Data and the Doctor leapt through the shimmering portal, landing hard on the surface of the Assembled Earth. The ground below them was flat and featureless, covered in fine pebbles. Data activated their dampening fields and removed his tricorder, working the controls. Behind them the portal closed.
"Commander LaForge will keep a small aperture open for us to communicate, Doctor."
"Fine," the Doctor replied, removing his own tricorder and sweeping the area. "The ground is completely devoid of any organic vestiges. As a matter of fact, there are traces of Baryon radiation. They must have saturated the surface with it."
"That would be a most effective means to prevent further organic growth."
"Along with removing the atmosphere as you suggested, Mr. Data."
"Indeed. I am detecting a strong communication signal three kilometres away. Hurry Doctor, there must be an array situated near here. Perhaps we can access their databanks from there."
"Coming, Commander," the Docotr replied as he took in their surroundings, "Look at all the stars. Funny, the constellations are quite different here. And if I am not mistaken, there are quite a few more stars up there than what I've seen on our Earth. I wonder…"
"Those are not stars, Doctor."
"What?"
"If you notice, they are moving. Those are ships in orbit."
"Oh, my…there are so many…"
"Please hurry, Doctor.
The two travelled swiftly, neither worrying about growing tired or needing rest any time soon. The passed over a small rise, pausing for a moment to survey the landscape as they noticed the ground shuddering under them. The Doctor wondered aloud what was causing it when Data pointed off to the distance.
"Can you adjust your visual receptors, Doctor?"
"Of course."
The Doctor stepped forward and gazed out in the direction indicated by the android Commander. Off in the distance he could see a massive construct lumbering along, its multi-segmented legs moving it forward like a giant insect. The ground under them trembled with each step the robot made.
"That must be the size of a small city!" the Doctor cried out.
"Indeed. Luckily it is several kilometres away and heading in the opposite direction. We must make it to the communication array."
The Doctor turned and looked out to the north, observing an enormous tower in the distance, shimmering blue in the night. Lights winked off and on throughout the length of the device, its height almost two kilometres. It dwarfed a toppled structure near its base. The two officers ran off, covering the distance in a short time.
They approached the tower, passing through an ancient structure. Two large metal columns stretched up to the sky, a third lay on the ground, victim to its own weight and the passage of time. Dust piled around it, forming small mounds and covering whatever had been underneath it.
"I wonder what this was," the Doctor wondered.
"It seems to be the only structure remaining in the area," Data replied, "the metal is unlike anything I have seen before, other than the outer shells of the Assembled constructs."
"Whatever it was, it was obviously built with great care," the Doctor added as they moved towards the tower.
Ahead of them was the shimmering communications array, the entranceway leading deeper into the immense device. Data and the Doctor moved forward, keeping their eyes to the horizon for movement. The Doctor glanced upwards and noticed a few flying robots, but these continued on their way, paying the two officers little attention. He placed his hand on the rim of the entranceway as he entered the structure and felt a crawling sensation travel over his hand. Glancing down, he noticed a series of small, spider-like robots moving across his limb and they traveled the surface of the device. He quickly pulled his hand back, shuddering.
"The structure is covered by those tiny robots," Data reported, "extending down into the nanoscale. They must keep the device in working order."
"Wonderful. Try not to get infected."
"They do not appear to be giving us any notice. Presumably they are only programmed for maintenance."
"No reason to test that theory, Commander. Let's just get what we came for and get out of here."
"Agreed, Doctor. This panel seems to be an output device. If you assist me, I'll connect my neural pathways and see if we can access any relevant information."
"Time for surgery, Mr. Data. Pop your top if you would, please."
Data tapped the back of his head slightly and his cranium slid away, revealing the android framework of his inner skull. The Doctor removed a series of cables from the case they had brought with them and began to connect the Commander to the device. After a moment, Data closed his eyes and sat back against the wall.
"Anything?"
"Just a moment, Doctor. Accessing….accessing…"
The Doctor moved back to the entrance and glanced out, then ran back and stared deeper into the structure, the hallway bending around the corner. A larger spider-device trundled by and worked its way around the medical officer, unperturbed by his presence.
"Fascinating. This device facilitates communication between the robots and their fleet of ships. I am accessing the latest transmissions and cross-referencing for any mention of Dr. Jackson and Captain Riker. One moment…yes. I have their location. They are aboard a starship. They are uninjured."
"Thank goodness!"
"Doctor, I have also located the algorithm the Assembled use for their incursions. I shall download it into the tricorder. With it we will be able to predict where they will perform the next incursions. One moment…this message seems to be of great importance…"
"Data, what is it?"
"We must get back to Stargate Command. Please disconnect me Doctor."
"What is it? Wait, something is coming!"
Data and the Doctor quickly removed the cables and replaced them in the case as the floor under them reverberated. A large construct emerged from the hallway bend, similar to the scouts Data had encountered during the Enterprise incursion. Data pressed his hand on the Doctor's shoulder, hoping the hologram would make no transmissions over their communication channel until the robot had passed them. This close, the android was unsure if the dampening field would mask them from whatever sensors the constructs used to perceive the world around them. The robot moved past the two officers, heading out into the open past the entranceway. It turned and seemed to focus on the two for a moment, its electric blue visual apparatus narrowing slightly. Then the twin jets mounted onto its back flared to life and it launched into the air, heading south.
"Oh my," the Doctor sighed, "If I had a heart I would be having a coronary attack about now."
"We must leave Doctor. I must speak with Captain Picard."
"Lead the way, Commander."
Epsilon 3
Babylon 5
Captain John Sheridan entered the command deck and headed towards Commander Susan Ivanova and the Security Chief, nodding to the crowd of officers who moved out of his way. Ivanova stepped to the side bit, allowing the Captain view of the outside and the strange ship that suddenly appeared near the station.
"Anything new to report?" the Captain asked.
"No sir. It's just…sitting there. Has been for the last half-hour."
"Nothing on the hailing frequencies? No communication traffic to report?"
"No sir. We've heard back from the various races and they have no reports of similar ships being sighted or records of its configuration. We don't know who it belongs to."
"And it just showed up out of nowhere?" Garibaldi asked.
"Yes. One minute the space was clear and the next there was a big ship sitting there."
Outside the large black ship drifted, surrounded by a squad of Starfurys, circling the ship like bees searching for pollen. The ship paid them little heed. It was large, larger than an Omega-class Destroyer. It had a T shape, large wings extending out from the main hull. At the rear of the ship, a triangular section intersected it, with twin appendages extending out from the top of the triangle and flowing over half the length of the ship. A faint glimmer surrounded it, plainly a defensive energy field. From the look of the hull, the craft was heavily armed.
"We detected what looked like a sensor sweep early on, but we can't say for sure. Our own sensors cannot penetrate its shielding."
"They scanned us?"
"Nope," Garibaldi answered, "the scanned the planet below."
"The planet," Sheridan said in a worried tone.
"Sir, there is more. From the power signatures we managed to detect when it arrived, they correspond to the energy markings from that robot that attacked the Alexander."
"The robot that just popped in and downloaded the Earth Alliance databases?"
"That's the one."
"Continuing hailing them. Let's just…watch them for now."
Assembled Ship
The blue and silver construct stood motionless, observing the planet below. The ship sensors and the constructs on board ignored the spinning space station in orbit around their prize, focusing their attention on the planet and the technology it contained. The ship continued its scans, feeding the information into the constructs aboard it. Behind the blue and silver another construct approached.
"This planet will suit our purposes," the blue and silver said.
"The space station and its defences pose little threat," the other replied.
"Affirmative," the ship answered, its voice fed directly into the constructs, "However, there are many races that will interfere should we approach the planet. Their technology, although inferior with the Federation enhancements, still pose a danger. As do the defensive apparatus of the planet itself."
"The testing of the Naquadria Incursion Engine has proven to be a success. However with each incursion the dimensional stability grows weaker. Repeated incursions will destabilize this region of space and prevent further passage to this location. How many ships can we transport?"
"Estimate forty craft with the estimated defensive measures we are expected to encounter," the ship replied.
"Not enough to guarantee success," the blue and silver mused.
"We shall have to find more advanced technology before we proceed," the other said.
"Correct. Ship, activate the Incursion Engines and return to our space. Once we locate the appropriate technology, we shall return for the planet."