger. Sarah closed her eyes and inched closer to where he had kneeled down. When he got to the third finger on her left hand he slid his surprise on it. Sarah felt something cool sliding on her finger.
Hers eyes snapped open and she gasped. Resting on her finger was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. A two carat princess cut diamond sat nestled on a band of platinum. Around the band were alternating Amethyst and Ruby stones. Sarah felt tears starting to form in her eyes and for the first time she could remember, she willingly let them fall. She knew this was a ring meant only for her. Chuck had it made special, a one of a kind. Knowing this made her love him just a little bit more. She wondered not for the first time, How did I get so lucky?
"Sarah, I have been in love with you since the first time I saw you," he began. "Without you I would not be where I am today. You brought me out of my self induced depression and self pity of five years. Gave meaning to my life again, and made me realize my true potential. This ring symbolizes what you mean to me. Each stone has a meaning, some have more than one. The diamond represents strength and eternity. You are my strength, and I want to spend eternity with you. The amethyst means protection. You are my protector and I now give you my heart to protect. The ruby signifies love. I love you Sarah Walker, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" as he finished he could feel Sarah as she sobbed faintly against his chest.
Sarah was enthralled by his words; never in her wildest imagination did she expect to get to this point in her life. She had a lousy childhood bouncing from place to place. Then joining the CIA further stripped of her humanity and hardened her heart even more. She realized for the second time in as many days that all of that was washed away by one curly haired man with a heart of gold.
Scooting around to face him she takes both his hands in hers and stares into is dark brown eyes. "When I started this assignment I was a broken human being, a cold heartless bitch that did not care if she survived the next mission. I had no respect for myself or other people. I erected a wall around my heart and vowed not to let anyone in so I could not get hurt. I was sinking into the abyss with no hope of getting out. Then I got to know you as a person and not just an asset to protect. Slowly, very slowly, you wormed your way into my life and my heart. Like the ocean we enjoy watching slowly erodes the sand, you did the same to those walls. Slowly chipping them away and carrying the pieces off. I wonder every day how I got so lucky with you. Chuck you saved my life and restored my soul. For that alone I am grateful, so Chuck the answer is yes. I would like nothing more than to be Mrs. Charles Bartowski."
As she was finishing she leans in and gives him a kiss. It wasn't hard, forceful and full of passion. It was soft and tender, the kind of kiss that conveys all the love and respect one has. Breaking the kiss she sees in his eyes all the love he has for her and she knows as sure as the sun will set and the moon will rise, the same can be found in hers. They sat awhile longer just enjoying the warmth of each other that had been denied them so long. As the sun started to set they picked up and headed to Chuck's for dinner with Ellie and Devon.
"Sarah this is going to sound funny but you have ear plugs in here?"
"Huh, why do you need them?"
"You're a spy, you figure it out." After seeing Sarah's expression Chuck continued. "Ellie plus engagement is bound to equal a squeal that will send every dog in the area running for cover, and Casey bursting through the front door. We can also use this as a good time to tell them about my joining the CIA" Chuck was hardly able to control his laughter while getting this out.
"Oh. my. God. Chuck! Ellie is going to freak!"
"Try telling me something I don't know. Then we have to follow it up with the whole full disclosure thing. I'm worried how Ellie will take it?" just a hint of nerves creeping into his voice.
"Don't worry Chuck if we can turn the cast iron bitch, known as Beckman, we can handle your sister." A giggle erupted from her, as she pictured Ellie's reaction. "I wonder how long it will take her to notice."
"Not long I'm sure." he reasoned "We're here. Shall we my lovely bride to be?"
"Yes, my wonderful fiancée, let's go and face the squeal!" it feels so good to be able to say that. This has been the best week of my life, and it is only going to get better.
They walked to the apartment holding hands, not wanting to separate from each other. Entering they saw Ellie in the kitchen fixing dinner and Devon on the couch watching the ESPN. "Ellie we're back. How much longer before we eat?"
"Not long Chuck I'm just finishing up. Hey Sarah glad you could join us." Ellie moved onto the living area and continued "We never got to out the other night. Wanna cash in the rain che…." The words died on her lips. Sarah had unconsciously brushed a fallen strand of hair off her face using her left hand. The glint of the ring was captured by Ellie almost immediately.
"OH MY GOD!…..Sarah? Chuck? When? How? I'm so excited for you! Congratulations! LET ME SEE!" this was all said as Ellie practically flew to the couple embracing the pair in bone crushing hugs. Chuck was right, the squeal the erupted from his sister almost made his ears ring. She was in such a euphoric state, that her words were coming out in a rapid stream.
"Ellie, relax. Sarah and I will tell you everything over dinner. For now, let's just eat."
"Way to go Chuckster! Congratulations Sarah, Welcome to the family!" beamed Devon as he hugged the couple.
The couples moved to the dining area and started eating. The newly engaged couple explained the events of the day. Despite the relaxed and joyous setting, Sarah and Chuck felt a bit nervous because they were about to tell Ellie and Devon about their true jobs. Looking at each other they had a conversation without words, something only people truly in love can do. When Chuck slightly nodded Sarah went first.
"Ellie, I need you to know that I love your brother very much," Sarah began, "He has always been my strength when I need it, my shining light when I slip into the dark pit of despair. He means more to me than anything else in the world. I was never much good at showing my emotions, but being with your brother has changed me. You need to believe me when I tell you this. I love you and Devon like a brother and sister, I see you as family; something I never had growing up. Chuck's been given the ok to tell you about what has been going on since I came here. It should clear up why our relationship always appeared to be mixed up. Ellie, no matter what you hear next you can rest assured this is real. I love your brother with all my heart." Sarah just looked at Chuck and nodded her head.
"Ok here's the thing" his voice was trembling, and he was shaking slightly as he spoke, partly from nervousness, but mostly from the fear of Ellie's reaction. "Awhile ago I was given the opportunity to serve our country" not like I had a choice "While I was at Stanford the CIA was looking to recruit people to join them. They hid specialized tests within the normal tests we were given in certain classes. Somehow my test scores got lost somewhere along the highway. During the summer of 2007 many of the misplaced records were found. The CIA finally got around to evaluating how I did on those tests. They found I have a unique ability to process intelligence data. Sarah was sent here to offer me a job, working for the CIA."
My man is learning fast. He just gave them enough information about what he can do, but never brought up the intersect, amazing.
Ellie's reaction was one of complete and shock followed by disbelief. Chuck working for the CIA and Sarah as well, holy shit! Wait, what about, John he got here around the same time. Her eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets.
Devon's reaction was almost the same, if his large as saucers eyes were any indication. Chuck's in the CIA, guess he's not still working on his five year plan.
Chuck was somewhat relieved by the couples reaction even though he was still trembling a little. I haven't been hit yet. That's a plus.
"Shortly after I accepted, because of my unique ability to process data, the CIA and NSA came up with a pilot program. Since 9/11 the intelligence communities were trying to share information more freely than they had in the past. I am part of that pilot program. They would take an agent from each agency and team them up with an analyst, in this case me. The CIA told Sarah to stay and the NSA sent Major John Casey."
By now both Devon's and Ellie's heads were spinning. Neither one had yet to completely wrap their heads around the idea the Sarah, let alone Chuck, were working with the CIA. Now they just learned that their neighbor John was with the NSA. This has got to be dream, went through their minds.
"Nobody can know about me, so you to need to keep this between us. In their infinite wisdom, they figured the best way for us to fly under the radar, and keep me safe would be to have Sarah pose as my girlfriend. My first thoughts were that the CIA and NSA are nuts. Who would ever believe that someone that looks like Sarah would be interested in anyone like me. Now that we are getting married, I think they must have known something all along!"
Chuck noticed Ellie getting ready to speak so he held up his hands to forestall any questions that might come up, "Guys I am very good at what I do, you could say I am one of a kind. There are a lot of bad guys no longer out there because of what we do. That's why you catch me coming and going at weird times. It's also the reason I had those injuries I could not explain. Due to some archaic guidelines in use by the CIA and NSA; analysts like me cannot get into romantic relationships with agents like Sarah."
Well that explains a lot mused Ellie.
"So we had to keep our feelings hidden, while we pretended to date. A couple of days ago I was given full agent status." This made Ellie's eyes grow even larger. She had just started calming down from the first shock. "We will be leaving soon on a mission that I cannot tell you about, but I will be able to come and visit and you can come and see me. The job offer I got in the mail yesterday is my cover. So when people ask why I moved you can tell them a legitimate reason. Feel free to ask us any questions, but keep in mind we probably won't answer many."
"Wow" was the first thing Ellie could make herself say "is it dangerous? Chuck you could be hurt or killed. What were you thinking?"
"Yeah sis it can be at times. But it's not that bad. I have Sarah and Casey to watch and protect me. Mostly I just point out the bad guys, and let the team take care of them. I just stay in the car." If Ellie ever found out the truth, it would Not Be Good. "I plan to tell Morgan about my new job as a programmer, but not the real one with the CIA. He may be my best buddy, but he can be an idiot, and he's bound to say the wrong thing to the wrong person." The last part got a laugh from everyone. Maybe they laughed a little too hard, but the tension was gone.
Chuck showed them the letter that would explain his cover job, and passed it to Ellie to have her read it later. He decided to give her the cliff's notes version until she had time to read it "I got a job offer to be a software engineer for the Government. It's the cover for why we have to move to Philadelphia by the end of next month. You already know the real reason."
Ellie took a cleansing breath and her words got stronger as she stated. "Sarah, I know you love my brother; I could see it for a long time. I would like to thank you for taking care of my brother. I have been doing it for years, just not against bad guys. I never could figure out why two people so obviously in love, never got to the next step." Seeing the worried look on Sarah, Ellie continued on "I may not like what went on between you two but, I can understand it. So are we in any danger?"
It was Sarah's turn to chip in. "We don't believe so, but to make sure, there will be several teams of agents moving in here. One team will move into Casey's old place, and several will be in the same complex. You two will be given files on each team so you know them. Contact them if anything out of the ordinary happens, and they will handle it. Also with Chuck being gone, the threat level should decrease. With the engagement, I will be living here as well. It's about time don't ya think Chuck?" his reaction was immediate; he pulled Sarah into a searing kiss and hugger her tight. When did we discuss moving in together? Wait. Who the hell cares! I am with Sarah and we're getting married, so what if she decides we're going to live together. It's not like I'm gonna say no. Damn, I'm one lucky bastard!
"What I don't understand is why you need to move away. Can't you guys just stay and have Chuck analyze the data from here?" Ellie was trying to get a better feel for Chuck's job.
"Not really." Sarah paused a second to gather her thoughts on how Chuck did his job. "Chuck needs to see the people in question before he can put all the information together. Also, because Chuck is has reached full agent status, he needs to be trained as one. Needless to say most of the training locations are near Langley."
Gabriel's Origin
2 Oct 2008
Gabriel was sitting around the conference room at his head quarters with his department heads. "Tomorrow we start the biggest covert mission our team has ever had. If we fail it will be the end of everything we know and stand for. All our lives depend on the success of us completing this mission. Only Sirella, Doc and I know the real reason we are here. You were briefed before you left that we came here to study earth's history, and attempt to fill in the gaps left after the Great War. That is not the case." Gabriel paused to allow his people to digest what they had just been told.
"We have been tasked by our Queen and Kahless to save not only the Borg Collective, but the Klingon Empire as well. What I am about to show you, will explain all you need to know about why we are here, and what the mission is. The information revealed to you today, can never leave this room. Only the Queen, Princess and the upper layer of the Hive mind know the truth about me." The massive screen turned on, and the events unfolded before them.
(here is the universe borrowed from H.W.'s Princess)
Unimatrix 01 is the largest starship know in all four quadrants, home of the Borg Queen Seven of Nine, and her Mate B'Elanna Torres, was quietly cruising towards Borg space located deep in the heart of the Delta quadrant. The Borg had just finished a lengthy negation in the Gamma quadrant that finalized yet another species joining the Borg collective.
Several years prior, the former Queen had been killed, and no other replacement drones were left. The Borg had attempted to lure Seven of Nine back to the collective, because Seven was the last of the replacement drones. Seven agreed to return to the Borg as long as the USS Voyager was left alone. B'Elanna convinced the hive mind to allow Seven to behave as an individual by informing them that if all they wanted Seven to be was another mindless drone; they really didn't need her as the Queen.
Seven brought sweeping changes to the Collective, the most important being the Borg no longer assimilated new species into the collective. Instead they asked any species the hive thought would add to the perfection of the collective to become vassal territories of the Borg Collective. Members of these species would volunteer for a period of years and act as individuals. The Borg got the distinctiveness they wanted and the species got the protection of the Borg collective. The Borg eventually formed an alliance with the Sill, a species residing in fluidic space, where stable Omega molecules could be found. The Omega molecule is the most powerful source of energy known. A small string of Omega Molecules is capable of supplying all the power requirements for any major city, for an indefinite period of time. These combined factors made the Borg the most powerful entity in all four quadrants.
Seven and B'Elanna were chatting quietly in their quarters when the combined voices of the Hive mind came over their Borg link. Our Queen, there has been a temporal incursion in grid 2375. From what we can tell the end date is around 2003 on the old earth calendar.
"Do we know what was the caused the rift," questioned Seven.
Yes our queen, it seems that a rouge group of Gallian's, a species of shape shifters, not satisfied with the alliance with us, stole a time ship and headed back in time.
"Have we been able to assess their reasons?" B'Elanna joined in.
They know our Queen is from Earth, they are under the belief if they went back far enough in time and changed the time line, Seven would never be born or assimilated.
"If that happened, I would not have been able to change the Borg. There would be no alliance with the Gillian's, so they would be free to continue their conquest of neighboring sectors." Seven deduced "The Dominion would defeat the Federation and Kiligon Empire. We cannot allow that to happen."
"Damn right we can't!" B'Elanna shouted "If they succeed, I would never meet you. We need to stop their plan." Pausing she addresses the collective, "What are our options?" B'Elanna chose to let the collective make the plan because several species had been using time travel and were better suited for the task.
Send in Gabriel, he is a Terran from that time period. He has contacts there that will prove useful on the mission. He knows the society, and he will have the easiest time adapting. He will have a major advantage being familiar with the primitive technology of the time. With our technology, he can remain virtually undetected, as he researches the archives and data bases of the intelligence agencies in existence.
"The Hive is right Seven. He is our best option. We'll need to upgrade his implants to the newest ones we have. He's like you in that regard, wearing his old implants with pride. He would stick out with the implant over his right eye and right hand covered in mesh." As she started to call for him over the link, a thought came to her. "Hey Babe you know he's not going to leave his wife behind, and you can sure as Gre'Thor, bet they have never seen a Kiligon before! We will have to send a team with them as well."
Sevens quirked her left eyebrow causing her optical implant to rise and tilted her head in her typical manner "Correct, for her to go, we will need to alter her features to human standards. It is something she has done before to go on missions. I will contact them now. I will also have the Hive assemble us a team of humans to send along with them."
"I would like to send some our friends from Voyager along with them. Tom Paris has always been fascinated by that time period, and if goes, Harry Kim will have to as well. Samantha and Naomi Wildman, will want to go as well. Hive do they meet your approval?"
Yes our Princess.
Seven called Gabriel and his wife, Sirella, to her conference room and explained the situation and his mission with its importance to this universe. For the first time, in what seemed like forever, he felt his face pale. One thought was running through his mind, home. The one place he thought he would never see again, long deceased relatives would be alive, parents, sisters, sons and grandchildren. This single thought brought the greatest warrior of the modern Klingon Empire to his knees. Sirella rushed to his side, and grabbed him in a crushing embrace, offering him what comfort she could. Wrapped up in his wife's arms he thinks back to how he got here.
His story and history was probably the strangest of all the drones. Gabriel, the best operative the collective has. Even with the Borg's assimilated knowledge, there were still times where intelligence gathering missions were needed. Gabriel is a human male who had been with the collective only a year and a half.
He was born on earth in the year 1960, enlisted in the Army at 19. He served with honor during tours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Primarily a member of the Army's Special Forces, he was occasionally loaned to the Navy SEAL's. Several years into his enlistment, he was recruited by the CIA, but remained with his unit. He completed many covert missions with the Army's Special Forces and Navy Seals. He was awarded the Silver and Bronze Stars, along with other combat medals for his actions under fire. By all accounts he was the recruiting poster for heroes.
Then in June of 2007, his life changed forever, his unit had been tasked to provide tactical communications for a Brigade training to deploy to Iraq. While he was monitoring the communications site a temporal anomaly occurred and sent him into the future. The first thing he could remember when he woke up was the strange place he found himself in. He was having trouble adjusting his eyes, and his hand felt strange. Strange beings surrounded him; they had forehead ridges and long hair, dressed in some kind of weird armor. He was told they were Klingons, a proud warrior race bound by honor. With the help of Federation doctors that had experience with Borg implants; they removed what implants they could, and left the rest. After spending time with his human counter parts, he opted to return to the Klingon Empire. He loudly declared the humans in the Federation were weak, and had no honor, unlike the people he was used to serving with.
He put all his time and effort into studying the Klingon culture in hopes he would be accepted as a Kiligon. It was during his training that he met Sirella; they fell in love, and took the Great Oath. Throughout his training he continually bested his instructors. He was assigned to an Elite Special Forces unit. During a heavy ground battle where many Klingons were lost, he led his troops to victory. It was after this battle he was declared the greatest Klingon warrior of the modern age, even he understood that Kahlass would always be number one to the Klingons.
A few weeks after his unit's incredible victory, he ran a combat simulation program in one of the holodecks to further improve his skills as a warrior. When the training was complete he returned to his quarters to regenerate and reunite with his wife. When the cycle ended he found himself on Unimatrix 01 looking at the Borg Queen, Seven of Nine. Seven explained to him that he just materialized in the royal holodeck with his wife, a Kiligon, and had to be stunned after he disabled her two best Royal Guards.
He was assigned as a trainer for the Royal Guards. During one particularly grueling training session that was being attended by Seven, B'Elanna and Sirella and a host of their friends, Kahless the Unforgettable appeared before them wielding a bat'leth and wearing the renowned Klingon armor, poised and ready to strike.
"Human what give you the right to call yourself a Klingon!" he asked a deep throaty growl erupting from deep within his chest.
Gabriel stood tall and proud before the greatest Klingon to ever live. He answered back, "I have completed The Rites of Ascension, the Rites of Passage, I have fought with Honor defending the Klingon Empire, I took the Sacred Oath with a Klingon Woman and was accepted into her house."
"You have been compared to me in Battle, Human; let's put it to the test. A friendly bat'leth fight, first one to yield does the others bidding."
"I do not need to yield to do your bidding, I do it with Honor."
Kahless turns to the people in the room, and looks directly into B'Elanna's eyes, "B'Elanna Torres, Daughter of Miral, Warrior of the Klingon Empire you have brought much honor to your house and my empire; you will be the judge of our battle. Seven of Nine, Annika Hansen, Queen of Borg; mate of B'Elanna you have also brought great Honor to my Empire. You made them see that Klingons should unite as a people not stay apart in houses. Sirella daughter of Mabli, house of Martok, Mate of Gabriel. you chose well for a mate. He is Klingon in every way but in body." Hearing their names said by Kahless caused B'Elanna and Sirella swell with pride knowing the Kahless the Great knew who they were.
"The battle begins now, human" Kahless growled and launched his first attack on Gabriel. It was a series of thrusts and parries intended to assess his opponent's skills. Gabriel matched him with defense, leaving small openings that Kahless could attack. Each time Kahless attacked Gabriel countered deflecting his blows with ease.
"Kahless you disappoint me. You couldn't kill a targh with the way you attack." During a bat'leth fight it was not uncommon for Klingons to hurl insults at each other. They believed it added to the fun of the fight.
"You have learned well, Human" Kahless snapped back with a growl of distain.
The fight turned more heated as the time past. For the people in the stands the two warriors became a blur of motion. There was no wasted energy as the two attacked or defended. One move smoothly transitioned into another, and only because of her Borg enhance eye, could Seven even follow blow for blow. The noise the bat'leths at some points became almost deafening, and on several occasions sparks could be seen at times when the weapons connected.
The fight had raged on for almost two hours with the insults freely flying from one combatant to the other, when Kahless made his final comment before getting ready to make his final assault, "I fought my brother for twelve days because he dishonored my house. You are chaos and disorder you cannot win" telling a member of the Borg Collective they were Chaos was just about the worst thing you could say.
Gabriel readying his bat'leth growled back, "You will not need to fight me for twelve days for I have not dishonored your empire. I AM Chaos because I AM an American fighting man, I AM an American Soldier."
Gabriel and Kahless swung their bat'leths with as much power as they could muster. The blades flashed towards each other's heads with the intent of removing the head from the body. At the last split second each fighter changed to angle of the attack to make sure the blow would not be fatal. Both blades smashed together shattering them in two. The sound that was made on impact had more than one person in the audience just back in surprise. Both warriors looked at each other in admiration and exchanged the ritual head butt that often occurred after a friendly fight.
"B'Elanna Torres, we await your decision" Growled Kahless.
B'Elanna stood from where she had been sitting and took a long look around the room before addressing Kahless, "We have just witnessed the greatest bat'leth fight in the history of the Empire. It would not be honorable for me to pick a winner when the rule was the victor would be the one who forced his opponent to yield. It is my decision to declare the fight a draw between the two greatest warriors the Empire has ever had. Dun Suv Kahless and Gabriel."
"Seven and B'Elanna, a great injustice is about to take place that will affect both my Empire and the Collective. Gabriel, you have not asked for greatness, but had it trusted upon you. The Queen and I both need you to stop what has already been put in motion. I cannot revel what it is to you, just know it will become known shortly."
"Kahless the Unforgettable, when I became Klingon, I took an oath to uphold all that being Klingon entails, including giving my life for the Empire. When the time comes, I will gladly bear this burden."
Sirella rose to her feet and joined her husband, "I am Sirella daughter of Mabli, Warrior of the Klingon Empire, house of Martok, Mate of Gabriel. I stand by husband as he answers your call."
Seven rose and stood next to her wife, "The Klingons are Honorable people and so are the Borg. You have our word as the Queen and Princess of Borg that we can and will offer any assistance we can to Gabriel and Sirella."
"Good" said Kahless as he bent down to pick up his broken bat'leth which became whole as the broken ends met. "Now we need to eat and drink! Bring me some Blood Wine" this time his growl was filled with amusement as a large table laden with glasses of blood wine and Klingon delicacies appeared before them.
"Gabriel, with the honor you have brought to my Empire, I will give you and your mate something that most Humans would want." He clasped Gabriel and Sirella on the shoulders and spoke softly into their ears. Their shoulders ached where he had touched them leaving behind a mark shaped like the first bat'leth.
"You now bear my mark. You have been granted the gift of youth. I have returned you to the age of twenty five." He looked all the people in the room and raised his glass of blood wine. "QAPLA! Gabriel and Sirella my you bring great honor to my Empire."
Plans were made, surgeries completed, and soon it was time to head out. The small team that had been picked by the Hive would accompany them to supply support and maintenance on their Borg systems. They would find a remote uninhabited place on Earth to set up. Power was not a problem as they would use the Omega molecule as a power source. A small shuttle was modified to be used for the trip and also act as the home base. Once they cleared Unimatrix 01, they engaged the temporal drive, and headed back to Earth, the year 2003.
The mission begins
Due to the unique nature of the Gillian's ability to not only change shapes, but match the DNA of the species they mimicked, it rendered scanning for them almost impossible. The one advantage his team would have, was the Gillian's had to leave a bit of their DNA mixed with the human DNA. The team would need to use Gabriel's knowledge of the time to get integrated into the American system. Getting a grasp on the language was the hardest part. Federation standard differed vastly from the English of the 21st century. Only Gabriel had that knowledge, having spent almost fifty years in this time period. They assimilated several people of importance to gain classified information from. It was only partial assimilation, and once the information was assimilated they were returned to normal, only better. All the people they chose were suffering from terminal illnesses, so they programmed the nanoprobes they injected them with to heal them and remove the genetic markers that were responsible for their conditions. With this information, it made it easier for them to start infiltrating the various intelligence agencies in the United States and around the world.
The team then began setting up small bases around the United States. They set up their communication network and began looking for any information they would find useful. The first thing they needed to do was get into the data bases of all the major intelligence organizations that existed. Once they had hacked into the intelligence system it was easy for them to search for the data they needed. During this time Gabriel, using a different appearance began to get close to General Beckman of the NSA. After nearly 2 years of work they finally got a hit.
Reports started coming in about a rogue group of spies calling themselves Fulcrum. Fulcrum, is one of the few words in the Gillian language that could roughly be translated to English. Fulcrum, in Gillian, meant time change. In mid 2007, they noticed an upswing in activity by Fulcrum. They also discovered a small team in California that was waging its own war against them. Not many details were in the system, just that it was a joint CIA, NSA team. They began tracing the communications until the identities of the team were known. It was a small team composed of two males and a female, reporting to Diane Beckman of the NSA and Director Graham of the CIA. On the 1st of September 2008, they felt they had all the information they needed to go ahead with their plan.
A/N 2: Dun Suv- great fight
Qapla- success