Hey, peeps~! Ready for another chapter? Because this time things are about to heat up on both sides of the mirror!
STAR WARS: FACETS
Chapter 2 - Meetings
USS Ra-Cailum - enroute to Republic capital world Coruscant
"I've figured out why they've got transwarp drives, but piss-poor weapons and shields."
Ron rounded the Master Systems Display console in Main Engineering as he listened to Sonja's technobabble-laiden explanation. "And?"
"They use something akin to a Romulan singularity core for a power source, using hypermatter, but they use it in an annihilation mode like our warp cores," she continued.
Ron knew what she meant by that. "Hypermatter doesn't generate enough power in an annihilation reaction like matter and antimatter. That's why we don't use hypermatter."
Sonja nodded. "They also lack an EPS network: they use a more archaic power distribution system." Electro-Plasma was the most efficient way to channel power from any power source: even the Borg used it.
The captain snorted. "They're wasting their power."
"Most of it's channeled to their transwarp systems, and whatever's left...weapons, life-support, shields-" Sonja was cut off by his remark.
"All of which are weakened because some idiot didn't think of using plasma," he added.
Sonja sighed. "I'm also seeing signs of stagnation when it comes to technological development: according to Jessica, everything seen here was made thousands of years ago."
"You're right on that one," Jessica said as she stepped into the room. "Some people have no idea that technology needs to advance."
"I think it's because they had access to transwarp technology in the first place. No need to improve if you can go across the galaxy in a matter of weeks rather than decades."
"Explains why they aren't using more modern disruptor weapons. All they have to do is add-" Ron shut his mouth. He couldn't say how to improve them around Jessica: the Prime Directive still applied. "Either way, we should be at that world, what'd you call it again?"
"Coruscant," she said.
"Thank you. We should be there in, what, 48 hours?" Ron looked at Sonja for confirmation.
"6, actually: I made several improvements to the field. More then enough time to make it there," the engineer replied.
"That's good then," Jessica said.
"I'm going to need more information on the Republic's military defenses at Coruscant, just in case we're forced to get into another shooting match. Which I want to avoid, but I won't surrender if fired upon."
Coruscant - Jedi Temple - Council chambers
The Jedi Temple chambers were busy as the Jedi Council sat around the main floor, on which Jedi Master Yoda stood. He stood at only 66 cms in height, but the wisdom he emitted was immense. He wore the standard Jedi robes, and his hunched form was not to be underestimated. Despite his advancing age, he was perhaps the greatest Master of them all when it came to the Force and lightsaber combat.
But he was far too disturbed by recent visions sent by the Force.
That was why he had called such a meeting of the Jedi Council.
"So you mean to say that there could be a new war brewing?" one of the Jedi asked.
"Correct, Mace," he said. "Danger there is. Shadows lurking...disturbing visions, I have had."
"Any idea as to what this may mean?" Anakin Skywalker asked.
"Threat to the Republic, it is." The green-skinned Jedi began to speak, telling of what his visions foresaw, and of what he felt it meant.
Anakin listened, his eyes narrowing. Something did seem off, but as to what, he had no idea. The Force stirred in his mind, and his eyes closed as he heeded its sweet call and descended into meditation. Normally he wouldn't do such a thing, but something was telling him to do so.
And he himself was greeted by visions as well.
The first of these was a single ship that looked blurry. He could vaguely make out a shape, but that was all. It was grey, though, which indicated that it was a warship of some kind. A dark fighter was seen beside it, and behind both were more shapes of vessels. The scene shifted to another planet, this one far different from Coruscant, showing white, blue, and green colors. It was blurry, like the first. The images then changed to a scene of warfare, showing both ships from before, along with the same fleet, but this time engaged in fighting against what were no doubt Republican Star Destroyers, but lacking the usual colors. These ships were falling to the fleet from before, but their numbers were still large. The smaller ships were also taking losses. But what really stunned him was a sleek fighter that he recognized as his own.
The vision then ended and he snapped awake, only to get a glare from Yoda. "Fall asleep, you can't!" he scolded.
"It wasn't my fault, Master Yoda," Anakin said apologetically. "I...I kind of slipped into meditation and…" He hesitated, but Yoda sensed what he was thinking.
"Visions, you have had," he said.
The human nodded. "Yeah."
"Like mine, they were?" the Jedi asked.
Anakin nodded slowly.
"Unusual, this is. For all of us, yes. But for you, most of all," Yoda mused.
"So, what does this mean? That the war will come sooner than we think?" Mace Windu asked.
Yoda nodded. "Yes."
"But if that's the case, then why haven't we received word of this?" another Jedi asked.
"Because something is wrong. The ships I saw in my vision were of Republican design, but the colors were off. And the planet they were over was Coruscant," Anakin said.
Murmurs erupted amongst the Council, but Yoda managed to get them under control. "Not to mention that the fleet I saw had Jedi fighters amongst their ships," he continued. "And for that, it makes me wonder whether the future is going to be a better one, or a worse one considering the state of things as they are."
The Jedi Council, however, had no idea that the danger was even closer than they figured...
USS Ra-Cailum - ETA to Coruscant: 3 minutes, 22 seconds
The ship was ready for combat, although they were hoping to avoid it as much as they could. All of the ship's shuttle and fighter pilots were ready to sortie, and security teams were armed with phaser rifles, (pulsewave, automatic and sniper variants) and the ship was put at combat readiness. Ron sat in his chair on the bridge, with Jessica sitting in the chair off to his left. Like all of the Ra-Cailum's crew, he was armed, but with an older model 2293-era Type-2 phaser. "ETA to Coruscant?"
"Two minutes, sir."
Ron nodded his approval. "Open the shuttlebay doors the second we drop out of transwarp: all craft are ordered to launch," he said.
The crewman he was speaking to nodded. "Aye sir."
He glanced at Jessica. "Problem, miss Miller?"
"No. Not at all," she said. "Just wondering what I can do to help."
Ron nodded. "IDing the ships we run into would be a good start. Calling them 'Republic starships' would just be tiring and annoying after a while."
"Sir, we're arriving at the Coruscant system," Barry said.
"Drop us out of transwarp. Arm weapons, raise shields," Ron ordered.
The Ra-Cailum exited hyperspace, and the crew was greeted with the sight of Coruscant.
The planet was unlike anything Ron had seen. There was no sign of any water or open land. It was like the planet was one giant city. The lights glistening gave it a sort of beautiful appeal though, especially when placed against the blackness of space.
"I'd be impressed, but we're not here to smell the roses. T'lar, anything on sensors?" he asked.
"Five ships are closing on our position, weapons armed and shields active. They are launching auxiliary craft: presumably fighters."
Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Those are Republican starfighters. But I can't ID the class right now. I haven't seen it very often."
"Well, they don't change much of a chance against our shuttlecraft, let alone our Peregrine fighters."
"Capital ships in visual range."
"On screen." A number of large, roughly triangular in shape, appeared on the viewscreen.
"Star Destroyers. Victory-class. Very powerful and deadly. They may lack powerful shields and defensive armaments, but their armor is tough," Jessica relayed.
"She's right about the weapons, but their hull isn't that durable: it's made of some kind of hybridized steel alloy. Wouldn't last ten seconds against our phasers at one-quarter power."
Ron nodded. "Open a channel: let's try and talk them down."
Barry worked the controls, and opened a channel. "Channel is open." Ron sighed. "This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton, commanding the United Federation of Planets starship Ra-Cailum. We are not hostile. Repeat, we are not hostile." They weren't in the mood to listen, as low-powered disruptor fire impacted the shields. "Well, looks like I need to start weeding."
Republican ship Victory
The shields were clearly staying strong, the captain noted with astonishment. The ship was unlike anything he had seen before, but the fact that it was even coming this close was indicative of a hostile force of some kind.
"All ships, prepare to open fire with everything you've got! Missiles, turbolasers, anything! Take that ship down!" he ordered.
The command was acknowledged, and a furious barrage of laser fire interspersed with missiles came right at them. The impact struck the unknown vessel hard, and the light of the explosions was enough to blind their sensors. The captain narrowed his eyes, hoping to God that it had been destroyed.
But when the light faded, the vessel was still there. And it looked like it hadn't even gotten scratched.
The captain paled as he realized what this meant.
They were screwed.
"Oh, shit." The exotically shaped vessel returned fire with some kind of red-orange beam which hacked through the shields and blew through several sections of the hull. Another beam struck the 'conning tower', disabling the VSD and rendering it unable to fight.
The vessel's bridge was still intact, though. "Damage!" he snapped.
"Hull integrity is down by fifty percent, but all weapons are still operational!" the conning officer reported.
"Have all ships form up into a defensive line!" he snapped.
"Right!"
The Righteous and the Indomitable began to try and give the Victory cover, but the ship (which had identified itself as the Ra-Cailum) began to fire her strange beam weapons at the Righteous, disabling its' engines and forcing it into a spinning drift. "Our weapons have almost no effect on that damn thing's shields!"
"Keep firing! We have to stop it!" The Victory fired off a large volley of proton torpedoes, all of which hit the Ra-Cailum's dorsal shields.
USS Ra-Cailum - main bridge
A console exploded as the power overloaded and sent a Xindi-Primate backwards, knocking him into a railing and breaking several bones. "The fuck was that?!"
"Proton-based projectile weapons: not as powerful as our photon torpedoes, but it was powerful enough: shields are at 95% and I've got reports of injuries on Decks 3 and 7!"
Ron snarled. "That's it. Barry, the gloves come off. No one hurts my crew and gets away with it. Target that bastard: photon torpedoes, quarter-spread."
Barry obeyed the order, targeting the Victory with a spread of highly destructive photon torpedoes, which had more then enough power to destroy that ship with just one.
"Aye, sir. Torpedoes locked."
"Fire." The Ra-Cailum's saucer-mounted forward dorsal launcher fired three red projectiles, known throughout the Milky Way as photon torpedoes, toward the damaged VSD, but one of the undamaged ships banked and used its' hulking form to take the hits. The 18.5 isoton weapons were overkill, turning the VSD into little more than a scrap metal-filled debris field.
"Didn't expect that one!" Jessica remarked.
The damaged ship turned and opened fire with its starboard side arsenal, and the Ra-Cailum shuddered under the assault as the shields were struck.
Ron snarled. "Disable that thing's gun batteries. I don't want the ship destroyed."
Barry nodded. "Aye, sir. Firing phasers." The Ra-Cailum's phaser arrays fired a long sweep of the side of the VSD, destroying several turbolaser turrets and disabling the rest.
"Enemy vessel is disabled. Third ship is breaking off," Barry relayed.
"They've learned their lesson: we've got more firepower than they do, and they don't want to get into a shooting match with us now that they've pissed me off," Ron remarked with a smirk.
An alarm blared from one of the consoles and the officer manning that console turned to face the captain. "Five more vessels closing: slightly smaller in mass, but of a similar configuration."
Jessica ran to the viewscreen and narrowed her eyes as she realized what those were. "They're cruisers!" she said.
"On screen." Five ships appeared on the screen, and Jessica quickly IDed their class. "Venator-class Star Destroyers. Powerful, heavily armed and just as armored."
Ron shot a glance at Barry. "Barry?"
"They've got more guns and slightly stronger shields, but they're no match for a fucking Constitution-Class from the 23rd Century, let alone a Sovereign-Class starship."
"Recall the auxiliary craft. I hope that these jackasses are ready to talk."
RSD Resolute - command bridge
And they were ready.
The captain was clearly impressed by the newcomers' ability to fight back. But what really amazed him was the fact that they had been able to hold their own. Even so, there were still most ships that couldn't really outfight a Star Destroyer, let alone hold off three, disable one and destroy another.
"Open comm channels," he said.
"Right!" one of the officers said.
"This is Admiral Wullf Yularen of the Republic vessel Resolute to the vessel identifying itself as the Ra-Cailum. Please respond."
A male voice responded his call. "This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton, commanding the USS Ra-Cailum. I hope you're ready to talk instead of opening fire."
"I am. I'm actually quite impressed to be honest. Not many can say they held their own against a Star Destroyer or three, even," he said. "And to be honest, I'm quite curious as to what world you originate from. Not many people have come this way ever since the war began."
The captain's voice held a tone of amusement. "It's a complicated story, Admiral. Stand down from action stations on your end and I'll come aboard to explain. And if you even think of taking a few potshots at my ship, know that those photon torpedoes were just part of my ship's arsenal."
"I'm more than willing to listen," the Admiral said. "And maybe I can see the man who stood his own against my fleet."
"I'll be there in 10 minutes. Ra-Cailum Actual out." Yularen looked at the closest clone officer. "Tell the rest of the fleet to stand down and make no aggressive action toward the Ra-Cailum. We have enough dead to count."
"Yes, Admiral."
USS Ra-Cailum - under saucer-mounted ventral torpedo launcher
Ron led Jessica and a small security team into what Sonja had called the 'Captain's Yacht'. All carried phaser rifles and had some kind of device attached to their belts. "Alright, people, activate your personal shields and get ready for trouble. Under no circumstances are they allowed to board this ship. Am I clear?"
Everyone nodded. "Aye, sir!" they said.
Jessica nodded as well. "Understood!" she said.
Ron made his way to a seat with a control panel near a window, then began pressing buttons. "Ra-Horakhty to bridge: we're ready for departure." "Copy, Ra-Horakhty: clear to launch."
Jessica felt the ship drop away from the Ra-Cailum, and the outboard nacelles moved to their downward position before Ron commanded the ship forward. A trio of fighters entered escort formation around the Ra-Horakhty, which Jessica IDed. "ARC-170 fighters. Considering the amount of firepower you seem to have, they're harmless."
Ron nodded. "I still don't want to take any chances."
"Good choice," Jessica remarked.
The Ra-Horakhty headed for the Resolute, whose hangar bay doors were open and ready to receive them. "Resolute, this is the Ra-Horakhty: requesting clearance to land."
"Clearance granted, Ra-Horakhty."
The yacht extended her landing struts and the nacelle pylons moved back to their upward position as the ship landed and the hangar bay doors closed. "Miss Miller, you're with me. Boys, if anyone tries to board this ship...kill them."
"Understood." one of the officers said.
Jessica nodded. "Right."
Ron walked toward the rear hatch, and exited the ship, followed by Jessica. Dozens of white-armored troops looked at the craft and the people walking out of the hatch.
"And in case you're wondering, those are clone troopers. The Republic has been using them to bolster the ranks of the armed forces, but they have their own personalities despite being clones. It's a way to make sure that no one race has too many lives lost," Jessica explained to a suspicious Ron. "The Separatists use droids, so it's kind of even in that regard."
"An army of clones. Sounds a lot like the Dominion."
Five clones marched toward them, one of them missing his helmet. "Captain, we've been ordered to escort you to the bridge."
Ron nodded. "Fine by me. Fair warning: try to board my ship, you'll pay for it in lives."
"We'll keep that in mind. Follow us."
Meanwhile...
The Providence-class carrier/destroyer stood no chance against the might of the Collective. Even a small Borg probe vessel was quickly disabling it, beaming over a small number of drones to prepare for assimilation. Despite the firepower that was thrown at the tiny rectangle, the vessel was still unable to fight. The captain of the vessel had no idea as to what was coming.
After all, none could resist the Borg. It was futile.
And futile it was. Already one part of the vessel was turning that signature black and green color as it was assimilated. Even the crew was beginning to become one with the might of the Collective. The power of the Borg was soon to be expanded into this new realm, a hint of the darkness that was slowly starting to stain the innocence of this galaxy.
The Providence vessel continued to fight, but it was useless. Half the crew was fighting against the Borg as they invaded and the other half was either dying or being assimilated against their will. The one-sided battle continued until finally the last of the ship was merged into the Collective. As the ship left the system, the Borg presence left one last message. "Resistance is futile."
The probe docked with the former CIS ship, and accessed its' database. "Accessing navigational data. Planet for assimilation targeted: local galactic coordinates 000. Number of lifeforms: one trillion. Activate transwarp drive. Prepare for assimilation." The assimilated Providence-Class ship jumped into hyperspace, heading for a showdown over the most populated world in the galaxy...Coruscant.
RSD Resolute - bridge
Ron had explained the situation to Yularen, including some information on the Federation and events on their side.
"I see." Yularen folded his arms. "So you hope to help us end this war and establish a trade agreement. Well, that's very admirable. But considering the state of things, I hardly think that the public will agree to a cease fire. But I will report this so our leaders can talk it over and maybe meet with you to work something out."
Ron nodded in agreement. "Fine by me. Anyone else I can speak with while I'm waiting for them to make their decision?"
Yularen smiled a bit. "Well, the Jedi Council might like to speak with you. They would be interested to hear more about your universe."
"Alright. I'll head back to my yacht and head back to my ship."
"The Jedi Temple's actually on the surface. I'll provide you with the coordinates." Yularen handed Ron a set of coordinates written on a piece of paper. "Just go there and they'll be waiting. I'll inform them of your arrival."
Ron glanced at Jessica. "If you want, you can go back to the Ra-Cailum."
"Nah. I'm coming. You'll need me to help get around the planet. I've been here a few times," she said.
Ron tapped his comm badge. "Pinkerton to Ra-Horakhty. Lock onto Ms. Miller and myself and transport us back."
"Wait, what do-" Both were caught in a certain of light, then they reappeared on the Ra-Horakhty.
"What was that?!" she asked.
"Transporter. Basically, we were converted into energy, sent into a pattern buffer, then re-materialized here," Ron explained.
"Man… all this new tech is sure hard to get used to…" she muttered, but let it slide. After all, it was actually interesting, now that she thought about it.
"Get used to it. We've got a lot of technology that might be strange to you." Both reentered the cockpit, and Ron reactivated the impulse engines, retracted the landing struts and left the Resolute.
"Coruscant orbital control, this is the auxiliary craft Ra-Horakhty, attached to the Federation starship Ra-Cailum: requesting flight clearance to the Jedi Temple."
"Orbital control to Ra-Horakhty: clearance granted. Be advised, due to wartime measures, there will be a fighter escort."
Ron scoffed, but said nothing about the fighter escort. "Acknowledged, control."
The fighters that joined them were easily IDed by Jessica as the Razor class. "That's the Razor class of fighters. Very fast and agile in atmosphere." The ship was guided down by them past the security forces guarding orbit. The trip to the surface didn't take very long.
When they passed through the atmosphere, the planet's surface came into view as the clouds dissipated before their ship. Even now it still impressed Jessica. But she forced the thoughts from her mind. They had something to do.
"The entire planet can't be covered in buildings, can it? That's an ecological nightmare just waiting to happen," Ron remarked.
Jessica merely shrugged. "It's carefully regulated. There's the Jedi Temple."
An impressive ziggurat with five towering spires was directly in front of them now. "Certainly fits the term 'temple'." The Ra-Horakhty sped toward the Temple.
It didn't take them long to find the landing pad. A Jedi envoy was there to greet them.
The Ra-Horakhty came in for a landing. Once the ship was on the pad, the two humans stepped out and onto the landing pad.
"We have been expecting you," the envoy said. "I am to be your guide during your time here at the Temple."
"Well, fucking A. Well, I was told the Council might like to speak with me. Mind showing me the way?"
Jedi Council Chambers
The two were escorted into the chambers, and boy were they shocked. Well, more like awed in the case of Ron. Jessica...not so much.
The Jedi Council had turned out in full to meet the two. Every member that could make it came, and some that didn't were being kept informed of what was happening.
Jessica was surprised when one of them stepped forward to greet them.
"Welcome to Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic. And welcome to the Jedi Temple. Very few have the honor of even coming here," the man said.
"It's an honor to be here," Jessica said, collecting her thoughts and calming herself down.
"And you must be the captain who saved her, right?" the man asked, glancing at Ron.
"Ronald Pinkerton, captain of the Ra-Cailum and the current local representative of the United Federation of Planets." He stuck out his hand. "It's a pleasure."
The man shook his hand. "Same here. I am Anakin Skywalker. We have been expecting to meet with you. But come. Let's talk about why you are here."
"Originally, my ship was answering a distress call from Miss Miller. We entered a rift, and we ended up here, in this universe. And after we learned about this war, I contacted my superiors. I'm here to help you talk your way to the end of this war," the captain said.
"I see," Anakin said. "Well, your efforts are appreciated. We could use all the help we can get, especially since there have been even more attacks lately. Regardless, although we tried the diplomatic approach before, it was turned down. Still, it never hurts to try again, right?"
Ron noded. "We have a large and dedicated diplomatic corps and they usually get the right results." They entered the council chambers, and were met with a large number of alien races. "Whoa. I haven't seen this many alien races since my time as an attache to the Federation Council."
"Yeah. We have a large number. Most of them are friendly, though," Anakin said. "This is the Jedi Council. They will want to hear a bit about where you came from. Most of them are interested in learning about this Federation," Anakin said as he joined another older man. "And this is Obi-Wan Kenobi, my Master and a friend."
"The pleasure is mine," Obi-wan said as he shook their hands. "Now, why don't we talk?"
A few hours later
Ron stood with Jessica and Anakin near the top of one of the spires, looking out over the city as the sun began to set. "I must admit, Captain. I wasn't expecting to learn about another organization similar to ours," he said as he looked at him. "But it is very interesting nonetheless. And maybe you can help us end this war."
"Unfortunately, we can't give you military assistance."
"I understand, although it would be appreciated if the negotiations don't go over well," Anakin remarked. "I was kind of hoping for that though."
Ron turned back to the sunset and sighed. "It's part of our rules and protocols: General Order One. 'It is forbidden to interfere in the development and affairs of another society, unless they are a member of the Federation or have requested assistance'. Problem is, there is one issue with the second one."
"Oh? What kind of issue?" Anakin asked.
"Warp drive. You have FTL technology, but you don't have warp drive, which would allow you to either join the Federation or request assistance."
"I see." Anakin looked back at the sun and joined the man beside him. He placed his hands on the railing of the balcony they were on. "But either way, any assistance in negotiations will prove useful. Even if they do go downhill, at least you'll have helped us make an attempt. That's all we can do at this point."
"Well, all I need to do now is contact the Confederacy's leadership and get us ready-"
"Ra-Cailum to Pinkerton."
Ron sighed before tapping his commbadge. "Pinkerton here."
"Sir, someone calling himself Chancellor Palpatine is requesting to speak with you in person."
Ron sighed. "Politicians. I'll go to his office, then. And get into standard orbit: the Jedi Council wants some of our historical and scientific database. Nothing too advanced."
"Understood, Captain. Ra-Cailum out."
"I'll take you to Palpatine," Anakin offered. "Besides, he'll want to know how the last mission I was on went."
"Thanks," Jessica said.
The Jedi smiled and guided them down to the landing pad. The ship they were to take was a small one, but it would do the job. They got in and Anakin told the pilot where to go. As the ship flew through the city's skyline, lights started to come on, adding a wonderful effect to the area as the sun started to dip beyond the buildings.
By the time they got there, it was half past nine according to Ron's watch. At least, on Earth time it was.
The building they arrived at was much bigger than the temple, and it was clearly of a curved half dome design. Other buildings surrounded it, making it seem like it was engulfed by them. Roadways led into it, meaning that it was the main building for everything that happened on this planet, and therefore in the Republic itself.
"Wow…" Jessica was shocked that they were being taken inside. While she had seen it, she had never been inside it at all. This was her first time, and she was a bit nervous, actually.
"Meh. I've seen more impressive buildings. The Xindi Council had theirs built into a cliffside, allowing them to see the outer reaches of the canyon. It was a hell of a lot smaller and a LOT less flashy."
"Ra-Cailum to Pinkerton."
Ron tapped the commbadge again. "Go ahead."
"We're having trouble uplinking our computer core to the archives. Permission to send down an engineering team?"
"Granted. Just don't spook them by beaming into the archives themselves."
"Right."
Once the speeder landed, the trio got out and started making their way through the building. Anakin explained a bit about its history and function as they made their way to the Chancellor's office. The journey took the trio another half hour, and by the time they reached his office it was close to ten at night Earth time.
The door slid open and they stepped inside.
Chancellor Palpatine was waiting for them himself.
"Ah. You must be the man who came from another universe, yes?" he asked as he extended his hand.
Ron grasped it. "Captain Ronald Pinkerton, of the Federation starship Ra-Cailum. I speak for the council of the United Federation of Planets when I say that I hope this will be a long and fruitful relationship between our two governments."
"As do I. I hope that you may be able to render assistance to help us win this war," Palpatine said. "I understand however that there may be certain complications regarding military assistance, are there?"
"Yes, there is. And I'm surprised you know about that: I only informed Master Skywalker here about the Prime Directive only a half hour ago."
"I have my ways, son," the Chancellor said with a smile. "But that aside, I am sorry to hear that you cannot provide any military assistance. Still, having you may allow us to try and negotiate an end to this war. The people are getting weary of this, and to be honest, so am I."
"Well, the Federation Diplomatic Corps would be more than happy to do just that. If not, I can always petition the Klingon High Council to do the fighting for you: they're always looking for someone that needs an asskicking."
"I appreciate your offer. I'll take it into consideration, although I highly doubt the Separatists will allow it to happen," the chancellor said seriously. "They are just too stubborn at times on this matter. They want to be independent, and they will stop at nothing to make it happen."
"Well, I'll need to-"
"Master, this is Ashoka." Anakin pulled out a small handheld communicator.
"What is it, Snips?"
"We're tied into the Ra-Cailum's sensor systems, and we're picking up a ship in hyperspace heading toward the system." Palpatine looked at Ron, who simply shrugged. "We've got sensors. So?"
"We can't detect ships in hyperspace. We have to rely on intelligence reports for locations of ships in hyperspace," the chancellor said.
"I see." Anakin ignored the look on Palpatine's face. "What kind of ship is it?"
"Providence-class, according to our database. Don't know why only one Separatist ship is inbound, but it's anything but good news."
"Is there any reason it would be coming?" Jessica asked. She was getting a bad feeling at this point.
"Well, here's hoping that they're just here to tell you about their unfortunate encounter with us a few days ago, and are proposing an armistice to try and find out who we are. Make make my job a little easier." Ron gestured to the door. "Chancellor, perhaps you would like to take a trip to the Ra-Cailum? I can fly you up there using my Captain's Yacht." He glared at Anakin. "If the Jedi haven't tried to take it apart yet."
"I can assure you that no such thing has happened," Anakin said.
"It would be an honor to come up to your ship. I would like to see just what kind of ship you possess," Palpatine said.
"I may as well go along," Jessica said. "After all, I know my way around his ship fairly well."
"Alright then. So, anyone care to drive us back to the Temple?"
USS Ra-Cailum - geosynchronous orbit over the Jedi Temple, altitude of 6000 kilometers
"ETA to that ship arriving?"
"Around two minutes, Commander." Sonja sat in the First Officer's chair on the bridge (the XO was on Earth and Ron didn't like people sitting in his chair while he was on duty) as they uploaded several teraquads of information (mostly historical, but some were scientific) into the Jedi Archives while watched over by no less than 15 Republic Star Destroyers, some being of the Victory-Class, others Venator, and two of the newest Imperator-Class ships above and below the Ra-Cailum. The Imperators were a bigger threat than the rest, but still no match for the Ra-Cailum. "What's the status of the download?"
"53%. We should be at 60-" The tactical console beeped out a warning.
"Ship is dropping out of transwarp, approximately 20 thousand kilometers from the planet."
Sonja stood up. "On screen."
The ship that emerged was clearly a Providence-class all right, but there was something different about it that sent shivers down the backs of everyone there.
Auxiliary craft Ra-Horakhty
"My God…" Even Palpatine was shocked as he saw the relay from the Ra-Cailum. "What happened to that ship?" he murmured.
Anakin closed his eyes and reached out for the Force, trying to sense if anything was on board that black and green colored vessel.
His eyes snapped open as his Force sense was pushed back and he literally staggered back a few steps before raising a hand to his head, sweat running down his face. "There...There's something wrong with that ship…" he gasped. "It's...It's like it's...alive, but not." He looked up, his eyes hardening. "Whatever it is, it's clearly not friendly."
USS Ra-Cailum - bridge
"Commander, we're being hailed on all frequencies." Sonja wasn't liking this at all. "Open a channel."
Barry did so. They were greeted with voices they would've rather not heard. "We are the Borg. Existence as you know it is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
Sonja paled. "Oh, fuck. The Borg are here."
Auxiliary craft Ra-Horakhty
"Just what are these Borg?" Jessica asked.
"Apparently they are a hostile threat," Anakin said. "But if they could do that to a ship…"
Ron's eyes narrowed. "It's worse than that, Master Skywalker. The Borg are a collection of species taken from thousands of worlds and cybernetically enhanced, and linked to a hive mind. There is no free will in the Hive: only the Collective consciousness, and they seek other beings to further themselves to a state of...'perfection'."
"Sounds terrible," Palpatine said. "If there are such aliens, then we must have as much information about them as possible." He turned to Ron. "Did this...Directive...forbid you from informational assistance regarding military matters such as this?"
"I'll do one better." Ron opened a channel to the Ra-Cailum. "Sonja, do you read?"
"I read you, boss."
"Take that thing out! Weapons free!"
The Borg-assimilated vessel opened up on them as the Ra-Cailum dodged and let loose with her own firepower.
The former CIS warship's hull was still made of the same material, so phaser fire easily punched through it until it became less and less effective.
"What's going on? Why isn't it working?" Ron glanced at Skywalker's Padawan (roughly a Jedi trainee, as it had been explained to him) Ahsoka Tano. "The Borg have the ability to adapt to all types of weapons fire. A randomized rotating modulation is the only way energy weapons can hurt them."
"What about other weapons?" Anakin asked, his mind racing. "Like lightsabers."
"That's technically an energy weapon. The only thing the Borg can't seem to adapt to is projectile weapons," Ron said.
"Projectile weapons may seem to be our best bet, although we have none at the moment," Palpatine said. "On the other hand, we'll have to find some way to defeat them with what we have at hand."
"And are there any ways we can do that?" Ashoka asked.
Anakin frowned. "I highly doubt it. Especially since there seems to be…" His mind suddenly clicked as an idea came to him. He turned to Ron.
"Captain, just how are the Borg linked to one another?" he asked.
"Through a subspace-based communications system. It's regulated so that no drone regains its' sense of individuality back, and it's almost impossible to disrupt from the outside."
"What about the inside?" Anakin asked. "Can that be done?"
"If you're thinking of boarding that ship, think again. That thing is a threat to your galaxy. I cannot and will not allow it to survive." He guided the Ra-Horakhty toward the Ra-Cailum. "Besides, I can't let you get your hands on Borg technology, either: Prime Directive and all that."
"I figured. But what I meant to ask is there a way we can disrupt it using other methods besides getting on board," the Jedi clarified.
"The best thing to do is get that ship away from Coruscant. Chancellor, can you order those ships of yours to try and draw it away?"
Palpatine nodded. "May I ask what you're planning?"
"Loathe as I want to...We're going to use tricobalt and quantum torpedoes to blow that thing to hell, and I want that ship as far from the planet as possible." The Yacht sped toward the Ra-Cailum, which was now moving toward the Borgified destroyer. "I think the Ra-Cailum is going to need some help, and your ships don't have the adaptability or the firepower."
Palpatine seemed to grasp the danger and nodded. "Do what you must. We'll try and provide backup if we can."
Ron sighed. "I hate Borg. Ra-Horakhty to Ra-Cailum: cancel docking operation. We'll harass the Borg ship from close up: give the bastard more than one target to shoot at."
(BGM: Charge! from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
The tiny yacht charged in, firing her phasers, damaging several assimilated turbolaser batteries along her port side. "Resetting weapons and shield frequencies. Arming photon torpedoes." The Ra-Horakhty's forward launcher spat out two torpedoes, hitting the Borg destroyer's engine block and causing several engines to overload and detonate. Green disruptor beams, fired from newly-created weapons nodes, fired at the Captain's Yacht, but Ron's expert flying kept them from hitting the tiny craft. "Miss Miller, take weapons control! I can't fly and shoot at the same time!"
"Got it!" Jessica said.
She scrambled to the console for the weapons and grabbed them, taking control. She narrowed her eyes as a screen popped up, displaying the vessel and a targeting reticle. "Take this!" she shouted, firing deadly accurate shots at the Borgified vessel.
Her shots peppered the hull and took out a weapons node, but that was just a lucky shot. Either way, her accuracy was something Ron hadn't expected.
"Ra-Horakhty, this is RSD Resolute: we're moving in to support, Captain."
"Get them as far away from Coruscant as possible! Let the Ra-Cailum take it out!" Turbolaser fire from the VSD peppered the hull, although some of the shots actually missed the ship itself, although it succeeded in drawing the Borg destroyer toward the VSD. "Ra-Cailum, target coordinates 567 by 789! FIRE!" The Ra-Cailum showed off a torpedo launcher they had never seen: one right in the middle of the saucer section, opposite of the bridge. It fired off four blue balls of light, all of which hit the Borg destroyer, causing a massive explosion, but it didn't destroy the ship. "Tricobalt torpedoes, NOW!" Another launcher fired off a pair of slower projectiles, but the Borg ship jumped into transwarp before they could hit.
"Looks like they got away," Jessica mused.
"And things just got from bad to really fucking bad." Ron guided the yacht back to her docking port, and the Sovereign-Class ship turned back toward Coruscant.
Palpatine's Office
"So, let me understand. These Borg can assimilate anything they deem worthy?" Palpatine asked.
"Actually, if any species or technology catches their eye, if you will, they will send a message, usually something along the lines of 'You will become one with the Borg' and 'Resistance is Futile'. Then they'll lock onto a ship with a tractor beam and send over a boarding party to take the vessel by force." Ron sighed. "Chancellor, I'd rather explain this to your intelligence personnel, the Jedi Council and several of your senators all at once. Explaining it countless times is a pain in the ass. Besides, the Jedi Temple is better suited for this then this office: it's a bit...small."
"I understand. We'll meet there in the morning," Palpatine said with a nod.
Ron tapped his commbadge. "Pinkerton to Ra-Cailum: one to beam up." A shower of light surrounded Ron, surprising Palpatine greatly.
"What is this?" he asked.
But Ron couldn't answer the question: he was gone. The hidden Sith Lord was not liking this. If the Federation had technology like that, then they could reveal who he really was. And that was the last thing he needed.
Next day - Jedi Temple - viewing chamber
Republic military personnel, a number of Senators, the Jedi Council, several Jedi knights and their Padawans were seated in the chamber, where a number of Starfleet officers were busy setting something up. Two banners, one with the emblem of the Republic and one with the field of stars and laurel leaves that was the emblem of the United Federation of Planets. "Thank you for coming today. We are here to discuss a threat so great that you and the Confederacy will be forced to put your differences aside to face. They are called the Borg." Ron looked at Sonja, who pressed a few buttons on a Starfleet LCARS control panel. When nothing happened, she kicked it, and a holographic image of a galaxy appeared.
Murmurs of astonishment and awe filled the chambers. They had never even seen technology like this in their lives, let alone at all. Sure they had something similar, but nothing this advanced.
"Such advanced technology…" one Senator whispered.
"We don't even have anything like this!" another agreed.
"What matters right now is the defeat of these Borg," a Jedi said. "Although I do have to admit it is impressive…"
"Well, now that that is out of the way, the Borg dominate a section of our galaxy known as the Delta Quadrant." A large blob of red covered a large section of the galaxy map, followed by a symbol that looked like a red mechanical hand on a black background with yellow circuitry lines behind it.
"The Borg are a collection of races from hundreds of thousands of species, all forcibly linked into a collective consciousness that we call the Hive Mind. They are known as the Borg Collective." A holographic image of a being appeared, clad in some kind of black armor, missing an eye and having some sort of prosthetic put in its' place, and the left arm looked like it had been replaced as well. "The basic assimilation process is efficient, if brutal." The galaxy map faded, and was replaced with a corridor of a ship.
"That looks like the Ra-Cailum!" one of the Jedi remarked.
"It's one of her sister ships." Several Starfleet officers ducked into an access port (Jessica had learned they were called Jefferies Tubes) but one was grabbed by a Borg. The Borg drone held its hand close to the man who was terrified out of his mind. Two thin tubes shot out and injected themselves into his neck. His face contorted with the pain a bit before he was dropped. Already his skin was transforming into a sickly grey color as he lay there. The image panned over to a bald man wearing a vest leading several officers to another Jefferies Tube, clearly in command of the ship. "Here!" The officers jumped in, and the man nearly followed before he heard something. "Captain?" He looked at the officer who had been struck with the tubules. The image shifted to show the man, reaching out to his captain. "Help." Veins changed color as he vainly reached for his captain, begging for help. "Please, help." The man pointed his phaser at the officer and fired, ending his life.
"Is that what happens to those who are assimilated?" a horrified Senator asked.
"THAT was a mercy killing," Ron said. The image changed once more, and this time it was Main Engineering on a Sovereign-Class starship, clearly assimilated. Dozens of Borg drones walked around, performing tasks, including guiding newly assimilated Starfleet officers into the large room. Some had large implants attached to their faces and heads, and they were clearly beyond help. One woman was strapped to a table by a kind of head brace, as three Borg began operating on her, removing an eye and replacing it with a cybernetic one, removing the left forearm and replacing it a working prosthetic and placing the same black armor the rest of the Borg wore onto the new drone.
Several clone troopers looked sickened. Bail Organa nearly vomited while the more sensitive Padme Amidala actually did. "Wholly robbed of their individuality, the new drone takes commands only from the Collective." The sickening image changed to a large metal cube in space. "The Borg use starships of a geometric design, showing their monolithic mentality and pursuit of perfection." A slightly rectangular ship appeared in the cube's place. "The Borg probe is one of the smallest ships in the Collective's massive fleet, used for short-range recon and to assimilate small starships they encounter. Thankfully-" The probe's image faded, replaced with two ships: one a probe and one a ship clearly belonging to Starfleet and the Federation, followed by the probe exploding. "They're easily dealt with by our ships. The second most common ship in the Borg armada is the sphere." Another Borg ship, a sphere, appeared as a hologram. "Spheres are roughly 600 meters in diameter, although some are larger. They are not easily vanquished, but can be defeated by only one ship if the ship and crew are up to the task. Then there is the most dangerous Borg ships of them all: the cubes." A massive, clearly Borg, ship, shaped like a perfect cube, appeared. "Cubes are the largest and deadliest of the Borg's ships, with enough firepower to wipe out an entire planet's population and assimilate them. They are incredibly armed and armored, and will take a fleet of ships to destroy. They have an even deadlier version, as well."
"Then that means we'll be needing a lot more firepower than what we have at hand," Bail said seriously.
Padme nodded, still looking sick to her stomach.
"This brings up the more depressing part." The short in height but mighty in stature Grand Master Yoda, sitting in his hover-chair, furrowed his brow as he sensed the pain from Ron on the next subject. "The Borg tried to change history in 2373 Anno Domini, around 37 years ago. They sent a sphere back in time to stop First Contact-an important event in human history-which would allow them to assimilate Earth and humanity. Luckily they were stopped, but debris from the sphere landed in Earth's arctic region, and 89 years later, in 2152, a research team found the Borg bodies."
"What happened next?" Padme squeaked.
"The Borg revived and assimilated the research team, then hijacked their ship and began to assimilate it, as will. The Enterprise NX-01 was sent to stop them, and they did, but not before the Borg sent a message back to the Delta Quadrant."
"A dangerous threat, they are," Yoda sad grimly.
"Fast forward to late 2364, at the Romulan Neutral Zone: several outposts disappear, as if scooped off the surface of their respective worlds and asteroids. This happened on both sides of the Zone, forcing a confrontation between the Enterprise and a Romulan D'Deridex-Class warbird."
"The Enterprise? She was in service for that long?" a trooper asked.
"Wrong ship: this was the Galaxy-Class ship, NCC-1701-D. A year later, the Enterprise was flung 7000 lightyears by a nearly-all powerful entity known as Q, into the path of a cube. This was our first known encounter with the Borg. Q sent the Enterprise back to Federation space, allowing them to warn Starfleet of the threat. Tactical exercises were planned and several new classes of starship were put on the drawing boards, including the Sovereign-Class. But it was too late." The hologram shifted once more, showing the bridge of a starship, with the same bald man from before, wearing a different, likely older uniform, standing between two consoles. "Mister Worf, dispatch a subspace message to Admiral Hanson. We have engaged the Borg." Ron sighed. "New Year's Eve, 2366. The Borg arrive in Federation space, and assimilate New Providence colony, followed by an engagement with the Enterprise-D. This ended with one of the greatest nightmares in Federation history."
The hologram shifted to show the inside of a Borg ship. four Starfleet officers were fighting off what seemed to be a horde of Borg drones, and finally, they saw the bald man once again, facing away from them. "Jean-Luc!" The man, now identified as Jean-Luc Picard, turned to face the Starfleet officers...only to reveal that he had been assimilated by the Borg, complete with a laser attached to his head. The crew's faces were filled with astonishment as they realized that he had been assimilated. One of them gaped in horror as one of the crew, an alien clad in a yellow uniform, walked forward and tried to get him out of a holding chamber, only to get thrown back by a forcefield of some kind.
"By the Force..." Obi-wan whispered.
Ron nodded sadly. "It gets worse, Master Obi-wan." The image changed again to the bridge of the Enterprise-D. Picard was on the screen, standing tall in his exoplating. His voice chilled all in the room, despite the recording happening decades before. "I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us."
"The voice of the Borg. For six days, Picard was the greatest threat the Federation had ever faced as the Borg disabled the Enterprise and set a course for Sector 001," Ron explained.
"What's so important about that?" Padme asked, her eyes wide and her hands shaking as she held them in front of her mouth.
"Sector 001 is the location of the Sol System, and more importantly...Earth. Capital of the Federation and homeworld of humanity." Shock went through the entire audience before Ron continued. "Starfleet mustered a fleet of 40 starships at Wolf 359, and what happened...The images will show everything."
The scene shifted to show a battle raging at the location named.
Ships were being slaughtered like lambs. Some were fighting back, others not so much. The Borg Cube at the center of them all was blasting them while some evaded and dodged using their smaller size to their advantage. Yet even then it wasn't enough. In effect, it was a one-sided battle.
Some ships had fires raging that were put out with no oxygen in space. Even so, the metal of them was warped and some were blown to bits already. No hope remained for those destroyed. A few tried to rally, but some were not so lucky.
One ship in particular was hit hard and the crew was forced to evacuate. During the whole time, though, the emotional feelings were high. The crew's feelings were easily conveyed through the image, even if the sound was muted to some degree. It felt wrong to have it heard like this. Maybe later, but not now. Yet the tears and crying, along with the actions, were what moved some of the Senators and other Republican officials to tears.
Padme in particular and Bail as well were moved.
"Is that what happened?" Bail whispered.
"39 starships destroyed, 11000 Starfleet personnel lost. There was only one ship that survived the encounter: the USS Endeavour, and that was only because her captain decided to run when the battle hit the fan." Ron shook his head. "No, not battle. A battle would mean they did something. This is something else entirely. Massacre."
The image changed to the Enterprise-D fighting the Borg once more, including showing the ship separating. "The Enterprise crew recovered Picard, and used his link to activate an auto-destruct system on the cube. In case any of you are thinking 'hey, let's do that!', think again. The Borg have long since learned their lesson. But they weren't easily dissuaded from assimilating Earth."
The image changed once more.
"Fast forward to 2373." This time the screen showed a battle raging. The massive Cube in the center of the fleet was definitely a Borg Cube, and amidst the scene of carnage they could see a single fighter zipping and weaving, dodging Borg fire and returning fire with torpedoes and phasers. Other ships were trying to do the same, but they weren't as maneuverable or as agile as the smaller craft. The ships kept firing until something gleamed in the distance and another ship appeared: a Sovereign-Class assault cruiser. The battle began to take a turn for the worse for the Borg as all ships seemed to follow the ship's lead and blasted at a particular spot, leaving it wide open for a slew of quantum torpedoes to speed inside and destroy it from within.
"Whoa…" Anakin whispered.
Ron grinned. "It gets better. That ship?" The image paused and zoomed in on the ship's name and registry on the dorsal side of the saucer section. It read USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-E. "The name gets around. The Big E-D was destroyed in 2371, and the E-E was commissioned early the next year, under the same man's command. That man was Jean-Luc Picard, who was assimilated by the Borg and knew them almost intimately, allowing him to take out the cube." The image resumed, and a sphere launched from the cube as it exploded, and bypassed the entire fleet, pursued by the Enterprise-E. "The sphere went back in time, and that started the whole cycle all over again: the sphere was blown to hell, the E-E returned to 2373 and life went on, at least for another 5 years. In 2378, the USS Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, using technology from the future and using a Borg transwarp hub. Admiral Janeway, then a Captain, destroyed the network using transphasic torpedoes and a neurolithic pathogen, and the Borg were thought to be wiped out for 31 years. Then they came back and assimilated the Vega colony early last year."
"What happened then?" Palpatine asked in concern. "How did you stop them then?"
"We didn't. We've been pushing the Borg back out of known space, but with the war with the Klingons and incidents with the Romulan Star Empire, we've barely been doing the job. Problem is, now that the Borg have invaded this universe, you're going to have to put your differences aside, unless you want every planet in this galaxy to end up like Vega IX."
"Ra-Cailum to Pinkerton."
Ron tapped his commbadge. "Pinkerton."
"We've detected three ships approaching Coruscant at transwarp: two Federation Gallant-Class escorts and a Klingon Vo'Quv-Class carrier."
Ron sighed. "Battle Group Omega must've sent them to support the Ra-Cailum." He glanced at Sonja. "Get everything back to the ship."
"I hope these guys are friendly…" Padme whispered as Bail nodded in agreement.
USS Ra-Cailum - Coruscant orbit
Captain's Log, USS Ra-Cailum, Stardate 87010.3: the arrival of three Battle Group Omega starships have unnerved the Republic forces, as the Ra-Cailum, primarily an exploration vessel, disabled one of their most powerful ships. And I have informed them that the three ships are thoroughbred warships, making them more unnerved and uneasy. Starfleet Command has assigned me to make sure things run smoothly between Republic, CIS and TFO forces.
The ships came out of warp over the planet, right in front of the Ra-Cailum. Two of them were clearly Federation in design while the other one was of a type unknown to the Republic fleet gathered close by.
The latter, which was almost the same size as an ISD, Ron had IDed as the Vo'Quv-Class carrier IKS Y'Bung, under Brigadier General Guinlong of the Klingon Defense Force. Two To'Duj fighters escorted a Toron-Class shuttle toward the surface, followed by two ARC-170 clone starfighters. Ron shook his head. "Mistake."
"What are they doing?" Jessica asked.
The two Klingon fighters quickly spun around, firing their disruptor cannons at the ARC-170s. Neither Republic ship stood a chance as they exploded. "Klingons don't like having escorts, especially inferior ones. They tolerate Federation ones because we have teeth. Republic ships don't."
"Oh boy…" Jessica whispered.
"Prep the Ra-Horakhty for launch. I'll deal with the Klingons on the surface."
Coruscant Senate building
Palpatine was not expecting to see the vessel arrive without the ARC fighters. But most of all, he wasn't expecting them to make a beeline directly for the docking stations scattered around the massive structure.
Still, at least they had some means of intelligence regarding these guys.
The trio of ships landed at the docking station and the vessel's ramp began to lower.
The two fighters broke off as the shuttle landed, followed by the Ra-Horakhty, which landed on an adjacent landing pad. Three men, all with ridged foreheads and wearing some kind of armor.
"And who might you be?" Palpatine asked, keeping himself composed even as he felt fear rushing through him.
The lead man scoffed as he looked at Palpatine. "I am Brigadier General Guinlong, Son of Yintagh, commander of the IKS Y'Bung and leader in the Klingon Defense Force."
"And you have greatly insulted the Republic with your actions, General." Guinlong turned to face Ron, who had a look of contempt on his face. "You had your fighters shoot down the escorting ARC fighters. That insults the Republic."
"They were too weak to hold a Klingon warrior back, Pinkerton!" Ron marched toward Guinlong and punched the Klingon in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground.
"Don't do that again, General."
"Gentlemen, please, there is no need for violence!" Ron glanced at Palpatine before barking at him in another language.
Obi-Wan and Anakin shared a look that basically said 'WTF?' before the Klingon stood up and walked past, with his two escorts. "What was that about?"
"Klingons are a warrior race. I did what I did because that is their way. It was the Klingon version of demanding respect."
"I see," Anakin mused.
"You can't talk them down. You have to threaten them to make a Klingon stand down or fight him to gain their respect. I earned Guinlong's in battle by defeating the son of a bitch multiple times."
Ron marched into the Senate building, followed by the two Jedi. Inside, Guinlong was being led to a briefing room by Ahsoka and Palpatine. "Do you believe you can stop the Borg, General?"
"The Borg are soulless creatures that rob those of their honor. We will defeat them...in time," Guinlong said.
"That's good," Anakin said.
Ron nodded. "What the General will leave out is that the Borg have never targeted Qo'nos, the Klingon homeworld, for assimilation while the Borg have attempted invasions of Earth twice. And not because the Klingons are better warriors: they considered the Federation a much bigger threat." Guinlong said nothing, which more or less confirmed Ron's comment.
"Why was that?" Obi-wan asked.
"The Federation were the first Alpha Quadrant organization to encounter the Borg. They have more experience with them then the Empire." "Me more than most: I was involved in an operation to kick the Borg off of Defera, and I've been in no less than 20 different engagements with the Borg." Guinlong glared at Ron before continuing. "The Federation is highly adaptable, while the Empire, while mighty, is more inflexible. This is why the Federation is a bigger threat in the Borg's eyes."
"I see." Palpatine was slowly starting to understand how the Federation worked and why they were such a threat.
If that were the case, then he'd have to be extra careful if they ran into each other in the future. That also meant he'd have to be careful about his plans. In fact, this was perhaps the biggest wildcard of his plans.
Still, maybe he could use this to his advantage somehow.
The only question was how...